Morphology and Etymology Flashcards
6 cards from real CALT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Morphology and Etymology flashcards as text
Which of the following words contains the Latin root 'spect', meaning 'to see' or 'to look'?
Answer: Inspect
The Latin root 'spect' means 'to see' or 'to look'. The word 'inspect' means to look into something carefully. The other words derive from different roots: 'portable' from 'port' (to carry), 'disrupt' from 'rupt' (to break), and 'admit' from 'mit' (to send).
In the word 'unbelievably', which of the following is the base word or free morpheme?
Answer: believe
A free morpheme is a meaningful unit that can stand alone as a word. In 'unbelievably', 'believe' is the base word. 'Un-', '-able', and '-ly' are all bound morphemes (affixes) that must be attached to a base.
Which of the following is an example of a derivational suffix?
Answer: The '-ness' in 'happiness'
A derivational suffix changes the part of speech or the core meaning of a word. The suffix '-ness' changes the adjective 'happy' into the noun 'happiness'. Inflectional suffixes, like '-s' (plural), '-ed' (past tense), and '-ing' (present participle), modify a word's tense or number but do not change its fundamental meaning or class.
The etymology of the word 'telephone' comes from the Greek combining forms 'tele' and 'phone'. What do these forms mean?
Answer: Far off and sound
Understanding etymology helps decode word meanings. In Greek, 'tele' means 'far off' or 'at a distance,' and 'phone' means 'sound' or 'voice.' Therefore, a telephone is a device for transmitting sound over a distance.
Which of the following is a bound morpheme?
Answer: re-
A bound morpheme is a unit of meaning that cannot stand alone as a word and must be attached to another morpheme. The prefix 're-' is a bound morpheme, as seen in words like 'replay' or 'redo'. 'Cat', 'run', and 'the' are all free morphemes because they can be words by themselves.
The words 'structure', 'construct', and 'destruction' all share a common root, 'struct'. What is the meaning of this Latin root?
Answer: To build
The Latin root 'struct' means 'to build'. This meaning is evident in 'structure' (something that is built), 'construct' (to build something), and 'destruction' (the act of un-building or taking apart). Recognizing this root helps students understand a family of related words.