Roots and affixes

Roots and affixes are parts of words that help us understand their meaning and form. The root is the core part of a word that carries the main idea, such as "write" in "rewrite" or "happy" in "happiness." Affixes are added to roots to modify or expand their meaning: prefixes go before the root (e.g., "un-" in "unknown", meaning "not"), and suffixes come after (e.g., "-ness" in "happiness," meaning "the state of being happy"). Together, roots and affixes help form new words and convey nuanced ideas.