Minor Roots: MUR-

Just another brick in the wall

Saturdays are perfect days for sturdy surprises. Surprise—we’re talking about the minor root MUR- today!

The Latin word murus meant wall or defensive wall, conjuring both a sense of strength and the idea of a building being defined by the walls that form it. Words derived from the root MUR- (wall) carry those same connotations:

extramural  (adj) - happening between or involving the members of multiple schools, colleges, or institutions; outside the building; intercollegiate

immure (verb) - to enclose, confine, or seclude, as if within a wall or tomb; to imprison
BREAKDOWN:  IM- (in) + MUR- (wall)

intermural (adj) - between walls or within the confines of a building or courtyard

intramural (adj) - happening within or involving the members of one school, college, or institution; inside the building (sometimes intermural)

mural (noun) - an artwork painted or applied directly on a wall or ceiling.
—mural also means of, pertaining to, or resembling a wall
—a muralist is an artist who creates works on walls

**ROOT RELATIONSHIPS**
 The Latin word munire meaning to fortify was related to murus and gives us the root MUNI- meaning fortify in words like ammunition and munitions.