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WORKING ON VOCABULARY SKILLS

The development of a strong vocabulary is essential for adequate communication skills.

The English language is comprised of several words from all languages. The languages that have provided the most impact are Greek and Latin. By knowing the meanings of several Greek and Latin root words, prefixes and suffixes, you will be able to broaden your vocabulary.

Root words/meanings

Greek

ROOT WORD	MEANING
astr,aster	star
bio	life
chiro	hand
chron	time
crac, crat	power, rule
cris, crit	separate, judge
cycl	circle
geo	earth
glos, glot	tongue
graph	write, record
log, logy	speaking, study or science of
nomy	law
philo	loving
phobia	dread of
phon	sound
pod	foot
stereo	firm, solid

Latin

ROOT WORD	MEANING
aud	hear
cid	kill
cred	believe
dict	tell, say
duc, duct	lead, draw
fac, fic	make, do
flect	bend
hom	man
ject	throw
leg, lect	read
loqu	speak
mis, mit	send
mort	die
quer, quest, quir	seek, ask
sci	know
scrib, script	write
spec, spic, spect	look at or examine
ten	hold, stretch
tract	draw
vers, vert	turn
vid, vis	see
vic	call, voice

Prefixes/meanings

Greek

Prefix	Meaning
auto	self
di, dia	between, across
eu	good
hydro	water
micro	small
mono	one
ortho	real, straight
tri	three

Latin

Prefix	Meaning
ad	to, toward
ante	before
bene	good
bi	two
circum	around, on all sides
con	with
contra	against
e, ex	out
in	into
intro	within
non	not
post	after
pre	before
pro	after
re	again, back
soli	alone
sub, sup	under, below
super	above, over
trans	across

Suffixes/Meanings

Suffixes	Meaning
able, -ible	able to
age, -ance,- ence-,ity,-ment,-ness,-ship,-tion	a state or condition of
al,-ic,-ly	similar to
an,-ee, -eer, -er, -ian-, -ist, --ite,-or	a person , one who….
ate	to act or do
er, -est	a degree of
ful, -ous	full of
less	without

Vocabulary is also expanded by determining antonyms and synonyms. The antonym is a word of opposite meaning,. The synonym is a word of similar meaning.

EXAMPLE: ANTONYMS: cold - hot

dark – light

SYNONYMS: ingenious – clever

ominous- threatening

When using synonyms, it is important to choose the word that conveys the exact meaning and impression intended by the writer. Many times, although the words are synonymous, there are subtle differences in meanings. One must consider what is being said before choosing the appropriate synonym.

Knowing the meaning of words is necessary for the development of vocabulary. By looking for context clues, students are able to understand new words. A context clue refers to the words, phrases or sentences that surround a word. By examining these context clues, the meaning of the “new” word is discovered.

For example: The child was oblivious to his surroundings as he wandered absent-mindedly down the hall. Oblivious is explained by absent-mindedly.

The principal reiterated the statement, being careful to correctly repeat it each time. Reiterated means to correctly repeat.

Another useful vocabulary skill is the word analogy. A word analogy is a comparison between pairs of words. Word analogies are written in this manner-

Puppy: dog :: kitten : cat

It is read as puppy is to dog as kitten is to cat.

Word relationships can be determined by several means-

1. synonyms - Find: locate

2. antonyms- lose: locate

3. cause/effect- rain: flood

4. part/whole- pedal :bicycle

5. class/location- fish: ocean

6. function- scissors: cut

7. grammar- grow : grew

To determine the relationship analyze the relationship (connection) between the words.

Examine the words and determine the type of relationship that is being expressed.

Look at the choice that best completes the intended analogy.

EXAMPLE- Christmas: December :: Thanksgiving : November

Seed : tree :: egg : bird