Greek & Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes

Most long English words are built from parts. Learn the parts, and you can read words you have never seen.

Take a word apart

Pick a word, then tap each part to see what it means. The literal meaning builds up as you go.

Word

Revealed 0 of 3 parts.

Build words from one root

Keep the root, change what goes around it. Every combination here is a real English word.

transport—transport“carry across”

Greek and Latin roots

Root	Meaning	From	Examples
aqua	water	Latin aqua	aquarium, aqueduct, aquatic, aquifer, aquamarine
aud	hear	Latin audire	audio, audience, audible, auditorium, audit
auto	self	Greek autos	automobile, automatic, autograph, autobiography, autonomous
bio	life	Greek bios	biology, biography, antibiotic, biome, biodiversity
cap/cept	take, seize	Latin capere	capture, accept, receive, concept, except
chron	time	Greek chronos	chronology, synchronize, chronic, anachronism, chronicle
dict	say, speak	Latin dicere	predict, dictionary, verdict, contradict, dictate
duct	lead	Latin ducere	conduct, produce, reduce, aqueduct, educate
fac/fact	make, do	Latin facere	factory, manufacture, artifact, affect, perfect
geo	earth	Greek ge	geography, geology, geometry, geothermal, geopolitical
gram/graph	write, record	Greek graphein	photograph, diagram, grammar, autograph, paragraph
hydr	water	Greek hydor	hydrogen, hydrate, hydraulic, dehydrate, hydroelectric
log/logy	word, study, reason	Greek logos	biology, dialogue, logic, geology, psychology
luc/lum	light	Latin lux/lumen	lucid, illuminate, luminous, translucent, luminance
man/manu	hand	Latin manus	manual, manufacture, manage, manuscript, manicure
micro	small	Greek mikros	microscope, microphone, microwave, microchip, microbe
mit/miss	send	Latin mittere	transmit, mission, dismiss, permit, submit
mort	death	Latin mors/mortis	mortal, mortgage, immortal, mortuary, mortify
nov	new	Latin novus	novel, innovate, renovate, novice, novelty
path	feeling, suffering, disease	Greek pathos	sympathy, empathy, pathology, apathy, telepathy
ped	foot	Latin pes/pedis	pedestrian, pedal, expedite, impede, centipede
phon	sound, voice	Greek phone	telephone, microphone, symphony, phonics, saxophone
port	carry	Latin portare	transport, portable, export, import, porter
pos/pon	place, put	Latin ponere	deposit, compose, postpone, expose, position
psych	mind, soul	Greek psyche	psychology, psychiatry, psychic, psychosis, psychotherapy
rupt	break	Latin rumpere	interrupt, rupture, corrupt, bankrupt, erupt
scope	look at, examine	Greek skopein	telescope, microscope, horoscope, periscope, stethoscope
scrib/script	write	Latin scribere	describe, prescription, inscribe, manuscript, scripture
spec/spect	look, see	Latin specere	inspect, spectacle, respect, expect, suspect
tele	far, distant	Greek tele	telephone, television, telescope, telegraph, teleport
temp	time	Latin tempus	temporary, contemporary, tempo, temporal, temperature
terr	earth, land	Latin terra	territory, terrain, terrace, terrestrial, Mediterranean
therm	heat	Greek therme	thermometer, thermostat, thermal, thermos, hypothermia
vert/vers	turn	Latin vertere	convert, reverse, advertise, divert, universe
vid/vis	see	Latin videre	video, visible, vision, provide, evidence
voc/vok	voice, call	Latin vox/vocare	vocal, invoke, vocabulary, advocate, provoke

Common prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
un-	not; reverse of	unhappy, undo, unfair
re-	again; back	rewrite, return, rebuild
in-/im-	not; into	inactive, impossible, import
dis-	not; apart; away	disagree, disconnect, displace
pre-	before	preview, predate, prepare
mis-	wrongly; badly	misuse, mislead, misspell
sub-	under; below; secondary	submarine, subset, substandard
inter-	between; among	international, interact, interlude
trans-	across; beyond; through	transport, transform, transatlantic
anti-	against; opposing	antiwar, antibody, antidote
de-	remove; reverse; reduce	defrost, decode, devalue
ex-	out of; former	export, exclude, ex-president
non-	not; absence of	nonfiction, nonprofit, nonverbal
over-	above; excessive; across	overload, overcome, overflow
super-	above; beyond; greater	superhero, supermarket, supernatural
co-	together; joint; mutual	cooperate, coauthor, coexist
bi-	two; twice	bicycle, bilingual, biannual
tri-	three	triangle, tricycle, trilingual
semi-	half; partially	semicircle, semifinal, semiconductor
auto-	self; same; spontaneous	autobiography, autopilot, automatic
micro-	very small; one millionth	microscope, microwave, microchip
tele-	distant; far off	telephone, telescope, television
post-	after; behind	postwar, postpone, postgraduate
circum-	around; about	circumference, circumnavigate, circumvent

Common suffixes

Suffix	Meaning	Makes a	Examples
-able	capable of; fit for; worthy of	adjective	readable, portable, comfortable
-ible	capable of; fit for	adjective	visible, edible, flexible
-tion	act, process, or state of	noun	action, nation, creation
-ness	state, condition, or quality of	noun	happiness, darkness, kindness
-ly	in a specified manner; having the qualities of	adverb or adjective	quickly, softly, friendly
-er	one who performs an action; comparative degree	noun or adjective	teacher, writer, faster
-ment	result, action, or state of	noun	movement, treatment, agreement
-ful	full of; characterized by; tending to	adjective	hopeful, careful, beautiful
-less	without; lacking; unable to act or be acted on	adjective	hopeless, careless, endless
-ous	having the quality of; full of	adjective	joyous, famous, dangerous
-ity	state, quality, or condition of	noun	equality, clarity, activity
-ism	doctrine, practice, system, or condition	noun	capitalism, realism, criticism
-ist	one who practices or believes in	noun or adjective	artist, scientist, pianist
-ize	to make or cause to become; to subject to	verb	organize, realize, modernize
-tion	act, process, or state of	noun	action, nation, creation
-al	of, relating to, or characterized by	adjective or noun	natural, musical, arrival
-ance	action, state, or quality of	noun	performance, resistance, urance
-ence	action, state, or quality of	noun	difference, silence, patience
-ive	tending to; having the nature of	adjective	active, creative, sensitive
-ship	state, condition, office, or skill of	noun	friendship, leadership, scholarship

Questions people ask

What is a root word?

A root is the core part of a word that carries its main meaning, like port (“carry”) in transport, portable and export. Many English roots come from Latin or Greek and cannot stand alone as words; a base word such as “read” in reread can.

What is the difference between a prefix and a suffix?

Both are affixes. A prefix goes before the root and usually changes the meaning (un-happy, re-write). A suffix goes after it and usually changes the word class: -ness turns an adjective into a noun (kindness), -ly turns an adjective into an adverb (quickly).

Why learn Greek and Latin roots?

A few dozen roots unlock thousands of words. Knowing that spect means “look” lets you work out inspect, spectator and retrospect without a dictionary, which is why roots are part of most school vocabulary curricula.

Can I always work out a meaning from the parts?

Not always. Meanings drift: “nice” comes from Latin nescius, “ignorant”. Use roots as a strong hint, then confirm with context or the dictionary.

How many prefixes are there in English?

Dictionaries list well over a hundred, but a small set does most of the work. Studies for reading instruction (White, Sowell and Yanagihara, 1989) found that just four prefixes, un-, re-, in-/im- and dis-, account for about 58% of prefixed words in school texts.