Back to Basics: Understanding Latin and Greek Roots of English Words

This is a course for word lovers (philologists) of all kinds.

More than half of all English words trace their roots to Latin or Greek, and even a small knowledge of these ancient languages can transform the way we understand modern English.

Words belong to families.

They have parents and siblings, distant cousins, and sometimes progeny of their own.

We’ll uncover surprising relationships between words and follow their connections across centuries.

Why does calligraphy literally mean “beautiful writing,” while cacography means “bad writing”? What unexpected link connects calculus and kidney stones? How is rectum related to rectify? Beginning with the foundations of Latin and Greek etymology, students will learn how roots, prefixes, and suffixes shape English today.

The course then explores vocabulary from politics, medicine, religion, and the arts, uncovering how the ancient Greeks and Romans continue to influence the way we think, write, and speak in fascinating ways most of us rarely notice.