Do you know what a root word is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on root words, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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December 31, 2021 -
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What is a root word?
According to Your Dictionary, a root word is a word or word part that forms the basis of new words through the addition of prefixes and suffixes. These often come from Latin and Greek, and typically do not stand alone as a complete word. They can help us understand the meanings of new words. While they are similar, a root word is not the same thing as a suffix, though they are both a building block of English grammar. Common suffixes include ive, al, en, ing, ion, tion, ly, est, ful, ment, ity, ible, es, ed, and more. There are also many prefixes. Common prefixes include im, and more.
Many different languages also contain words that mean root word. You may notice that some of these translations of root word look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of root word is provided by Word Sense.
- Hungarian: szótő
- Russian: ко́рень (masc.), ко́рни (masc. pl.)
- Hebrew: שורש (masc.) (shoresh)
- Greek: ρίζα (fem.)
- Portuguese: raiz (fem.)
- Swedish: rot, ordrot
- Yiddish: שורש, וואָרצל (masc.
- Dutch: stam (masc.)
- Finnish: juuri, kantasana, kanta
- Irish: stoc (masc.)
- Mandarin: 詞根, 词根 (cígēn)
- Turkish: köken
- Armenian: արմատ
- Spanish: raíz (fem.)
- Persian: ریشه (riša)
- Slovene: koren (masc.)
- French: racine (fem.), mot souche (masc.)
- Welsh: gwreiddyn (masc.)
- Scottish Gaelic: freumh (masc.)
- Bashkir: тамыр
- Arabic: أَصْل (masc.) ((plural) أُصُول (masc. pl.))
- German: Stamm (masc.)
What are examples of root words?
A root word can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of root word that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Take a look at the following root word examples from Your Dictionary and Reading Rockets and see how many you can identify the root word in!
- phobia – fear – claustrophobia, phobic
- acri – bitter (acrid, acrimony, acridity)
- act – to move or do (actor, acting, reenact)
- form – shape – conform, reform
- auto – self – autobiography, automobile
- graph – writing – graphic, phonograph
- vid/vis – to see – video, televise
- port – carry (portal, portable, transport)
- contra/counter – against – contradict, encounter
- multi – many (multilingual, multiple, multifaceted)
- graph/graphic – to write (autograph, spirograph)
- cede – to go or yield (intercede, recede, concede)
- micro – small – microbe, microscope
- legal – related to the law (illegal, legalities, paralegal)
- homo – same – homonym, homogenous
- logy – study of – biology, psychology
- morph – form; shape – morphology, morphing, morpheme
- script – to write (manuscript, postscript, scripture)
- sect – cut apart (dissect, sectional, transect)
- nym – name – antonym, synonym
- derm – skin (dermatitis, dermatology, epidermis)
- anthropo – man; human; humanity – anthropologist, philanthropy
- mis/miso – hate – misanthrope, misogyny
- ambi – both – ambiguous, ambidextrous
- fac – to do; to make – factory, manufacture
- mit – to send – transmit, admit
- ego – I (egotist, egocentric, egomaniac)
- multi – many – multimedia, multiple
- pater – father – paternal, paternity
- struct – to build – destruction, restructure
- lum – light (lumen, luminary, luminous)
- tele – far (telephone, telegraph, television)
- psycho – soul; spirit – psychology, psychic
- dyna – power – dynamic, dynamite
- tele – far off – television, telephone
- fract – to break – fracture, fraction
- aqua – water – aquarium, aquamarine
- micro – small (microbiology, microcosm, microscope, microwave)
- ject – to throw (reject, eject, inject)
- scrib – to write (inscription, prescribe)
- hydr – water – hydration, dehydrate
- cred – believe (credible, credence, incredible)
- scrib/scribe – to write – inscription, prescribe
- pater – father (paternal, paternity, patriarch)
- circum – around – circumference, circumstance
- mater – mother – material, maternity
- gram – thing written – epigram, telegram
- bene – good (benefactor, benevolent, beneficial)
- astro – star (astronaut, astronomy, astrophysics, astrology)
- jud – judge – judicial, prejudice
- carn – flesh (carnal, carnivorous, reincarnate)
- sent – to feel (consent, sensation, sensing)
- anti – against (anticapitalist, antagonist, antifreeze, antithesis)
- rupt – to break – bankrupt, disruption
- counter – against or opposite (counteract, counterpoint, counterargument)
- vor – to eat (herbivore, omnivore, voracious)
- hetero – different – heteronym, heterogeneous
- meter/metr – measure – thermometer, perimeter
- bio – life – biology, biography
- auto – self (autonomy, autocrat, automatic)
- mal – bad (malignant, malfunction, malice)
- sent – to feel; to send – consent, resent
- phil – love – philanthropist, philosophy
- pseudo – false – pseudonym, pseudoscience
- mal – bad – malevolent, malefactor
- chron – time – chronological, chronic
- cardio – heart (cardiovascular, electrocardiogram, cardiology)
- crypt – to hide (apocryphal, cryptic, cryptography)
- fac – to do (factory, faculty, faction)
- mit – to send (transmit, admit, submit)
- mort – death – mortal, mortician
- port – to carry – portable, transportation
- omni – all (omnipotent, omnipresent, omnivore)
- phon – sound – phone, symphony, microphone
- aud – to hear – audience, audition
- sen – old (senator, senile, senior)
- meter – measure (kilometer, millimeter, pedometer)
- techno – art; science; skill – technique, technological
- hypno – sleep (hypnosis, hypnotic, hypnotism)
- form – shape (conform, formulate, reform)
- ject – throw – projection, rejection
- bene – good – benefactor, benevolent
- corp – body (corporal, corporate, corpse)
- dys – bad; hard; unlucky – dysfunctional, dyslexic
- cent – one hundred – century, percent
- dem – people (democracy, democrat, demographic)
- dict – say (diction, dictate, edict)
- equi – equal (equity, equilateral, equidistant)
- hypo – below; beneath – hypothermia, hypothetical
- fort – strength – fortitude, fortress
- aud – hear (audience, audible, audio)
- magni – big or great (magnificent, magnify, magnitude)
- dict – to say – dictation, dictator
- arbor – tree (arboreal, arboretum, arborist)
- therm – heat – thermal, thermometer
- mono – one – monologue, monotonous
- voc – voice; to call – vocalize, advocate
- ambul – to move or walk (ambulance, ambulate)
- norm – typical (abnormal, normality, paranormal)
- duc/duct – to lead – conduct, induce
- spect – to look – inspection, spectator
- phobia – fear (arachnophobia, claustrophobia, hydrophobia)
- scope – viewing (telescope, microscope, periscope, retrospect)
- intra – within or into (intrapersonal, intramural, intravenous)
- photo/phos – light – photograph, phosphorous
- sect/sec – to cut – bisect, section
- scope – viewing instrument – microscope, telescope
- gen – birth (genesis, genetics, generate, gene)
- vis, vid – to see (envision, evident, vision)
Overall, a root word is a Latin or Greek work that produces other words in the English language.
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