Top Latin and Greek Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes, and Affixes

Top Latin and Greek Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes, and Affixes

## Top 10 Prefixes

1. un- (not, opposite of): unhappy, unlock

2. re- (again, back): rewrite, return

3. in- / im- / il- / ir- (not, into): inactive, import, illegal, irregular

4. dis- (not, opposite of): disagree, dislike

5. en- / em- (cause to, put into): enclose, empower

6. non- (not): nonfiction, nonsense

7. in- / im- (in, into): insight, import

8. over- (excessively, above): overact, overhead

9. mis- (wrongly): misspell, misunderstand

10. sub- (under, below): submarine, subconscious




## Top 10 Suffixes




1. -s / -es (plural): cats, boxes

2. -ed (past tense): walked, talked

3. -ing (present participle/gerund): running, singing

4. -ly (manner): quickly, softly

5. -er / -or (one who, comparative): teacher, actor, faster

6. -ion / -tion / -ation (state, condition, action): action, creation

7. -able / -ible (capable of being): readable, visible

8. -al / -ial (relating to): personal, facial

9. -y (characterized by): cloudy, funny

10. -ness (state of being): happiness, kindness




## Top 10 Affixes (combination of prefixes and suffixes not already mentioned)




1. anti- (against): antiwar, antivirus

2. -ity / -ty (state of): equality, certainty

3. pre- (before): preorder, prehistoric

4. -ous (full of, having): dangerous, famous

5. -ful (full of): beautiful, helpful

6. -less (without): hopeless, careless

7. post- (after): postwar, postgraduate

8. -ism (belief, system): capitalism, Buddhism

9. -ive (producing, tending to): active, passive

10. pro- (in favor of, forward): proactive, progress




## Most Common Root Word in English




The most common root word in English is believed to be "ser-" or "ser-t-", which comes from Latin and means "to join or connect." This root is found in words such as:




- Series

- Assert

- Insert

- Desert

- Exert

- Concert




However, it's worth noting that determining the "most common" root word can be challenging due to the complexity of language evolution and the various ways to define and count root occurrences.




## Examples and Exemplars




To illustrate how these elements combine, here are some examples:




1. Unhappiness = un- (prefix) + happy (root) + -ness (suffix)

2. Irreplaceable = ir- (prefix) + replace (root) + -able (suffix)

3. Antidisestablishmentarianism = anti- (prefix) + dis- (prefix) + establish (root) + -ment (suffix) + -arian (suffix) + -ism (suffix)

4. Photosynthesis = photo- (prefix, "light") + synthesis (root, "putting together")

5. Metamorphosis = meta- (prefix, "change") + morph (root, "form") + -osis (suffix, "process")