Greek and Latin roots in English

This is an alphabetical list of Greek and Latin roots commonly used in English. For practice, choose 10 Greek and Latin roots that you don't know, and find 2 examples for each one.

Example: Part 1

Root / Meaning / Origin / Examples
astro- / star (shaped) / Greek / astrology, astronomy, astronaut, astrophysics
-logy / study of / Greek / astrology (study of the stars, in this case for predicting the future)
-naut / ship / Greek / astronaut (starship, in this case traveler)
-phys / nature / Greek / astrophysics (star nature)

Longman defines "atro-" as relating to the stars, planets or space, and gives the following examples.
an astronaut (someone who travels in space)
astronomy (scientific study of the stars)

Example: Part 2

astrology: the study of the positions and movements of the stars and how they might influence people and events (Longman)
"A common assumption of astrology is the use of celestial (relating to the heaven or sky) placements in order to explain past and present events and predict the future" (Wikipedia).

astrophysics: the scientific study of the chemical structure of the stars and the forces that influence them (Longman)
"Modern astrophysics studies the formation, structure and evolution of stars and galaxies and of the Universe itself" (Longman).

Text to Speech

You can practice your speaking and listening skills with the TTS Voice service, which converts text into lifelike spoken audio in a variety of languages: American English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and European Spanish, and is able to speak up to 1000 characters at one time. (You can also translate your text to any of the available languages and the service will read out the translation to you.)

Word of the Day

Regurgitate

Definition: (verb) repeat after memorization
Synonym: reproduce
Usage: In order to score well on the exam, you must be able to regurgitate the information.

Keep Your English Up to Date

Downsize

Language changes so quickly that sometimes it's hard to keep up. I guess that's why a series like this come in handy! There are areas that change quicker than others: technology, politics, business...

Right click BBC Learning English and click Open Link in New Window. Select Keep Your English Up to Date and Downsize. Download the Audio file, and practice listening while reading the transcript.

Posting a comment

You don't have to sign up for a Google/Blogger account to post a comment. You can choose Name/URL (which is optional) or Anonymous instead. I just enabled it.

Word of the Day

I'm just sayin'

A phrase that is used when someone is offended by something you said. This phrase then removes all the offensiveness of the previous statement, making it all good.

Ryan: That chick is hot!
Rob: Damn, that's my sister!
Ryan: I'm just sayin'
Rob: Oh, okay, it's cool.

Note on Family Guy Link

This one's a little tricky. First, select an episode. For example, select Season 1, and Episode 1: Death Has A Shadow. The trick is that the link is on the right side of the screen, in a separate Links box.

Sports Vocabulary

Right click English Club: Vocabulary, and click Open Link in New Window. Scroll down and click Sports Vocabulary Quizzes, and test your vocabulary for popular sports and the Olympics.

Vocabulary Exercise

Define the following terms and use each in a sentence. (Use the English Idioms Dictionary, The Online Slang Dictionary, Urban Dictionary, etc.)

1. all-nighter, 2. back to the drawing board, 3. ballpark figure, 4. bang-up job, 5. beat around the bush, 6. big-time, 7. burst one's bubble, 8. cut-throat, 9. go all out, 10. hook one up, 11. know it all, 12. off the hook, 13. shoot hoops, 14. 24/7 (twenty-four seven), and 15. up for grabs.

The first one is done for you.
All-nighter: A study or work session that goes through the night.
I pulled an all-nighter to study for my math exam.
See http://www.englishdaily626.com/slang.php?005

Grammar Exercise

Right click Guide to Grammar & Writing, and click Open Link in New Window. Under Ask Grammar, Quizzes, Search Devices, select 170+ Interactive Quizzes. Try quizzes 13 (Using Articles II), 29 (Identifying Verb Tenses), and 31, 32, and 33 (on Verb-Subject Agreement). Good luck!

Speaking Exercise

Right click Learning English with the CBC, and click Open Link in a New Window. Click Try the Lessons, and select Lesson 9: Terry Fox "A Marathon of Hope". Preview the Introduction, Before You Listen, While You Listen, and After You Listen sections. Select While You Listen, click View Transcript, and then Play the recording. Listen to the recording, while following along in the transcript. Listen again, while reading the transcript aloud. Answer the questions in the While You Listen and After You Listen sections!

Expansion: After you listen, click The Terry Fox Foundation link and read About Terry Fox.

Listening Exercise

Right click the BBC Learning English link, and click Open Link in New Window. Select 6 Minute English, August 2008, and Credit Crunch.
Preview the paragraph on Credit Crunch and the Vocabulary from the Programme. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to Extras, and click Download this Programme and Programme Script. When you have completed the listening exercise. Review the vocabulary, and try the Try the Quiz!

Chill Party

Characterized by chillness; laid back.
My English teacher is so chill party, I turned in my paper two days late and he didn't even care.
Synonyms: chill, mellow, relaxed, laid back, easy going.