What is base word and suffixes

In English grammar, a base is the form of a word to which prefixes and suffixes can be added to create new words. For example, instruct is the base for forming instruction, instructor, and reinstruct. Also called a root or stem.

Put another way, base forms are words that are not derived from or made up of other words. According to Ingo Plag, «The term ‘root’ is used when we want to explicitly refer to the indivisible central part of a complex word. In all other cases, where the status of a form as indivisible or not is not an issue, we can just speak of bases (or, if the base is a word, base words(Word-Formation in English, 2003).

Examples and Observations

«In most situations, the user of English has no problem at all recognizing prefixes, bases, and suffixes. For instance, in the sentence, ‘They repainted the old car,’ the complex word repainted obviously has three elements—a prefix, a base, and a suffix: re + paint + ed. The base paint is the word’s semantic core, the starting place for describing what the word is being used to mean in a given utterance. The prefix and suffix add semantic content to that core, the prefix re adding the content ‘again,’ and the suffix ed adding ‘in the past.'» (D. W. Cummings, American English Spelling. JHU Press, 1988)

Base Forms and Word Roots

«[The term base] refers to any part of a word seen as a unit to which an operation can be applied, as when one adds an affix to a root or stem. For example, in unhappy the base form is happy; if -ness is then added to unhappy, the whole of this item would be considered the base to which the new affix is attached. Some analysts, however, restrict the term ‘base’ to be equivalent to ‘root,’ the part of a word remaining when all affixes have been removed. In such an approach, happy would be the base form (the highest common factor) of all its derivations—

happiness, unhappy, unhappiness, etc. This meaning leads to a special use in prosodic morphology to define the portion of the output in correspondence with another portion of the form, especially the reduplicant.» (David Crystal, Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 6th ed. Blackwell, 2008)

Citation Forms

«For adjectives, e.g. bad, the base form is the so-called ‘absolute’ form (as against the comparative form worse, or the superlative form worst). For other word classes, e.g. adverb or preposition, where there are no grammatical variants, there is only one form that can be the headword.

«These base forms of words, the headwords of dictionary entries, may be termed the citation forms of lexemes. When we want to talk about the lexeme sing, then the form that we cite (i.e. ‘quote’) is the base form—as I have just done—and that is taken to include all the grammatical variants (sings, singing, sang, sung).» (Howard Jackson, Words and Their Meaning. Routledge, 2013)

Bases in Complex Words

«Another classic problem of morphology [is] the case of a complex word with a recognizable suffix or prefix, attached to a base that is not an existing word of the language. For example, among the -able words are words such as malleable and feasible. In both cases the suffix -able (spelled -ible in the second case because of a different historical origin for the suffix) has the regular meaning ‘be able,’ and in both cases the -ity form is possible (mealleability and feasibility). We have no reason to suspect that able/ible here is not the real suffix -able. Yet if it is, then malleable must be broken down as malle + able and feasible as feas + ible; but there are no existing words (free morphemes) in English such as malle or feas, or even malley or fease. We thus have to allow for the existence of a complex word whose base exists only in that complex word . . ..» (A. Akmajian, R. A. Demers, A. K. Farmer, R. M. Harnish, Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication. MIT, 2001)

Base words are words that exist as recognizable words in the English language. These words cannot be divided into smaller units. Prefixes and suffixes can be added to these words to create new words. There are two theories about root words. Some people use the term root word as a synonym for the base word. However, in some contexts, root words refer to the part of the base word that comes from another language. This article will mainly focus on this second meaning. The key difference between base word and root word is that base words are recognizable words in the English language whereas root words are from another language.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Base Word
3. What is a Root Word
5. Side by Side Comparison – Base Word vs Root Word in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is a Base Word?

There are two types of words in the English language: the words that can be broken down into smaller units and words that cannot be broken down into smaller units. Words that cannot be broken down into smaller units are known as base words. In other words, base word is the base form of a word and gives its basic meaning. For example, let’s look at the two words happy and unhappy. The word happy cannot be broken down into smaller units, but unhappy can be broken down into two units since this word is made by adding the prefix un to the base word happy. Prefixes and suffixes are always added to base words.Difference Between Base Word and Root Word

Prefixes and Suffixes

  • Prefix is a word element is found in front of a base word.
  • Suffix is a word element is found after a base word.

Look at the following words and see if you can identify the base word by removing the suffixes and prefixes.

Reusable, disappear, unhappiness, unacceptable, disqualified, childish, unlikely, reinvention

The base words of the above list are underlined in the following section.

  1. Reusable – re + use + able
  2. Disappear – dis + appear
  3. Unhappiness – un + happy + ness
  4. Unacceptable – un + accept + ble
  5. Disqualified – dis + qualify + ed
  6. Childish – child + ish
  7. Unlikely – un + like + ly
  8. Reinvention – re + invent + ion

What is a Root Word?

In linguistics, the term root word is often used synonymously with base word, and refers to a morpheme from which words have been created by the addition of prefixes or suffixes. For example, the word transportation is formed from the root word transport.

However, the term root word also refers to the origin of the word. In this sense, root word is the part of the base word that comes from another language. For example, the word maternal comes from Latin mater and gives the meaning mother. So, this Latin word, mater can be considered as the root word of maternal. The root words of words like maternity, maternally, maternalism, etc. is also the Latin word mater.

Key Difference - Base Word vs Root Word

Examples of Base Words and Root Words

Let’s look at some other examples to understand the meaning of base words and root words more clearly.

  1. Tricycle

Base word = cycle, Root word = Latin cyclus (circle)

  1. Transportation

Base word = transport, Root word = Latin port (to carry)

  1. Immoderately

Base word = moderate, Root word = Latin moderatus (reduced, controlled)

What is the Difference Between Base Word and Root Word?

Base Word vs Root Word

Base Word is a morpheme from which words have been created by the addition of prefixes or suffixes. Root word is the part of the base word that comes from another language.
Individual Meaning
Base word can stand alone. Root word cannot often stand alone.
Nature
Base words cannot be further divided. Root word comes from another language.

Summary – Base Word vs Root Word

Base word is a form of a word to which affixes can be added to create new words.  Base words and root words are two terms that are sometimes used as synonyms. However, root words are also defined as parts of the base word that come from another language. This is the difference between base word and root word.

Download PDF Version of Base Word vs Root Word

You can download PDF version of this article and use it for offline purposes as per citation note. Please download PDF version here Difference Between Base Word and Root Word

References:

1. Merrell, Shelly. “Base Words: Definition & Examples.” Study.com, Available here.
2. Nordquist, Richard. “Base Forms of Words in English.” ThoughtCo, Available here.

The System of Affixation in English refers to the process of attaching a group of letters to a word in order to change its meaning, number, state, or form.

There are two primary types of affixation: Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes and Suffixes

Base word Affixation Word
determined pre + determined predetermined
play play + er player
weekly bi + weekly biweekly
follow follow + ing following

Prefix


A prefix is a small group of letters that are affixed at the beginning of the word.

  • Subsidiary
  • Nonviolence
  • Intolerance

Functions of Prefix

Indicate presence or absence

amoral without morals
injected put into
congenital present from birth

Indicate position

hypodermic under the skin
circumnavigate to sail around
antechamber a chamber before another
Interstellar between stars

Indicate qualities, size, or number

thermometer heat measuring instrument
macrocosm big world or universe
polyglot someone who speaks many languages

Indicates time, frequency, or order

post dated later than the stipulated date
redo do again
primary first

Types of Prefixes

Negative Prefixes

Prefix Meaning Usage
un- not uncomfortable, unbearable, unforgivable
in- not incomplete, indecisive, independent
dis- opposite of disinterested, disproportionate, displeasure
ir- not irresponsive, irresponsible, irrevocable
il- not illogical, illegitimate, illegible
im- not improbable, impossible, impenetrable
non- not nonviolent, nonchalant, non-invasive
mis- wrong/wrongly misinterpret, misunderstand, miscalculation
mis- hate misogynist, misogamist, misanthrope
mal- bad/ badly malfunction, malevolent, malediction, malnutrition
anti- against antinational, antibacterial, antibiotics
de- down, reduce descend, decry, deject, demote, decline
a- without, not asocial, amorphous, abiotic, atrophy
dis- apart, off, away disband, disturb, disburse, dismiss
dys- bad dystopia, dysfunctional, dyslexia

Prefixes of Size

Prefix Meaning Usage
semi- half semicircle, semiconductor, semi-active, semicolon
equi- equal equidistant, equivalent, equisonant
micro- small, tiny microscope, microorganism, microcosm, micromanage
macro- big macroeconomics, macrocosm, macrolevel
mega- big megalomaniac, megapolis, megapixel
mini- small minimum, minicomputer, miniature
maxi- big maximum, maximal, maxim
hemi- half hemisphere

Prefixes of Position or Location

Prefix Meaning Usage
inter- between interstellar, intermediate, interval, intervene
super- over, above superfluous, supersede, superintendent, supervisor
trans- across transfer, transport, transgress, transmit
ex- out exterior, external, extraneous, extract
in-/ im- inside internal, induce, imbibe, impregnate, influence
sub-, suc-, sus- under subterranean, susceptible, submit, submarine
sur- over surface, surfeit, surrender, survive, surcharge
circum- around circumspect, circumnavigate, circumscribe, circumvent
peri- around perimeter, periscope, perimortem
per- through percolate, pervade, perfect, perforated, perceive
infra- below infrared, infravision, infrarealism
ab- away abduct, abstain, abjure, abdicate
contra- against contravene, contradict, contralto, contrast
de- down descend, decline, demote, decrease
dia- across diagonal, diaphanous, diachronic, diagnosis
hyper- over hypertrophy, hyperactivity, hyperbole, hypertension
hypo- under hypothermia, hypothyroid
ob- against obloquy, obnoxious, object, obfuscate
pro- for prologue, provide, protect, project, procreate
syn-, sym- together synthesis, syndicate, sympathy
ultra- beyond ultraviolet, ultramodern, ultra-royalist, ultrasonic
under- under underground, underachiever, underestimate
meta- beyond metastasis, metabolize, metamorphic, metaphysics
mid- between midterm, middle, midday
by- near bypass, bygone, by-product
epi- upon epidermis, epilogue, epitaph
post- back postern, posterior

Prefixes of time and sequence

Prefix Meaning Usage
pre- before prevent, prepare, predict, premonition, prelude
ante- before antediluvian, antebellum
prime- first primary, primordial, prima donna, primate, primeval
post- after posterity, posthumous, postlude, post-marital
retro- before retrogression, retroflex, retrospect
pro- before progenitor, proceed, prologue, prophecy, prophylactic
re- again recur, recount, rethink
fore- before foretell, forestall, foresight
after- after after-effects, afterthought
chron- time chronology, chronicle

Prefixes of numbers and amount

Prefix Meaning Usage
mono- one monotheism, monologue, monochromatic, monarch
uni- one universe, unitary, union, unanimous, unity
bi- two bicentennial, biannual, bicycle, bigamous, bipolar
du-, di- two duo, dual, dicotyledon, dichromatic
tri- three trident, tricolor, triumvirate, trifecta, trilogy, tripod
quad- four quadruple, quadruplets, quadrilateral
tetra- four tetrapods, tetrameter
penta- five pentagram, pentacle, pentagon
quint- five quintuplets, quintal
hex- six hexagon, hexadecimal, hexameter
sex- six sextuplets, sextet
sept- seven septuagenarian, septuplets
hept- seven heptagonal, heptathlon
octa- eight octagon, October, octopus, octuplets
nov- nine novena, November
dec- ten decade, decimal, decathlon
hendeca- eleven hendecacolic, hendecagonal
dodeca- twelve dodecahedron, dodecaphony
triskaideka- thirteen triskaidekaphobia
cent- hundred century, century, centipede
hector- thousand hector, hectogram
kilo- thousand kilogram
mega- million megaton, megahertz
giga- billion gigabyte
multi- many multimillionaire, multipurpose
poly- many polynomial, polygon, polymath

Miscellaneous Prefixes

Prefix Meaning Usage
alb- white albino, albinism
ambi- both ambidextrous, ambivalent, ambiguous
amphi- both amphibian, amphitheatre
bio- life biology, biohazard, biosphere
auto- self automated, autonomous, autocrat
co-, com-, con- together, joint co-dependent, companion, congregation
en-, em- make, become engender, empower, endanger
eu- good euthanasia, eulogy, euphemism
cario- heart cardiovascular, cardiogram
hydr- water hydrogen, hydraulic, hydrophobia
ig- bad ignominy, ignoble, ignorant
bene- good benevolent, benediction, benign
bon- good bon voyage, bonhomie, bonafide
homo- same homonym, homophone, homeopathy
pan- all panacea, pan Asiatic, panorama
pseudo- fake pseudonym
neo-, nov- new neologism, novelty
amo-, ami love amorous, amicable, amiable
aqua- water aqueduct, aquatic

Suffix


A suffix is a group of letters that are fixed to the end of a root word or a base word.

Functions of Suffix

Change the part of speech of the word

meaning (n) meaningful (adj)
beautiful (adj) beautifully (adv)
subject (n) subjecting (v)

Indicate whether the number is singular or plural

girl (singular noun) girls (plural noun)
stratum (singular noun ) strata (plural noun)
lifts (singular verb) lift (plural verb)

Indicate the tense of the verb

hopped (past) hopping (continuous)
steal (past) stolen (past participle)

Indicate the gender of a noun

host (masculine) hostess (feminine)
steward (masculine) stewardess (feminine)
executor (masculine) executrix (feminine)

Types of Suffixes

Noun Suffixes

Suffix Usage Example
-al state refusal, betrayal, perusal
-ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency quality or state militancy, performance
-tion condition condition, relation
-ice condition malice, novice, justice
-er/-or doer painter, trainer, actor
-graph record telegraph, phonograph, polygraph
-ism belief Hinduism, communism, fascism
-ist doer pacifist, pianist, altruist
-ian someone who does Gandhian, guardian, politician
-ing name of an activity reading, gardening, sleeping
-ity state continuity, annuity
-logy the study geology, neurology
-ship state of friendship, kinship, sportsmanship
-sion, -tion the process of expansion, determination, connection
-ory place dormitory, reformatory, laboratory
-orium, -arium place sanitarium, aquarium, crematorium
-mania madness monomania, bibliomania, egomani
-phobia fear hydrophobia, cynophobia, mysophobia
-ure state composure, exposure, leisure
-ment state abandonment, refinement, entertainment
-ness state happiness, completeness, fullness

Suffixes of Verbs

Suffix Usage Example
-able to make enable, disable
-ate Latin origin verbs recreate, abate, mediate
-ed simple past or participle form killed, toyed, booked
-en verbs formed from adjectives broken, frozen, sunken
-er actions that have a repetitive quality blabber, snicker, mutter
-fy do magnify, specify, rectify
-ing action in continuation hearing, yearning, making
-ise to make/do revolutionise, apologise, despise
-ish become or do flourish, banish, demolish
-nt to do prevent, augment, content
-s, -es simple present tense form criticises, runs, laughs

Suffixes of Adjectives

Suffix Meaning Usage
-able, -ible having the quality of flexible, available, eatable
-al related to ventral, global, musical
-ant doing dependent, buoyant, resilient
-ic having the quality terrific, generic, specific
-esque like, having the quality statuesque, picturesque
-er, -est comparative and superlative qualities fatter, tallest
-ose full of verbose, grandiose
-ful full of beautiful, boastful, grateful
-ing participle form of an adjective interesting, frustrating, sleeping
-istic having the quality realistic, artistic, surrealistic
-ive having the nature of pensive, aggressive, massive
-ous, -ious full of gaseous, spacious, gracious

Suffixes of Adverbs

Suffix Meaning Usage
-ably with a quality comfortably, admirably, disagreeably
-ibly with a quality audibly, horribly, negligibly
-s shows time or place backwards, always, forwards
-wise shows manner or position clockwise, otherwise, lengthwise

Root Words and Base Words


The root word and the base words are the parts that contain the primary meaning of the word. Prefixes and suffixes are added to root and base words to create new words and ideas.

Root Word

  • A root word cannot stand on its own as an independent word.
  • It needs the addition of the prefix or the suffix for the completion of its meaning.
  • For example, let us consider the words amphibian, regeneration and subtraction.

amphi- -bi- -an
prefix root suffix

re- -generat- -ion
prefix root suffix

sub- -tract- -ion
prefix root suffix

  • In the above cases, the roots -bi-, -generat- and -tract- cannot stand alone as individual words.
  • They are therefore known as root words.

Base Word

  • A base word, unlike a root word, can stand on its own like an independent word.
  • It does not need the addition of a prefix or suffix in order to function as a stand-alone word.
  • For example, let us consider the words redone, nonviolent and unmoved.

re- done
prefix base word

non- violent
prefix base word

un- moved
prefix base word

In the above examples, done, violent, and moved can function as independent words.

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Also, Read


Types of Figures of Speech

Figures of Speech

Subject Verb Agreement

Subject Verb Agreement

Degrees of Comparison

Degrees of Comparison

Time and Tense

Time and Tense

Syllable Rules   >>   Prefix    Root Word    Suffix

What is a prefix?

  • One or more letters that are placed in front of a word to form a new word with a similar meaning.
    • examplesredo, preview, unhappy, iPhone, & abnormal
  • A prefix is usually not a word by itself.

Cite This Source

Syllable Rules   >>   Prefix    Root Word    Suffix

What is a root word?

  • The base word which is combined with a suffix and/or prefix to form a a new word.
  • The word which is left when all prefixes and suffixes are removed.
    • examples:  rechecked, preboarding, unchanged, untouched, & unanswered

Fun Fact

Brunch = Breakfast + Lunch
This is a portmanteau.

Syllable Rules   >>   Prefix    Root Word    Suffix

What is a suffix?

  • One or more letters that are placed at the end of a word to form a new word with a similar meaning.
    • examples:  ended, dryer, dancer, talking, & sleeping
  • A suffix is usually not a word by itself.
  • Words can have more than one suffix.
    • examples:  cheerfulness, carefully, grudgingly, & annoyances

Presentation on theme: «Prefixes, Suffixes, and Base Words»— Presentation transcript:

1

Prefixes, Suffixes, and Base Words
Lesson Goals: 1) Students will learn to identify base words. 2) They will learn the meaning of various prefixes and suffixes. 3) They will learn how these prefixes and suffixes change the meanings of base words.

2

Base Words A base word is a word in its simplest form. A
base word has nothing added to it. Examples: Accept Heat Obey Friend Success

3

Base Words Write the base words. Played Running Reheat Quickly Unhappy

4

Prefixes Prefixes are added to the beginning of a base word. They change the meaning of the base word. Un + success = unsuccessful Re + appear = reappear

5

Prefixes The prefix un means not or the opposite of.
Uncomfortable means not comfortable. The prefix mis means wrong or bad. Misbehaving means behaving badly. The prefix re means again. Rewrite means to write again. The prefix pre means before. Preschool means school prior to starting kindergarten.

6

7

Prefixes Draw a line to the meaning of the prefix.
again Opposite of, lack of, not Bad, badly, wrong Not Before Below small im-, in-, non- dis-, in-, non- mis- pre- re- sub- micro-

8

Suffixes Suffixes are added to the end of a base word. They change the meaning of the base word. wonder + ful = wonderful large + est = largest happy + ness = happiness

9

Suffixes The suffix -ful means full of. Colorful means full of color.
The suffix -ible means capable of being. Sensible means capable of sense. The suffix -ly means in a certain way. Quickly means in a quick way. The suffix -ish means having the quality of. Childish means having the quality of a child.

10

Here are some common suffixes:

11

Suffixes Draw a line to the meaning of the suffix.
Able to, suitable, or inclined to Forming an action Full of, as much as will fill Someone who, more so Without, that does not Having qualities of, manner or degree Full of -ful -er -ly -able -less -ous -tion

12

Activity Complete pages 4 and 5 in Language Power.
When you are done, exchange your questions from yesterday with a partner if you have not done so already.

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