English vocabulary has been greatly influenced by Latin, and many of the words we use today have Latin roots. Understanding these Latin roots can help improve our vocabulary and comprehension of the English language.
In this article, we have compiled a list of 77 common Latin roots and their English derivatives, providing a useful resource for anyone looking to expand their knowledge of English vocabulary.
The Latin term for ship is “navis,” which gave rise to the root “nav” found in English words such as naval, navy, and navigation. Roman shipbuilding was advanced and contributed to the expansion of the Roman Empire.
The Latin root “nat” comes from “natus,” which means “born,” and can be found in English words like natal, native, and natality.
The Latin root “fili” is derived from the word “filius,” which means “son.” Many English words have been formed from this root, including filial and affiliation.
The root “frat” originates from the Latin word “frater,” which means “brother.” This root is found in many English words such as fraternal and fraternity.
The root “lum” is derived from the Latin word “lumen,” meaning “light.” Many English words contain this root, including “illuminate,” “luminescent,” and “luminary.”
The word arbor means “tree” in Latin. This root appears in English vocabulary words such as arborescence (a tree-like structure) and arboretum (a place where different varieties of trees are planted), as well as the adjective arboreal.
From stella (the Latin word for “star”). This is the basis of the adjective stellar (which means having the characteristics of a star) and the noun constellation (an astronomy term referring to a formation of stars).
The Latin adjective “magnus” meaning “great” gave rise to the root “magn”. This root is used in various English vocabulary words such as magnificent, magnanimous, and the verb to magnify.
The root “mat” is derived from the Latin word “mater,” which means “mother.” This root is found in many English words such as maternal and maternity.
The root “lun” is derived from the Latin word “luna,” meaning “moon.” It is the basis for several English words, including lunar (relating to the moon) and lunatic.
The Latin root “fort” is derived from the Latin word “fortis,” which means “strong” or “powerful.” This root has been used to form many English words that denote strength or power, such as “fortify,” “fortitude,” “fortress,” and “effort.”
The Latin word lac, meaning “milk,” has given rise to several English words, including lactate and lactose (a sugar found in milk).
The Latin word “lingua,” meaning “language,” has given rise to the root “lingu” in English. This root can be found in many English words such as linguistics, bilingual, and multilingual.
The Latin root “annu” comes from “annus,” meaning “year.” It forms several English terms related to time, including “anniversary,” “annual,” “annuity,” and “perennial.”
The Latin root “don” comes from the Latin word “donare,” which means “to give.” This root is commonly found in English terms related to giving, such as donation, donor, and condone. To condone means to approve or tolerate something that is wrong or inappropriate.
The Latin root “aqua” means water and is present in many English words associated with water or liquids, such as aquarium, aqueduct, and aquatic.
The Latin root “vac” originates from the Latin word “vacare,” which means “to be empty.” It is the origin of several English words such as “vacant”, “vacuum”, “evacuate”, and “vacation”.
The root “doc” is derived from the Latin verb “docere” meaning “to teach”. It appears in English words such as doctrine, doctorate, and document.
The word “liber” is a Latin root which can be found in English words such as liberty and liberalism. This word means “free” in the Latin language.
The Latin root “pater” is derived from the Latin word for “father.” Many English words have been derived from this root, and they all relate to the concept of fatherhood or authority figures. For example, the word “paternal” is an adjective that describes something relating to a father or a father’s side of the family. The term “paternity” refers to the state of being a father or the identity of a child’s father. Additionally, the word “patriarch” refers to the male head of a family or tribe.
The Latin root “fem” is derived from the word “femina,” which means “woman.” Several English words have been derived from this root, such as female, feminine, and feminist.
The Latin verb “vivere”, meaning “to live”, has given rise to the root “viv” in English, which can be found in words such as vivid, survive, and vivacious.
The Latin root “aev” is derived from the Latin word “aevum,” which means “age” or “era.” This root has been used to form many English words conveying the idea of a particular historical period or era. For example, the term “medieval” is derived from “aev,” and refers to the period in history between the 5th and 15th centuries. Another derivative of this root is the word “primeval,” which refers to the earliest period in history. The Latin root “aev” has also given rise to the term “longevity”.
The Latin word “anima,” meaning “soul,” is the origin of the root anim. Many English words have been derived from this root, including animal, animosity, and animation.
The Latin root “cept” from the verb “capere,” meaning “to take” or “to seize,” has been used in English to form words which are often related to the concept of receiving something. Examples include “accept,” “conception,” “perception,” and “reception.”
From the Latin verb credere, which means “to trust” or “to believe”. There are many English words that are derived from this root, such as accreditation, credentials, and to discredit.
The Latin word “cura,” meaning “care” or “concern,” has provided the root word “cur” in English. It is found in several words related to taking care of something or showing concern, such as “curator” for managing collections, “curative” for healing, and “curious” for expressing a strong desire to learn or know something.
The Latin root “dic” means “to say” or “to speak” and has been used to form many English words, such as “dictionary”, “diction”, “edict”, and “predict”. It is also the basis for words like “verdict”, “indictment”, and “benediction”.
The Romans are known for their aqueducts, which are structures that carry water from one place to another. The word “aqueduct” is derived from two Latin roots, “aqua” meaning “water” and “ductus” meaning “leading.” English words such as to deduce, to produce and to reduce all come from the root “duc”. This root's origin is the Latin verb “ducere,” which means “to lead”.
The Latin saying “Caveat emptor” means “buyer beware”. The Latin root “empt” means “bought” or “purchased” and is the origin of English words such as “redemption”, “exempt”, and “preempt”.
The root “fac” (or “fact”) comes from the verb “facere,” which means “to make”. Other than it being the root of the commonly used English word “fact,” it can also be found in words such as benefactor, satisfaction, and artifact.
Words like conference, prefer, and fertile all contain the root “fer,” which is derived from the Latin verb “ferre” meaning “to carry” or “to bear”.
From the Latin verb facere (which means “to make” or “to do”). English language words such as magnificent, deficient, and sacrifice have all been derived from this common Latin root.
“Fin” comes from the word “finis,” which means “to end” in Latin. Words such as final, definition, and fine have been derived from this root.
While the word “flu” has meaning in English on its own, it is actually a Latin root as well. Flu can be found in many different English words that people use on a day-to-day basis, such as influence, fluid, and fluency. This root comes from the Latin origin word “fluere,” which means “to flow”.
The Latin root “gress” is derived from the Latin word “gressus” (or “gradus”), which means “step” or “way.” This root is found in many English words that convey the idea of movement or progress, both physical and abstract. For example, the term “progress” is derived from “gress,” and refers to the movement towards a goal or the advancement of something. Another derivative of this root is the word “congress,” which refers to a gathering of people for a specific purpose or to make progress in a particular field. The Latin root “gress” has also given rise to words such as “digress” and “transgress.”
In English, the words inhale, exhale, and exhalant all come from the Latin root “hal”, which is derived from the verb “halare” meaning “to breathe”.
The root “insul” comes from the Latin word “insula,” which means “island”. It appears in English words such as insular and insulation. Basically, the root “insul” evokes the notion of being isolated, either physically or mentally, like an island is separated from the rest of the world by water.
“Jac” comes from the word “jaceo,” which means “to be thrown” in Latin. However, the root jac is often understood to mean “lie” in English. This root word can be found in English words such as adjacent and circumjacent.
The Latin root “ject” comes from the verb “jacere,” which means “to throw.” In English, it is used to form words that relate to the act of throwing or casting. “Eject” means to throw or expel something, and “project” refers to throwing something forward or projecting it into the future.
The Latin verb “jungo” meaning “to join” gave rise to the root “junct” in English, which appears in words like junction, conjunction, and subjunctive.
Words such as jury, to abjure, and to conjure come from the Latin root “jur”. The origin word of this root is “ius,” which means “law”.
“Lect” is a root that is used in English words such as collection, intellect, and election. It comes from the Latin verb “legere,” which means “to choose” or “to gather”.
Words such as manicure, manuscript, and to manipulate are all derived from the Latin root “man,” which comes from the word “manus,” meaning “hand”.
The root word “memor” means “remember” in Latin. There are many English words that have been derived from this root, such as to commemorate or memoir.
In Latin, “merge” comes from the verb “mergere,” which means “to plunge” or “to dip”. The verbs to emerge and to submerge are examples of English words which contain the root “merge”.
“Miser” is a Latin root that is used in many common English words. It means “unhappy” or “wretched” and can be found in words such as commiseration, misery, and miserable.
Derived from the Latin word “mittere,” which means “to send,” the root “mit” is found in many English words. Examples of terms with the “mit” root include “admit,” “submit,” “emit,” and “permit,” which all involve some aspect of sending, allowing, or putting forth.
The Latin word “modus” means “measure” or “method” and is the origin of the root “mod” in English. This root has been used to create words like “immodest”, “mode” and “model”.
The root “pass” originates from the Latin word “passus,” which means “a step” or “a pace.” This root is found in many English words, including “passage” and “compass.”
The Latin root “pend” is widely used in English and is derived from the Latin verb “pendere,” which means “to hang down.” It appears in words like “append,” “depend,” “pendant,” and “suspense.”
The Latin root “ple” is derived from the verb “plere,” meaning “to fill”. It is present in several English words, including deplete, complete, and supplementary.
The root “plic” comes from the Latin verb “plicare,” which means “to fold.” It is present in words like “replicate,” “application,” and “complicated.”
The Latin root “port” comes from the verb “portare,” meaning “to carry.” It has given rise to English words such as “portable,” “porter,” “transportation,” and “report.”
The Latin verb “ponere” meaning “to put” gave rise to the root “posit” in English, which can be found in words such as opposite, position, and deposit.
The words correct, director, and rectangle are all examples of English words which contain the Latin root “rect”. “Rect” comes from the verb “regere,” which means “to direct”.
The Latin root “regul” originates from the noun “regula,” meaning “rule.” English words like “regular” and “regulation” are derived from this root.
The root “sacr” (or “secr”) comes from the verb sacrare, which means “to consecrate” or “to swear”. It can be found in English language words such as to consecrate, sacred, and sacrifice.
The Latin phrase “non sequitur” meaning “it does not follow” refers to illogical conclusions that do not match with the previous premises. The Latin root “sequ” that comes from the verb “sequere,” meaning “to follow” in Latin, can be found in many English words such as subsequent, sequence, and sequel.
Words such as insolence, insolent, and obsolete come from the Latin root “sole,” which comes from “solere,” meaning “accustomed” or “in the habit of”.
The root “somn” comes from the Latin word “somnus,” meaning “sleep,” and it has made its way into many English words that relate to snoozing and slumber. For example, the word “insomnia” comes from this root and describes the inability to sleep. Another word derived from this root is “somnolent,” which means feeling drowsy or sleepy. You might also recognize the term “somnambulist,” which refers to a sleepwalker, someone who is up and about while still in a state of slumber.
The Latin root “son,” derived from the Latin word “sonus” meaning “noise” or “sound,” has contributed to a variety of English words. Some common examples include “unison,” “sonic,” and “consonant.”
The Latin verb “spectare” means “to look at,” and from it comes the root “spect” in English. Many English words contain this root, including “spectator” and “spectacular.”
The Latin root “sper” originates from the verb “sperare,” which means “to hope.” Many English words have been derived from this root, including “desperate” and “prosper.”
The Latin verb “struere,” meaning “to build” or “to construct,” gave rise to the root “stru” in English. This root is present in several English words, including constructive, instruct, and structural.
The root “ten” comes from the Latin verb “tenere,” which means “to hold”. It is the root of English words such as tenant, maintenance, and tenor. Other words derived from this word include sustenance and tenure.
This root comes from the noun “terra,” which means “earth” or “land”. Words derived from this root include extra-terrestrial, terracotta, and subterranean.
The Latin root “tract” derives from the Latin verb “tractare,” which means “to draw or pull.” In English, this root has been used to create a plethora of words with a range of meanings, often related to the idea of drawing or pulling something. For example, the term “attract” is derived from this root and describes the ability of something to draw in or pull towards itself. Another example is the word “detract,” which means to draw away from or diminish the value of something. The term “tractable” is another derivative of this root, denoting something easily managed or controlled.
“Und” comes from the word “unda,” which means “wave” in Latin. You can find this root in English words such as to abound, to surround, and abundance.
The root “us” is derived from the Latin noun “usus,” which means “use.” Several English words have been formed from this root, including “abuse,” “usurpation,” and “peruse.”
The Latin root “vag” comes from the verb “vagare,” which means “to wander”. It is the origin of English words such as extravagant, vagabond, and vague.
“Val” is a very common Latin root that appears in many different English words. For example, ambivalence, to validate, invalid, and value. “Val” comes from the verb “valere,” which means “to have strength”.
The English words verb and verbose are derived from the root “verb” which comes from the Latin noun “verbum,” meaning “word”.
The Latin root “vers” has its origin in the word “versus” that signifies “turn.” Numerous common English words incorporate this root, including “adverse,” “conversation,” and “anniversary.”
The root “vid” comes from the Latin verb “videre,” which means “to see”. It is the basis for several English words that relate to vision or observation. For example: evidence and video.
The root “vil” originates from the Latin adjective “vilis,” which can mean “cheap” or “vile.” Several English words have evolved from this root, including “revile” and “vilify.”
The Latin root “vor” derives from the Latin word “vorare,” meaning “to devour.” This root is used in English to create words related to eating. Words derived from this root include “carnivore,” “omnivore,” and “voracious.”
In Latin, the root “vot” comes from the verb “vovere,” which means “to promise” or “to vow”. Words such as devoted, vote and votary have all been derived from this common Latin root.
Understanding Latin roots is essential for improving one's English vocabulary. This list of 77 Latin roots commonly used in English can serve as a helpful reference for learners and educators alike.
By recognizing the roots and their meanings, one can decipher the meanings of unfamiliar words and expand one’s language skills. Learning the etymology of English words can also provide a fascinating insight into the history of the language and its evolution over time.
To learn more about etymology, check out our guides to Latin prefixes & Latin suffixes.