“It’s All Greek to Me”—Language Legacy

How many Greek words can you create from common Greek roots? You may find that combinations of three, even four roots are possible. You may find it necessary to add or drop a letter from the Greek word in order to have the correct English spelling. You should, of course, know the meaning of the English terms that you create. 

e.g.   bio    + ology  = biology = the study of life forms

Greek Roots                            English Meaning

acro                                          high

aero                                          air

anthrop(o)                                human

auto                                          self 

bio                                             life 

-cracy                                        rule

demo(s)                                     people

geo                                            earth

-gamo(y)                                   marriage 

-graph                                       writing 

hydro                                        water  

litho(o)                                      stone  

micro                                        small 

mono                                         one

neo                                            new 

-ology                                        study of, body of 

paleo                                         old 

photo                                        light 

poly                                           many 

psycho                                       mind 

scope                                         sight 

tele                                            far  

theo                                           god 

thermo                                      heat 

How many legitimate English words can you create in 20 minutes?

“The Greeks had a word for it.”