Greek and Latin Roots
What is a root and why do I need to learn about them?
A root is a word that other words grow from. Many words in our language grew from words originally
used in the Greek and Latin languages. If you know the meaning of these roots, it will help you decode
the meanings of new terms that contain the same roots.
What is a root theme?
For this project, I have put roots with similar meanings (themes) into groups.
How do I find words that have the root in them?
The table below list the theme, roots and one sample word for each root. It is your responsibility to find
more words that share the same root. You can use a dictionary or thesaurus or check out some of these
websites:
https://www.msu.edu/~defores1/gre/roots/gre_rts_afx2.htm
http://wordinfo.info/
http://getwords.com//
http://www.prefixsuffix.com/rootchart.php
These are only a few of the many sites that can help you to find words that come from the roots in the
table. Also try doing a Google search for the roots.
Theme
Seeing
Hearing
Speaking
Writing
Good v. Bad
Belonging
Connecting
Lowering
Illuminating
Solic/James 7th Grade ELA 2012
Roots
vis/vid (see)
spect (look)
audi (listening, hearing)
phon (sounds)
voc (to call; words, voice)
dict (to speak)
scrib/scrip (written)
graph (written)
ben/bon (good)
mal (bad)
poli (city/government)
gen (family/race)
nat (birthplace)
soci (in a group of people)
mem (remembering)
de (down)
sub (under/below)
photo (light)
flam (fire)
Examples
visible
spectacles
audible
telephone
vocabulary
dictionary
scribble
graphic
beneficial
dismal
political
generation
nation
social
memory
decrease
submerge
photograph
flammable