Word Analysis: Roots, Prefixes, And Suffixes
Words are not all alike. Some consist of multiple parts. You can determine the meaning of a lot of unfamiliar words by using word analysis— that is, by breaking down words and thinking about their smaller parts. Those smaller parts include the root, or central element, of a word; the prefix, a group of letters that appears before a root; and the suffix, a group of letters that is attached to the end of a root.
Not all words have any or all of these parts: Some may have only a prefix and a root, like preview, which means “to view before” (pre). Others might have a root and a suffix, like truthful, which is made up of truth and ful—“full of truth.”
In this section you will learn a number of common roots, prefixes, and suffixes that will help you understand many new words when you come across them.
Some Common Roots
It’s a good idea to become familiar with as many word roots as you can. The reason, simply, is that knowing the root of a word gives you an excellent clue to its meaning, even when you are unsure about the meaning of the entire word. The word geology, for example, contains the root geo (“the earth”) and the suffix logy (“the study of”). Related words will contain the same root but use a different suffix: Examples include geography and geothermal. You may not know exactly what these words mean, but because you know the meaning of the root geo, you can assume that both of these words also have something to do with the earth. The word scripture is built on the word root script. If you know that script and scrib are roots that suggest “writing,” you can understand that transcript, superscript, subscription, description, inscribe, and scripted all have something to do with writing.
Click here to open a list of important words and roots. Try to memorize them. They can increase your vocabulary enormously.
Prefixes
A prefix is a group of letters that is attached to the beginning of a root and alters its meaning in some way. Every prefix has a set meaning. If you know those meanings and you know common word roots, you have an excellent chance of determining the meanings of many new words. If you know that the prefix tri means “three,” you can probably guess that tripartite refers to something that has three parts and that triannual events take place every three years. As you can see, learning prefixes will help you expand your vocabulary quickly.
Click here for a list of commonly used prefixes.
Suffixes
In the same way that you can figure out the meanings of words from knowing their prefixes and roots, you can also make a start toward understanding a word’s overall meaning from knowing the meaning of its suffix. If you know that the suffix cide means “killing,” you can guess that insecticide is something that kills bugs and that fratricide refers to the killing of a brother. So too with phobias. If you know that a phobia is a fear, then you have an inkling as to the meaning of hydrophobia (fear of hydro—water).
Click here for a list of common suffixes and their meanings.