Good morning, folks! I hope you are feeling well and ready for a little bit of word history from Richard Lederer, our local verbivore, author, and columnist. Thanks to Ron F. for saving these articles and sharing them with us! You know me, I love digging into the etymologies of words. This article, Growing Your Vocabulary by Digging Down to the Roots, is a nice demonstration of how knowing the roots of words can help you learn new terms. Let me turn it over to Mr. Lederer:
Words and people have a lot in common. Like people, words are born, grow up, get married, have children and even die. And, like people, words come in families — big and beautiful families. A word family is a cluster of words that are related because they contain the same root. A root is a basic building block of language from which a variety of related words are formed. You can grow your vocabulary by digging down to the roots of an unfamiliar word and identifying the meanings of those roots.
For example, knowing that the roots scribe and script mean “write” will help you to deduce the meanings of a prolific clan of words, including ascribe, conscript, describe, inscribe, manuscript, nondescript, postscript, prescribe, proscribe, scribble, scripture and transcribe. For another example, once you know that dic and dict are roots that mean “speak or say,” you possess a key that unlocks the meanings of dozens of related words, including abdicate, benediction, contradict, dedicate, dictator, Dictaphone, dictionary, dictum, edict, indicate, indict, interdict, jurisdiction, malediction, predict, syndicate, valedictorian, verdict, vindicate and vindictive. [KC – For the full article, click the link above.]
You can expand your verbal powers by learning to look an unfamiliar word squarely in the eye and asking, “What are the roots in the word, and what do they mean?”
Here are 20 word parts descended from either Latin or Greek, each followed by three words containing each root. From the meanings of the clue words, deduce the meaning of each root, as in PHON – microphone, phonics, telephone = sound.
[KC – This is a great exercise to help you learn some important roots. The answers are at the bottom.]
1. AUTO – autobiography, autograph, automaton = _______
2. CHRON – chronic, chronology, synchronize = _______
3. CULP – culpable, culprit, exculpate = _______
4. EU – eugenics, eulogy, euphemism = _______
5. GREG – congregation, gregarious, segregate = _______
6. LOQU – eloquent, loquacious, soliloquy = _______
7. MAGN – magnanimous, magnify, magnitude = _______
8. NOV – innovation, novelty, renovate = _______
9. OMNI – omnipotent, omniscient, omnivorous = _______
10. PHIL – bibliophile, philanthropy, philology = _______
11. SOL – isolate, soliloquy, solitary = _______
12. SOPH – philosopher, sophistication, sophomore = _______
13. TELE – telegraph, telephone, television = _______
14. TEN – tenacious, tenure, untenable = _______
15. TRACT – extract, intractable, tractor = _______
16. VAC – evacuate, vacation, vacuum = _______
17. VERT – convert, introvert, vertigo = _______
18. VIV – survivor, vivacious, vivid = _______
19. VOC – invoke, vocal, vociferous = _______
20. VOL – malevolent, volition, voluntary = _______
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Answers
1. AUTO = self
2. CHRON = time
3. CULP = blame
4. EU = good
5. GREG = kind, species
6. LOQU = speak
7. MAGN = large
8. NOV = new
9. OMNI = all
10. PHIL = love
11. SOL = alone
12. SOPH = wise, wisdom
13. TELE = far away
14. TEN = hold
15. TRACT = pull
16. VAC = empty
17. VERT = turn
18. VIV = life, lively
19. VOC = call, voice
20. VOL = wish
Kara Church
Pronouns: she/her
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