To reject is to throw back, to project is to throw forward and to eject is to throw out. ject means “throw.” A second root, mit (also miss), means “send” or “let go”: to transmit is to send across, a mission is a sending and to dismiss is to send away.
Key idea
ject = throw. mit, miss = send, let go.
A prefix tells you where the throwing or sending goes. dejected: thrown down. interject: thrown in between. conjecture: thrown together (a guess put together from scraps). intermittent: letting go in between, so stopping and starting. remiss: let go back, slack.
The parts and their words
Words taken apart
| Word and meaning | Parts, and what they say |
|---|---|
| conjecture a guess made without full evidence | con- together + ject throw + -ure → “a throwing together (of guesses)” |
| dejected sad and discouraged | de- down + ject throw + -ed → “thrown down” |
| interject to break in with a remark | inter- between + ject throw → “throw in between” |
| intermittent stopping and starting | inter- between + mitt let go + -ent → “letting go in between” |
| remiss careless about one’s duties | re- back + miss let go → “let go slack” |
| submit to give in to authority | sub- under + mit send → “send under (give in)” |
| premise a statement assumed true and used to reason toward a conclusion | pre- before + mis send + -e → “a thing sent before” |
| demise death, or the end of something | de- away + mis send + -e → “a sending away (an end)” |
| unremitting never relaxing or slackening | un- not + re- back + mitt let go + -ing → “never letting up” |
Worked example: Use the parts
The movie projector threw a bright picture onto the wall. Explain the word.
- Take it apart: pro- (forward) + ject (throw) + -or (a thing that).
- Literally: “a thing that throws forward.”
- A projector throws light forward onto a screen.
Answer: A machine that throws a picture forward onto a screen.
Meet the words
Common mistake
Missing the root when a prefix changes the look of the word. submit is sub- + mit (send under: give in). demise is de- + mis (a sending away: an end or death). premise is pre- + mis, a statement sent ahead of the argument.