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SOME WORD ROOTS IMPORTANT IN BIOLOGY Scientific names and words describing various structures, processes etc. are often composed of word roots derived from Greek or Latin. The study of words and their origins is called etymology. Knowing some of the word roots makes it much easier to learn the terms in which they are used. If you pay attention to various terms you will find that many, if not most of them, are composed of one or more of these roots. The letters -o-, -a-, -at-, -i-, and -u-, and some others are often used to combine word roots in names of organisms and structures. This list has been compiled from several sources, and you may find other sources which give slightly different definitions. In some cases I have included terms that are commonly thought of in connection with the root, even though the term is not the true definition, e.g. I have given "cell" as a definition of "cyt- ", even though that is not strictly true. un(i)-, mon 1 bi -, di 2 tri 3 tetr -, quatr 4 pent - 5 hex -, sex - .....6 hept -..............7 oct -................8 non -...............9 dec - . . . . . . 10 a-, an- not, no (generally a negative connotation) anti- against, opposite ab- off, away arch(ae)- beginning (often indicating the female part of a plant) ad-, af- toward, to -ase enzyme aer- air, oxygen auto-, homo- self, same, similar allo(e)-, hetero- other, (different) bio(s)- life carp- fruit amyl- starch male cel, cell, -cyte, cyt(o)- container (cell) andrangi- vessel -chlor- green annul- ring, circle -chro(m)- color ante- before -chron- time anth- flower (often indicating the male portion of a plant) co- together cole(o)- sheath -he, -hea-hesion to stick to something, cling cole(o)- sheath crypt- hidden heme-, hemo- blood cut-, derm- skin hemi-, semi- half cycl- circle, cycle hydr- water de- down, away from, off hyper-, super- above -dendr- tree hypo-, infrasub-, suf- below, under -derm- skin inter- between dorm- to sleep intra- within duct- carry -itis inflamation e-, er-, ex- out, away from is(o)- equal ec-, house iso- equal kary-, cary- nut, nucleus -oecium -ell, -ella, ule, -elle, -ole These and other similar endings all mean "small" kine- movement en-, in, em-, endo- in, within lam- layer, plate leuc- white ep-, epi- upon lip- fat eu- true, good, normal log-, logo- speak, (study) ex(o)- out, outside ly(s)- to break, loose, or dissolve flor- flower meg-, macr- large -fol- leaf mer- unit, part gam- marriage, reproductive union merist- divisible gen-, gon- become, be produced, originate mes- middle glyc- sweet, sugar meter- measure grav- gravity micr- small gymn- naked mono- only, sole, (one) gyn- female morph- shape, form gyn- female myc(es)- fungus nucle- nut, kernel -oid like, similar to somat-, -some body oo-, ov- egg -ose sugar, sweet sperm- seed para- beside spir- breathe peri- around -spor- seed -phag- to eat -stele pillar (a vascular bundle) -pher-, phor- fer- to carry, to bear, to support stom- mouth syn, sym- with, together phot-, phos- light tax- arrangement -phy(te) Plant tel- end -thall- sprout thigm- touch -tox- poison trach- windpipe phyc(o)- seaweed, algae phyl- tribe, kind (meaning type) -phyll- leaf -plas(t)(m)- shape, mold, formed, (cell) trans- across -ploid fold (as in diploid = two-fold) trich- hair pod- foot -trop- turn, react poly- many, much -troph- nurture, feed pre-, pro(t)- before in time, (first) tub- pipe -pseud- false vac- empty rhi, rhiz-- root vas- vessel, (duct) sacchar- sweet, sugar vit- life sapr- rotten, dead volv- to roll -scis- to cut -wort herb -scop look at, observe, see xer- dry septa- fence (wall, barrier) zo- animal siphon- tube, pipe Zyg- union, marriage, pairing -som(at)- body To show you how these word roots are used, below are some examples. How many of the words do you know and how many can you figure out from combining the word roots?