Greek and Latin Roots for 11+ Preparation

What are Greek and Latin roots and why are they so important for 11+ preparation? This is a vocabulary recognition method that may be especially useful in an exam setting. Greek and Latin words form the basis, or root, for many of the words we use in the English language. This is important because it can help us understand the meaning of English words, even when we have never encountered them before. 

Understanding, for example, that the Greek root “hydra” or “hydro” means “water” means that we can decipher more easily the meaning of more complex words such as “hydraulic” or “hydroponics”. This is useful knowledge and a key skill for students to have – when they are familiar with root words and their meanings, they may no longer feel deterred by difficult vocabulary, as they can get to work actively unravelling what unknown words mean.

Being an avid reader is a great way for students to naturally boost their vocabulary for the 11+. Using context clues and the thumb method (in which a student covers up a word they do not recognise with their thumb and try to see what other words could fit logically into this gap to complete a given sentence) are also great methods and skills to use in an exam setting when students do recognise certain vocabulary. However, for when these fail, recognition of Greek and Latin roots can be invaluable for understanding particularly tricky words and thus picking up extra marks in English and verbal reasoning papers.

Here are 25 examples from both languages that are in common use today. There are many, many more root words but these can form the beginning of your child’s study of them. To ensure your child’s understanding, encourage them to write sentences including the English words in which the roots are found.

Greek roots

Latin roots

The benefits of learning root words

Understanding the meanings of the common word roots can help us deduce the meanings of new words that we encounter. Do be aware that root words can have more than one meaning and that some words may look similar but may derive from different roots. They are useful, however, for giving a student some advantage in working out what an unfamiliar word can mean, especially in an exam setting.