Greek Roots/Prefixes Flashcards
1
Q
A-
A
not, without
Ex: Abyss - without bottom; Achromatic - without color
2
Q
Acro-
A
top, height, tip
Ex: Acrobat - “high” walker; Acrophobia - fear of heights
3
Q
An-
A
not, without
Ex: Anhydrous - without water
4
Q
Aer-
A
air
Ex: Aerate - to let air reach something; Aerial - relating to the air
5
Q
Aero-
A
air
Ex: Aerospace - the air space
6
Q
Agr-
A
farming
Ex: Agrarian - relating to the management of the land
7
Q
Agri-
A
farming
Ex: Agriculture - management of the land
8
Q
Ana-
A
up, back, against
Ex: Anaylsis - a close examination of something
9
Q
Andr
A
man, male
Ex: Misandry - hatred toward men
10
Q
Andro-
A
man, male
Ex: Androgynous - being both male and female; Android - resembling a human
11
Q
Anthro
A
human
Ex: Philanthropy - the love to mankind (through good deeds)
12
Q
Anthro-
A
human
Ex: Philanthropy - the love to mankind (through good deeds)
13
Q
Anthro
A
14
Q
Anthro-
A
human
Ex: Anthropomorphism - giving human for to non-living things
15
Q
Anti-
A
against, opposite of
Ex: Antiseptic - preventing infection; Antisocial - against social norms
16
Q
Apo-
A
away, off, seperate
Ex: Apology - an explicit expression of regret
17
Q
Arch
A
chief, most important
Ex: Matriarch - a female who rules a group; Monarch - king or queen
18
Q
Arch-
A
chief, most important
Ex: Archbishop - highest ranking bishop; Archenemy - worst enemy
19
Q
Arch-
A
primitive, ancient
Ex: Archaeology - the study of ancient cultures; Archaic - belonging to an earlier period
20
Q
Aster-
A
space
Ex: Asterisk - a star shaped sign used as a reference tool
21
Q
Arthri-
A
joint, jointed
Ex: arthritis - inflammation of a joint
22
Q
Astro-
A
star, stars, outer space
Ex: astronomer - someone who studies the stars; Astronaut - someone who travels to the stars
23
Q
Auto-
A
self
Ex: Autocrat - a person who governs with absolute power; Automatic - moving by itself
24
Q
Bar-
A
pressure, weight
Ex: Baric: pertaining to pressure; Baryon - heavy elementary particle
25
Biblio-
book
Ex: Bibliophile - a person who loves books; Bibliography - a list of books used as sources
26
Bio-
life, living, matter
Ex: Biology - science of life; Biography - a life story written by another person
27
Blast
cell, primitive, immature cell
Ex: Fibroblast - a cell that forms a connective tissue
28
Blast-
cell, primitive, immature cell
Ex: Blastula - an early stage of embryonic development
29
Cardi-
heart
Ex: Cardiac - relating to the heart; Cardiologist - heart doctor
30
Cata-
completely, intensive, according to
Ex: Cataclysm - a flood or other disaster; Catalog - complete listing; Catastrophe - disaster
31
Caust-
to burn
Ex: Holocaust - total devastation, especially by fire
32
Caust-
to burn
Ex: Caustic - capable of burning or eating away
33
Caut-
to burn
Ex: Cauterize - to burn with a hot instrument
34
Centr
center
Ex: Egocentric - self-centered; Eccentric - not having a common center
35
Centr-
center
Ex: Centrifugal - moving outward from a center
36
Cephal
head
Ex: Encephalitis - inflammation of the brain
37
Cephal-
head
Ex: Cephalopod - maine mollusks with tentacles growing from their head; Cephalic - pertaining to the head
38
Chrom
Color, pigment
Ex: Achromatic - without color
39
Chrom-
color, pigment
Ex: Chromium - a blue-white element; Chromatics - the study of color
40
Chrono
time
Ex: Synchronize - happening at the same time
41
Chrono-
time
Ex: Chronic - lasting for a long time; Chronological - arranging events in time order
42
Chrys-
gold, yellow
Ex: Chrysanthemum - golden/yellow flowers
43
Cosm
universe
Ex: Microcosm - a miniature universe
44
Cosm-
unvierse
Ex: Cosmology - the science of the origin of the universe; Cosmos - the universe
45
Crani-
skull
Ex: Cranium - skull of vertebrates; Cranial - pertaining to skull; Craniology - the study of skull characterisitcs
46
Crypto-
hidden, secret
Ex: Cryptography - science of secret codes; Cryptic - of hidden meaning
47
Cycl
circle, ring
Ex: bicycle - a vechicle with two wheels
48
Cycl
circle or ring
Ex: cycle - a sequence that is repeated; cyclone - a storm with whirling winds
49
Dec-
ten
Ex: Decade - 10 years; December - formerly the 10th month of the Roman calendar
50
Dem
people
Ex: Pandemic - spreading among people in a region
51
Demo-
people
Democracy - government of the people; Demographic - the study of people
52
Dendr
tree
Ex: Philodendren - a climbing plant that grows on trees
53
Dendr-
tree
Ex: Dendrochronology - dating events by studying growth in tree rings
54
Derm
skin
Ex: Pachyderm - a class of animals with very thick skin
55
Derm-
skin
Ex: Dermatologist - a doctor for the skin; Dermatitis - inflammation of the skin
56
Di-
two, twice
Ex: Dichromatic - displaying two colors; Dilemma - a situation that requires a choice between two alternatives
57
Dia-
through, between, apart, across
Ex: Diagnosis - understanding a condition by going through a detailed review; dialog - conversation between two people
58
Dyn-
power, energy, strength
Ex: Dynamo - generator of energy; dynamite - powerful explosive; dynamic - having great physical energy/power
59
Dys-
abnormal, bad
Ex: Dyspepsia - abnormal digestion; Dystopia - an imaginary place of misery
60
Ego
self
Ex: Alter Ego - a higher aspect of oneself
61
Ego-
self
Ex: Egoistic - self-centered; Egomania - excessive preoccupation with oneself
62
Endo-
within, inside
Ex: Endotherm - a creature that can keep its inside temperature fairly constant; Endogamy - the custom to marry within one's clan, tribe, etc.
63
Epi-
on, upon, over, among, at, after, to, outside
Ex: Epidemic - the rapid spread of something negative; Epilogue - a short speech delivered after a play
64
Erg
work
Ex: energy - the power to accomplish work; Energetics - the science that looks at energy and its transformation
65
Erg-
work
Ex: Ergonomics - the study of a working environment
66
Ethn-
race, people
Ex: Ethnic - pertaining to a defined group of people; Ethnocentric - focusing on the ethnicity of people
67
Eu-
good, well
Ex: Euphemism - replacng an offensive word with an inoffensive one; Euphoria - feeling of well-being
68
Gastr-
stomach
Ex: Gastric - pertaining to the stomach; Gastritis - inflammation of the stomach
69
Gen-
birth, production
Ex: Genealogy - the study of the history of a family; Generation - all the people born at approximately the same time
70
Geo-
earth, soil, global
Ex: Geography - study of the Earth's surface; Geology - study of the structure of the Earth
71
Ger-
old age
Ex: Geriatrics - medicine pertaining to the elderly; Gerontology - the study of aging
72
Giga-
a billion
Ex: Gigabyte - unit of computer storage space; Gigawatt - a billion watts
73
Gon
angle
Ex: Decagon - a polygon with 10 angles; Octagon - a geometricial figure with 8 angles
74
Gram
letter, written
Ex: Diagram - a simple drawing; telegram - a message sent by telegraph
75
Gram-
letter, written
Ex: Grammar - rules of how to write words in a sentence
76
Graph
writing, recording, written
Ex: Autograph - written by one's own hand; Seismograph - a machine noting strength and duration of earthquakes
77
Graph-
writing, recording, written
Ex: Graphology - the study of handwriting
78
Gyn-
woman, female
Ex: Gynecology - the science of the female reproductive health; Gynecoid - resembling a woman
79
Hect-
hundred
Ex: Hectoliter - 100 meters; hectare - 100 acres
80
Helic-
spiral, circular
Ex: Helicopter - an aircraft with horizontal rotating wings; Helix - a spiral form
81
Helio-
sun
Ex: Helipgraph - apparatus used to send message with help of sunlight
82
Hemi-
half, partial
Ex: Hemicycle - a semicircular structure; hemisphere - one half of the Earth
83
Hem-
blood
Ex: Hemorrhage - clotting of the blood; hemoglobin - red blood particle
84
Hept-
seven
Ex: Heptagon - a shape with seven angles; Heptameter - a line with of verse containing 7 metricial feet
85
Hetero-
different, other
Ex: Heterogeneous - made up of unrelated parts; Heteronyms - words with the same spelling but different meanings
86
Hex-
six
Ex: Hexagon - shape with six angles; Hexapod - having 6 legs
87
Histo-
tissue
Ex: Histology - study of the microscope structure of tissues
88
Homo-
like, alike, same
Ex: Homogeneous - of the sae nature or kind; Homonym - something alike
89
Hydr-
water, liquid
Ex: Hydrate - to add water to; Hydrophobia - intense fear of water; Hydraulic - operated by force of a liquid
90
Hygr-
moisture, humidity
Ex: hydrometer - tool used to measure humidity
91
Hyper-
too much, over, excessive
Ex: Hyperactive - very restless; Hypercritical - too critical; hypertension - above normal pressure
92
Hyp-
under
Ex: Hypothermia - abnormally low body temperature
93
Iatr-
medical care
Ex: Geriatrics - medicial care of the edlerly; Pediatrician - doctor who treats children
94
Icon-
image
Ex: Icon - an (often religious) image; Iconoclast - someone who destroys religious images and religious beliefs
95
Idio-
peculiar, personal, distinct
Ex: Idiomatic - peculiar to a particular language; Idiosyncrasy - a physical or mental characteristic
96
Kilo-
thousand
Ex: Kilobyte - 1,000 bytes; Kilometer - 1,000 meters
97
Kine
motion
Ex: Telekinesis - the ability to move objects with the mind
98
Leuk
white, colorless
Ex: Leukemia - abnormal increase in white blood cells; Leukocyte - a mature white blood cell
99
Lex
word, law, reading
Ex: Alexia - loss of the ability to read
100
Lex-
word, law, reading
Ex: Lexicology - the study and history of words
101
Lip-
fat
Ex: Liposuction the mechanical remove of fat; Lipiod - resembling fat
102
Lite
mineral, rock, fossil
Ex: Sodalite - a royal blue tectosilicate mineral
103
Lith
mineral, rock, fossil
Ex: Monolith - single great stone often in the form of an obelisk or column
104
Log
word, doctrine, discourse
Ex: Monologue - a long speech; Analogy - similarity, especially between things othersie dissimilar
105
Log-
word, doctrine, discourse
Ex: logic - correct reasoning
106
Macro-
large, great
Ex: Marcoevolution - large scale evolution; Macroeconomics - study of overall forces of economy
107
Mania-
madness, insanity, excessive desire
Ex: Bibliomania - a crazy love of books; Egomania - a mad love for oneself
108
Mania
madness, insanity, excessive desire
Ex: Maniac - an insane person
109
Mega-
great, large, million
Ex: Megalopolis - an area with nearby cities; Melanoma - malignant, dark tumor of the skin
110
Meso-
middle
Ex: Mesoamerica - a region that includes most of Central America, or the land that geographically lies in the middle of the Americas; Meson - elementary particle with a mass between an electron and a proton
111
Meta-
change, after, beyond, betweem
Ex: Metaphysics - study of nature and reality; Metastasis - the transmission of diease to other parts of the body
112
Meter
measure
Ex: audiometer - an instrument that measures hearing acuteness; Chronometer - an instrument that measures time
113
Micro-
very small, short, minute
Ex: Microbe - a very small living things; Microscope - a device to see very small things
114
Mid-
middle
Ex: midriff - that area between the chest and the waist; Midterm - middle of a term in school
