ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Word root

A word root is like the foundation of a building or the stem of a flower. It is the part of a word that holds the most important meaning. Just like how a building needs a strong foundation to stand tall, a word needs a strong root to have a clear and specific meaning.

For example, the word "garden" has the word root "gard." This root means "enclosed open space for plants." So when we add the letters "en" and "ing" to "gard," we get "enclosing" and "gardening," which both relate to the idea of having a space to plant and grow things.

Word roots help us to understand how words are related and can give us clues about their meanings. So just like how a flower stem helps us to identify what kind of flower it is, a word root helps us to understand what a word means.