Last Time

• Examined the content of the course (everything is on the syllabus).
• Introduced common Greek prefixes.
• Looked at Turmezei (2012).

This Class

• Introducing the Greek alphabet.
• Examining the idea of an inflected language.
• Looking at adjective-forming suffixes and compound suffixes.
• Introducing more root forms.

Turmezei (2012)

• Explained that about 89 per cent of anatomical vocabulary comes from Greek and Latin.
  • Breakdown: Classical Latin (62%), Classical Greek (24%), Old English (7%), Post-Classical Latin (3%), other (4%).
• Gives you a sense of how words are formed through various examples.

Dirckx (2006)

• Great reference page that covers the basics of what you absolutely need to know for using scientific terminology responsibly.
• You will not be tested on pronunciation.

Learning Strategies

• Flashcards are excellent for memorizing vocabulary.
• Speaking words aloud can make them easier to recall.
• Rehearse vocabulary even in spare moments (on the bus, in the shower, while you’re doing the dishes).

• Make sure you think about meaning. When you’re learning the elements of a word and its definition, consider what the elements of a word have to do with its meaning. This way, your recall will be better and the you’ll remember the word for longer.

Inflection

• Both Greek and Latin are inflected languages, which means that they can express part of their meaning through a change in the final syllable of a word.

Conjugation

• Changing the form of a verb to show its function.
• This is found to a limited degree in English.
  • I love, you love, but he loves.
• This is even more common in French.
  • J’aime means ‘I love’, tu aimes is ‘you love’, and so forth. The verb aimer changes its form based on the person, number, mood, and tense.

Declension

• Varying the form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective, in order to indicate grammatical number, gender, and case.

Cases

• A form that a noun, adjective, or pronoun can take in order to express its relationship to other words in the sentence.
• There are very limited remnants of this in English:
  • Who must always be the subject of the sentence. (‘Who is getting married?’)
  • Whom must be the object. (‘Whom did he marry?’)
  • Whose is a possesive. (‘Whose wedding is he attending?’)

What is gender?

• A further method of classifying nouns and pronouns and showing how words are associated.
• Widely used in Indo-European languages, such as Latin, French, and German.
• To be distinguished from sex: grammatical gender is only loosely associated with distinctions one might assume.
• Good discussion as it applies in the sciences by Dirckx (1985).
• Possible to show different genders of a word either by changing the word entirely or by keeping the same root and changing the ending.
• People can get very worked up about this.

1. Using a different root

Individuals

• English: man/woman
• French: homme/femme
• German: Mann/Frau
• Greek: anēr/gunē
• Latin: vir/mulier

Monarchs

• English: king/queen
• French: roi/reine
• German: König/Königin
• Greek: basileus/basileia
• Latin: rex/regina

2. Changing the ending

• For Latin words in the nominative case (appearing directly most commonly in scientific terminology):
  • words ending in -a are mostly feminine (aqua, water; terra, earth; rosa, rose; but nauta, sailor, is masculine);
  • -us words are mostly masculine (hortus, garden; rivus, stream)
  • -um words are always neuter (monumentum, monument).

Α α

alpha > a

Β β

beta > b

Γ γ

gamma > g (hard)

Δ δ

delta > d

Ε ε

epsilon > e (short)

Ζ ζ

zeta > z

Η η

eta > e (long)

Θ θ

theta > th

Ι ι

iota > i

Κ κ

kappa > c or k

Λ λ

lambda > l

Μ μ

mu > m

Ν ν

nu > n

Ξ ξ

xi > x

Ο ο

omicron > o (short)

Π π

pi > p

Ρ ρ

rho > r or rh

Σ σ/ς

sigma > s - alternate form used at the end of a word: final sigma

Τ τ

tau > t

Υ υ

upsilon > y or u

Φ φ

phi > ph

Χ χ

chi > ch or kh (hard)

Ψ ψ

psi > ps

Ω ω

omega > o (long)

What do these words look like?

• Note: γ before γ, κ, ξ, or χ becomes n, not g:
  • σπόγγος = spongos (sponge)
  • πλαγκτόν = plankton
  • λάρυγξ = larunx (larynx)

Rough Breathing

• When a word has what appears to be an opening single quotation mark above a letter, it uses an h- sound.
  • ἱπποπόταμος = hippopotamos (hippopotamus)
  • ἁρμονία = harmonia (harmony, agreement)
  • διάῤῥοια = diarrhoia (diarrhoea)

τοξικόν

• toxikon (poison)
• toxic, toxicology

ὕπέρ

• huper (above, super-)
• hyperactive, hyperbole

αὐτοψία

• autopsia
• from autoptēs ‘eyewitness’, from autos ‘self’ + optos ‘seen’)

διάκονος

• diakonos (servant)
• deacon

ἕλιξ

• helix (spiral ornament)
• helicopter

ναυτικός

• nautikos (sailor, ship)
• aeronautics, astronaut, nautical

γλωσσίς

• glōssis (tongue)
• polyglot

Ἀκαδημία

• Akadēmia
• gymnasium near Athens where Plato and his successors taught, school of philosophy founded by Plato

ψεῦδος

• pseudos (false, a falsity); pseudonym, pseudoscience

αὐστηρός

• austēros (harsh)
• austerity

ἦθος

• ēthos (moral)
• ethics

νάνος

• nanos (dwarf)
• nanometry, nanosecond, nanotechnology

νέκταρ

• nektar (drink of the gods)
• nectar

ἀνταρκτικός

• antarktikos (Antarctic)

σύμβολον

• sumbolon (symbol)
• symbolic, symbolism

δίλημμα

• dilēmma (di- ‘twice’ + lēmma ‘premise’)

πρό

• pro (before)
• prologue

Dendrogramma

• asymmetrically
• brittle
• etymology
• paratypes
• component
• multicelluar
• metazoan
• dissecting
• dendrogamma
• discussed
• apex
• progress
• enigmatic
• ediacara
• ctenophora
• organism
• under
• gonads
• gastrovasular
• data
• micrographs
• elongate
• fibril
• genomic
• cinidaria
• cilia
• synthetic
• Australia
• lateral
• uniform
• exhibit
• dissect
• sedis

What is a suffix?

• Suffixes attach to roots, and appear at the end of the word. Like prefixes, they modify the meaning of a root, conveying a little more information.
• They differ from prefixes in their position, but also in that they determine the word’s part of speech. We will see roots that form adjectives, nouns and verbs.
• Džuganová (1998) provides a full overview of the possibilities for affixation.

New Suffixes

• More than one suffix (or prefix) can be found in a single word.
  • LOG, ‘reason’ + -ic, ‘pertaining to’ = Logic
  • LOG, ‘reason’ + -ic, ‘pertaining to’ + -al, ‘pertaining to’ = logical (‘pertaining to / having to do with what pertains to reasoning’)

-al

• ‘pertaining to’, ‘like’, ‘belonging to’, ‘having the character of’
• BIO- ‘life’ + -logy, ‘science of’ + ic + al

-an (-ian)

• ‘pertaining to’, ‘like’, ‘one connected with’
• amphi-, ‘both’ + BI-, ‘life’ + -an
• PROTO-, ‘first’ + ZO-, ‘life’ + -an
• THE, ‘god’ + -logy, ‘study of’ + -an

-ous (-ious)

• ‘full of’, ‘having’, ‘pertaining to’, ‘like’
• amphi- + BI-, ‘life’ + -ous
• syn- + ONYM- ‘name’ + -ous
• HOMO-, ‘same’ + GENE-, ‘kind’ + -ous

-ic, -tic, (-ac after -i)

• ‘pertaining to’, ‘like’
• GASTR-, ‘stomach’ + -ic
• STA-, ‘to stand’ + -ic
• CARDI-, ‘heart’ + -ac

-ics, -tics

• ‘art, science or study of’
• PHYS-, ‘nature’ + -ics
• GENE-, ‘to be produced’ + -tics’
• PAED, ‘child’ + IATR-, ‘doctor’ + -ics

-oid, -ode

• ‘like’, ‘having the shape of’
• SPHER-, ‘sphere’ + -oid
• ADEN-, ‘gland’ + -oid
• NEMAT-, ‘thread’ + -ode
• PHYLL-, ‘leaf’ + -ode

What is a compound suffix?

• Compound suffixes actually contain roots within them, some of which you’ve already learned, but the appear so frequently in this form that it is useful to treat them as suffixes themselves.
  • E.g., LOG + y = -logy

-aemia, (-emia)

• ‘condition of the blood’, ‘congestion of blood’
• anaemia, leukaemia, anoxaemia

-logy

• ‘science of’
• physiology, cardiology, psychology

-lysis

• ‘dissolution of or by’ (‘surgical division or separation’)
• hydrolysis, nephrolysis, electrolysis

-mania

• ‘madness for of about’
• kleptomania, dipsomania, egomania, monomania

-pathy

• ‘disease of’, ‘treatment of disease of or by’
• osteopathy, neuropathy, hydropathy

-phobia

• ‘abnormal fear of’
• claustrophobia, agoraphobia, hydrophobia

-therapy

• ‘treatment of or by’
• chemotherapy, psychotherapy, heliotherapy

-tomy

• ‘surgical operation on’, ‘surgical cutting of’
• glossotomy, gastrotomy, lobotomy

-ectomy

• ‘surgical operation’, ‘surgical removal of’
• appendectomy, tonsillectomy

-uria

• ‘condition of the urine’
• haematuria, acetonuria, noctambulminuria

-genous, -genic

• ‘producing’, ‘produced’
• photogenic, endogenous, cytogenous

-hedron

• ‘solid figure having a (specified) number of faces’
• icosohedron, dodecahedron

-iasis

• ‘diseased condition’; often refers to an infestation by parasites
• psoriasis, amebiasis, elephantiasis

-meter

• ‘instrument for measuring’, ‘measure’
• -metry, ‘art or science of measuring’; thermometer, anemometer, perimeter, telemetry, optometry, photometry

-nomy

• ‘science of’, ‘system of laws governing’, ‘rules for the direction of’
• agronomy, astronomy, economy, autonomy

-oecious

• ‘having a house or dwelling’
• monoecious (having male and female sex organs in the same individual), androdioecious (having perfect and staminate flowers on different plants)

-philous, -philic

• ‘loving’, ‘thriving in’
• necrophilic, anemophilous

-plasty

• ‘formation’, ‘plastic surgical operation’
• arthroplasty, anaplasty, hysteroplasty

-rrhoea

• ‘flux’, ‘abnormal flow or discharge of’
• diarrhoea, gonorrhoea, logorrhoea

-stomy-

• ‘the making of a surgical opening’
• gastrostomy, arthrostomy, hepaticoenterostomy

AMYGDAL-

• ‘almond’, ‘tonsil’
• AMYGDAL-itis; inflammation of the tonsils, tonsillitis; AMYGDALAE, almond-shaped structures in the medial temporal lobes of the brain, responsible for memory and emotional reactions

ANDR-

• ‘man’, ‘male’
• ANDRO-GYN-y, hermaphroditism; ERG-at-ANDR-ous, having worker-like males

ANTHROP-

• ‘human being’
• ANTHROPO-logy; ANTHROPO-MORPH-ism; ANTHROPO-philic, showing a preference for human beings over other animals

CHRON-

• ‘time’
• HETERO-CHRON-ism, departure from typical sequence in time of formation of organs; ana-CHRON-ism

CLAD-

• ‘branch’
• HETERO-CLAD-ic, describing a communication between branches of different arteries; PHYLLO-CLAD (or CLADO-PHYLL), a green, flattened or round stem that functions as a leaf, as in cacti.

DYNAM-, DYN-

• ‘power’
• a-DYNAM-ia, loss of vital strength or muscular power, weakness; DYNAMO-meter, an instrument for the measurement of muscular strength

EME-

• ‘to vomit’
• hyper-EME-sis, excessive vomiting; EME-tic, having the power to evoke vomiting

GYMN-

• ‘naked’, ‘uncovered’
• GYMNO-SOMAT-ous; GYMNO-CARP-ous, with naked fruit (applicable to lichens with uncovered apothecia); GYMNO-RHIN-al, having nostril region not covered by feathers, as some birds

GYN(E), GYNAEC- (GYNEC-)

• ‘female’
• GYNAECO-logy; ERG-ato-GYNE, female ant resembling a worker; GYN-ANDR-ous, having stamens fused with pistils, as some orchids; GYNAECO-MAST-ia, enlargement of the mammary gland in the male

HELIC-, HELIX

• ‘spiral’
• HELIX, the rounded, convex margin of the ear; ant-HELIX, the curved ridge of the pinna just anterior to the helix

HYDR-

• ‘water’, ‘fluid’
• HYDR-ARTHR-osis, accumulation of fluid in a joint; HYDRO-TROP-ism, response to the stimulus of water

IATR-

• ‘physician’, ‘medical treatment’
• PSYCH-IATR-y; POD-IATR-ist; IATRO-GEN-ic, induced by a physician; effect of physician’s words or actions upon a patient

MELAN-

• ‘black’, ‘dark’
• MELAN-CHOL-y; MELAN-in, a dark brown or black animal or plant pigment; MELAN-IDR-osis, a form of chromhidrosis in which the sweat is dark coloured or black

NECR-

• ‘corpse’, ‘dead tissue’
• NECRO-TOX-in, a toxin produced by the death of cells; NECRO-PHAG-ous, eating carrion

OLIG-

• ‘few’, ‘scanty’
• OLIG-ANDR-ous, having few stamens; OLIGO-HYDR-uria, urine with a relative diminution of water, highly concentrated urine; OLIGO-CLASE, a feldspar mineral common in siliceous igneous rocks, consisting of a sodium-rich plagioclase

PAED- (PED-)

• ‘child’ (-pedia, ‘instruction’)
• PED-AGOG-y; PAED-IATR-ics; PAEDO-MORPH-ic, pertaining to retention in the adult of youthful and juvenile characteristics

PHAG-

• ‘to eat’
• PHAGO-CYTE, colourless blood corpuscle which tends to ingest foreign particles; PHYLLO-PHAG-ous, feeding on leaves

PHIL-

• ‘to love’, ‘have an affinity for’
• GEO-philous, living on or around earth; POLY-CHROMATO-PHIL-ism, capacity to be stained with more than one dye

POLY-

• ‘many’, ‘much’
• POLY-AESTHE-sia, an abnormality of sensation in which a single touch is felt in two or more places at the same time; POLY-PHAG-ous, eating various kinds of food; POLY-POD, furnished with many feet or legs

TARS-

• ‘instep’, ‘edge of the eye’
• TARS-ALG-ia, pain, especially of neuralgic character, in the tarsus of the foot; TARSO-plasty, plastic surgery of the eyelid

ACR-

• ‘extremity’, ‘summit’
• ACRO-MICR-ia, underdevelopment of the extremities and of the skull as contrasted with visceral development; ACRO-GER-ia, premature aging of skin of the hands and feet

AMYL-

• ‘starch’
• AMYLO-LYSIS, the digestion of starch or its conversion to maltose; AMYLO-PLAST, a leucoplast or colourless, starch-forming granule

BAR-; BARY-

• ‘weight’, ‘pressure’; ‘heavy’
• BAR-AESTHE-sia, perception of weight or pressure; BAR-ODONT-ALG-ia, dental pain occurring in individuals exposed to decreased barometric pressures such as occur in high-altitude flying, also called AER-ODONT-ALG-ia

BLENN-

• ‘mucus’
• BLENN-OPHTHALM-ia, catarrhal conjunctivitis; OLIGO-BLENN-ia, a deficient secretion of mucus

CYT-

• ‘cell’
• CHROMO-CYTE, any coloured cell; CYTO-DERM, in botany, a cell wall; CYTO-STOME, the oral aperture of a unicellular organism

DIPS-

• ‘thirst’
• a-DIPS-ia, absence of thirst, avoidance of drinking; DIPSO-phobia, a morbid fear of drinking

DREPAN-

• ‘sickle’
• DREPANO-CYTE, a crescent-shaped cell

ERYTHR-

• ‘red’
• an-ERYTHRO-BLEPS-ia or an-ERYTH-OPS-ia, impaired colour perception of red, red blindness; ERYTHRO-PHYLL, a red colouring matter in some leaves and red algae

GLYC-; GLYCOS-

• ‘sugar’, ‘glucose’
• GLYCO-LYSIS, the process of conversion of carbohydrate in tissue into pyruvic acid or lactic acid; hyper-GLYCOS-uria, the presence of excessive amounts of sugar in the urine

HIST-, HISTI-

• ‘tissue’
• HISTO-KINE-sis, movement that takes place in the minute structural elements of the body; HISTO-meta-PLAS-tic, causing the transformation of one tissue into another type

HYSTER-

• ‘uterus’, ‘hysteria’
• HYSTER-ia; HYSTERO-tomy, incision of the uterus

ICHTHY-

• ‘fish’
• ICHTY-ODONT, a fossil fish tooth; ICHTHYO-TOX-ismus, food poisoning from fish

IRID-, IRIS-

• ‘iris’, ‘rainbow’
• IRIDO-CYTE, a special cell responsible for the iridescence (!) of many fishes; IRIDO-dia-lysis, the separation of the iris from its attachments; IRIDO-KINE-sia, any movement of the iris; IRIDO-PLEG-ia, paralysis of the sphincter pupillae of the iris

ISCH-

• ‘to suppress’
• ISCHO-MEN-ia, suppression of the menstrual flow; ISCH-uria, retention or suppression of the urine

LAPAR-

• ‘abdomen’, ‘soft part of the body between the ribs and abdomen’
• LAPARO-TRACHELO-tomy; low caesarian section

LIP-

• ‘fat’
• LIPO-CHROME or CHROMO-LIPO-id, any one of the group of fat-like substances containing a pigment or colouring matter and occurring in natural fats such as egg yolks

MAST-, MAZ-

• ‘breast’
• ACRO-MAST-itis, inflammation of a nipple; hyper-MAST-ia, overgrowth of the mammary gland; a-MAST-ia, congenital absence of the mammae

PHREN-

• ‘mind’, ‘diaphragm’
• PHREN-ic, pertaining to the mind or the diaphragm; GASTRO-PHREN-ic, pertaining to the stomach and the diaphragm, as the gastrophrenic ligament; HEBE-PHREN-ia, a type of schizophrenia characterized by extreme mannerisms, often caricaturing adolescent behaviour

PY-

• ‘pus’
• HYDRO-PYO-NEPHRO-sis, distention of the pelvis of the kidney with urine and pus; PYO-RRHE-a, a purulent discharge

THANAT-

• ‘death’
• THANTO-id, resembling death; THANATO-logy, the study of the phenomenon of organic death; THANATO-phobia, a morbid fear of death

ACANTH-

• ‘thorn’, ‘prickle’
• ACANTH-AESTHE-sia, a sensation as of pricking with needles; ACANTHO-CLAD-ous, having spiny branches

AER-

• ‘air’, ‘gas’
• AERO-CYST, an air vescicle of algae; AERO-CYSTO-SCOP-y, examination of the interior of the urinary bladder with a cystoscope, with the bladder distended with air; AERO-PHYTE, a plant which grows attached to an aerial portion of another plant

AGON-

• ‘contest’, ‘to struggle’
• AGON-y; AGON-ize; AGON-ist, (in anatomy) a muscle whose contraction moves a part of the body directly, (in biochemistry) a substance which initiates a physiological response when combined with a receptor

AUT-

• ‘self’
• AUT-OPS-y; AUTO-CYTO-TOX-in, a cell toxin produced against the cells of one’s own body; AUT-ODONT, designating or pertaining to teeth not directly attached to jaws, as in cartilaginous fish; AUTO-PHAG-ia, self-consumption, emaciation; biting of one’s own flesh, as in dementia

BLEPHAR-

• ‘eyelid’
• a-BLEPHAR-y, congenital absence of the eyelids; BLEPHARO-plasty, operation for the restoration of the eyelids; sym-BLEPHAR-osis, adhesion of the eyelids to the globe of the eye or to each other

CARCIN-

• ‘cancer’
• CARCINO-GEN, any cancer-producing substance; MASTO-CARCIN-oma, malignant mammary tumour

CHEIL-, CHIL-

• ‘lip’
• a-CHEIL-ia, congenital absence of the lips

COL-

• ‘colon’
• COLO-PROCTO-stomy, formation of a new passage between the colon and the rectum; para-COL-itis; inflammation of the tissue adjacent to the colon; PHREN-ico-COL-ic or PHRENO-COL-ic, pertaining to the diaphragm and the colon

COPR-

• ‘excrement’
• COPR-OD-aeum, the division of the cloaca which receives the rectum (cf. UR-OD-aeum); COPRO-LITH, a hard mass of faecal matter in the bowels

CRY-, CRYM-

• ‘cold’, ‘ice’
• CRY-AESTHE-sia, abnormal sensitiveness to cold

CYST-

• ‘bladder’, ‘cyst’, ‘sac’
• CYST-itis, inflammation of the urinary bladder; HAEMATO-CYST; a cyst containing blood; POLY-CYST-ic, containing many cysts

DACRY-

• ‘tear’ (i.e. from crying, etc.)
• DACRYO-CYST-itis, inflammation of the lacrimal sac

GASTR- (GASTER-)

• ‘stomach’, ‘belly of a muscle’
• GASTRO-POD, a mollusc with ventral muscular disc adapted for creeping; meta-GASTR-ic, pertaining to posterior gastric regions

HELMINTH-

• ‘worm’
• ant-HELMINT-ic,destructive to worms; HELMINTHO-logy, the study of parasitic worms; HELMINTH-oma, a tumour caused by the presence of a parasitic worm

HETER-

• ‘other’, ‘different’
• HETERO-CHROM-ia, a difference in coloration in two parts or structures that are normally alike, as the the irises of the eyes; HETERO-PHOR-ia, any tendency of the eyes to turn away from the position correct for binocular vision; HERTERO-PHOR-ALG-ia, pain caused by heterophoria

HYGR-

• ‘moisture’
• HYGRO-KINE-sis, movement in response to changes in humidity; HYGRO-STOM-ia, chronic salivation

MEN-

• ‘moon’, ‘menstruation’
• MENO-PAUSE; ISCHO-MEN-ia

OT-

• ‘ear’
• di-OT-ic, binaural, pertaining to both ears; OTO-CYST, in invertebrates, an auditory vesicle, otocell or otidium, or in vertebrates, an embryonic auditory vesicle; OTO-LITH, calcareous particles or platelike structures found in the auditory organ of many mammals

PSYCH-

• ‘mind’, ‘soul’
• PSYCHO-logy; PSYCH-IATR-y

RHIN-, -RRHIN-

• ‘nose’
• amphi-RHIN-al, having or pertaining to two nostrils; GYMNO-RHIN-al, with nostril region not covered by feathers, as in some birds; RHIN-ENCEPHAL-on, that portion of the cerebrum concerned with olfactory impulses; RHINO-THECA, the sheath of the upper jaw of a bird

TAC-, TAX-

• ‘to arrange’, ‘to put in order’
• ANTHO-TAX-is, arrangement of flowers on an axis; PHYLLO-TAX-is, arrangement of leaves on an axis or stem; a-MYO-TAX-ia, muscular ataxia or incoordination of spinal or cerebellar origin