What is etymology?
Etymology tells the story of a word: where it came from, and how its meaning changed. English has borrowed many words from Latin and Greek. So have Hindi, Spanish, French, Romanian and most languages of Europe.
One word can have more than one meaning. To pick the right one, read the sentence around it. Example: bank of a river or bank for money. The sentence decides.
Word parts: prefix, root, suffix
- Root: the core meaning. Example: graph = write.
- Prefix: a block in front. Example: auto- = self, so autograph = self-written, a signature.
- Suffix: a block at the end. Example: -ic = about, so telescopic = about seeing far.
Two ways to build a word:
- Compounding: join two roots. Tele + phone = telephone.
- Derivation: add a prefix or suffix to a root. Port + er = porter.
Greek roots in everyday words
- tele = far: television, telephone, telescope
- bio = life: biology, biography
- graph = write or draw: photograph, paragraph
- logos (logy) = word, study: biology, geology
- micro = small: microscope, microphone
- phone = sound: telephone, saxophone
Science, medicine and maths use Greek blocks all the time, because they are easy to join into new words.
Latin prepositions as prefixes
Latin small words that tell place and time became prefixes in many languages:
- ex- out: export, exit
- trans- across: transport, transfer
- ante- before: anteroom, antecedent
- post- after: postpone, postscript
- pro- forward, for: proceed, promote
- in- in or not: insert, incorrect; ad- to: adjoin; ab- away: absent
- intra- inside, extra- outside: intranet, extraordinary
- cum / con- with: connect, contact
Latin conjunctions (joining words) et, -que and atque all mean and. You still see et cetera (and the rest).
Word families and guessing new words
Words that share a root are a word family. Learn one root and you unlock many words. Steps to guess an unknown word: 1) cut it into blocks, 2) give each block a meaning, 3) join the meanings, 4) check with the sentence.
Warning: meanings drift. A pen comes from a word for feather, but is now plastic. Always check context.
Try it: build five words
In the 3D, pick blocks until the green tick appears. Find five real words. Then look around your home and school bag: write three words that you can cut into blocks.
Key formulas and definitions
- Word = prefix + root + suffix
- Compounding = root + root (tele + phone)
- Derivation = root + prefix or suffix
- ex- out, trans- across, ante- before, post- after, pro- forward, con- with
- tele far, micro small, bio life, graph write, scope look, phone sound
Worked examples
1. Break the word 'microscope' into blocks and give its meaning.
micro (small) + scope (look). It is a tool to look at small things.
2. What do 'export' and 'transport' share, and how do they differ?
They share the root port, which means carry. Ex means out, so export is carry out. Trans means across, so transport is carry across.
3. Guess 'postscript' (the note at the end of a letter).
post means after and script means write. So it is something written after the main letter.
4. Name three words in the 'graph' family.
Photograph, autograph and paragraph all use graph, write or draw.
Common mistakes
- Thinking every word that looks like a root has that root. Mat and mathematics only look alike.
- Forgetting that meanings drift over time. Check the sentence.
- Mixing prefix and suffix. Prefix is in front, suffix is at the end.
- Believing etymology is only for Latin class. It helps in science, medicine and everyday reading.