College Prep Composition Vocabulary Study
Why study roots, prefixes, and suffixes?Simply put, it will help you understand the English language better. From Dictionary.com: "About 80 percent of the entries in any English dictionary are borrowed, mainly from Latin. Over 60 percent of all English words have Greek or Latin roots. In the vocabulary of the sciences and technology, the figure rises to over 90 percent."
While reading and talking to people with larger vocabularies are still the best ways to grow your vocabulary, knowing your word pieces does help, especially when you come across a word that you don't know, but can figure out through clues both in the word and in context. This will help on your ACT/SAT, as well as accessing difficult reading in college. Vocab Unit Roots |
Helpful WebsitesMembean Word Trees
Membean has a large number of word trees for Greek and Latin roots, and has a fantastic layout. Online Etymology Dictionary Good site, although a bit scientific, on the etymology and history of words. Searchable. Learn That - root word list Good site in alphabetical order. Wikipedia Root List Yeah, I know, it's Wikipedia, but this list is expansive and good. If in doubt, Google it out. Biology Word Roots If you are interested in biology, this is an expansive list of roots you will use in the study of life. From Washington University. PDF. Medical Terminology Roots If you are interested in the Medical field, these are the roots for you. Wonderful layout, interesting to all. |