How Can a Student Decipher a Word by Knowing its Greek Roots?
Many English words come from Greek roots, and if a person knows what the root or roots mean, she can piece together the meaning. One example is the word “pseudonym,” which basically means a pen name. Used in context, a person might write, “One of Stephen King’s pseudonyms is Richard Bachman,” meaning that Stephen King has a pen name, and so he also writes books under the “false name” of Richard Bachman. document.getElementById(‘adsense_placeholder_2’).innerHTML = document.getElementById(‘adsense_ad_2_hidden’).innerHTML; So how can a student use the knowledge of Greek roots to help him decipher this word if he’s never heard of it? Well, the word pseudonym uses the Greek root “pseudo,” which means “false,” so even if the reader doesn’t know that “nym” (not a Greek root) means “name,” he can at least figure out that the word indicates something that isn’t true. The root psuedo is used in many common English words, and once a student knows that it means false, he can figure out the meaning
