Match words with Greek and Latin roots to their meanings

Key Notes :

What are Greek and Latin Roots?

Many words we use every day come from ancient Greek and Latin. These languages provide us with roots, which are basic parts of words that carry a specific meaning. Understanding these roots can help you figure out the meanings of many new and unfamiliar words! Think of roots as building blocks for words.

Common Greek and Latin Roots

Root: Phobia Meaning: Fear Examples: Acrophobia – fear of heights Hydrophobia –fear of water Photophobia – fear or sensitivity to light

Root: Cycl Meaning: Circle Examples: Bicycle – a vehicle with two wheels Tricycle – a vehicle with three wheels Unicycle – a vehicle with one wheel

Root: Ex Meaning: out Examples: Exit – to go out Export – to send out goods Extract – to pull out

Root: Sol Meaning: Son Examples: Solar – relating to the sun Solarium – a sunroom or sunbed Solstice – time when the sun is farthest from the equator

Practice Time!

Match the root to its meaning. Draw a line connecting the root to what it means.

Roots:

• Geo
• Bio
• Therm
• Spect

Meanings:

• Life
• Earth
• To look
• Heat

More Practice!

Choose the correct meaning of the underlined root in each word:

1. Hydrate: What does hydr mean?
   a) Air
   b) Water
   c) Fire
2. Portable: What does port mean?
   a) To Eat
   b) To carry
   c) To jump
3. Microscope: What does scope mean?
   a) To see
   b) To hear
   c) To smell

Next Steps

Keep an eye out for these roots in your reading! The more you recognise them, the easier it will be to understand new words. You can also look up word origins in a dictionary to discover even more Greek and Latin roots!

let’s practice!