· You've all heard the story about the fellow who went in for a routine exam only to land on the operating table. This could conceivably happen to a patient seeking a routine colonoscopy. Way back, when I was TAing Medical Terms, there were many students who wouldn't have selected the right tools -- or even the right orifice for the colonoscopy. There are many who would have gone straight for a woman's reproductive organs, searching for growths to cut away, mistaking not only the colon for the vagina, but an examination for a cutting procedure. The confusion went the other way as well, with students mistaking a colposcopy (examination of the cervix and vagina) for a colectomy (the removal of the large bowel).
· - Why Study Terminology
How knowing the etymology of rhinoceros will help you understand your doctor's diagnoses:
" Sometime during the 14th century someone decided to give this mammal its present day name. The characteristic of the animal that struck them the most was the large horn that grew from its nose. The Greek word for nose is rhis, and the combining form (the form that is used when it is combined with other word elements) is rhin-. The Greek word for horn is keras. So this animal was named a "nose-horn animal" or a 'rhinoceros.'"
...
"You take a peek in your file and discover that... [the doctor] wrote 'acute rhinitis' as your diagnosis. Now having taken this course, you know that 'acute' just means sudden onset... and you know that "-itis" simply means an inflammation. "
Root + Suffix=Word
The suffix on pleas e is an e. Does that surprise you? It did me. But if you look at the word pleas -ure, it makes sense, since removing its suffix leaves the same root as in pleas -e. As John Hough, in Scientific Terminology, points out, roots rarely exist alone. They usually precede suffixes. The same is true of Greek and Latin, even if, when borrowing, we sometimes drop the suffix. Thus, the word cell in English is really the Latin cella, from which we've dropped the a suffix.
Not only do almost all English words contain roots plus suffixes, but, according to Hough, suffixes can't stand alone. A suffix does not have meaning on its own, but needs to be connected to the root.
Suffix - Definition:
A suffix is an inseparable form that cannot be used alone but that carries an indication of quality, action, or relation. When added to a combining form, it makes a complete word and will determine whether the word is a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb....
Root + Suffix/Prefix=Word
Prefixes are usually adverbs or prepositions derived from Greek or Latin that can't be used alone in English and appear at the beginnings of words. Suffixes, which appear at the ends of words, aren't usually adverbs or prepositions, but they can't be used alone in English, either. While suffixes are often joined to the end of roots by separate connecting vowels, the transformation of these prepositional and adverbial prefixes is more direct, even though the final letter of the prefix may be changed or eliminated. In 2-letter prefixes, this can be confusing. Among other changes, n can become m or s and a final b or d may be changed to match the first letter of the root. Think of this confusion as designed to ease pronunciation.
This list won't help you figure out antipasto, but it will prevent you from describing the antonym of precedent as antident or polydent.
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| Latin Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes | | | Note: Greek forms are capitalized, Latin in normal case. |