Mastering English Vocabulary Through Common Root Words

Common English Root Words

• Aqua - means water. Aquamarine
• Arbor - means tree. Arboreal
• Audio - means sound or hearing. Audible
• Bell - means war. Bellicism
• Com - means together. Community
• Con - means with. Connect
• Dict - means say. Dictation
• Geo - means earth. Geography
• Graph - means write. Graphics
• Hydra - means water. Hydrofoil
• Man - means hand. Manual
• Min - means small. Minimal
• Nov - means new. Novice
• Path - means feeling or suffering. Pathetic and Apathy
• Sol - means sun. Solar
• Therm - means heat. Thermometer
• Vac - means empty. Vacuum
• Vent - means opening to let air in. Ventilate
• Vit - means life. Vitamin

Other notable root words include liter, glyph, cap, morph, crypt, plan, ego, scent, and zoo. For example, zoo is derived from the Greek word for animal, which is why it is an appropriate name for a place housing animals.

Root Words as Partial Components

Some root words are not full words on their own, such as bio. Bio is the root for biography or biology and means life. Here are more examples:

• Acri - means bitter. Acrimony
• Carn - means flesh. Carnivorous
• Corp - means body. Corporal punishment
• Deca - means ten. Decade
• Erg - means work. Energy
• Gen - means birth. Genesis
• Lum - means light. Luminary
• Sen - means old. Senior
• Tele - means far. Telephone
• Vor - means eat greedily. Devour

By learning these roots, you can decipher the meaning of unfamiliar words by breaking them down into their constituent parts.

Comprehensive List of Common Roots

• Act - means to move or do. Action, activity, transaction
• Ambul - means move or walk. Amble, ambulant, ambulate
• Auto - means self or same. Autocrat, automatic
• Cardio - means heart. Cardiovascular, cardiology
• Cede - means go. Exceed, recede, accessible
• Counter - means against or opposite. Counteract, counterpoint, counterargument
• Demo - means people. Democracy, democrat, demographic
• Derma - means skin. Dermatology, epidermis
• Equi - means equal. Equity, equilateral, equidistant
• Ex - means out or away. Exit, extract, explosion
• Extra - means outside. Extraordinary, extraterrestrial
• Hypno - means sleep. Hypnosis, hypnotic
• In / Im - means not. Impossible, innocent
• Intra - means within or into. Intrapersonal, intramural, intravenous
• Ject - means to throw. Reject, eject, inject
• Mal - means bad. Malignant, malfunction, malice
• Magni - means big or great. Magnificent, magnify
• Multi - means many. Multiple, multifaceted, multilingual
• Omni - means all. Omnipotent, omnipresent, omnivore
• Poly - means many. Polygamous, polychrome, polytheist
• Script - means write. Manuscript, postscript
• Sect - means cut. Intersect, dissect, section
• Semi - means half. Semicircle, semifinalist
• Un - means not. Unfinished, uncooked, unreadable
• Vis / Vid - means see. Envision, evident