Determine the meaning of words by analyzing word parts Flashcards
affix
Letters placed at the beginning or end of a word or word part to modifying its meaning.
root
A word part to which an affix can be attached
derivation
Determining the origin of a word.
cognates
Words that are derived from the same root words.
prefix
An affix that appears at the beginning of a word.
suffix
An affix that appears at the end of a word.
Prefixes
Prefixes do not change a word’s part of speech. Prefix re-means “again.” Adding re- to the base word creates “redo” meaning to do it again. Adding the prefix un to the base word happy creates “unhappy,” which means not happy. If a prefix is added to a verb the new word will also be a verb. “do” and “redo” are both verbs. “happy” and “unhappy” are both adjectives.
Common Prefixes I
1.anti- against, antiapartheid
against the separation of groups
2. dis- apart; having a reversing influence, discredit, to harm someone’s good reputation
3. dys- bad; difficult
dysfunction, failure to function or work properly.
4. hyper- over, in excess,
hyperactive, overly active
Common Prefixes II
- Hypo- under; too little, hypotension, less tension than normal.
- inter- between, interstellar, between the stars
- intra- within or through, intravenous, within or through the veins.
- mid- indicating a middle part, point, time or position, Midwestern, in the middle of an area considered West.
Common Prefixes III
- mis- badly; wrongly; incorrectly; misinterpret; to interpret incorrectly
- non- not; nonfiction; a text that is not fiction.
- out- greater, longer, better; outperform; to perform better than someone else.
- over- too much, above; oversleep, overhang; too sleep too much; to hang over or extend outward.
Common Prefixes VI
- pre- before; preorder; to place an order before something.
- sub- less than; under; subset; part of a whole.
- super- more than; above; superhuman; greater than usual capacity of humans.
Suffixes
An affix that appear at the end of words, come in two forms: inflectional and derivational. Inflectional do not change the essential meaning of a word. Instead, they express different aspects of a word, such as tense or number. Derivational suffixes form new words and new meanings when added to a base or root word. These suffixes often change the part of speech.
Inflectional suffix
A suffix that does not change the essential meaning of a word when added to it. Instead, they express different aspects of a word, such as tense and number. Plural is often formed by adding -s or -es. For example, adding -ed to a present tense verb makes it past tense; adding -ing creates the verb used in the progressive tense, as in the sentence “We are going.” Comparative or Superlative versions are when you add suffixes -er or -est to a base word, as in “faster” or “fastest” or “brighter” or “brightest” or “happier” or “happiest.”
derivational suffix
A suffix that forms a new word with a new meaning added to the base or root word. For example, suffixes -ic which means having the characteristics of; melodic; having a pleasing sound or melody. Also, -ful; having the characteristics of; regretful; having the feeling of regret.
Derivational suffixes I
- -ate; to cause to be; pollen, n.> pollinate v. ; to cause to be fertilized.
- -ful; having the characteristics of; regret, n.> regretful, adj. ; having the feeling of regret.
- -ic; having the characteristic or form of; melody, n. melody> melodic, adj.; having a pleasing sound or melody.
- -ize; to cause or show to be; character, n. > characterize, v. ; to show the features of something.
Derivational suffixes II
- -ness; having the quality or being in the state of; kind, adj >kindness, n. ; having the quality of being kind.
- -ology; the study of; anthropo meaning “man” > anthropology, n. ; study of human beings.
- -ous; having the characteristics of; pore, n. > porous, adj. ; having spaces or pores within a substance.
- -tion, the act of; demonstrate, v. >
-ation, demonstration, n. ; the act of demonstrating something.
