Root word autobiography sample

Learning root words can be helpful in improving your vocabulary. When you know root words, you can recognize the basis of any word and use that knowledge to help you define a word you may not otherwise know.

Keep reading to learn more about root words and to see a list of over 100 root word definitions.

So, what is a root word? A root word is the most basic part of a word, known as a morpheme.

Root word autobiography sample essay

Root words that can stand alone as words (such as hero or ego) are known as free morphemes. If a root word must use a prefix and/or suffix to be an English word, it's known as a bound morpheme.

For example, take the word biology:

• The root bio is Greek for "life."
• The suffix -logy is Greek for "the study of."

Therefore, biology means "the study of life." If you add yet another suffix, -ist, the word becomes biologist - a person who studies life.

As you make your way through this list of root words, you might consider creating your own flashcard set to memorize root w