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Etymon Yard A working herbarium of Latin and Greek roots

Roots pressed in the yard

All published roots and word deep dives in one place, grouped by first letter. Scheduled entries appear here on the day they go live.

A 1

Root Meaning Family
aud / audi Latin to hear 8

C 1

Root Meaning Family
cred Latin to believe, to trust 8

D 1

Root Meaning Family
duc / duct Latin to lead, to draw along 8

F 1

Root Meaning Family
fer Latin to carry, to bear 8

G 1

Root Meaning Family
graph / gram Greek to write, to draw 8

L 1

Root Meaning Family
log / logue Greek word, speech, reason 8

M 1

Root Meaning Family
mit / miss Latin to send, to let go 8

P 1

Root Meaning Family
port Latin to carry, to bring across 8

S 2

Root Meaning Family
scrib / script Latin to write, to draw lines 8
spec / spect / spic Latin to look at, to observe 8

V 1

Root Meaning Family
vid / vis Latin to see 8

See every root in one table

Word deep dives

Single English words whose history is worth a whole page: the chain of forms it passed through, the cousins it left behind, and the trap in using it.

Word

window

an opening in a wall for light and air; a framed area on a screen

6 words

Word

nice

pleasant, agreeable; formerly: foolish, then precise, then fastidious

6 words

Word

salary

a fixed regular payment for work

6 words

How to read an entry

  1. Start at the tree

    Each entry opens with the chain of forms, oldest on the left. The branch points are the moments the word changed language, and the note under each one says what happened there.

  2. Then the family table

    The table under the tree lists the English words built on that root, with the part of speech and a gloss. Count the rows before you decide a root is rare or common.

  3. Keep the hook, drop the rest

    The memory hook and the confusables panel on the right are the two things worth carrying away. Everything else is there for the day you need the detail.