Greek & Latin
Vocab 1
BREV, CARN, GEO, JECT, OMNI
Why should we study Greek &
Latin word parts?

Some words cannot be broken down: base words.

However, many, many other words contain prefixes, roots, and
suffixes.

You can think of these as the “building blocks” of a word.

Knowing the building blocks of a word can help you understand its
meaning and remember its spelling.

Knowing these word parts, along with using context clues, can help
you determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

This helps you become a stronger reader and learner.

It also helps on tests like the SAT and ACT if you have a strong
vocabulary.
Why should we study Greek &
Latin word parts?

English is a living language, and it is growing all the time. One way
that new words come into the language is when words are
borrowed from other languages. New words are also created
when words or word parts, such as roots, prefixes, and suffixes, are
combined in new ways.

Many English words and word parts can be traced back to Latin
and Greek. Often you can guess the meaning of an unfamiliar
word if you know the meaning of its word parts.

Latin was the language spoken by the ancient Romans. As the
Romans conquered most of Europe, the Latin language spread
throughout the region. Over time, the Latin spoken in different
areas developed into separate languages, including Italian,
French, Spanish, and Portuguese. These languages are considered
“sisters,” as they all descended from Latin, their “mother”
language. They are often called Romantic languages.
Why should we study Greek &
Latin word parts?

In 1066 England was conquered by William, Duke of Normandy,
which is in northern France. For several hundred years after the
Norman invasion, French was the language of court and polite
society in England. It was during this period that many French
words were borrowed into English. Linguists estimate that some
60% of our common everyday vocabulary today comes from
French. Thus many Latin words came into English indirectly
through French.

Many Latin words came into English directly, though, too. Monks
from Rome brought religious vocabulary as well as Christianity to
England beginning in the 6th century. From the Middle Ages
onward, many scientific, scholarly, and legal terms were
borrowed from Latin.
Why should we study Greek &
Latin word parts?



During the 17th and 18th centuries, dictionary writers and
grammarians generally felt that English was an imperfect
language whereas Latin was perfect. In order to improve
the language, they deliberately made up a lot of English
words from Latin words. For example, fraternity, from Latin
fraternitas, was thought to be better than the native English
word brotherhood.
Words are the tools we use to think about the world,
communicate with the people around us, and learn new
things.
The more words you know, the better you can think,
communicate, and absorb new information!
brev, bri
(Latin)
SHORT
 abbreviate
 shorten
 brief
 lasting

a short period of time
SAT Focus Word:

brevity
 shortness,
especially of speech or writing
 Context: Ironically, it is long-winded Polonius in
Shakespeare's Hamlet who famously says that brevity
is the soul of wit.
 Other
words: abridge
carn (Latin)
FLESH
 carnivorous
 eating
flesh
 reincarnation
 rebirth

in new flesh
SAT Focus Word:
 carnage
 slaughter
of a great number of people
 Context:
Had Abdaly succeeded in getting his bomb into the mall,
there would have been carnage.
 Other
words: incarnate, carnal, carnival
geo (Greek)

geography
 study

EARTH
of where things are on the earth
geocaching
 the
outdoor sport or game of searching for hidden
objects by using Global Positioning System (GPS)
coordinates posted on the Internet

SAT Focus Word:
 geology
 study
of Earth’s features
 Context: In geology lab, we did a scratch test to
compare hardness of various rocks.

Other words: geometry, geocentric
ject (Latin)
THROW
 interject
 throw
in the middle
 reject
 throw
 SAT
back
Focus Word:
 abject
utterly
wretched, hopeless (thrown away)
Context: The townspeople lived in abject poverty.
 Other
words: conjecture, projectile
omni (Latin)
ALL
 omnivorous
 eating
all types of food
 omnipotent
 all-powerful

SAT Focus Word:
 omniscient
 all-knowing
 Context:
A third-person omniscient narrator can tell a story from
all characters’ perspectives.
 Other
words: omnipresent, omnidirectional
Suffix of the Week:
-ous, -ious (Latin)
FULL OF, CHARACTERIZED BY,
HAVING
• creates an adjective form
 spacIOUS
– full of space
 prosperOUS
– full of prosperity (good
fortune)
 humorOUS
– full of humor