Latin and Greek Roots of English Vocabulary: An Online Manual: Lesson 24 [flect-/flex-]
May 2, 2010
|
Root
|
Original Meaning/ Usage Notes |
English Derivatives
|
Vocabulary
|
| (base)
flect-/flex- [from Latin]
|
(verb) to bend
|
circumflex [literally, ‘a bend around;’ a punctuation mark (ˆ) placed over a vowel in certain languages to indicate a quality of pronunciation.] flexible [literally, ‘bendable;’ physically or psychically fluid or adaptable.] to genuflect inflected reflection [literally, ‘bending back;’ the bending back, say, of light, from a surface; serious thinking.] reflex [literally, ‘a bend back;’ an automatic physiological response, such as the blink of an eye.] |
to genuflect (verb) [literally, ‘to bend the knee;’ to kneel in prayer.] inflected (adjective) [literally, ‘bent unto;’ of words, the alteration of the form of a word to indicate its function in a clause.] |
Comments
Got something to say?
