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Root of the Week: CHRON (Wednesday)
WEDNESDAY Synchronize (verb) The prefix “syn” means “with.” To synchronize is to coordinate events so that they happen at the same...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 291 min read
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Root of the Week: CHRON (Tuesday)
TUESDAY Chronicle (noun and verb) A chronicle is a narrative, often specifically a historical one, that presents events in the order...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 281 min read
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Root of the Week: CHRON (Monday)
MONDAY Chronic (adjective) Something is described as “chronic” if it persists over a long period of time. For some reason, only...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 271 min read
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Root of the Week: CHRON
The Latin word for time is “chronos”, derived from the Greek word “khronos.” English words containing the morpheme “chron” relate in some...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 261 min read
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Root of the Week: PATH (Friday)
FRIDAY Idiopathic (adjective) The Greek word-forming element “idio” means “one’s own” or “personal.” A familiar English word using this...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 241 min read
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Root of the Week: PATH (Thursday)
THURSDAY Pathogen (noun) The root word “gen” refers to something that causes or produces something. So a pathogen is a microscopic...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 231 min read
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Root of the Week: PATH (Wednesday)
WEDNESDAY Pathology (noun) Pathological (adjective) The suffix “ology” refers to a branch of study or knowledge. Since one meaning of...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 221 min read
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Root of the Week: PATH (Tuesday)
TUESDAY Pathos (noun) Pathetic (adjective) The Greek word “pathos” means suffering and is used in English to refer to something that...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 211 min read
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Root of the Week: PATH (Monday)
MONDAY Sympathy/Empathy/Antipathy/Apathy (noun) One meaning of the root word PATH is “feeling.” The prefix SYM means “with” or...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 201 min read
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Root of the Week: PATH
The ancient Greek root “path” means both “feeling” and “disease.” It made its way into Late Latin, and then into Middle English, and...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 191 min read
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Root of the Week: CAP (Friday)
FRIDAY Capacious ( adjective) Capacious is an adjective related to “capabilis,” meaning “able to hold.” A capacious suitcase will...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 171 min read
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Root of the Week: CAP (Thursday)
THURSDAY Incapacitate (verb) The verb incapacitate , which combines the root meaning of “able to” with the negating prefix “in,” means,...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 161 min read
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Root of the Week: CAP (Wednesday)
WEDNESDAY Capable ( adjective) To be capable is to have the necessary traits or skills to accomplish something. A capable plumber is...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 151 min read
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Root of the Week: CAP (Tuesday)
TUESDAY Capture (verb) From the Latin verb “capere,” meaning “to grasp” or “to take hold of,” we get the English word capture . If you...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 141 min read
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Root of the Week: CAP (Monday)
MONDAY Capsule (noun) From the Latin root “CAP,” we get capsule , meaning a small container. A pharmaceutical capsule is usually made of...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 131 min read
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Root of the Week: CAP
The Latin word “capabilis” means “able to,” especially “able to hold” or “able to contain.” A related word, “capere,” is derived from...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 121 min read
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Root of the Week: GEN (Friday)
FRIDAY Carcinogen ( adjective) In Greek,” a “karkinos” is a cancer. Latin picks up this word from the Greeks, using the word...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 101 min read
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Root of the Week: GEN (Thursday)
THURSDAY Genre / Generic (adjective) Because gen relates to families, words that contain gen also refer to non-human groups or...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 91 min read
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Root of the Week: GEN (Wednesday)
WEDNESDAY Generate/Regenerate/Degenerate ( verb) To generate is to produce something. A generator is a machine that can use...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 81 min read
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Root of the Week: GEN (Tuesday)
TUESDAY Engender (verb) To engender something is to cause it to exist. Clearly this relates to the Latin word “generare,” meaning “to...
Charlotte O'Connell
Jan 71 min read
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