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refixes and suffixes attach to word roots—the base parts of words that
typically convey the bulk of their meaning. The more word roots you know,
the more you will be able to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and the
better you will understand words you already know. This chapter examines some
common Latin and Greek word roots.
Just as many Americans have their roots in other countries, so, too, do many of
the words in the English language. In fact, most English words have been borrowed
from other languages throughout the centuries, and English is composed largely of
words built upon root words from other cultures. The two most important cate-
gories of roots to learn are Latin and Greek roots because so many English words
are built upon Latin and Greek word bases. For example, manual and manufacture
share the Latin root man, meaning hand; anonymous and synonym share the Greek
root nom/nym, meaning name.
Needless to say, the more roots you know, the stronger your vocabulary will be.
As you break down unfamiliar words into their parts, you will be more likely to rec-
ognize the roots and therefore more accurately determine meaning. You will also
have a better understanding of the words you already know.
Just as you can better understand a person by learning about that person’s past,
you can also better understand words and more effectively build your vocabulary
by learning about the history of words. The study of word origins and development
Word Roots
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