What does List of Root Words consists of?
Root Words are the building blocks of a word. Any word can be broken down into smaller roots or other constituents. This method of learning words through a list of root words is effective because it helps you to club words which are related to the same root together and this will be a great help for you to retain these words. English is an amazing language: it has literally borrowed from every language on the planet and build words these assimilations from different languages. The two most common language sources for word roots in English are Greek and Latin. So, in this article we present to you a list of root words which consists the root, its origin, its meaning and the most important part, the words that are made from these roots along with the meaning of those words.
List of Root Words and Their Meanings
Root Words | Greek/Latin Roots | Meaning of the roots in English | Words and Meanings |
bio | life, living matter | Greek | biography– a life story written by another person; biology – the science of life; biosphere – Earth’s surface inhabited by living things |
cand | glowing, iridescent | Latin | candid– free from bias, prejudice, or malice; candle– something that gives light; incandescent– white, glowing, or luminous with intense heat |
centr/o/i | center | Greek | egocentric – self-centered; eccentric – not having a common center, not according to norm; centrifugal – moving outward from a center |
cerebr/o | brain | Latin | cerebral – pertaining to the brain; cerebrate – to use the brain; cerebrospinal – pertaining to the brain and the spinal cord |
chron/o | time | Greek | chronic – lasting for a long time; chronological – arranging events in time order, synchronize – happening at the same time |
celer | fast | Latin | accelerate – to increase the speed of; decelerate – to reduce the speed of |
circum, circle | around, about | Latin | circumference– the distance around ; circumscribe – to draw around; circumspect – looking around |
claim, clam | shout, speak out | Latin | clamour – to shout and make noise; exclaim – to loudly cry out suddenly; proclamation – something announced officially in public |
cide, cise | cut, kill | Latin | homicide – murder; incisor – a sharp tooth for cutting food; insecticide – a chemical used to kill insects |
cline | lean | Latin | inclination – a leaning toward; incline – a surface that slopes or leans; recline – to lean back and relax |
caust, caut | to burn | Latin Greek | cauterize – to burn with a hot instrument; caustic – capable of burning or eating away; holocaust – total devastation, especially by fire |
clud, clus | close | Latin | conclusion – the end or last part; exclusion – shutting out, rejecting; seclude – to keep away from; to isolate |
cede, ceed, cess | go, yield | Latin | exceed – to go beyond the limits; recede – to go back; accessible – easily entered, approached, or obtained; |
Col | together, jointly | Latin | collaborate – to work together; collision – smashing together; colloquial – words formed by everyday interaction |
capt, cept, ceive | take, hold | Latin | intercept – to stop or interrupt; perceive – to take notice of something; captivating – taking hold of |
corp/o | body | Latin | corporation – a company recognized by law as a single body; corpse – a dead body; corporal – pertaining to the body |
cosm/o | universe | Greek | cosmonaut – a Russian astronaut; cosmos – the universe; microcosm – a miniature universe |
cranio | skull | Greek | craniology – the study of skull characteristics; cranium – skull of vertebrates; cranial – pertaining to the skull |
cred | believe | Latin | credence – belief that something is true or valid; credulous – believing things too easily, gullible; incredible – unbelievable |
cruc | cross | Latin | crucial-characteristic of or having the form of a cross ; crucifix– the cross itself as a Christian emblem; excruciating- so intense as to cause great pain or anguish |
cogn/i | know | Latin | cognition – process of acquiring knowledge; incognito – disguised so no one knows you; recognize – to discover that one knows |
How should you learn using List of Root Words?
We hope the detailed list of root words provided to you really helped you in understanding, remembering and using the above mentioned list of word roots you can easily build up your word knowledge and enhance your vocabulary.
Complete List of Articles in this Series
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : English Root Words and their Meanings
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : 30 Must Know Greek Root Words
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : Learn 30 Latin Root Words
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : Detailed List of Root Words
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : Enhance your Learning with Root Word Dictionary
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : Learn Through Root Word Examples
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : 15 Must Know Root Words in English
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : An Extensive Roots Words List
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : Learn Various Roots of Words to Improve Vocabulary
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : How to use Word Roots to Improve Vocabulary?
- CAT 2022 VARC Preparation : How to use Root Words to Improve Vocabulary?