The English language can be a difficult puzzle to solve. There are words that sound the same but are spelled differently (homophones such as threw and through), words that are spelled the same but mean different things depending on context (for example, you can desert [deh-ZERT] your companions in a desert [DEH-zert]), and words that are wonderfully useful and descriptive but so unusual in spelling and/or pronunciation that you just have to take the time to memorize them (like quixotic or bourgeois or pyrrhic).

Like any puzzle, though, you can take many English words apart into their component pieces. Once you learn the meaning of the basic pieces – the word roots (usually from Greek or Latin), the prefixes, and the suffixes – you can recombine them in many different ways. Learning just one word root will help you quickly find the meaning of dozens of new vocabulary words. In today’s post, we’ll look at several word roots, and give examples of words using them.

-meter
This root comes from both Latin (metrum) and Greek (metron) words meaning “measure.” When you see this root, you know that the vocabulary word is referring to an instrument that measures something.

Example 1: A tachometer measures the speed of a vehicle (the Greek root tacho- means “speed”).
Example 2: An altimeter measures altitude (the Latin word altus means “high”).

The word meter used by itself is a generic term for any such instrument.

-mania
Mania is the Greek word for “madness.” In British English, when you say you’re “mad about” something or someone, it means that you have an enthusiasm or a passion for that thing (or person). Words with this root indicate passion or strong emotion, sometimes so strong that it’s irresistible.

Example 1: Kleptomania is a passion or urge to steal things (the Greek word kleptes means “thief”).
Example 2: Bibliomania is a love for books (biblion is the Greek word for “book”).

When you are using this word as an adjective to describe someone with bibliomania, you say that he or she is a bibliomaniac. The word “mania” used by itself refers to madness or passion.

-ology
Logos is an ancient Greek word referring to reasoning or discourse, and logia the word for “study of.” Words ending in -logy or -ology indicate the word is referring to the study of something.

Example 1: Entomology is the study of insects (from the Greek entomon, “insect”).
Example 2: Etymology is the study of the formation and development of words and their meanings (the Greek word etymon means “true sense”).

Don’t get these two words confused!

Learning the common word roots will give you a solid foundation to build on, and help you to classify and define new vocabulary words as you come across them in your reading. Keep studying – we’re rooting for you!