Link
Root word
Meanings
Origin
Examples and Definitions







/
a/n
not, without
Greek
abyss - without bottom; achromatic - without color; anhydrous - without water

/
a
on
Latin
afire - on fire; ashore - on the shore; aside - on the side

/
a, ab/s
from, away, off
Latin
abduct - carry away by force; abnormal - away from normal, not normal; absent - away, not present; aversion - the act of turning away from; abbreviate: to shorten.

/
a/c/d
to, toward, near
Latin
accelerate - to increase the speed of; accessible - easily entered, approached, or obtained; admittance - allowing into;

/
acro
top, height, tip, beginning
Greek
acrobat - a "high walker"; acronym - a word formed from the first (capital) letters of a word; acrophobia - fear of height

/
act
do
Latin
activity - something that a person does; react - to do something in response; interaction - communication between two or more things

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aer/o
air
Greek
aerate - to let air reach something; aerial - relating to the air; aerospace - the air space

/
agr/i/o
farming
Latin Greek
agriculture - management of the land, agribusiness - making money by utilizing land; agrarian - relating to the management of land

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alg/o
pain
Latin
neuralgia - pain caused by a nerve; analgesic - a drug that makes one pain free; nostalgia - aching for the familiar

/
ambi, amphi
both, on both sides, around
Latin
ambidextrous - able to use both hands equally; ambiguous - having more than one meaning; ambivalence - conflicting or opposite feelings toward a person or thing

/
ambul
walk, move
Latin
amble - to walk in a slow, relaxed way; ambulant - walking or moving around; ambulance - a vehicle that moves a patient

/
ami/o
love
Latin
amiable - friendly, pleasant, lovable; amity - friendly and peaceful relations; amorous - showing romantic love

/
ana
up, back, against,  again, throughout
Greek
analysis - a close examination of something; anatomy - the structure of something as visible when cut up for analysis; anachronism - not being in the right place in time

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andr/o
man, male
Greek
androgynous - being both male and female; android - resembling a human; misandry - hatred towards men

/
anim
life, spirit
Latin
animal - a living organism; animate - to make alive; equanimity - of balanced spirit

/
ann/enn
year
Latin
anniversary - a date observed once a year; annual - happening once a year; millennium - 1,000 years

/
ante
before, in front
Latin
antecede - to come before something in time; antemeridian - before noon; anteroom- a small room before the main room

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anth/o
flower
Greek
chrysanthemum and amaranth - names of flowers; anthology - a collection of treasured writings; anthozoan - half plant, half animal, like anemones and corals.

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anthrop/o
human
Greek
anthropology - the study of mankind; anthropomorphism - giving human form to non-human things; philanthropy - the love to mankind (expressed through good deeds)

/
anti
against, opposite of
Greek
antibody - a substance that destroys micro-organisms; antiseptic - preventing infection; antisocial - opposing social norm

/
apo, apho
away, off, separate
Greek
aphorism - a short expression of a general truth; apology - an explicit expression of regret, apostrophe - a small dash used in place of an omitted letter

/
aqu/a
water
Latin
aquarium - a water container for fish; aquatic- relating to water; aqueduct - a pipeline for water

/
arbor
tree
Latin
arborist - someone working with trees; arbor - a shady area formed by trees; arborous - having many trees

/
arch/i
chief, most important, rule
Greek
archbishop - the highest ranking bishop; archenemy - chief or worst enemy; matriarch - a female who rules a group; monarch - a king or queen

/
arch/a/i
primitive, ancient
Greek
archaeology - the study of ancient cultures; archaic - belonging to an earlier period; archive - a collection of historical materials

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arthr/o
joint
Latin Greek
arthroscope - a tool to see inside a joint; arthritis - inflammation of a joint; arthropod - invertebrates with jointed