root words
Words' core forms
Root words are the core forms from which other words are built through prefixes, suffixes, and other modifications.
The root *act* yields action, react, and active; *port* (to carry) yields transport, portable, and export.
Understanding root words helps decode unfamiliar vocabulary: recognizing *bio* (life) and *graph* (write) reveals biography as a written account of a life.
Also called word roots or base words, though linguists sometimes distinguish these terms.
- originStarting point or source
- baseSupporting bottom structure
- derivationSource or origin tracing
- stemPlant's central axis
- coreCentral essential portion
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root wordsaffixes
Word-modifying additions
prefixes · suffixes · inflectional endings · bound morphemes · infixes
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