The & G r e e k L at i n of R o o t s E n g l i s h F I F T H E D I T I O N G r e e k L at i n The & R o o t s E n g l i s h of Tamara M. Green ROW M A N & L I T T L E F I E L D Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • London Published by Rowman & Littlefield A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com 16 Carlisle Street, London W1D 3BT, United Kingdom Copyright © 2015 by Rowman & Littlefield First edition 1990. Second edition 1994. Third edition 2003. Fourth edition 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Green, Tamara Marcus, 1944– author. The Greek & Latin roots of English / Tamara M. Green. — Fifth edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-4422-3327-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-3328-7 (electronic) 1. English language—Foreign elements—Greek. 2. English language—Foreign elements—Latin. 3. Greek language—Influence on English. 4. Latin language—Influence on English. 5. English language—Roots. I. Title. II. Title: Greek and Latin roots of English. PE1582.G6G74 2014 422'.48—dc23 2014008859 ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/ NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America Contents Preface xi 1. A Polyglot Stew (Or Food for Thought) 1 I’m So Hungry! 2 What Shall We Have for Dinner? 2 2. Language and History 5 Language Families 6 The Branches of the Indo-European Tree 9 A Brief History of English 10 An Outline of the History of the English Language 16 And What Is More 18 Some Useful Terms 19 Exercises 23 3. How Latin Works 27 Inflected Languages 28 Latin Nouns and Adjectives 29 Finding the Stem of a Latin Noun or Adjective 31 Latin Verbs 31 Conjugations 32 Finding the Stem of a Latin Verb 32 Some Very Useful Latin Verbs 34 Exercises 37 v CONTENTS vi 4. Latin into English 43 Forming New Words 44 I. Adjective-Forming Suffixes Used with Latin Noun Stems 44 II. Noun-Forming Suffixes Used with Latin Nouns and Adjectives 45 III. Diminutive-Forming Suffixes with Latin Nouns 46 IV. Nouns and Adjectives Formed from Latin Verbs 46 V. Verbal Suffixes 50 VI. Verbal Learned Borrowings 51 Exercises 55 5. How Greek Works 61 The Greek Alphabet 62 Rules for Transliterating Greek Words into English 63 Cognates 65 Exercises 67 6. Greek into English 71 Greek Suffixes 72 I. Adjective-Forming Suffixes 72 II. Noun-Forming Suffixes 72 III. Learned Borrowings 74 Exercises 75 7. Latin and Greek Prefixes 79 I. Latin Prepositions 80 II. Greek Prepositions 82 III. Prefixes Derived from Greek and Latin Adjectives and Adverbs 83 Exercises 87 8. Latin and Greek Numbers 93 Countdown 94 Latin Numbers 94 Greek Numbers 97 Exercises 101 CONTENTS vii 9. Government and Politics 105 Greek Politics 106 Roman Politics 107 Governmental Bureaucracy 109 The Law 112 War and Peace 113 Exercises 115 10. Psychology 119 Modern Theories of Psychology 120 Ancient Psychological Theory 121 Love and Marriage 122 States of Feeling 123 The Four Humors 124 Star Wars 125 Science and the Human Mind 126 Exercises 129 11. The Social Sciences 135 Theory and Practice 136 Anthropology 136 Sociology 137 Economics 138 Exercises 143 12. Human Biology and Medicine I 147 Modern Medicine and Ancient Terminology 148 The Human Body 148 Medical Specialties 150 Diagnosis and Treatment 152 To Sleep, Perchance to Dream 154 Exercises 159 CONTENTS viii 13. Human Biology and Medicine II 165 Advanced Medical Training 166 The Circulatory System 166 The Respiratory System 166 The Digestive System 167 The Reproductive System 169 The Endocrine System 169 More Useful Beginnings and Endings 171 Exercises 173 14. Science and Mathematics 177 Ancient and Modern Science 178 The Biological Sciences 178 Astronomy 184 Chemistry 186 Physics 190 Geology 192 Geography 194 Meteorology 195 Mathematics 196 Islamic Science 198 Exercises 199 15. It’s an Academic Question 207 Greek and Roman Education 208 Books and Libraries 211 Exercises 215 16. The Classical Influence 219 Europe and the Classical Heritage 220 The Fine Arts 220 City Planning 222 Literature 223 Theater 224 Music 226 Athletics, Competition, and Excellence 227 Exercises 231 CONTENTS ix 17. Myth, Religion, and Philosophy 235 Greek and Roman Religion and Myth 236 The Greek and Roman Gods 236 The Calendar 238 Other Times . . . 239 Other Places . . . 239 Troy 244 Ancient Peoples and Places 246 Philosophy 248 The Language of Christianity 250 Exercises 251 18. Lingua Latina Etiam Vivit! (The Latin Language Still Lives!) 255 Exercises 261 Greek Vocabulary 265 Latin Vocabulary 273 About the Author 283