The Ethymologicon of Science

Posted by Pierre-Edouard Guerin · 7 min read · Published on February 29, 2016

Scientific terms are largely of Greco-Latin origin. This collection gather the roots of scientific terms to better understand specialized nomenclature based on Greek and Latin.

The Foundations of Western Science

Thales and Pythagore

In 6th century BC, Thales and Pythagore established the first schools of Mathematics. Mathematics are composed of the following fields:

Field	Greek Root	Meaning of Root	Sense
School	`skole`	leisure	a place where you go to be educated
Mathematics	`máthēma` + `ique`	knowledge + self	study of numbers, shapes, and space
Geometry	`geo` + `metre`	ground + measure	study of space and points, lines, curves, and surfaces
Arithmetic	`arithmi` + `metre`	number + measure	adding and multiplying, etc. numbers
Astronomy	`astro` + `nomia`	star + law	study of the universe and of objects that exist naturally in space
Music	`muse` + `techne`	muse + craft	a pattern of sounds made by instruments intented to give pleasure to people listening to it

The Academia and the Lyceus

In 4th century BC, Plato, student of Socrate wrote the Socratic dialogues. In Athens, Plato taught philosophy and mathematics to a small group of students and founded his school: the Academia. Aristotle, one of the Plato's student, left the Academia after twenty years to become the tutor of Alexander the Great for three years. Upon his return to Athens, Aristotle founded his own school: the Lyceus. The followers of Aristotle and his school where known as Peripatetics named after the practice of walking while teaching. The Lyceus brought together teaching and research across many fields. Their method was to collect and classify knowledge and observations concerning the questions at hand before engaging in theoretical work. A practice similar to the state of the art in modern research. The scientific community was born.

Andronicos de Rhodes at 1st century edited the corpus of Aristotle with the following classification:

Field	Greek Root	Meaning of Root	Sense
Logics	`logos`	reason, discourse	predictable sequence of events
Biology	`bios` + `logos`	life + discourse	science of life
Botanic	`botaniko` + `ique`	herbs + self	science of plants
Zoology	`zoo` + `logos`	animals + discourse	science of animals
Dialectic	`dia` + `legein` + `techne`	through + speak + craft	art of philosophical discussion
Ethics	`ethos` + `techne`	character + craft	study of what is morally right and what is not
Politics	`pole` + `ique`	city + self	affairs of the cities
Physics	`physis` + `ique`	nature + self	science of nature, matter and energy
Metaphysics	`meta` + `physis` + `ique`	after + nature + self	the miscellaneous section after the Physics section

Greek Roots

Greek Prefixes

Greek prefix	English
`a`	not, without
`ana`	apart
`amphi`	both, around
`anti`	against
`auto`	self
`apo`	from, away
`cata`	down
`dia`	through, across
`dys`	faulty
`en`	in
`epi`	on, upon, over
`eu`	true
`hemi`	half
`hetero`	different
`homo`	same
`hyper`	over, excessive
`hypo`	under, below
`macro`	big size
`meta`	after, beyond
`mega`	big quantity
`micro`	small size
`mono`	single
`nano`	dwarf
`neo`	new
`pan`	all
`para`	beside, near
`peri`	around
`poly`	multiple
`pro`	before, forward
`syn`	together

Greek Suffixes

Greek Suffixes	English
`algia`	pain
`bar`	pressure
`bole`	thrower
`carp`	fruit
`cene`	recent
`cephal`	head
`cosmo`	world
`cycle`	wheel
`dactyl`	finger
`dox`	opinion
`drome`	race
`edre`	face
`gamie`	marriage
`gene`	produces, generates
`gone`	angle
`gram`	record
`graph`	write
`ique`	self
`logie`	study
`manie`	obsession
`metre`	measure
`nomie`	law, regulation
`oid`	ressembling
`onyme`	name
`phage`	eater
`phile`	friend
`phobe`	fear
`phone`	sound
`phore`	bearer, carrier
`pode`	foot
`pole`	city
`sphere`	globe
`therme`	heat
`tomie`	cutting, incision
`type`	model

Scientific Terms Derived from Greek

Sciences

English Word	Greek Root	Meaning of Root	Sense
Analysis	`ana` + `lysis`	apart + decomposition	Breaking something down into parts to understand it
Diagnosis	`dia` + `gnosis`	through + knowledge	A technical description
Energy	`en` + `ergon`	in + work	capacity to work
Hypothesis	`hypo` + `thesis`	under + proposition	A proposition made as a basis for reasoning
Method	`meta` + `hodos`	beyond + way	A way of doing something
Parameter	`para` + `metre`	beside + measure	A value that characterizes a member of a system
Phenomenom	`pheno` + `omenon`	appear + which	An observable fact or event
Philosophy	`phile` + `sophia`	friend + wisdom	all learning exclusive of practical arts
Process	`pro` + `kinesis`	forward + move	sequence of actions
Synthesis	`syn` + `thesis`	together + proposition	Composition or combination of elements so as to form a whole
Technique	`techne` + `ique`	craft + self	How to do something
Technology	`techne` + `logia`	craft + study	Body of practical skills e.g. biotechnology
Theory	`theoros`	spectactor, observer	body of principles offered to explain phenomena

Biology

English Word	Greek Root	Meaning of Root	Sense
Chromosome	`khroma` + `soma`	color + body	any of the threadlike DNA-containing structures of cellular organisms
Genetics	`genos` + `ique`	origin + self	study of heredity and variation of organisms
Genome	`genos` + `soma`	origin + body	complete genetic makeup of an organism
Genotype	`genos` + `type`	origin + model	genetic variations of an individual
Pericarp	`peri` + `carp`	around + fruit	walls of a plant ovary
Phenotype	`pheno` + `type`	appear + model	observable traits of an individual
Phylogeny	`phylo` + `genos`	tribe + origin	tree of life
Protein	`proteios`	primary	Essential biological compounds made of amino-acid residues
Omics	`soma`	body	genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.

Computer science

English Word	Greek Root	Meaning of Root	Sense
Automate	`auto` + `matos`	self + action	self-running programs
Cybernetics	`kybernetes`	steersman, governor	comparative study of automatic control systems
Cryptography	`kryptos` + `graphein`	hidden + write	the computerized encoding and decoding of informatio
Ontology	`onto` + `logos`	being + reason	formal representation of entity and their relationships
Program	`pro` + `graphein`	before + write	Predetermined operations by computer programming
Syntax	`syn` + `tassein`	together + arrange	harmonious arrangement of elements of coding

Latin Roots

Latin Prefixes

Latin prefix	English
`ab`	away from
`ad`	toward, to
`ante`	before
`bi`	two
`circum`	around
`con`	together
`contra`	against
`de`	down away, reverse
`dis`	apart, not
`ex`	out
`extra`	beyond
`in`	into, not
`inter`	between
`intra`	within
`multi`	many
`post`	after
`pre`	before
`pro`	forward
`re`	again, back
`sub`	under
`trans`	across
`uni`	one

Latin Suffixes

Latin Suffixes	English
`aceus`	made of
`arium`	place for
`ate`	having
`cide`	killing
`culus`	small
`ferous`	bearing
`ine`	related to
`ion`	action
`esis`	process
`ive`	capable
`or`	agent, doer
`mentum`	result
`ose`	full of
`tude`	state
`tity`	state

Scientific Terms Derived from Latin

Sciences

English Word	Greek Root	Meaning of Root	Sense
Control	`contra` + `rotulare`	against + record	to check by experiments
Experiment	`experi` + `ment`	try + result	an operation under controlled conditions in order to test a hypothesis
Observation	`ob` + `servare` + `ion`	toward + watch + action	Report fact
Result	`re` + `sultare`	back + leap	consequence of an action
Specimen	`specere` + `ment`	look + result	a portion of material for use in study
Structure	`structura`	building	the arrangement of parts in a body
Variable	`variare` + `abilis`	change + ability	something able to change

Biology

English Word	Greek Root	Meaning of Root	Sense
Cell	`cella`	small room	unit of life
Organ	`organum`	tool	functional unit of tissue in organims

Computer science

English Word	Greek Root	Meaning of Root	Sense
Binary	`bi` + `ni`	two + peer	a number system based only on the numerals 0 and 1
Data	`datum`	donation	information in digital form that can be transmitted or processed
Development	`de` + `volopere` + `ment`	reverse + roll up + result	designing, coding, testing, and maintaining software applications
Function	`fungi` + `ion`	perform + action	a named sequence of instructions
Module	`modulus`	small unit	small part of a program
Information	`informare` + `ion`	instruct + action	Structured knowledge
Incrementation	`incrementum` + `ion`	increase + action	adding or increasing a value by a predetermined step or unit
Input	`in` + `putare`	within + put	information fed into a program
Interface	`inter` + `facies`	between + faces	points of interaction between hardware and software components
Iteration	`iterare` + `ion`	repeat + action	to repeat operations
Recursion	`recurrere` + `ion`	run back + action	A function that call itself
Terminal	`terminus`	end point	a device that communicates with a computer

References

The Wholeness in Suffix -omics, -omes, and the Word Om

Satya P Yadav

Journal of biomolecular techniques, 2007. DOI: PMC2392988

Published on February 29, 2016

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About the Author

Pierre-Edouard Guerin

Bioinformatician

The Ethymologicon of Science

The Foundations of Western Science

Thales and Pythagore

The Academia and the Lyceus

Greek Roots

Greek Prefixes

Greek Suffixes

Scientific Terms Derived from Greek

Sciences

Biology

Computer science

Latin Roots

Latin Prefixes

Latin Suffixes

Scientific Terms Derived from Latin

Sciences

Biology

Computer science

References

Relevant Tags

About the Author

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