COMMON COMBINING FORMS, AFFIXES, AND ROOTS
from Greek and Latin
a,
an (Gk.
un, not, without): asexual, amoral, anarchy
ante (L. before, in front of): antebellum,
antecedent, anteroom
anthrop (Gk. human being): anthropology, philanthropy, misanthropy
arch,
archy (Gk.
rule): anarchy, monarchy, oligarch
aut,
auto (Gk. same, self): automobile,
autonomous, automatic
bi,
bio, bios (Gk.
life): biology, biography, autobiography
biblio (Gk. book): bibliography, bibliophile, bible
chron
(Gk. time): chronology, chronic, synchronize
cide (L. to kill): insecticide,
suicide, homicide
circum (L. around, about): circumference,
circumlocution, circumspect
co,
col, com, con (L.
with, together): concurrent, condense, cohabit
cosmos
(Gk. universe): cosmic,
cosmopolitan, cosmonaut
cracy (Gk. strength, power, rule): democracy, aristocracy,
meritocracy
cred (L. belief): credit, incredible,
credence
dis (L. apart, not, exclude, opposite): disagreeable,
disable, disaster
e (L. not, absent, out, away, thoroughly): eradicate, evaporate, evident
ethno
(Gk. race, nation): ethnocentric,
ethnic, ethnography
eu (Gk. good): eulogize, euphemism,
euphoria
ex (L. from, out of): expatriate,
extort, exhaust
gamy
(Gk. marriage): exogamy, bigamy, monogamy
ge,
geo (Gk.
earth): geography, geology,
geometry
graph,
grapho, graphy (GK.
write, writing): phonograph, monograph,
biography
gymn,
gymno (Gk.
naked, bare): gymnasium, gymnosophist, gymnosperm
gyne,
gyneco (Gk.
woman): gynecology,
gynecocracy, misogyny
gyr,
gyro (Gk.
ring, circle): gyrate, gyre, gyroscope
heter,
hetero (Gk.
different): heterosexual,
heterodox, heterogeneous
hom,
homo (Gk.
same, similar): homogeneous, homosexual, homonym
hydr,
hydro (Gk. water): hydrophobia, hydrofoil,
hydroelectric
hyper (Gk. above, beyond, super): hyperbole,
hyperactive, hypersensitive
idio (Gk. own, peculiar): idiom,
idiosyncrasy, ideology
inter (L. between, among): interstellar,
international, internecine
intra (L. within, during, between): intramural,
intrastate, intravenous
intro (L. inside, into, within): introvert, introduce, introspection
logy (Gk. word, science): analogy,
mythology, biology
marine (L. sea): submarine, marina,
maritime
meter (Gk. measure): thermometer,
barometer, pentameter
micr,
micro (Gk.
small, short): microscope,
microcosm, micrometer
mis,
miso (Gk.
hatred): misanthropist, misogynist, misogamy
mon,
mono (Gk.
alone, single): monogamy, monologue, monosyllabic
multi
(L. many, much): multiple,
multinational, multifarious
ne,
neo (Gk.
new, recent): neologism, neon,
neoclassicism
onym (Gk. name, word): synonym,
antonym, acronym
orth,
ortho (Gk.
straight, right, true): orthodontist, orthography, orthodox
pan (Gk. all, completely): panacea,
panorama, pantheism
path,
patho, pathy (Gk.
suffering, emotion): apathy, empathy,
pathos
ped (L. foot): biped, pedal, pedestrian
per
(L. through,
thoroughly): perambulate,
perception, percolate
peri (Gk. around, about, near): periscope,
perigee, periphery
phil,
philo (Gk. loving, lover): philosopher, philanthropist,
anglophile
phobe,
phobia (Gk.
fear): hydrophobia, agoraphobia, claustrophobia
phone (Gk. sound): telephone, phonology,
homophone
phot,
photo (Gk.
light): photograph, photosynthesis, photoelectric
pod (Gk. foot): podium, pseudopodium,
podiatry
poly (Gk. many): polygamy,
polyglot, polygon
pre (L. before, in front of): prefix,
preface, premarital
pro
(L. before, in front
of): protract, protest, pro-American
prot,
proto (Gk.
before, primary): protocol, protagonist, prototype
pseud,
pseudo (Gk.
false, sham): pseudonym, pseudopod, pseudepigrapha
psyche (Gk. mind): psychology,
psychedelic, psychic
scope,
scopy (Gk.
viewing, observation): microscope,
telescope, horoscope
sophia
(Gk. wisdom): sophist, philosopher, sophomore
sub
(L. under, beneath): submarine,
substitute, subsume
syn
(Gk. with, together): synchronize,
synonym, synthesis
tel,
tele (Gk.
far, distant): telephone, television,
telegraph
therm,
thermo (Gk.
heat): thermometer, thermal, thermodynamics
trans
(L. across, beyond,
through): transcribe, transfer, transient