Word part · Latin root
Fid root words: meaning and 12 examples
In short
The Latin root fid (from Latin) means "trust, or faith". It is also spelled fide and fidel. Words with it include confide, confides, confided, confiding, confident and confidently. Almost every everyday fid word starts with con: confide, confident.
- Part
- fid
- Meaning
- trust, or faith
- Origin
- Latin
- Also spelled
- fide, fidel
- Words listed
- 12
Almost every everyday fid word starts with con: confide, confident. Fidelity is the plain form, meaning staying true.
Words with the Latin root fid
The list runs from shorter, common words to longer ones. The bands are a rough guide built from syllable count and how common each word is in our word list, not a grade-level standard. Read each word, then its word sum.
Colors:prefixroot or basesuffix
Next: longer words (about grades 5 and 6)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| confide | con (prefix)+fide (root or base)→confide | tell a secret to someone you trust |
| confides | con (prefix)+fide (root or base)+s (suffix)→confides | tells a secret to someone trusted (one person, now) |
| confided | con (prefix)+fide (root or base)+ed (suffix)→confideddrop the e | told a secret to someone trusted in the past |
| confiding | con (prefix)+fide (root or base)+ing (suffix)→confidingdrop the e | telling a secret to someone trusted, now |
| confident | con (prefix)+fid (root or base)+ent (suffix)→confident | trusting that you can do it |
| confidence | confide (root or base)+ence (suffix)→confidencedrop the e | trust, especially in yourself |
Stretch: long or less common words (about grades 7 and 8)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| confidently | con (prefix)+fid (root or base)+ent (suffix)+ly (suffix)→confidently | in a way that shows trust in yourself |
| overconfident | over (prefix)+con (prefix)+fid (root or base)+ent (suffix)→overconfident | too sure of yourself |
| fidelity | fidel (root or base)+ity (suffix)→fidelity | staying true and loyal |
More words: confidences, confidential, confidentiality
Where does fid sit in a word?
A root can come first, last or in the middle. Students who only look at the start of a word miss half of these.
- At the start:
- fidelity
- In the middle:
- confident, confidently, overconfident
- At the end:
- confide, confides, confided, confiding
How do you teach the root fid?
Fid means trust or faith. Start with confident, because students hear it all the time: a confident student trusts that they can do the task. Then show confide, which means to trust someone enough to tell them a secret. Confidential describes the secret itself. The prefix con means with, so these words are about trust shared with someone. Fidelity is a good extra for older students.
A quick routine
Write con + fid + ent and say, "Fid means trust. Confident means trusting in yourself." Ask the student to read confide and confidential, then ask, "Who are you trusting in each word?" In confide you trust a friend; in confidential you trust the reader to keep quiet. End with a quick spoken sentence: "I feel confident when..." and let the student finish it.
What do students mix up with fid?
The letters f, i, d show up in fiddle, which has nothing to do with trust. Students also mix up confident and confidant. Confidant (with an a) names the person you confide in. Say both slowly and point to the last syllable. Most students only need confident, so keep confidant as a side note.
Some of these words change spelling where the parts join. The spelling rules pages cover dropping e, doubling and changing y to i. For the sounds inside these words, see the phonics word lists. Routines that fit: meanings of prefixes and suffixes, circle the parts, read the base and flexible routine for big words.
Questions people ask
What does the root fid mean?
Fid means "trust, or faith". It is a Latin root, also spelled fide and fidel. Almost every everyday fid word starts with con: confide, confident. Fidelity is the plain form, meaning staying true.
What are some words with the root fid?
Start with confide, confides, confided and confiding. Then move to confidently and overconfident. This page lists 12 words in all, most with a word sum that shows the parts.
What does the con in confident mean?
Con means with. Confident first meant having full trust, with con making the trust stronger. The same con appears in confide and confidential.
Related word parts
- credbelieve, or trust
- con-with, or together
- -anta person who does something, or doing
- -itythe state or quality of
- over-too much, or above
Terms on this page: morpheme, root, prefix, suffix, base word, word sum, morphology.
Teach word parts with ready lessons
Literacy Trail has word parts lessons with words to read, build, split and spell, and full-screen players for the student. Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial.