GRE词汇词根分享

BELL comes from the Latin word meaning "war." Bellona was the little-known Roman goddess of war; her husband, Mars, was the god of war.
Antebellum, bellicose, belligerence, rebellion

PAC/PEAS is related to the Latin words for "agree" and "peace." The Pacific Ocean-that is, the "Peaceful Ocean"-was named by Magellan because it seemed so calm after the storms near Carp Horn. (He obviously never witnessed a Pacific hurricane.)
Pacify, pacifist, pact, appease,

HOSP/HOST comes from the Latin word hopes and its stem hospital- meaning both 'host' and 'guest.' Many words based on it came to English through French, which often dropped the -pi-, leaving host-. Hospitality was once a house for religious pilgrims and other travelers, or a home for the aged.
Hostage, hospice, hostile, inhospitable

AM/IM comes from the Latin word amare, 'to love.' Amiable means 'friendly or good-natured, ' and amigo is Spanish for 'friend.'
Amicable, enamored, inimical, paramour

CRIM comes from the Latin for 'fault or crime' or 'accusation,' and produces such English words as crime and criminal.
Criminology, decriminalize, incriminate, recrimination

PROB/PROV comes from the Latin words for 'prove or proof' and 'honesty or integrity.' To prove a statement is to 'make it honest,' and probate court is where the genuineness of the wills of deceased people must be proved.
Approbation, disprove, probity, reprobate

GRAV comes from the Latin word meaning 'heavy, weighty, serious.' Thus, a grave matter is serious and important.
Gravid, gravities, gravitate, gravity

LEV comes from the Latin adjective levis, meaning 'light' and the verb leaver, meaning 'to raise or lighten.' Levitation is the magician's trick in which a body seems to rise into the air by itself. And a lever is a barused to lift something by means of leverage.
Alleviate, elevate, leavening, levity

Unit2
AG comes from the Latin word for 'do, go, lead, and drive’. An agenda is a list of things to be done. An agent is usually someone who does things on behalf of another, just as an agency is an office that does business for others.
Agitate, litigate, prodigal, synagogue

VEN/VENT comes from venire, the Latin verb meaning 'come'. To intervene in a case or an argument is to 'come between' the two opponents. An avenue is a street, or originally an access road by which to 'come toward' something. Groups 'come together' at a convention.
Advent, provenance, venturesome, venue

CAP/CEP/CIP comes from capere, the Latin verb meaning 'take, seize.' Capture, which is what a captor does to a captive, but now means only to capture mentally through charm or appeal. In some other English words this root produces, its meaning is harder to find.
Reception, incipient, perceptible, susceptible

FIN comes from the Latin word for 'end' or 'boundary.' Final describes last things, and a finale or a finish is an ending. But it’s meaning is harder to trace in some of the other English words derived from it.
Affinity, definitive, infinitesimal, finite

JAC/JEC comes from jacere, the Latin verb meaning 'throw' or 'hurl.' To reject something is to throw (or push) it back. To eject something is to throw (or drive) it out. To object is to throw something in the way of something else.
Adjacent, conjecture, dejected, trajectory

TRACT comes from trahere, the Latin verb meaning 'drag of draw'. Something attractive draws us toward it. A tractor drags other vehicles behind it, with the help of the traction of its wheels.
Detract, protracted, retraction, intractable

DUC, from the Latin verb ducere, 'to lead,' shows up constantly in English. Duke means basically 'leader.' The Italian dictator Mussolini was known simply as 'II Duce.' But such words as produce and reduce also contain the root, even though their meanings show it less clearly.
Conducive, deduction, induce, seduction

SEC/SEQU comes from the Latin verb sequi, meaning 'to follow.' A sequel follows the original novel, film, or television show. The second follows the first. But a non sequitur is a conclusion that does 'not follow' from what was said before.
Consequential, execute, obsequious, sequential

Unit3
AMBI/AMPHI means 'on both sides' or 'around'; ambi- comes from Latin and amphi- from Greek. An ambidextrous person can use the right and the left hand equally well. An amphibian, such as a frog or salamander, is able to live and breathe both on land and in the water.
Ambiguous, ambient, ambivalent, amphitheater

EP/EPI comes from Greek and means variously 'upon,' 'besides,' 'attached to', 'over,' 'outer,’ or 'after'. An epiphenomenon is a phenomenon that occurs as a result of the original phenomenon. An epicenter is the portion of the earth's surface directly over the focus of an earthquake. The epidermis is The outer layer of the skin, overlying the inner layer or 'dermis.'
Ephemeral, epiphyte, epitaph, epithet

HYPO/HYP as a prefix can mean variously 'under,' 'beneath,' 'down,' or 'below normal.' Many hypo- words are medical. A hypodermic needle injects medication under the skin. Hypotension, or low blood pressure, can be just as unhealthy as hypertension, and hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, just as unhealthy as diabetes.
Hypochondriac, hypocrisy, hypothermia, hypothetical

THERM/THERMO comes from the Greek word meaning 'warm'. A thermometer measures the amount of warmth in a body, the air, or an oven; a thermostat makes sure the temperature stays at the same level. In a thermodynamic process, heat affects the behavior of atoms, particles, or molecules. Thermoelectricity is produced by the direct action of heat on certain combinations of metals.
Thermal, thermo cline, thermocouple, thermonuclear

POLY comes from polys, the Greek word for 'many,' Polysyllabic words, of which there are a few in this book, are words of many syllables. Polygamy is marriage in which one has many spouses, or at least more than the legal limit of one. A polygraph is an instrument for recording variations in many different bodily pulsations simultaneously to reveal whether someone is lying.
Polychromatic, polyglot, polymer, polyphony

PRIM comes from primus, the Latin word for 'first'. Something that is primary is first in time, development, rank, or importance. A primer is a book of first instructions on a subject. A primate is a bishop or archbishop of the first rank-but also a monkey or ape. Something primitive is in its first stage of development. Something primeval had its origin in the first period of world or human history.
Primal, precipitous, primogeniture, primordial

HOM/HOMO comes from homos, the Greek word for 'same.' In an English word it can mean 'one and the same' or 'similar' or 'alike', A homograph is one of two or more words spelled alike but different in meaning or derivation or pronunciation. A homosexual is a person who exhibits sexual desire toward others of the same sex.
Homonym, homogeneous, homologous, homophone

DIS comes from Latin, where it means 'apart.' In English, its meanings have increased to include 'do the opposite of '(as in disestablish), 'deprive of ' (as in disfranchise), 'exclude or expel from’ (disbar), 'the opposite or absence of '(disunion, disaffection), 'Not’ (disagreeable), and ‘completely’ (disannul). The original meaning can still be seen in a word like dissipate, which means ' to break up and scatter.'
Diffraction, dissension, disseminate, dissipate

Unit4
VOR, from the Latin verb vorare, means 'to eat'. The ending -ivorous shows up in words that refer to eaters of certain kinds of food. Frugivorous (for 'fruit-eating') are somewhat common. Some -ivorous words such as insectivorous and nectarivorous, are easy to understand at a glance. Others can get pretty complex; insects that feed on the sap of plants, for instance, are phytosuccivorous.
Carnivorous, herbivorous, omnivorous, voracious

CARN comes from the Latin carn-, the stem of caro, 'flesh,' and words including this root usually refer to flesh in some form. The word carnivore, for example, which we met in the preceding section, means 'an eater of meat.'
Carnage, carnal, carnival, incarnation

CRED comes from credere, the Latin verb meaning 'to believe.' If something is credible it is believable, and if it is incredible it is almost unbelievable. We have a good credit rating when institutions believe in our ability to repay a loan, and we carry credentials so that others will believe we are who we say we are.
Credence, creditable, credulity, creed

FID comes from fides, the Latin word for faith. Fidelity is another word for 'faithfulness.' Confidence is having faith in someone or something. And an infidel is someone who lacks a particular kind of religious faith.
Affidavit, diffident, fiduciary, perfidy

CURR/CURS comes from currere, the Latin verb meaning 'to run'. Although the sense of speed may be lacking from words based on this root, the sense of movement remains. Current, for instance, refers to running water in a stream or river. And an excursion is a trip from one place to another.
Concurrent, cursory, discursive, precursor

PED comes from the Latin ped-, the stem of pes, meaning 'foot,' which is related to the Greek pod- and pous, with the same meaning. From ped- we get pedicure, 'care of the feet, toes, and toenails. ' From pod- we get podiatrist, 'a foot doctor.'
Expedient, expedite, impediment, pedestrian

FLECT/FLEX comes from flectere, the Latin verb meaning 'to bend.' Things that are flexible can be bent. When light is reflected, it is bent and bounces back to us.
Deflect, flexor, genuflect, inflection

POST comes from a Latin word meaning 'after' or 'behind.' A postscript is a note that comes after an otherwise completed letter, usually as an afterthought. Postpartum refers to the period following childbirth and all of its related events and complications. To postdate a check is to five it a date after the day when it was written.
Posterior, posthumous, postmodern, postmortem