The Latin Prefix re-

Re- = Back, Again The Latin prefix re- means “back, again” Usage: Today we will focus on the prefix re-, which has two meanings: “back” and “again.” Prefixes are morphemes that begin words, attaching to a word’s main part—its “root.” For instance, in the word “return,” “re-“ is the prefix and “turn” is the root; hence, the word “return” means “turn back.” Makes sense, right? Let’s focus first on re- meaning “back.” When you reject a plan, you throw it “back”. When you reduce the amount of money you spend, you lead it “back” to a smaller amount. When light reflects off a surface, it bends or bounces “back”. And when the weather reverts to being sunny again, it turns “back” to cloudless days. Another meaning of the prefix re- is “again.” When you rearrange the furniture in a room, you arrange it “again” into a different pattern. A marathon runner can become rejuvenated or made young “again” by resting after a long race. Some newts regenerate limbs once they’ve lost them; that is, they generate or grow them “again.” When a teacher recapitulates something she’s just taught, she goes over it “again” by summarizing it. Some people believe in reincarnation, or the taking of another body “again” after death to live another life. OK, that’s enough going “back” “again” and “again” to re-! How to Remember: The prefix re- reminds me of “do, re, re, re, re, re, re, do”—who needs “mi, fa, sol, la, ti” when I can go “back” to re- “again” and “again” and “again” and “again” and “again”! Name: Date: Worksheet 1 Select one of the words below to help you remember this root: return: turn “back” report: carry “back” (information) reduce: lead “back” (to make smaller) Write the word you selected in the “My Word” section of your cheatsheet. 2 Why is this image useful to remember that re- means “back, again”? The arrow points to the meanings “back” and “again”. The letter “Y” is used again and again. The arrows show a cycle, hinting that when you reuse something, you use it “again,” and when you recycle something, its materials go “back” into use. 3 Underline the prefix re- in the following common words: replay remind rework refinish Write each of these words in the “Common Words” section of your cheatsheet. 4 Underline the prefix re- in the following challenging words: reductive refractory remonstrate irreproachable reprobate irreverent Write each of these words in the “Challenging Words” section of your cheatsheet. Worksheet (continued) Use this key of morphemes and their meanings to answer the next questions: act: act ject: throw sum: take up flect: bend, bounce juven: young vert: turn gener: produce, grow spell: spell 5 Draw a line to match each word with its roots definition: revert reject rejuvenate reflect resume regenerate to become young “again” bounce “back” turn “back” grow “again” throw “back” take up “again” 6 Can you figure out the meaning of the following words from your knowledge of roots? For example, “remind” means “bring to mind again.” Respell: React: Thinking Like an Expert As you’ve seen, roots and prefixes are the building blocks of English words. By combining them, we can create words with different, more complex meanings. But what if we come across a word that we don’t know the meaning of? Roots and prefixes can serve as clues to help us uncover the mystery of what a word means. We can also get clues from how the word is used, and like a detective we can discover the meaning of a word that we don’t know. Let’s give it a try with a sentence that contains the word “redoubtable,” which has the prefix “re-” in it. What clues might help us to understand the meaning of this word? re-: back, again doubt: doubt, hesitate -able: capable of amazed his strong opponents: though they were strong, they were still amazed by Lancelot. Lancelot, a redoubtable knight, amazed his strong opponents by moving very quickly and using his magical sword with great skill. moving very quickly: Lancelot could move with unusual speed. great skill: Lancelot fought very skillfully. Our first clues come from the word “redoubtable” itself. We know that the prefix “re-” means “back, again,” and we also know that the root “doubt” means “doubt, hesitate.” By putting these together, we can infer that “redoubtable” means something like “doubting or hesitating again.” From here, we can look to how the word is used and find other clues in the sentence. We see that Lancelot moves with unusual speed and that he fights very skillfully. These qualities leave his opponents—who are strong themselves—amazed at his abilities. So much, in fact, so that they might “hesitate again” or “doubt again” before messing with Lancelot. In other words, they respect his power and skill. With our clues in hand, we can solve the mystery: If someone is redoubtable, you show great respect for them (due to their skill or power)—and you might fear them. Ject = Throw The Latin root ject means “throw” Usage: Have you ever objected to doing something, “throwing” your thoughts against it? Perhaps a teacher gave you a hard project—or task they “threw” at you to do—that you didn’t like? Have you ever used a projector to “throw” images from a project up on a screen for your classmates to see? Getting an injection at the doctor’s office is no fun—having medicine injected or “thrown” into your arm can sting! Of course, it’s probably not a good idea to reject or “throw” back a doctor’s orders to get a shot; they are given with good reason. When a nurse tells you that it’s time to get that shot, you might say: “hey!” or “yikes!” or “whoa!” Those three words are parts of speech called interjections, or words said that are “thrown” between or into parts of a conversation. Interestingly and surprisingly, the word jet comes from ject as well—a jet plane is “thrown” through the air by its engines! Jets often follow trajectories—the paths across which they are “thrown.” Sometimes a jet—or more often a ship at sea—is forced to jettison unwanted baggage, “throwing” it overboard. Another word for “throwing” something out is ejecting it, such as ejecting a DVD or Blu-ray from its player after watching a movie. How to Remember: The root ject is like the word jet—only its “c” has been “thrown” away! Worksheet (continued) Use this key of morphemes and their meanings to answer the next questions: -able: capable of ob-: against tra-: across ad-: near pro-: forth de-: down sub-: under 5 Draw a line to match each word with its roots definition: projectile objection adjective dejected trajectory part of speech “thrown” near a noun argument “thrown” against something path an object is “thrown” across object that has been “thrown” forth “thrown” down in mood 6 Can you figure out the meaning of the following words from your knowledge of roots? For example, “project” means “throw forth.” Subject (verb): Objectionable: Thinking Like an Expert As you’ve seen, roots and prefixes are the building blocks of English words. By combining them, we can create words with different, more complex meanings. But what if we come across a word that we don’t know the meaning of? Roots and prefixes can serve as clues to help us uncover the mystery of what a word means. We can also get clues from how the word is used, and like a detective we can discover the meaning of a word that we don’t know. Let’s give it a try with a sentence that contains the word “abject,” which has the root “ject” in it. What clues might help us to understand the meaning of this word? ab-: away ject: thrown instead of: instead of the accepted Latin: Chaucer is using the wrong language. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales should have been an abject failure: not only was it written in English instead of the accepted Latin, but it also talked about common folk instead of nobles. Even so, Chaucer’s work became very popular—and still is. failure: the opposite of success became very popular: something surprising happened—the book became very popular Our first clues come from the word “abject” itself. We know that the root “ject” means “throw,” and we also know that the prefix “ab-” means “away.” By putting these together we can infer that “abject” means something like “throw away” or “thrown away.” From here, we can look to how the word is used and find other clues in the sentence. We see the book strayed from popular norms by being written in English and talking about common folk. People should not have liked it, but they did. And they still do. With our clues in hand, we can solve the mystery: The word abject emphasizes a bad situation and makes it even worse.