Vocabulary

All vocabulary from each unit and lesson can be found here.

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Unit 1

Lesson 1

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
bi(o) Greek life biology
log(y) Greek study of, reason, word logical
phot(o) Greek light photograph
therm(o) Greek heat thermometer
gno Greek to know agnostic
(a)esth Greek to feel, to perceive aesthetic
macr(o) Greek large macroeconomics
micr(o) Greek small microscope
scop Greek to see, to look at stethoscope
morph Greek shape, form metamorphosis
poly Greek many polygraph
olig Greek few oligarchy
phob(ia) Greek fear, fear of hydrophobia
graph Greek to write seismograph
op(s/t) Greek to see, vision optical
hyper Greek over, above, excessive hyperbole
hypo Greek under, beneath, below hypothermia
amphi Greek both, double amphitheatre
vit(a) Latin life vitality
omni Latin everything, all omniscient
aqu(a) Latin water aquarium
terra Latin earth terrarium
frug/fruct Latin fruit fructose
con(i) Latin cone conifer
mel(l) Latin honey mellifluous
fer Latin to carry, carrier conference
multi Latin many multipurpose
magn(i) Latin large magnitude
parv(o) Latin small parvovirus
vidi/visi Latin to see visible
port(o/a) Latin to bring, to carry transport
able/ible Latin able, capable ability
mobl/mobil Latin to move automobile
pos(t)/posit Latin to put, to place position
super Latin over, above excessive supercede
ambi Latin both, double ambiguous
trans Latin across translucent

Lesson 2

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
hypn(o) Greek sleep hypnosis
cine/kine Greek movement kinetic
dynam Greek power dynamic
erg Greek energy ergonomic
the Greek to put, to place thesis
meter/metry Greek measurement geometry
path(o) Greek feeling, disease pathology
hydr(o) Greek water hydrant
neur(o) Greek nerve neurosis
top(o) Greek place, location topology
spher(e) Greek sphere, globe hemisphere
trop Greek to turn thermotropism
cata Greek against, very, down catastrophe
dia Greek through, across diagonal
tele Greek far, from afar telepathy
phon Greek sound, voice, speech phonics
meta Greek with, beyond, after metastasize
syn/sym Greek together, with synthesize
a/an Greek not, without asexual
anti Greek against, opposed to antitoxin
somn(i) Latin sleep insomnia
scrib/script Latin to write, written prescribe
sens/sent Latin to feel, to perceive sentient
corp Latin body corporeal
spir Latin breath, to breathe respirator
spect Latin to look inspect
labi(a) Latin lips labial
dent Latin tooth dentist
loc Latin place location
mar Latin ocean marine
cal(or) Latin heat calorie
fac(t)/fec(t) Latin to make factory
tend(e/o) Latin to stretch extend
vert/vers Latin to turn invert
a/ab Latin down from, away from abduct
e/ex Latin out of, outside, former expel
inter Latin between international
intra Latin within intramural
de Latin down from, out of deduce
circu(m) Latin around circumscribe
ad* Latin to, towards advance
sub* Latin beneath, below, under substitute
con/com* Latin with concur
in* Latin into, inside, on include
in* Latin not, without include
ob* Latin against, facing obtuse

Lesson 3

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
pod/pus Greek foot octopus
derm Greek skin dermatology
phys Greek nature physical
zoo Greek animal zoology
arthr Greek joints arthritis
botan(e) Greek plants, herbs botany
sarc Greek flesh sarcophagus
cyt(e) Greek cell cytology
ethn(o) Greek nation, people, race ethnic
gymn Greek naked gymnast
proto Greek first proton
sta(s/t) Greek to stand static
plas(t) Greek to make, to form plastic
tom(y) Greek to cut anatomy
ana Greek up to, up from anabolic
endo Greek inside endoderm
exo Greek outside exoskeleton
ec(s) Greek out of ecstasy
en Greek within, into endemic
spec(i) Latin type, species species
gen(e) Latin family, clan, type genetics
bacter Latin rod bacteria
verb Latin word verbal
cut(a) Latin skin cuticle
scien(t) Latin to know scientist
sapien(t) Latin to be wise sapience
audi(t) Latin to hear auditory
ora(t) Latin mouth oral
natur(a) Latin nature, habit nature
pend Latin to hang suspend
flex/flect Latin to bend inflect
re Latin again renew
retro Latin backwards retrograde

Lesson 4

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
tax(i/o) Greek ordering, arrangement taxidermy
nom(y/ics) Greek law, method, practice astronomy
psych Greek mind, soul psychology
odon(t) Greek tooth orthodontics
ot(o) Greek ear otodus
(h)aem(o) Greek blood haemoglobin
chrom(o) Greek color chromatic
(o)ec Greek home, dwelling economics
mast(o) Greek breast, teat mastectomy
megal(o) Greek large, big megalodon
aut(o) Greek oneself, one’s own automatic
heter(o) Greek different, other heterosexual
hom(o/eo) Greek same, like homophone
all(o) Greek other allele
mon(o) Greek one, single monochrome
phil(o) Greek to love, to like philosophy
phag(o) Greek to eat phagocyte
troph(o) Greek to nourish, to feed autotroph
eu Greek good, well euphemism
dys Greek bad, disordered dyslexia
form Latin shape, form formation
speci(e) Latin appearance, form, quality specific
gen(e) Latin clan, type, origin genetics
mamm(o) Latin breast, teat mammal
carn(i) Latin meat carnal
herb(i) Latin plant herbal
equ(i/a) Latin equal, same equivalent
vor(a/e) Latin to eat voracious
dic(t) Latin to speak, to say diction
contr(o/a) Latin against, opposite controversy
dis/di/dif Latin apart from, separately divide
post Latin after postscript

Lesson 5

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
leuk/c Greek white leukemia
erythr(o) Greek red erythrophobia
melan(o) Greek black melanin
xanth(o) Greek yellow, gold xanthosis
chrys(o) Greek gold chrysalis
phoenic(o) Greek crimson, bright red phoenix
rhod(o) Greek pink, rosy rhododendron
glauc/k Greek grey, silver glaucoma
chlor(o) Greek green chlorophyll
actin Greek ray (like the sun) actinost
onco Greek mass, bulk oncologist
sem(a/o) Greek flag, banner semaphore
lepid(o) Greek scale (as of a fish) leprosy
cole(o) Greek sheath coleoptile
theca Greek case apothecary
hyb(o) Greek hump Hybodus
dros(o) Greek dew, dewdrops drosometer
platy Greek flat platypus
brachy Greek short brachyodont
acr(o) Greek high, tall acropolis
tachy Greek fast tachyon
brady Greek slow bradylogia
ambly Greek dull amblyacusia
carchar Greek sharp, jagged carcharias
alb Latin white albino
rub/ruf Latin red rubella
nigr Latin black nigrescent
cyan(o) Latin blue cyanide
flav(o) Latin yellow flavin
candid(o) Latin bright, white candid
virid Latin green viridian
purpur(eo) Latin purple purpurescent
scut(a) Latin shield scute
squam(a) Latin scale (as of a fish) squamous
bulb Latin onion, onion-like bulbous
set(a) Latin bristle setaceous
flor(a) Latin flower floral
fol(li) Latin leaf foliage
stri(a) Latin groove, stripe striated
rotund Latin round rotunda
long Latin long elongate
brev(i) Latin short brevity
parv(o) Latin small parvovirus
magn(i/o) Latin large magnitude
alt(o) Latin tall, deep altitude

Unit 2

Lesson 6

This lesson also contains many definitions for endings, which are best referenced on the individual lesson page.

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
thea Greek to view, to watch theatrics
gam(e) Greek to marry, to join monogamy
lex(i) Greek to read lexicon
ly(s) Greek to dissolve, to loosen dialysis
zym(e) Greek fermented, leaven enzyme
petr/peter Greek rock saltpeter
rhe(u)/rrh(ea) Greek to flow rheumatism
rhythm Greek regularity, flow rhythmic
mol(e) Latin weight, heaviness molar
dorm/dormit Latin to sleep dormant
fort/fors Latin strong fortissimo
simil/sembl Latin alike, similar similarity
sid/sed Latin to sit sediment
mo(v/t) Latin to move movement
capt/cept Latin to catch, to get capture
curr Latin to run current
centr Latin middle, center central
cur Latin to care for, to oversee curator
serv Latin to serve, to save servant
ag/act(i) Latin to do, to drive, to force agent
duc(t) Latin to lead ductile

Lesson 7

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
hemi Greek half hemisphere
mono Greek one monotone
di(ch) Greek two dichotomy
tri Greek three tricolor
tetr(a) Greek four tetrapod
pent(a) Greek five pentathlon
hex(a) Greek six hexahedron
hept(a) Greek seven heptagon
oct(a) Greek eight octane
enne(a) Greek nine enneagram
dec(a) Greek ten decade
hect(a) Greek one hundred hectacre
kil(o) Greek one thousand kilobyte
prot(o) Greek first proton
deut(er) Greek second deuteragonist
semi Latin half semicolon
uni Latin one universe
du(o) Latin two duality
bi Latin two binary
tri Latin three tricolor
quad/quatr Latin four quadratic
quinqu Latin five quinqueped
sex Latin six sexagenarian
sept Latin seven September
oct Latin eight October
nov(em) Latin nine November
dec(i) Latin ten December
cent(i) Latin one hundred century
mill(i) Latin one thousand millipede
prim(a) Latin first primal
second/secund Latin second secondary
terti/tern Latin third, third time, thrice tertiary, ternary
quart/quatern Latin fourth, fourth time, four times quaternary, quarter
quint/quin Latin fifth, fifth time, five times quintuplet
sext Latin sixth sextet
septim Latin seventh septimal
octav Latin eighth octave
non Latin ninth nonagenarian
decim Latin tenth decimal

Lesson 8

This lesson also contains a table of diminutives, which are best referenced on the individual lesson page.

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
lith Greek stone monolith
heli(o) Greek sun heliotrope
hal Greek salt halite
(di)dym Greek twin didymous
iso Greek equal isosceles
ne(o) Greek new neonatal
oxy Greek sharp, sour oxygen
calyp(s/t) Greek hidden Calypso
gen Greek to create, to produce generate
phor/pher Greek to bear, to carry metaphor
ion Greek to go ionic
apo Greek away apotheosis
es/eis Greek to, towards, into esoteric
epi Greek on, upon, to epidemic
para Greek next to, beside, disordered parasocial
peri Greek around perimeter
pro(s) Greek in front of, in addition to prologue
calc Latin limestone calcium
val Latin strength, capacity, ability valor
cut/cuss Latin to hit percussion
flu Latin to flow fluid
mon(it) Latin to warn, to advise, to suggest admonish
extr(a/o) Latin outside, beyond extravagant
infr(a) Latin below infrastructure
ultr(a) Latin above, exceeding ultrasonic
per Latin each, through, completely permeate
pr(a)e Latin before, ahead of preside

Lesson 9

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
aer Greek air, gas aerate
pyr(o) Greek fire pyromania
techn(o) Greek skill technology
onym Greek name homonym
soph Greek wisdom sophisticated
arch(ae) Greek old, ancient, beginning archaeology
pale(o) Greek old paleography
ont Greek being ontology
(h)od Greek road, way diode
quant Latin number, count, amount quantity
still(a) Latin drop (as of liquids) distill
anim(a) Latin soul, spirit animate
nomin/nomen Latin name nominate
lust(e)r Latin light (n.) luster
hum(o/i) Latin moisture humid
nov Latin new renovate
pract Latin to do, to act practice
sequ(e) Latin to follow sequence
mit(t)/mis(s) Latin to send submit
tract/trah Latin to drag tractor
vect/veh Latin to carry convection
ced(e)/cess Latin to withdraw, to yield concede

Lesson 10

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
irid/iris Greek rainbow, colorful, iris iridescent
mer Greek part polymer
mes Greek middle Mesoamerica
krypt/crypt Greek hidden krypton
bar(i/y) Greek heavy barometer
iod(e) Greek violet iodine
brom Greek stench, stink bromide
cycl(o/e) Greek circle bicycle
mall(e) Latin hammer mallet
tellu(r/s) Latin earth tellurian
nucle(us) Latin nut, nutshell nucleus
radi(o) Latin ray (as of the sun) radiant
med/mid(i) Latin middle median
fug(a) Latin to flee, to go away from fugue
pet(it) Latin to seek, to go towards petition
gress/grade Latin to go, to advance progress

Unit 3

Lesson 11

Root Language of origin Meaning Example
icos(a) Greek 20 icosahedron
(a)gon Greek angle pentagon
arithm(o) Greek number arithmetic
scel(e/o) Greek leg isosceles
stoich(io) Greek element, part stoichiometry
iso Greek equal isometric
gram Greek written telegram
hist(o) Greek standing, to stand histogram
schem(a) Greek shape schematics
hedron Greek geometric solid with X faces hexahedron
orth(o) Greek straight, regular orthodontics
ster(eo) Greek solid, stiff stereotype
pto/pit(e) Greek to fall peripiteia
ball/bol(e/a) Greek to throw hyperbole
ten(u/e) Greek to stretch tenuous
math(e) Greek to learn mathematics
lips(e)/laps(e) Greek to fall relapse
(h)eur(o) Greek to find, to discover eureka