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)

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)

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.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

tract- [from Latin]

(verb)

to drag, to draw

to attract [literally, ‘to draw to;’ to lure others to oneself.]

to detract

distraction [literally, ‘a drawing apart;’ a diversion.]

intractable

to subtract [literally, ‘to draw from under;’ to take away; to lessen arithmetically.]

tractor [literally, ‘that which drags or draws;’ a motorized vehicle designed to perform arduous tasks, especially pulling heavy objects.]

to detract (verb) [literally, ‘to drag down from;’ to take something away; to belittle.]

intractable (adjective) [literally, ‘unable to be drawn (out);’ difficult or impossible to be controlled or educated.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

vi(a)- [from Latin]

(noun)

way, road

deviant

devious [literally, ‘being down from the way;’ indirect; sneaky.]

impervious [literally, ‘without a way through;’ not able to be penetrated or affected (by something).]

to obviate

obvious [literally, against (i.e., appearing right in) the way;’ easily grasped; evident.]

via [literally, ‘by way of.’]

deviant (adjective) [literally, ‘being down from the way;’ departing from the accepted standard way of society.]

to obviate (verb) [literally, ‘to take against (out of) the way;’ to remove as unnecessary.]

Root

Original Meaning/

Usage Notes

English Derivatives

Vocabulary

(base)

volv-/volut- [from Latin]

(verb)

to turn

convoluted

to devolve [literally, ‘to turn down from;’ to be turned upon (over to) another.]

evolution

to involve [literally, ‘to turn unto;’ to bring someone into something, as a participant.]

revolution [literally, ‘act of turning back;’ circular motion around a fixed point; overthrow of a regime.]

revolver [literally, ‘a turner again;’ a pistol with a rotating bullet feeding mechanism.]

convoluted (adjective) [literally, ‘turned together;’ twisted together; highly complex.]

evolution (noun) [literally, ‘a turning out of;’ a process of orderly change and development.]