In ancient times, the language was not as diverse as it is now. Ancient humans hardly knew how to communicate through verbal communication and written words were a faraway land for them. This is the reason the oldest historical records often have pictures that were either carved or painted. According to historians, the first written record in Latin inscriptions was The Forum Inscription (Lapis Niger meaning black stone) which was written in the 6th century BC. While we are talking about Latin do you know which Latin root means light? Is Sol a Latin root for light? What possibly be the root word for luminous? Let’s begin and find the answers.
1. What is Latin?
Originally, it was a dialect spoken in present-day Rome which was known as the Tiber, and they called it Latinum. It was a classical language that belonged to the italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin alphabets are derived from the Greek and Etruscan alphabets. This language has the following parts:
- Five declensions
- Four verb conjugations
- Six tenses
- Six to seven noun cases
- Three distinct grammatical genders
- Three moods
- Three persons
- Two numbers
- Two or three aspects
- Two voices
2. What is the Influence of Latin on Present Day Languages?
Latin influences the English language and historically several words have been derived from the English lexicon. Particularly, Ancient Greek and Latin roots are used in various fields, namely anatomy, taxonomy, law, and medicine for their English theology. (See What Language did They Speak in Rome?)
3. What is the Meaning of the Latin Root Words?
A basic word with which a prefix or suffix is added is known as a root word. The term root is used for the word because it serves as a basis for forming the new word. However, a root word is a word in itself. Well, before moving towards which Latin root means light, understand root words with this example. Lovely is the word that contains love and ly. Here, love is the root word and ly is the suffix. As you can see, love is a word in itself along with being the root word for lovely.
On the other hand, a root can be the basis of a new word, but it is not a word on its own. Here is an example, the word reject has two parts, re and ject. The word ject is the Latin root and re is the prefix. Here you can see that ject does not stand as a word. (See Chutzpah Origin and Its Usage)
4. What are Common Latin Root Words?
Here are some of the most commonly used Latin words along with their meaning and English words that are made from them.
| Latin Root | Meaning | English word |
| Ambi | Both | Ambidextrous or ambiguous |
| Aqua | Water | Aquarium or aquamarine |
| Aud | To hear | Audience or audition |
| Bene | Good | Benevolent or benefactor |
| Cent | One hundred | Percent or century |
| Circum | Around | Circumstance or circumference |
| contra or counter | Against | Encounter or contradict |
| Dict | To say | Dictator or dictation |
| duc or duct | To lead | Induce or conduct |
| Fac | To do or to make | Manufacture or factory |
| Form | Shape | Reform or conform |
| Fort | Strength | Fortress or fortitude |
| Fract | To break | Fraction or fracture |
| Ject | Throw | Rejection or projection |
| Jud | Judge | Prejudice or judicial |
| Mal | Bad | Malefactor or malevolent |
| Mater | Mother | Maternity or material |
| Mit | To send | Admit or transmit |
| Mort | Death | Mortician or mortal |
| Multi | Many | Multiple or multimedia |
| Pater | Father | Paternity or paternal |
| Port | To carry | Transportation or portable |
| Rupt | To break | Disruption or bankrupt |
| scrib or scribe | To write | Prescribe or inscription |
| sect or sec | To cut | Section or bisect |
| Sent | To feel or to send | Resent or consent |
| Spect | To look | Spectator or inspection |
| Struct | To build | Restructure or destruction |
| vid or vis | To see | Televise or video |
| Voc | To call or voice | Advocate or vocalize |
5. Is Sol a Latin Root for Light?
Which Latin root means light? Yes, as per the 15th century in old English evidence, it has been mentioned that sol is the Latin root for the Sun or sunlight. It has another Proto-Indo-European variant sawel, which means the sun. As per Watkins, the prefix el was originally a suffix that was considered as an alternative form of the word suwen, that was with a suffix en. But both the words were represented by the Latin word sol which means sun. However, if we consider the Avestan language, the Latin root word sol or solis holds the meaning of light and as per the Latin language, it means sunlight too. Check out What is the Latin for Sunshine?
6. What Other Languages took the Root Word Sol?
Since light and sun are not much different, take a moment to know about sol before moving ahead towards which Latin root means light. According to the hypothetical source of evidence, various languages took the word and generated new words while some kept it as it was. Here is the list of all those words along with their language and meaning, if different from the sun.
- Avestan – hvar (sun, light, and heavens)
- Avestan – xueng (sun)
- Breton – heol
- German – Sonne
- Gothic – sauil
- Gothic – sunno (the sun)
- Greek – helios
- Latin – sol (the sun and sunlight)
- Lithuanian – saule
- Old Church Slavonic – slunice
- Old Cornish – heuul
- Old English – sol (sun)
- Old English – sunne
- Old English – swegl (heavens and the sun)
- Old Irish – fur-sunned (lighting up)
- Old Irish – suil (eye)
- Sanskrit – suryah
- Welsh – haul
7. Which other such Word Originates from Sol?
Since Latin and German words are used in naming the heavenly bodies, astronomical events, etc, there are some other words for which sol was preferably the root word.
| Root origin | Meaning | English words |
| sol or solis | Sun | Circumpolar, extrasolar, insolate, insolation, solar, solarium, soliform, soliscence, solstice, subsolar |
| solari | Soothe and comfort | Solace, console, consolation |
| solus | Only and alone | desolate, desolation, desolatory, saudade, sole, soliloquy, solitaire, solitary, solitude, solitudinarian, solitudinous, solivagous, solo, sullen |
8. Which Latin Root means Light?
The English word light comes from the Latin root word luc. The word lev means light or bright. It was generated into the words like,
- Lux – light, white, bright, clear
- Lucisis – sacred to deity
- Lucere – to shine, to stand out due to honor, beauty, etc
Here is the table of the words that were generated with the root etymology of the Latin root word luc. All these words are related to your answer of – which Latin root means light.
| English word | Meaning |
| Elucidate, Elucidation | Clarity |
| Lucent | Giving off light or glowing with |
| Lucid | Bright or luminous |
| Lucifer | Morning star, plant venus |
| Luciferin | Organic substance producing light found in a luminescent organism |
| Luciferase | An enzyme catalyzing the oxidation of luciferin to produce a yellow glow |
| Luciferous | Illuminating, bringing light, or insight |
| Luculent | Brightly shining |
| Noctilucent | Glowing at night |
| Pellucid or Pellucidity | Admitting the maximum passage of light |
| Relucent | Shining by reflecting light |
| Translucent or Translucid | Allowing light to pass |
| Translucidus | Extensive patch revealing sun and moon |
9. Which Latin Root Word also means Light?
The English word light in weight comes from the Latin root word lev. It also means to lift, to raise, or to light. Here is the list for you to understand better the Latin root word, English meaning, and English words developed from them. Here is an extended answer to your question- which Latin root means light?
| English word | Meaning |
| Alleviate or Alleviation | To light or to reduce suffering, to lighten or to lessen |
| Elevate | To raise, lift |
| Elevation | The action of being raised |
| Levade | Lifting the front body by lightening it (in animals) |
| Levant | To rise |
| Lever | French word that means sunrise) |
| Levitate | To rise, to float |
| Levitation | The rising, the lifting of a person or thing |
| Relevé | A rise to the foot (a pose in ballet dancing) |
| Relieve | To ease, alleviate |
| Sublevation | The act of rising high |
| Superelevation | Additional elevation |
10. What is the Root Word for Luminous?
In the early 15th century records, it is mentioned that the English adjective word luminous means shiny or full of light. It was derived from the Latin word luminosus and the Latin root for luminous is lumin. According to another source, it is taken from the Latin root word leuk which means brightness and light. Other English words generated from this word are luminously and luminosity.
So, this was the root word for luminous. Well, today you got the answer to which Latin root means light. But is Sol a Latin root for light or does it hold any other meaning too? (Also read How do You Say June in Spanish?)
