The number of words, prefixes and suffixes borrowed from Greek into English is too large for all to be included here. They can be grouped into several classes:
Educational and sporting ("gymnasium", "mathematics"), mythology ("amazon"), social and political ("democracy"), terms from Christianity ("eucharist", "bishop", "catholic"), theatrical ("drama", "chorus"), animals ("buffalo", "crocodile"), place names ("Egypt", "Ethiopia").
The vast majority of Greek borrowings are scientific terms: "astronomy", "geography", "biology".
| Word | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| -gram | letter | As in 'telegram' (far letter). |
| -graph | writing | As in 'biography' (life writing). |
| -logy | study | As in 'geology' (Earth study). |
| -meter | measure | As in 'thermometer' (measure heat). |
| -nomy | laws | As in 'astronomy' (star laws). |
| -philia | friend | As in 'necrophilia' (friend of death). |
| -phobia | fear | As in 'arachnophobia' (fear of spiders). |
| -phone | voice | As in 'telephone' (far voice). |
| -scope | see | As in 'telescope' (see far). |
| academy | One of many educational and sporting words from Greek. | |
| acrobat | walking on tiptoe | |
| alphabet | The names of the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta. | |
| amazon | without breasts | A mythical tribe of warrior females. |
| amnesia | without memory | The letter A at the beginning of a word means 'without'. |
| anonymous | without name | |
| anthropo- | man | As in 'anthropology' (study of man). |
| anti- | opposite | As in 'antimatter'. |
| antipodes | opposite feet | The region of the Earth below one's feet. |
| aracno- | spider | As in 'arachnophobia' (fear of spiders). |
| aristocrat | best ruler | One of many social and political words from Greek. |
| asbestos | cannot be extinguished | |
| athlete | contender for prize | |
| attic | Part of a temple. | |
| Australia | southern | Southern hemisphere country. |
| auto- | self | As in 'automatic'. |
| bar- | weight | As in 'barometer', measure weight (of air). |
| barbarian | To the Greeks, foreign languages sounded like 'bar bar bar'. | |
| bio- | life | As in 'biology' (study life). |
| bishop | One of many words in the Christian religion from Greek. | |
| buffalo | An animal. | |
| canopy | mosquito net | |
| cathedral | seat | |
| catholic | universal | |
| cemetery | dormitory | |
| ceramic | ||
| choreo- | dance | As in 'chorography' (write dance). |
| chorus | dance | A group on a stage that sing or dance. One of many dramatical or theatrical words from Greek. |
| Christ | anointed | |
| chrono- | time | As in 'chronology' (study time). |
| cosmos | all, everyone | |
| crocodile | A large reptile. | |
| cryo- | cold | As in 'cryogenics' (create cold). |
| crypto- | hidden | As in 'cryptology' (study the hidden). The gas 'Krypton' is from the same root. |
| cynic | dog | |
| democracy | state of the people | |
| dinosaur | terrible lizard | |
| diploma | folded in two | |
| dogma | ||
| drama | activity | |
| echo | ||
| economy | manage a house | |
| ego- | I | As in 'egocentric' (centred on self). |
| Egypt | North African country. | |
| epitaph | over the tomb | |
| Ethiopia | hot face | East African country. |
| Eucharist | thanks | The Christian ceremony of giving thanks. |
| Exodus | going out, exit | One of the books of the Christian holy book, the Bible. |
| genesis | beginning | |
| geo- | earth | As in 'geography' (write about the Earth). |
| gymnasium | from 'gymnos', naked | Athletes were traditionally naked. |
| gynae- | woman | As in 'gynaecology' (study woman). |
| gypsy | From the same root as 'Egypt'. | |
| helicopter | spiral wing | |
| helio- | sun | As in 'helioscope' (see the Sun). |
| hemi- | half | As in 'hemisphere' (half a sphere). |
| hero | ||
| hetero- | different | As in 'heterosexual' (different sex). |
| hippopotamus | river horse | |
| history | The same root as 'story'. | |
| holocaust | entirely burnt | |
| horizon | defining | |
| hydro- | water | As in 'hydrolic', worked by water. |
| idea | ||
| India | The same root as Hindi, Hindu, Indus, and Sind. | |
| isotope | same place | |
| Istanbul | in the town | City in Turkey. |
| kilo- | thousand | As in 'kilogram' (a thousand grams). |
| litho- | stone | As in 'lithograph' (writing on stone). |
| logarithm | account, addition | |
| marathon | Named after a battleground from where a messenger ran 26 miles (42 km). | |
| martyr | witness | |
| mathematics | something learnt | |
| meander | From a winding river now in Turkey. | |
| mechanic | machine | |
| mega- | big | As in 'megastore'. |
| melody | ||
| Mesopotamia | between the rivers | Ancient region now part of Iraq. |
| method | pursuit of knowledge | |
| metropolis | mother city | |
| micro- | small | As in 'microscope' (see small). |
| mime | imitator | |
| monarch | one who rules alone | |
| moron | stupid | |
| museum | home of the muses | |
| myopia | vision of a mouse | Short sighted. |
| myriad | ten thousand | |
| mystery | secret ceremony | |
| Naples | new city | City in Italy. The same root as the Palestinian city, 'Nablus'. |
| nemesis | ||
| neural | nerve | |
| nous | mind | |
| obelisk | ||
| ocean | The name of a sea deity. | |
| Olympic | Named after Olympia and Mount Olympus in Greece. | |
| orphan | ||
| ostracize | Named after pieces of pottery on which the names of people to be exiled were written. | |
| paleo- | old | As in 'paleontology', study old (fossils). |
| pandemonium | abode of all devils | |
| panic | terror induced by the god Pan | |
| panorama | full view | |
| paranoia | distracted | |
| philo- | friend | As in 'philosophy' (friend of wisdom). |
| Phoenician | purple | Ancient people - they were famous for exporting a purple dye. |
| phono- | voice | As in 'phonetics'. |
| photo- | light | As in 'photograph' (light writing). |
| Pluto | God of death; ninth planet. | |
| poly- | many | As in 'polygon', a many sided figure. |
| programme | public written notice | |
| prophet | ||
| psalm | ||
| psycho- | spirit, soul | As in 'psychology' (study the spirit). |
| pygmy | fist | Refering to something the size of a fist. |
| pylon | gate | |
| pyramid | ||
| python | A large snake. | |
| rhinoceros | horned nose | |
| rhythm | ||
| sarcasm | speak bitterly | |
| scene | tent, stage | |
| seismic | shaking | |
| siphon | pipe | |
| skeleton | dried up | |
| sporadic | scattered seeds | |
| stethoscope | see the chest | |
| stigma | mark | |
| strategy | military general | |
| sycophant | show figs | |
| symphony | same sound | |
| synopsis | same view | |
| syntax | same arrangement | |
| Syria | Middle East country - from the name of a tribe. | |
| tele- | far | As in 'telephone' (far voice), 'telescope' (seeing far). |
| theater, theatre | ||
| theory | contemplation | |
| therm- | heat | As in 'thermometer' (measure heat). |
| thesaurus | treasure | |
| thesis | place, position | |
| thorax | chest | |
| toxic | arrow | Poisoned arrows were used in warfare. |
| tragedy | billy goat | Theatre was originally associated with worship of the goat-like god, Pan. |
| treacle | ||
| tripod | three feet | |
| tyrant | ||
| Uranus | The seventh planet. | |
| xeno- | stranger | As in 'xenophobia' (fear of strangers). |
