Unit 2 Roots
Word roots introduced in Unit 1 are colored gray.
| Root Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| abdomin | belly |
| acerb[o]/a | harsh, bitter |
| acute | sharp |
| aise ease |
state of rest or well-being |
| alert | aware of surroundings; vigilant |
| anter/i | front |
| antrum | cave |
| assur | secure |
| ausculta | listen attentively to |
| benign | well-mannered |
| calor | heat |
| candida | fungus; usually used to designate the specific fungus Candida albicans |
| cardio | heart |
| caud | tail |
| charge | obligation |
| chondr | cartilage (as in the ribs) |
| chronic | pertaining to time |
| coron | crown |
| cran/i | head; skull |
| crino | secretion |
| dem/o dem/i/o |
people, population |
| different | set apart |
| dila | increase in size |
| dist | farther away |
| dolor | pain |
| dors dorsum |
back |
| drome | route, road |
| endo | inside |
| etio | cause |
| febr | fever |
| front | front |
| gastr | stomach |
| genera | ancestry |
| genet | birth |
| gn[us] | birth |
| gnos | knowing |
| graph | device used for a test or procedure |
| hereditar | transmitted in a family line |
| homeo | same |
| horizon[t] | parallel to the ground |
| iatro | physician, healer |
| il[eum] | flank |
| infer | underneath |
| inguin | groin |
| later | to the side |
| lesion | damage, injury |
| lethargic | drowsy |
| lipid | fat |
| local | place |
| lumb[us] | lower back |
| marked | making an impression |
| med/i | towards the middle |
| morbid | sick |
| mortal | dead |
| observa | what is seen |
| occult | what is unseen |
| orient | towards the east (from using a compass) |
| ox | shortening of oxygen |
| palliat | covering |
| palm | front surface of the hand |
| palpa | feeling with the fingers |
| path/o | disease |
| pend | hanging |
| percuss | tapping |
| phylax | protection |
| physi/o | function (literally "nature") |
| plant | bottom surface of the foot |
| port | carry |
| posi | place |
| poster/i | behind |
| press | pressure; dent |
| produc | giving rise to |
| progress | moving forward |
| prone | face down, bending forward |
| prox/im | near |
| ptom | something that falls on you |
| recurr | happening again |
| remark | making a dent again |
| remiss | diminishing; becoming less |
| rostr | nose |
| rubor | redness |
| rupt | breaking, bursting |
| sagitt | arrow |
| scope | instrument for looking inside |
| sequel | what comes next |
| skelet | bones |
| stas stasis |
standing still |
| stem | standing |
| sterile | not producing offspring |
| super/i | toward the top |
| supine | face up, bending backward |
| tens | stretching, pressure (cf. tendon in Unit 1) |
| tom (Unit 1 suffix table) |
cutting |
| tribut | to pay |
| turgor | swelling |
| umbilic[us] | navel, belly-button |
| vascul | little vessel (vas + cule) |
| vaso | vessel |
| ventr | belly |
| vers | across |
