VERB meaning "word." A verb--or action word--appears in some form in every complete sentence. To express something verbally--or to verbalize something--is to say it or write it.

SIMIL/SIMUL meaning "like, resembling, similar." and "to make like." Two similar things resemble each other. Two simultaneous activities proceed at the same time. And a facsimile, such as you might receive from your fax machine, looks exactly the same as the original.

SCEND means "to climb." The staircase we ascend to our bedroom at night we will descend the next morning, since what goes up must come down.

ONYM meaning "name, word." An anonymous donor or writer is one who isn't named. A synonym is a word with the same meaning as another word. And homonyms are words that look and sound alike but aren't actually releated, such as well ("healthy") and well ("a deep hole with water in it").

SCRIB/SCRIP means "to write." Scribble is an old word meaning to write or draw carelessly. A written work that hasn't been published is a manuscript. And to describe is to picture something in words.

FALL means "to deceive." It's actually at the root of the word false, which we rarely use today to mean "deceptive."

SOLU means "to lossen, free, release," and the root therefore may taken the form solv- as well. So to solve a problem means to find its solution, as if you were freeing up a logjam. And a solvent is a chemical that dissolves or "loosens up" oil or paint.

HYDR means "water." The "water" root can be found in the lovely flower called the hydrangea: its seed capsules resemble ancient Greek water vessels.

Greek and Latin Borrowings