Read The Greek & Latin Roots of English Online
Authors: Tamara M. Green
Tags: #Language Arts & Disciplines, #Linguistics, #General, #Vocabulary, #Etymology
The Greek & Latin Roots of English (10 page)
Portrait of a man, third century CE (Adana Museum, Turkey)
I trade with both the living and the dead, for the enrichment of our native tongue. We have enough in England to supply our necessity, but if we will have things of magnificence and splendor, we must get them by commerce
.
JOHN DRYDEN (English poet, 1631–1700),
dedication of his translation of Vergil's Aeneid
FORMING NEW WORDS
Just as we form adjectives and nouns in English from other English nouns and verbs (e.g., woman, womanly; farm, farmer; move, movement, movable), so too did Latin and Greek. Each ending (suffix) that we add to the stem of a noun or adjective tells us something about the quality or nature of the word.
I. ADJECTIVE-FORMING SUFFIXES USED WITH LATIN NOUN STEMS
| Latin Ending | Meaning | English Derivative Form |
| -alis, -ialis | having the characteristic of, belonging to | -al, -ial |
| -anus, -ianus | having the characteristic of, belonging to | -an, -ian |
| -aris, -arius | having the characteristic of, belonging to | -ar, -ary |
| -ilis | having the characteristic of, belonging to | -il, -ile |
| -inus | having the characteristic of, belonging to | -ine |
| -osus | full of, abounding in | -ose, -ous |
| -lentus | full of, abounding in | -lent |
Examples
| Latin noun | English meaning | Latin stem | Latin adjective | English derivative |
| princeps, principis | chief | princip- | principalis | principal |
| margo, marginis | edge, boundary | margin- | marginalis | marginal |
| socius, socii | ally, companion | soci- | socialis | social |
| vox, vocis | voice | voc- | vocalis | vocal |
| urbs, urbis | city | urb- | urbanus | urban, urbane |
| mare, maris | sea | mar- | marinus | marine |
| familia, familiae | family | famili- | familiaris | familiar |
| vir, viri | man | vir- | virilis | virile |
| servus, servi | slave | serv- | servilis | servile |
| copia, copiae | abundance | copi- | copiosus | copious |
| virus, viri | poison | vir- | virulentus | virulent |
Because Latin nouns and adjectives have gender, the Romans commonly used the masculine, feminine, or neuter form of the adjective as a noun. For example:
magnus (masculine) = large, but also, the large man
magna (feminine) = large, but also, the large woman
magnum (neuter) = large, but also, the large thing
II. NOUN-FORMING SUFFIXES USED WITH LATIN NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
Sometimes we wish to express the abstract quality of a particular noun or adjective, and we do so by forming a new noun (e.g., man, manly, manliness; state, statehood; handsome, handsomeness; kind, kindly, kindliness).
| Latin Ending | English Meaning | English Derivative Form |
| -atus | office, group engaged in | -ate |
| -itas, -ietas | quality of | -ity, -iety |
| -itudo | abstract state or quality | -itude |
| -itia | abstract state or quality | -ice |
| -monium, -monia | abstract state or quality | -mony |
| -ia, -ium | abstract state or quality | -y |
| -arium | place where | -arium |
| -ista | one who believes in | -ist 1 |
| -ismus | an abstract belief in | -ism |
Examples
| Latin Noun or Adjective | English Meaning | Stem | Latin Derivative | English Derivative |
| princeps, principis | chief | princip- | principatus | principate |
| brevis, brevis | short | brev- | brevitas | brevity |
| socius, socii | friend, ally | soci- | societas | society |
| varium, varii | different | vari- | varietas | variety |
| virilis, virilis | manly | viril- | virilitas | virility |
| magnus, magni | large | magn- | magnitudo | magnitude |
| gratum, grati | pleasing | grat- | gratitudo | gratitude |
| pater, patris | father | patr- | patrimonium | patrimony |
| custos, custodis | guard | custod- | custodia | custody |
| sol, solis | sun | sol- | solarium | solarium |
| servus, servi | slave | serv- | servitudo and servitia | servitude service |
III. DIMINUTIVE-FORMING SUFFIXES WITH LATIN NOUNS
We may indicate the smallness or familiarity of an object or person by the addition of a suffix (e.g., drop, droplet).
| Latin Ending | English Derivative Form |
| -culus | -cule |
| -ellus | -el |
| -illus | -il |
| -olus | -ole |
| -uleus, -ulus | -ule |
Examples
| Latin Noun | English Meaning | Latin Diminutive Form | English Derivative |
| corpus | body | corpusculus | corpuscle |
| mus | mouse | musculus | muscle |
| moles | mass | moleculus | molecule |
| novum | new | novellus | novel |
| saccus | bag | sacellus | satchel |
| pupus | boy | pupillus | pupil (student) |
| pupa | girl | pupilla | pupil (part of the eye) |
| gladius | sword | gladiolus | gladiolus |
| area | ground | areola | areole |
| nux | nut | nuculeus | nucleus |
| modus | measure | modulus | module |
IV. NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES FORMED FROM LATIN VERBS
We may also make a noun or adjective from a verb by the addition of a suffix; the newly formed noun or adjective retains the quality of action in the verb (e.g., the verb
make
> the noun
maker
; the verb
like
> the adjective
likeable
). In Latin, nouns and adjectives may be formed from either the present or perfect passive stem of the verb. Remember that the present stem will often lose its final vowel, especially if it is joined to a suffix that begins with a vowel.
A. Nouns and Adjectives Formed from the Present Stem of Latin Verbs
| Latin Noun Ending | English Meaning | English Derivative Form |
| -mentum | state of, quality of | -ment |
| -bulus, -bulum | means of, place of, result of | -ble |
| -men | means of, place of, result of | -men |
| -or | means of, place of, result of | -or |
| -culus, culum | means of, place of, result of | -cle |
| Latin Adjectival Ending | English Meaning | English Derivative Form |
| -bilis, -ilis | capable of being | -ble, -ile |
| -ax, acis | inclined to | -acious |
| -uus; -ulus | inclined to | -uous; -ulous |
| -idus | inclined to | -id |
| -ns, -ntis (singular) | indicates present participle | -nt 2 |
| -ntes or -ntia (plural) | indicates present participle | -nce or -ncy |