List of Use Greek and Latin roots as clues to the meanings of words

Root	Meaning	Origin	Example Word	Definition
aqua	water	Latin	aquarium	A tank for keeping water animals
aud	hear	Latin	audience	A group of listeners
bene	good	Latin	benefit	An advantage or profit
bio	life	Greek	biology	Study of living organisms
chrono	time	Greek	chronology	Arrangement of events in time
cred	believe	Latin	credible	Believable; trustworthy
dict	say	Latin	dictate	To speak or read aloud
duc/duct	lead	Latin	conduct	To lead or guide
geo	earth	Greek	geography	Study of Earth’s surface
graph	write	Greek	autograph	A person’s own signature
ject	throw	Latin	eject	To throw out
log/logy	word/study	Greek	biology	Study of life
man	hand	Latin	manual	Done by hand
meter/metr	measure	Greek	thermometer	Instrument for measuring temperature
micro	small	Greek	microscope	Instrument to view small objects
mort	death	Latin	mortal	Subject to death
path	feeling/disease	Greek	empathy	Ability to understand others’ feelings
phon	sound	Greek	telephone	Device for transmitting sound
port	carry	Latin	transport	To carry from one place to another
scrib/script	write	Latin	manuscript	A handwritten document
spect	see	Latin	inspect	To look at carefully
struct	build	Latin	construct	To build or form
tele	far	Greek	television	Device for viewing distant images
vid/vis	see	Latin	video	Recording of moving visual images
voc	voice	Latin	vocal	Relating to the voice
auto	self	Greek	autobiography	A person’s life story written by themselves
bene	good	Latin	benevolent	Well-meaning and kindly
circum	around	Latin	circumference	The distance around a circle
contra	against	Latin	contradict	To speak against
dem	people	Greek	democracy	Government by the people
dorm	sleep	Latin	dormant	Inactive, as if asleep
form	shape	Latin	transform	To change in shape
fract/frag	break	Latin	fracture	A break or crack
inter	between	Latin	international	Between nations
mal	bad	Latin	malfunction	Failure to function properly
multi	many	Latin	multicultural	Relating to many cultures
ped	foot	Latin	pedestrian	A person walking
port	carry	Latin	portable	Able to be carried
rupt	break	Latin	erupt	To burst out
sect	cut	Latin	dissect	To cut apart for study
sub	under	Latin	submarine	Vessel that operates underwater
trans	across	Latin	transport	To carry across
uni	one	Latin	unicycle	A one-wheeled vehicle
vid/vis	see	Latin	vision	The ability to see
volv/volut	roll	Latin	revolve	To roll around
anthrop	human	Greek	anthropology	Study of humans
arch	chief/first	Greek	monarch	A sole ruler
aster/astr	star	Greek	astronomy	Study of stars and space
bell	war	Latin	rebellion	Act of resistance against authority
brev	short	Latin	abbreviate	To shorten
cap	head	Latin	capital	Head city of a country
carn	flesh	Latin	carnivore	Flesh-eating animal
cede/ceed	go	Latin	proceed	To go forward
cent	hundred	Latin	century	One hundred years
clam/claim	shout	Latin	exclaim	To shout out
clud/clus	close	Latin	exclude	To shut out
cogn	know	Latin	recognize	To identify from knowledge
corp	body	Latin	corpse	A dead body
cosm	universe	Greek	cosmos	The universe seen as a whole
crat/cracy	rule	Greek	democracy	Rule by the people
cred	believe	Latin	incredible	Unbelievable
cycl	circle	Greek	bicycle	Two-wheeled vehicle
dict	say	Latin	predict	To say beforehand
dom	master	Latin	dominate	To have control over
don	give	Latin	donate	To give
duc/duct	lead	Latin	introduce	To lead into
fac/fact	make/do	Latin	factory	Place where things are made
fer	carry	Latin	transfer	To carry from one place to another
fid	faith	Latin	confident	Having faith in oneself
fin	end	Latin	final	Last
flu	flow	Latin	influence	To flow into
form	shape	Latin	uniform	Same shape or form
fort	strong	Latin	fortress	Stronghold
fract/frag	break	Latin	fragment	A broken piece
gen	birth	Latin	generate	To produce
geo	earth	Greek	geology	Study of Earth’s structure
grad/gress	step	Latin	progress	Forward movement
gram	write	Greek	grammar	Rules of language
graph	write	Greek	graphic	Visual representation
gress	step	Latin	digress	To step away from the main topic
hab	have	Latin	habit	A regular practice
ject	throw	Latin	inject	To throw into
jud	judge	Latin	judicial	Relating to judges
jur/jus	law	Latin	justice	Fairness
lab	work	Latin	laboratory	Place for scientific work
leg	law	Latin	legal	Relating to law
liber	free	Latin	liberty	Freedom
lit	letter	Latin	literature	Written works
loc	place	Latin	location	A place
luc/lum	light	Latin	illuminate	To light up
manu	hand	Latin	manual	Done by hand
mar	sea	Latin	marine	Relating to the sea
mater/matr	mother	Latin	maternal	Relating to a mother
med	middle	Latin	median	Middle value
mem	remember	Latin	memory	Ability to remember
meter	measure	Greek	centimeter	One hundredth of a meter
migr	move	Latin	migrate	To move from one place to another
min	small	Latin	minimum	The least amount
miss/mit	send	Latin	transmit	To send across
mob/mot/mov	move	Latin	mobile	Able to move
mon	warn	Latin	admonish	To warn
mort	death	Latin	immortal	Not subject to death
multi	many	Latin	multiple	Many
nat	born	Latin	native	Born in a particular place
nav	ship	Latin	navigate	To steer a ship
neg	deny	Latin	negate	To deny
neo	new	Greek	neonatal	Newborn
noc/nox	harm	Latin	noxious	Harmful
nom/nym	name	Greek	synonym	Word with similar meaning
nov	new	Latin	innovate	To introduce something new
nunc/noun	declare	Latin	announce	To declare publicly
omni	all	Latin	omniscient	All-knowing
oper	work	Latin	operate	To work
opt	eye	Greek	optic	Relating to the eye
pac	peace	Latin	pacify	To make peaceful
pan	all	Greek	pandemic	Affecting all people
pass/pat/path	feel	Latin/Greek	sympathy	Sharing feelings
ped	foot	Latin	pedal	Lever operated by foot
phil	love	Greek	philosophy	Love of wisdom
phon	sound	Greek	phonics	Study of sounds
photo	light	Greek	photograph	Image made by light
port	carry	Latin	export	To carry out
post	after	Latin	postpone	To delay
pre	before	Latin	preview	To view beforehand
prim	first	Latin	primary	First or most important
proto	first	Greek	prototype	First model
psych	mind	Greek	psychology	Study of the mind
quad	four	Latin	quadrilateral	Four-sided figure
quer/quir/ques/quis	ask	Latin	inquire	To ask
rad	ray/spoke	Latin	radius	Line from center to circumference
rect	straight	Latin	correct	Right; free from error
rupt	break	Latin	disrupt	To break apart
sci	know	Latin	science	Systematic knowledge

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