Latin and Greek Roots of English Vocabulary: An Online Manual: Lesson 1 [ante-/anti-]
November 22, 2009
The passport to successful reading is frequent reading of varied texts. Frequent reading presupposes confidence in one’s reading ability. These weekly lessons on the major Latin and Greek roots of English words are meant to give those who master them that confidence.
Each lesson consists of a chart of a root or pair of related roots together with detailed information about their original function and meaning, a selection of English words derived from each root (with meanings), and a pair of targeted vocabulary words for that root. I leave it up to the individual whether to treat only the targeted vocabulary words as those to be especially memorized or to treat all the words (derivatives and targeted alike) as worthy of personal targeting.
First Lesson
| Root
|
Original Meaning/ Usage Notes
|
English Derivatives
|
Targeted Vocabulary
|
| (prefix)
ante- [from Latin] |
(preposition)
before (either in time or in space) [Note: To avoid confusion with the prefix “anti-,” pronounce this ‘an-tee.’] |
ante [literally, ‘before;’ the money placed down by each poker player before the game begins.] antebellum [literally, ‘before the war,’ especially before the United States Civil War.] antecedent antediluvian ante meridiem (AM) [literally, ‘before midday.’] anteroom [literally, ‘the room before;’ the room in front of the main room, for example, a waiting room.] |
antecedent(noun) [literally, ‘going before;’ the noun whose place a pronoun takes, i.e., the noun that ‘goes-before’ what stands in for it.] antediluvian(adjective) [literally, ‘pertaining to what was before the flood (deluge);’ antiquated and outmoded.] |
| (prefix)
anti- [from Greek] |
(preposition)
against [Note: To avoid confusion with the prefix “ante-,” pronounce this ‘ant-eye.’] |
antagonist Antarctic [literally, ‘against the Arctic; the portion of the earth opposite to the Arctic.] antiaircraft [literally, ‘against aircraft;’ designed to defend against airplanes.] antidote [literally, ‘given against;’ a counteragent for nullifying (fighting against) the harmful effects of something else, especially a poison.] anti-war [literally, ‘against war.’] antipathy |
antagonist(noun) [literally, ‘(the professional) against the (first professional) competitor (or champion);’ the one against the protagonist.] antipathy(noun) [literally, ‘against the affection (of another person or thing);’ strong hatred (toward a person or thing).] |
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