ENGLISH WORDS BASED ON LATIN - GRADES 9-11

Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire was set up with England, France, Spain, Portugal and Spain as provinces. An official language was needed just like the Papua New Guinea Government needed English.

There was a village over the Tiber River named Latium from where many educated men came to work in the Roman bureaucracy. They brought the Latium language that became Latin the dominant language of the Roman world.

The language was spread to the provinces by the Catholic priests who had adopted Latin as the official language of the church even today.

When the Roman empire slowly crumbled, the provinces became states with their own government. They still used Latin but combined the language with the local dialects.

English had Latin from the Roman invasion and the French invasion by William the Conqueror in 1215. English contained Latin Roman and Latin French words.

The key to understanding English words comes with the prefixes.

Trans (across) ex-e (out) im in (into) de (down) re (back) com (together) sus sup (from above)

English words often consisted of prefixes-roots- suffixes.

trans-port-ation, pro-pell-or, pro-ject-ile, in-ject-ion, trans-cript-ion,

im-press-ion, e-ject-ion

Ago (actus) I do

act, actor, react, reagent, agent, pro-active, action, reaction

Cedo cessus (I go)

Proceed, procession, recede, precede, intercede, concede, concession

Centum (a hundred)

century, cent, centenary, centurion, centavo

Jacio jectus (I throw)

eject, inject, injection, reject, rejection, ejaculate, project, projectile

Porto (portus) I carry.

report, transport, export, import, deport, portable, portable, important

Premo (pressus) I press

supreme, suppress, express, expression, impress, impression, depress, 
depression, compress, compression, pressure

Pello (pulsus) I drive

expel, expulsion, repel, repulse, repellent, propel, propellor, pulse, pulsate

Pendeo pendus (I hang)

pennant, pendant, pendulum, penis, depend, dependant, dependent, 
independent, suspend, suspension

Corpus the body

corpse, corpulent, corpuscle, corporation, Corpus Christi, corporal

Cor the heart

cordial, courage, courageous, Sacre Coeur (French), coronary artery

Mitto missis (I send)

transmit, transmission, emit, emission, commit, committee, permit