Etymology Review
Semester 1 Final Study Notes
Etymology: Root Words 1
1. a
without
agnostic, amoral, atrophy, atypical
2. ab/abs
off, away from, apart,
down
abnormal, abduct, abhor, abstract
3. ac/acr
sharp, bitter
acerbate, acidity, acute, acrid, exacerbate
4. act/ag
to do, to drive, to force,
to lead
act, agent, agile
5. ad/al
to, toward, near
adapt, addict, advice, allure, alloy
other, another
alias, alibi, alien, alienation, altruist, allegory
7. am
love
amateur, amorous, enamored, amity,
paramour, altruist, allegory
8. amb
to go, to walk
ambitious, amble, preamble, ambulence
6. al/ali/alter
Etymology: Root Words 1
9. amb/amph
around
amphitheater, ambience
10. amb/amph
both, more than one
ambiguous, amphibian, ambivalent
11. anim
life, mind, soul, spirit
animosity, unanimous, equanimity
before
ante, anterior, antecedent, antedate,
antebellum
man, human
anthropology, android, misanthrope
year
annual, anniversary, biannual, biennial
15. anti
against
antidote, antiseptic, antipathy, antichrist
16. apo
away
apology, apostle, apocalypse
12. ante
13. anthro/andr
14. annu/enni
Etymology: Root Words 2
17. apt/ept
18. arch/archi
19. archy
20. art
21. auc/aug/aux
22. auto
23. be
24. bel/bell
skill, fitness, ability
adapt, aptitude, apt, inept, adept
chief, principal
architect, archetype, archipelago
ruler
anarchy, monarchy, matriarchy, patriarchy
skill, craft
artisan, artifact, artful, artifice, artificial
to increase
augment, auction, auxiliary
self
automobile, automatic, autopsy,
autocrat,autonomy
to be, to have, a quality
beguile, bequeath, belittle, bemoan
war
belligerent, antebellum, rebel
Etymology: Root Words 2
25. ben/bon
good
benefit, benefactor, benign
26. bi
twice, doubly, two
biannual, binoculars, bilingual, bisexual
27. bio
life
biology, biotic, biosphere, biopsy
28. bri/brev
brief, short
brevity, brief, abbreviate, abridge
29. cad/cid
to fall, to happen by chance
cascade, coincidence, cadence, decadent
30. cand
to burn
candle, incandescent
31. cant/cent/
chant
to sing
chant, enchant, accent, recant
to take, to get
capture, recipient, emancipate, anticipate
32. cap/cip/cept
Etymology: Root Words 3
33. cap/capit/cipit
head, leader
captain, principal, capitulate, caption
34. card/cord/cour
heart
cardiac, cordial, accord, encourage
35. carn
flesh
carnivorous, carnal, carnage, reincarnation
cut
caste, castigate, chastise, chaste
to burn
caustic, holocaust
36. cast/chast
37. caust
38. ced/ceed/cess to go, to yield, to stop
39. centr
40. cern/cert/cret/
crim/crit
cessation, incessant, abscess, recede,
antecedent, access, concede, recess, exceed
center
central, concentrate, eccentric, egocentric
to separate, to judge,
to distinguish, decide
discern, criterion, discrete, secret, concern
Etymology: Root Words 3
41. chron
time
chronicle, chronology, chronic, synchronize
42. circu
around, on all sides
circumscribe, circumvent, circuit,
circumference
43. cis
to cut
incision, concise, scissors, precise, excise
44. cit
to set in motion
incite, solicit, excite
45. cla/clo/clu
shut, close
seclude, cloister, foreclose, recluse,
enclose, closet
46. claim/clam
to shout, to cry out
reclaim, clamor, acclaim, exclaim
to lean toward
recline, decline, climax
with, together
conjugal, coalesce, coalition, connect,
confide, cohesive, commiserate
47. cli
48. co/col/com/con
Etymology: Root Words 4
49. crat/cracy
to govern
democracy, aristocracy, bureaucracy
to grow
crescendo, increment, accrue, creation
51. cred
to believe, to trust
credible, credo, credence, incredulous,
incredible
52. cryp
hidden
cryptic, crypt, cryptology
to lie down
succcumb, incumbent, recumbent, cubicle
to blame
culpable, exculpate, inculpate, mea culpa,
culprit
running, a course
courier, occur, recur, current, incur
away from, down,
completely, reversal
descend, defame, delineate, defile, deface,
decipher
50. cre/cresc/cret
53. cub/cumb
54. culp
55. cour/cur
56. de
Etymology: Root Words 4
57. dem
people
demographics, democracy, epidemic
58. di/dia
apart, through
dialectic, diagnose, dialogue
to say, to tell, to use words
dictate, dictionary, predict, verdict,
indicted, diction
worth
dignitary, dignify, indignant, dignity
away from, apart, reversal,
not
diffuse, dissipate, disperse
62. dac/doc
to teach
doctrine, didactic, doctor
63. dog/dox
opinion
dogma, dogmatic, paradox, orthodox
suffer, pain
doldrums, doleful, dolorous
59. dic/dict/dit
60. dign
61. dis/dif
64. dol
Etymology: Root Words 5
ROOT/PREFIX
DEFINITIONS for root/prefix
Examples of Root/Prefix used in English
65. don/dot/dow
to give
dowry, donate, donor, pardon, antidote
66. dub
doubt
dubious, indubitable
67. duc/duct
to lead
duct, conduct, abduct, conducive, seduce,
induct
68. dur
hard
durable, endure, duress
69. dys
faulty
dyslexia, dysfunctional, dystrophy
70. epi
upon/above
epitaph, epidermis, epidemic, epilogue
71. equ
equal, even
equitable, equivocal, equilibrium, equation
72. err
to wander
error, aberrant, errant, erroneous
Etymology: Root Words 5
ROOT/PREFIX
DEFINITIONS for root/prefix
Examples of Root/Prefix used in English
73. esce
becoming
incandescent, effervescent, adolescent,
convalesce
74. eu
good, well
euphoria, euthanasia, euphemism, eulogy
out, out of, from, former,
completely
exalt, expire, extricate, exonerate, exclude,
evade
outside of, beyond
extraneous, extrasensory, extraordinary
77. fab
to speak
fabulous, fable, affable
78. fac
to do, to make
facsimile, benefactor, factory
79. fer
to bring, to carry, to bear
offer, transfer, proliferate
80. ferv
to boil, to bubble, to burn
fervor, fervid
75. e/ef/ex
76. extra
Etymology: Root Words 6
ROOT/PREFIX
DEFINITIONS for root/prefix
Examples of Root/Prefix used in English
81. fid
faith, trust
confident, fidelity, perfidy, infidel,
bona fide
82. fin
end
final, finale, definitive
83. flam
to burn
flame, flamboyant, inflammatory
84. flect/flex
to bend
flexible, genuflect
85. flict
to strike
conflict, inflict, afflict
86. fore
before
foreshadow, forgo, forebear
87. frac
break
fraction, fracture, infraction
88. fund/found
bottom
foundation, fundamental, founder
Etymology: Root Words 6
ROOT/PREFIX
89. fus
DEFINITIONS for root/prefix
Examples of Root/Prefix used in English
pour
transfusion, profuse, infusion
birth, creation, kind, race
generate, genetics, homogeneous,
genealogy, gender, genre, congenital
big
grandiose, grandeur
pleasing
grateful, gratuity, gratuitous
93. grad/gress
to step
graduate, progress, gradual, digress
94. her/hes
to stick
coherent, adherent, cohesive, adhesive
95. hetero
different
heterosexual, heterogenous
same
homogenous, homonym, homosexual
90. gen
91. grand
92. grat
96. hom