Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

cal(l)(i)-/kal(l)(i)- [from Greek]

(adjective)

beautiful, noble

calisthenics [literally, ‘skill at beautiful (bodily) strength;’ a regimen of exercises to produce muscle tone.]

calligraphy

calliope [literally, ‘beautiful voicing;’ a keyboard musical instrument with steam pipes.]

calomel [literally, ‘beautiful black;’ a chloride of mercury used as an insecticide.]

hemerocallis [literally, ‘beautiful for a day;’ the day lily, a perennial.]

kaleidoscope

calligraphy (noun) [literally, ‘beautiful writing;’ the art of fine handwriting.]

kaleidoscope (noun) [literally, ‘a looking at a beautiful look;’ a cylindrical optical device for viewing shifting patterns of geometrical shapes of multi-colored glass.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

bi(o)- [from Greek]

(noun)

lifetime

antibiotic [literally, ‘against a (harmful) lifetime;’ a medicinal substance that inhibits the growth of, or destroys, microorganisms, especially disease-causing microorganisms.]

biography [literally, ‘writing a lifetime;’ giving an account of someone else’s lifetime.]

biology

bionic [literally, ‘pertaining to an electronic lifetime;’ consisting of a mechanical or electronic device, especially one designed to replace a limb or organ of the human body.]

bioscope [literally, ‘a looking at a lifetime;’ a primitive movie projector.]

symbiosis

biology (noun) [literally, ‘speech about a lifetime;’ the study of living organisms as living and their life cycles.]

symbiosis (noun) [literally, ‘sharing a lifetime together;’ the interconnected relationship of two or more different organisms, a relationship that is sometimes beneficial to each.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

bibl(i)- [from Greek]

(noun)

book

Bible [literally, ‘the book;’ the holy scripture of Christianity; any book considered authoritative in its field.]

bibliography

bibliomancy [literally, ‘divination by books;’ divination by interpreting a quotation chosen at random from a book.]

bibliomania [literally, ‘book madness;’ a compulsion to own books.]

bibliophile

bibliotheca [literally, ‘where books are put;’ a library.]

bibliography (noun) [literally, ‘writing about books;’ a list of books by an author or on a specific subject.]

bibliophile (noun) [literally, ‘a friend of books;’ a book lover.]

Root

Original Meaning/

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Vocabulary

-itis [from Greek]

(suffix)

(diseased) inflammation of

appendicitis [literally, ‘(diseased) inflammation of the appendix.’]

arthritis

bronchitis [literally, ‘(diseased) inflammation of the windpipe;’ diseased inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes.]

gingivitis [literally, ‘(diseased) inflammation of the gums.’]

laryngitis

tonsillitis [literally, ‘(diseased) inflammation of the tonsils.’]

arthritis (noun) [literally, ‘(diseased) inflammation of the joints.’]

laryngitis (noun) [literally, ‘(diseased) inflammation of the larynx.’]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

-ics/-tics [from Greek]

(suffix)

skill in

economics [literally, ‘household law skill;’ the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.]

ethics

genetics [literally, ‘skill in begetting;’ the science that studies heredity and inherited traits.]

hermeneutics [literally, ‘skill in interpreting;’ the philosophical study of interpretation.]

physics

politics [literally, ‘skill in citizenship;’ the study of regimes and citizens.]

ethics (noun) [literally, ‘skill in habits;’ the philosophical study of morals, virtue, and moral choices.]

physics (noun) [literally, ‘skill in nature;’ the science of the nature and behavior of matter and energy.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

iso- [from Greek]

(adjective)

equal

isobar [literally, ‘equal heaviness;’ a line on a weather map connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure.]

isometrics [literally, ‘skill in equal measuring;’ a program of exercises in which muscular contraction is used to strengthen muscles.]

isomorphic [literally, ‘having an equal shape;’ having a similar structure.]

isosceles

isotope

isotropic [literally, ‘equal turning;’ the same in all directions.]

isosceles (adjective) [literally, ‘equal legged;’ having two sides equal.]

isotope (noun) [literally, ‘an equal place;’ one of a group of atoms having the same atomic number but different masses.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

gen(e)-/gon- [from Greek]

(verb)

to beget

cosmogony

genealogy [literally, ‘speech about begetting;’ the family ancestry (tree) of a person.]

genesis [literally, ‘the begetting;’ the coming into being of a thing.]

genetics [literally, ‘skill in begetting;’ the science that studies heredity and inherited traits.]

hydrogen

theogony [literally, ‘the begetting of the gods;’ a narration of the origin and genealogy of the gods.]

cosmogony (noun) [literally, ‘begetting the world;’ an account of the origin of the universe.]

hydrogen (noun) [literally, ‘begetting water;’ a colorless, element, the lightest of all gases, and the commonest element in the universe.]

Root

Original Meaning/

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English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

pher-/phor- [from Greek]

(verb)

to bear

amphora [literally, ‘bearing around;’ a jar used by the Greeks to carry oil.]

euphoria [literally, ‘bearing (oneself) well;’ a feeling of extreme well-being.]

metaphor [literally, ‘borne after or with;’ a figure of speech in which one thing is identified with another.]

periphery

pheromone [literally, ‘impulse-bearing thing;’ A chemical secreted by an animal that influences the behavior of others of the same species.]

phosphorus

periphery (noun) [literally, ‘borne around;’ circumference; perimeter.]

phosphorus (noun) [literally, ‘bearer of light;’ a nonmetallic element that exists in three allotropic forms and that is an essential constituent of protoplasm.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

cardi- [from Greek]

(noun)

heart

cardiac [literally, ‘pertaining to the heart.’]

cardiology

carditis [literally, ‘inflammation of the heart.’]

electrocardiograph [literally, ‘electric heart writing;’ an instrument that measures the electrical currents associated with heart muscle activity.]

pericardium

tachycardia [literally, ‘swiftness of the heart;’ a rapid heart rate.]

cardiology (noun) [literally, ‘speech about the heart;’ the branch of medicine that studies the nature and functioning of the heart.]

pericardium (noun) [literally, ‘around the heart;’ the sac that encloses the heart.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

-oid [from Greek]

(suffix)

looking like

adenoid [literally, ‘looking like a gland;’ a lymphoid growth at the back of the nose that may obstruct normal breathing when swollen.]

android

anthropoid [literally, ‘looking like a human;’ human in shape or structure; apelike.]

asteroid [literally, ‘looking like a star;’ a small mass that revolves around the sun.]

deltoid [literally, ‘looking like the letter delta;’ the triangular muscle covering the shoulder joint.]

spheroid

android (noun) [literally, ‘looking like a man;’ an artificial human.]

spheroid (noun) [literally, ‘looking like a sphere;’ a mass that is shaped like a sphere without being perfectly round.]