Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

-orium/-ory [from Latin]

(suffix)

place for

auditorium

consistory [literally, ‘place for standing together;’ in the Catholic Church, a congress of cardinals presided over by the pope to solemnize papal actions, e. g., the canonization of a saint.]

crematorium [literally, ‘place for cremating; place for incinerating corpses.’]

depository [literally, ‘place for putting down;’ a storage place.]

dormitory

lavatory [literally, ‘place for washing;’ a washroom or bathroom.]

auditorium (noun) [literally, ‘place for hearing;’ a large room in which performances may be heard and seen.]

dormitory (noun) [literally, ‘place for sleeping;’ a residential building, especially for students at a school.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

ag-(ig-)/act- [from Latin]

(verb)

to act

agenda

agent [literally, ‘acting (person);’ person who acts for another.]

agile [literally, ‘able to act;’ capable of action characterized by physical or mental quickness and ease.]

to exact

intransigence [literally, ‘not acting across;’ refusing to bend or compromise.]

to react [literally, ‘to act back;’ to act in response to another act.]

agenda (noun) [literally, ‘(things) going to be acted;’ a list of things to be acted on.]

to exact (verb) [literally, ‘to act out;’ to force payment or property out of someone.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

ac(u)-/ac(r)- [from Latin]

(adjective)

sharp

acid [literally, ‘sharp (tasting);’ a sharp-tasting substance whose aqueous solutions turn litmus indicators red; anything that has a sharp or sour taste.]

acrid

acrimony [literally, ‘sharpness;’ sharp hostility in behavior or speech.]

acuity [literally, ‘sharpness;’ keenness of sensation, especially vision.]

acumen

acute [literally, ‘sharpened;’ sharp-pointed; intellectually sharp.]

acrid (adjective) [literally, ‘sharp;’ painfully sharp to taste or smell.]

acumen (noun) [literally, ‘sharpness;’ keenness of common sense, judgment, or insight.]

Root

Original Meaning/

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English Derivatives

Vocabulary

the(o)- [from Greek]

(noun)

god

apotheosis

atheism [literally, ‘non-godism;’ denial of the existence of God or gods.]

pantheon [literally, ‘of all gods;’ a temple for the worship of all gods.]

theocracy [literally, ‘mastery by a god;’ rule by religious authorities, especially priests.]

theodicy

theology [literally, ‘speech about a god;’ the formal study of the nature of gods, a god, or God; the formal study of religion.]

apotheosis (noun) [literally, ‘making a god from;’ elevating someone to the status of a god.]

theodicy (noun) [literally, ‘justice of a god;’ a justification of the ways of God to humans.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

the(s)-/the(m)- [from Greek]

(verb)

to put

anathema [literally, ‘a thing put up;’ a cursed or damned person or thing.]

epithet

hypothesis [literally, ‘a putting under;’ something assumed to be true for the purpose of investigation; a supposition.]

prosthesis

synthesis [literally, ‘a putting together;’ the combining of disparate elements or phenomena into an organized and integrated whole; compositing.]

thesis [literally, ‘a putting;’ a proposition defended by reasoning.]

epithet (noun) [literally, ‘something put on (added);’ an essentially descriptive phrase; a nickname.]

prosthesis (noun) [literally, ‘putting near;’ an artificial replacement for a missing part of the body.]