Root library

Ancient Greek roots: meanings and word families

Explore 106 Ancient Greek roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Each entry gives its meaning, variants, and recorded word connections.

Body & Health

• cardi-

  heart

• pod-

  foot

• derm-

  skin

• hem-

  blood

• -iatry

  healing, medicine

• somat-

  body

• pharmac-

  drug, remedy

• cephal-

  head

• chir-

  hand

• odont-

  tooth

Earth & Sky

• geo-

  earth

• astr-

  star

• cosm-

  order, world, universe

• lith-

  stone

• helio-

  sun

• selen-

  moon

Form & Making

• techn-

  art, craft, skill

• morph-

  form, shape

• drama-

  deed, action, play

• -ody

  song

• trag-

  goat; tragedy

Knowledge & Belief

• the-

  god

• soph-

  wisdom, skill

• gno-

  knowing

• crit-

  judging, deciding

• math-

  learning

• dox-

  opinion, glory

Life & Nature

• bio-

  life

• gen-

  birth, origin, kind

• phys-

  nature, growth

• zo-

  animal, living being

• phyt-

  plant

• dendr-

  tree

Mind & Feeling

• phil-

  loving, dear

• auto-

  self

• psych-

  soul, mind

• path-

  feeling, suffering, disease

• -phobia

  fear

• -mania

  madness, frenzy

Motion & Action

• dynam-

  power, force

• bol-

  throwing, putting

• erg-

  work

• stat-

  standing, stopping

• kine-

  movement

• lys-

  loosening, dissolving

• naut-

  sailor, ship

• trop-

  turn, change

Number & Measure

• mono-

  one, single, alone

• poly-

  many, much

• micro-

  small

• metr-

  measure

• tele-

  far, distant

• mega-

  great, large

• macro-

  large, long

• tri-

  three

Prefixes

• a-

  not, without (privative)

• syn-

  with, together

• anti-

  against, opposite

• dia-

  through, across

• eu-

  good, well

• para-

  beside, beyond

• hyper-

  over, beyond

• hypo-

  under, below

• meta-

  after, beyond, change

• epi-

  upon, on

• peri-

  around

• pan-

  all

• ana-

  up, back, again

• dys-

  bad, difficult

• pro- (Gk.)

  before, forward

• cata-

  down, against

• homo-

  same

• ec-

  out of

• en-

  in, within

• hetero-

  other, different

• iso-

  equal

• amphi-

  both, around

Sight & Light

• scop-

  watching, viewing

• phot-

  light

• opt-

  eye, sight

• phan-

  showing, appearing

Society & Law

• -cracy

  power, rule

• dem-

  people

• polis

  city, state

• anthrop-

  human being

• -nomy

  law, custom, management

• -archy

  rule, leader

Speech & Writing

• log-

  word, speech, reason

• graph-

  writing, drawing

• phon-

  sound, voice

• -onym

  name

• bibli-

  book

• lex-

  word, speech

• glott-

  tongue, language

Suffixes

• -ism

  doctrine, practice, condition

• -ize

  to make, to treat

• -oid

  resembling

• -itis

  inflammation

Time & Order

• chron-

  time

• archa-

  ancient, beginning

• neo-

  new

• proto-

  first

• paleo-

  old, ancient

Water & Fire

• hydr-

  water

• therm-

  heat

• pyr-

  fire