Sometimes, complicated vocabulary is merely expressions of several other words combined. This means studying parts of a word can help a learner to get close to the meaning of a whole word. For example, if you met a word such as “indomitable”, you could unlock the meaning of the word even without mastering it from the dictionary definition by studying the parts that make the whole word. When you look closely at the word you will find it contains other words such as able”, “in” and “dom”. The prefix ‘in” is the same as ‘im’ meaning ‘not’ (consider indescribable, impassable). The suffix “-able” means “ability to” (consider changeable). The word “dom” sometimes comes at the beginning of a word (prefix), at the end of a word (suffix) or within the word (infix). Wherever “dom” appears it basically means “rule” or “place of rule”. The word “indomitable” there for means ‘cannot be ruled’ (unruly). You will find many other words with the word “dom” at the beginning or at the end of the word. Just bear in mind that it is related to ruling. For instance: kingdom is an area where a king rules — the same as chiefdom, dukedom and etcetera. Consider other words such as freedom, boredom and stardom. Using the above explanation the word freedom is literally “free rule” which is close to the actual meaning “free from rules” where things happen without being controlled. At this stage, you should be able to relate “boredom” with “the state of being bored” and “stardom” with “being famous” or a superstar. As we have seen above, do not get confused when you find “dom” at the beginning of a word. Words such as dominate, dominion, dominant or domain, all carry the sense of “ruling over” or “having power of influence”. If you have seen a mosque or some ancient Roman buildings, you realise a round vault on the roof. This part of the structure is called “dome” because it is hovering over the structure. At this last point, you should be able to realise that words with “dom” are found in literature connected to laws, governance and religion. The writer is a professional English Language instructor
