2. It is proven that you will find more value in words
that you come across if you first learn to count from
one to ten
1-monolithic 7-hebdomadal
2-dichotomy
8-octavo
3-triptych
9-novena
4-quadrennial
5-quintessence 10-decalogue
6-hexagon
3. Latin No. Form No. Greek Combining Form
Unus Uni I MONO∑ Mono (alone,
only)
Duo Du, Bi II ∆¥O, ∆I∑ Dis, Dy, Di
Tres Tri III TPEI∑ Tri
Quattuor Quadr IV TETTAPE∑ Tetra
Quinque Quint V IIENTE Penta
Sex Sext VI „E€ Hexa
Septem Sept VII „EIITA Hepta
Octo Octo VIII ‟OKTΩ Octo (Okto)
Novem Nov, Non IX ‟ENNEA Ennea
Decem Decim X ∆EKA Deca (Deka)
4. One stands for the smallest number
One of a kind
Largest number
From this we get the word atonement meaning
being at one with God and man.
We get many words from Latin and Greek number I
For Example…
5. Unity- To be as one
Universe- One world
Unified- To be as one
Union- (Thirteen colonies/50 States) One Mighty Nation
Unison- To sing one and the same
Unilateral- Actions that are one-sided
6. Monotone- One who speaks in one tone
Monolith- A single huge stone
Monolithic- More picturesque word for unified (one)
Monopoly- A single control of sales
Monk- One who lives alone in a monastery
7. Meaning first are Prim- Latin or Proto- Greek
Primate- Archbishop; Top Ranking
Primer- First reader
Protocol- The first gluing (the leaf glued to rolls of papyrus)
Protagonist- First leading character
In order the word Protagonist to come from the
Greek, Proto, meaning first, it would have to be
spelled Protogonist.
8. We say two is company, but historically two is
a divisive number.
It immediately destroys the unity of one.
Many words come from Latin and Greek
number II
For Example…
9. Doubt- Having two minds about something (Second thoughts)
Dilemma- Having two different options
Diploma- A paper folded double (two)
Bicameral- Having two chambers (camera)
Binoculars- Having two eyes
Combine- To put two and two together
Bigamy- To get married (Two people)
11. Tripod- Three footed stand (camera)
Triad- A group of three
Trilogy- A major work of literature or music in three
parts
Triangle- A shape with three angles
Triptych- Three pictures or carvings on folding
panels, side by side.
12. When we say four, we think square.
Words like:
Quadrangle
Quadrilateral
Come from the shape square
There are other words that mean four
For Example…
13. Quadrangle- Has four angles
Quadrilateral- Has four sides
Quadrille- A square dance
Quadrennial- Elections are held every four years (Four
+ annual)
Quatrain- A four-line stanza
14. Tetra also means four.
It is the combining form.
Tetra appears in hundreds of chemical and
geometrical combinations For Example:
Tetraethyl
In Latin, tessera means four, which brings us back to
the square idea.
Anything that is formed of little squares like a
checkerboard is called tessellated.
15. We can find a lot of words from the Latin and
Greek number five.
For Example…
16. Quintessence- Fifth; Highest essence
Quinquennium- A recurring period of five years
From Penta:
Pentagon- A five-sided figure
Pentateuch- The first five books of the Bible
Pentathlon- Olympic event in which each athlete takes
part in five athletic contests
17. As numbers increase, the number of words that
can be made from that number, decreases.
In Latin, six is: Sex
In Greek, six is: Hex
They both sound alike and are used frequently in
the English language.
For Example…
18. Hexagon- A six-sided figure
Sextant- Navigator‟s instrument; Got its name from its
arc being (1/6) of a circle
Semester- Originally used for a six months‟ period.
Now, it is generally used as a school term of any length.
19. On our calendar, September is the ninth month.
This doesn‟t seem to make sense.
Before 153 B.C., the Roman year began in March.
So, this would make September the seventh
month if the year started in March.
For Example…
20. Septuagint- The translation of the Old Testament into
Greek. It was called this because seventy scholars are said
to have worked on it.
Hepta (Hept)- Appears in scientific words like:
HEPTANE- A hydrocarbon containing seven atoms of Carbon
to sixteen atoms of Hydrogen.
Hebdomadal- Occurring every seven days (weekly)
21. From the Greek, Octo, we get words like:
Octagon
Octopus
Octo means eight. When we see octo we should
be able to tear the word apart and know that it
has something to do with the number eight.
For Example…
22. Octagon- Eight-sided figure
Octopus- A sea creature with eight feet
“In San Francisco, a biologist discovered that the
aquarium octopus, Willie, had only seven
tentacles-with no stump to show that it ever had
had an eighth. The reporter of this news item asks,
„Does that make Willie a septopus?‟ No. To keep
the record straight it makes Willie a heptapus.” -8.
Count Off! Pg.95
23. We have many phrases that use the word nine
like:
“A nine days‟ wonder”
“A cat‟s nine lives”
“Nine points of the law”
But we have very few words with the word nine.
For Example…
24. Novena- A nine days‟ religious devotion
November- According to the old Roman system and
calendar, it would make November the ninth month in a
year.
Nonagonal- Annual athletic meets held at Princeton are
called the Nonagonal Games because nine colleges take
part in them.
25. The Latin and Greek words for ten, give us a large
amount of words like:
Decimal
Decalogue
Other words that have something to do with ten
are
For Example…
26. Dime- Ten cents
Decuria- A set of ten
Decimate- Originally meant to kill one in ten.
(Generally as a punishment for mutiny) Today, we use it in a
sense of annihilate, meaning to reduce to nothing. This
comes from the Greek and Latin, NIHIL, NULLUS O¥∆EN
(Nothing)
Decathlon- Goes along with the pentathlon except
instead of five contests, each athlete does ten
