Forming Concepts and Strengthening Vocabulary in
Earth Sciences through Etymology

Nittala S. Sarma

Marine Chemistry Laboratory, School of Chemistry

Andhra University, Visakhapatnam – 530 003, INDIA

Abstract:

Many technical terms used in the Earth sciences are derived from foreign languages such as Greek and Latin and are not easily comprehensible to beginners. However, knowledge of the root words from which these technical terms are formed not only makes learning of the concepts represented easier, but also helps to quickly understand new terms that may be encountered. This paper considers about 1,600 technical terms that derive from about 300 root words. Learning the Earth sciences vocabulary thus reduces to learning a much smaller assortment of root words. Dominant contributors to the vocabulary are the Greek root words isos, lithos, gennaine, ge, klinein, morphe, meta, orthos, para, klasis, chronos, pseudes, strophe, tropos as well as some Latin roots such as stratum, fluvius, etc. As language skills usually develop quite early and new vocabulary is acquired more slowly with age, a genetic treatment of the Earth science vocabulary early on is expected to help the student develop a keen aptitude and an enduring interest in the subject.

Key Words

Earth sciences, geoscience, technical terms, origins, curriculum, etymology, language skills, communication skills

1. Introduction

Events and processes in the solid Earth, atmosphere, oceans, climate and extra terrestrial objects that together constitute the Earth system, have a consequence on the existence and well being of mankind. The study of Earth is of interest to not only the student receiving formal instruction as part of a structured curriculum, but also to the common citizen with concern for things around him. Earth sciences are also the most cosmopolitan of the various science disciplines since they embrace diverse subjects such as geology, physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. A new learner in Earth sciences can be confounded by an exotic range of technical terms that are difficult to understand and remember. Glossaries do give definitions of Earth science terms but do not present a genesis of the word that can possibly make the task of understanding and remembering easier. The problem is particularly acute for students coming from different ethnic backgrounds who find it difficult to cope with cultural barriers on one hand and a language barrier on the other. Interestingly, it can be found that a large number of technical terms are derived from many fewer root words that are usually of Greek, Latin or German origin (Schwarz et al., 1986; Brown, 1956; Sarma, 2004; Sarma, 2005). It is these root words that constitute the more difficult parts of the terms. Thus, the task of understanding the expansive list of esoteric terms can be reduced to understanding these few root words.

For example, "Earth science" can be considered a layman's term for "geoscience". From the Greek root ge, meaning "Earth", are formed numerous terms that represent various branches and sub-branches of study and also phenomena, e.g., geography, geology, geophysics, geochemistry, geomagnetism, geomorphology, geochronometry, geodesy, geoid, geostrophic, etc. These terms contain additional affixes of Greek origin e.g., "graphy" (graphein to write) "logy" (logos discussion, study), "morpho" (morphe shape), "chrono" (chronos time) "meter" (metron measurement), "detic" (daisis division), "oid" (eidos form), "strophic" (strophe a turning) and so on. Let us look closely at the more exotic combinations – "geochronometry" is measurement (metron) of time (chronos) when the events occurred on the earth (ge). "Geodesy" is measurement (desy) of Earth on large scale, i.e., surveying with allowance for its curvature. "Geostrophic" stands for turning or bending (strophe) of a vector (such as wind or ocean currents) due to the rotation of Earth. The additional affixes of the terms namely chrono, homo, kata, and strophe in turn constitute numerous other terms given in Table 1, and the chain continues. In this chain, familiar terms and their familiar root words are a gateway to learn new terms and their new affixes, and so build a more complete vocabulary of Earth science terms.

Table 1: Additional reading for roots (all of Greek origin) producing multiple terms

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
chronos	chronolith	G
	diachronous	G
	heterochronism	G
homo	homocline	P
	homodetic; Opp. heterodetic	C
	homologue,	C
	homopause,	P
	homosphere	P
kata down, under	cataclasis	G
	catazone,	G
	isanakatabar	M
	katabatic,	M
	katallobaric,	M
strophe a turning	apostrophe	A
	catastrophism,	G
	cyclostrophic,	M
	diastrophism,	G
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
dia through, across	Table 2
heteros other	Table 2
klasis breaking	Table 11
lithos stone	Table 8

The influence of Greek and Latin is perhaps greatest in medical literature. Recognizing the need to explain medical terms to modern day practitioners and students who are not proficient in classical Greek and Latin, Dunmore and Fleischer (1977) both linguists, published a novel approach to teaching the challenging language of medicine that involved teaching students to recognize the roots of medical terminology. This concept has been pursued further by medical professionals working in collaboration with a linguist, as evident from the recent revision of this popular treatise (Walker-Esbaugh et al., 2004). Medical terminology constitutes course curricula world over (Stiles, 2000). However, in the case of science disciplines, including Earth sciences, the origins of most technical terms are unavailable in present day textbooks and appear to be forgotten or ignored. Explaining the origins of terms in a class is left mostly to the knowledge, experience and interest of individual teachers.

2. Methodology

Language skills usually blossom quite early, but unfortunately also wane off as one advances in age. A genetic treatment of the Earth science vocabulary provided to the student early on may help him or her develop an aptitude for the subject in the formative stage. As a first step, my endeavor is to take the student and possibly educators to the roots of technical terms so that there can be a wider discussion amongst them before any serious case is made for their formal inclusion in curriculum. One possible approach in the class room is to assign a small set of root words specific to each lesson or lecture, and in a cascading manner build vocabulary by topic, chapter, and discipline. Root words do overlap across the disciplines but usually a given set of roots is more commonly associated with a particular topic. As the curriculum architect, the instructor must find a suitable place for each term in the lesson plan.

In my university classes, I have practiced an etymological approach and through feedback from students have recognized the merit of this approach for explaining concepts in lucid and appealing language. I have observed a distinct improvement in the communication skills of the students. The merit of the root-based study is also evidenced from my own experience. I am not formally educated in Earth science, but have become more proficient in Earth science by self-learning in which the etymological approach has played a key role.

I initially prepared an extensive list of technical terms in current popular usage from standard textbooks of Earth sciences covering important branches (Ernst, 2000; Emiliani, 1992; Bearman, 1989/1991; Harvey, 1982; Barry and Chorley, 1976; Pettijohn, 1975) and from science dictionaries (Parker, 1994; Collocott and Dobson, 1986). Sifting this list gave rise to about 1,600 technical terms containing root words of non-English origin. With the help of etymological sources (Schwarz et al., 1989; Brown, 1956) and from my works in chemistry (Sarma, 2004, 2005, 2006), I then probed how the terms are constituted vis a vis their actual significance explained in the above Earth sciences literature. In this exercise, an accurate dissection of each term into its appropriate component root words is a matter of early concern. Particularly, when the prefix ending in a vowel has to be joined to a stem word that starts with a vowel or the letter "h", the ending vowel disappears, e.g., isanomalous (iso+anomalous), geanti (geo+anti), ephemeral (epi+hemeral; Gr. hemera a day), epeiro (epi+eiro; Gr. epeiros mainland), catallo (cata+allo), etc. In terms such as "anallo" (ana+allo), particular caution is necessary since the prefix could be "an" too, in which case the meaning would just be the opposite.

Often, etymological origins are not readily available, and an intensive cross-consultation within the sources referred above is needed. In my first attempt, I arranged the root words in an all-embracing alphabetized list, and then complemented them with various terms that derive from them. Using this as the database, I then identified different topics under which the terms could better be clustered. Finally, I carefully prepared the textual account sequencing the topics and terms so that the account steers clear of monotonous redundancies and terms are explained in a generally sequential order of understanding, though refinement is possible.

In the text, I have limited myself to discuss single examples, and have preferred to provide more examples in the Tables as an exercise for the student. Each table consists of two parts – Part A dealing with terms deriving from roots already discussed in the text and Part B with terms deriving from the new roots of terms in Part A. Roots and their examples that could not be included in any of the identified topics are given as a miscellaneous collection in the last Table. The specific discipline (ÔD' in Tables) to which the term most commonly belongs is also mentioned as abbreviation i.e., A, B, C, G, M, O, P standing for All (i.e., of general usage), Biology, Chemistry, Geology-Geophysics-Geography, Meteorology, Oceanography (and Limnology) and Physics respectively. The abbreviations Gr., L., Ger., Cel. are for Greek, Latin, German and Celtic respectively throughout the article.

3.1. Biological terms (Table 2)

The hierarchical division of species is called taxonomy (Gr. taxis arrangement; nomos law) in which the names given can give a clue to their morphological (Gr. morphe shape) features. Plankton (Gr. planktos wandering) essentially wander around while nekton (Gr. swimming) are capable of swimming. Benthos, meaning depth in Greek is in particular reference to living organisms on the bottom of a large body of water, while the roots bathys and bathos, also meaning depth in Greek give rise to several terms appearing in Table 2. Foram is a small opening, and ferous bearing in Greek occurring in "foraminifera", small shelled marine protozoans. In "diatoms", dia means "through" and tomos "to slice" in Greek. Diatoms are a class of microalgae that have flinty shells in two halves (fitting like box and lid). The order radiolaria (L. radius a rod) are pseudopodia (Gr. pseudos false; podos foot) having a radial structure. Coccoliths (Gr. kokkos a berry) have shape similar to berries. Pteropods, pelecypods, and brachypods derive their common group names from the shape of their swimming organs. Ctenodonts are recognizable from their characteristic comb-like tooth structure. The skeletal remains of these organisms constitute ooids (Gr. oion egg, roe of fish; eidos form), formerly referred as oozes. "Bioherm", a moundlike mass of sediment built up by underwater organisms, owes its name to Hermes, the Greek god responsible for boundaries. A herm is a vertical stone boundary marker.

Table 2: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.1

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. bathos depth	bathocuproin	C
	batholith	G
	bathophenathroline	C
	bathyal (zone)	O
	bathymetry	O
	bathythermograph	O
Gr. dia through	adiabatic	C
	diagenesis	G
	diamagnetism	C
	diastrophism	G,O
Gr. eidos form	amygdaloid	G
	batryoid	G
	geoid	G
	lingualoid	G,O
	ooid	G
	pinacoid	G
	spheroid	P
Gr. ferous bearing	aquifer	G
	argelliferous	G
	auriferous,	G
	carboniferous	G
	ferriferous	G
	petroliferous	G
Gr. nomos law	astronomy	P
	economy	A
Gr. odontos tooth	anomalodont	B
	asthenodont	B
	ctenodont	B
	dysodont	B
	heterodont	B
	taxodont	B
Gr. phorein to bear	chromophore	C
Gr. planktos wandering	phytoplankton	B
	zooplankton	B
Gr. podos foot	brachypods	B
	pelecypods	B
	pteropod	B
Gr. pseudos false	pseudoconformity	G
	pseudomicroseism	G
	pseudo-oolith	G
	pseudosymmetry	C,G
	pseudovolcano	G
Gr. taxis arrangement	eutectic	C,G
	orthotectic (stage)	G
	peritectic	G
	phototaxis	B
	pneumatotectic	G
	syntectic	G
	taxon	B
Gr. tomos to slice	appendectomy	B
	atom,	C
	microtome	B
	tomography	B
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
Gr. amygdale almond	amugdule	G
L. aqua water	aquifer	G
	aquifuge	G
	aquitard	G
Gr. astron star	astrophysics	P
Gr. brachys short	brachypinacoid	B
Gr. chroma color	chromosome	B
L. con together	connate (water)	G
Gr. ctenos comb	ctenophora	B
Gr. hedra base	octahedral	C
Gr. eu well	eutrophic	O
	euphotic	O
	eustasy	O
	euhedral	G
Gr. oikos a house	ecology	B
Gr. oion egg	oolith	G
Gr. pelekys axe
Gr. peri around	periscope	A
Gr.phos light	dysphotic	O
	euphotic	O
	photosynthesis	B
Gr. phyton plant	Chlorophyte	B
	Paeophyte	B
	prasinophyte	B
	rhodophyte	B
Gr. pneumatos breath	pneumatic pump	A
Gr. pteron wing	pteridophyta
Gr. seismos a shaking	seismic (belt)	G
L. tardus slow	tardy (growth)	A
Gr. zoe life	zoogeography	B

3.2. Limnology and Oceanography (Table 3)

Mi(n)ctio is urination. Mictic of dimictic, meromictic, holomictic, polymyctic and so forth stands for circulation. Meromictic (Gr. meros part) for example, is with regard to a lake whose water circulates only in confined parts, for example at the surface. Usually, the lake top constitutes the mixolimnion (Gr. mixis mixing) layer and bottom, the monimolimnion layer (Gr. monimos stable, steadfast). In Latin, fluvius is river, cf., fluvial. Pluviofluvial (L. pluvia rain) pertains to the combined action of rainwater and streams.

Pelagos and thalassa, both mean sea in Greek; the former refers to the open sea and the latter to a confined sea. Hence, abyssopelagic (Gr. a without, byssos depth, cf., abyssal) pertains to open waters of the abyssal zone. Panthalassa (Gr. pan, panto, pantos in composition all) on the other hand pertains to all parts of the ocean combined; it is the hypothetical proto-ocean (Gr. protos first).

Nephele is cloud in Greek. The nepheloid (eidos like, see before) layer is cloudy due to the presence of re-suspended sediment. Regimes of changing physical, chemical or biological properties have terms ending in "cline", e.g., thermocline (Gr. klinein to lean; thermos heat, actually temperature).

Table 3: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms in Section 3.2

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. a without	abyssal	O
	asthenosphere	G
Gr. klinein	halocline	O
	lysocline	O
	pycnocline	O
Gr. meros	centromere	B
	isomer	C
	polymere	B
Gr. Nephele cloud	isoneph	M
	nephsystem	M
Gr. pan	pangea	G
	panautomorphic	G
	panfan	G
	panplain	G
Gr. protos first	protointraclast	G
	protostratigraphy	G
Gr. thermos heat	bathythermograph	O
	thermoluminescence	P
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
Gr. hals salt	halogen	C
Gr. hals salt	halite	C,G
Gr. leiin to loosen	dialysis	C
	electrolysis	P
	halmyrolysis	G
	hydrolysis	C
	lyophilization	C
Gr. pyknos dense	pyknometer	P

3.3. Meteorology (Table 4)

In the term "meteorology" (Gr. meta after; aerien to lift), the root word aerein signifies the lifting of air and water vapor caused by heating. The lines of constant value of an atmospheric property plotted on a map are called isopleths (Gr. plethos a great number) or isarithms. Examples of specific properties include: isohel (Gr. helios sun) for sunshine, isohyet (Gr. hyetos rain) for rainfall, isoneph (Gr. nephele cloud, see Section 3.2) for cloudiness and isotach (Gr. tachys swift) for wind speed. Isobront (Gr. bronte thunder), also called homobront (Gr. homos same) refers to simultaneous occurrence of phases of a thunderstorm, isopectic (Gr. pektikos congealing; L. gelu frost) to the times of winter when ice begins to form, and isothere (Gr.: ther a wild beast) to mean (unbearable) summer temperature.

Hygros is moist (cf., hygrometer) and kinesis, movement in Greek, constituting the term hygrokinematics. Among the different types of clouds, altostratus (L. altus high, cf., altitude; stratum layer, cf., stratosphere) cloud is much larger than for example, cirrocumulus (L. cirrus a tuft; cumulus a heap) cloud. Noctilucent (L. nox, noctis night; lucis light) clouds stand out against a dark night sky.

A Greek root similar in meaning to strophe (see Section 1) is tropos. The affix "tropic" is specifically used in the context of change (i.e., a turning) of a property in response to another. Tropics constitute the area of the celestial sphere (between 23^o28'N and 23^o28'S of Earth's equator) where the Sun appears to turn on reaching its greatest declination. Troposphere is a region where the temperature and pressure fall rapidly with height. The terms "barotropic" and "heliotropic", refer to changes involving pressure (Gr. baros) and diurnal radiation (Gr. helios sun) respectively. Isotropy (Gr. isos same) is the condition when physical properties, e.g., magnetic susceptibility or elastic constants, are same in all directions; in aniosotropy, the physical properties do vary with direction, e.g., magnetic anisotropy.

Table 4: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.3

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. gelu frost	gelisol	G
Gr. helios sun	helium	C
	perihelion	P
Gr. hygros wet, moist	hygroscopic	M
L lucis light	lucid	A
	luciferous	P
L. nox, noctis night	equinox	P
	nocturnal	B

3.4. Geology

3.4.1. Names Rock and mineral names present a substantive topic requiring an extended study in and of themselves, and are not presented in this paper. As an example, the element iron is ferrum in Latin and sideros in Greek, resulting in the mineral siderite (iron carbonate). The latter root word is some times misleading as sideris, the Latin root means star (cf., siderial). Haematite (Gr. haima blood), the principal ore of iron gets its name from its color.

3.4.2. Texture Terms (Table 5): Porphyritic (Gr. porphyros purple) or blastoporphyric (blastos a sprout), poikilitic (Gr. poikilos variegated) and trachytic (Gr. trachys rough) are examples of texture terms.

Table 5: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.2

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. blastos a sprout	blastopsammite;	G
	xenoblastic,	G
Gr. poikilos variegated	poikiloblast	G
	poikilocrystallic,	G
	poikilophytic,	G
	poikilotope,	G
Gr. porphyros purple,	blastoporphyric	G
	glomeroporphyritic,	G
Gr. porphyros purple,	porphyroblastic or	G
	porphyroclastic,	G
	porphyrocrystallic,	G
Gr. porphyros purple,	porphyroskelic,	G
Gr. porphyros purple,	porphyrotope,	G
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
L glomus ball	conglomerate	G

3.4.3. Cave Deposits (Table 6)

Speleothems (Gr. spelaion cave; thema deposit) consist of columnar deposits, e.g., stalagmites (Gr. stalagmos a dropping), cf., stalagmameter). Coincidentally, stalag, in German, is a base camp for the prisoners of war derived from stamm for base and lager, camp. Stalagmameter is an instrument for determining surface tension by drops. Stalactites (Gr. stalaktos a dropping) are so called because they are formed from the top out of the falling water drops.

Table 6: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.3

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. stalagmos a dropping	stalagmameter	P

3.4.4. Geologic age terms (Table 7)

Eon (or aeon) meaning eternity in Latin, is the term applied for the main divisions of geological ages. Archaean (Gr. archi first) is the earliest eon. "Aes", in Latin is copper. Its plural, aera originally meant pieces of copper used in counting and stands for "a great number". Eras are divisions of the eons. "Palaeozoic" (Gr. palaeo ancient); zoe life), Mesozoic (Gr. mesos middle), Cenozoic, or Cainozoic or Kainozoic (Gr. kainos new), Proterozoic (Gr. proteros earlier) and Phanerozoic (Gr. phaneros visible) signify the extent of life that occurred in them. Epoch is a pause (Gr. epi upon; echein to hold). Holocene (Gr. holos whole) is wholly new; it is the current epoch. Going backwards in time, Pleistocene (Gr. pleistos most numerous), Pliocene (pleion greater, more numerous), Miocene (Gr. meion smaller), Oligocene (Gr. oligos, few) and Eocene have progressively smaller number of fossilized living mollusks. In Greek, eos means day break, signifying the starting of the appearance of these fossils in the Eocene. Pal(a)eocene (Gr. palaios ancient) is the earliest Epoch of the Tertiary. A recently coined term "anthropocene" (Gr. anthropos man) represents the era of humankind.

Table 7: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.4

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. anthropos man,	anthropogenic	B
	anthropology	A
	philanthropy	A
Gr. archi first	archbishop	A
Gr. epi upon	epicentre	G
	epifauna	B
	epilimnion	O
	epipelagic	O
Gr. holos whole	holistic	A
	holohyaline	G
	holomictic	O
	holostratotype	G
Gr. meion smaller	meiofauna	B
	mesobenthos	B
	mesoclimate	M
	mesocyclone	M
	mesogeosyncline	G
	mesopause	P
	mesosphere	P
	mesostasis	G
	mesothermal	M
Gr. oligos few	oligomer	C
	oligosaccharide	C
	oligotrophic	B
Gr. palaeo ancient	paleoceanography	O
	Paleocene	G
	paleokarst	G
	paleontology	G
	paleopedology	G
	paleosol	G
	paleosome	G
	paleozoic	G
Gr. phaneros visible,	aphanetic	G
	phanerocrystalline	G
Gr. pleion greater, more numerous	pleochroism	G
	pleomorphic	G
Gr. thema deposit	eonothem	G
	speleothem	G
	synthem	G
Gr. zoe life	zooplankton	B
	zooxanthillae	B
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
Gr. soma body	chromosome	B
Gr. spelaion	cave	G

3.4.5. Common affixes

3.4.5.1. Lith/lite (Table 8)

The affix lith, or its variant lite occurs extensively in geological terms. Lithos is stone in Greek. Lith and lite occur as suffixes to names of several varieties of rock formations according to their area of genesis, mechanism of formation or shape and composition.

i. Area and mechanism of formation : Abyssolith, asthenolith (Gr. sthenos strong), laccolith (Gr. lakkos a reservoir), batholith indicate the source region of the formations. The prefixes "endo" (Gr. endo within, opposite: exo outside) and "acro" (Gr. acros topmost) occur as prefixes in some terms such as "endobatholithic" and "acrobatholithic". Tachylite (Gr. tachys swift) formed by sudden cooling of basalt may acquire a glassy texture to give hyalobasalt (Gr. hyalos glass). The term "rhyolite" (Gr. rhyx a lava stream, rheos flow) is from the stream of lava from which it is formed. Enterolith (Gr. enteron gut) formed in folds is shaped like the lobes of intestines. Saprolite (Gr. sapros rotten) is a soft partially decomposed rock. Xenolith (Gr. xenos strange) is not a native rock. An ereilite (Ger. ur primitive, original) is meteoritic in origin.

ii. Shape: Perlite, also spelled as pearlite (or pearlstone) produces pearl-like masses or pebbles on breaking. Spenolith (Gr. sphenos wedge) is a wedge-like (igneous) intrusion. Ethmolith (Gr. ethmos sieve) is sieve like (funnel shaped). Regolith (Gr. regos a blanket) is like a blanket cover. Phacolith (Gr. phakos a lentil) is lens-shaped. With lopolith (Gr. lope a cloak), sagging occurs at the center as in the case of cloak. Lithophysa (Gr. physa bellows) are bellow-shaped hollows. Zeolites (Gr. zeiin to boil) swell up under the blow pipe. Stromatolites (Gr. stroma a bed, mattress; plural: stromata) are laminated masses. Pisoliths (Gr. pisos peanut) are pea-shaped. Graptolite (Gr. graptos written, graphein to write) is like a writing upon shales. A rhabdolith (Gr. rhabdos rod) is rod-shaped.

iii. Composition: Pedolith (Gr. pedon ground, soil, cf., pedology, pedosphere, pedorelic, pediplain, pedocal) is formed by pedogenic processes. Phytocollite (Gr. phyton plant), anthraxolite (Gr. anthrax charcoal) and spongolite are so named also from their composition.

Stratigraphic units of rocks based on lithology are "geoliths" and those based on geologic age or time of origin are "chronoliths".

Table 8: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.5.1

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms		D
Gr. acros topmost	acromorph		G
Gr. blastos a sprout	blastophytic		G
Gr. blastos a sprout	blastopsammite		G
Gr. blastos a sprout	blastopsephite		G
Gr. endo within	endogenic		A
	endometamorphism		G
	endorheism		G
Gr. exo outside	exorheic		G
Gr. graptos written, graphein to write;	crystallography		C,O
	graphite		C
	lithograph		G
Gr. hyalos glass	hyaloclasic (textures)		G
	hyalophitic		G
	hyalopilitic		G
Gr. Lithos stone	lithium		C
	lithology		G
Gr. ophis snake	granulophitic		G
	subophitic		G
Gr. pedon ground, soil	pediplain		G
	pedocal		G
	pedology		G
	pedorelic		G
	pedosphere		G
Gr. philos friend	atmophile		G
	hydrophilic		G,C
	lithophile		G
	thiophile		C,G
Gr. regos a blanket,	regosol		G
Gr. rhyx a lava stream, rheos flow	endorheism		G
	exorheic		G
	rheidity		G
	rheoignimbrite		G
Gr. sapros rotten	saprogenous ooze		G
	sapropel		G
Gr. sphenos wedge,	sphene		A
	asthenosphere		G
Gr. tachys swift	isotach		M
	tachykardia		A
Gr. xenos strange	xenobiotic		B
	xenogenesis		G
	xenon		C
	xenophile		G
Gr. zeiin to boil	azeotrope		C
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
Gr. theion sulphur		thiol (group)	C
Gr. pelos clay, mud		pelelith	C
Gr. sphaira sphere
Gr. rheos flow
L. pilus hair;
Gr. psammos sand
Gr. psephos a pebble

3.4.5.2. Morphe (Table 9)

Morphe is shape in Greek; morphology is the study of external appearance (i.e., shape). In amorphous (Gr. a without) solids, there is a lack of crystal shape while in ideomorphic (Gr. ideos own, distinct) solids, the original shape retains. "Panideomorphic", is also called "panautomorphic". "Hypidiomorphic" (or hypautomorphic; Gr. hypo sub, under) is similar to "subhedral" (hedra seat). Xenomorphic (Gr. xenos strange, see Table ) rocks have external components embedded in the crystal outline. "Allotriomorphic" (Gr. allotrio alien) means non-crystalline in outward form (but crystalline in internal structure). "Polymorphism" is the property of a single compound occurring in different crystal forms, e.g., calcite and aragonite in the case of CaCO₃. Contrarily, isomorphism is when different minerals exhibit similar shape, e.g., albite and anorthite.

Table 9: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.5.2

Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. hedra seat	anhedral	C
	octahedral	C
Gr. hypo sub, under	hypotension	A
Gr. morphe shape	cryomorphology	G
	geomorphology	G
	hydromorphology.	G
Gr. morphe shape	amorphous	C
	morphogenetic (region)	G
Gr. pan, pantos all	panautomorphic	G
	pangea	G
	panideomorphic	G

3.4.5.3. Meta (Table 10)

Metamorphism (Gr. meta after) refers to a change, in geology referring to rock shape and composition. "Meta" is often implied, e.g., kata(meta)morphism (Gr. kata down, see Section 1), ana(meta)morphism (Gr. ana up, anew) which are breakdown and building up processes respectively.

Table 10: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.5.3

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. meta after	metharmosis (also: metaharmosis	G
Gr. meta after	polymetamorphism	G
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
Gr. harmos a joint fitting	harmonic (motion)

3.4.5.4. Clase (Table 11)

Klasis is breaking in Greek; its derivatives clase, clasis, clast and clastic are common affixes of which several terms are formed. Clasts (also klasts) are produced by physical breakdown of a larger (sedimentary) rock mass by different causative agents. In phenoclasts (Gr. phainein to show) the fracture is seen; in anguiclast (L. anguis snake), the fracture is winding. A similarly meaning Greek root is schizein from which "schist" is derived.

Table 11: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.5.4

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. Klasis breaking	anemoclast	G
	anguclast	G
	atmoclast	G
	autoclastic	G
	cryptoclastic	G
	epiclastic	G
	hyaloclastic	G
	intraclast	G
	lithoclase	G
	orthoclase	G
	periclase	G
	plagioclase	G
	porphyroclastic	G
Gr. Klasis breaking	protointraclast	G
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
Gr. epi upon	epimer	C

3.4.5.5. Oro (Table 12)

In Greek, oroes is mountain, giving rise to terms such as orocline, orogeny, synorogenic (Gr. syn together), orocratic (Gr. kratos strength, power), orography (Gr. graphein to write) and so on. In the term orotath, an orogenic belt, tath (dung in Greek) perhaps signifies the length-wise stretching as in the case of droppings from advancing cattle.

Table 12: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.5.5

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. chloros green,	chlorine	C
	chlorophyll	C,B
	chlorophyte	B
Gr. kratos strength, power	democracy	A
L. placare to appease, i.e., gentle	placable	A
Gr. syn together	synchronous	A
	syncline	G
	syngenetic	G
	syntectic	G
	syntexis	G
	synthem	G

3.4.5.6. Cline (Table 13)

Some terms based on "cline" were earlier given under "limnology and oceanography" (Section 4.2). In geology, examples of terms based on this affix (Gr. klinein to lean) are; syncline (Gr. syn together), geosyncline, orocline and orogeosyncline. Changing the prefix, we get more terms like aclinal, anaclinal (Gr. ana up, anew), pericline, diaclinal (Gr. dia through, across), anticline (Gr. anti against), anticlinorium, geanticline, and placanticline (L. placare to appease, i.e., gentle). The terms "triclinic" and "monoclinic" given to crystalline solids is to signify the orientation of their crystal axes. Clinochlore is green (Gr. chloros green). In the terms phyllofacies (Gr. phullon leaf) and phyllomorphic (stage), compression aided advancement to near extreme stage of the geological process is indicated.

Table 13: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.5.6

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. allos different	allogene	G
	allophane	G
	anallobaric	M
Gr. gennaine, to produce	chalkogen	G,C
Gr. keras	keratin	G,C
	ozokerite	G
L. petra rock	petrograph;	G
	petrology,	G
Gr. piezein to press	piezoglypt;	G
Gr. piezein to press	piezomagnetism	P
	piezometric	P
Gr. sapros rotten	saprolite	G
Gr. tekton builder	neotectonics	G
	syntectonic	G
Part B: Terms deriving from (linked to) new roots in Part A terms
Gr. chalkos ore	chalcopyrite
Gr. glyptos carved
Gr. neos new, recent	Neogene	G
Gr. ozein to smell	ozone ( which has a fishy smell	C

3.4.5.7. Gen

Gennaine, in Greek is "to produce". This affix is adapted for use in various forms as gene, genesis, genetic/genic, genous and geny.

Hydrogen (Gr. hydros water) produces water, nitrogen nitre (the common name of potassium nitrate, the fertilizer) and oxygen, acids (Gr. oxys sharp; oxygen was originally thought to be an essential element of all acids). "Aulacogen" is from "aula" (L. aula courtyard, hall). "Aula" is member of a hall as distinguished from "collegian" (i.e., at a higher level). "Chalcogen" (Gr. chalkos ore) is ore-former. Kerogen produces wax (Gr. keras)), i.e., it is a petroleum (L. petra rock; oleum oil) precursor, and hence also called a petrologen. Allogene (Gr. allos different) is of a mineral or rock while geotectogene or simply tectogene (Gr. tekton builder) is of a mountain. Epeirogeny (Gr. epi upon) concerns the mountain's external features, i.e., topography. Diagenesis (Gr. dia through), halmyrogenesis (Gr. hals salt; halmyros salty, briny) and authigenesis (Gr. authentikos true, original) pertain to minerals or sediments. Examples in the adjective form of genic/genetic/genous are cryogenic (Gr. kryos frost), endogenous (Gr. endo within), morphogenetic, syngenetic (also, ideogenous), piezogenic (Gr. piezein to press), pneumatogenic (Gr. pneumatos breath), saprogenous (Gr. sapros rotten) (ooze), and organogenic.

3.4.5.8. Chrono (Table 14)

Dendrochronology (Gr. dendron tree) is based on tree rings, and tephrochronology (Gr. tephra ashes) on volcanic ash. Orthogeochronology (Gr. orthos straight, correct) depends on the stratigraphically significant species while parageochronology (Gr. para other) depends on other accompanying species.

Table 14: Additional reading for roots producing multiple terms of Section 3.4.5.8

Part A: Terms deriving from (linked to) roots already discussed
Root	Terms	D
Gr. dendron tree	dendrogram	A
Gr. orthos straight, correct	orthoclase	G
	orthogneiss	G
	orthotectic	G
	orthotill	G
Gr. para other	paragenesis	G
	paragneiss	G
	paralimnion	O
	parastratotype	G
	paratill	G
	paroxysmal	G
Gr. tephra ashes	tephigram	G

3.5. Miscellaneous terms

In the above sections, particular attention has been given to roots yielding multiple terms. Due to (self imposed) space constraints, quite a few terms were not discussed as their roots have limited applicability or because they do not belong to any of the groups identified. These terms and their roots are given in Table 15.

Table 15: Some Additional Cross Connected Terms and their Roots (not covered in text)

	Root	Terms	D
Gr.	amphi on both sides; L. ambo both	amphibole	G
L.	clavis key; clavus nail	autoclave	A
L.	collum neck	pseudocol	G
L.	cretum to grow	concrete	A
		gypcrete	G
		salcrete	G
Gr.	dromos running	amphidromic	G
Gr.	dys bad	dysharmonic	P
Gr.	engys near	engysseismology	G
L.	fugere to flee	fugacity	C
	glacies ice	periglacial	G
Gr.	glyptos carved	piezoglypt	G
Gr.	gnathos a jaw	plectognathi	B
L.	gypsos gypsum, chalk		G
Gr.	haptein to fasten	synapsis	M
L.	ignis fire	igneous rock	G
L.	imber, imbris a shower of rain	ignimbrite	G
Gr.	kephalos head	leptocephalus	B
Ger.	kern a grain, nucleus	kernel	B
		steinkern	G
Gr.	kome hair of head	Neocomian	G
Gr.	lepton slender; lepta (plural)	leptogeosyncline	G
Gr.	melas black, melan (s)	melanine	G
L.	nivis snow	niveoglacial	G
Gr.	plektos twisted	plectoptera	B
Gr.	psilos bare	psilomelane	G
Gr.	skopein to view	microscope	B
Ger	stein stone	rillenstein	G
		tonstein	G
	syn together	synoptic (data)	M
Some Terms not involving cross-connection
Cel	ceara red	charmouthian	G
Ger	feld field	feldspar	G
Gr	chasma: chainein, to gape	rhombochasm	G
Gr	cheír hand	chiropody	G
		achiral	C
Gr	chroa color	dichroism	P
Gr	chthonos, soil	allochthonous	G
		autochthonous	G
Gr	drosos dew, moisture	drosometer	M
Gr	floris a flower	flora	B
Gr	myelos marrow	myelonite	G
Gr	pachys thick	isopach	M
Gr	pachys thick	pachyderm	B
Gr	phreatia cistern	phreatomagmatic	G
Gr	spodos ashes	spodosol	G
Gr	the letter D (delta)	prodelta	G
Gr	xeros dry	Xeralf	G
		xerography	A
Gr	xylon wood	xyloid (lignite)	B
Gr	zeugon yoked	zeugosyncline	G
		zygote	B
L	aestus tide	estuary	O
L	annus a year	perennial	A
L	argilla, Gr argillos white clay; arges white	argillaceous	G
L	dextrorsum (earlier: dextrovorsum) toward the right	dextral (fold)	G
L	durus hard	duraluminium	C
		durite,	G
		durain,	G
		durargid,	G
		duricrust	G
		duripan	G
L	gavis heavy	gravity	P
		gravimetry	C
L	lingua the tongue	lingulate,	G,O
		lingua franca	A
L	litoris shore	littoral	O
L	paene almost	peneplain	G
		peninsula (insula an island)	O
L	quaqua withersoever	quaquaversal	G
L	siccus dry	desiccation	G

L	sinister left, on the left side of	sinistral coiling	B,G
L	vertere, versum to turn	verse	A
L	viridis green	viridite	G
		vitrin	G
		vitrinite	G
L	volcanus God of fire	volcanogenic	G

4. Conclusion

Classical technical terms in Earth sciences derive from about three hundred Greek, followed by Latin and German word roots. More terms continue to be derived as newer concepts develop. Frequently used affixes include: iso, lith (or lite), gen, geo, cline, morphic, hydro, ortho, para, thermo, clase, syn, chrono, strato, pseudo, thermo etc. The knowledge of etymology of technical terms can possibly remove the often intimidating appearance of technical terms and help students to better understand the concepts represented. The work may also catalyze exercises which take stock of the terms with a view towards examining the relevance of some old confusing terms, and in some cases to suggest new appropriate terms that can better explain current knowledge.

5. Acknowledgment

I thank emeritus professors T. Ramamohana Rao and I.V. Radhakrishna Murty of the Geology and Geophysics departments respectively of Andhra University, Visakhapatnam for their critical review of the manuscript.

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