latin roots

Name That Animal: Challenge #11

Happy New Year!

I thought a new Name That Animal Challenge would be a great way to kick off 2021.

Pretend that you are a scientist and you have just discovered a new species of animal and you have the privilege of naming it. Scientists usually name new species by using Greek or/and Latin roots because the prefixes, stems, and suffixes are like building blocks that can be utilized in countless ways.

Your challenge is to name the animal in the picture above using your knowledge of Greek and Latin roots. You can use characteristics like size, color, or shape in your name. Feel free to search my blog to find root words to help you!

For now, I’ve provided you a list of roots with their definitions to get you started. Greek roots usually link with -o-, and Latin roots usually link with -i- . What would you name this animal? Be sure to comment and let me know!

Greek Roots

Root                 Meaning
-morph-                   shape
-cephal-                   head
-pach-                       thick
-pter-                         wing         
micr-                         small
mega-                       large
-poli-                         gray
lepid-                       scale

Latin Roots

Root                 Meaning
-iform                       shape
-corp-                        body
-capit-                       head
ali-                              wing
-min-                          small
-magn-                      large
-chrom-&                 color

Be sure to check out Name That Animal Challenge #1, Name That Animal Challenge #2, Name That Animal Challenge #3, Name That Animal Challenge #4,  Name That Animal Challenge #5, Name That Animal Challenge #6, Name That Animal Challenge #7, Name That Animal Challenge #8, Name That Animal Challenge #9, and Name That Animal Challenge #10!

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toxology (täks-älə-jē)

Happy National Archery Day!

I’ve been on my school’s Varsity Archery team for two years now and find the sport highly challenging, yet relaxing. Our team qualified for the State tournament this year for the first time in school history! Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, the competition was cancelled.

The Greek word for bow is toxon. The ancient Greeks often shot poison arrows at enemy troops. When Rome conquered Greece, the Romans adopted toxon into Latin. However, the meaning of the word changed – in Latin, toxon came to mean poison.

Very rarely, the Greek definition of toxon appears in English. So far, I’ve only encountered two words that have retained the meaning – toxophilite and toxology. You can read my post about the word toxophilite here.

Toxology is the study of archery and projectiles. The word comes from the Greek word toxon meaning bow and -logy meaning study of. Toxology is commonly confused with the word toxicology, which uses the Latin meaning and refers to the study of poisons. In fact, many familiar words in English use the Latin meaning of toxon.

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Name That Animal: Challenge #10

What would you name this animal? Image from https://deutschstyle.de/15-kreative-tier-surreale-fotos.

It’s been a while since my last Name That Animal Challenge, so here it is!

Pretend that you are a scientist and you have just discovered this new species and you have the privilege of naming it. Scientists usually name new species by using Greek or/and Latin roots because the prefixes, stems, and suffixes are like building blocks that can be utilized in countless ways.

Your challenge is to name the unique animal in the picture above using your knowledge of Greek and Latin roots. Keep in mind that you can use characteristics like size, color, or shape to name this animal. Feel free to search my blog to find root words to help you. I’ve provided you a list of roots with their definitions to get you started.

Greek Roots

Root                Meaning
-morph-                   shape
-cephal-                    head
-dasy-                       hairy
-ornith-                    bird
-pter-                        wing
micr-                        small
ailur-                        cat
leuk-                        white
trich-                        hair

Latin Roots

Root                Meaning
-iform                        shape
-corp-                        body
-capit-                        head
hirsut-                       hairy
avi-                             bird
ali-                             wing
-feli-                          cat
fusco-                      dark

Greek roots usually link with -o-, and Latin roots usually link with -i-. What would you name this animal? Be sure to comment and let me know!

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out Name That Animal Challenge #1, Name That Animal Challenge #2, Name That Animal Challenge #3, Name That Animal Challenge #4,  Name That Animal Challenge #5, Name That Animal Challenge #6, Name That Animal Challenge #7, Name That Animal Challenge #8. and Name That Animal Challenge #9.

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Name That Animal: Challenge #9

What would you name this unusual creature? Image from Twitter @animalhybrids

It’s been a while since my last Name That Animal Challenge, so here it is!

Pretend that you are a scientist and you have just discovered this new species and you have the privilege of naming it. Scientists usually name new species by using Greek or/and Latin roots because the prefixes, stems, and suffixes are like building blocks that can be utilized in countless ways.

Your challenge is to name the unique animal in the picture above using your knowledge of Greek and Latin roots. Keep in mind that you can use characteristics like size, color, or shape to name this animal. Feel free to search my blog to find root words to help you. I’ve provided you a list of roots with their definitions to get you started.

 

Greek:

branchio-                gills

-cephal-                    head

cerato-                      horn

ichthy-                      fish

-morph-                   form, shape

rhino-                       nose

 

Latin:

pisci-                         fish

-iform                       shape              

-corp-                        body

-capit-                       head

 

The letter “o” is the most common way to link Greek roots, and the letter “i” is used to link Latin roots.

My sister would name this unique creature biceratoichthyomorph. What would you name it? I’m looking forward to reading all the fabulous names you come up with so don’t forget to leave a comment!

 

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out Name That Animal Challenge #1, Name That Animal Challenge #2, Name That Animal Challenge #3, Name That Animal Challenge #4,  Name That Animal Challenge #5, Name That Animal Challenge #6, Name That Animal Challenge #7, and Name That Animal Challenge #8.

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araçari (ärəˈsärē/ärəˈkärē)

Hi everyone!

When my family was in Costa Rica during spring break, we had a chance to visit the Toucan Rescue Center near San Jose. The Rescue Center cares for injured animals and in some cases, rehabilitates them and releases them back into the wild. The Rescue Center doesn’t just limit its efforts to toucans as its name suggests but also, sloths, owls, and monkeys.

The common name for the toucan featured in today’s post is Collared Araçari. Araçaris are small brightly colored toucans that belong to the genus Pteroglossus.

The genus name Pteroglossus comes from the Greek roots pter- meaning wing/feather and -gloss meaning tongue/language. Unfortunately, my pictures do not show the feathery tongue of the toucan. However, feel free to do a simple internet search to convince yourself that they do indeed have feather-like tongues!

The species name of this araçari is Torquatus. A torque (or torq/torc) is a twisted metal necklace worn by ancient Gauls, Germans, and many other ancient cultures. Torque comes from the Latin verb torquere meaning to twist or turn. If you look closely at the pictures of the araçari, you will notice a beautiful ring resembling a torq around its body.

The ‘Snettisham Great Torc’, is a treasure of the ancient world. It is made from an alloy of gold, silver and copper, and weighs over 1 kg. Image from http://www.britishmusuem.org

Can you think of any other words that contain the roots mentioned in this post? Be sure to comment and let me know!

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florisugent (flōrə¦süjənt)

  • Hummingbirds and bees are both florisugent.
  • The shape of a hummingbird’s bill determines the species of flower it can feed on.
  • Hummingbirds have developed specialized flight structures that allow them to hover in front of flowers while feeding.

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed last week’s post! I wanted to share more hummingbird pictures from Costa Rica with you so I thought I would continue our *trochiline theme.

Hummingbirds are florisugent – if we break down the word “florisugent” into its root components, we can easily decipher the meaning of this word. Flor is the Latin root for flower and -sugent is the Latin root meaning to suck. Florisugent means to suck nectar from a flower.

The long thin bills of hummingbirds are specially adapted to draw nectar from brightly colored flowers. In fact, the shape of a hummingbird’s bill determines what type of flower it can feed on. Even though a large percentage of their diet is nectar, hummingbirds also feed on various insects such as ants and flies.

Can you think of any other words that contain the Latin root flor? Comment and let me know!

*trochiline: relating to hummingbirds

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Name That Animal: Challenge #8

What would you name this magnificent creature? Photo via galleryhip.com

It’s about time for a Name That Animal Challenge!

Pretend that you are a scientist and you have just discovered this new species and you have the privilege of naming it. Scientists usually name new species by using Greek or/and Latin roots because the prefixes, stems, and suffixes are just like building blocks that you can utilize in countless ways.

Your challenge is to name the strange animal in the picture above using your knowledge of Greek and Latin roots. Keep in mind that you can use characteristics like size, color, or shape to name this animal. Feel free to search my blog to find root words to help you or use the list below!

Greek:

cyno-                                                dog

hydro-                                              water

cephal-                                             head

enalio-                                              sea

-cephaly                                           head

-soma-                                              body

somato-                                            body

oceano-                                            sea

-delphus                                          dolphin, womb

 

Latin:

cani-                                                  dog

-corp-                                                body

mari-, mar-                                     sea/ocean

-capit-                                               head

aqua-, aquato-                              water

-delphin-                                         dolphin

The letter “o” is the most common way to link Greek roots, and the letter “i” is used to link Latin roots. However, you can do whatever you like and enjoy!

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out Name That Animal Challenge #1, Name That Animal Challenge #2, Name That Animal Challenge #3, Name That Animal Challenge #4,  Name That Animal Challenge #5, and Name That Animal Challenge #6.

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eradicate (ə̇ˈradəˌkāt) vs. irradicate (ə̇ˈradə̇ˌkāt)

Hello everyone! To continue our homonym theme, let’s take a look at this confusing pair of homophones – eradicate and irradicate. You may remember from an earlier post that homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently.

Both eradicate and irradicate come from the Latin word radix, which means root. However, these words have opposite meanings due to their prefixes. Eradicate contains the Latin prefix e- which means out of, giving rise to its meaning “to uproot” or “root out”. One could use the word “eradicate” in terms of a cure for a disease (the disease was completely eradicated).

Irradicate on the other hand means to root deeply within. It refers to something that cannot be “rooted out” or “destroyed.” This word has gone through assimilation, the process by which the final letter of the prefix is dropped, and the first letter of the root is doubled. In this case, the prefix “in” (meaning in or within), has changed to ir-radicate. Even though assimilation has occurred, the meaning of the original prefix remains. Assimilation often occurs with words derived from Latin in which a prefix is linked to a root. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about this interesting pair of words!

 

 

 

 

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One of my favorite things to eat is pasta. I could eat fettuccine, linguine, penne and farfalle every day and not ever get tired of it!

Stewart Edelstein, the author of Dubious Doublets: A Delightful Compendium of Unlikely Word Pairs of Common Origin, from Aardvark/Porcelain to Zodiac/Whiskey has created a fun pasta quiz on Merriam-Webster online. As you take the quiz, you’ll notice that the origins of many of the Italian words for the various pastas derive from Latin. This is because Italian is a Romance language. Other Romance languages include Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Romance languages come from Vulgar Latin (vulgus is a Latin noun that means “common people” or “general public”), a form of Latin that was spoken by commoners in Rome during the 2nd – 4th centuries.

Take the quiz and be sure to let me know how you did!

 

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Name That Animal: Challenge #7 (Halloween Edition)

If you see this creature on Halloween, beware, it is deadly. (image via www.topito.com)

I say goodbye to my friends after a successful night of trick-or-treating. I am suddenly aware of how long I’ve been out and look for short cut home. The crescent moon shines weakly as I see a familiar-looking alley way that I immediately turn into. My boots click on the uneven, old, brick pathway. The night is eerily silent and acherontic, save the wind howling around me. It feels as if the temperature has plummeted sharply and I shiver. I start walking faster and feel a sense of relief when I reach the warm safety of home.

As I reach for the doorknob, I feel a burning sensation pierce the back of my hand. A  mephitic odor diffuses through the stygian darkness. I look down and see a spider – no,  not a spider, but a terrifying spider-like creature quickly skittering away. I hastily snatch up my phone and with trembling hands, manage to capture an image of this crazy creature.

For the next several hours, I feel odd and queasy. I wake up in the middle of the night with a splitting headache and decide that I need to go to the emergency room. As I get ready, I walk past my window and something draws my attention. I gaze at the reflection, and I see two bright yellow eyes peering back at me.

I am admitted to the hospital with an unknown condition, most likely caused by the bite of the bizarre creature. I try to tell the doctors that the culprit looks like a cross between a strigiform and an araneiform, but they simply stare at me quizzically, and blame the bite for my deluded state. Help me name the heinous creature that has cursed me.

Greek:

arachno-                                             spider

-pod-                                                    foot

xantho-                                               yellow

brunne-                                              brown

-morph-                                             shape, form

dasy-                                                   shaggy, woolly

octo-                                                    eight

-soma, somato-                                 body

-ops, opto-                                          eye

nyct-                                                    night

-haema, haemato-                            blood

Latin:

=strix                                                owl

strigi-                                                owl

-iform                                               in the shape of

fasciat-                                             banded

vittat-                                               striped

flav-                                                  yellow

hirsut-                                              hairy

aranei-                                             spider

oculi-, -oculus                                 eye

noct-, nocti-                                    night

sanguini-                                         blood

 

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out  Name That Animal Challenge #1, Name That Animal Challenge #2, Name That Animal Challenge #3, Name That Animal Challenge #4,  Name That Animal Challenge #5, and Name That Animal Challenge #6.

 

 

 

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