Chapter 2 of 11All chapters
Chapter 2 of 11
Roots and affixes
Guessing a word you have never seen.
Pieces that repeat
Most long English words are built from Latin and Greek parts. Knowing that ubi means where, or that ephemeros means lasting a day, unlocks whole families at once.
- Prefixes turn meaning: un-, in- and dis- negate, re- repeats, pre- comes before.
- Suffixes set the job: -ous and -al make adjectives, -tion and -ment make nouns.
Careful with guesses
Roots suggest a meaning but do not guarantee it. Nice once meant ignorant, and enormity is not simply large size, so check before relying on the derivation.