Latin word for origin

In English grammar, a root is a word or portion of a word from which other words grow, usually through the addition of prefixes and suffixes. By learning root words, you can decipher unfamiliar words, expand your vocabulary, and become a better English speaker. 

The Roots of Words

Most words in the English language are based on words from ancient Greek and Latin. The root of the word «vocabulary,» for example, is ​voc, a Latin root meaning «word» or «name.» This root also appears in such words as «advocacy,» «convocation,» «evocative,» «vocal,» and «vowel.» By dissecting words such as these, etymologists can study how a word has evolved over time and tell us about the cultures they came from.

In some cases, root words might be slightly transformed en route to becoming part of words that we’re familiar with. In the above example, «vowel» is a word that’s clearly related to the voc root and its family of derivative words, and yet the «c» in «voc» is not present. There are several reasons for this sort of pattern, and the changes often depend on what language each individual word comes from, but it serves as a reminder that not every word with the same root will look exactly the same.

Root words are also useful for creating new words, especially in technology and medicine, where new innovations occur frequently. Think of the Greek root word tele, which means «far,» and inventions that traverse long distances, such as the telegraph, telephone, and television. The word «technology» itself is a combination of two other Greek root words, techne, meaning «skill» or «art,» and logos, or «study.»

Because several modern languages share some of the same ancestor languages, it’s not entirely uncommon for several related languages to share root words. For instance, the Latin root voc, described above, is shared by several Romance languages. Connections between languages can be found in the shared roots between them, although one always has to be wary of false cognates — that is, words that sound like they have the same roots (and thus related meanings) but actually don’t.

Greek Root Words

The table below defines and illustrates 25 of the most common Greek roots.

Latin Root Words

The table below defines and illustrates 25 of the most common Latin roots.

​Understanding the meanings of the common word roots can help us deduce the meanings of new words that we encounter. But be careful: root words can have more than one meaning as well as various shades of meaning. In addition, words that look similar may derive from different roots.

In addition, a handful of root words can stand on their own as whole words in and of themselves. This list includes words such as photo, kinesis, chrome, port, and script. Words like this tend to have related meanings on their own, then can also act as roots for longer, more complex words.

Sources

• Bryant, Alice, and Robbins, Jill. «Grow Your Vocabulary by Learning Root Words.» VOANews.com, 28 November 2017.
• Grammarly staff. «Why You Should Learn Roots.» Grammarly.com, 6 February 2016.
• McCammon, Ellen. «50 GRE Words You Should Know.» PrepScholar.com, 8 February 2017.

I’m going to take a shot in the dark and guess that you’re using Whitaker’s Words, since those look like Whitaker’s origin codes.

Each letter in the code indicates something about the word: in order, they’re AGE, AREA, GEO, FREQ, and SOURCE. The first indicates how early or late the word is attested; the second indicates what general topic it’s related to; the third indicates where in the world the word was found; the fourth indicates how frequently the word appears in corpora; the fifth indicates which source Whitaker took the word from.

For all of them, a value of X means «not known» or «not applicable». So none of the words you’ve been looking at are associated with a specific time period, area of interest, or region, and Whitaker didn’t note his sources for them. But the fourth letter tells you roughly how common the stem in question is: A is more common than B, B than C, and so on.

A full description of all the abbreviations and their meaning can be found here.

Page 1: family, donate, en, la, Na, ad, ap, re, alliteration, el, America, Ag, Angel, os, Africa, ana, id, Rachel, ti, Fe, ut, celebrate, American, circle, circus, kate, London, sis, system, Austin, ave, India, Christian, per, bus, Adam, George, gen, boo, syllable, abdicate, Jupiter, Virginia, Australia, forum, zone, desk, pro, plant, and Jacob

If you know of a word that belongs in the Latin origin word list, please let me know by

Word	Length	Consonants	Vowels	Syllables	Origin	Favourite
Family	6	4	2	3	Latin
Donate	6	3	3	2	Latin
En	2	1	1	1	Latin
La	2	1	1	1	Latin
Na	2	1	1	1	Latin
Ad	2	1	1	1	Latin
Ap	2	1	1	1	Latin
Re	2	1	1	1	Latin
Alliteration	12	6	6	5	Latin
El	2	1	1	1	Latin
America	7	3	4	4	Latin
Ag	2	1	1	1	Latin
Angel	5	3	2	2	Latin
Os	2	1	1	1	Latin
Africa	6	3	3	3	Latin
Ana	3	1	2	2	Latin
Id	2	1	1	1	New Latin
Rachel	6	4	2	2	Late Latin
Ti	2	1	1	1	Latin
Fe	2	1	1	1	Latin
Ut	2	1	1	1	Latin
Celebrate	9	5	4	3	Latin
American	8	4	4	4	Latin
Circle	6	4	2	2	Latin
Circus	6	4	2	2	Latin
Kate	4	2	2	1	Late Latin
London	6	4	2	2	Latin
Sis	3	2	1	1	Latin
System	6	5	1	2	Latin
Austin	6	3	3	2	Latin
Ave	3	1	2	2	Latin
India	5	2	3	3	Latin
Christian	9	6	3	2	Latin
Per	3	2	1	1	Latin
Bus	3	2	1	1	Latin
Adam	4	2	2	2	Latin
George	6	3	3	2	Latin
Gen	3	2	1	1	Latin
Boo	3	1	2	1	Latin
Syllable	8	6	2	3	Latin
Abdicate	8	4	4	3	Latin
Jupiter	7	4	3	3	Latin
Virginia	8	4	4	4	Latin
Australia	9	4	5	4	Latin
Forum	5	3	2	2	Latin
Zone	4	2	2	1	Latin
Desk	4	3	1	1	Medieval Latin
Pro	3	2	1	1	Latin
Plant	5	4	1	1	Latin
Jacob	5	3	2	2	Late Latin

Who actually speaks Latin, anyway? It’s definitely not one of the easiest languages to learn.

But what if we told you that you already know some Latin? That’s right: Chances are that you’ve unknowingly used Latin when speaking English!

As it turns out, there are actually many Latin words used in English today. In this post, we’re going to go through some of the most common Latin words and phrases used in English—some that you may have suspected, and others that might surprise you.

Let’s take a look at some interesting etymology!

• 1. Ad hoc
• 2. Agenda
• 3. Alibi
• 4. Altruism
• 5. Bona fide
• 6. Carpe diem
• 7. Ergo
• 8. Et cetera
• 9. Facsimile
• 10. Impromptu
• 11. Mundane
• 12. Obvious
• 13. Per diem
• 14. Per se
• 15. Vice versa

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What it means: Done or created when needed or necessary

Latin roots: The word ad hoc comes from the Latin words ad (“to/for”) and hoc (“this”), which translates to “for this” or “for this situation.”

Example: If we find that we don’t have enough employees to finish the project on time, we can hire more on an ad-hoc basis.

2. Agenda

What it means: A list or plan of items to be discussed or accomplished, usually in a meeting

Latin roots: This word comes from the Latinlatin word agenda, meaning “things to be done.” Its plural form in Latin is agendum. 

Example: I wanted to discuss the traffic problem at our city council meeting, but it wasn’t on the agenda. I’ll have to wait until the next meeting. 

3. Alibi

What it means: A piece of evidence showing you were somewhere else when a crime was committed

Latin roots: Coming from the Latin alibi, this word means “elsewhere.”

Example: The judge couldn’t accuse the woman of robbery, as she had a great alibi: She was on vacation in Mexico when the crime was committed. 

4. Altruism 

What it means: Caring about others and selflessly doing things to help them

Latin roots: Altruism comes from the Latin word alter, meaning “other.”

Example: Altruism is very important to me. I want to make the world a better place by helping others.

5. Bona fide

What it means: Genuine; sincere

Latin roots: Bona fide comes from the Latin word of the same spelling, meaning “in good faith” (with no fraud or deceit). The opposite of bona fide in Latin is mala fide (“in bad faith”).

Example: My neighbor has a bona fide piece of jewelry from Ancient Egypt—he showed me the certificate of authenticity!

6. Carpe diem

What it means: Most commonly translated as “Seize the day,” this expression is used to encourage a person to make the most of the present day and not to wait for the future.

Latin roots: The Latin term carpe diem literally translates to “Pluck the day.” Carpe means “pluck” and diem is “day.” 

Example: I really shouldn’t spend so much money on one night out, but oh well—carpe diem!

7. Ergo

What it means: Therefore

Latin origins: Ergo as we know it is derived from the same word in Latin, which means “therefore.” It’s possible that ergo stems from the Latin word regere (“to guide or direct”). It’s also thought to be a possible contraction of *e rogo, or “in the direction of.”

Example: I worked out at the gym for two hours this morning; ergo, I deserve that piece of cake!

8. Et cetera

What it means: And other similar things; abbreviated to “etc.”

Latin roots: This one is a combination of two Latin words: et, meaning “and,” plus cetera, or “the rest.”

Example: When you go camping, you need a sleeping bag, tent, camp stove, et cetera.

9. Facsimile

What it means: An identical copy; abbreviated to “fax”

Latin roots: Facsimile comes from two words: fac (the imperative form of facere) which means “make,” and simile, which is “like” or “similar.”

Example: You don’t need to provide the original copy of your birth certificate, but you should send us a facsimile for our records. 

10. Impromptu

Latin roots: English actually borrowed the word impromptu from French. However, the French got it from the Latin words in promptu, meaning “in readiness.”

Example: We had a big problem with a client today, so we had an impromptu meeting to figure out what we should do. 

11. Mundane

What it means: Dull; ordinary

Latin roots: Mundane is derived from the Latin word mundus, meaning “world.” This translates to “of the world,” as in not heavenly.

Example: After being on vacation in Hawaii for two weeks, it’ll be hard to go back to our mundane lives.

12. Obvious

What it means: Clear; easily noticed or understood

Latin roots: Obvious, as we use it in English, is derived from the Latin obvius, which, itself, comes from obviam, meaning “in the way.”

Example: It’s obvious that you like him; you won’t stop talking about him!

13. Per diem

What it means: An allowance given each day

Latin roots: Per diem is a combination of two Latin words: per, which means “through,” “during,” or “by means of,” and diem (“day”).

Example: When I go on business trips, my company gives me a per diem of $100 for my meals.

14. Per se

What it means: By himself, herself or itself; essentially

Latin roots: This expression is taken directly from the Latin per se, meaning “by itself,” “it itself” or “of itself.”

Example: Potato chips aren’t bad for you, per se; it’s when you eat too many of them that they become unhealthy. 

15. Vice versa

What it means: Indicates that the reverse of what you’ve just said is also true

Latin origins: This word stems from vicis (“change” or “alternate order”) and versus (“to turn”).

Example: When I need my sister, she’s there for me, and vice versa. 

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Look into Latin words used in everyday English

As you might be starting to realize after reading the words listed above, Latin has a very strong influence on the English language—in fact, about two-thirds of English words are borrowed from the ancient language. To understand English better, from the structure of words to their meanings, look into Latin!

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Andrea is a Canadian freelance writer and editor specializing in English, e-learning, EdTech, and SaaS. She has a background as an ESL teacher in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. In her free time, Andrea loves hanging out with her husband and children, creating recipes in the kitchen, and reading fiction. She also loves camping and jumping into lakes whenever possible. Learn more about Andrea on LinkedIn or check out her website.