Customer Reviews

Dictionary Of Word Roots

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have owned Donald J. Borror's DICTIONARY OF WORD ROOTS AND COMBINING FORMS for at least 20 years and would never dream of parting with it. Though I consult it only rarely, it can be immensely helpful when one wishes to delve into the meaning of obscure words, particularly of the scientific or bio-medical sort.

This dictionary is comprised mainly of an alphabetical listing of Greek and Latin roots, though commonly used roots and combining forms from other languages are included as well. There are also useful chapters on the formulation of scientific names, the transliteration of Greek words, and on common combining forms. This last chapter (the one on common combining forms) is particularly useful if your goal is to create new descriptive words as it is conveniently subdivided into descriptive categories (color, size, shape, animal structures, etc.).

I would have to admit that the DICTIONARY OF WORD ROOTS AND COMBINING FORMS would not be near the top of any list of writer's "essential" references, but I do not mean to imply by this that it is not worth owning. On the contrary, I believe that this happy little dictionary is highly useful-though specialized-and should be included in any complete writer's library.

Jeremy W. Forstadt

My father, a PhD, bought this book for me at the beginning of my freshman year as a Biology major. I used that book all through college in my science classes, and in my writing classes. I have been a Biology teacher for 17 years, and my original book has fallen apart from use. I still keep it, as I treasure this gift from my father. I have a second copy and use it with my students frequently. I am considering buying a third copy, as I know that soon it will be difficult to find another. It is a 'must have' for all science majors as well as science teachers!

I am a biology professor, and I required this text of all of my majors students until it went out of print. I now tell my students to hunt copies down on Amazon, ebay, or used book stores.
I am a great fan of learning the Latin and Greek roots of words to remembering the meaning of words. My students have a greater appreciation for the tongue-twisting words that we find in biology.

I bought this to help me pick apart the more difficult words and latin names in our Vertebrate Zoology course... this has been the biggest help ever. You can find the meaning of almost any word, and even make your own words up! I use this book about every 3 minutes when I sit down to study, it's great!

I started using this book in 1979 at the advice of my Undergrad Zoology teacher. Now as a new high school teacher, I find that I return to this book to help my students understand scientific names and nomenclature.

If you are working or studying in a biomedical discipline, you need this book. Borror's Dictionary constitutes a portable, easily used guide to the Latin and Greek (and a few other languages) roots that constitute the building blocks of medical and scientific lexicons. Dollar for dollar, it represents one of the best purchases a student can make toward his or her education.

This compact, easy-to-use book is a must for any science-related field of study. By using this book, you learn what the parts of scientific words mean. This provides the student/scientist with an explanation of why a structure or organism has a particular name. This understanding keys the person to remember the term more easily, giving the real meaning to the word instead of the word being just being a large group of letters. I have seen students go from, "How am I going to remember that!" to "AH HA! It makes sense!" As I teach, I frequently give the students the meaning of the root words. This book is where I learned it.

I bought this book as a recommended supplement to a college biology class. The professor said that the book would help us to remember all of the words that we needed to memorize because it translates them from gibberish into logical forms. I always keep this book handy now, as it is easy to use and truly interesting. This book should be as common as a dictionary, it is certainly as useful.

Nice little reference (134 pages) packed with word roots and their definitions - adds a little poetry to the scientific names we come across in insects and others

You can't do yourself or anyone else interested in words a better favor than by buying this book. For fifteen years it's been beside me (or in the bathroom!) and the knowledge gleaned from all those roots has is inestimable.