Common Roots
Root	Meaning		Example	Definition
agri	field		agronomy	field-crop production and soil management
anthropo	man		anthropology	the study of man
astro	star		astronaut	one who travels in interplanetary space
bio	life		biology	the study of life
cardio	heart		cardiac	pertaining to the heart
cede	go		precede	to go before
chromo	color		chromatology	the science of colors
demos	people		democracy	government by the people
derma	skin		epidermis	the outer layer of skin
dyna	power		dynamic	characterized by power and energy
geo	earth		geology	the study of the earth
helio	sun		heliotrope	any plant that turns toward the sun
hydro	water		hydroponics	growing of plants in water reinforced with nutrients
hypno	sleep		hypnosis	a state of sleep induced by suggestion
ject	throw		eject	to throw out
magni	great, big		magnify	to enlarge, to make bigger
man(u)	hand		manuscript	written by hand
mono	one		monoplane	airplane with one wing
ortho	straight		orthodox	right, true, straight opinion
pod	foot		pseudopod	false foot
psycho	mind		psychology	study of the mind in any of its aspects
pyro	fire		pyrometer	an tool for measuring temperatures
script	write		manuscript	hand written
terra	earth		terrace	a raised platform of earth
thermo	heat		thermometer	instrument for measuring heat
zoo	animal		zoology	the study of animals
Common Prefixes
Prefix	Meaning		Example	Definition
ante-	before		antebellum	before the war
anti-	against		antifreeze	liquid used to guard against freezing
auto-	self		automatic	self-acting or self-regulating
bene-	good		benefit	an act of kindness; a gift
circum-	around		circumscribe	to draw a line around; to encircle
contra-	against		contradict	to speak against
de-	reverse, remove		defoliate	remove the leaves from a tree
dis-	apart		dislocate	to unlodge
dys-	bad		dysfunctional	not functioning
ecto-	outside		ectoparasite	parasite living on the exterior of animals
endo-	within		endogamy	marriage within the tribe
ex-	out		excavate	to dig out
equi-	equal		equidistant	equal distance
extra-	beyond		extraterrestrial	beyond the earth
hyper-	over		hypertension	high blood pressure
hypo-	under		hypotension	low blood pressure
in-	in		interim	in between
inter-	between		intervene	come between
intra-	within		intramural	within bounds of a school
intro-	in, into		introspect	to look within, as one's own mind
macro-	large		macroscopic	large enough to be observed by the naked eye
mal-	bad		maladjusted	badly adjusted
micro-	small		microscopic	so small that one needs a microscope to observe
multi-	many		multimillionaire	one having two or more million dollars
neo-	new		neolithic	new stone age
non-	not		nonconformist	one who does not conform
pan-	all		pantheon	a temple dedicated to all gods
poly-	many		polygonal	having many sides
post-	after		postgraduate	after graduating
pre-	before		precede	to go before
pro-	for		proponent	a supporter
proto-	first		prototype	first or original model
pseudo-	false		pseudonym	false name; esp., an author's pen-name
re-, red-	back again		rejuvenate	to make young
re-,red-	together		reconnect	to put together again
retro-	backward		retrospect	a looking back on things
semi-	half		semicircle	half a circle
sub-	under		submerge	to put under water
super-	above		superfine	extra fine
tele-	far		telescope	seeing or viewing afar
trans-	across		transalpine	across the Alps