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Question

Difficulty: EasyGreek Roots

The town built a new power station to produce geothermal energy. What does the word geothermal most nearly mean?

  1. A
    Related to geometric shapes
  2. B
    Produced by cold ocean currents
  3. Relating to heat from the earthAnswer
  4. D
    Generated from airborne sound waves

Answer

Relating to heat from the earth
The word geothermal is constructed from two Greek roots: geo- (meaning 'earth') and therm- (meaning 'heat'), alongside the adjective suffix -al ('pertaining to'). Therefore, geothermal energy directly translates to energy or heat originating from the earth.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the Greek root morphemes in the target word geothermal.
The word breaks down into geo- (meaning earth) and therm- (meaning heat), followed by the adjective suffix -al.
Breaking down compound terms into base Greek roots reveals their core semantic meaning.
2
Combine the meanings of the roots to determine the full definition.
The combined morphemes signify energy or heat derived from within the earth.
Synthesizing the constituent roots yields the precise definition required by the context.

Key Concept

The Greek root geo- means earth and therm- means heat, forming terms related to heat from inside the earth.
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Topics

Greek Roots

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