Word Families

Word Families

What is a ‘root word’?

A root word can have prefixes (at the beginning) or suffixes (at the end) to make a new word.

All words that share this root word are ‘word families’.

What is a prefix?

A prefix is added at the start of a word to make a new one,

eg. impolite                 Here, the root word is ‘polite’ and the prefix is ‘im’.

What is a suffix?

A suffix is added at the end of a word to make a new one,

eg. truthful                  Here, the root word is ‘truth’ and the suffix is ‘ful’.

Example of a word family

From the root word ‘employ’ we can make:

unemployment

employer

unemployed

employing

unemployable

employment

employee

Prefixes are in green

Suffixes are in orange

Meanings of words

By looking at the meanings of the root words or prefixes/ suffixes we can guess the meaning of a word. For example:

tri- meaning 3

triangle- a 3 sided shape

triangulation- to divide the area in to triangles

triathlon- 3 sporting events

tricycle- a 3 wheeled cycle

trident- a 3 pronged spear

trilateral- involving 3 parties

trillion- a million million million

triplet- 3 babies born at the same time

triumvirate- a group of 3 powerful people