Friday, September 17, 2021

English Words With Greek and Latin Roots

Many English words have Greek and Latin roots. These roots are not only present in English, but in many other languages. Though English is a Germanic language, the influence of Greek and Latin is significant.

The following words have Greek roots:

auto (self) autobiography, automobile
chron (time) chronic, chronology
micro (small) microbe, microscope
nym (name) antonym, synonym
pseudo (false) pseudonym, pseudoscience

The following words have Latin roots:

bene (good) benefactor, benevolent
cent (one hundred) century, percent
mater (mother) maternal, maternity
multi (many) multicultural, multimedia
pater (father) paternal, paternity

The influence of Greek and Latin is evident in English. They were the languages of two empires, the Greek and Roman. Though these empires no longer exist, the number of  English words with Greek and Latin roots is nevertheless extensive.


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