AFFIXES & ROOTS Affix- a word element, such as a prefix or a suffix, that occurs before or after a root or base word to modify its

meaning.Root- the form of a word after all affixes are removed;

meaning: base, root, stem, theme

What are roots and root words?Many English words are formed by taking basic words

and adding combinations of prefixes and suffixes to them. A basic word to which affixes (prefixes and suffixes) are added is called a root word because it forms the basis of a new word. The root word is also a word in its own right. For example, the word lovely consists of the word love and the suffix -ly.

In contrast, a root is the basis of a new word, but it does not typically form a stand-alone word on its own. For example, the word reject is made up of the prefix re- and the Latin root -ject, which is not a stand-alone word.

Understanding the meanings of the common word roots can help us deduce the meanings of new words that we encounter.Root Meaning Example

-auto- (Greek) self Automatic, autopsy

-bio- (Greek) life Biology, biography

-audi- (Latin) hear Audible, audience

-dict- (Latin) say Diction, dictate

-duc- (Latin) lead,make Deduce, produce

-geo- (Greek) earth Geography, geology

-terr-(Latin) earth Territory, Terrain

-graph- (Greek) write Autograph, graph

-mand-, -mend- (Latin)

order Recommend, demand

-path- (Greek) feel Empathy, pathetic

-sens-, -sent- (Latin) feel Resent, sensitive

-vid-, -vis- (Latin) see Visible, video

Parts of an Affix: Prefix- an element

placed at the beginning of a word to adjust or qualify its meaning.Example: De-, non-, re-,

un-. Can be used in words

such as: decomposition, nonrefundable, restart, and unlikely.

Suffix- an element placed at the end of a word to form a derivative, frequently one that converts the stem into another part of speech.Example: -ness, -less, -ian, -ology

Can be words such as: viciousness, speechless, magician, biology

A PREFIX is a letter or a group of letters attached to the beginning of a word that partly indicates its meaning. For example, the word prefix itself begins with a prefix--pre-, which generally means "before.“Be careful: some prefixes (such as in-) have more than one meaning (in this example, "not" and "into").

Prefix Meaning Example

Auto- self Autopilot, Autobiography

Com-, Con- with Companion, Contact

De- off, away from Devalue, denial

Mis- wrong Misunderstand, Misprint

Re- again, back Retake, retreat

Un- not, opposite Unattractive, unusual

Mono- one Monogamy, Monotonous

Omni- all, every Omniscient, Omnify

A SUFFIX is a letter or a group of letters attached to the end of a word to form a new word or to alter the grammatical function of the original word. For example, the verb read can be made into the noun reader by adding the suffix -er; read can be made into the adjective readable by adding the suffix -able.

Suffix Meaning Example

-ance, -ence state of quality of Defiance, eminence

-able can be done Unable, readable

-est most Oldest, greediest

-ic, -ical pertaining to Musical, mythic

-ive having the nature of Productive, creative

-er more, one who Reader, slower

-less without Useless, fearless

-y characterized by Sleepy, needy

-logy study, theory Psychology, biology

To sum it all upMany of our words come to us from Greek or

Latin.They don’t come to us complete; they come in

parts.These parts are called Roots and Affixes.There are two different kind of affixes:

Prefixes and Suffixes. The part at the beginning of a word is a prefix. The part in the middle is the root or root word. The part at the end is the suffix.

Put it all together:Put the prefixes, roots, and suffixes together

and you end up with words. Keep in mind that not all words have all three

parts.Some simply have a prefix and a root.Others, just a root and suffix.