HER comes from the Latin verb haerere, meaning "to stick." Another form of the verb produces the root hes-, seen in such word as adhesive, which means basically "sticky" or "sticking," and hesitate, which means more or less "stuck in one place."

FUG comes from the Latin verb fugere, meaning "to flee or escape." Thus, a refugee flees from some threat or danger, while a fugitive is usually fleeing from the law.

COSM comes from the Greek word for "order." Since the Greeks believed the universe was an orderly place, words in this group usually relate to the universe. So cosmonaut was the word for a space traveler from the former Soviet Union. (The root of our own word, astronaut, suggest "star traveler" instead.) Oddly enough, cosmetics comes from the same root, since putting things in order is similar to decorating something--such as your face.

SCI comes from the Latin verb scire, "to know" or "to understand." The root appears in such common words as science, which originally meant simply "knowledge," and conscience, meaning "moral knowledge." And to be conscious is to be in a state where you are able to know or understand.

JUNCT comes from the Latin verb jungere, meaning "to join." A junction is a place where roads or railways come together. A conjunction is a word that join two other words or groups of words: "this and that," "to be or not to be."

PART from the Latin word pars, meaning "part," comes into English most obviously in our word part. An apartment or compartment is part of a large whole. The same is usually true of a particle.

MIS comes from the Latin verb mittere, "to send." A missile is something sent speeding through the air or water. And when your class is dismissed at the end of the day, you're sent home.

PEL comes from the Latin verb pellere, meaning "to move or drive." So a propeller moves a small airplane forward. And if you dispel someone's fear, you "drive them away."

Words from Mythology