ab-, a-, abs-

• ‘away from’, ‘from’
• abduction, abnormal, aversion, avocation, abstraction, abstain

ad-, ac-, ag- (etc.)

• ‘to’, ‘toward’, ‘near’
• adrenal, adverb, access, aggression, alleviate
• NB: Assimilation will cause the last consonant of this prefix to become the same as the first consonant of the root.

ambi-, ambo-

• ‘both’, ‘around’
• ambidextrous, ambition, ambisexual, amboceptor, ambosexual

ante-

• ‘before’, ‘in front of’
• antechamber, antecedent

circum-, circu-

• ‘around’
• circumference, circumstance, circuitous

con-, com-, co-, etc.

• ‘with’, ‘together’, ‘very’
• conduct, confine, compose, compress, correspond, cooperate, collect
• NB: Assimilation will cause the last consonant of this prefix to become the same as the first consonant of the root.

contra-, contro-

• ‘opposite’, ‘against’ (through French, counter-)
• contradict, contraceptive, controversy, controvert, counteract, counterindicate

de-

• ‘down’, ‘away’, ‘off’, ‘thoroughly’
• describe, descend, depression

dis-, di-, dif-

• ‘apart’, ‘in different directions’, ‘thoroughly’
• dissect, dispersion, divorce, digress, divert, differ, diffusion

ex-, e-, ef-

• ‘out’, ‘from’, ‘removal’, ‘completely’
• exclude, expel, exclamation, emit, elect, elongate, effective
• NB: after ex> - an initial s in a root sometimes disappears, as in ex-(S)PECT and ex-(S)PIRE.

extra-, extro-

• ‘outside of’, ‘beyond’
• extraordinary, extrasensory, extrovert

in-, im-, etc.

• ‘into’, ‘on’ (through French, en-)
• incision, induce, illuminate, imprint, irrigation, enclose
• NB: Assimilation will cause the last consonant of this prefix to become the same as the first consonant of the root.

intra-, intro-

• ‘within’
• intramural, introduce, introvert

in-, im-, etc.

• ‘not’
• infirm, inefficient, impossible, illegible, irresponsible
• NB: Assimilation will cause the last consonant of this prefix to become the same as the first consonant of the root.

infra-

• ‘below’
• infrared, infrahuman, infraspecific

inter-

• ‘between’, ‘among’
• interrupt, intercept, interact

juxta-

• ‘by the side of’, ‘close to’
• juxtaposition, juxtaspinal

ob-, etc.

• ‘against’, ‘toward’, ‘completely’
• obstruct, obstacle, obvious, oppose, offer, occur
• NB: Assimilation will cause the last consonant of this prefix to become the same as the first consonant of the root.

per-

• ‘through’, ‘wrongly’, ‘completely’
• perfect, permeate, pervade, perjury

post-

• ‘behind’, ‘after’
• postpone, postscript, postgraduate

pre- (prae-)

• ‘before’, ‘in front of’
• prevent, prepare, precaution, praenomen, praetorian

pro-

• ‘forward’, ‘in front of’
• progress, project, prolong

re-, red-

• ‘back’, ‘again’, ‘against’
• reduce, reject, recede, redundant, redemption

retro-

• ‘backwards’, ‘behind’
• retroactive, retrospective, retrograde

se-

• ‘aside’, ‘away’
• secede, select, secrete

sub-, sus-, suc-, etc.

• ‘under’, ‘up from under’, ‘somewhat’
• submarine, subscribe, submerge, suspend, suffer, support
• NB: Assimilation will cause the last consonant of this prefix to become the same as the first consonant of the root.

super-, supra-

• ‘above’
• supernatural, superstructure, supersonic, suprarenal

trans-, tran-, tra-

• ‘across’, ‘through’
• transmit, transfer, transfusion, transcribe, transcend, trajectory, travesty, tradition

ultra-

• ‘beyond’
• ultraviolet, ultramodern, ultrasonic

• Latin is the language of ancient Latium, now Lazio, the region around Rome.
• With the expansion of Roman power, Latin was spoken in various forms across Europe. Very often it developed into what are now known as the Romance Languages.

• Classical Latin, even more than Classical Greek, was for many centuries a central part of the education of European elites. As a consequence, its contribution to scientific language has been immense.

• We will learn Latin bases, suffixes and prefixes in just the way in which we learned those coming from Greek.
• We will also, however, learn real Latin nouns and adjectives, since sometimes these occur on their own in scientific writing.

• Latin bases sometimes occur in English on their own, with or without an extra final -e:
  • FORT-, ‘strong’ – fort
  • VERB-, ‘word’ – verb
  • GRAV-, ‘heavy’ – grave
• More often, bases are combined with prefixes and suffixes:
  • in-, ‘on’ + GRAV-, ‘heavy’ + esc-, ‘to become’ + -ent, ‘-ing’ = ingravescent
  • FIN-, ‘end’ + -al, ‘pertaining to’ + -ity, ‘state of’ = finality

• Connecting vowels in Latin are most often i or o, but other vowels can be used:
  • SACR-, ‘sacred’ + i + FIC-, ‘to make’ + -e = sacrifice
  • SACR- + o + SANCT-, ‘sacred’ = sacrosanct
• Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes and bases sometimes combine, but not nearly as often as they combine within each group:
  • AUTO- (Gr. ‘self’) + MOB- (Lat. ‘to move’ + -ile = automobile
  • hyper- (Gr. ‘over’) + TENS (Lat. ‘to stretch’) + ion = hypertension

Phonetic Change

• Often when a prefix is added to a base that starts with a consonant, the last consonant of the prefix is ‘assimilated’ to the first consonant of the base.
  • ex-, ‘from’ + FECT-, ‘to make’ = effect
  • in-, ‘not’ + LEG-, ‘to read’ + -ible = illegible
  • ob-, ‘against’ + FEND-, ‘to hit’ = offend
  • sub-, ‘under’ + FER-, ‘to bear’ = suffer

• A final n in a prefix will become m before a p or a b.
  • in-, ‘not’ + POSS, ‘to be able’ + -ible = impossible
  • con-, ‘with’ + PLET + e = complete
• Sometimes the base itself will change when a prefix is added. You will learn these variant forms as you learn bases.
  • FACT- gives ‘factory’ and ‘manufacture’, but also ‘effect’ and ‘defect’
  • SED- gives ‘sedentary’, but also ‘reside’

23 Letters

A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T V X Y Z

• I and J, U and V were treated as the same character in writing, but in the Middle Ages they were pronounced differently.
• W was a medieval invention (literally a double U).
• One can still occasionally see this in inscriptions on buildings.

Dirckx (1977)

• Some scientists have periodically raised the opinion that words combining multiple languages should not exist.
• In fact, Latin borrowed from Greek even in classical times.
• Much of our medical terminology originates with writings attributed to Hippocrates (of the Hippocratic Oath; ca. 460–ca. 370 BC).
• Celsus (first century AD) is a major source for early Roman usage of medical terminology.

• Thus, Latin suffixes have often used on Greek roots, especially since the Middle Ages:
  • e.g. pterygion and teinesmos became pterygium and tenesmus
  • Greek adjectival endings took on Latin form: kardiakos becoming cardiacus
  • Latin adjectival suffixes began to be appended to Greek nouns, as in arterialis, from arteria.

• Conversely, Greek suffixes such as -itis, -osis, and -otomía have been used with Latin roots:
  • conjunctivitis
  • granuloma
  • tuberculosis
• Greek prefixes were also attached to Latin stems (epidural, pararectal) and Latin prefixes to Greek stems (subdiaphragmatic, retropharyngeal).

• The combination of Greek and Latin stems in a single word did not nonetheless become common until the nineteenth century; there is still some debate over this.
• Thus, we have both phlebography (pure Greek) and venography (Latin/Greek).

A tour of an eighth-century manuscript

• Staatsbibliothek Bamberg Msc.Patr.61.
  • Cassiodorus, Institutiones
  • Mallius Theodorus, De metris
  • Gregory of Tours, De cursu stellarum
  • Isidore of Sevile, On the Nature of Things
  • Sisebotus, De eclipsi lunae

A fifteenth-century physician’s folding almanac

• London, British Library, Harley MS 937
  • Based on the ‘Kalendarium’ of John Somer.

CAUD-

• ‘tail’ (cauda)
• e-CAUD-ate, without a tail; NUDI-CAUD-ate, having a tail not covered with hair or fur; SACRO-CAUD-al, pertaining to the sacrum and tail region

CEREBR-

• ‘brain’ (cerebrum)
• CEREBR-al; CEREBR-in, a nitrogenous glycoside obtained from brain and similar tissue

CID-, CIS-

• ‘to cut’, ‘to kill’
• MATRI-CIDE; REGI-CIDE; CON-CISE; suc-CISE, abrupt, appear as if a part were cut off; in-CIS-ura, a notch, depression or indentation, as in bone, stomach, liver, etc.

DORS-

• ‘back’
• ante-DORS-al, situated in front of the dorsal fin in fish; DORS-ALG-ia, pain in the back; DORSO-CAUD-ad, to or toward the dorsal surface and caudal end of the body

DUC-, DUCT-

• ‘to lead’, ‘to draw’
• DUCT; de-DUCT-ion; ab-DUCT-ion, withdrawal of a part from the axis of the body or of an extremity; LEVO-DUCT-ion, movement to the left, especially of the eye

ERR-

• ‘to wander’, ‘to deviate’
• ERR; ERR-or; ERR-ata; ERR-ant, with a tendency toward moving, straying or deviating

FLEX-, FLECT-

• ‘to bend’
• re-FLECT-ion; re-FLEX, an involuntary, invariable, adaptive response to a stimulus; retro-FLEX-ion, the state of being bent backwards

FUND-, FUS-

• ‘to pour’, ‘to melt’ (through French, FOUND-)
• FUS-ion; FUSE; dif-FUSE, spread out; per-FUS-ion, the introduction of fluids into tissues by their injection into arteries, or the passage of fluids through spaces

GREG-

• ‘flock’, (grex)
• con-GREG-ate; se-GREG-ate; e-GREG-ious; GREG-arious, tending to herd together, or growing in clusters

LACT-

• ‘milk’ (lac)
• LACT-at-ion, the period during which the child is nourished from the breast, or the formation or secretion of milk; LACTI-FER-ous, forming or carrying milk

LATER-

• ‘side’ (latus)
• LATERI-GRADE, walking sideways, as a crab; ambi-LATER-al, relating to or affecting both sides; HETERO-LATER-al, pertaining to or situated on the opposite

MEDI-

• ‘middle’ (medius)
• MEDI-ate; MEDIO-DORS-al, on the median line of the back

OV-

• ‘egg’ (ovum)
• OV-ul-at-ion; BIN-OV-ular, pertaining to two ova, applies to twinning; OVI-CIDE, an insecticide effective against an egg stage

PON-, POSIT-, -POSE

• ‘to place’, ‘to put’ (through French, POUND-)
• ex-PON-ent; im-POUND; ap-POSIT-ion, the state of being in juxta-POSIT-ion or proximity; trans-POSIT-ion, a change of position

SANGUI(N)-

• ‘blood’ (sanguis)
• SANGU-ine; SANGUI-MOT-or, of or relating to the circulation of blood; con-SANGUIN-eous, related by birth or blood

SICC-

• ‘dry’ (siccus)
• ex-SICC-ata, dried specimens; ex-SICC-ant, drying or absorbing moisture; SICC-ant, drying, tending to make dry

VAL-

• ‘to be strong’, ‘to be well’
• VAL-id; VALE-DICT-ory; bi-VAL-ent, applies to paired homologous chromosomes; VAL-ence, capacity of atoms to combine with other atoms in different proportions

VARIC-

• ‘twisted and swollen (vein)’ (varix)
• VARIC-ose, descriptive of blood vessels that are dilated, knotted and tortuous; NEURO-VARIC-osis, a varicosity on a nerve fibre; VARIX (pl. varices), prominent ridges across the whorls of univalve shells; VARIC-eal, relating to or involving a varix; VARICO-cele, a mass of varicose veins in the spermatic cord

VERT-, VERS-

• ‘to turn’
• VERTEX, the highest point (Latin ‘whirlpool, crown of a head’), from which the word vertical comes; a-VERS-ion; VERS-at-ile, hung or attached near the middle and moving freely, as an anther; VERSI-COLOUR-ed, changing from one colour to another in different lights

ARTICUL-

• ‘joint’ (articulus)
• inter-ARTICUL-ar, between articulating parts of bones (applies to certain ligaments and fibrocartilages); BI-ARTICUL-ar, two-jointed

BUCC-

• ‘cheek’, ‘mouth’ (bucca)
• BUCC-al, relating to the cheek or mouth; BUCCO-LINGU-al, pertaining to the cheeks and tongue; BUCCO-VERS-ion, condition of tooth’s being out of the line of the normal occlusion in the buccal direction

CLUD-, CLUS-, CLOS-

• ‘to close’, ‘to shut’
• con-CLUDE; in-CLUS-ive; e-CLOS-ion, the act of emerging from the pupal case, or of hatching from the egg; ex-CLUS-ion, the process of shutting out in a surgical operation by which part of an organ is disconnected but not excised

CORD-

• ‘heart’ (cor)
• ac-CORD; con-CORD; CORD-ate, heart-shaped; sub-CORD-ate, tending to be heart-shaped; post-CORDI-al, situated behind the heart; pre-CORD-ium the area of the chest overlying the heart

COST-

• ‘rib’ (costa)
• COST-ate, with one or more longitudinal ribs or ridges; BI-COST-ate, having two longitudinal ridges or ribs, as a leaf; sub-COST-ALG-ia, pain beneath the ribs or over a subcostal nerve

CUR(R)-, CURS-

• ‘to run’, ‘to go’
• CURR-ent; oc-CUR; con-CUR; ex-CURR-ent, pertaining to ducts, channels or canals where there is an outgoing flow, or with an undivided main stem, or having midrib projecting beyond the apex

DENT-

• ‘tooth’ (dens)
• in-DENT; TRI-DENT; DENT-ition, the process of teething, or the arrangement of the teeth; DENT-in, a hard, elastic substance, chemically resembling bone, composing the greater part of teeth; DENT-icle, a small, toothlike process

FEBR-

• ‘fever’, (febris)
• FEBR-ile, pertaining to or characterized by fever; FEBR-icula, a slight and transient fever

FER-

• ‘to bear’, ‘to carry’, ‘to produce’
• suf-FER; re-FER; trans-FER; af-FER-ent, bringing toward (applies to nerves carrying impulse to nervous centres); OVI-FER-ous, serving to carry eggs; PROLI-FER-ate, to multiply

FOLI-

• ‘leaf’ (folium)
• FOLI-age; FOLI-aceous, having the form or texture of a foliage leaf; pre-FOLI-at-ion, the form and arrangement of foliage leaves in a bud; ef-FOLI-at-ion, shedding of leaves

HER-, HES-

• ‘to stick’
• ad-HER-ent, attached to a substratum; co-HES-ion, the attractive force between the same kind of molecules; ad-HESIO-tomy, the surgical cutting or division of adhesions

JECT-

• ‘to throw’, JACUL-, ‘dart’ (jaculum)
• e-JECT; re-JECT; pro-JECT-ile; OVI-JECT-or, a highly muscular part of the oviduct in many nematode worms that forces the eggs through the genital pore; JACULAT-ory, darting out, capable of being emitted

MUR-

• ‘wall’ (murus)
• inter-MUR-al, situated between the walls of an organ; extra-MUR-al, outside the wall of an organ; MUR-al, pertaining to a wall, as a mural pregnancy

NOMIN-, NOM-

• ‘name’ (nomen)
• NOMIN-al; NOMINAL-ism; para-NOM-ia, nominal aphasia, characterized by an inability name objects; BI-NOM-ial, consisting of two names

RADI-

• ‘spoke of a wheel’, ‘ray’ (radius)
• RADI-ate; RADIO-re-CEPT-or, a terminal organ for receiving light or temperature stimuli; RADI-ole, a spine of a sea urchin; RADIO-therapy treatment of disease by x-rays, radium and other radioactive substances

SEMIN-

• ‘seed’ (semen)
• dis-SEMIN-at-ion; SEMIN-al; SEMIN-at-ion, dispersal of seeds, discharge of spermatozoa; SEMIN-uria, discharge of semen in the urine

TEG-, TECT-

• ‘to cover’
• pro-TECT; de-TECT; TEG-men, the inner seed coat, or a covering structure or roof, esp. the thin plate over the tympanic atrium; sub-TEG-min-al, under the tegmen or inner coat of a seed

TUSS-

• ‘cough’ (tussis)
• TUSS-ive, pertaining to or caused by a cough; TUSS-ilago, a genus of plants used as a remedy for cough

VEN-

• ‘vein’ (vena)
• RECTI-VEN-ous, having straight veins; VEN-at-ion, the system or disposition of veins; VEN-ule, small vein of a leaf or insect wing

ARBOR-

• ‘tree’ (arbor)
• ARBOR-eous, treelike or pertaining to trees; ARBOR-iz-at-ion, a conformation or arrangement resembling the branching of a tree

CAL-

• ‘to be warm’
• CALE-FACI-ent, an externally applied medicine that causes a sensation of warmth; de-CAL-esc-ence, the decrease in temperature when rate of heat absorption exceeds rate of heat input

CARIN-

• ‘keel’ (carina)
• CARINA, any keel-like structure, as at the tracheal bifurcation; para-CARIN-al, beside a carina, especially the urethral carina

CERN-, CRET-, CRE-

• ‘to separate’, ‘to distinguish’, ‘to secrete’
• se-CERN-ment, secretion, applied to the function of a glad; in-CRET-ion, internal secretion, se-CRET-agogue, substance promoting or causing secretion

CORN(U)-

• ‘horn’ (cornu)
• CORNU-COPIA; UNI-CORN; BI-CORNU-te, with two hornlike processes; CAVI-CORN, hollow-horned, applies to some ruminants; CORNI-FIC-ation, degenerative process by which cells of epithelium are converted into dead, horny tissue

CUB-, CUMB-, CUBIT-

• ‘to lie’
• suc-CUMB; in-CUMB-ent; in-CUB-us; pro-CUMB-ent, prone, lying face down (in dentistry, said of a tooth whose long axis approaches the horizontal); suc-CUB-ous, with each leaf covering part of the leaf beneath it

DORM-, DORMIT-

• ‘to sleep’
• DORMIT-ory; ob-DORMIT-ion, numbness of a part due to interference with nervous function, sensation of a part ‘being asleep’; DORMIT-ive, inducing sleep

FET- (FOET-)

• ‘offspring’ ‘fetus’
• FET-at-ion, the formation of a fetus, pregnancy; ex-FET-at-ion, extopic or extrauterine pregnancy

FRANG- (-FRING-), FRAG-, FRACT-

• ‘to break’, ‘to bend’
• FRACT-ion; FRAG-ment; FRACT-ure; re-FRACT, to cause the deviation of a ray of light from a straight line in passing obliquely from one transparent medium to another of different density

GRAD-, GRESS-

• ‘to step’, ‘to go’
• DIGITI-GRADE, walking with only digits touching the ground; ORTHO-GRADE, walking or standing in the upright position; sub-PLANTI-GRADE, incompletely plantigrade, walking with the heel slightly elevated

LINGU-

• ‘tongue’, ‘language’ (lingua)
• LINGU-ist-ics; BI-LINGU-al; FISSI-LINGU-al, having a bifid or cleft tongue; LINGUO-VERS-ion, displacement of a tooth on the lingual side of its proper occlusion

MENT-

• ‘chin’ (mentum)
• MENT-al, pertaining to the chin; sub-MENT-al, beneath the chin; MENT-alis, a muscle of the lower lip

PLIC-, PLICIT-

• ‘to fold’
• PLICA, a fold of skin or membrane; com-PLIC-ate, folded (said of leaves or of insect wings); PLIC-at-ion, the act or process of folding

POT-

• ‘to be powerful’
• POT-ent-ial; OMNI-POT-ent; UNI-POT-ent, giving rise to only one cell or tissue type (said of an embryonic or multiplying cell); POT-ent-at-ion,effect of a substance which, when, added to another, makes the latter more potent as a drug

PUR-

• ‘pus’ (pus)
• PUR-ulent, containing, consisting of, or forming pus; sup-PUR-ate, to form pus; PURO-HEPAT-itis, suppurative inflammation of the liver

REN-

• ‘kidney’ (ren)
• ad-REN-al, adjacent to the kidneys, or relating to or derived from adrenal glands or their secretion; sub-REN-iform, slightly kidney-shaped; RENO-TROP-ic, specifically attracted to kidney tissue

SON-

• ‘sound’ (sonus)
• ultra-SON-ic, pertaining to sounds with a frequency above that of audible sound; SONI-FIC-at-ion, the act or process of producing sounds, as stridulation of insects

SUD-

• ‘to sweat’
• ex-SUD-at-ion, process of oozing out slowly; SUDORI-FIC, inducing sweating; SUD-at-orium, a hot air bath or a room for such a bath

TRUD-, TRUS-

• ‘to push’, ‘to thrust’
• in-TRUDE; in-ob-TRUS-ive; ex-TRUS-ion, a forcing out (in dentistry, extension of a tooth beyond the occlusal plain)