Word part · Latin root
Viv root words: meaning and 17 examples
In short
The Latin root viv (from Latin) means "live, or life". It is also spelled vive and vit. Words with it include revive, revived, reviving, revival, vital and vitals. Spelled vit in vital and vitamin, and vive at the end of revive and survive.
- Part
- viv
- Meaning
- live, or life
- Origin
- Latin
- Also spelled
- vive, vit
- Words listed
- 17
Spelled vit in vital and vitamin, and vive at the end of revive and survive. A vital sign is a sign of life.
Words with the Latin root viv
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
Start here: short, common words (about grades 3 and 4)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| vital | vit (root or base)+al (suffix)→vital | needed for life; very important |
More words: survive
Next: longer words (about grades 5 and 6)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| revive | re (prefix)+vive (root or base)→revive | bring back to life or to strength |
| revived | re (prefix)+vive (root or base)+ed (suffix)→reviveddrop the e | brought back to life or to strength |
| reviving | re (prefix)+vive (root or base)+ing (suffix)→revivingdrop the e | bringing back to life, now |
| revival | re (prefix)+viv (root or base)+al (suffix)→revival | a return to life or to popularity |
| vitals | vit (root or base)+al (suffix)+s (suffix)→vitals | the signs of life a nurse checks, like pulse and breathing |
More words: survival, vivid, vividly, vitamin, vitamins
Stretch: long or less common words (about grades 7 and 8)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| vitality | vit (root or base)+al (suffix)+ity (suffix)→vitality | lively energy |
| vitally | vit (root or base)+al (suffix)+ly (suffix)→vitally | in a way that is needed for life |
More words: survivor, survivors, revitalize
Where does viv 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:
- vital, vitals, vitality, vitally
- In the middle:
- revival
- At the end:
- revive, revived, reviving
How do you teach the root viv?
Show revive first: re + vive, bring back to life. A wilted plant revives after water. Then teach the vit spelling with vital and vitamin. A vital organ keeps you alive, and vitamins help your body live and grow. Survive is worth naming too, though its first part, sur, isn't taught here. It means live through something hard.
A quick routine
Write viv, vive and vit across the top of the board. Say, "All three mean live or life." Read revive, vital and vitamin, and have the student point to the spelling of the root in each. Then ask, "What do a revived plant and a vitamin have in common?" The answer you want: both are about staying alive.
What do students mix up with viv?
Visit and vision look close on the page but come from the root that means see. Vivid does belong; it describes colors so bright they seem alive. If a student puts invite on the list, show that the vit there is just letters in a word that means ask.
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 viv mean?
Viv means "live, or life". It is a Latin root, also spelled vive and vit. Spelled vit in vital and vitamin, and vive at the end of revive and survive. A vital sign is a sign of life.
What are some words with the root viv?
Start with vital and survive. Then move to revive, revived, vitality and vitally. This page lists 17 words in all, most with a word sum that shows the parts.
Are vitamin and vital from the same root?
Yes. Both come from the Latin word for life, spelled vit. Vital things keep you alive, and vitamins were named for being needed for life.
Related word parts
- re-again, or back
- -alhaving to do with
- -itythe state or quality of
- motmove
- spirbreathe
- -lyin a certain way
Terms on this page: morpheme, root, prefix, suffix, base word, word sum, morphology.
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