Root Words, Prefixes and Suffixes
A root word is the most basic part of a word. You can create new words by: adding a prefix, a group of letters placed before the root word; or a suffix, a group of letters placed at the end of a root word. In this lesson you will learn about root words, prefixes, suffixes, and how to determine the meaning of a word by analyzing these word parts.
Root Words
Root words are found in everyday language. They are the most basic parts of words. Root words in the English language are mostly derived from Latin or Greek. You can add beginnings (prefixes) and endings (suffixes) to root words to change their meanings. To discover what a root word is, simply remove its prefix and/or suffix. What you are left with is the root word, or the core or basis of the word.
At times, root words can be stand-alone words.
Here are some examples of stand-alone root words:
| Stand-Alone Root Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| dress | clothing |
| form | shape |
| normal | typical |
| phobia | fear of |
| port | carry |
Most root words, however, are not stand-alone words. They are not full words on their own, but they still form the basis of other words when you remove their prefixes and suffixes.
Here are some common root words in the English language:
| Root Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ami, amic | love | amicable |
| anni | year | anniversary |
| aud | to hear | auditory |
| bene | good | beneficiary |
| biblio | book | bibliography |
| cap | take, seize | capture |
| cent | one hundred | century |
| chrom | color | chromatic |
| chron | time | chronological |
| circum | around | circumvent |
| cred | believe | credible |
| corp | body | corpse |
| dict | to say | dictate |
| equi | equal | equality |
| fract; rupt | to break | fracture |
| ject | throw | eject |
| mal | bad | malignant |
| min | small | miniature |
| mort | death | mortal |
| multi | many | multiply |
| ped | foot | pedestrian |
| rupt | break | rupture |
| sect | cut | dissect |
| script | write | manuscript |
| sol | sun | solar |
| struct | build | construct |
| terr | earth | terrain |
| therm | heat | thermometer |
| vid, vis | to see | visual |
| voc | voice; to call | vocal |
Prefixes
Prefixes are the letters added to the beginning of a root word to make a new word with a different meaning.
Prefixes on their own have meanings, too. If you add a prefix to a root word, it can change its meaning entirely.
Here are some of the most common prefixes, their meanings, and some examples:
| Prefix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| auto | self | autography |
| con | with | conclude |
| hydro | water | hydrate |
| im, in, non, un | not | unimportant |
| inter | between | international |
| mis | incorrect, badly | mislead |
| over | too much | over-stimulate |
| post | after | postpone |
| pre | before | preview |
| re | again | rewrite |
| sub | under, below | submarine |
| trans | across | transcribe |
Letâs look back at some of the root words from Section 1. By adding prefixes to these root words, you can create a completely new word with a new meaning:
| Root Word | Prefix | New Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| dress (clothing) | un (remove) | undress | remove clothing |
| sect (cut) | inter (between) | intersect | cut across or through |
| phobia (fear) | hydro (water) | hydrophobia | fear of water |
| script (write) | post (after) | postscript | additional remark at the end of a letter |
Suffixes
Suffixes are the letters added to the end of a root word to make a new word with a different meaning.
Suffixes on their own have meanings, too. If you add a suffix to a root word, it can change its meaning entirely.
Here are some of the most common suffixes, their meanings, and some examples:
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| able, ible | can be done | agreeable |
| an, ean, ian | belonging or relating to | European |
| ed | happened in the past | jogged |
| en | made of | wooden |
| er | comparative (more than) | stricter |
| est | comparative (most) | largest |
| ful | full of meaningful | meaningful |
| ic | having characteristics of | psychotic |
| ion, tion, ation, ition | act, process | hospitalization |
| ist | person who practices | linguist |
| less | without | artless |
| logy | study of | biology |
Letâs look back at some of the root words from Section 1. By adding suffixes to these root words, you can create a completely new word with a new meaning:
| Root Word | Suffix | New Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| aud (to hear) | logy (study of) | audiology | the study of hearing |
| form (shape) | less (without) | formless | without a clear shape |
| port (carry) | able (can be done) | portable | able to be carried |
| normal (typical) | ity (state of) | normality | condition of being normal |
Determining Meaning
Knowing the meanings of common root words, prefixes, and suffixes can help you determine the meaning of unknown words. By looking at a wordâs individual parts, you can get a good sense of its definition.
If you look at the word transportation, you can study the different parts of the word to figure out what it means.
If you were to break up the word you would see the following:
| PREFIX: trans = across | ROOT: port = carry | SUFFIX: tion = act or process |
If you put all these word parts together, you can define transportation as: the act or process of carrying something across.
Letâs define some other words by looking at their roots, prefixes and suffixes:
| Word | Prefix | Root | Suffix | Working Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indestructible | in (not) | struct (build) | able (can be done) | Not able to be âunâ built (torn down) |
| nonconformist | non (not) con (with) | form (shape) | ist (person who practices) | A person who can not be shaped (someone who doesnât go along with the norm) |
| subterranean | sub (under, below) | terr (earth) | ean (belonging or relating to) | Relating or belonging to something under the earth |
Letâs Review!
- A root word is the most basic part of a word.
- A prefix is the letters added to beginning of a root word to change the word and its meaning.
- A suffix is the letters added to the end of a root word to change the word and its meaning.
- You can figure out a wordâs meaning by looking closely at its different word parts (root, prefixes, and suffixes).
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