Greek and Latin Roots in English
Latin Prefix/ Greek Prefix | Meaning |
| a-, an- | "alpha privative", a negative |
| ab- | away from |
| ad- | to, towards, near |
| ambi- | both |
| ana- | up, back again, throughout, against |
| ante- | before, in front of |
| anti- | against |
| apo- | away from |
| bi-/bis- | twice, double |
| cata- | down, across, under |
| circum- | around |
| con- | with |
| contra- | against |
| de- | down, from, away from |
| di- | two, twice, double |
| dia- | through |
| dis- | apart, removed |
| dys- | hard, difficult, bad |
| e-, ex- (Lat.) ec- ex- (Gk.) | out of |
| ecto- | outside |
| exo- | outside, outward |
| en- | in |
| endo- | within |
| epi- | on, upon |
| extra- | outside, beyond, in addition to |
| eu- | well, good, easy |
| hemi- | half |
| hyper- | over, above, |
| hypo- | below, under |
| in- | in, into, on You often see this prefix as im. Used wtih verbal roots. |
| in- | not; occasionally, beyond belief |
| infra- | below |
| inter- | between |
| intro- | within |
| intus- | within |
| meta- | with, after, beyond |
| non- | not |
| opistho- | behind |
| palin- | again |
| para- | along side of, beside |
| per- | through, thorough, complete |
| peri- | around, near |
| post- | after, behind |
| pre- | in front of, before |
| pro- | before, in front of |
| proso- | onwards, in front |
| re- | back, again |
| retro- | backward |
| semi- | half |
| sub- | under, below |
| super-, supra- | above, upper |
| syn- | with |
| trans- | across |
| ultra- | beyond |
Greek & Latin | Meaning in English |
| mega-, megalo-, makro-; magni-, grandi- | big |
| micro-; parvi- | little |
| macro-, dolicho; longi- | long |
| brachy-; brevi- | short |
| eury, platy-; lati- | wide |
| steno-; angusti- | narrow |
| cyclo-, gyro; circuli- | round |
| quadrati- rectanguli- | square |
| pachy-, pycno-, steato-;crassi- | thick |
| lepto-; tenui- | thin |
| bary-; gravi- | heavy |
| sclero-, scirrho-; duri- | hard |
| malaco-; molli- | soft |
| hygro-, hydro-; humidi- | wet |
| xero-; sicci- | dry (Xerox®) |
| oxy-; acri- | sharp |
| cryo- psychro-; frigidi- | cold |
| thermo-; calidi- | hot |
| dexio-; dextri- | right |
| scaio-; scaevo- levi, sinistri- | left |
| proso-, proto-; frontali- | front |
| meso-; medio- | middle |
| poly-; multi- | many |
| oligo-; pauci- | few |
| stheno-; validi-, potenti- | strong |
| hypo-; imi-, intimi- | bottom |
| paleo-, archeo-; veteri-, seni- | old |
| neo-, ceno-; novi | new |
| crypto-, calypto-; operti- | hidden |
| tauto-; identi- | same |
| homo-, homeo-; simili- | alike |
| eu-, kalo-, kallo-; boni- | good |
| dys-, caco-; mali- | bad |
| ceno-, coelo-; vacuo- | empty |
| holo-; toti- | entirely |
| idio-; proprio-, sui- | one's own |
| allo-; alieni- | another's |
| glyco-; dulci- | sweet |
| picro-; amari- | bitter |
| iso-; equi- | equal |
| hetero-, allo-; vario- | different |
Greek & Latin | Meaning in English |
| semi-; hemi- | 1/2 |
| hen- ; uni- | 1 |
| sesqui- | 1-1/2 |
| dyo (di-, dis-) ; duo- (bi-, bis-) | 2 |
| tri-; tri- | 3 |
| tetra-, tessaro- ;quadri- | 4 |
| penta-;quinque | 5 |
| hex, hexa-;sex- | 6 |
| hepta-;septem- | 7 |
| octo-;octo- | 8 |
| ennea-;novem- | 9 |
| deca-;decem- | 10 |
| dodeca-; duodecim | 12 |
| hecatonta-;centi- | 100 |
| chilio-;milli- | 1000 |
| myri-, myriad-; | any large or countless number |
