Greek and Latin Roots: The Foundation of Vocabulary

Greek and Latin Roots: The Foundation of Vocabulary

Did you know that over 60% of English words have Greek or Latin roots? Mastering just 50 root words can help you decode thousands of English words—a game-changing strategy for standardized tests.

Why Roots Matter for Test Success

On standardized tests like the SHSAT, ISEE, and SSAT, you'll encounter unfamiliar words. Rather than memorizing thousands of individual words, learning roots allows you to:

• Infer meanings of words you've never seen before
• Remember vocabulary more easily by understanding word families
• Build confidence when facing challenging reading passages
• Expand your vocabulary exponentially with each root learned

The 20 Most Powerful Roots

1. BENE (Latin: "good, well")

• Benefit: Something that does good
• Benevolent: Showing goodwill, kind
• Benefactor: Someone who does good deeds (factor = doer)
• Benediction: A blessing (diction = speaking)

Memory trick: "Ben is a good guy" - remember "bene" means good

2. MAL/MALE (Latin: "bad, evil")

• Malicious: Intending to do harm
• Malfunction: To work badly
• Malevolent: Having ill will
• Malady: An illness or disease

Memory trick: "Mal" sounds like "bad mall" - bad shopping experience

3. DICT (Latin: "to say, to speak")

• Dictionary: A book of words and their meanings
• Predict: To say beforehand (pre = before)
• Contradict: To speak against (contra = against)
• Verdict: A judgment spoken (ver = true)

Memory trick: "Dick-shun-ary" - a book that says what words mean

4. SPECT (Latin: "to look, to see")

• Inspect: To look closely at (in = into)
• Spectator: Someone who watches
• Suspect: To look at with distrust (sus = under)
• Retrospect: Looking back at the past (retro = back)

Memory trick: "Spectacles" help you see

5. PORT (Latin: "to carry")

• Portable: Able to be carried
• Transport: To carry across (trans = across)
• Export: To carry out of a country (ex = out)
• Report: To carry back information (re = back)

Memory trick: Airports "carry" people from place to place

6. SCRIB/SCRIPT (Latin: "to write")

• Scribble: To write carelessly
• Manuscript: Something written by hand (manu = hand)
• Inscribe: To write or carve into (in = into)
• Transcript: A written copy (trans = across)

7. JECT (Latin: "to throw")

• Eject: To throw out (e = out)
• Reject: To throw back, refuse (re = back)
• Project: To throw forward (pro = forward)
• Inject: To throw into (in = into)

8. DUC/DUCT (Latin: "to lead")

• Conduct: To lead together (con = together)
• Reduce: To lead back, make smaller (re = back)
• Produce: To lead forward, create (pro = forward)
• Educate: To lead out, teach (e = out)

9. FID (Latin: "faith, trust")

• Confident: Having faith in oneself (con = with)
• Fidelity: Faithfulness, loyalty
• Infidel: One without faith (in = not)
• Confide: To trust with a secret

10. GRAPH (Greek: "to write")

• Autograph: Self-written signature (auto = self)
• Biography: Written life story (bio = life)
• Photograph: Written with light (photo = light)
• Telegraph: Writing from afar (tele = far)

Essential Prefixes

Prefixes modify root meanings and appear across thousands of words:

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
UN-, IN-, IM-, IR-	not, opposite	unable, inactive, impossible, irregular
RE-	again, back	return, review, rebuild
PRE-	before	preview, precede, prepare
POST-	after	postpone, postwar, postscript
TRANS-	across	transport, transfer, translate
SUB-	under, below	submarine, subway, subordinate

Common Suffixes

Suffixes change the part of speech or meaning:

• -ABLE/-IBLE: "capable of" (readable, visible)
• -TION/-SION: "act or state of" (action, confusion)
• -IST: "one who does" (artist, scientist)
• -LOGY: "study of" (biology, psychology)
• -NESS: "state of being" (kindness, happiness)

Building Word Families

Let's see how one root creates an entire family of words:

Test-Taking Application

Here's how to use roots on test day:

Your Action Plan

1. Week 1-2: Master the top 20 roots with examples
2. Week 3-4: Add 10 more roots, practice combining with prefixes/suffixes
3. Week 5-6: Create flashcards for word families
4. Ongoing: When you encounter new words, break them down by roots

Pro tip: Keep a "Root Journal" where you write down new words and break them into their component parts. This active practice dramatically improves retention!