{"id":15,"date":"2017-09-04T05:49:35","date_gmt":"2017-09-04T05:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/?page_id=15"},"modified":"2017-09-18T13:42:21","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T13:42:21","slug":"stuck-on-you-roots-affixes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/stuck-on-you-roots-affixes\/","title":{"rendered":"Stuck on You: Roots & Affixes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a>\u00a0Workshop Index<\/a>\u00a0Next Lesson \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Stuck on You: Roots & Affixes<\/h1>\n

Objective<\/h3>\n

Review important roots and affixes and learn vocabulary strategies associated with these morphemes.<\/p>\n

Parsing roots and affixes (prefixes and suffixes) can help determine the meaning of other complex\u00a0words.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s All Greek to Me<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many words of Greek origin have come to English via other languages. Everyday words derived from Greek\u00a0offer a starting point from which to understand more difficult words. Greek affixes and roots often\u00a0appear in combination with each other. For example:<\/p>\n

epi<\/em> (on, at, besides, after) + temnein <\/em>(to cut) = epitome<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

eu<\/em> (good, well) + phanai <\/em>(speech) = euphemism<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

eu<\/em> (good, well) + phor<\/em> (to bear) = euphoria, euphoric<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

meta <\/em> (beyond) + phor<\/em> (to bear) = metaphor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

soph<\/em> (wise) + moros<\/em> (fool) = sophomore, sophomoric<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here is a chart including several other examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Root<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Affix<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Example<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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anthropo<\/em> (man)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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logia<\/em> (study)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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anthropology <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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sunkrasis <\/em> (mixture)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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idio<\/em> (personal, private)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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idiosyncratic <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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morph<\/em> (form, shape)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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meta<\/em> (beyond)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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metamorphosis <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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gyne<\/em> (woman)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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mis<\/em> (hate, wrong)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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misogyny <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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glotta<\/em> (language, tongue)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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poly<\/em> (many)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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polyglot <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Latin Lovers<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with Greek, Latin roots and affixes most often appear in combination. For example:<\/p>\n

bene<\/em> (good, well) + dicere <\/em>(to speak) = benediction<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

con<\/em> (with, together) + vincere<\/em> (conquer) = convince,\u00a0conviction<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

e<\/em> (out) + ducere<\/em> (to lead) = educe, educate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

inter <\/em> (between) + capere<\/em> (to take, seize) = intercede, intercept<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

male<\/em> (bad) + velle <\/em>(to want) = malevolence, malevolent<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here is a chart including several other examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Root<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Affix<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Example<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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mittere<\/em> (to send)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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ad<\/em> (to, toward)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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admit, admission <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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cedere<\/em> (to go)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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ante<\/em> (before)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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antecede, antecedent <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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libra<\/em> (scale)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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de<\/em> (down)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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deliberate, deliberation <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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sistere<\/em> (tostand)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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per<\/em> (through)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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persist <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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cernere<\/em> (to sift)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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se<\/em> (apart)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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secrete, secret <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Greek and Latin: Uneasy Bedfellows<\/strong><\/p>\n

As you probably noticed, English sometimes uses duplicate roots and affixes adopted from Greek and\u00a0Latin. For example, a polyglot<\/i> is multilingual<\/i>. Don\u2019t be deceived, however; not all\u00a0duplications are synonyms<\/b><\/em>. For example, benedictions<\/i> and euphemisms\u00a0<\/i>are two different ways of speaking well. More important, the Greek root moros<\/i> (fool) is a\u00a0homophone of the Latin root mor<\/i> (custom).<\/p>\n

Going Native: Anglo-Saxon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes comprise the smallest group in the English language. Here are some\u00a0common affixes:<\/p>\n

be<\/em> (make, cause to be) = belittle, berate, besmirch <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

for<\/em> (completely) = forbid, forever, forlorn, forgive, forget<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

fore<\/em> (before, in front of) = forego, foreman, foresight<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

some<\/em> (characterized by) = lithesome, wholesome, handsome<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Question<\/h4>\n
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Which of the following words means \u201cto do without\u201d?<\/p>\n

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  1. Forsake<\/li>\n
  2. Forgo<\/li>\n
  3. Forfend<\/li>\n
  4. Fordo<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n

    The correct answer is B. To forgo<\/em> is to go completely without a desired object.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

    Review<\/span><\/p>\n