The first form in the chart, which is bolded, is the word base; the next form, in italics, is the entire Greek or Latin word that the base comes from, followed by its English translation. There may or may not be a difference between the bolded and the italic forms because sometimes, but not always, the base is modified (changed or reduced), depending on what follows it.
The indented words are examples using the base. To figure out the meaning of the examples, pair up the two bases for each example.
The first example is aphasia, formed from what is called the "alpha-privative" or a, which negates Greek words, and phasia, from the Greek for "utterance," so aphasia is "without utterance" or "not speaking".Here is a preview of the bases you'll find elaborated below: a-, acro-, agogue-, ana-, anthropo-, apo-, arch-, auto-, cac-, cata-, chron-, -chrom, -crat, -crypt, demo-, -dox, em-, epi-, ethno-, eu-, exo-, -gam, -gen, -graph, homo-, lith-, -log, -lyt, meter, mono-, morph-, neo-, -oid, -onymn, -ops, ortho-, paleo-, path-, patr- petro-, phas-, phil-, phobia-, phon-, -polis, soph-, stereo-, stroph-, syn-, tele-, theo-, -type.Perhaps technically the alpha-privative should not be included in this list because it doesn't stand alone, but it a useful and productive unit for analyzing words based on Greek.
N.B. (which stands for nota bene 'note well' ~ 'pay attention') There may also be endings like -ic, and -y that make the word an adjective, noun, or whatever, but they are not listed here.
- a: a - without (negation)
aphasia
apathy
anarchy
- acro: akros - highest
acronym
acrophobia
acropolis - agogue: agogus - leader > agein - to lead
demagogue
- ana: ana - back
analogy
analytic
- anthropo: anthropos - man
anthropoid
anthropomorphic
- apo: apo - off, away
apostrophe
apotheosis
- arch: arche - beginning; archaios - old
archaeology
archaic
archetype
- arch: archein - to rule
anarchy
- auto: autos - self
autonomy
autopsy
autocrat
- cac: kakos - bad, evil
cacophony
- cata: kata - down
catalyst
catastrophe
- chron: khrono - time
chronology
- chrome: khroma - color, complexion, skin
monochrome
- crat: kratos - strength, power
autocrat
democracy
theocracy
- crypt: kryptos - hdden
cryptography
- demo: demos - district, common people
demagogue
democracy
- dox: doxa - opinion, praise > dokein - to seem
orthodox
- em: en - in
empathy
- epi: epi - upon, in addition
epilogue
- ethno: ethnos - people, nation, class
ethnologist
- eu: eu - well
euphony
- exo: exo - outside
exogamy
- gam: gamos - marriage
exogamy
monogamy
- gen: genos - kind, gender, race, stock
homogenized
- graph: graphein - to write
cryptography
petrograph
orthography
paleography
- homo: homos - same
homogenized
homologue
homonym
- lith: lithos - stone
paleolithic
neolithic
- log: logy - word > logos - word; logia - study of
analogy
chronology
archaeology
monologue
epilogue
ethnologist
neologist
pathology
homologue
- lyt: lysis - loosening
analytic
catalyst
- meter: metrum/metron - measure
telemetry
- mono: monos - single, alone
monologue
monogamy
monochrome
- morph: morphe - shape
anthropomorphic
- neo: neos - new
neologist
neolithic
- oid: oeides - shaped
anthropoid
- onym: onoma - name
acronym
autonomy
homonym
patronym
synonym
- ops: opsis - sight/eye
autopsy
- ortho: orthos - true, straight
orthodox
orthography
- paleo: palaio - old, ancient
paleolithic
paleography
- path: pathos - feeling
apathy
empathy
pathology
- patr: pater - father
patronym
- petro: petra - rock
petrograph
- phas: phasis - utterance
aphasia
- phil: philo - loving
philosophy
- phobia: phobia - fear
acrophobia
- phon: phone - voice
cacophony
stereophonic
euphony
- polis: polis - city, state
acropolis
- soph: sophos - wise, clever
theosophy
philosophy
- stereo: stereos - solid
stereophonic
- stroph: strephein - to turn
apostrophe
catastrophe
- syn: syn - together, same
synonym
- tele: tele - far
telemetry
- theo: thea - god
apotheosis
philosophy
theocracy
theosophy
- type: typos - model, type, blow
archetype
See how much you've learned: Take the Word Roots Quiz
Also see these articles on words and word derivations:- Latin Words in English I
English has lots of words of Latin origin. Some of these words are changed to make them more like other English words -- mostly by changing the ending (e.g., 'office' from the Latin officium), but other Latin words are kept intact in English. Of these words, there are some that remain unfamiliar and are generally italicized to show that they are foreign, but there are others that are used with nothing to set them apart as imported from Latin. You may not even be aware that they are from Latin. Here are some such words and abbreviations. - Latin Words in English II
(See preceding.) - On Translating Latin Into English
Whether you want to translate a short English phrase into Latin or a Latin phrase into English, you can not just plug the words into a dictionary and expect an accurate result. You can't with most modern languages, but the lack of a one-to-one correspondence is even greater for Latin and English. - Latin Religious Words in English
If you want to say that the prospects are bleak, you could say "it doesn't augur well." Augur is used as a verb in this English sentence, with no particular religious connotation. In ancient Rome, an augur was a religious figure who observed natural phenomena, like the presence and location to left or right of birds, to determine whether the prospects were good or bad for a proposed venture. Find out about more such words.
