Students in introductory biology classes typically have to learn more new vocabulary words than students taking a foreign language! The good news is that many science vocabulary words use the same Greek and Latin roots. When you know these roots, you can figure out what a word means, even if you've never heard it before. This table shows you many roots to help you decipher words you hear in biology class.
| Greek or Latin Root | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| A-, An- | Not, absent | Abiotic: without life Anoxygenic: without oxygen |
| Ab-, Abs- | Away from | Abscission: separation of leaves from tree |
| Allo- | Another | Allosteric: another binding site |
| Aqua- | Water | Aqueous: watery |
| Bi- | Two | Bilayer: double layered |
| Bio- | Life | Biology: the study of life |
| -cide | Kill | Bacteriocidal: kills bacteria |
| Cyt | Cell | Cytoplasm: the fluid inside a cell |
| Di- | Two | Disaccharide: a carbohydrate made of two simple sugars |
| Dis- | Apart | Disjoin: separate |
| Endo- | Inside | Endocytosis: a process that brings things into a cell |
| Epi- | Upon, over | Epidermis: the uppermost layer of tissue covering an organism |
| Eu- | True | Eukaryotes have a true nucleus |
| Ex- | Out | Exocytosis: a process that puts things out of cells |
| Geno- | Give birth, beget | Genetics: the study of heredity |
| Hetero- | Mixed, unlike | Heterozygous: a cell that has two different versions of a gene |
| Homo- | Same | Homozygous: a cell that has two identical versions of a gene |
| Hyper- | Above | Hypertonic: has a greater concentration of solutes |
| Hypo- | Below | Hypotonic: has a lower concentration of solutes |
| Inter- | Between | Interphase: the cellular phase between cell divisions |
| Iso- | Same | Isotonic: has same concentration of solutes |
| Locus | Place | A locus on a chromosome is the place where a gene is located |
| Macro- | Big | Macrophage: a large phagocyte |
| -meter | Measure | Centimeter: a measurement that's 1/100 of a meter |
| Micro- | Small | Microbiology: the study of living things too small to see with the naked eye |
| Mono- | One | Monosaccharide: a single simple sugar |
| Olig- | Few | Oligosaccharide: a short chain of sugars |
| Ped-, Pod | Foot | Pseudopod: a "false foot" or projection of an amoeba |
| Phago- | Eat | Phagocytosis: a process where a white blood cell engulfs and destroys bacteria and viruses |
| -phil | Love | Hydrophilic: mixes well with water |
| -phobia | Fear | Hydrophobic: doesn't mix with water |
| Poly- | Many | Polypeptide: a chain of many amino acids |
| Pro- | Before | Prokaryotes: cells that evolved before nucleated cells |
| Stom- | Mouth | Stomates: openings in the surfaces of leaves |
| Zoo- | Animal | Zoology: the study of animals |
| Zygo- | Join | Zygote: a cell formed from the joining of sperm and egg |