【NASC/NAT / NAI】

comes from the Latin verb nasci , meaning 'to be born.' Words that have ocme directly from Latin carry the root nasc- or nat-, but those that took a detour through French bear a telltale nai- words like renaissance, 'rebirth,' or naive , 'unsophisticated.'

cognate同類的, innate天生的, nascent, renaissance

【AB/ABS】

comes to us from Latin , and means 'from , ' 'away,' or 'off.' Abuse is the use of something in the

wrong way. To abduct is to 'lead away from ' or kidnap. Aberrant vehavior is vehavior that 'wanders away from ' what is usually acceptable. But there are so many words that include these roots , it would be absurd to try to list them all here.

abscond , abstemious, abstraction, abstruse

【TEN/TIN /TAIN】

, from the Latin verb tenere and the related word tenax, basically means 'hold ' or ' hold on to .' A tenant is the 'holder' of an apartment, house , or land , but not necessarily the owner. A lieutenant governor may 'hold the position' or 'serve in lieu' of the governor when necessary.