Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

ob- [from Latin]

(preposition)

against/with regard to

[Note: After ‘c,’ ‘f,’ or ‘p,’ it becomes respectively ‘oc-,’ ‘of-,’ ‘op-.’]

obdurate [literally, ‘harsh against;’ unrepentant in wickedness; intractable.]

obnoxious

obsequious

to obstruct [literally, ‘to structure against;’ to block or impede.]

to offer [literally, ‘to bear with regard to;’ to carry something to someone for that person’s acceptance or refusal.]

to oppress [literally, ‘to press against;’ to hold down unjustly or immorally.]

obnoxious (adjective) [literally, ‘harm with regard to;’ annoying; hateful.]

obsequious (adjective) [literally, ‘following with regard to;’ showing slavish obedience; fawning.]

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)

viv-/vit- [from Latin]

(verb/noun)

to live/life

revival

to survive

vital [literally, ‘pertaining to life;’ full of energy; essential.]

vitamin [literally, ‘life substance;’ one of the substances essential for the healthy growth and activity of the body.]

vivid [literally, ‘living;’ brightly colored; lifelike.]

to vivisect [literally, ‘to cut what is living;’ to cut open living things, especially for scientific research.]

revival (noun) [literally, ‘a living again;’ the reactivation of something from an earlier time.]

to survive (verb) [literally, ‘to live over;’ to continue in existence; to live longer than.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

contra-/contro-/ counter- [from Latin]

(preposition)

against

contraception [literally, ‘against conception;’ prevention of impregnation.]

contradiction

to contravene [literally, ‘to come against;’ to act against, or to interfere with, the carrying out of.]

to controvert [literally, ‘to turn against;’ to express opposing arguments.]

to counteract [literally, ‘to act against;’ to act to nullify the effects of a previous action.]

to countermand

contradiction (noun) [literally, ‘against what is said;’ a negation of a previous statement.]

to countermand (verb) [literally, ‘to command against;’ to negate or reverse an order.]

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/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

solv-/solut- [from Latin]

(verb)

to loose(n)

to absolve

to dissolve [literally, ‘to loosen apart;’ to separate into component parts.]

resolution [literally, ‘a loosening back;’ a firm determination or decision.]

soluble [literally, able to be loosed;’ able to be dissolved or solved.]

to solve [literally, ‘to loosen;’ to find a correct answer (to a problem or riddle).]

solvent

to absolve (verb) [literally, ‘to loosen away from;’ to free someone from guilt.]

solvent (noun) [literally, ‘loosening;’ a substance able to cause another substance to separate into its component parts.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

sci- [from Latin]

(verb)

to know(-how)

conscience [literally, ‘knowing together;’ inner moral power of judging one’s conduct based on preferring right over wrong.]

conscious

nescience [literally, ‘not knowing;’ lack of knowledge; ignorance.]

omniscient

science [literally, ‘knowledge;’ exact knowledge, especially that obtained through systematic observation and experiment.]

scientist [literally, ‘professional knower;’ a professional practitioner of science.]

conscious (adjective) [literally, ‘known together;’ aware of one’s surroundings; awake.]

omniscient (adjective) [literally, ‘knowing all things.’]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

ta(n)g-/ti(n)g-/tact- [from Latin]

(verb)

to touch

contagious

contiguous [literally, ‘touching together;’ sharing a border.]

contingent [literally, ‘touched together;’ happening not by necessity, but because of certain conditions.]

intangible

tactile [literally, ‘of touch;’ pertaining to the sense of touch.]

tangent [literally, ‘touching;’ touching at a single point without intersecting.]

contagious (adjective) [literally, ‘touching together;’ transmittable by direct contact.]

intangible (adjective) [literally, ‘not touchable;’ not able to be perceived by any of the senses, but ‘felt’ anyway.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(prefix)

extra-/extro- [from Latin]

(preposition)

outside

extracurricular [literally, ‘pertaining to what is outside the curriculum;’ beyond the required curriculum of a school.]

extraordinary [literally, ‘outside the orderly;’ beyond the usual; extremely impressive.]

extrasensory [literally, ‘outside the sensory;’ beyond the normal range of human sensation.]

extraterrestrial [literally, ‘pertaining to what is outside the earth;’ coming from, or being outside, the earth.]

extravagant

extrovert

extravagant (adjective) [literally, ‘ranging outside;’ beyond normal limits; lavish; ostentatious.]

extrovert (noun) [literally, ‘turned outside;’ a person who is interested in, or naturally directed toward, other persons.]