The root fero is found also in somniferous, carrying, hearing, or bringing sleep. So a somniferous lecture is so dull and boring that it is sleep-inducing. Fero is combined with…

The ad- prefix is primarily a Latin preposition meaning ‘to, near, at’; it is distantly related to the English word at. Even in Latin it was much used as a…

The profession of the sociologist is sociology. Sociology is built on Latin socius, companion, plus logos, science, study. Socius is the source of such common words as associate, social, socialize,…

The basic meanings here are ‘roll, turn’. The bindweed plant gets its other name, convolvulus, from its winding and twisted growth. The ‘rolling’ or ‘turning back’ in words such as…

Latin verbum is word. A verb is the important word in a sentence; verbatim is word-for-word (a verbatim report). Verbal, ending in the adjectival suffix -al, may refer either to…

The basic meanings of this root are ‘heavy, serious’. If you look grave, you have a serious expression. (The has nothing to do with the grave in which people are…

Acid is from the Latin adjective acidus, meaning sharp, sour. It has the same root as acer  keen, sharp. Even in Latin acid(us) had both modern meaning: sour-tasting and sour…

To condone is to forgive, overlook, pardon, or be uncritical of (an offence, or of an antisocial or illegal act). You yourself might or might not indulge in such behaviour…