Greek and Latin Roots Word Search
A free Greek and Latin Roots word search you can play straight in the browser. The 12-word list draws on the terms and ideas of a school subject, hidden across a 15×15 grid in every direction. Drag through the letters to mark a word off.
Words to find: ROOT, PREFIX, SUFFIX, BASE, DERIVATION, ETYMOLOGY, LATIN, GREEK, MORPHOLOGY, AFFIX, COMPOUND, COGNATE.
Found words stay highlighted, so the grid gets easier to read as you go and the final few tend to fall quickly.
Greek and Latin Roots word list, defined
- ROOT /ruːt/ · noun, verb
- The root of a plant is the underground structure that anchors it and absorbs water and minerals. By extension, a root is a source, origin, or fundamental cause from which something develops. Related: origin, source, basis, foundation.
- PREFIX /ˈpriːfɪks/ · noun
- A prefix is a word or group of letters placed at the beginning of another word to modify its meaning or function. In language, it may indicate negation, tense, degree, affiliation, or another grammatical relationship. Related: affix, initial, word element, bounding form.
- SUFFIX /ˈsʌfɪks/ · noun
- A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to form another word or a particular grammatical form. The word “happy,” for example, has the suffix “-ly,” which changes it into an adverb. Related: ending, final element, terminal element.
- BASE /beɪs/ · noun, verb, adjective
- The lowest part or foundation of something on which it stands or is built; also, a starting point or underlying support for an idea, activity, or system. Related: foundation, footing, basis, groundwork.
- DERIVATION /ˌdɛrɪˈveɪʃən/ · noun
- The process of obtaining or developing something from a source or origin; in linguistics, the formation of a new word from an existing one, typically by adding affixes. Related: origin, source, descent, derivation process.
- ETYMOLOGY /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ · noun
- The study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history. It can also refer to the origin and historical development of a particular word itself. Related: word origin, derivation, root, source.
- GREEK /ɡriːk/ · noun, adjective, verb
- Greek, normally capitalized, refers to Greece, its people, its language, or anything characteristic of its culture. In the expression “all Greek to me,” it means unintelligible or unfamiliar. Related: Hellenic, Grecian, Graecian.
- MORPHOLOGY /mɔːˈrɒlədʒi/ (US: /mɔːrˈɑːlədʒi/) · noun
- In linguistics, morphology is the study of the structure and formation of words, including their roots, affixes, and other meaningful elements. In biology, it refers to the form and structure of organisms or their parts. Related: word structure, form, formation, shape.
- AFFIX /ˈæfɪks/ · noun, verb
- An affix is a word element — such as a prefix or suffix — attached to the beginning or end of a base word or root to form a new word. As a verb, to affix means to attach or fasten something physically to another object. Related: append, attach, addition, fasten.
- COMPOUND /ˈkɒm.paʊnd/ (noun, adjective); /kəmˈpaʊnd/ (verb) · noun, verb, adjective
- As a noun, a compound is a thing made up of two or more parts combined into a whole, especially a chemical substance formed of two or more elements. As a verb, to compound means to make a problem or situation worse, or to combine things together. Related: combination, mixture, blend, composite.
- COGNATE /ˈkɒɡneɪt/ · noun, adjective
- A cognate is a word related to another word by descent from a common ancestral language. As an adjective, it describes things — especially languages or words — that are connected by such common origin. Related: related, corresponding, equivalent, parallel.
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