Prefix · element · water
Means "water": aquarium, aquatic, aquifer, aqueduct, aquaculture, aqueous.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Aqua- comes from Latin "aqua" (water) and appears in scientific and everyday vocabulary. Aquarium = water container; aquatic = living or occurring in water; aquifer = water carrier (underground water reserve); aqueduct = water conduit; aquaculture = water farming. Spanish equivalent "acua-" / "acu-": acuario, acuático, acuífero, acueducto, acuicultura.
Aqua- spans from everyday objects to environmental science: the aquarium (a tank to display fish), the aquifer (an underground freshwater reservoir), the Roman aqueduct (an engineering feat to carry water across distances), and aquaculture (fish and shellfish farming). The prefix is central to environmental and natural science vocabulary.
Combines with Latin roots to create vocabulary about water, aquatic life, and engineering:
Pronunciation: /ˈæk.wə/. Spanish cognates: acuario (aquarium), acuático (aquatic), acuífero (aquifer), acueducto (aqueduct), acuicultura (aquaculture). All are direct cognates with minor spelling adjustments.
aqua-/ˈæk.wə/
Tap the button to hear how the prefix sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
Both use aqua- (water) but refer to very different things: aquifer (aqua + ferre = water carrier) is a geological formation; aquarium (aqua + arium = place of water) is a human-built structure. Context usually makes the distinction clear, but the words look similar enough to cause confusion.
A trick to remember it
Aqua- = water. Direct Spanish cognates: acuario (aquarium), acuático (aquatic), acuífero (aquifer), acueducto (aqueduct). Same Latin root in both languages with minor spelling adjustments.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
What is aquaculture?
The prefix aqua- means "water": aquarium, aquatic, aquifer, aqueduct, aquaculture, aqueous. In Spanish it usually maps to acua- / acu-.
The prefix aqua- is pronounced /ˈæk.wə/. For example, "aquarium".
"rium" becomes "aquarium". It is a typical example of the aqua- prefix.
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