Learning about suffixes is part of the curriculum, but suitable words aren't always easy to find. Here are some lists of words for two common suffixes.
A suffix is a linguistic element attached to the end of a word or root to produce a derived or inflected form of the word. Commonly used suffixes include -ed, -ly, -ing, -ment.
Suffix Writing Activities
Some suffixes have a particular meaning. For example, -logy is the science/study of a subject; or writing, discourse or a body of writing. -Graph is an instrument that writes or records; a writing, record or drawing.
Provide students with a list of suffixes with particular meanings (or ask the students to look them up in a dictionary). Ask students to list as many words as they can think of that use each suffix.
Give students a list of words using a specific suffix. Ask them to write definitions for the words in the list after looking up only the meaning of the suffix.
Ask students to create new words using the given suffix. For example, nintendology: the study of hand held electronic games.
Finding Suffix Examples
It is not easy for students to find numerous examples for a specific suffix, as it is the ending and not the beginning of the word that is known. The following lists provide some common and unusual examples of words using the -logy and -graph suffixes.
-logy Suffix Examples
Archaeology: study of man’s past by scientific analysis of the material remains of his cultures
Biology: study of living organisms
Cardiology: study of heart function and diseases
Craniology: study of skulls
Epistemology: study of nature of knowledge
Etymology: study of word origins
Genealogy: direct descent of an individual/group from an ancestor; study of the evolutionary development of animals and plants from earlier forms
Geology: study of the origin, composition and structure of the earth
Herpetology: study of reptiles and amphibians
Horology: the art or science of making timepieces or measuring time
Lexicology: study of vocabulary
Meteorology: study of weather
Musicology: scholarly study of music
Neurology: study of the nervous system
Oology: branch of ornithology concerned with the study of birds’ eggs
Ornithology: study of birds
Phraseology: the manner in which words and phrases are used
Physiology: study of life processes, functioning of organisms
Pteridology: study of ferns
Rhinology: branch of medical science concerned with the nose
Seismology: study of earthquakes
Trilogy: a series of three related works, especially in literature
-Graph and –Graphy Suffix Examples
Autograph: a handwritten signature, especially of a famous person
Cartography: map-making
Choreography: dancing, composing ballets
Chorography: mapping of regions
Demography: population statistics
Geography: study of the natural features of the earth’s surface
Lexicography: the process or profession of writing or compiling dictionaries
Lexigraphy: a system of writing in which each word is represented by a sign
Lipography: the accidental omission of words or letters in writing
Lithography: a method of printing from a metal or stone surface on which the printing areas are not raised but made ink-receptive as opposed to ink-repellent
Metallography: branch of metallurgy concerned with the composition and structure of metals and alloys
Palaeography: old manuscripts
Photograph: image of an object, person, scene etc in the form of a print or slide recorded by a camera
Selenography: description and mapping of the surface features of the moon
Stereograph: two almost identical images or one special picture that when viewed through special glasses or a stereoscope for a single 3D image.
Telegraph: device, system or process by which information can be transmitted over a long distance
The Collins Australian Internet-linked Dictonary (Collins, 2004)
The copyright of the article Teach Suffixes -Logy and -Graph in Classroom Activities is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Teach Suffixes -Logy and -Graph must be granted by the author in writing.