Download - English Words from Latin & Greek Roots
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English Words
from Latin & Greek Roots
Increase vocabulary, spelling, and reading comprehension
Learning Objective• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots
as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
“I can use Greek and Latin word roots to *determine the meaning of words.”
*determine = figure out
What are we going to do today?
A root is a set of letters that have meaning. It is the most basic form . Affixes are added to the root to create a new word.
• A root can be at the front, middle or end of a word.• Many words in the English language are based on Greek & Latin
word roots.
• What is a word root?
Con
cept
Example:The Latin root ject means “throw”So project can mean “to throw forward”
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· The average sixth grade student knows approximately 25,000 words.
· The average high school graduate knows approximately 50,000 words.
· This means that average students learn roughly 2000-3,000 words a year (Graves, 2007).
· This translates to 8 words a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year - including weekends or summers.
Shrinking personal vocabularies
Importance
• Knowing and using Greek and Latin word roots can help you figure out the meaning of words you don’t recognize.
• This will make you a better reader and writer.
Why is it important to know how to use Greek and Latin word roots?
Can anyone share a different reason?
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Basic Termsroot form: a word with no prefix or suffix added; may also be referred to as a base word inspector, thermal
affix: meaningful part of a word attached before or after a root or base word to modify its meaning
prefix: an affix which is placed before the stem of a word re-, un-, dis-
suffix: an affix which is placed after the stem of a word -able, -ive, -ly
derivation-a word formed from an existing word, root, or affix: electric, electricity
Derivational Suffixes
Derivational suffixes change the part of speech
• words ending with –tion are often nouns• words ending with –ive are often adjectives• words ending with –ish are often adjectives• words ending with –ity are often nouns
What about -ment, -ous, -ness?
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We know that words are broken into parts that help us figure out their meaning.
PrefixesPrefix Meaning Example
re- back, again
refill
tri- three triplet
un- not undo
SuffixesSuffix Meaning Example
-ful Having careful
-less Without, missing
joyless
-ly In the manner of
hopefully
AP
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Tell your partner:
An example of a prefix is ______ which means ______. How do word parts like prefixes and suffixes help us _______?
We know that words are broken into parts that help us figure out their meaning:
Prefixes:un- undore- refillpro- for,
forward
Prefixes are at the beginning of words.
pre- means before fix means attach, repair
Suffixes: -ful joyful -ly sadly -ness kindness
Suffixes are at the end of words.
So, “prefix” means “attached before.”
Which word part is found at the end of words?
English words can have all three parts:
prefix + root + suffixab + duct + ed
away from + to lead/pull + verb: past tenseabducted means ”pulled or lead away from”
i.e. The general was abducted by masked stranger.
Concept
Roots can appear more than once, and anywhere in the word.
Word Meaning
geology earth study / study of the earth
telegraph distance writing / writing that travels far
tricycle three wheels
asocial not being companionable / not wanting to join others
prefix + root + suffix• I Do
retrospectiveretro = backwards
spect = look-ive = having quality of
“quality of looking backward”
History is a retrospective way of looking at life.
• We Do
carnivorecarni = meat
vor = eat-e = one who
“one who eats meat”What does carnivore mean?
How did you know?
Prefixes: Meaning and Connotation
Often Negative
dis-, de- non- sub-
in- un- mis-
mal- anti, contra a-
Somewhat Positive
pro- co- bene-
super- com- be-
en-, em- ad-
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prefix + root• I Do
empathyem- = having
pathy = feeling
So it means:
“having feeling”
The soldier had empathy for the prisoner.
• We Do
enamoren- = having
amor = loveWhat does enamor
mean?
“having love”
How do you know that?
root + root• I Do
pseudonympseudo = false
nym = name
”false name”
Samuel Clemens wrote under the pseudonym “Mark Twain.”
• We Do
aqueductaque = water
duct = to lead/pullWhat is an aqueduct used for?
How do you know that?
root + suffix• I Do
astrologyastro = stars
-logy = study of
So it means:
"the study of stars”
• We Do
biologybio = life
-logy = study of
So it means:
“the study of life”
How did I determine the meaning of astrology?Frame: “We determined the meaning of astrology by ______________.”
How did we know biology meant ‘the study of life’?Frame: “We knew that biology meant ‘the study of life’because _______________________.”
A List of Greek and LatinWord Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes
Root Meaning Root Meaning Root Meaning Prefix/Suffix Meaning
duct to lead/pull micro small phobia fear of ab- away from
tele distance spect look, see auto self a-, un-,-less
not, without
graph write, draw aque, aqua water rupt break em-. en-, -y, -ful
having,marked by
bio life astr, aster stars scope see, watch retro- backwards
geo earth logy, ology study of pseudo false -ive, -ic having quality of
rium house cycle wheel dynam power -al result of
trans across nym, nom name ject throw -able, -ible ability
pathy feeling for amor love pro forward -oid resembling, like
cent, centi hundred derm, derma skin vor eat greedily -or, -er, -e one who
carn meat chron time soci joining in, being together
ex- out of
omni all, every meter measure ped, pod foot, footed bi- two
struc, struct build cent hundred con, com together, with tri- three
hydro water trans across -ly in the manner of
Skill Steps
1. Highlight the word root (or roots).• What does the word root mean?
2. Look at the remainder of the word:• What does the prefix mean?
• What does the suffix mean?
3. Use the word root table to determine the meaning.
Ski
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Look Inside—Look Outside pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
1. Look inside the word for known word parts: prefixes, roots or combining forms, suffixes.
2. Use the analogy strategy—“I don’t know this word, but I know pneumonia and I know volcano, so by analogy, this word might have something to do with lungs and heat.”
3. Look outside the word at context clues, visuals
The coal miners, coughing and wheezing, suffered from pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
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Developing content-specific, academic vocabulary depends on a basic understanding of Greek and Latin
Sixty percent of the words in English texts are of Latin and Greek origin Bear et al., 1996; Henry, 1997
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Content-Specific Greek Terms
Anatomy and Medical Termsesophagus, thyroid, diagnosis, psoriasis, dyslexia
Studies and Sciencesbiology, seismology, morphology, geochronometry
Animals and Plantsarachnid, amphibian, chlorophyll, dinosaur, nectar
Theatre and the Artscharisma, drama, chorus, muse, symphony, acoustics
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Counting in Greek and Latin
mono uni di
bi du, duo tri
tetra quadri penta
hexa sept oct
nove deca deci
cent milli poly
multi semi hemi
Learning Objective• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots
as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
“I can use Greek and Latin word roots to *determine the meaning of words.”
*determine = figure out
What are we going to do today?
Closure
• What do we call the most basic form of a word that has meaning?
• What does portable mean?
• Why do you think knowing and using Greek and Latin word roots is important?