Roots and Their Meanings

Root: LUMIN

• Light, shine, source

• Darkness, shadow, absence

• Color, hue, tint

• Brightness, glare, flash

Root: MIN

• To increase in size

• To make something seem less impressive or valuable

• To enhance or improve

• To multiply or grow

Root: MEDI, MIDI

• Middle

• End

• Beginning

• Outer

Root: JECT

• To form an opinion or assumption on the basis of incomplete information

• To throw or cast something away

• To receive or accept something

• To create or generate something new

Example of LUMIN

• Luminous – emitting or reflecting usually steady, suffused, or glowing light

• Luminance – the intensity of light emitted from a surface per unit area in a given direction

• Illuminated – made visible or bright by light

• Luminiferous – producing or transmitting light

Root: MIGR

• To stay in one place

• To wander or move

• To settle permanently

• To travel by air

Example of FRACT, FRAG

• Infraction – a violation or infringement of a law

• Fragment – a part broken off or detached

• Fracture – a break or crack in something

• Fraction – a numerical quantity that is not a whole number

Root: INTER

• Among, between

• Inside, within

• Over, above

• Under, below

Root: FRACT, FRAG

• Violation of a law

• To break or shatter

• To mend or repair

• A type of fracture

Example of DICT

• Indictment – a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime

• Dictation – the action of writing down what someone else says

• Dictionary – a reference book containing words and their meanings

• Dictum – a formal statement or pronouncement