Roots and Affixes
How words are created
Vocabulary
• English vocabulary include short words like the
article a as well as longer word such as
inextricably and denunciation.
• Short word such as speak and solve are called
base words
• Base words cannot be reduced to smaller parts.
• Other words can be added to them to produce
longer words with various meanings.
Word Parts
• There are two kinds of word parts: roots and
affixes.
• A root is a word part that comes from another
language, such as Greek or Latin.
• An affix is a word part that can be attached to
either a root or a base word to create a new
word.
Affixes
• Affixes can be divided into two categories:
prefixes (appear at the beginning of words) and
suffixes (appear at the end of words).
Common Prefixes
Common Suffixes
Bi-
two
-al
adjectival suffix
Anti-
against
-fy
verb suffix
Inter-
between
-ic
adjectival suffix
Pre-
before
-ion
noun suffix
Super-
above
-ism
noun suffix
Trans-
across
-ize
verb suffix
Dis-
not
-ous
adjectival suffix
Check it out
Roots
Affixes
Latin Root: tang,
meaning “touch”
Prefix: in-, meaning
“not”
Greek Root: chrome,
meaning “color”
Suffix: -ible, meaing
“able to”
Meaning
• The meaning of a word is related to the meaning
of its word parts.
• To unlock the meaning of an unfamiliar word,
break the word down into its component parts;
then think about the meaning of the word’s
affixes and root.
Apply
• For example one could analyze the word
intangible, using the chart shown previously.
• First break the word into its parts:
PREFIX ROOT SUFFIX ENGLISH WORD
In- + tang + -ible = intangible
Tang
In-ible
is a latin roots meaning “touch”
is a prefix meaning “not”
is a suffix meaning “able to”
Word Families
• A group of English words may be derived from
the same word part of root. Such a group is
called a word family.
• You can use this knowledge to help you
determine the meaning of unknown words.
• Try this out:
Shared roots: solo, solitary, solitude
Root: sol= ?
Answer: Alone, can you think of other
words in the family?
• Solitare
• Soloist
• Based on your knowledge of the root and the
meaning of other words in the same family, try
to define the meaning of the above words.
• Solitare- a card game played by one person
• Soloist- one who performs alone
Try one:
Words:
• Diminish
• Diminutive
• Minimum
• What do these words have in common?
• Which words do you know?
• What do you think the meaning of the root is?
Word Family Practice Questions:
• Word family: ethnicity, ethnic, ethnographer
Root: ethn
Meaning:
▫ Ocean
▫ Nation
▫ Hesitation
Word Family Practice Questions:
• Word family: maniac, maniacal
Root: mania
Meaning:
▫ Education
▫ Sanitation
▫ Madness
Word Family Practice Questions:
• Word family: epidermis, dermatology
Root: derm
Meaning:
▫ Skin
▫ Body
▫ Mind
Word Family Practice Questions:
• Word Family: laboratory, labor
Root: lab
Meaning:
▫ Work
▫ Good
▫ Weak
Let’s see what you know:
• Divide and indivisible are members of the same
word family. Which root so they share?
A. –visB. -visibleC. -div• What is the meaning of this root?
A. separate
B. shrink
C. junk
• What is another member of the same word
family?
A. December B. dividend
C. invisible