greek roots

cephalopod (se-fə-lə-päd)

The only cephalopod with a shell is a nautilus. In the picture is a chambered nautilus.
A stumpy cuttlefish is a type of cephalopod
A giant Pacific octopus is very smart.
Bigfin reef squid at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
My sister pretending to be a cephalopod using interactive software at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

When we were in California, we visited the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. Their special exhibit was Tentacles: The Astounding World of Octopuses, Squids and Cuttlefishes. The exhibit was all about cephalopods. You may ask yourself, what are cephalopods? Cephalopods are a group of marine molluscs that are related to snails and slugs. Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and nautili belong in this group. Cephalopods are equipped with breath-taking abilities that allow them to escape predators and, thus, survive. Octopuses in particular are notorious for their ability to disguise themselves; they can change their color and texture up to 20 times in 1 minute! Cephalopod comes from the Greek roots cephalo- meaning head and –pod meaning foot. Cephalopod literally means “head foot.” I think that the name “head foot” is appropriate since cephalopods look like their feet are attached to their head.

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cetacea (si-ˈtā-shə)

The idea for my post came from this poster of Cetacea that was on the boat.
The tail of a Humpback whale seen in the distance
Dolphins skimming the water.
Dolphins cut through the crystal clear water.
Dolphin preparing to leap.
Long-beaked common dolphins leaping in and out of the water.

During a recent trip to Monterey, California, I went on a whale watching excursion with my family. Before the boat even started moving, we saw seals sunning themselves nearby and cute sea otters swimming in the water. The Monterey Bay is a great place for whale watching because whales and dolphins can be seen year round. Dolphins and whales belong to a group of marine mammals called Cetacea. Cetacea contains the Greek root ceta– meaning whale. On our tour, we saw a megapod of long-beaked common dolphins skipping over the water agilely. It was amazing to see how swiftly they could swim! In the distance were immense humpback whales slapping the water forcefully with their tail fins. I was quite excited when I saw the whales breaching the water, creating large splashes. I hope you enjoy the pictures that we took during the whale watching trip!

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ornithology (ornəˈthäləjē)

The bird feeder is unusually quiet. We often see chirping birds during the day.

Ever since my dad placed a bird feeder outside of our dining room window, we have seen many different songbirds.  Every evening during dinner, we are entertained by cardinals, Carolina chickadees, titmouses, house finches, bluejays, and several kinds of sparrows. My favorite birds to watch are cardinals because they are so colorful. Ornithology is the study of birds.  It comes from the Greek roots, ornitho- meaning bird and –logy meaning study of. Do any of you have a bird feeder? If you do, what is your favorite bird to watch?

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hieroglyph (hī(ə)rəˌglif )

Unis-Ankh’s cartouche. Photo taken at the Field Museum in Chicago.
Hieroglyphs within Unis- Ankh’s tomb. Photo taken at the Field Museum in Chicago.
Hieroglyphs within Unis- Ankh’s tomb. Photo taken at the Field Museum in Chicago.

My favorite place to go in Chicago is the Field Museum. During a recent visit, I found the Inside Ancient Egypt exhibit most interesting.  The exhibit includes an ancient, limestone tomb which our tour guide told us was Unis-Ankh’s real tomb. Unis-Ankh was the son of King Unis, the last pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt (2428- 2407 B.C.). We saw Unis-Ankh’s cartouche, which is a hieroglyphic name plate at the entry. Then we went inside to a little room and saw hieroglyphs all around us. A hieroglyph is a character in any system of writing that uses pictures. The word was originally used for the oldest system of writing Ancient Egyptian. Hieroglyph comes from the Greek roots hier meaning sacred and glyph meaning carve. Hieroglyphs are “sacred carvings!” There were hints of red on the wall, which the tour guide explained was from ochre. The limestone was protected with plexiglass in order to preserve the 5,000 year old stone. On the tour, I learned a lot about daily life in Ancient Egypt such as the fact that everyone, even kids, had to drink beer (or wine if they were rich), because the water from the River Nile was contaminated.  They traded for fruit, juice, beer and wine and other goods in the marketplace.  Egyptians wore little clothing, for the desert was hot, as you might imagine. I really enjoyed the exhibit and I definitely recommend going on the Inside Ancient Egypt tour if you are visiting the Field Museum.

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psittacine (sitəˌsīn)

These colorful psittacines can be found at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans.

A psittacine is any bird of the parrot family. Psittacine comes from the Greek root psitt, meaning parrot and includes the suffix ending “ine” which means “of or related to”.  Psittacine technically means, of or relating to parrots. I chose this word because it has an unusual root that doesn’t show up in many words, and the silent “p” makes it tricky to spell.

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Lepidoptera (le-pə-ˈdäp-tə-rə)

 

Our butterfly garden attracts many different lepidopterans.

We planted a small butterfly garden many years ago and it is starting to bloom again. The garden attracts many beautiful butterflies such as Monarchs, Swallowtails, Viceroys, and Fritillaries. Butterflies and moths belong to a large group of insects called Lepidoptera.  Lepidoptera comes from the Greek roots lepid, meaning scale and pter, meaning wing. The word literally means “scaly wing”, and refers to the brightly colored, overlapping scales that make up the wings (and bodies) of these insects.

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toxophilite (täk säfə līt)

I love the cool new bow I got for my birthday!

Yesterday was my first official day of summer vacation! I went to the archery range with my dad and we shot arrows together; it was fun! I am a true toxophilite. What is a toxophilite, you ask? A toxophilite is a lover of archery. Toxophilite is made up of two Greek roots, tox, meaning bow and phil, meaning love of. Two Greek elements usually link with “o.” Are you a toxophilite? If you are, let me know.

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Chrysanthemum (kri-sant-thə-məm)

Chrysanthemums were originally yellow so they were named "gold flowers". (Photo credit to Missouri Botanical Garden)

I am sorry that I have kept you waiting for another post. This week we shall continue our theme of flower roots by looking at the word chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemums are fall-blooming flowers and can be multiple colors. Common names for chrysanthemums are chrysanths or mums. Chrysanthemum comes from the Greek roots chrys,meaning gold and anth, meaning flower. Chrysanthemums were originally yellow so they were named “gold flowers”.

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hemerocallis (hemər-ō-kalə̇s)

Hemerocallis is a beautiful flower that blooms for just one day.

This week we shall explore the roots of another flower. The hemerocallis, better known as the daylily, is a perennial that comes in many different colors. These flowers are very pretty and some are fragrant. The word hemerocallis contains the Greek roots hemer, meaning day, and calli meaning beautiful. Greek roots are typically linked together by the letter “o”. The hemerocallis is the perfect name for these bright, beautiful flowers because they only bloom for one day.

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