Latin Roots & Affixes, Lesson 18
PREFIXES
The prefix acro (from Greek) means "height", "summit" or "tip". In medical English, one might come across the words acrocentric chromosome.
The prefix phono means “sound”. You undoubtedly know the word microphone.
The prefix pseudo means “false”. Can you grasp the meaning of the phrase “the pseudo friendliness of the salesman”?
ROOTS
The root phob means “fear”. So, acrophobia would be a fear of heights.
The root muta means “change”. Do you remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
The root onym means "name". So, a pseudonym is a false name or nom de plume.
The root vita (and its variants viv and vivi) means “life”. Can you figure out the meaning of the Japanese product Lipovitan?
SUFFIXES
The suffix ology means “study of”. So, phonology would be the study of the sounds in a human language.
Instructions: Using what you know about these roots and affixes and the context, determine the meaning of the following bold-faced words.
1) Emily Bronte had to use a/an ________________ because of the pervasive sexism of her day.
2) ____________ was not one of Leonard’s favorite subjects, and he called it “rocks class”.
3) The difference between the _____________ /r/ and /l/ is difficult for Japanese to recognize. I recommend that they practice with Dr. Plum’s Checkup.
4) Food, water and oxygen are ______________ for all living creatures.
5) There is little that is ______________ in this life. It was the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, who stated, “We can never step twice into the same river.”
6) The reason that she did not want to go swimming with her friends is because she suffers from _________________.
7) My grandfather passed away many years ago, but in my mind I still see a/an _____________ image of his face.
Dancing in his underwear at the post office, Diogo made quite a/an ____________ of himself.
The doctor _____________ her signature on the prescription.
✸ The ophthalmologist is checking her peripheral vision.
✸ The ophthalmologist directed her to cover the right eye.
✸ The porter will bring your bags to your room.
✸ Did you give the porter a tip?
