Roots Definitions Examples
Day 1 - Numbersnumer, number / digit, unit, quantity / enumerate - to name a number of items on a list
hemi, semi, demi / half, partial / hemisphere - one half of the earth; semiconscious - partly conscious; demitasse - a small cup of coffee
deeau / one / unique – one of a kind; monologue - a speech; solitary - done alone, by yourself
bi, di, du / two / biannual - happening twice a year; dilemma - a situation that requires a choice between two alternatives; duplicate - make an identical copy
tri / three / triangle - a figure with 3 sides and 3 angles
quad, quadr, quart, tetra / four / quadruped - a 4-footed animal; quarter - one fourth; tetrose - a monosaccharide with four carbon atoms
pent, penta / five / pentagon - shape having 5 angles and 5 sides
hexa, sex / six / hexagon - a shape with six angles/sides
hept, sept / seven / heptagon - a shape with seven angles and seven sides; septet - a group of seven musicians
oct / eight / octogenarian - person in his or her 80s
non / nine; (also means not) / nonet-a musical composition of nine voices or instruments
dec, deca / ten / decade-ten years
cent / one-hundred / century-100 years
kilo, milli / one-thousand / kilobyte-1000 bytes; milliliter-one thousandth of a liter
prim, proto / first in sequence / primitive- relating to or occurring at the first stages or form of something; proto- prototype - the first of a kind
ulti / last / ultimate- coming or attained at the end of a series of stage
Day 2 – Quantities and Size
iso, equ, equi / equal, equality / isometric - having equality of measure; equation - a statement of equality
neg / no or none / negate - to say it didn't happen
plu, plur, multi, poly / many / plural – concerning more than one person or thing; multicolored - having many colors; polynomial-describes a mathematical expression that has more than two terms
cop, pan, holo / all or full / copious - produced or existing in large quantities; panorama - an all-around view; holocaust - total devastation
min, mini, micro / small in size / minuscule - extremely tiny; microscope - a device to see very small things
magn, maxi, macro / largeness, greatness, length, or of great scope / magnify - make larger; maximum - the greatest amount; macroeconomics - study of the overall forces of economy
long, alti, acro / tall, long, height, top / elongate - to make something longer; altimeter – an instrument that shows the height above sea level; alto; acrobat – a “high walker”
Day 3 - Time
temp, tempor, chron / time / temporary - lasting for a limited time; chronic - lasting for a long time;
fore, pre, ante / before something else / forecast - a preview of events to be; prepare - to get ready in advance; antemeridian - before noon
post, sec, secut, sequ / after / postpone - to put off doing something; consecutive - following one after another without interruption or break; sequence - the order in which things are arranged, actions are carried out, or events happen
dia, journ / day / diary - a personal record of events in somebody's daily life; journal - somebody's written daily record of personal experiences
noct, nox / night / nocturnal – occurring at night; equinox - when the length of day and night are approximately equal everywhere on Earth
mon, luna, mest / month, time it takes for the moon to change from one full moon to the next / monthly - done, held, or arranged once every month; lunar – relating to the moon or its movement around the Earth; semester – division of an academic year
ann, enn / something that marks the year or years / annual – occurring each year, centennial - relating to or involving a period of a hundred years
Day 4 – Location, Direction, and Relationships
epi, super, over, out, hyper / above / epidermis, superb, overthrow, outrage
sub, hypo / under / subway, underdeveloped, hypothermia
in, intra, en, em / inside / inscription, intramural, engrave, empathy
e, ex, ecto / outside / emissary - a representative of a country or group sent on a mission; exhale - to breathe out; ectoplasm - the dense outer layer of the substance cytoplasm that surrounds the nucleus of a cell
ad, af, ag, al, an / toward, to / adhere - to stick firmly to a surface or an object; affect - to act upon or have an effect on somebody or something; allure - an attractive or tempting quality; annex - to take over territory and incorporate it into another political entity
ab, apo / away / abduct - carry away by force; apostrophe - a small dash used in place of an omitted letter
de, cata / down / decelerate - to slow down, reduce speed; catastrophe - turning for the worst, a substantial disaster
trans, per / through, across / transport - to carry something across a space; permeate - to spread throughout
re, ana / again / rebound -to spring back again
co, col, con, com, cor / with, together / coauthor - writer who collaborates with another author ; collect – to gather things together; congress – legislative body that comes together to make laws or debate questions; combine – to join together; correlate – to relate together
syn / with, together / synchronize - to cause to occur at the same time
il, im, in, ir / without / illegal - not legal; impossible - not possible; inappropriate - not appropriate; irresponsible - not responsible
An, un, a, non / without / anonymous – whose name is not known or not given; unfair - opposite of fair; abyss - without bottom; nonfiction - true, real, not made-up
anti, anta / against / antiseptic - preventing infection; antagonist – one who challenges the hero, heroine, or protagonist in a work of fiction
contra, counter / against / contrast – to set side by side to determine differences; counterbalance – to balance against, or offset a weight by another weight
ob, of, op / against / object – to disagree, to protest; offensive – that which causes disgust or outrage; oppression – a pressing against or keeping down forcibly
Day 5 – Shapes, Qualities, Colors
ortho / straight / orthotics – branch of medicine that uses braces to make limbs straighter
plan, plain, platy, plat / smooth, straight, level, or flat / plane – a flat, level, and even surface; plain – a large level land area; plateau – an elevated, flat, land area
chrom / color / chromosome – colored, rod-shaped bodies in the nucleus of cells
alb / white / albinism - congenital lack of pigmentation in the skin and hair of a person or animal or in the coloration of a plan;
melan / black, dark / melanin – pigment responsible for skin, eye, and hair color
bene, bon, eu / relative goodness of / benevolence – good wishing; action to promote the welfare of others; bonus – a prize or unexpected reward; euphoria – giddy elation, ecstatic joy
mis, mal, dis, dys, dif / bad, wrong, not / mishap – a mistake , blunder, or accident; malady – an illness; discard – to reject or get rid of; dysfunctional – not functioning properly, impaired, abnormal; diffuse – to spread out, not concentrated
Day 6 – Bodily Structures
organ / organ, system / organelles – tiny structures or organs within bodily cells
card, cord, cour / heart, emotions of the heart / cardiac – pertaining to the heart; discord – disagreement, lack of harmony; courage – bravery, fearlessness, valor
cap, capit / head, top of the body / cappuccino – a coffee dread topped with foamy milk; capitol – the seat of a government
dent, dont / teeth / dentist – tooth care specialist; orthodontist – a dental specialist who straightens teeth with braces
manu, chiro, dexter, cap / hand – having, holding, taking, seizing / manicurist – person who cares for hand and nails; chiropractor; chiropractor – person who uses manipulation of bone joints, especially the spine, as a medical treatment; dexterity – skill using hand or body; capacity – ability to take in or contain
ped, pod, pus / feet / pedestrian – one who walks; tripod – three-footed stand, as in a stool, support for a camera; octopus – eight-footed marine animal
viv, vit, bio / life / revive – bring back to life; vital – belonging to life or necessary for life; biologist – one who studies living organisms
fin, term, lim / end-boundary / finite – having measureable limits; terminate – to come to an end; limit – boundary, point where something ends
mort, thana / end-death / mortal – a human being; causing death; thana
necro, carn, corp, sarc / body and blood (sometimes death) / necropolis – cemetery, especially in an ancient city; carnivore – flesh-eating animal; corpse – dead body; sarcophagus – limestone coffin or tomb
Day 7 – Senses and Emotions
vid, vis, spec, scop / seeing, looking, sight, examining closely, what is obvious / evident – plain, clear, obvious; supervisor – someone who oversees; spectacle – a display for the public to see, a show; microscope – instrument for magnifying small objects for examination
ton, son, phon, aud / hearing and sound / monotone – uninterrupted repetition of the same tone; sonic – of sound or the speed of sound; symphony – an orchestra, a musical composition for an orchestra; audible – describes something that can be heard
tact, tang, ting / touch, briefly touching on a subject / tactile – that which can be felt by touching; tangible – that which can be touched, definite, clear; tingle – to feel a prickling, stinging, or thrilling sensation
sens, sent / feeling / sensor – devise that detects and measures physical changes in the environment; sentiment – feeling or opinion
sci, intel / knowledge / conscious – aware, thinking, feeling, waking; intellect – the ability to learn or apply knowledge
anim / spirit, soul / animated – life-like, lively
troph, cre, cru / growth / atrophy – a wasting away, especially of body tissue
voc, loqu,dict, ling / speech, words / vocalist – singer; eloquent – speaking with style; edict – an official public proclamation or decree; lingo – a dialect, jargon, or technical language unfamiliar to non-users
grac, grat, gree, plea, pleas, plac / please, pleasing, dignified, being thankful / disgrace – to bring shame or loss of reputation; gratitude – thankfulness for favors or benefits; agree – to consent to or be in harmony with; pleasure – happiness, satisfaction, delight, fun; placid – calm, pleasing, or gentle
Day 8 – Family, Home Life, and Religion
auto / self / autobiography - an account of somebody's life written by that person
anthrop / man, mankind / anthropology – the study of human beings and past civilizations
patr, pater / father, fatherhood / patriarch – male head of the family or tribe; paternity - fatherhood
matr, mater, metro / mother, motherhood / matriarch – female head of the family ro tribe; maternity – pertaining to motherhood; metropolis – literally “mother city”, a large city
ped / related to children, deals with children, childish / pediatrician – physician specializing in children’s diseases and health
gest / carry or bring forth / suggest – to mention as something to think over
nai, nat, gen / birth, newly born / renaissance – rebirth, as of arts and leaning in Europe; innate – describes abilities or traits that one is born with; genealogy – a chart or history of a person or family
dom, eco / home / condominium – jointly owned property or apartment building; ecosystem – system made up of a community and its relationships
flam, ign, pyr / fire / flammable – easily able to catch fire; igneous – fiery; of rocks produced by fire; pyre – wooden pile for cremation of the body
laund, lav, lot, lug, lut / washing, cleaning / laundromat – public place for washing clothes; lavatory – washroom, room with a sink and a toilet, lotion – liquid medicine or cosmetic, deluge – flood or downpour, wash away, dilute – to make something less concentrated by adding water
vest / clothing / invest – to clothe or cover, to use money to produce income
the, div / God / pantheon – collectively, all gods in a religion; a temple for all the gods; diva – goddess, a female opera star
angel / refer to divine messengers / angelic – pertaining to a messenger of God; completely innocent
demon / an evil spirit / demonic – demon-like in nature, pertaining to demons
hier, sanct, sacr / holy; holy rule; sacred places, objects, and events / hierarchy – rule by a high priest, a sense of ranking in an organization; sanctuary – a safe haven, a particularly holy place in a church or temple; sacred – holy or blessed
Day 9 – Government and Society
reg / royalty / regal – royal, like a monarch (king or queen)
arch / ruler or chief / monarchy – rule by one king or queen
fort / strong / comfort – help, assist, soothe, give emotional strength
cracy, crat / rule, ruler / democracy – rule of the people directly or through representatives
urb / city, describes relationships among people, the management of groups of people / urban – relating to cities and towns
civ / civil – respectful, courteous, polite; city
polis, polit / acropolis – ”high city”; higher fortified part of an ancient Greek city; polite – having good culture, taste, or manners
duc, duct / to lead, something that is made, something that leads the way / produce – to make of bring into existence; abduct – to take away a person by force or fraud, kidnap
nom, noun, onym / name / nominate - to name for election or appointment, to designate; announce - to declare in public; antonym – words with the opposite meanings
vict, vinc / winning / victory - the conquest of an enemy; invincible - not able to be conquered
bell / war, hostility, and aggression / belligerent - hostile, ready to fight; rebel - person who opposes and fights
pac / peace / pact – treaty or agreement for making peace; an alliance between countries
Day 10 – Roots of Motion