Understanding English Vocabulary

Introduction

English many, and I mean MANY words for you to learn. They all come from different languages, notably , Latin, German, Spanish, French and a lot more. I'll teach you one of my techniques to better understand new words. I am no master, but sometimes I can guess correctly the meaning of certain words, I hope you will be able to do the same!

Etymology

Etymology (noun)

The study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.

• The origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning.

[étumon meaning "true sense" and the suffix -logia, meaning "the study of". The suffix derived from the word logos, meaning "speech"] 

As mentioned, English is basically a bunch of other languages mashed up together. Its early form was simply called Old English, which includes Middle English and Early Modern English. Most English words originated from Latin and French, each comprising 29% of the language. Germanic came second and Greek fell at the last place with only 6%.

Okay, let's start with what you might be familiar with. Here are some English words with Malay origins, though many of these words are common names for animals. This goes to show that when you know one of the derived languages of English, chances are you might get the hang of it sooner than you expected.

1. Babirusa - babi + rusa
2. Cockatoo - kakaktua (also from Dutch kaketoe)
3. Dugong - duyong
4. Gecko - geko/gekok
5. Ketchup - kechap/kicap (also from Cantonese kōetsiap)
6. Launch - lancaran/lancar (also from Spanish or Portuguese lancha)

Basic Latin

Latin is not a language you should depend your life on. It is the lingua franca of the ancient Romans, deriving from Greek. Just like the Romans, their mother tongue died out.

One of the popular Latin words is terra. It means "dry land", you can see it in the words territory, terrain and terrace. This language is mostly used for scientific words, which are important for people to understand so they would know how to treat illnesses or study stuff like anatomy. You can get an amount of words in English from just one in Latin, through this you will be able to relate the words and roughly know the meaning of them. Here are some easy examples, the declining stems (or the key part of the word) is colored as well.

Bellum (war)

1. antebellum - (adjective) before war
2. rebellion - (noun) an act of violent or open resistance to an established government or ruler.
3. belligerent - (adjective) hostile and aggressive / (noun) a nation or person engaged in war or conflict, as recognized by international law.
4. bellicose - (adjective) demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight.

Bene (good)

1. benign - (adjective) gentle;kindly / [Medicine] not harmful in effect or not malignant*
2. benefit - (adjective) an advantage or profit gained from something
3. benediction - (noun) the utterance or bestowing of a blessing, especially at the end of a religious service.

*malignant - (adjective) very virulent or infectious disease.

Corona (crown)

1. coronation - (noun) the ceremony of crowning a sovereign or a sovereign's consort
2. corona - (noun) aura of plasma that surrounds the Sun and other stars. Basically the glow around the Sun, think of it like the Sun is wearing a crown that shines on its head.
3. coroner - (noun) [Historical] in England, an official responsible for safeguarding the private property of the Crown.

Costa (rib/flank/side)

1. intercostal - (adjective) situated between the ribs
2. coast - (noun) the part of the land near the sea; the edge of the land. Think of it as the side of the sea.
3. costate - (adjective) ribbed; possessing a costa
4. infracostal - (adjective) situated below the rib

Cura (care)

1. curious - (adjective) eager to know or learn something. You want to care about a subject that interests you.
2. cure - (verb) relieve of the symptoms of a disease or condition.
3. accuracy - (noun) the quality or state of being correct or precise. You are taking care of the angle of the arrow when aiming at the target.
4. curator - (noun) a keeper or custodian of a museum or other collection. The caretaker of a museum.
5. secure - (adjective) not subject to threat; certain to remain or continue safe and unharmed. The prefix se- means "without" so the word literally means "without care" meaning to say that you won't have to worry about your safety.

Dens / Denticulus (tooth)

1. dentin - (noun) hard, dense, bony tissue forming the bulk of a tooth beneath the enamel.
2. denture - (noun) a removable plate or frame holding one or more artificial teeth.
3. dentition - (noun) the arrangement or condition of the teeth in a particular species or individual.
4. dentifrice - (noun) a paste or powder for cleaning the teeth.

There are so much more words to learn, such as luna (moon), mare (sea), signum/sigillum (mark, sign), and sol (sun). Now let's move on to prepositions and words that form compound words. These are quite simple to remember, they usually act as prefixes (pre meaning "before"). Here, the words in a lighter blue are examples.

1. ante = before: ante Meridiem = before noon, meridies translates to "midday"
2. circum (from circus, meaning "circle") = around: circumference = (noun) the enclosing boundary of a curved geometric figure, especially a circle.
3. contra = against, opposite to: contrary = (adjective) opposite in nature, direction, or meaning.
4. de = down from: descend = (verb) move or fall downward.
5. dis- = apart: dismember = (verb) cut off the limbs of a person or an animal.
6. extra = outside: extraordinary = (adjective) very unusual or remarkable / Out of the ordinary.
7. infra = below: infracostal, infrasound = (noun) sound waves with frequencies below the lower limit of human audibility.
8. inter = among, between: intercostal, interpersonal = (adjective) relating to relationships or communication between people.
9. intra = within: intrapersonal = (adjective) something that exists within one person.
10. multus = much, many: multimedia = (noun) the use of a variety of artistic or communicative media.
11. non = not: nongovernmental = (adjective) not belonging to or associated with any government, especially of an organization. 
12. per = thorough, through: perennial = (adjective) lasting or existing for a long or apparently infinite time; enduring or continually recurring.
13. post = after, behind: post-mortem = (noun) an examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death, mortem meaning "death" so post-mortem is an examination that happens after death.
14. pro = for, forth, in front of, on behalf of: pro-life = (adjective) opposing abortion and euthanasia.
15. re- = back: replace = (verb) put back in a previous place or position.
16. retro = backwards: retrospect = (noun) a survey or review of a past course of events or period of time, prospect defines as the possibility or likelihood of some future event occurring.
17. se = apart, without: segregation = (noun) the action or state of setting someone or something apart from other people or things or being set apart.
18. sub = from below: submarine = (adjective) existing, occurring, done, or used under the surface of the sea.
19. super = above, over: superlative = (adjective) of the highest quality or degree.
20. trans = across: transition = (noun) the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another / crossing over from one condition to another.

Okay this post is getting way too long. I'll do another one on Ancient Greek. Definitions go to Google's dictionary and Wikipedia. Click here to get a full list of Latin words in English.