M
Root Meaning in English Origin language Etymology (root origin) English examples macer- lean Latin emaciate, macerate, meager macr- long Greek (), () "length" macron, macrocosm, macroinstruction magn- great, large Latin magnanimity, magnanimous, magnate, magnificent, magnify, magnitude, magnum magnet- lodestone Greek () bioelectromagnetism, biomagnetism, diamagnetic, diamagnetism, electromagnet, geomagnetic, magnesium, magnet, magnetic, magnetism, magnetite, magnetize, magnetobiology, magnetologist, magnetometer, magnetosome, manganese, paramagnetic, paramagnetism maj- greater Latin , majesty, major, majority, majuscule, mayor, semimajor, supermajority mal- bad, wretched Latin dismal, grand mal, malady, malaise, malediction, malefaction, malevolent, malfeasance, malfunction, malice, malicious, malignancy, malnourished, malodorous, premalignant mamm- breast Latin mammal, mammary, mammography man-, mant- (ΜΑΝ) crazy Greek (), (), (), hypermania, hypomania, kleptomania, mania, maniac, manic, megalomania, monomania, pyromania, pyromaniac man- flow Latin , emanant, emanate, emanation, immanant, immanation man- (MAN-) stay Latin , immanence, immanent, impermanence, impermanent, maisonette, manor, manorial, manse, mansion, ménage, menagerie, menial, meiny, messuage, nonpermanence, nonpermanent, permanence, permanent, quasipermanent, remain, remainder, remanence, remanent, remnant, semipermanent man-, manu- hand Latin adminicle, amanuensis, Bimana, bimanous, bimanual, emancipate, mainour, maintain, manacle, manage, manageable, management, managerial, mandamus, mandate, manège, maneuver, manicure, manifer, manifest, manifestation, manifesto, maniform, maniple, manipulation, manipulative, maniraptoran, maniraptoriform, manner, mansuetude, manual, manuary, manubrial, manubrium, manuduction, manufacture, manumission, manumit, manuport, manure, manus, manuscript, mortmain, Quadrumana, quadrumanous mand-, order, commit Latin , command, commandant, commandment, commend, commendable, commendam, commendation, commendatory, counterdemand, countermand, demand, demandant, encomienda, mandamus, mandatary, mandate, mandator, mandatory, recommend, recommendation, remand, remandment mar- sea Latin , maar, mariculture, marina, marinade, marinara, marinate, marination, marine, mariner, maritime, submarine, ultramarine mas- male, man Latin , , emasculate, emasculation, emasculator, masculate, masculine, masculinity mater-, matr- mother Latin , maternal, maternity, matrimony, , matron maxim- greatest Latin maxim, maximal, maximum, submaximal mechan- machine or instrument Greek , (), () machine, mechane, mechanics, mechanism, mechanize, mechanobiology, mechanophilia, mechanophobia medi-, middle Latin , dimidiation, immediate, intermediary, mean, media, median, mediate, mediation, medieval, mediocre, Mediterranean, medium, moiety, multimedia, postmeridian, submediant meg-, megal- great, large Greek () acromegaly, Megacles, megacycle, megalomania, megalopolis, megaphone mei- less Greek (), () ameiosis, ameiotic, meiobenthos, meiosis, meiotic melan- black, dark Greek (), amelanism, aphaeomelanism, eumelanin, hypermelanic, melancholic, melancholy, Melanesia, melanin, melanism, melanoblastoma, melanocyte, melanoma, melanophobia, melanophore, melanosis, melatonin, neuromelanin, pheomelanin melior- better Latin "to improve", from "better" ameliorate, , meliorism meliss- bee Greek () melissophobia mell- honey Latin , melliferous, mellific, mellifluence, mellifluent, mellifluous, melliloquent, mellivorous memor- remember Latin commemorate, immemorial, memoir, memorabilia, memorable, memorandum, memorial, memory, remembrance men- month Greek () menopause, menorrhea mening- membrane Greek (mēninx, mēningos) leptomeninges, meninges, meningioma, meningitis, meninx mend- defect, fault Latin "lying, a liar", from "defect, fault" amend, amendment, emend, mendacious, mendacity menstru- monthly Latin menstrual, menstruation mensur- measure Latin "measurement", from "to measure" commensurable, commensurate, dimension, immense, incommensurable, incommensurate, measure ment- mind Latin , comment, dement, dementia, memento, mental, mentality, mention, reminisce, reminiscence mer- part Greek (), () antimere, antimeria, biopolymer, decamer, decamerous, dimer, dimeric, dimerism, dimerous, enantiomer, enneamer, heptamer, heterodimer, heterotetramer, hexamer, homodimer, homotetramer, isomer, isomeric, isomerism, mereology, merisis, merism, meristem, meristematic, meristic, meromorphic, metamere, metamerism, Moirai, monomer, monomeric, octamer, oligomer, oligomeric, pentamer, pentamerous, photopolymer, phytomer, polymer, tautomerism, telomer, telomere, tetramer, tetrameric, trimer, trimerize merc- reward, wages, hire Latin (genitive mercis) amercement, commerce, commercial, market, mercantile, mercenary, mercery, merchandise, merchant, mercy, noncommercial merge-, mers- dip, plunge Latin demerge, demersal, demerse, demersion, emerge, emergence, emergency, emergent, emersion, immerge, immergence, immerse, immersible, immersion, immersive, merge, reemerge, reemergence, reimmerse, submerge, submergence, submerse, submersible, submersion mes- middle Greek () Mesolithic, mesophile, mesophilic, mesoscopic, mesosphere, mesozoic met-, meta- above, among, beyond Greek () metabolism, metalogic, metamorphic, metamorphosis, metaphase, metaphor, metaphysics, metastatic, meteor, method metall- mine Greek (), () dimetallic, electrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, metallic, metalloid, metallophobia, metallophone, metallurgist, metallurgy, organometallic, polymetal, polymetallic, pyrometallurgy, tetrametallic, trimetallic meter-, metr- measure Greek () anemometer, anemometric, antisymmetric, antisymmetry, asymmetric, asymmetry, axonometric, barometer, barometric, bathometer, chronometer, diameter, diametric, dysmetria, graphometer, hexameter, hygrometer, hygrometry, isodiametric, isometric, isoperimetric, meter, metre, metric, metrology, metronome, monosymmetric, parameter, parameterize, parametric, parametrize, pentameter, perimeter, polymeter, symmetric, symmetry, telemeter, telemetric, telemetry, tetrameter, thermometer, trimeter, trimetric metr- mother Greek (), () haplometrosis, metrocyte, metropolis, pleometrosis mic- grain Latin mica, micelle micr- small Greek (), microbe, microcode, microcosm, microeconomics, micrometer, microphone, microscope, microscopic migr- wander Latin countermigration, emigrant, emigrate, emigration, émigré, immigrant, immigrate, immigration, migrant, , migration, migrational, migratory, nonmigratory, remigrant, remigrate, remigration, transmigrant, transmigrate, transmigration, transmigratory milit- soldier Latin , militant, military, militia mill- thousand Latin mile, millennium, million millen- thousand each Latin millenarian, millenary mim- repeat Greek (), (), () mime, mimeograph, mimesis, mimetic, mimic, necromimesis, pantomime, phenomime, psychomime, psychomimetic min- jut Latin eminence, eminent, imminence, imminent, preeminence, preeminent, prominence, prominent, promontory, supereminence, supereminent min- less, smaller Latin , administer, administration, administrative, administrator, administratrix, maladminister, maladministration, minestrone, minister, ministerial, ministerialis, ministerium, ministrant, ministrate, ministration, ministrative, ministry, minor, minority, minstrel, minstrelsy, minus, minuscule, quasiminuscule, semiminor mina- lead Latin , variant of amenable, demeanor, promenade mina- threaten Latin menace, minatory minth- mint Greek (), (), Acanthomintha, Mentha, menthol, mint, Minthostachys mir- wonder, amazement Latin , , , admirability, admirable, admiration, admirative, admire, marvel, marvelous, miracle, miraculous, mirage, Miranda, mirative, mirativity, mirror mis- hate Greek (), () misandrist, misandry, misanthrope, misanthropy, misocainea, misogamist, misogamy, misogynist, misogyny, misoneism, misopaedia, misophonia, misotheism misc-, mixt- mix Latin , admix, admixtion, admixture, commix, commixture, immiscibility, immiscible, immix, immixture, intermix, intermixture, maslin, meddle, mestizo, Métis, miscellanea, miscellaneous, miscellany, miscibility, miscible, mix, mixture, permiscible, permix, permixtion, postmix, premix, promiscuity, promiscuous, remix miser- unhappy, wretched Latin commiserate, commiseration, immiserate, immiseration, miser, miserable, misericord, misery mit-, miss- (MIT-) send Latin , admissibility, admissible, admission, admissive, admit, admittatur, admittee, commissar, commissariat, commissary, commission, commissive, commissural, commissure, commit, commitment, committal, committee, compromis, compromise, compromissary, decommission, decommit, decommitment, demise, demiss, demit, dimissory, dimit, dismiss, dismissal, dismissive, emissary, emission, emissitious, emissive, emissivity, emit, emittent, entremet, fideicommissary, fideicommissum, impermissible, inadmissibility, inadmissible, intermission, intermittent, intromissible, intromission, intromissive, intromit, intromittent, manumission, manumit, mess, message, messenger, missile, mission, missionary, missive, mittimus, noncommittal, omissible, omission, omissive, omit, permissible, permission, permissive, permissory, permit, permittee, premise, premiss, premit, pretermission, pretermit, promise, promisee, promissive, promissory, readmission, readmit, recommit, remise, remiss, remissible, remission, remissive, remissory, remit, remittal, remittance, remittee, remittence, remittent, remittitur, resubmit, retransmission, retransmit, subcommittee, submission, submissive, submit, surmise, transmissibility, transmissible, transmission, transmissive, transmit, transmittal mit- thread Greek () mitochondrion, mitosis, mitospore mn- Greek () mina, mna mne- memory Greek (), () amnesia, amnesty, anamnesis, anamnestic, dysmnesia, Mneme, mneme, mnemonic mod- measure, change Latin "measure" accommodate, accommodation, accommodative, accommodator, bimodal, bimodality, bimodular, bimodule, commode, commodification, commodious, commodity, decommodification, demodulate, demodulation, demodulator, immodest, immodesty, intermodal, intermodulation, modal, modality, mode, model, moderate, moderation, moderato, moderator, modern, modernity, modest, modesty, modicum, modification, modify, modiolus, modular, modularity, modulate, modulation, modulator, module, modulo, modulus, multimodal, multimodality, postmodern, postmodernity, Quasimodo, remodel, remodulate, supermodel, trimodal, trimodality, ultramodern, ultramodernity, unimodal, unimodality, unimodular, unimodularity mol- grind Latin , , demolition, molar moll- soft Latin emollience, emollient, moil, mollescence, mollescent, mollient, mollification, mollify, mollitude, mollusc, molluscicide, molluscivore, mollusk mon- alone, only Greek (), () monachism, monad, monadic, monarchy, monastery, monastic, monasticism, monatomic, monism, monist, monk, monoid, monolith, monometer, monopod, monopoly, monopsony, monotone mon- warn Latin , admonish, admonishment, admonition, admonitor, admonitory, monition, monitor, monitory, monument, monumental, premonition, premonitory, resummon, summon monil- string of beads Latin monilifer, moniliform, Moniliformida monstra- show Latin counterdemonstration, counterdemonstrator, demonstrable, demonstrant, demonstrate, demonstration, demonstrative, demonstrator, demonstratory, indemonstrable, monster, monstrance, monstration, monstrosity, monstrous, muster, premonstrant, premonstrate, Premonstratensian, premonstration, premonstrator, remonstrance, remonstrant, remonstrate, remonstration, remonstrative mont- mountain Latin , amount, Belmont, cismontane, dismount, insurmountable, intermontane, montage, montan, Montana, montane, montant, monticello, monticule, montiform, montigenous, mount, mountaineer, mountainous, nonremontant, paramount, piedmont, remontancy, remontant, remontoire, remount, submontane, surmount, surmountable, tantamount,