HORACE'S QUICK LIST OF LATIN AND GREEK PREFIXES AND COMBINING FORMS

A guide to Latin and Greek prefixes and roots–the building blocks of English–designed as a reference and vocabulary-building book for high school and college students and instructors.

Danner (The English Tree of Roots, 2004, etc.) explains that everyday English is based on the Germanic family of languages, including Anglo-Saxon and Old English, while academic language contains many words based on Latin and ancient Greek. The root or prefix appears in the left-hand column on each page. In the next column is the source, either Latin or Greek. The next column provides the meaning(s), then the list of English words derived from the root followed by variants–words representing changes in spelling over time. Related words in the Romance languages, especially Spanish, are given for some roots. The book contains 190 pages of text with an average of perhaps six or seven items per page, each followed by lists of English derivatives. It is a formidable opus, though Danner refers to it as a “slimmed-down list.” Because the roots/prefixes are arranged alphabetically, this could be a handy reference for those who already know the building block they are looking for. Very few English words are defined here however, so readers would need to seek definitions of unusual and unfamiliar words–like habitus or prebend–elsewhere. As a guide for most vocabulary-building purposes in high school or college, the book seems ponderous and overly detailed with too much information. For example, it is unlikely that habitus or prebend would come up in a vocabulary test or reading assignment, except in specialized fields of study. The really useful vocabulary is surrounded by a thicket of esoteric words. A list that is slimmed down to a much greater degree, focusing on prevalent words in modern academic parlance, would be more helpful to students who want to increase their vocabulary.

Awe-inspiring in its thoroughness–useful as a reference for instructors but less helpful as a vocabulary builder.