Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

cur(r)-/curs- [cours-/ cor(s)-] [from Latin]

(verb)

to run

course

current [literally, ‘running;’ a steady onward motion.]

cursive [literally, ‘similar to running;’ having successive letters joined together in a flow.]

excursion

to recur [literally, ‘to run back or again;’ to happen (to occur) again.]

succor [literally, ‘running up-from-under;’ help; assistance.]

course (noun) [literally, ‘a running;’ directed route or path.]

excursion (noun) [literally, ‘a running out;’ a short pleasure trip.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

in- [from Latin]

(preposition)

in, on, into, unto

to incline [literally, ‘to lean unto or into;’ to lean against; to be predisposed (to).]

inflammable [literally, ‘able to burst into flame;’ susceptible to catching, or being set on, fire.]

to inject [literally, ‘to throw into;’ to propel something (such as a fluid or a remark) into something else (such as a body or a conversation).]

to inscribe [literally, ‘to write on or into;’ to engrave on or in a surface.]

to insinuate

to inspire

to insinuate (verb) [literally, ‘to fold (oneself) into;’ to insert oneself or a thought subtly or surreptitiously into a situation or discourse.]

to inspire (verb) [literally, ‘to breathe into;’ to draw in air; to draw air into oneself; to stimulate a person or group of persons into purposeful action or thought.]

in-/il-/im- [from Latin]

(prefix)

not

illegible

illiterate [literally, ‘not lettered;’ uneducated.]

immortal [literally, ‘undeathy;’ not susceptible to death.]

inedible [literally, ‘not eatable.’]

inevitable [literally, ‘not avoidable.’]

inexorable

illegible (adjective) [literally, ‘not readable.’]

inexorable (adjective) [literally, ‘not prayable-out;’ not able to be reached or influenced by speech or action; relentless and not persuadable.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

sub-/sus-/suc-/sup-/suf- [from Latin]

(preposition)

under; up-from-under

submarine [literally, ‘pertaining to what is under the sea.’]

subterranean

succor

to suffer [literally, ‘to bear up-from-under;’ to endure.]

to support [literally, ‘to carry up-from-under;’ to bear the weight of something, especially from underneath it.]

to sustain [literally, ‘to hold up-from-under;’ to support and/or maintain.]

subterranean (adjective) [literally, ‘pertaining to what is under the earth;’ located below the earth’s surface or underground; hypogeal.]

succor (noun) [literally, ‘running up-from-under;’ help; assistance.]

hypo- [from Greek]

(preposition)

under

hypoallergenic [literally, ‘under-allergenic;’ unlikely to cause allergic reactions.]

hypocrite

hypodermic

hypoglycemia [literally, ‘under-sweetness;’ an abnormally low level of glucose in the blood.]

hypotenuse [literally, ‘stretched-under;’ the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.]

hypothermia [literally, ‘under-hotness;’ abnormally low body temperature.]

hypocrite (noun) [literally, ‘judge from under;’ the ancient Greek word for actor; a person who professes beliefs that he or she does not actually believe.]

hypodermic(adjective) [literally, ‘relating to what is under the skin;’ subcutaneous.]

 Root

 Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

 English Derivatives

 Vocabulary

ced-/cess- [from Latin]

(verb)

to go

to accede

antecedent [literally, ‘going before;’ the noun whose place a pronoun takes, i.e., the noun that ‘goes-before’ what stands in for it.]

to concede [literally, ‘to go (along) with;’ to yield to, or to accept, another’s point of view.]

excess [literally, ‘gone out-of;’ an amount or behavior that goes beyond what is normal or sufficient or lawful or conventionally acceptable.]

to intercede

procession [literally, “going forth;’ an orderly forward motion.]

to accede (verb) [literally, ‘to go to;’ to go along with someone; to go to, i.e., to assume, a high office.]

to intercede (verb) [literally, ‘to go between;’ to mediate (a dispute between antagonists).]