hello and welcome to Latin and Greek root words in this video you'll learn
tricks for spelling reading and understanding the meaning of words
before watching this video be sure to watch the video called prefixes and the
one called suffixes then come back to this one you already know that prefixes
are groups of letters that come before a word that changed the meaning of the
word and that suffixes are a group of letters that come after a word to also
change the meaning of a word in this video we will look at the main words or
the root words that prefixes and suffixes are often attached to it's
important to know word origins or roots to help you spell read and understand
the meaning of words when you know the Latin Greek or French meaning of the
word you will better understand the English meaning be careful though not
all root words are words by themselves many need prefixes or suffixes to be
actual words let's look at some example of root words the root word bi is Greek
for two or twice can you figure out how to read these words then can you also
figure out their meaning since cycle means to pedal in a circular
motion and by means to this word means two petals in circular motions we know
it as this object we ride it with two petals and also two wheels called a
bicycle since focal has to do with focusing the eyes and by means to this
word means two lenses used to focus with the eyes or bifocals let's look at
another root word inter is the Latin root meaning between or among the word
international then means between nations the word Internet means between networks
fun isn't it it is a Latin root word specifically from the
French that means someone who does in English we have dropped the final e in
this route a person whose styles is called a stylist a person who works with
flowers is called a florist a person who plays the guitar is called a guitarist
what would a person who cares for teeth be called yes a dentist dent means teeth
in French as well do you see how knowing the meaning of root words helps you
understand the meaning of the whole word it will also help you spell the words
when you want to write them here are some common root words can you guess
their meanings
it would be impossible to memorize all the root words in the English language
but you can practice some of the more popular routes and our fun games until
next time always be clever