CAT 2022 : How to use Root Words to Improve Vocabulary?

One of the most effective ways of learning new words is learning through root words. Before we delve into the details let’s answer one basic question here,

What is a Root Word?

A Root Wordis the heart of the word, the element upon which the word is built. Root words are parts upon which complete words are built.

Let’s take up an example to understand how root words work. Have you heard of the word calligraphy? It means beautiful writing. It is derived from a combination of Greek Root Words:

Calli which beautiful
Grapho/graphy/graphy which means to write or to record

These two root words combine to give us calligraphy: the art of writing beautifully.

How to use Root words to Improve Vocabulary

Root words are a powerful method to learn and by using this method, you can learn multiple words at the same time. It also reduces your effort. Instead of learning 50 new words, you can learn 5 roots and about 10 words for each root word. The benefit of this root word method is twofold, firstly, you can retain more words and secondly, you can make a calculated guess and deduce the meanings of new words that you come across on a day to day basis.

Let’s understand this with the help of an example,

We just learnt about the Root Word: ‘grapho/graph/graphy’ which means to record or write.
Some words from the same root are:

Graphologist: a specialist who studies handwriting.
Holograph: Handwritten book or document (the root ‘holo’ stands for ‘hand’
Lexicographer: A compiler or writer of a dictionary

Now, while reading an article you come across the word ‘orthography’, and you don’t know the meaning of this word. You can clearly understand that it is related to writing, which is very close to the actual meaning, a set of conventions for writing a language. Check out these commonly used roots and words based on them.

Common Root Words and Their Meanings

Let’s explore 30 of the most common Greek and Latin roots used in the English language.

Root Word	Meaning	Origin	Related Words

A/n	not, without	Greek	Abyss- something in-depth or profound Achromatic –something which is colourless Anhydrous –No water
Ambul	walk, move	Latin	Amble – Stroll Ambulant – move around Ambulance – a vehicle that moves a sick or injured people to and from hospital
Anim	life, spirit	Latin	Animal – a living organism which has all the 5 senses as well as nervous system Animate – Having life Equanimity –a quality or condition of being cool
Ann/enn	year	Latin	Anniversary –a ceremony in which an event is remembered
Astro	outerspace	Greek	Astronaut – a person travelling to space
Auto	self, same, one	Greek	Autonomy: condition of being self ruled Autobiography: personal life story
Bene	good, well	Latin	Benefit: gain Benevolent –big heartedness
Bio	life, living matter	Greek	Biochemistry: branch of science relating to chemicals Biophilia:rapport of human with natural world
Cardi/o	heart	Greek	Cardiovascular –damage to hearts major blood vessels Cardiologist – a heart doctor
Carn/i	flesh, meat	Latin	Carnivorous –meat eating; carnival: annual festival
Chron/o	time	Greek	Anachronism- A person or a thing who/that seems to be displaced in time. Chronological – arrangement of events in a time-wise order Synchronize – occurring at the same time
Cide, cise	cut, kill	Latin	Homicide – murder Insecticide – a chemical used to kill insects Patricide- killing of father Matricide- killing of mother Suicide- killing yourself
Circum	around, about	Latin	Circumnavigate- travel around, in a ship or a plane Circumscribe – to draw a line around something Circumspect – looking around cautiously Circumlocution- An indirect way of speaking something
Cogn/i	know	Latin	Cognizant: having knowledge
Dem/o	people	Greek	democracy – government of the people; Demolish- destroy
Derm/a	skin	Greek	Dermatologist – a doctor for the skin; dermatitis: Eczema
Enn/i, Anni	years	Latin	Perennial –continuous; long lasting Biennial: happening every 2 years
Equ/i	equal, equally	Latin	Equidistant – an equal distance from two points; Equation – a statement of equality.
Fid	faith	Latin	Confide – trust someone, fidelity – faithfulness;
Geo	earth, soil, global	Greek	Geocentric: representing earth as the centre; Geometry: branch of maths related to shapes and dimensions.
Hetero	different, other	Greek	Heterogeneous –different Heteronyms – words with same spelling but different meanings
Inter	between, among, jointly	Latin	International – involving two or more countries Intersection – place where lines come together
Lact/o	milk	Latin	Lactate – to give milk Lactose – the sugar contained in milk
Loqu, locu	speak	Latin	Eloquent – speaking beautifully and forcefully Loquacious – talkativeness Elocution – art of public speaking
Macro	large, great	Greek	Macroevolution – large scale evolution Macromolecule – a large molecule;
Mal/e	bad, ill, wrong	Latin	Malnutrition:lack of proper nutrition Malodorous:foul smelling
Nom/in	name	Latin	Nominal – being something in name Nominate – to elect
Omni	all	Latin	Omnipresent: present everywhere Omnivorous eating all foods.
Pan	all, any, everyone	Greek	Panacea – a remedy for disease Panache:a stylish, original, and very confident way of doing things that makes people admire you
Retro	backward, back	Latin	Retrograde: to move backwards. Retrospect – the remembering of past events.

Thus, it is clear from this article that Root Words can play a very important role in enhancing your vocabulary and can also help you in understanding words in context.