Origins – More about life
Latin vita, life, is the origins of: 1.Vital – essential to life; of crucial importance – a vital matter; also…
Year: 2009
PREFIXES – Words with un-.
People tend to think that un- is solely a negative prefix. It is, of course, often used as such. And…
Origins – Getting back to God
Theos, God, is also found in: 1.Monotheism – belief in one God. (Monos, one, plus theos, God.) 2.Polytheism – belief…
PREFIXES – Words with per-.
The basic meaning of per- is ‘through’. If you perambulate the grounds of a stately home, you walk around or…
Origins – The French Drillmaster
Jean Martinet was the Inspector-General of Infantry during the reign of King Louis XIV and a stricter, more fanatic drillmaster…
PREFIXES – Words with com-.
This prefix has two distinct meanings. First, it can mean ‘with’ or ‘together’, as in combine, compatriot, coexist, and cohere.…
Origins – To sleep or not to sleep
The root fero is found also in somniferous, carrying, hearing, or bringing sleep. So a somniferous lecture is so dull…
Prefixes – Words with ad-
The ad- prefix is primarily a Latin preposition meaning ‘to, near, at’; it is distantly related to the English word…