pale/o
pale/o ancient paleontology – study of ancient fossils; paleography – the study of ancient forms of writing; Paleolithic – period of the Stone Age.
pan
pan all, any, everyone panacea – a cure for all diseases or problems; panorama – an all-around view; pantheism – the worship of all gods; pandemic – affecting all.
para
para beside, beyond, abnormal, assistant parasite – an organism that lives on and off another living being; parallel – alongside and always an equal distance apart; paragraph – a portion of a writtenn document that presents a distinct idea.
para
para protection from parachute – protection from falling; parasol – an umbrella used to protect from the sun;
pater,
pater, patr/i father paternal – relating to fathers; paternity – fatherhood; patriarch – a man who rules a group.
path
path feeling, emotion antipathy – a feeling of great dislike; apathy – a lack of feeling or interest; empathy – ability to understand another’s feelings.
ped/i/e
ped/i/e foot, feet pedal – a lever pushed by the foot; pedestrian – one who walks; pedicure – cosmetic treatment of feet and toes.
pel
pel drive, force compel – to force someone to act; expel – to drive someone out of a place; repel – to force back.
pent/a
pent/a five pentagon – shape having 5 angles and 5 sides, pentagram – a five-pointed star formerly used as a symbolic figure in magic; pentathlon – an athletic contest that includes five events.
pept,
pept, peps digestion dyspepsia – abnormal digestion; peptic – aiding digestion; pepsin – a digestive enzyme.
per
per through, throughout permanent – lasting throughout all time; permeate – to spread throughout; persist – to continue for a long time; perennial – lasting through many years.
peri
peri around, enclosing periodontal – pertaining to bone and tissue around a tooth; peripheral – lying outside of the center; perimeter – the outer boundary of an area.
phag/e
phag/e to eat esophagus – muscular tube that carries food to the stomach; anthropophagy or sarcophagy – cannibalism; xylophagous – feeding on wood.
phil/o
phil/o love, friend philanthropist – one who loves humanity; philology – the love of words; philosophy – the love of wisdom; bibliophil – loving books.
phon/o/e/y
phon/o/e/y sound cacophony – loud, unpleasant sounds; microphone – a device that records and amplifies sound; phonetic – relating to human speech sounds.
phot/o
phot/o light photogenic – caused by light; photograph – image made on light-sensitive film; photon – the smallest possible unit of light.
phyll/o
phyll/o leaf chlorophyll – a group of green pigments found in leaves; phyllotaxis – the arrangement of leaves on a stem; phyllite – a rock that forms sheets, similar to slate.
phys
phys nature, medicine, the body physical – relating to the body; physician – a doctor; physique – nature and shape of one’s body.
phyt/o/e
phyt/o/e plant, to grow epiphyte – a plant growing independently on the surface of another; hydrophyte – a plant that grows only in water; neophyte – a beginner, especially a person recently converted to a new belief.
plas/t/m
plas/t/m to form, development, forming cells protoplasm – something that is the first made or formed, also the living portion of a cell; plastic – able to be formed, especially when warm; plaster – a mixture of lime, sand and water that forms a smooth solid covering for walls.
pneum/o
pneum/o breathing, lung, air, spirit pneumonia – inflammation of the lungs; pneumatic – using the force of air; dyspnea – difficulty breathing.
pod/e
pod/e foot podiatrist – a doctor for the feet; podium – a small platform to stand on; tripod – a stand or frame with 3 legs.
poli
poli city metropolis – a large city; police – people who work for the government to maintain order in a city; politics – actions of a government or political party.
poly
poly many, more than one polychrome – with many colors; polyglot – a person fluent in many languages; polygon – shape with 3 or more straight sides.
pon
pon place, put opponent – a person who places him/herself against an action, idea, etc.; postpone – to put off doing something.
pop
pop people popular – appealing to a lot of people; population – all of the people who live in a particular area; populist – a supporter of the rights of people.
port
port carry export – to carry goods out of a place to another; portable – able to be carried; porter – a person who carries luggage.
pos
pos place, put deposit – to place or drop something; expose to place out into the open for all to see; position – the place where someone is.
post
post after, behind posthumous – after someone’s death; postpone – to delay something; postscript – an addition to an already completed document.
pre
pre earlier, before, in front of preamble – a part in front of a formal document; prepare – to get ready in advance; prediction – a statement foretelling the future.
pro
pro before, in front of, for, forward prognosis – a prediction of what will happen; prologue – a passage before the main part; prophet – a person who foretells the future.
prot/o
prot/o primitive, first, chief prototype – the first of a kind; proton – on of the very basic parts of an atom; protocol – a first draft from which a document is prepared.
pseud/o
pseud/o wrong,false pseudonym – a fictitious name; pseudoscience – theories presumed without proof of a scientific nature; pseudopregnancy – a false pregnancy.
psych/o
psych/o mind, mental psyche – the human spirit or soul; psychic – relating to the human mind or someone who has supernatural mental abilities; psychology – the study of the mind.
pugn/a,
pugn/a, pung to fight pugnacious – having a quarrelsome or aggressive nature; repugnant – distasteful, offensive or revolting; pungent – piercing.
pul
pul urge compulsion – a very strong urge; expulsion – to someone out; impulsive – having a spontaneous urge to do something.
purg
purg clean purge – remove anything undesirable; purgatory – according to Roman Catholics a place where souls must clean themselves of sin; expurgate – remove objectionable passages from a publication.
put
put think computer – an electronic thinking device; dispute – to disagree with what another person thinks; input – contribution of one’s thinking.
pyr/o
pyr/o fire, heat pyrotechnics – the art of making fireworks; pyrometer – a thermometer for measuring high temperature; pyretic – relating to or producing fever.
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