Latin & Greek Stems
2026-2027
Year 8
Print out the week’s flash card set. See schedule at right.
Cut the flash cards out OR make your own. (Note: hand writing something makes you much more likely to remember it.)
Tape or glue them to an index card.
In class we’ll make the front of the card together. (Note: Sets 1-3 include some review for veteran Farm Schoolers)
FLASH CARD example for “geo”
FRONT: if the stem is geo, the front of the card would have “geo” and a drawing of the earth since the definition of the stem is earth.
On the back side of the card, we write the definition: earth, and list geology, geography, geometry (math that was developed to measure the earth).
Stems Schedule
Week 1 - none
Week 2 - Set 1: A’s
Week 3 - none
Week 4 - Set 1: B’s & C’s then quiz yourself on all previous stems
Week 5 - none
Week 6 - Set 1: D’s then play the concentration/memory game(bonus: complete the wordsearch- this word search helps you associate the stem with an English word AND all word searches build visual processing skills.)
Week 7 - none
Week 8 - Set 2: E’s & F’s then quiz yourself on all previous stems— begin thinking of your own game design to review the stems. On Week 11 you’ll create your own game and bring it to class on Week 12 to play with peers.
Week 9 - none
Week 10 - Set 2: G’s & H’s then play the concentration/memory game; bonus: complete the wordsearch.
Week 11 - Create your own game to review Set 1 & 2 (A-H) We will play students’ games in small groups on the last day of class
Week 12 - none
No Sci-LA weeks 13 & 14. New semester starts week 15
Week 15 - Set 3: I’s then quiz yourself on all previous stems
Week 16 - Set 3 Set 3: J’s & L’s; bonus wordsearch
Week 17 - M’s & N’s then play the concentration/memory game
Week 18 - Set 4: O’s & P’s then quiz yourself on all previous stems
Week 19 - Set 4: Q’s then quiz yourself on all previous stems
Week 20 - Set 4: R’s then quiz yourself on all previous stems
Week 21 - Set 4: S’s then play the concentration/memory game
Week 22 - Set 4: T’s bonus wordsearch
Week 23 -Set 5: U’s then quiz yourself on all previous stems
Week 24 - Set 5: V’s & Z’s play the concentration/memory game
Week 25 - Create your own Stems game to play with 2-4 people. We will play the games on the last day of class.
Week 26 -none
60% of English words have a Latin or Greek root, prefix or suffix hiding in them.
Knowing common Latin and Greek roots, prefixes or suffixes- collectively called stems- helps you unlock the meaning of complicated English vocabulary as well as words in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French. This is especially true of English science vocabulary. Most of the science stems we’ll learn are roots. But we’ll also learn common prefixes and suffixes.
Weeks 1-10 we’ll learn about 50 stems A-Z in alphabetical order. And as we go along we’ll also add stems from our science studies to our growing stack of flash cards.
https://www.etymonline.com is a great source for looking up word origins.
A list of all 50+ stems is below.
50 Plus Latin & Greek Stems
Key: stem/alternate spelling of the stem - definition (words in English which use this stem)
porus - opening (porous, porosity)
satur - full or over flowing (saturated, sated)
aqua - water (aquaduct, aquifer, aquitard, aquarium, aquatic)
aster/astro - star (aster, asterisk, asteroid, astronomy)
a/an - not or without (apathy, abiotic, anarchy)
auto- self (autograph, automatic, automobile)
bio*- life (biography, biotic, antibiotic)
bi/di* - two (biped, biplane, bisect, bilingual, biweekly)
biblio - book (bibliography, bibliophile, bible)
cent - 100 (century, centennial, percent, centenarian)
circum - around (circumscribe, circumference, circumvent)
chron- time (chronic, chronology, synchronize)
demo - people or citizens (democracy, epidemic)
dict - speak, say, word (dictate, dictator, dictionary, contradict, verdict, predict, benediction)
dec - ten or tenth (decade, decimal, decathalon)
e/ex* -out or from (eject, erupt, emigrate, emancipate, exit, expel, exclaim)
equ - equal (equal, equilibrium, equator)
fix - fasten or attach (fixture, prefix, suffix fixate)
flor - flower (flora, Florida, floriferous)
fid - faith (fidelity, infidelity, confide)
geo* - earth (geology, geographer, geometry)
graph* - write/draw (biography, autograph, telegraph)
gon* - angle (polygon, octagon)
hydr* - water (hydrant, hydrosphere, dehydrate)
hyper- excessive, over or beyond (hyper active, hypersonic, hypertension)
homo/homi - same (homogeneous, homicide, homonym)
il/in/ir/ig - not or without (illegal, ignorant, infinite, incorruptible, irregular)
inter- between or among (internet, interstate, interrupt, intersect)
jur- law (jury, juror, justice)
ject - to throw (eject, inject, interject, object, reject)
junct- join, untie, connect (junction, conjunction, juncture)
less - without (careless, hopeless, fearless)
liber - free (liberty, liberate,
leg- law (legal, illegal, legislature
mater- mother (maternal, maternity, matriarch, matrimony)
magni- great, large (magnify, magnificent, magnate, Magna Carta
nat - birth, born (native, prenatal, naturalize)
ology - study of (geology, biology)
pro - forward, in place of (proceed, pronoun, propel)
pre - before -(predict, precaution, prejudice)
quadr - four (quadruped, quadrilateral)
rupt - break or burst (abrupt, erupt, disrupt, interrupt)
re- again, back (repay, reelect, reconstruct)
scrib/pt - write (scribble, scribe, scripture, postscript, prescription)
sub - down, below (submerge, subway, submarine, subduct)
son- sound (sonic, sonar, unison)
trans - across, change (transport, transmit, transform, translate)
tele- distant (television, telephone, telecommunication, telpathy)
tempo - time (temporary, contemporary)
un - not, opposite (unusual, unemployed, unpack, uncover)
uni/unum - one (unilateral, united, unify
urb/urbis - city (urban, suburban)
vis/vid - see (vision, visit, visible, video, evidence)
viv/vit - live (revive, survive, vivid, vital, viviparous)
verb - word (verbal, verbatim)
ver - true (verify, verdict)
vers/t - turn (revert, subvert, reverse, divert, adversity, advertise)
zo- animal (zoo, protozoan, zoology)
Bonus Stems from previous years
1. Germ - bud, sprout, rudiment of a new organism in an existing one (from Latin germen)
2. Blast- bud, sprout (Greek)
3. Derm – skin (Greek)
4. Exo/ecto – outside. Exterma;
5. Meso – middle
6. Endo – inside
7. epi – on or above
8. Pro – before
9. Eu-true
10. -ella/ellus/ell – diminutive (little or feminene – from French ella)
11. Mono - one
12. Di/bi – two
13. Tri- three
14. Poly – many
15. Meta – changed/altered
1. mono = one: monogastric, monorail, monotheistic, monopoly
2. gaster = stomach, belly: gastronomy, monogastric, gastric bypass
3. terra = earth: terrestrial, terraforming, terracotta
4. arbor = tree: arboreal, arbor day
5. vore = eater, carnivore, omnivore
6. omni = all, omnivore, omniscient
7. carn = flesh: carnivore, carnal
8. lagos = hare, lagomorph (of the hare/rabbit family)
9. morph = shape, metamorphosis
10. meta = change/alter: metamorphosis
11. sect = to cut: dissect, insect,
12. in = in/into: insect, inside (insect = arthropod whose body is CUT INTO segments)
sphere- globe
bio- life
geo- earth
hydr- water
atmo-vapor
aero- air
tropo-change
strato-layers
meso -middle
therm - heat
graph- write
gon - angle
hyper - over or beyond
hypo-below
hom-same or like
hetero- other or different
il, ir, im, in, ig - not
inter - between
medius - middle
con - together with
di - two or away/asunder
pyro - fire
clast- fragment
Bonus Stems from 2019-2020 (Year 2)
Week 10 Stems
ecto/exo = outside, exit, ectothermic, exhale
therm = heat, ectothermic, thermometer
endo = inside, endospore, endothermic
bi = two, binary, bicycle, biennial, bifurcate
de = opposite of, decomposition, destruction
com/cum = with/together, decomposition, community, cooperate
pauser = to lay down, pause, decomposition, compose
mikros= small, microbiology
baktron = rod, bacilli, bacteria
spiralis = twisting, spiral, spirilla
cocci = berry/seed, sterptococci, staphylococci,
sitos = grain, parasite (one who lives at the expense of another— eats beside at the table of another)
hospitem = guest/stranger, host, hospitable, hospital
nodus = knot, nodules
rumen = throat, ruminant
sapros = putrid, saprophyte (organism that gets energy from decomposing dead organisms)
phyto = plant, saprophyte, phytoplankton, phytoestrogen
culus/cle = diminutive like “ito” in Spanish. molecule, animalcules (whate Anton Leeuwenhoek called the first tiny organisms he saw under a microscope)
skopos = aim/watcher, microscope, telescope
osteon= bone,
Week 6 Stems
dis = not - disagree, dystopia
in = not - infrequent, inappropriate
non = not - nonfat, nonresponsive
un = not - unhappy, untrue
metron = measure - meter, geometry, optometry (opsis- sight, measurement of eyesight), diameter
dia = through/across - diameter
tropos = turning - phototropic (photo-light, turning toward the light as plants do) tropics of cancer and Tropic of Cancercorn ( at 23 degrees latitude these are the farthest latitudes from the equator on which the sun shines straight down. At these latitude lines the sun seems to TURN and go back the other way, the turning time is called the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere
Week 3 Stems
Auto = self- autotroph (organism that feeds itself)
Troph = nourishment/food – heterotroph, autotroph
Photo = light- phototroph, photosynthesis, photograph
Chemo = chemical -chemoautotroph, chemotherapy
Syn/sym = together- symphony, symbiotic
Hetero = other- heterotroph, heterozygous
Para = beside- parallel, parasite
Week 2 Stems
Eco= house - ecology (from Greek oikos "house, dwelling place, habitation"
Logy = study of - biology, ecology, physiology, geology
Bio = life - biology, antibiotic
A = no - abiotic, apathy, (this is a common prefix)
Inter = between - interlude interdependent, interstellar
Populus = people - population
praeda = plundera- prey & predator
-tion = act or state - evaporation, adaptation, nitrification (this is a common suffix)