#wordroot

🌿 Let’s talk about the Latin root FOLI (meaning ‘leaf’) and how it’s been quietly growing through the English language for centuries!

🍃📖 Most people think of leaves as simple things. But this tiny Latin root, folium, has branched out into some of the most commonly used words in our everyday vocabulary—and once you know it, you’ll start spotting it EVERYWHERE. 👀

🌱 Foliage? That’s just ‘the leaves’ of a plant. Pretty straightforward.

📄 Folio? A large sheet of paper—because early paper was compared to a broad, flat leaf.

🌿 Foliation? The process of leaves growing, or foliage itself.

💼 Portfolio? Literally a ‘carrier of sheets/leaves,’ i.e., your work, bundled like pages on a branch.

✨ Exfoliate? You’re casting off layers of skin—just like a tree shedding its leaves in autumn. Language is a living, breathing thing—rooted in the past but constantly growing into the future. 🌳

The ancient Romans had no idea that their word for ‘leaf’ would one day describe your skincare routine AND your career highlights reel. 😂

Word Root Spotlight: lev ✨

📖 Origin: Latin levare — “to lift” or “light in weight”

Words with lev all share the idea of lifting, lightness, or rising. ⬆️

🔤 Examples:

Elevate — to lift up

Levitate — to rise or float in the air

Alleviate — to lighten or ease (pain or burden)

Leverage — the power to lift or influence

Relieve — to remove a burden or pressure

💡 Memory Tip: If it has lev in it, think lighter, higher, easier.