Building big words

English builds long words like Lego: a root in the middle, prefixes in front, suffixes behind. Learn the pieces, and a 20-letter word becomes easy to read. Tap any piece to see where it comes from.

The 3 rules

How to read a long word

Find the root first: the piece with the main meaning (stingu, ministr, simpl, part).
Prefixes change the meaning: un- (not), dis- (apart, undo), mal- (badly), over- (too much).
Suffixes change the job of the word: -ment and -ation make nouns, -al and -able make adjectives, -ize and -ify make verbs.

prefixrootsuffixcombining form (Greek building block)🐎 PIE · 🏡 Old English · 🏛️ Latin · 🎭 Greek · 🗼 French

Word 1

electrotechnology

Tap a piece.

Built layer by layer

technologynounthe study of crafts and tools

electrotechnologynountechnology applied to electricity

Built entirely from Greek “combining forms”. Science words snap together like this: bio-technology, psycho-logy, tele-phone.

Word 2

undistinguishable

Tap a piece.

Built layer by layer

distinguishverbto mark apart, to tell apart

distinguishableadjectivecan be told apart

undistinguishableadjectivecannot be told apart

A hybrid: an Old English un- on a Latin word. The all-Latin form, indistinguishable, is more common. Both are correct.

Word 3

disenfranchisement

Tap a piece.

Built layer by layer

franchisenouna freedom, a privilege; later the right to vote

enfranchiseverbto give someone the vote

disenfranchiseverbto take the vote away

disenfranchisementnounthe act of taking it away

The prefixes work like switches: en- turns the right on, dis- turns it off again.

Word 4

maladministration

Tap a piece.

Built layer by layer

ministernoun“the lesser one”: a servant

administerverbto serve, to manage

administrationnounmanagement, the government

maladministrationnounbad management

Hidden gem: minister (from minus, less) is the opposite of master (from magis, more, PIE *meǵh₂- “great”, Sanskrit महा). A minister served; a master ruled.

Word 5

oversimplification

Tap a piece.

Built layer by layer

simpleadjectiveone-fold, not folded

simplifyverbto make simple

simplificationnounthe act of simplifying

oversimplificationnounsimplifying too much

Three PIE roots and an Old English prefix in one word.

Word 6

compartmentalizing

Tap a piece.

Built layer by layer

partnouna share

compartmentnouna divided section of a train or a bag

compartmentaladjectivein sections

compartmentalizeverbto divide into separate boxes

compartmentalizing-ing formdoing it now

Each suffix switches the word class: noun → noun → adjective → verb → -ing form. Four languages in one word: Latin, French, Greek and English.

Your turn

Build it yourself

Tap the pieces in the right order to build the word.

Word histories from the Online Etymology Dictionary, Watkins’ American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots and the Oxford English Dictionary.