Etymology: The Study of Word Origins and Root Words

Etymology:The Study of Word Origins and

Root Words

Identify common Greek and Latin roots in selected words.

Recognize these roots in words families.

Apply knowledge of roots to determine word meaning and use in writing.

www.signingtime.com

RPDP Secondary Literacy

Where do words come from?Where do words come from?

Why do different languages share Why do different languages share similar words for the same things?similar words for the same things?


No Internet because there are no computers!

No video games either!


No homework assignments!

No big reports to write!

No books to read!

No newspapers – not even the sports!


No words for any of your favorite songs – just music!



The answers to these questions lie in the

study of etymologystudy of etymology..

This is the study of the origins of wordsorigins of words and how they evolved

over time.

www.wordfocus.com


The word etymology is derived from the Greek etumos which means real or true.

The ending ‘ology’ suggests the study or science of something, as in biology or geology.

That is the etymology of etymology.


What is etymology?What is etymology?

Here is an example:

The Ancient Greek word hippos means horse.

And potamus means river.

Hippopotamus literally means river horse.


Malarian. Infectious disease characterized

by chills and fever caused by the bite of an infected mosquito.

This word comes from the mediaeval Italian mal (=bad) and aria (=air)


What do you have in common with Julius Caesar?

JuliusCaesar/tvminiseries/c.2002


Let’s think about this for a minute. Have you ever been -

• A dictator of a great empire?

• A Roman general?

• A close friend of Cleopatra?

• Captured by pirates and held for ransom?

• Had your name become an actual title?

• Had any coins bearing your likeness?


Did you answer yes to any of these questions?


Can you think of what you and he

have in common?


Been a world conqueror?

Been the son of a king?

Traveled over 22,000 miles on horseback or on foot?

Founded 70 cities and named them after yourself?

Grown up believing that you were the son of Zeus, king of all Greek gods?

Added the words “the Great” to your name?

RPDP Secondary Literacy www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing.html

RPDP Secondary LiteracyPhoto © I1996 IncWell

The answer is WORDS.WORDS.

You have probably spoken hundreds,

maybe even thousands,

of the same words as both Caesar and

Alexander.

RPDP Secondary Literacywww.wordfocus.com


Latin was the language of ancient Rome.

As the Romans conquered Europe, the Latin language spread.

Since England was part of the Roman Empire for close to 400 years, Latin was its written language.

RPDP Secondary Literacywww.hyperhistory.com/online_2/maptext


English did not develop only from Latin.

• Early English was the language of tribes who invaded England from the East, from what is now Germany.

• This tells us why words in German and English are often similar.


In the 11th century, when the French invaded England, many French words were also introduced.

Over time, many more words were introduced into English from other European countries.


For hundreds of years after the fall of the Roman Empire, Latin was thelanguage of education and knowledge in Europe.

This explains why so many terms weuse connected with knowledge, religion, or education are of Latin origin.


During the 17th and 18th centuries, dictionary writers and grammarians felt that English was an imperfect language and Latin was perfect.

To improve the English language, they made up many English words from Latin roots.


They used Greek roots also sinceGreek was considered thelanguage of the arts.

The Greeks were the first Europeans to use an alphabet, to theorize about language, and toframe language categories.


• a part of a word

• the part that carries the most meaning

• often called a base word when it’s a complete word

• by itself usually not a word


• Main part of word

• Must have at least one in a word

• In English, limited to two in a word

• Simple words have one root

• Compound words have two roots


At least half of the words in the English language are derived from

Greek and Latin rootsGreek and Latin roots.

Knowing these roots helps us understand the meaning of

words beforebefore we look them up in the dictionary.


A base word is a word part that by itself is also a word:

Partition has the base word part and means

“to divide into parts.”

part ition


hiero glyth

A root is a word part that is used to form other words.

A root by itself is usually not a word:

Hieroglyph has the root word hiero and the root glyph. Hiero means “sacred”

and glyph means “carving.” Hieroglyph means “a carved symbol in the sacred

writing of ancient Egypt.”


If you want to learn 20 – 30 new words, you can spend time memorizing

their definitions.

But in a few days you’ll probably forget most of their meanings.



The Latin root ‘port’ means to carry.

Knowing the root can help you unlock the meaning of many related words with the same root.


porter

portable

importable

import

export

exportable

deport

deportation

important

report

reporter

importer

portage

portfolio


A porter is a person employed to carry burdens, such as luggage.

Important means great significance or value.

Portable means easy to move or carry.

Report means to carry back and repeat information.


See how easy it is when you know the root word ‘port’ means to carry?


Latin root Basic

meaning Example words

-dict- to say contradict, dictate, diction, edict, predict

-duc- to lead, bring, take

deduce, produce, reduce

-gress- to walk digress, progress, transgress

-ject- to throw eject, inject, interject, project, reject, subject

-pel- to drive compel, dispel, impel, repel

-pend- to hang append, depend, impend, pendant, pendulum

-port- to carry comport, deport, export, import, report, support

-scrib-, -script-

to write describe, description, prescribe, prescription, subscribe, subscription, transcribe, transcription

-tract- to pull, drag, draw

attract, contract, detract, extract, protract, retract, traction

-vert- to turn convert, divert, invert, revert


Greek root Basic meaning Example words

-anthrop- human misanthrope, philanthropy, anthropomorphic

-chron- time anachronism, chronic, chronicle, synchronize, chronometer

-dem- people democracy, demography, demagogue, endemic, pandemic

-morph- form amorphous, metamorphic, morphology

-path- feeling, suffering empathy, sympathy, apathy, apathetic, psychopathic

-pedo-, -ped- child, children pediatrician, pedagogue

-philo-, -phil- having a strong affinity or love for

philanthropy, philharmonic, philosophy

-phon- sound polyphonic, cacophony, phonetics


The root ‘am’ means love or friend.

Select the best meaning of the word

friendly.

A. amend

B. ambition

C. amicable

D. ambush


The root ‘am’ means love or friend.

Select the best meaning of the word

friendly.

A. amend

B. ambition

C. amicable

D. ambushHow did you do?How did you do?


You could have looked at the part of speech of

friendly.

You see a suffix ending. The –ly (meaning like) tells you this word must be an adjective or an adverb, both parts of speech used to describe someone or something.

The suffix ending –able (meaning capable of) should also tell you this word is an adjective.


If you understand that there are two

Latin roots that mean light:

luc- and lum-

you can begin to figure out some ofthe meanings of the words below. luminous lucid luminescent luminousness

illuminate luminaria translucent illumination


The Latin roots ‘pod’ and ‘ped’ mean foot. Knowing this, you will be able to figure out the meanings of each of these words:

podiatrist = treats foot ailments

pedestrian = person who walks

pedicure = care of the feet

pedal = lever worked by the foot

quadruped = animal with four feet

RPDP Secondary Literacyschool.discovery.com/clipart/category/lang.html


It’s interesting that the word for friend

in Spanish is amigo.

Both English and Spanish share the same root:

‘am.’


Spanish is a language that evolved from Latin over the last 2,000 years.

English borrowed thousands of words from Latin, many of them the same words that Spanish uses.

Both languages have also borrowed many words from Greek.


English Spanishfamily familiacenter centroradio radioclass clase

desert desiertomagic magiagorilla gorila


Use your Spanish language skills to help you unlock the

meaning of new words in English.

Ask yourself – Does this look a lot like a word I know in Spanish?


English words with the same base word or root word often have related meanings. When they do, they make up what’s called a word family.

Knowing the meaning of the base word or root can help you figure out the meanings of the words in the family.


BASE WORD

light

light

lightlightlight

en mentflood

-yearspot

BASE WORD

spect

spectspectspectspect

aclepro

in orator


Here’s another word family that shares the Latin root pos meaning

to put or to place.

positionim pos

pos

pos

pro e

trans e

de it

pos

pos

pos

posim e

ture

itivepre ition


imposition = a burden or unfair demand placed on someone

impose = to place a burden or unfair demand

posture = to put or place the body in a certain position

deposit = to put or set down; to place



Let’s stop a minute for some educational trivia about

Julius Caesar.


Do you remember our question about being kidnapped by

pirates?

Improving

Vocabulary

Lesson


Caesar and the Pirates

As a young man, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates. When they demanded a ransom of 20 talents (nearly 5,000 gold coins), he laughed at them, saying they did not know whom they had captured. Instead, Caesar ordered them to ask for 50 (12,000 gold coins).


Caesar and the Pirates

The pirates accepted, and Caesar sent his followers to various cities to collect the ransom money.

Thirty-eight days later, they returned with the ransom and Caesar was set free.


Improving Vocabulary:Improving Vocabulary:

• Etymology

• Root Words

• Base Words

• Cognates

• Word Families

Documents

Etymology: The Study of Word Origins and Root Words