Up to this point I have been focusing primarily upon stems of English vocabulary words, those primary morphemes from Greek and Latin roots that form the core of English words. There are, however, also highly important affixes, such as prefixes and suffixes, that help to form the meaning of English words, and that can be helpful in ascertaining their precise meaning. My last post focused on the Latin root word in when it means "in, on". To view in in its full prolific influence see this Greek and Latin root words page, and check out the importance in general of Greek and Latin roots as a whole. The Latin root in makes its presence felt in many words, where it disguises itself in multiple forms and contains multiple meanings (for a discussion of prefixes and their importance in the English language, see my introduction to word origin and etymology). Once, however, one pierces the tricky orthographic disguises of this prefix, it reveals itself in all its utility. One of the most useful meanings of "in" is "not;" this form also goes through many spelling changes:
il: illegal simply means "not legal." Note the clever changing of "n" to "l" before the main stem (from the Latin lex, legis: law)...it would be silly, of course, to have an English word "inlegal." Other words with "il" in them meaning "not" include: illiterate (etymologically "not lettered") and "illegible" (etymologically "not able to be read"). To check out roots like lex, legis: law, littera: letter of the alphabet, and lego, legere: to read, please see www.wordempire.com which fully discusses the primary roots of the English language; in fact, you can see a complete list of all the Greek and Latin root words here.
im: immortal (etymologically "of or pertaining to not (being susceptible, that is) to death": main stem here is Latin mors, mortis: death); immaculate (etymologically having "no spot", that is, being "spotless"); immovable (can you guess?); and immense (etymologically "without measure" or "not having measure," thus boundless in its size).
in: incalculable ("not" calculable); insatiable ("not" able to have "enough": from the Latin satis: enough); innocuous ("not harmful," from the Latin noceo, nocere: to harm) and invalid ("not" possessing "strength," hence void; from the Latin validus: strong)
In my next post I will discuss further permutations of in meaning "not," as well as some highly used Latin prepositional phrases, such as "in memoriam" that have filtered into everyday use in the English language.
Please check out my Greek and Latin roots word of the day column: if you find this blog interesting, you will love that daily post (entitled: Word Wizardry by Logophilus).
English Vocabulary via Greek and Latin Root Word Origins
- Magister Brunner
- I have long been fascinated by Greek and Roman mythology, and the Greek and Latin roots of English vocabulary words; their infusion within the English language respectively forms the core of cultural literacy and English vocabulary. Learning a vast array of English vocabulary words can help people write more powerfully, speak clearly and confidently, and read with a much deeper appreciation for great literature, not to mention perform well on college and graduate school entrance examinations, such as the SAT and GRE. Other than intense reading itself, there is no better way of learning and, most importantly, remembering English vocabulary words than by learning Greek and Latin root words. My own love for reading and subsequent keen interest in English vocabulary began with the B.A. (hon) degree in English I received from UW Madison, and continued with the M.A. in English I earned from the University of Virginia; I currently teach Latin and Greek and Roman mythology at Tandem Friends School in Charlottesville, VA, farm organically, am Executive Editor of Membean.com, and practice yoga and dhyana on a daily basis (qigong when clement!).
