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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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