vocabulary
Most weeks I teach two to four roots, prefixes, or suffixes from Latin or Greek. Students and I identify English words that include those roots, prefixes, or suffixes. In our classroom, the Latin roots are always identified in red and the Greek in green. The record of what we learn is on this webpage.
Week of May 2:
capt, capit = head. English words include capital, capitol, captain, cap.
spir = breath. English words include spirit, spiritual, inspire, inspiration.
phobia = fear. English words include arachnophobia, hydrophobia, coulrophobia, xenophobia.
auto = self. English words include automobile, autobiography,
Week of April 25:
leg = law. English words include legal, legislature, legislation, illegal
vit = life. English words include vital (for example, vital organs, vital signs), vitamins, vitality.
phil = love. English words include Philadelphia, philosophy
mega = large. English words include megaphone, megabytes.
Week of April 18:
aud = hear, listen. English words include audio, auditory, auditorium
vid, vis = see. English words include video, vision, visible
derm = skin. English words include dermatology, dermis, epidermis, dermatitis
log = word, speech. English words = logic, dialogue, monologue. Anything ending in -logy means "study of": biology, geology
Week of April 11:
ped = run. English words include pedestrian, pedal, pedestal
cur = run. English words include cursive, current, courier.
pol, polis = city. English words include politics, Annapolis, Minneapolis, Indianapolis.
cycl = circular. English words include bicycle, tricycle, unicycle, motorcycle, cyclic.
Week of April 4:
cred = believe. English words include credible, incredible, creed
duc, duct = lead. English words include ductile, duct, induction, deduction, conduct
crat, cracy = rule. English words include democracy, democrat
dem = people. English words include democracy, democratic, demographics
Week of February 29:
dic, dict = say or tell. English words include dictation, dictator, indicate, contradict, edict
vers, vert = turn. English words include convert, revert, advertise, conversation, extrovert, introvert.
scope = watch, see. English words include microscope, telescope, stethoscope,
geo = earth. English words include geography, geology,
Week of January 19:
flex, flect = bend. English words include flex, flection, inflection, deflect
therm = hot or heat. English words include thermal, Thermos, thermometer
Week of December 14:
scribe or script = write. English words include describe, description, subscribe, post script (p.s.), Scripture, scribe, script.
stru, struct = build. English words include destruction, structure, instruction, construct.
micro =small. English words include microwave, microscope, microphone, microchip.
hydro = water. English words include hydroplane, hydrate, dehydrated, hydrophobia, hydraulics.
Week of November 30:
tract = to pull, drag, or draw. English words include attract, attractive, tractor, subtract, distract, contraction, contract, detract.
bio - life. English words include biography, autobiography, biology.
Week of November 23:
form = to shape. English words include inform, reform, uniform, deform, transform, formation.
tele = distant. English words include telephone, telegraph, telegram, television.
Week of November 16:
port = carry. English words include portable, airport, support, Portland, port, import, export, report
rupt = break or burst. English words include erupt, disrupt, interrupt, rupture.
photo = light. English words include photograph, photosynthesis.
meter = measure. English words include meter, centimeter, millimeter, metric, barometer.
Week of November 9:
graph = writing. English words include paragraph, graph, photograph, phonograph, autograph, telegraph, biography, geography
Week of November 2:
cent = 100. English words include century, cent, percent
spect = look at. English words include inspect, inspector, spectator, spectacles.
phone = sound. English words include phonogram, phonics, telephone.