Word Parts Dictionary: Standard and Reverse Listings of Prefixes, Suffixes, Roots, and Combining Forms »

A retired English professor, Michael J. Sheehan taught at Olive-Harvey College, City College of Chicago. He is the author of several works of fiction and several writing handbooks and is a member of the Society of Midland Authors, the Dictionary Society of North America, the American Dialect Society, and Michigan Writers. He currently serves on the Michigan State Advisory Council on Aging and lives in Cedar, Michigan.

This updated version of the 2000 original is still the only complete resource on the market for finding word parts needed to express a concept. Aside from catering to those who wish to expand their vocabulary, the purpose of this dictionary is to provide convenient word parts to those who may be interested in inventing or deciphering words bearing an established and embedded meaning.
Like the first edition, this work is split into three parts presenting the prefixes, suffixes, combining forms, and roots that fit together to form words in English. Part I, the Dictionary proper, provides an alphabetical listing of nearly 4,700 word parts, each entry including a brief definition and two examples of words using that unit. This section benefits from several additions, the most notable of which are embedded etymologies for each entry. Part II, the Finder, is a reverse dictionary of word parts allowing users to start with a meaning or concept and then find word parts which express that meaning. Still the only reverse dictionary of its kind, Part II is updated with over 1,000 new search terms. Part III collects word parts in another reverse dictionary under 18 convenient categories. Each pre-existing category has been expanded when possible, and three entirely new categories have also been added (Eating, Experts, and Measurement Science).

Preface

Pt. I Dictionary 5

Pt. II Finder (Reverse Dictionary) 143

Pt. III Categories 225

Animals 226

The Body 230

Colors 236

Dimensions 238

Directions 239

Divination 240

Eating Habits 242

The Environment 245

Experts and Their Titles 249

Fear Or Dislike of 260

Food 269

Measurement Science 271

Negatives 275

Numbers 276

The Senses 278

Shapes 280

Time 285