Roots, FREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

The word root is the basic part that carries the principle meaning of the word. The part that precedes and is attached to the "root" or "base" of a word is called a prefix. On the contrary, a suffix is the part that follows the base of a word. A new word can be built by root + suffix, prefix + root or prefix + root + suffix. Parts of a word can often give you clues about the meaning of the word. If you know common elements, they can help you a lot with the identification of new vocabulary. For example,

"far"	"again, back"	"mark"
tele vision	react	signal
telescope	revise	design
telephone	rerun	signature

"come"	"knowledge"	"place"
avenue	biology	refinery
convention	zoology	library
intervene	geology	factory

The word "predictable" consists of three parts:
       (1) the prefix "pre-," which means "before",
       (2) the root "-dict-," which means "to tell,"
and (3) the suffix "-able," which means, "that can be done."
So "predictable" means "that can be seen or described before
a future happening..."