Combine the root psych, meaning “mind,” with the suffix -logy, meaning “study of,” to form a word meaning “study of the mind.”
- Which of the following is a compound word?
a. urinary
b. skeletal
c. gastrointestinal
d. coronary
e. artery
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
- Psychology is the word formed by combining the root “psych” (meaning “mind”) with the suffix “-logy” (meaning “study of”). Therefore, psychology means the study of the mind, encompassing fields that explore mental processes, behavior, emotions, cognition, and other related aspects of human and animal function.
- The correct answer for the compound word is c. gastrointestinal.
Explanation: A compound word is formed by combining two or more smaller words to create a new word with a specific meaning. Let’s break down each option:
- a. urinary – This word comes from “urine” and the suffix “-ary,” which means “pertaining to.” It is not a compound word because it doesn’t consist of two standalone words; instead, it modifies “urine” to indicate something related to it.
- b. skeletal – Similar to “urinary,” this word comes from the root “skeleton” and the suffix “-al,” which means “pertaining to.” It’s not a compound word since it modifies “skeleton” but doesn’t combine two distinct words.
- c. gastrointestinal – This is a compound word because it is made up of two separate terms: “gastro-” (referring to the stomach) and “intestinal” (referring to the intestines). Together, they form a word that means related to the stomach and intestines, commonly used in medical contexts.
- d. coronary – This word comes from the root “coron-” (meaning “crown” or “circle”) and the suffix “-ary,” meaning “pertaining to.” It’s not a compound word since it doesn’t combine two distinct standalone words.
- e. artery – This word comes from the Greek “arteria,” meaning “windpipe,” and does not consist of two independent words. Therefore, it’s not a compound word.
Thus, gastrointestinal is the compound word, as it combines “gastro-” and “intestinal” to describe something related to both the stomach and intestines.