Please pass these to your teacher friends

Dear friends,

 

It would be useful if PNG students and teachers learned the derivation of words based on Latin and Greek roots. Combine these with an understanding of prefixes and suffixes and there is access for all to hundreds of words.

We are long distant members of the Roman Empire that brought Latin to England, France, Italy and Spain. Then Normans came to England and brought French words based on Latin. So English double-dipped into Latin. Australians brought English to Papua New Guinea.

Let us explore a selection of Latin and Greek roots. We have a new way of looking at English. There are not just thousands of words. There are dozens of word groupings.

It would be good if the roots of words were returned to the class room.

Students would enter a new world of language.

 

 

Latin                                      Greek

 

Every day                                   Official & scientific

words                                         words

 

****************

 

Ago (actus) – I do.

agent, act, actor, react, reagent, agile, action, interact,

interaction,

 

Ameas (amat) – Love, happy

amorous, amicable, amamas (tok pisin), amour (French)

amo (Italian), amiable.

 

Arche – rule

Monarchy, oligarchy, anarchy

 

Aster – a star

Aster daisy ( flower looks like a star), asteroid,

astronomy, astrology, asterisk, astronaut

 

Aves –the birds

Aviation, aviary, aviator

 

Baros – weight

Barometer, barometric,

 

Biblos – a book

Bible, bibliography, bibliotheque (French)

 

Cado ( cassus) – I fall

accident, cadence, cascade, decay, decadent, decadence.

occasion,

 

Capio (captus) – I take

Capture, captive, captivate, escape, captivity

 

Caput – the head.

Cap, captain (English), Kapitano (Italian), Kapitain (Spanish) capital,

caption, decapitate, recapitulate.

 

Cedo (cessus)  - I go

Proceed, procession, recede, recession, concede, concession

intercede, intercession, cede, cession, precede, precedent.

 

Centum – a hundred

Century, cent, centurion, centavo (Spanish), centenary,

centenarian

 

Claudo (claussus) - I shut

Exclude, exclusion, include, inclusion, clause, cloister,

recluse,

 

Cor – the heart

Cordial, core, Coeur (French), courage, courageous, courtesy,

Sacre Coeur ( French Catholic)  Cor blimey ( English slang)

 

Corpus – the body

Corporal, corpse, corpulent, corporation. Corps, Corpus Christi

(Italian) , incorporate

 

Culpare – guilty

Culpable, Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa ( Latin Catholic)

 

Curro (cursus) – I run

Current, incur, incursion, recur, recurrent, course, cursory, cursive

discourse, cursor

 

Decim – ten

Decimal, decimate, decade, December (Julian calendar)

 

Demos – the people

Democracy, democratic 

 

Dens (dentis) – a tooth

Dentine, dentist, dental, denture, indent, indentation

 

Dico ( dictus) – I say

Predict, prediction, indict, indictment, diction, indicate,

indication, dicta-phone, dictionary,

 

Duco (ductus) – I lead

Duct, viaduct, oviduct, conduct, conductor, conduction

Duce ( Italian), reduce, reduction, deduce, deduction,

produce, product, production, introduce, introduction.

 

Eo – I go

Exit, exeunt (Shakespeare)

 

Facio ( factus) – I make

Factory, manufacture, facile, faction,

 

Fero ( latus)  - I bear

Refer, transfer, confer, reference, conference, relate,

translate, translation, collate

 

Finis – the end

Finish, pinis (tok pisin), finite, infinite, final, finality,

finissimo (Italian), finale, refine, refinery, finery

 

Flecto (flectus) I bend

Flexible, inflexible, reflect, reflection, deflect, deflection.

flex, inflexion. Reflex

 

Fluo – I flow

Fluid, fluent, fluency, influence, affluent, effluent

 

Fort (fortus) – strong

Fort, fortitude, fortissimo ( Italian),  Codral Forte,

comfort, comfortable.

 

Frango ( fractus) – I break

Fragile, fraction, fracture, fragment, fractious,

 

Fundo (fundus) – I pour

Fund, funnel, profound, refund

 

Ge –the earth

Geology, geography, geophysical,

 

Gradior (gressus) – a slope

Grade, gradual, gradient, gradually, degrade,

progress,

 

Grapho – I write

Photograph, telegraph, graph, graphite, graphic,

 

Homeo – the same

Homo sapiens, homophobia, homosexual, homogeneous

 

Jacio (jectus) – I throw

Inject, injection, project, projection, projector, reject, rejection

eject, ejection, ejaculate, deject, conjecture, interject, interjection

 

Judes – a judge

Judiciary, judge, judicial, judgment

 

Jungo (jungtus) – I join

Junction, juncture, adjunct, injunction, conjunction

 

Legis – law

Legal, illegal, legislate, legislation, legislature

 

Lego (lectus) - I gather

Lecture, college, religion, lecturn, collect, collection

 

Logos – a study or discourse

Biology, astrology, geology, anthropology, anthology,

monologue, catalogue, dialogue, epilogue

 

Luna – the moon

Lunar, la lune (French), lunatic (people believed to go

mad a the full moon)

 

Manus – the hand

Manual, manuscript, manage, management

 

Mater – a mother

Maternal, matron, ma’am, mama,

 

Metron – a measure

Meter, barometer, anemometer, thermometer,

 

Mitto (missus) –I send

Emit, emission, transmit, transmission, promise, commit, admit,

committee, commission,  admission, permit, permission

 

Moveo – I move

Mobile, automobile, mobility, immobile, movie

 

Nascor (nativitis) - I am born

Native, national, international, nativity, felice nativitat (Spanish) 

 

Pars (partus) – a part

Part, particle, particular, partition, participate, apartment, compartment,

repartee, separate, separation, impart

 

Pater – a father

Papa, paternal, patron, pastor,

 

Pathos – feeling

Pathos, pathetic, sympathy, apathy, empathy, antipathy

 

Pax – peace

Peace, compassion, Pacific Ocean, pacify, pacification

 

Pendeo (pendus) – I hang down

Pendant, pensive, penis, pendulum, suspend, penchant

 

Pes (pedus) – a foot

Pedal, pedestrian, pedometer

 

Phonos – sound

Telephone, phonetics, phone,

 

Phos – light

Photograph, phosphorus, photosynthesis, photogenic

 

Pleo – I fill

Complement, implement, implementation, supplement

 

Plico – I fold

Application, apply, reply, imply

 

Porto (portus)  - I carry

Port, report, transport, transportation, import, importation,

export, exportation, deport, deportation, deportee, important.

 

Premo (pressus) – I press

Press, pressure, express, depress, impresario (Italian) supreme,

impress, impression, compression

 

Primus – first

Prime, primary, primeval, primitive, imprimateur

 

Rex (regis) – a rule

Regal, vice-regal, tyrannosaurus rex

 

Polis – a city

Police, metropolis, metropolitan,

 

Pono (possus)  - I place

Postpone, opponent, expose, impose, repose, depose, deposit,

composite, composition,  position, expose

 

Sacre – holy

Sacred, sacristy, Sacred Coeur ( Catholic French)        

 

Scando (scandus) – I climb

Ascend, ascent, descend, descent, scandal

 

Skopeo - I view

Telescope, periscope, microscope, scope,

 

Secto (cidus)_ - I cut or kill

Dissect, dissection, bisect, intersect, intersection, suicide,

genocide, insecticide, spermacide, resection, section, sector,

sect, insect

 

Scribo ( scriptus) – I write

Describe, description, inscribe, inscription, conscription, scribe

scripture, scribble, prescribe, prescription, script

 

Specio (spectus) I see

Special, specialty, inspect, inspection, respect, spectacles, species,

introspect, introspection

 

Tango (tangus) - I touch

Tangible, intangible, tactile, tact, tactless

 

Tenio (tendus) – I hold

Tender, tendon, extend, intend, intention, contend, contention,

pretend, pretension, portend, tension, extension 

 

Terra – the earth

Terrestrial, terra firma, inter, interred, interment, extra- terrestrial,

Mediterranean ( middle of the earth) Terra nova, subterranean

 

Therme – heat

Thermal, thermometer, hypothermia, thermostat

 

Traho (tractus) – I draw

Tractor, traction, contract, extract, retract, contraction, retraction,

detract, detraction, distract, distraction

 

Video (vissus) – I see

Video player, DVD, vision, visible, invisible, revise, advice,

advise,

 

Venio – I come

Venture, convene, convention, invent, convent, veni-vidi-vinci

(I came- I saw- I conquered), prevent.

 

Verto (versus) – I turn

Revert, reverse, inverse, converse, convert, conversion, versus

 

Vinco -_I conquer

Convince, vanquish, invincible, HMS Invincible.

 

Volvo (volvus) – I roll

Revolve, revolver, Volvo car, involve, revolution, convolution,

convolvulus (flower)

 

Zoon – an animal

Zoo, zoology, zooplankton, zoological, spermatozoa, protozoan

 

If you are interested in words, please keep these on your computer and run your eye down the list from time to time. I learned these words from Grades 7-12 from 1958 to 1963. I will never forget. 

 

 

Regards,

 

 

Bruce Copeland BA BEdSt