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Bernard Smith

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Latin in the English Language

last update: 13 June 2020

TV quiz shows, etc. are full of questions about the meaning of Latin words and phrases, and in particular those that have become embedded in the English language. In some cases understanding the Latin or Greek origin of a word can help find the answer.

Three bonus questions on terms that begin with the prefix ‘poly’:
In each case, give the term from the definition:
(a) In chemistry, the combination of several molecules to form a more complex molecule, usually by a step- or chain-growth mechanism?
(b) Music in two or more parts, each having a melody of its own? The term is widely used of the ringtones of mobile telephones.
(c) In geometry, a solid figure with many faces?

(a) What word, from the Latin meaning a case or chest for books or papers, is given to a holy or sacred place that is dedicated to a specific deity or saint, and often becomes a place of pilgrimage?

From a comparative form of the Greek word for ‘both’, what adjective denotes a chemical capable of reacting both as a base and as an acid, for example amino acids and the oxides of zinc and aluminium?


From two unconnected Greek words, what five-letter word links a punctuation mark used to separate clauses when the second expands or illustrates the first, and the main part of the large intestine, between the caecum and rectum?

Three bonus questions on a Greek letter:
(a) Which Greek letter is the symbol of chemical potential and also of the coefficient of friction?
(b) Mu also denotes a multiplicative function in number theory, named after which German mathematician, who gives his name to the surface with only one side and only one boundary component?
(c) The same letter can also represent a muon which, along with the electron, the tauon and the three neutrinos, is classified as what type of fundamental particle?

What Latin term referred to a soldier added to a legion after it had reached its full complement and also denotes, in biology, structures occurring in addition to the normal ones, and, in genetics, an irregularly occurring chromosome that may be absent from normal individuals?

1. From the Greek for 'unguent', what five-letter term denotes a complex of molten silicates with water and gases formed within the upper mantle of the earth?
2. Meaning 'said only once', what two-word Greek term denotes a word or word-form that is recorded only once in a text, in the work of a particular author, or in a body of literature? 

What four-letter prefix links: the name of the layer of the Earth's atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere; the land bling between the tigers and Euphrates rivers; and the geological era that includes the triassic and Cretaceous period? Answer


Page 72



Deriving its name form the Greek word for 'being', which branch of metaphysics concerns itself with the philosophical study of existence? Answer - Ontology


So there are Latin (and Greek) roots, stems, prefixes, suffixes and phrases that can be found in English. This webpage will try to collect the most frequently used, i.e. the ones we should know and not some rare scientific or medical term of Latin origin.

A simple Latin root in English might be voc, as in vocal or convocation.
A stem is just a root often with a prefix or suffix to make it a fully understandable word, e.g. both tie and untie are stems, but voc above is not a full word.
A simple prefix in English might be ante-, as in anti-inflammatory.
A simple suffix in English might be -wise, as in otherwise.
Words can have both a prefix and a suffix such as untouchable, where un- is the prefix and -able is the suffix with touch as the root.
A simple Latin phrase used in English might be anno Domini.

A word of warning, there are a lot of lists of Latin roots on the Web, mistakenly include Greek root words, or just throw in plain prefixes or suffixes as well. Yet dictionaries are quite clear in differentiating between words of Latin and Greek origin (L./Lat. and Gr., and eventually Gr.-L.), and identifying prefixes (pref.) and suffixes (suff.).

When constructing these lists I was amazed at just how many words in English originate from Greek or Latin, some reports suggest that anything between ⅓ and ½ of all English words come from Greek or Latin.

Roots

Prefixes

Suffixes