One of the most prolific Latin roots that give rise to multitudinous English vocabulary words is the Latin root: mitto, mittere, misi, missum—to send, abandon {mess, mit, muss}. A beautiful arboreal word list of all the English derivatives that come from this Latin root can be found on this Greek and Latin root words site; to see this Latin roots tree directly with all its attendant English vocabulary words, including many SAT and GRE prep words, see this Greek and Latin roots word tree. Latin verbs tend to be those classical parts of speech which have the most influence over word origin, the importance of which can be read about in its entirety at http://www.wordempire.com/ , that site which elucidates fully the importance of Greek and Latin roots over English vocabulary today.
I believe that in this series of posts I will focus on taking a trip through teaching vocabulary from the simplest of the mittere derivatives to the most difficult. This exploration of English vocabulary will begin with the blue elementary word roots that form the infrastructure of our language; I will then move onto the most difficult root words in future posts.
A mission is a journey that someone has been "sent" on, such as a missionary for the purposes of proselytizing, who often tries to establish a mission, or permanent place to which the proselytized and missionaries are "sent." After receiving admission to a country, or an obligatory "sending" towards into order to admit someone, one could, after displeasing the gendarmes, be summarily dismissed, or "sent" away, having lost one's permission, or a "sending through" to allow someone to do something, in other words, losing one's permit to commit a particular act. Perhaps, after making a promise, or words "sent forth" in trust, to make a commitment (a "sending together," in other words, a "pledge") to behave properly, thus committing oneself to good behavior, not merely an intermission, or "sending between," of atrocious deeds, continuing them therefore at a later time, Bob could submit, or "send beneath or to the foot of" good conduct and stay there in virtuous splendor, shining like one of the 12 Paladins of Charlemagne in regal splendor. This general submission to promised good behavior should prevent any messes, or that which is randomly "sent" about haphazardly, that is, with all mussed up, such as what happens when an offensive weapon is "sent," (i.e. a missile), a clearly offensive "message" or deadly "messenger" of a belligerent neighbor. And what about a laser, that acronym light amplification by stimulated emission (a "sending" out) of radiation to shoot down the missile? Steven Spielberg can tell us all about that vis a vis Star Wars, as can Worf in the Star Trek Next Generation series as the tactical weapons officer, but that time is many centuries in the future, hence inadmissible as a solution now, or that which is "not able to be sent towards" a difficulty. For those pundits who view my prose today as somewhat messy, please know, as I sense your frustration, that I have accomplished what I sent out to do. Emblematic prose, indeed. All mussitation aside, now. Gotcha.
Interested in a classical Greek and Latin roots word of the day, which includes SAT vocabulary based on Greek or Latin root words? Interested in seeing more of the Greek and Latin root word trees discussed above, or even a Greek and Latin roots poster? English vocabulary becomes transparent once one knows the word origins code of the English language, the vastest part of which is, bar none, Latin and Greek root words.
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!).
