# Etyma: Word Roots & Vocabulary — Etymology: GRE, SAT & TOEFL

> Etymology: GRE, SAT & TOEFL (iPhone/iPad app by 可文 麦.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/etyma-word-roots-and-vocabulary/id6774593037 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [可文 麦](https://appshunter.io/developer/1863588117)
- Category: Education, Reference
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 27 MB
- Languages: American English, Chinese (Simplified, China)
- Released: 2026-06-10
- Data updated: 2026-08-14
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/etyma-word-roots-and-vocabulary/id6774593037/reviews.md

## What is Etyma?

Etyma helps you learn English words through etymology. Master roots and affixes and you'll decode the meaning of new words, spell them correctly by their parts, and make fewer spelling mistakes — instead of memorizing letter by letter. Once you grasp building blocks like spect (to see), port (to carry), and vis (to see), hundreds of derived words fall into place.

■ Why start from roots & affixes

· Decode meaning — break a new word into its parts and infer what it means.
· Spell it right — remembering chunks like in + spect sticks better than letter-by-letter.
· Fewer mistakes — knowing patterns like -tion / -sion and ad- assimilation helps you avoid common misspellings.

■ Features

· Roots & Affixes Library
Roots and affixes organized by origin (Latin, Greek, Old English, French and more), each with meaning, IPA, etymology, mnemonics and derived words.

· Smart Decomposition
Type any word and see it broken into root + affixes to understand how it's built.

· Spaced Repetition
Reviews scheduled by the SM-2 algorithm, reminding you right before you forget for maximum efficiency.

· Daily Challenge
Ten questions a day across four formats to reinforce and test your mastery.

· Etymology Reading
Meet the roots you've learned in real context — highlighted and tappable for instant breakdown.

· Stats & Achievements
A 28-day heatmap, origin distribution, day streaks and 12 achievements make progress visible.

· Mistake Bank
Wrong answers are collected automatically; answer correctly twice in a row to graduate them.

■ Pricing

7-day free trial of all features. The first 5 roots, affixes and related words are free forever. A one-time purchase unlocks everything permanently — no subscription, no renewals.

■ Privacy

All data is stored on your device and works fully offline.

Start learning vocabulary the etymological way, and give every word a story you can trace.

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime Unlock | $0.99 | one-time |



## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.0 — 2026-08-07

2.0 is the biggest update Etyma has had — it grows from "understanding roots" into "practising until they stick".

· A whole new practice system — four new question types (spelling, dictation, sentence gap-fill, and Chinese-to-English) join the existing meaning quiz, root assembly and flip-card self-check, so one word family can be drilled seven different ways. You now pick the type yourself instead of letting the app decide
· Mastery and the family map — every word carries its own mastery level that brightens as you practise. Open a family and the whole set lights up cell by cell, so what's solid and what's shaky is obvious at a glance
· Drill just the weak ones — pull out the words you're least sure of in a family and focus on those, instead of spending time on words you already know
· Mistakes come with an explanation — get a spelling or choice wrong and you'll see a morpheme-level comparison showing exactly which part slipped, not just a red cross
· Quizzes count — practice sessions now feed your streak and study heatmap, so the work you put in shows up
· A fuller daily challenge — set your own question count (5–50), and missed questions land in your mistake bank for review from the summary screen
· Long-press to jump — long-press any root, affix or word row and the shortcut menu opens grouped into Learn / Practise / Look up, so you don't have to open a detail page to find the entry point. Now covered consistently across every list in the app
· Lists show what you want — in word lists that same menu ends with toggles for phonetics, the meaning bridge, morpheme glosses, examples and collocations, and each list remembers its own setting. Compact when you're skimming, detailed when you're digging in
· A much fuller library — CET-4 collocations now reach 100% coverage (1,587 words), every entry has a real example sentence with context, and broken morpheme example links are down to zero
· Plenty of polish — tap a word for a half-sheet card, US/UK markers on phonetics, nicer share posters, and hundreds of smaller refinements

Thanks for using Etyma!

### 1.4 — 2026-07-14

This update brings a brand-new Root & Affix Cheat Sheet and smoother everyday use:

· New Root & Affix Cheat Sheet — browse every root and affix on one screen; sort by frequency or A–Z, filter by type, and search across both roots and affixes. Open any family for a dense cheat table, and export a beautiful poster in one tap
· Smarter word breakdown — inflected and derived forms (past tense / plurals / adverbs, etc.) now break down to their roots too
· Flexible daily reminders — set multiple reminder times to fit your routine
· More to share — turn any word or affix (not just families) into a poster
· A growing, polished library — many more hand-checked words with clearer, more natural meanings
· Refinements — smoother onboarding and search (friendlier pinyin), plus nicer switch animations and tap feel

Thanks for using Etyma!

### 1.3 — 2026-07-01

This update takes word-family learning and sharing to the next level:

· New word-family mind map — a root's family unfolds as a radial map; switch between radial and list views, with a center-root overview
· Share a word-family poster in one tap — turn a root's family into a beautiful poster, with a download QR code
· Many more meaning bridges — thousands of words now show the one-line path from literal parts to modern meaning
· Growing library — many more words and morpheme breakdowns
· Refreshed rank-card sharing — Wrapped-style skins (multiple palettes) and a rank collection carousel
· Smoother search — keeps your query across tabs, friendlier pinyin input
· Fixes & polish — fixed an occasional "root not found" on tap and rare missing family words

Thanks for using Etyma!

### 1.2 — 2026-06-16

This update makes the library richer and learning smoother:

· Growing library — morpheme breakdowns added for more words, plus new "semantic bridges" that explain the path from parts to a word's full meaning more clearly
· Finer breakdowns — more complete handling of affix variants, each labeled with its original root/affix form, and clearer distinction between look-alike morphemes
· New "View all related words" — see every word under a given root or affix from its detail page
· "Previous · Next" paging on detail pages
· Phonetics (IPA) now shown in word lists, following your UK / US accent setting
· New "High-frequency first" sorting in the root library (switchable in Settings) so common roots are easier to find
· Smoother purchase restoration, plus various UI polish

Thanks for using Etyma!

### 1.1 — 2026-06-13

This update improves content quality and polishes the experience:

· More accurate word breakdowns — corrected root assignments and added morpheme decompositions for more words
· Smoother search — typing English on a Pinyin keyboard now shows results instantly, no need to tap search
· New "Previous · Next" paging on root and affix detail pages
· Refined collection names, list ordering, and other UI details
· Fixed Restore Purchase messaging

Thanks for using Etyma!

## More apps by 可文 麦

- [ByteGuard - Password Manager](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/byteguard-password-manager/id6756919439)
- [Sprout: Kids Habit Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sprout-kids-habit-tracker/id6780191990)

All apps by 可文 麦: https://appshunter.io/developer/1863588117

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-14.*