Language of the Day: Root Words

🌱 Unlocking the Power of Root Words: Why They Matter

Did you know that many English words come from Greek and Latin root words? These roots carry the core meaning of a word, and when you combine them with prefixes and suffixes, you can build your vocabulary in a powerful way.

What Are Root Words?

  • A root word holds the most basic meaning of a word.

  • Some roots are not standalone in English — they need a prefix and/or suffix to form a real word. For example, the Latin root aud (meaning “to hear”) isn’t an English word by itself, but it's at the heart of words like audio, audible, and auditorium.

  • Other roots can stand alone, like the Greek root scope, meaning “viewing instrument.” You also see it in microscope and telescope.

Some Common Roots to Know

Latin Roots
Here are a few Latin root words and their meanings:

  • ambi = both → ambiguous, ambidextrous

  • aqua = water → aquarium, aquamarine

  • bene = good → benefactor, benevolent

  • dict = to say → dictator, dictation

  • mort = death → mortal, mortician

  • vid/vis = to see → video, television

Greek Roots
Here are some Greek roots too:

  • bio = life → biology, biography

  • chron = time → chronological, chronic

  • micro = small → microbe, microscope

  • tele = far → telephone, television

  • phobia = fear → claustrophobia, arachnophobia

Prefixes & Suffixes

  • Prefixes go at the beginning of a root: e.g., un- (meaning “not”) gives us unusual.

  • Suffixes go at the end of a root: e.g., -est (meaning “the most”) gives us smartest.

  • Some common suffixes:

    • -able / -ible (“can be”): affordable, sensible

    • -er / -or (“one who”): teacher, actor

    • -ion / -tion (“act or process”): motion, creation

    • -ness (“state of being”): kindness, happiness

Why This Benefits Readers and Learners

  1. Decoding New Words: When you know common roots and affixes, you can infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.

  2. Spelling Boost: Recognizing roots helps with spelling — if you know “dict” is about saying, words like dictionary and dictate make more sense.

  3. Vocabulary Growth: By learning root + affix combinations, students (or anyone) can learn many more words more quickly.

  4. Deeper Understanding: This isn’t just surface-level memorizing — it connects to how language is built historically (Greek, Latin) and structurally.

Minju B