Word Roots
2 roots • 8 wordsPOLY
Root Meaning:
POLY comes from polys, the Greek word for “many.”
Etymology:
Latin
4 words derived from this root
Words from this root:
polyp
/ˈpɒlɪp/
Definition:
(1) A sea invertebrate that has a mouth opening at one end surrounded by stinging tentacles. (2) A growth projecting from a mucous membrane, as on the colon or vocal cords.
Example:
She had had a polyp removed from her throat, and for two weeks afterward she could only whisper.
Explanation:
This term comes from *polypous*, a Greek word for “octopus,” which meant literally “many-footed.” To the untrained eye, the invertebrate known as the polyp may likewise appear to be many-footed, though it never walks anywhere since its “feet” are tentacles, used for stinging tiny organisms which the polyp then devours. The types of tumor known as polyps got their name because some seem to be attached to the surface by branching “foot”- like roots, even though most do not. Polyps of the nose or vocal cords are usually only inconvenient, causing breathing difficulty or hoarseness, and can be removed easily; however, polyps in the intestines can sometimes turn cancerous.
polyglot
/ˈpɒlɪɡlɒt/
Definition:
(1) One who can speak or write several languages. (2) Having or using several languages.
Example:
As trade between countries increases, there is more need for polyglots who can act as negotiators.
Explanation:
*Polyglot* contains the root *glot,* meaning “language.” It is used both as a noun and as an adjective. Thus, we could say that an international airport is bound to be *polyglot*, with people from all over the world speaking their native languages. One of history's more interesting polyglots was the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who claimed that he addressed his horse only in German, conversed with women in Italian and with men in French, but reserved Spanish (his original language) for his talks with God.
polymer
/ˈpɒlɪmə(r)/
Example:
Nylon, a polymer commercially introduced in 1938, can be spun and woven into fabrics or cast as tough, elastic blocks.
Explanation:
There are many natural polymers, including shellac, cellulose, and rubber. But synthetic polymers only came into being around 1870 with Celluloid, known especially for its use in photographic film. After many decades of development, the *polymeric* compounds now include *polypropylene,* used in milk crates, luggage, and hinges; *polyurethane,* used in paints, adhesives, molded items, rubbers, and foams; and *polyvinyl chloride* (PVC), used to make pipes that won't rust. And let's not forget *polyester*, which gave us a lot of uncool clothing in the 1970s but whose strength and resistance to corrosion have ensured that it remains an extremely useful material for all kinds of goods.
polygraph
/ˈpɒlɪɡrɑːf/
Example:
My brother-in-law is completely law-abiding, but he's such a nervous type that he's failed two polygraph tests at job interviews.
Explanation:
With its *graph-* root (see GRAPH), *polygraph* indicates that it writes out several different results. A polygraph's output consists of a set of squiggly lines on a computer screen, each indicating one function being tested. The functions most commonly measured are blood pressure, breathing rate, pulse, and perspiration, all of which tend to increase when you lie. Polygraphs have been in use since 1924, and have gotten more sensitive over the years, though many experts still believe that they're unreliable and that a prepared liar can fool the machine. They're used not only for law enforcement but perhaps more often by employers—often the police department itself!—who don't want to hire someone who has broken the law in the past but won't admit to it.
PRIM
Root Meaning:
PRIM comes from primus, the Latin word for “first.”
Etymology:
Latin
4 words derived from this root
Words from this root:
primal
/ˈpraɪml/
Definition:
Basic or primitive.
Example:
There was always a primal pleasure in listening to the rain beat on the roof at night and dropping off to sleep in front of the fire.
Explanation:
*Primal* generally describes something powerful and almost instinctual. So when we speak of the primal innocence of youth or the primal intensity of someone's devotion, we're suggesting that the emotions or conditions being described are basic to our animal nature. Sitting around a campfire may feel like a primal experience, in which we share the emotions of our cave- dwelling ancestors. Intense fear of snakes or spiders may have primal roots, owing to the poison that some species carry. In “primal scream” therapy, popular in the 1970s, patients relive painful childhood experiences and express their frustration and anger through uncontrolled screaming and even violence.
primer
/ˈpraɪmə(r)/
Definition:
(1) A small book for teaching children to read. (2) A small introductory book on a subject.
Example:
She announced that she'd be passing out a primer on mutual funds at the end of the talk.
Explanation:
Primers were once a standard part of every child's education. The first primer printed in North America, *The New England Primer* (ca. 1690), was typical; it contained many quotations from the Bible and many moral lessons, and the text was accompanied by numerous woodcut illustrations. We no longer use the word in early education, but it's widely used in everyday speech. Notice how *primer* is pronounced; don't mix it up with the kind of paint that's pronounced with a long *i* sound.
primate
/ˈpraɪmeɪt/
Definition:
Any member of the group of animals that includes human beings, apes, and monkeys.
Example:
Dr. Leakey sent three young women to work with individual primates: Jane Goodall with the chimpanzees, Dian Fossey with the gorillas, and Birute Galdakis with the orangutans.
Explanation:
It was the great biologist Carolus Linnaeus who gave the primates their name, to indicate that animals of this order were the most advanced of all. Linnaeus listed human beings with the apes a hundred years before Charles Darwin would publish his famous work on evolution. When people told him that our close relationship to the apes and monkeys was impossible because it disagreed with the Bible, he responded that, from the biological evidence, he simply couldn't come to a different conclusion. Among the mammals, the primates are distinguished by their large brains, weak sense of smell, lack of claws, long pregnancies, and long childhoods, among other things. Along with the apes and monkey, the Primate order includes such interesting animals as the lemurs, tarsiers, galagos, and lorises.
primordial
/praɪˈmɔːdiəl/
Definition:
(1) First created or developed. (2) Existing in or from the very beginning.
Example:
Many astronomers think the universe is continuing to evolve from a primordial cloud of gas.
Explanation:
*Primordial* can be traced back to the Latin word *primordium,* or “origin,” and applies to something that is only the starting point in a course of development or progression. A primordial landscape is one that bears no sign of human use, and a primordial cell is the first formed and least specialized in a line of cells. The substance out of which the earth was formed and from which all life evolved is commonly called “the primordial ooze” or “the primordial soup”—even by scientists.