奥可教育 写给 8 天攻克 8000 词汇的奥可教育学员 各位奥可教育的学员大家好： 感谢大家对我们的支持。在奥可教育的成长过程中，受到了无数世俗的阻碍，但这丝毫 没有影响整个事态的发展。这个道理很简单，世界上的大多数人是愚蠢的，当你所做的 事情是大多数人都反对的时候，有两种可能，要么是大成功，要么是大失败，只要根据 常识判断出来这件事情不是大失败，你就必然会获得极大的成功。现实已经给予了奥可 教育一个成功的充分定义。 奥可教育 2013-7-1 奥可教育 INDEX PART I ROOT ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......3 LESSON ONE ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......3 LESSON TWO ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......5 LESSON THREE...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......8 LESSON FOUR ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......12 LESSON FIVE ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......16 LESSON SIX ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......21 LESSON SEVEN ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......26 LESSON EIGHT...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......30 LESSON NINE ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......35 LESSON TEN ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......40 LESSON ELEVEN ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......44 LESSON TWELVE ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......49 LESSON THIRTEEN...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......55 LESSON FOURTEEN..... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......60 PART II ORIGIN ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...65 Part III SENTENCE Part IV QUIZ ... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ....237 QUIZ ONE QUIZ TWO QUIZ THREE QUIZ FOUR QUIZ FIVE QUIZ SIX QUIZ SEVEN QUIZ EIGHT QUIZ NINE QUIZ TEN QUIZ ELEVEN QUIZ TWELVE ............ ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...118 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......237 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......238 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......240 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......241 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......243 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......244 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......246 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......248 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......250 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......252 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......254 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......256 1 奥可教育 QUIZ THIRTEEN ..... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......258 QUIZ FOURTEEN ..... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......259 2 奥可教育 PART I ROOT LESSON ONE BELL rebel rebellious rebellion belligerent belligerence bellicose antebellum PACT/PEASE compact compactly compactness compactor impact impacted impaction pacify pacifist pact appease HOSP/HOST hostage hospice hostel inhospitable AM/IM amateur amatory amiable amity amorist amorous enemy enmity amicable enamored inimical paramour CRIM crime criminal criminate recriminate criminology decriminalize incriminate recrimination PROB/PROV prove proof probable probably probability probate probation probationary probationer probative probe probing approbate approbatory approve approvable approval disapproval disproof improve improvement reprobation reprove reproof reprieve approbation disprove probity reprobate GRAV grave gravitation gravimeter aggravate aggravation grief grieve aggrieve gravid gravitas gravitate gravity LEV lever leverage levy levitate levitation alleviation elevation elevator relevance relieve relief alleviate elevate leavening levity ACT action actionable activate activation activator active activity actual actuality actualize actually actuate enact enactment exact exacting exaction exactitude exactly inaction inactive interact react reactor reaction transact transaction agency agent agile agility agitate agitation agitator agony cogent cogitate exigent prodigal AGOGUE demagogue pedagogue synagogue 3 奥可教育 AL/OL/ UL aliment alimental alimentary alimentation alimony adolescence adolescent prolific prolificacy proliferate adult adulthood adultness ALT altar altimeter altitude exalt exaltation ALTER/ALI alter alteration altercate altercation alternate alternation alternative alternator altruism altruistic alien alienable alienate alienation alias alibi adulterate adultery ANG anger angry anguish anxiety anxious ANGL/ANGUL angle angular equiangular rectangle triangle triangular 4 奥可教育 LESSON TWO AG agitate litigate prodigal VEN/VENT synagogue adventitious adventure adventurous venture venturous misadventure circumvent circumvention contravene contravention convene convention conventional conventioneer convenient convenience event eventful eventual eventuate invent invention inventor prevent prevention preventive intervene intervenient supervene avenue revenue souvenir advent provenance venturesome venue CAP/CEP/CIP capable capacious capacity caption captivate captivating captive captivity captor capture accept acceptable acceptance acceptation accepted conceive conceivable concept conception deceive deceivable deceit deception deceptive except exception exceptionable exceptional inception inceptive intercept interception interceptor perceive percept perception perceptive precept preceptor receive receiver receivable receipt receptacle receptive recipient susceptibility susceptive anticipate anticipation participate participation participle emancipate emancipation reception incipient perceptible susceptible FIN fine final finale finalize finance financial finish finitude infinite infinitive infinitude confine confinement define definite definition indefinite refine refined refinement affinity definitive infinitesimal finite JAC/JEC abject abjection deject eject ejection inject injection interject interjection object objection objective objectivity project projectile projector reject rejection subject subjection subjective ejaculate ejaculation subjacent adjacent conjecture dejected trajectory TRACT trace track tract tractable traction tractor trail trailer train trait treat treatment treatise treatment abstract abstraction attract attraction contract contractile contraction contractor contractual detraction distract distraction extract extraction extract extraction extractor protract protraction protractor retrace retract retractile subtract subtraction entreaty maltreat portray portrait retreat subtrahend detract protracted retraction intractable DUC abduct adduct conduce conduct conductor deduce deducible deduct deductive 5 奥可教育 ductile ductility educate education educe inducement induct induction inductive introduce introduction oviduct produce producer product production productive reduce reduced reduction seduce seducer semiconductor subdue traduce viaduct conducive deduction induce seduction SEC/SEQU sequel sequence sequent sequential consequence consequent subsequence subsequent consecution consecutive executive executor persecute persecution prosecute prosecution prosecutor sue ensue pursue pursuance pursuit suit suitable suite consequential execute obsequious sequential AMBI/AMPHI ambidextrous ambient ambiguous ambition ambivalent amphibian amphitheater ambiguous ambient ambivalent amphitheater EP/EPI epic epidemic epigram epigraph epilogue episode epitome epoch ephemeral epiphyte epitaph epithet HYPO/HYP hypocrisy hypostasis hypothecate hypothermia hypothesis hypochondriac hypocrisy hypothermia hypothetical THERM/THERMO thermal thermocouple thermonuclear thermocline AQU aquamarine aquatic aqueduct aquifer ARM arms armada armament armed armistice armory army alarm disarm disarmament AUG auction auctioneer audacity augment augmentative august author authority authoritative authorize authentic authenticity AVI avian aviary aviate aviation aviator aviatrix aviculture auspice auspicious inauspicious augur augury inaugurate inauguration BAND/BOND band bandage bond bondage contraband bound boundary BAR barrage barrel barricade barrier barring barrister debar embargo embarrass embarrassment embarrassing BAT baton battalion batter battered battery battle battlement abate combat combative 6 奥可教育 debate BAT/BAS acrobat acrobatic acrobatics aerobatic aerobatics BREV breviary brevity brief briefly abbreviate abbreviation abridge abridgement CALC calcify calcium calculate calculable calculation calculator calculus chalk CAMP campaign campfire campsite campus encamp encampment CAND candle candid candidate candidacy incandescent incandescence 7 奥可教育 LESSON THREE POLY polycentric polychrome polygamy polygon polyhedron polymorphous polysyllable polytheism polychromatic polyglot polymer polyphony PRIM prime primer primeval primitive primitivism primogenitor primrose primus primacy primary primarily primate prince principal principle premier primal primogeniture primordial primiparous HOM/HOMO homocentric homodont homograph homophile homosexual homonym homogeneous homologous homophone DIS disable disadvantage disagree disannul disapprove disband disbelieve discard discern disconsolate discontinue discord discourage discourse discreet discrepancy discrete discriminate disease disembark disfavor disfigure disfranchise disgorge disguise disgust dishearten disincline disintegrate dismember dismiss dispersion displace display dispose disregard disrupt dissolve distract distribute dispatch dessert digest dilapidate dilute dimension diminish diverge differ difficult diffident diffuse spend stain diffraction dissension disseminate dissipate VOR voracity carnivore devour devouringly herbivore insectivore insectivorous omnivore carnivorous herbivorous omnivorous voracious CARN carnage carnal carnation carnival carnivore carnivorous incarnate incarnation carrion discarnate carnage carnal carnival incarnation CRED credential credible credit creditor credo credulous accredit discredit discreditable credence creditable credulity creed FID fidelity faith faithful confide confidant confidence confident confidential diffidence infidel infidelity defy defiance defiant perfidious affidavit diffident fiduciary perfidy CURR/CURS current currently currency concur concurrence curriculum cursive excursion excursive incur incursion incursive occur occurrence recur recurrence recurrent succor course concourse discourse intercourse recourse concurrent cursory 8 奥可教育 discursive precursor PED pedal pedestal pedicure pedometer biped centipede quadruped tripod expedition expeditionary expeditious expedience impede expedient expedite impediment pedestrian FLEC/FLEX flexible flexibility flexion circumflex inflexible inflexibility deflection inflect reflect reflection reflective reflex reflexive deflect flexor genuflect inflection POST postdate postdoctoral posterity postern postgraduate postlude postmeridian postnatal postnuptial postmortem postpone postscript posterior posthumous postmodern CAR career cargo carry carriage carrier cart carter charge discharge chariot CAST broadcast forecast outcast overcast telecast CAV cave cavern cavernous cavity concave excavate excavator CELER celerity accelerate acceleration accelerator decelerate CERN/CRET concern concerning concernment discern discernable discernment discreet discrete discretion excrete excrement secret secretary secrete secretion CERT ascertain certain certainty certify certifiable certificate certification certitude concert disconcert CITE citable citation excite excitable excitant excitement incite incitement recite recital recitation resuscitate resuscitator solicit solicitation solicitor solicitous solicitude CLIN acclivity decline declension declination declivity declivous incline inclination disincline disinclination proclivity recline climax COCT concoct concoction decoct decoction precocious precocity COGNIS agnostic cognition cognitive cognizable cognizance cognizant diagnose diagnosis ignore ignorance ignorant incognito prognosis prognosticate recognize 9 奥可教育 recognizable recognizance recognition COMMUN commune communal communalize communicate communication communion communism communist community COUNT countdown counter account accountable discount recount COVER coverage covert discover discovery recover uncover CRUC crucial crucify cruciform crucifix crusade cruise crux excruciate CULT cultivable cultivate cultivated cultivation culture cultural acculturate agriculture agricultural apiculture aquiculture aviculture floriculture sericulture colony colonial colonist colonize CUSS concuss concussion discuss discussion percussion repercussion quash DEB/DU debt debtor indebted due duty dutiful DEI deify deific deification deiform deism deist deity DENT dental dentate dentist dentition denture edentate edentulous indent DERM dermatology dermatologist epidermis hypoderm pachyderm DIGN dignity dignify dignitary indignity indignant dainty disdain disdainful DIVID/DIVIS divide dividend division divisive divisor individual individualism individuality indivisible subdivide DON donate donation donor anecdote antidote condone pardon dose dosage dower dowry endow DORM dormancy dormant dormitory dormouse DOX dogma dogmatic dogmatism doxology orthodox paradox paradoxical DRAW drawback drawer indrawn outdraw overdraw redraw withdraw 10 奥可教育 DROM aerodrome hippodrome syndrome DUR durable durance duration endure endurance indurate nondurable obdurate perdurable ECO ecology economy economic economical economics economist economize EGO egocentric egoism egoist egomania egotism egotist ELECTR electric electrical electrician electricity electrify electrocute electrochemistry electrode electrolysis electron electronics EM/EMPT example exemplar exemplify exempt preempt prompt promptitude promptly redeem redeemer redemption ransom EQU equable equal equalitarian equality equanimity equate equation equator equinox equinoctial equipoise equiponderate equity equitable equivalent equivocal adequate adequacy ESS/EST essence essential interest interesting disinterested uninterested quintessence FA/FABL/FABUL fable fabulous affable affability confabulate ineffable nefarious prefatory 11 奥可教育 LESSON FOUR MAL maladjustment maladministration maladroit malady malaise malcontent malediction malefactor maleficent malfeasance malformation malfunction malice malignant malinger malnutrition maltreat malevolent malicious malign malnourished CATA catalogue catapult cataract catastrophe category cataclysm catacomb catalyst catatonic PROT/PROTO protoplast protozoan protagonist protocol protoplasm prototype ANTE antebellum antecedent antediluvian antemeridian anticipate ancient ancestor antechamber antedate anterior ante meridiem ORTH/ORTHO orthodoxy orthogonal orthographic orthopedic orthopedist orthopsychiatry orthodontics orthodox orthopedics orthography RECT rectal rectangle rectifiable rectifier rectum correct correction correctitude corrective corrector direct direction directive director directory erect erectile erection erectness erector escort incorrect indirect rectitude rectify rectilinear rector EU eugenics eulogy eupepsia euphony euthanasia evangel eugenic euphemism euphoria evangelism DYS dysfunctional dyslexia dyspeptic dystrophy ROG rogation abrogation arrogance arrogant arrogation derogate interrogate interrogation interrogative interrogator interrogatory abrogate arrogate derogatory prerogative QUIS query quest question questionable questionnaire acquire acquirement acquisition conquer conqueror conquest disquisition exquisite inquire inquiry inquest inquisitive require requirement requisite prerequisite request sequester inquisition perquisite acquisitive requisition PLE ply pliable pliers apply appliance applicable applicant application imply 12 奥可教育 implicate implication implicit reply replica replicate replication complicate complicated complicity complex complexion complexity explicate explicable explication explicit exploit perplex perplexed perplexity supplicate supplicant deploy deployment display employ employee employer employment simple simpleton simplicity simplify duple duplex duplicate duplicator duplicity diploma diplomatic diplomacy diplomatist triple triplicate quadruple quadruplicate multiple multiplex multiply multiplicity multiplicative plait pleat plight complement deplete implement replete METR meter metrology metronome aerometer anemometer barometer centimeter chronometer chronometry diameter dynamometer geometry hydrometer hygrometer perimeter seismometer symmetry thermometer trigonometry voltmeter metric odometer symmetrical tachometer FAC/FRONT façade facet facial facelift deface efface ineffaceable interface preface superficial surface front frontier affront confront effrontery FALL/FALS fallacy fallacious fallible infallible false falsehood falsify falsification falsity fault faulty default FAM fame famous infamy infamous defame defamation defamatory fate fatal infant infancy infanticide infantine FARE farewell thoroughfare warfare welfare FEND/FEST fend fence defend defendant defense defensive offend offense offensive infest infestation manifest manifestation manifesto FERV fervid fervidity fervent fervency fervor effervescent perfervid FESS confess confession profess profession professional professor FEST festal festive festival festivity festoon FICT/FIG fictile fiction fictional fictitious fictive feign feint figment FIRM firmament affirm affirmative confirm confirmation confirmed disaffirm infirm infirmary infirmity 13 奥可教育 FIX fixate fixation fixity fixture affix infix prefix suffix transfix transfixion FLAM/FLAGR flame flammable flamboyant inflame inflammable inflammation inflammatory flagrant conflagration effulgent FLAT flatulent flatulence conflate conflation deflate deflation inflate inflation FLICT afflict affliction afflictive conflict inflict infliction FLOR flora floral florist florescent floret floriferous efflorescence flourish FOLI foliage foliate folio defoliate exfoliate portfolio trifoliate FORT forte fortify fortification fortifier fortress fortitude force forcible comfort comfortable discomfort effort enforce enforcement reinforce reinforcement perforce GAM bigamy bigamist bigamous monogamy monogamist monogamous polygamist polygamous GER/GEST gestate gestation gesticulate gesture congest congestion digest digestion exaggerate exaggeration indigestion ingest suggest suggestion GRAM/GRAPH grammar grammarian cryptogram diagram epigram monogram parallelogram program programmer telegram gramophone graph graphic autograph biography autobiography cacography calligraphy dictograph geography lexicography lithography orthography phonograph photograph stenography telegraph topography GRAND grandeur grandiloquent grandiose grandiosity aggrandize aggrandizement HAB/HIBIT habit habitual habitant habituate habitude habitat habitation cohabit inhabit inhabitation inhabitant exhibit exhibition inhibit inhibition prohibit prohibition HAP mishap happen happening haphazard perhaps HELIO heliocentric heliogram heliograph heliotherapy heliotropism helium HER heir heiress heirloom coheir heredity hereditary heritage heritable inherit 14 奥可教育 inheritance inheritor disinherit HERB herbivorous herb herbage herbal herbalist herbicide HORR horrible horrid horrify horrific horrification horror abhor abhorrent abhorrence HUM posthumous human humane humanism humanitarian humanity humanize humankind homicide homage humble humiliate humiliation humility humus exhume inhume HYPNO hypnotic hypnotist hypnotism hypnotize hypnosis hypnotherapy IDIO idiographic idiom idiomatic idiomorphic idiopathic idiosyncrasy INSUL insular insularity insulate insulation insulator island isle islet isolate isolation peninsula IT itinerant itinerary itinerate ambit ambition ambitious circuit circuitous coition initiate initiation initiative initiator initial perish perishable transit transition transitive transitory transient JOIN adjoin conjoin disjoin rejoin subjoin junction juncture adjunct adjunction conjunct conjunction disjunction injunction subjunctive JOURN Journal journalism journey adjourn sojourn diary diurnal JUD judge judgment judicature judicatory judicial judiciary judicious adjudicate prejudice JUST/JURIS just justice justify adjust adjustment injustice unjust unjustifiable juridical jurisdiction jurisprudence jury jurist juror injure injurious injury LABOR laboratory labored laborer laborious belabor collaborate elaborate LAPS lapse collapse collapsible elapse relapse 15 奥可教育 LESSON FIVE AUD audible audience audiometer audio-visual auditorium obedient obey disobedient auditor auditory audition inaudible SON sonant sonorous sonority consonant consonance dissonance resonant resonate resonator subsonic supersonic unison unisonant unisonous dissonant resonance sonic ultrasound ERR error erratum aberrance aberration inerrant inerratic aberrant errant erratic erroneous CED/CES abscess access accessible accession antecede antecedence cede cessation cession concede concessive exceed exceeding exceedingly excess excessive incessant intercede intercession intercessor precede precedence preceding precession proceed proceeding proceeds process procession recede recess recession recessive retrocede retrocession secede secession succeed success successful succession successive successor accede antecedent concession precedent VID/VIS visa visible vision visit visitant visitor visor vista visual visualize advise advisement adviser advisory advice devise device envisage envision envy invidious evident evidence improvise invisible prevision provident providential providence provision provisory prudent prudence prudential purvey purveyance purveyor revise revision supervise supervision supervisor supervisory surveillance survey surveyor televise television interview interviewee purview review visage vis-à-vis visionary visitation SPIC/SPEC spy espy espionage espial species special specialist specialty specimen spice specify specific specious spectacle spectacular spectator spectral specter spectrum speculate speculator speculum scope auspice frontispiece perspicuous transpicuous despise despicable despite aspect circumspect conspectus expect expectant expectancy expectation inspect inspection inspector introspect perspective prospect prospective respect respectable respectful respective retrospect retrospective suspect suspicion suspicious auspicious conspicuous introspection perspicacious VOC/VOK vocal vocalist vocalize vocabulary vocation vociferate vouch advocate 16 奥可教育 advocacy avouch avow convoke convocation equivocal equivoque evoke evocation invoke invocation provoking provocation revoke revocation irrevocable equivocate irrevocable provoke vociferous PHON phoneme phonemics phonetic phonetician phonic phonics phonogram phonograph phonology cacophonous euphony euphonious gramophone homophone interphone megaphone microphone telephone xylophone blaspheme euphemism prophecy prophesy prophet cacophony phonetic polyphonic symphony CUR accurate accuracy cure curer curious curiosity curio curate curator manicure pedicure procurable procurator procurement secure security curative curator procure sinecure PERI pericardium perigee perihelion period periphery periscope perimeter periodontal peripatetic peripheral SENT/SENS sense sensibility sensible sensitive sensitivity sensory sensual sensate sensation sentience sentimental sentimentality sentence sententious assent consent consentient consensus dissent dissenter dissentient dissension extrasensory insensate insensible insensitive nonsense presentiment resent resentful resentment scent sensational sentient sentiment sensuous SOPH sophism sophist sophistic sophisticate sophistication sophomore philosophy philosopher philosophic sophistry sophisticated sophomoric theosophy LATER lateral latitude bilateral collateral equilateral multilateral quadrilateral unilateral LAV lave lava lavatory lavish launder laundress laundry deluge dilute LAX/LYSE lax laxative laxity relax relaxation release analyze analysis analytic paralyze paralysis palsy LECT/LEG lectern lection lecture lecturer collect collection elect election elector electorate intellect intellectual neglect neglectful recollect recollection select selection legend legendary legible legion diligent diligence elegant elegance eligible intelligent intelligence intelligible negligent negligence negligible sacrilege 17 奥可教育 LEG legal legislate legislation legislative legislator legislature legist legitimate litigate litigation allege allegation allegiance privilege LIBER liberal liberalism liberalist liberality liberalize liberalization liberate liberation liberator liberty libertarian libertine LIBR/LIB library librarian libretto librettist libel libelous LIC license licensee licenser licentiate licentious illicit LIG legate ligament ligature oblige obligate obligation obligatory religion religious league colleague colligate liable liability ally alliance allied rally LINGU lingual linguist linguistic linguistics bilingual monolingual multilingual sublingual trilingual language LIQU liquate liquefy liquefaction liquid liquidity liquidize liquor LITER literal literalism literally literary literate literature alliterate illiteracy illiterate obliterate preliterate transliterate LOC local locale localism locality localize locate location allocate collocate collocation dislocate dislocation relocate relocation translocation locus lieu LONG longevity longitude longitudinal along belong elongate elongation length lengthen lengthy oblong prolong prolongation LUMIN luminance luminary luminescence luminosity luminous illuminate illumine LUST/LUC luster lustrous illustrate illustration illustrious lucent lucid lucidity Lucifer luculent elucidate pellucid translucent MAGN/MAJ/MAX magnanimous magnanimity magnate magnify magnificent magnificence magnifier magniloquent magniloquence magnitude majesty majestic major majority maxim maximal maximum climax anticlimax 18 奥可教育 MAN/MANU manacle manage management manager manicure manifest manipulate manipulation manual manufacture manumit manuscript emancipate emancipation MARK marked markedly marker demarcate demarcation remark remarkable MECHAN mechanic mechanical mechanics mechanism mechanize MED medic medical medicate medication medicine remedy remediable remedial irremediable MEDI medium medial median mediate mediation mediator mediocre mediaeval Mediterranean immediate intermediate intermediation intermediary MELAN melancholia melancholic melancholy melanin melanoma MEMOR memorable memorial memory memorize memorandum memoir memento commemorate commemoration remember remembrance MENT mental mentalist mentality mention amentia comment commentary demented dementia vehement mind remind reminder reminiscent reminiscence MERC mercantile mercenary mercer merchandise merchant market marketing mercy merciful merciless commerce commercial MERG merge mergence merger emerge emergence emergency emergent emersion immerge immerse immersion submerge submergence submersion submersible MIGR migrate migrant migration migratory emigrate emigrant emigration immigrant immigration transmigrate transmigration MILIT militant militancy military militarize militarism militate militia demilitarize demilitarization remilitarize remilitarization MIN eminent eminence imminent imminence preeminent preeminence prominent prominence 19 奥可教育 MIN minify minim minimal minimize minimum minor minority minus minuscule minute minutia mince minister ministry administer administration administrative comminute diminish diminution diminutive miniature manikin MIR admire admirer admiration admirable miracle miraculous mirage mirror marvel marvelous 20 奥可教育 LESSON SIX TEND/TENT tend tendency tender tendon tense tensile tension tent attend attendance attendant attention attentive contend distensible distension extend extensible extensile extension extensive extensor extent hypertension intend intended intendance intendment intense intensify intensification intension intensity intensive intent intention intentional ostensible ostensive ostentation ostentatious portent portentous pretend pretentious pretence pretension superintend superintendence superintendent tenuous attenuate attenuation attenuator extenuate extenuation contentious distend portend tendentious PEND/PENS pendant pending pendulous pendulum append appendix appendicitis compendious compendium depend dependant dependence dependency expenditure expense expensive impend impending independence independency independent interdependent interdependence perpendicular spend suspend suspenders suspense suspension suspensor pension pensive compensate compensation dispense dispensable indispensable dispensary dispenser dispensation recompense poise counterpoise ponder ponderous preponderate preponderant appendage expend propensity stipend PAN pan-American panchromatic panorama pantheism pantheon pantomime panacea pandemonium panegyric panoply EXTRA extracurricular extrajudicial extramural extraordinary extrasensory extreme extremity extravagant extramundane extrapolate extrovert extraneous PHOS/PHOT photochemistry photocomposition photoconduction photocopy photocopier photocurrent photoelectric photogenic photography photograph photographer photometer photophobia photosensitive photosynthesis phototherapy phototube phosphorescent photogenic photon photosynthesis LUC elucidate lucent lucubration translucent MOR/MORT mortal mortality immortal mortification mortuary morbid morbidity mortgage postmortem immortality moribund mortician mortify 21 奥可教育 NEC/NIC/NOX nocuous noxious innocent innocence obnoxious internecine necrosis noxious pernicious HER/HES adhere adherence adhesion adhesive cohere coherence coherent cohesive inhere inherence inhesion hesitate hesitation hesitant adherent cohesion incoherent inherent FUG fugacious febrifuge refuge refugee centrifuge fugitive fugue subterfuge COSM cosmic cosmogony cosmonaut microcosm cosmetic cosmology cosmopolitan cosmos SCI science scientific scientist conscience conscious consciousness subconscious unconscious nescient nescience omniscient prescience conscientious omniscience prescient unconscionable JUNCT join adjoin conjoin disjoin rejoin subjoin junction juncture adjunction conjunct conjunction subjunctive adjunct disjunction injunction junta PART parting partake partial partiality participate participant participation participator particle particular particularity particulate partition partner partnership apart apartment compartment counterpart depart department departure impartation impartiality impartment parcel portion apportion proportion proportional impart impartial participle partisan MIT/MIS missile mission missionary message messenger admit admission admittance commit commitment committee commission commissioner compromise demise demission dismiss dismissal emit emission intermit intermittence intermittent intermission manumit omit omission omissible permit permission premise pretermission promise promising promissory remiss remit remitter remittent remission submit submission submissive surmise transmit transmission emissary manumission missive remittance PEL/PULS pulse pulsate pulsation compulsion compulsive compulsory dispel expellant expulsion expulsive impellent impulse impulsion impulsive propel propellant propeller propulsion propulsive repel repellent repulse repulsive peal appeal appealing appellant appellation appellative repeal compel expel impel repulsion 22 奥可教育 MIX mixer mixture admix admixture intermix intermixture premix MOD mode modal model moderate moderation moderator modern modernize modest modesty modify modification modifier modish modulate modulation commodity commodious commode accommodate accommodation outmoded MONSTR monster monstrous demonstrate demonstration remonstrate remonstrative remonstrance remonstrant MOR moral morale moralist morality moralize moralization amoral demoralize demoralization immoral unmoral MOUNT mountain mountainous dismount paramount promontory remount surmount surmountable MOV/MOB/MOT move movement movable remove removable mob mobile mobilize mobilization automobile demobilize motion motivate motivation motive motif motor motorize commotion demote emotion emotional locomotion locomotive promote promoter promotion remote remoteness moment momentary momentous momentum mutiny mutinous MUR mural muralist extramural immure immurement intramural MYST mystery mysterious mystic mystical mysticism mystify myth NAU/NAV nausea nauseate nauseous nautical aeronaut aeronautics astronaut navy naval navigate navigation navigator navigable circumnavigate circumnavigation NECRO necrology necromancy necromancer necropolis necrosis NECT/NEX connect connection connective connector disconnect disconnected interconnect interconnection annex annexation nexus NEUR/NEURO/NERV neural neuralgia neurasthenia neuritis neurobiology neurochemistry neurology neurological neurosis neurotic nervous enervate innervate unnerve 23 奥可教育 NEUTR neuter neutral neutralism neutralist neutrality neutralize neutron NIHIL nihilism nihilist nihilistic nihility annihilate annihilation annihilator NOCT/NOX nocturnal equinox equinoctial NORM normal normalize normalization normality normally abnormal abnormality enormity enormous subnormal supernormal NOT note noted notable notary notarize notarization notation notice noticeable notify notification notion notorious annotate annotation connote connotation denote denotation NOUNCE announce announcement annunciate denounce denunciation enunciate enunciation pronounce renunciation NOV pronouncement pronunciation renounce renouncement novel novelette novelist novelty novice novitiate innovate innovation innovator renovate renovation NUL/NULL null nullify nullification nullity annul annulment NUMBER numberless numerable numeral numerate numerical enumerate enumeration innumerable NUTRI nutrient nutriment nutrition nutritious nutritive innutrition malnutrition OCUL ocular oculist binocular inoculate inoculation monocular ONYM homonym onomatopoeia acronym anonym anonymous antonym cryptonym metonymy patronymic pseudonym synonym OPER opera operable operant operate operatic operation operational operative operator cooperate cooperative cooperator OPT optimism optimist optimum opt option optional adopt adoption adoptive 24 奥可教育 OPT/OPTO optic optical optician optics optometrist myopia myopic ORA oral orate oration orator oratorical oratorio oratory oracle oracular adoration inexorable inexorability perorate peroration ORDER/ORDIN primordial order orderly ordinal ordinance ordinary ordinarily ordinate ordination coordinate coordination coordinator disorder extraordinary extraordinarily inordinate subordinate subordination ORI orient oriental orientate orientation origin original originality originate originative originator aboriginal abortion disorient disorientation reorient reorientation ORN ornament ornamental ornamentation ornate adorn adornment OSS/OSTEO ossify ossification ossuary osteoarthritis osteopathy PAN pantry company companion companionship accompany PAR pare parade apparatus prepare preparation preparatory repair reparable reparation reparative separate separation PAR parity compare comparable comparability comparative comparison disparate disparity imparity pair peer peerage peerless umpire PAR appear appearance apparent apparition transparent PAR parent parental parentage oviparous viviparous 25 奥可教育 LESSON SEVEN PUT compute computer computerize computation depute deputation deputy dispute disputable disputation imputation indisputable repute reputable disreputable disrepute amputate disputatious impute putative reputed LOG catalogue dialogue prologue epilogue logic logical apology apologia apologist apologue apologize analogy analogous anthropology biology chronology entomology etymology eulogize geology meteorology mineralogy mythology neology pathology philology phrenology physiology psychology theology trilogy zoology colloquial colloquy eloquent eloquence loquacious loquacity obloquy soliloquy locution circumlocution elocution interlocution prolocutor eulogy monologue neologism genealogy TERR terrace terrain terrene territory territorial exterritorial extraterritorial inter interment disinter disinterment Mediterranean parterre subterranean terrarium terrestrial MAR marine submarine transmarine ultramarine aquamarine marina mariner maritime PATH passion passionate passive passivism compassion compassionate dispassion dispassionate patient impatient compatible compatibility incompatible pathos pathetic antipathy antipathetic apathy neuropathy sympathize sympathy apathetic empathy pathology sociopath PEN/PUN penalize penalty penitence penitent penitentiary repent repentance repentant punish punishment impunity penal penance punitive MATR/METR maternal matriarchy matricide matrimony matrix matron maternity matriculate matrilineal metropolitan MONI monition monument monumental monumentalize admonition admonitory premonitory summon admonish monitory monitor premonition CANT canticle recant chant enchant enchantment accent accentuate cantata 26 奥可教育 incantation cantor descant LUD/LUS allusion collude delude delusion elude elusion elusive illusion disillusion interlude postlude allude collusion ludicrous prelude PHAN/PHEN phantom phase fantasy fantasia fantastic fancy fancied fanciful phenomenal diaphanous emphasize emphasis emphatic phantasm phantasmagoria phenomenon diaphanous VER very veridical verifiable verification verily verisimilitude veritable veracious veracity verdict aver verify verisimilar verity TURB turbidity turbulence disturb disturbance perturbation trouble troublesome troublous perturb turbine turbulent turbid VOLU/VOLV volume voluminous volute convolve convolution devolve evolve evolutionism involve involvement involution revolve revolver revolution revolutionary revolt devolution evolution voluble convoluted FAC/FEC/FIC fact factor factory faction factional factious factitious factotum facture benefactor malefactor manufacture facilitate facility facsimile faculty difficult difficulty affect affectation affection affectionate confect confectionary confectionery defect defection effect effective effectual infect infection infectious disinfect perfect perfection imperfect prefect prefecture refection refectory deficient deficiency efficacy efficient efficiency magnificent magnificence proficiency profit profitable office official sacrifice suffice sufficient affair feat defeat feature feasible counterfeit forfeit forfeiture surfeit confection facile olfactory proficient UT/US usufruct usury utilitarian utility PASS passage passenger passerby Passover passport pastime bypass compass impasse overpass surpass trespass trespasser underpass PED pedagogue pedagogic pedagogy pedant pedantic pedantry pediatrician pediatrics pedophilia PERI peril perilous empirical empiricism empiricist experience experiment experimental experimentation expert expertise imperil 27 奥可教育 PET petition petitioner appetite appetitive appetizer appetizing appetent compete competition competitive competitor competence competent incompetent impetus impetuous repeat repetition centripetal PETR/PETRO petrify petrography petroleum petroliferous petrology PICT pictograph pictorial picture depict depiction PLAIN plaint plaintiff plaintive plaintiveness complain complainant complaint PLANT plantation planter plantlet implant implantation transplant transplantable transplantation PLAUD applaud applause applausive plaudit plausible plausibility explode explosion explosive implode PLEN plenary plenipotentiary plentitude plenty plenteous plentiful plenum ample amplify complete completeness completion complement complementary comply compliance compliant compliment complimentary deplete expletive implement impletion replenish replenishment replete repletion supply supple supplement supplemental supplementary accomplish accomplishment PLORE deplore deplorable explore exploration explorer implore imploration PORT portable portage porter portfolio portly comport comportment deport deportee deportation deportment disport export exporter import important importance importation importer purport report reportage sport sportive sporty support supportable supporter transport transportation portal portcullis porter portico porch importune importunity opportune opportunist opportunity passport POTENT potentate potential potentiality impotent impotence omnipotent omnipotence PREC precarious precariousness deprecate deprecation deprecatory imprecate imprecation imprecatory PRECI precious preciousness appreciate appreciable appreciably appreciation 28 奥可教育 appreciative appreciator depreciate depreciation praise appraise appraisal PREDA predacious predator predatory prey depredate depredation PRESS pressing pressure compress compressed compressible compression compressive compressor depress depressant depressed depressing depression express expressage expression expressionism expressionist expressive expressly impress impression impressionable impressionism impressionist oppress oppression oppressive oppressor repress repression repressible repressive repressor suppress suppressible suppression suppressor PRIV private privacy privately privation privative privatize privilege privileged privy deprive deprived deprivation PROACH approach approachable approachability approximate approximately proximity reproach reproachful reproaching PSYCH/PSYCHO psyche psychiatry psychiatric psychiatrist psychic psychics psychoanalysis psychoanalyze psycholinguistics psychology psychological psychologist psychoneurosis psychopath psychosis psychosomatic psychotherapy psychotherapist PUGN pugnacious pugnacity impugn repugnance repugnant PUR pure purify purification purism puritan puritanical purity impure impurity QUER quarrel quarreler quarrelsome querulous QUI/QUIET quiet quietness quietude quietus inquietude unquiet quiescence quiescent acquiesce acquiescence acquiescent QUIT quittance quitter acquit acquittal requite requital unrequited 29 奥可教育 LESSON EIGHT UMBR umbra umbrageous umbral umbrella adumbration somber adumbrate penumbra umber umbrage VEST vest vestment vesture divestiture divestment invest investment investor divest investiture transvestite travesty THE/THEO theism theist theocrat theocratic theology theologian theologize apotheosize atheism atheist monotheism monotheist pantheism pantheist pantheon polytheism polytheist apotheosis atheistic pantheistic theocracy DE/DIV debase debate decadence decapitate decay decease deceive decide decipher declaim declare decrepit decry deduce defect defer deflate deflower deform deliberate delinquency deluge demarcation demerit demolish demonstrate depict deprave derelict derive despise despoil detail detain dethrone detonate devastate devour debark decamp decode deface defer deficit defrost defy dehydrate denude descant detach detour detrimental deity dues ex machine divinatory divinity DEMO demagogue democracy democrat democratic democratize demography epidemic demographic endemic pandemic demotic POPUL popular popularity popularize populate population public publicity publish publication depopulate depopulation overpopulated overpopulation republic republican republish republication populist populace populous vox populi POLIS/POLIT cosmopolitan metropolis metropolitan necropolis acropolis megalopolis politic politicize CIRCU/CIRCUM circumambulate circumcise circumfuse circumjacent circumlocution circumlunar circumpolar circumstance circle circular circulate circulation circuit circus encircle semicircle cycle cyclist cyclone bicycle tricycle encyclopedia circuitous circumference circumspect circumvent CORD accordance according accordingly cordiality core concord concordant courage courageous discord discordant discourage encourage encouragement record 30 奥可教育 accord concordance cordial discordant CULP culprit culpable inculpation culpable exculpate inculpate mea culpa DIC abdicate abdication dedicate dedication indicate indication index predicate prediction diction dictionary dictate dictation dictator dictum benediction condition contradict contradiction contradictious indict interdict predict sedition valedictory verdict vindicate edict interdiction jurisdiction malediction GNI/GNO agnostic cognition cognizable cognizance cognizant diagnose ignore ignorance ignorant prognosticate recognize recognizable recognition cognitive diagnosis incognito prognosis APT/EPT apt aptness adapt adaptable adaptive inapt inaptitude adaptation aptitude adept inept ART artist artistic artless artificial artful artifact artifice artisan CAD/CID/CAS cadence decadence accident accidental deciduous incidence incident incidental coincide coincidence coincident Occident cascade case casual occasion occasional cadaver casualty decadent recidivism CIS concision decide decision decisive excision fratricide incise incision insecticide matricide patricide precise suicide concise excise incisive precision RAD/RAS abrade abrasion abrasive erase erasable eraser erasure raze razor RADI radical radicalism radicalize radicalization radicand radish radix eradicate eradicable eradication eradicator RADI radium radius radial radiate radiation radiator radiant radio radioactive radioactivity radiology radiotelephone radiotherapy irradiate irradiation irradiant irradiance RAP/RAV rape rapist rapacious rapacity rapid rapidity rapt rapture enrapt enrapture rapturous raptorial ravage raven ravening ravish ravishment RAT/RATIO ratify ratio ratiocinate ratiocination ration rational rationale 31 奥可教育 rationalism rationalist rationality rationalize rationalization irrational irrationality REG regal regalia regality regent regency regicide regime regiment Regina regius region realm regnant reign regular regularity regulate regulation irregular royal royalty rigid rigidity rigor rigorous REPT reptile reptilian surreptitious RID/RIS ridicule ridiculous risible risibility deride derision derisive derisory ROD/ROS rodent corrode corrosion corrosive erode erosion erosive ROT rotary rotate rotation rotational rotator rotor rotund rotunda rotundity dextrorotatory levorotatory RUD RUPT rude rudiment rudimental rudimentary erudite erudition rupture abrupt abruption bankrupt bankruptcy corrupt corruption disrupt disruption erupt eruption incorrupt incorruptible interrupt interruption irrupt irruption route routine RUR/RUS rural rustic rusticate rustication rusticity SAL salad salary salaried saline salinity salt salted desalt desalination SAL/SUL salient salience sally salmon assail assault desultory exult exultation insult resilient resilience result SAL/SAN salute salutatory salutation salubrious salutary sane sanity insane insanity sanative sanatorium sanitary sanitation sanitarian SANGUI sanguine sanguinary sanguineous sanguinity consanguine consanguinity ensanguine SAT sate satiate satiation satiable satiety insatiable insatiability insatiate satire satisfy satisfaction satisfactory dissatisfy dissatisfaction dissatisfactory saturation soil SECT sectarian sectary section sectional sectionalism sectionalize bisect bisection 32 奥可教育 dissect dissection dissector insect insecticide insectivorous intersect intersection vivisection secant segment SED/SESS/SID sedate sedative sedentary sediment sedimentation sedulous sessile session assess assessor assiduity dissidence dissident insidious obsess obsessive possess possessed possession dispossess prepossess repossess preside president presidency presidium reside residence resident residential residual residue subside subsidence subsidize subsidy subsidiary supersede siege besiege consult consultant consultation exile SEMIN disseminate seminal seminar seminary dissemination inseminate insemination SEN senate senator senatorial senescent senescence senile senility senior seniority SERT series serial seriate serried assert assertion assertive concert desert deserted desertion dissertation exert exertion insert insertion reassert reassertion SINU sinuate sinuous sinuosity sinus sinusitis insinuate insinuation insinuative SIST/STIUT/STA/ST assist assistance assistant consist consistent consistence exist existent existence insist insistent insistence persist persistent persistence resist resistant resistance irresistible subsist subsistence constitute constituent constitution constitutional destitute destitution institute institution prostitute restitute restitution solstice substitute substitution superstition superstitious stable stabilize stabilization stability establish establishment stage contrast obstacle obstetric obstinate obstinacy stance state stately statement static station stationary stationer stationery statistics statue stature status statute estate stead steady steadfast circumstance circumstantial circumstantiate constant constancy destine destiny destination distant distance extant instant instance instantaneous substance substantial substantiate restore restoration stall install installation installment apostasy apostate ecstasy ecstatic metastasis system SOCI sociable sociability social socialism socialist socialite socialize socialization society sociology sociologist associate associable associated association associative consociate consociation dissociate dissociable dissociation SOL sole solely solitary solitude solo soloist solemn solemnity soliloquy solid solidity solidify consolidate console consolation solace desolate desolation solar 33 奥可教育 solarium circumsolar insolate parasol turnsole SOM somnambulate somnambulism somnambulist somniferous somnolent somnolence insomnia insomniac SORT sorter assort assorted assortment consort consortium resort SPER desperado desperate desperately desperation despair despairing prosper prosperity prosperous SPERS asperse aspersion disperse dispersal dispersed dispersion dispersive intersperse interspersion sparse SPIR spirit dispirit inspirit spiritual spiracle sprightly aspire aspirant aspiration conspire conspirator expire expiration expiry inspire inspiration perspire perspiration respire respiration respiratory suspire transpire SPLEND splendid splendiferous splendor resplendent resplendence 34 奥可教育 LESSON NINE CRYPT/CRYPH apocryphal cryptic cryptography crypt AB/ABS abdicate abduct abject abnormal abominate abortion abrade abrupt absolve absorb abuse abscess abstain abstract abundant abscond abstemious abstraction abstruse PED pedagogue pedagogic pedantic pedantry pediatrics pedophilia pedagogy encyclopedic pediatrician pedant NASC/NAT/NAI nation national nationality nationalize nationalization native naï ve nature natural naturalism naturalize agnate agnatic agnation cognation connate connatural denature denaturalize neonate postnatal prenatal cognate innate nascent renaissance FER ferry ferriage fertilize afferent circumference confer conference conferment conifer coniferous defer deference deferment differ different difference differentiate efferent indifferent infer inferable inferential odoriferous offer prefer preferable preference preferential proffer refer referable reference referential somniferous suffer sufferable sufferance suffering transfer transferor transferee transference deferential fertile inference proliferate TRANS transaction transducer transfer transfigure transform transgress transit translate transmit transmute transparent transport tradition traitor traverse tranquil transcend transcribe transpire travesty trespass transfiguration transfuse transient transcendent PON/POS compound exponent expound opponent postpone postponement posit position positive post postage postal posture apposite apposition compose composedly composer composite compositor composition compost composure decompose depose deposit deposition depositor depository discompose discomposure dispose disposable disposal expose exposure exposition impose imposing imposition imposture indispose indisposition interpose juxtapose oppose opposite opposition predispose predisposition preposition prepositional propose proposal proposition purpose repose reposeful reposition superposition suppose supposedly supposition presuppose presupposition 35 奥可教育 transpose transposition pause component disposition repository superimpose TEN/TIN/TAIN tenacity tenancy tenant tendril tenement tenet tenor tenure abstain abstention appertain contain container containment content contented contentment continence continental continue continual continuance continuation continuity continuous countenance detain detainee detention entertain entertainer entertainment impertinent impertinence lieutenant maintain maintenance obtain pertain pertinence pertinent pertinacious pertinacity retain rein retention retentive retinue sustain sustainable sustentation sustentative abstinence tenacious sustenance tenable MONO monochrome monocracy monocycle monogamy monogram monolingual monologue monopoly monopolize monosyllable monotonous monotony monarch monk monogamous monograph monolithic monotheism UNI unicorn uniform union unique unit unite unity universal unanimous unicameral unilateral unison Unitarian TERM terminable terminate termination terminative terminator terminus conterminous determine determinable determinant determinate determination determined determiner determinism determinist exterminate extermination exterminator predetermination indeterminate interminable terminal terminology VINC/VICT victor victorious victory vanquish convince convincible convincing conviction convict evince invincible provincial victimize SPHER sphere spheroid spherule atmosphere atmospheric hemispheric stratosphere biosphere hemisphere spherical VERT/VERS verse versed versify versification version vertex vertigo vertiginous vortex adverse adversary adversity advert advertence advertise advertiser advertisement animadvert anniversary averse aversion controvert controversy controversial converse conversant conversation convert convertible divers diverse diversity diversify diversion divorce extrovert inadvertent inadvertences introvert introversion invert inverse inversion obvert obverse pervert perversion perversity retroversion revert reversion reverse reversal reversible subvert subversion subversive tergiversation transverse traverse universe universal university divert perverse avert versatile 36 奥可教育 MORPH morphology morphological isomorphic polymorphic amorphous anthropomorphic metamorphosis morphology FORM formal formalism informal informality formation formula formulate conformance conformation conformist conformity deform deformity inform information informative informed malformation perform performance reform reformation reformatory reformer transform transformation uniform multiform conform formality formative format DOC/DOCT docent doctor doctoral doctorate doctrinarian document documentation didactic didacticism didactics disciple discipline indoctrination doctrine docile doctrinaire indoctrinate TUT/TUI intuition tuition tutelage tutorial DI/DUO dilemma diphthong diploma duodecimal duologue dodecagon dozen double doubt dual dubious duel duet duplicate dichotomy diplomatic duplex duplicity BI/BIN bicameral biennial bifurcated bigamy bilingual bimonthly binocular bipod bipolar bisexual biweekly bipartisan bipolar SPOND/SPONS sponsor despond despondent despondence respond response responsible responsibility responsive correspond correspondent correspondence STELL stellar constellate constellation interstellar STILL distill distillate distillation distiller distillery instill instillation STINCT/STING sting stingy distinguish distinguished distinct distinction distinctive extinguish extinguisher extinct extinction instinct instinctive instigate instigation instigator stimulate stimulant stimulation stimulus stigma stigmatic SUADE suasion dissuade dissuasion dissuasive persuade persuasion persuasive SUME/SUMPT sumptuary sumptuous assume assuming assumption assumptive consume consumer consumerism consumption consumptive presume presumable presuming presumption presumptive presumptuous reassume resume resumption 37 奥可教育 unassuming SUMM summary summarily summarize summarization summation summit consummate consummation SUR assure assured assurance assuring ensure insure insurable insurance insurant insurer reassure reassurance reassuring reinsure reinsurance SURGE/SURRECT surge insurgency insurgent insurrection resurge resurgence resurgent resurrect resurrection source resource TAC/TIC tacit taciturn taciturnity reticence reticent TAIL tailor tailoring detail detailed entail retail retailer TECHN technical technicality technically technique technocracy technocrat technological technologist technology TECT detect detectaphone detection detective protect protection protectionism protective protector protégée tegument TEMPT/TENT tempt temptation tempter tempting temptress attempt attempted tentative tentacle TEST testament testamentary testate testator testatrix testify testimony testimonial attest attestation attester contest contestant contestation detest detestable protest protestant protestation THES/THET hypothetical thesis antithesis antithetic hypothesis hypothesize hypothetic parenthesis parenthesize synthesis synthesize synthetic TIM timid timidity timorous intimidate intimidation intimidator TON tone tonal tonality atonal atonality diatonic intone intonation monotone monotonous monotony semitone undertone TOUR tourism tourist tournament attorney contour detour 38 奥可教育 TOX toxic toxicant toxicity toxicology toxicologist toxin antitoxic antitoxin detoxify intoxicate intoxicant intoxicated intoxication TRIBUT tribute tributary attribute attribution attributive contribute contribution contributor distribute distribution retribution retributive TROP tropic tropical tropism heliotrope heliotropism hydrotropism subtropical subtropics TRUD/TRUS abstruse detrude extrude extrusion extrusive intrude intruder intrusion intrusive obtrude obtrusion obtrusive obtrusiveness protrude protrusion TUM tumefaction tumescent tumescence tumid tumor contumacious contumacy contumely ULTIM ultimate ultimately ultimatum ultimo penultimate antepenultimate URB urban urbane urbanism urbanite urbanity urbanize urbanization conurbation exurb exurban exurbia interurban suburb suburban suburbanite suburbia VAC/VAN/VOID vacant vacancy vacate vacation vacuum vacuity vacuous evacuate evacuation vain vanity vanish evanesce evanescence evanescent voidance avoid avoidance devoid inevitable vainglorious VADE evade evasion evasive invade invader invasion invasive pervade pervasion wade waddle VAGA vagabond vagary vagarious vagrancy vagrant vague divagate divagation extravagant extravagance extravaganza VARI vary variable variability variance variant variation varicolored varied variegate variegation variety VELOP develop development envelope envelop envelopment 39 奥可教育 LESSON TEN TOP topical topiary topography ectopic CENTR/CENTER central centralism centralization centrifugal centripetal anthropocentric concentrate concentration decentralize eccentricity heliocentric eccentric epicenter egocentric ethnocentric DOM dome domestic domesticate domesticity domical dominant dominate domineer domain daunt dauntless predominate predominance kingdom predominant domicile domination dominion HABIT/HIBIT habit habitant habituate habitude habitat cohabit inhabitation inhabitant exhibit exhibition inhibit inhibition prohibit prohibition exhibitionist habitation habitual inhibit PRO precaution precede precept precinct precipice preclude precocious predecessor predict predilection prefabricate preface prefer pregnant prehistoric prejudice preliminary prelude premature premium preoccupy prepare preponderate preposterous prerequisite presage prescribe present preserve preside presume pretend prevail prevent preview previous problem proceed proclaim procure prodigal produce profane profess proficient profit profligate profound profuse program progress prohibit project prologue prolong promenade prominent promiscuous promise promote promulgate pronoun pronounce propel prophecy proportion propose propound prorogue prosecute prospect prostitute prostrate protect protest protrude provide provoke purchase purport purpose pursue purvey proffer prudent procrastinate prodigious prophylaxis propitious RETRO retroact retroflex retrograde retrospect retroactive retrofit retrogress retrospective TEMPOR temporal temporary temporize tempest contemporary extempore extemporize extemporization contemporary extemporaneous temporal temporize CHRON Chronicle chronological chronometer chronoscope isochronal synchronize anachronism chronic chronology synchronous 40 奥可教育 TRI triangle tribe tribune tricycle trigonometry trilateral trio tripartite triple tripod trisection triceratops tricolor trident trilogy trimester trinity triptych trivial ANIM animal animalcule animalism animate animation animator animus equanimity magnanimity reanimate unanimity unanimous animated magnanimous animosity inanimate FIG figure figuration disfigure prefigure transfigure configuration effigy figment figurative ANN/ENN annals anniversary annual biannual biennial centennial superannuate superannuated annuity millennium perennial EV coeval longevity medieval primeval CORP corps corpse corporality corporation corpus corpuscle incorporation corset corporeal corpulent corporal incorporate TANG/TACT tangency tangent tact tactful tactics tactician tactual contact contagion contagious contiguity contiguous contingency contingent intangible integer integral integrant integrate integration integrity attain attainment attaint taint intact tactile tangential tangible CODI/CODE codex codicil codify decode SIGN signal signature signify significant significance signification assign assignee assigner assignment consign consignation consignee consigner consignment countersign countersignature design designed designer designate designation ensign insignia resigned resignation assignation resign signatory signet QUADR/QUART quadripartite quadriplegia quadruped quadruple quadrille quadriplegic quartile TESSAR/TETR tetragon tetrahedron tetrarch tetracycline tetrahedron VENGE vengeance vengeful avenge avenger revenge revengeful 41 奥可教育 VENT ventilate ventilation ventilator VERG verge converge convergence convergent diverge divergence divergent VI via viable viaduct voyage convey conveyance convoy deviate deviant deviation devious envoy invoice obviate obvious pervious impervious previous trivia trivial triviality VIG vigil vigilance vigilant vigor vigorous invigorate invigoration invigorator vegetate vegetation vegetable VOL voluntary involuntary volunteer voluptuous volition volitional benevolence malevolence VULSE avulsion convulse convulsion convulsive revulsion A1.adown afresh akin anew 2.aback abed ablaze aboard abroad afar afloat afoot aground ahead alive aloof asleep away 3.abide alike aloud amaze arise arouse ashamed athirst await awake 4.abadaon abase abate abridge achieve amass ameliorate amenable amount avenge avenue avow 5.avert avocation 6. abash amend avoid 7.abyss achromatic Amazon amnesty amoral apathy aphasia asylum asymmetry atheism atom atypical AD-advent abbreviate accede accelerate accept acclimate accomplice accost accumulate accustom acknowledge acquire adapt addict adduce adhere admire adorn advent adverse advocate affiliate affirm afflict affront aggress aggrieve align allay allocate allot alloy allude allure annex annihilate appease append appertain apply appraise apprise approbate arrest arrogant ascertain assert assuage assume attach attain attract attune AL-almighty almost alone 42 奥可教育 AN-anemia anesthetic anarchy anecdote ambrosia ANA- anachronism analogy ARCH-archangel archbishop archenemy archetype architect BE-belabor befool befoul befriend beguile belittle benumb betroth becloud bedew befog become befall behold bemoan beset bespeak because bequeath beside befit beloved bereave besiege bethink BENE-benediction benefaction benefactor beneficent beneficial beneficiary benefit benevolent benign benignant bonus boon bounteous bountiful bounty BI-bicameral biennial bifurcated bigamy bilingual bimonthly binocular bipod bipolar bisexual biweekly COM-combat combine comfort commemorate commend commensurate commingle commiserate commotion commute compatriot compile compose coalesce coalition coeducation coerce coeval coexist cohabitation cohere coincide cooperate collaborate collapse colleague collide collinear collusion combustion concave conceit concentrate conclude concord concourse condense condescend condole confederate confer configuration confiscate confront congeal conglomerate conjunction consent consume contaminate correct correlate corroborate corrugate corrupt council counsel 43 奥可教育 LESSON ELEVEN CAPIT cape capital capitalist capitalize capitally captain cabbage decapitation precipitate precipitous capitalism capitulate decapitate recapitulate ANTHROP anthropocentric anthropography anthropoid anthropomorphism anthropomorphous misanthrope misanthropy philanthropist anthrop anthropology misanthropic philanthropy CUMB/CUB cumber cumbersome concubine decumbence decumbent encumbrance incubus procumbent incumbent incubate recumbent succumb DYNAM dynast dynastic dynamism dynamite dynamometer hydrodynamics thermodynamics dynamic dynamo dynasty hydrodynamic GRAD grade gradient gradual graduation degradation postgraduate undergraduate upgrade ingredient aggress aggression congress digress digressive egress ingress progress progressive regression retrogress transgress degrade gradation graduate retrograde LAT ablation dilate dilatable dilatation elate illation oblate relate relation relative superlative translate translation translator ventilate ventilation delay collate prelate relativity correlate CRIT criterion critic critical criticism criticize hypocritical criterion hypercritical critique hematocrit JUR judge judgment judicature judicatory judicial judiciary judicious adjudicate prejudice sub abjuration adjure adjuration conjure conjuration perjure just justice justify adjust injustice unjust unjustifiable juridical jurisdiction jury jurist juror injure injurious injury abjure perjury jurisprudence objurgate PENT pentagon pentathlon Pentateuch pentameter pentagram QUINT quintessential quintet quintile 44 奥可教育 BIO biochemistry biography biographer biology biometry autobiography autobiographical antibiotic biodegradable bionic biopsy symbiosis GEN gender gene genealogy general generality generalize generate generation generator degenerate engender regenerate generous genesis genetics genial biogenesis endogenous exogenous homogeneity genital congenital pathogenic primogenitor progenitor progeny genius ingenious ingenuous genocide genteel gentile gentle genuine genus eugenics pregnant cognate hydrogen nitrogen oxygen eugenic carcinogenic congenial indigenous generic FUNG/FUNCT malfunction functionary fungible perfunctory MUT mutable mutability mutate mutation mutual mutuality commutate commute permute transmutation commutation immutable permutation transmute FRAG/FRACT fraction fracture fragile fragility fragment fragmentation frail frailty diffract diffraction infract infraction refrain suffrage fractious fragmentary infraction refraction TELE telecommunication telegram telegraph telepathy telephone telescope television teleological telemetry telepathic telegenic PHIL philatelist philology philter oenophile NEG negate negation negative neglect neglectful negligence negotiate negotiation negatron abnegate renegade abnegation negligible renegade renege DEC decade decagon decigram deciliter decimal decimeter Decalogue decathlon decibel decimate CENT centenarian centennial centimeter centipede centuple centuplicate century percent percentage centenary centigrade centimeter centurion DEMI- demigod DI-dilemma diphthong diploma 45 奥可教育 DIA-diacritical diagnosis diagonal diagram dialect dialogue diameter diatribe DUO-duodecimal duologue dodecagon dozen double doubt dual dubious duel duet duplex duplicate duplicity E-escalade escort especial espouse espy esquire establish estrange evaporate EN-enamored enact enamor encase enclose encompass encounter encourage encroach encumber endeavor endorse energy enfold engage engrave enhance enjoin enlarge enlighten enlist enrage enrapture enrich enroll enshrine enshroud enslave ensnare entangle enthrall entitle entrench entrust envelop environment envelope embank embark embarrass embed embellish emblem embody embrace empower EX-exacerbate exact exaggerate example exasperate exceed excel except excerpt exchange exclude excruciate execute exempt exert exhale exhaust exhibit exhilarate exhort exhume exit exonerate exorcise exotic expand expect expel expire explain explicit expose expound exquisite exterior exterminate external extinguish extirpate extol extort extradite extricate extrinsic extrude exuberant exude ebullient edit educate egress eject elaborate elapse elect elide eliminate elite elocution elope emaciate emanate emancipate erudite eruption event evident evince evoke eccentric eclipse ecstasy efface effete effort effuse escape sample FOR-forbid forget forgive forgo forlorn forsake forswear FORE-forearm forebear foredoom forefather forefinger forefront foregoing foregone foreground forehead foreknowledge foreman foresee foreshadow foresight forestall foretaste foretell forethought foretime forewarn foreword forward FORTH-forthcoming forthright forthwith HECTO-hectogram hectograph hectoliter hectometer HETERO-heteroclite heterocyclic heterodox heterogeneous heteronym HEXA- hexagon hexagram hexameter hexangular hexapod IN-incriminate inbeing inborn inbreathe incarcerate incarnate incense incentive 46 奥可教育 inceptive incident incipient incise incline include income increase incriminate incubate incur incurve indoor induce indulge infatuate infect infiltrate inflame inflate influence infringe infuriate infuse ingrained inhale inherit inhibit inject injunction inlet innate innovate inquire inroad inscribe insect insert insight inspect inspirit intake intoxicate intricate intrigue intuition inundation inure invade inveigle invest investigate involve illation illuminate illusion illustrate imbibe immanent immerge immigrate impair impale impart impeach impediment impenetrate impersonate impinge implant implement implicate imply import impose impound impoverish imprecate impregnate imprint imprison irradiate irrigate irruption IN-inaccessible inadequate inaudible incautious incomparable inconsistent indecisive indigestion indispensable inequality infallible infamous innutrition invaluable invulnerable enemy ignoble ignominy ignorant illegal illegitimate illiberal illicit illiterate illogical immaculate immature immeasurable immediate immense immodest immortal immutable impalpable imparity impartial impecunious impenetrable impenitent impious implacable impotent imprudent irrational irredeemable irregular irrelative irrelevant irreligious irresistible irresolute irresponsible INTER-intercept interchange interfere interfuse interim interior interjacent interlace interlude intermingle intermit intermix international interplay interpolate interpose interpret interrupt intersect intersperse interstellar interstice intervene intertwine interval interweave enterprise entertain intellect intelligence INTRA-/INTRO- intrapersonal intra-school intravenous introduce introspect introvert ISO-isobar isochronal isogloss isomer isometric isotherm isotope KILO-kilobyte kilocalorie kilocycle kilogram kilohertz kilolitre kilometer kiloton kilovolt kilowatt MACRO- macrobiotics macrocosm macroeconomics macro-engineering macromolecule macroscopic MEGE- megalith megalomania megaphone megaton megavolt megawatt MICRO-microanalysis microbe microbiology microcosm microeconomics micrometeorology microphone microscope microwave 47 奥可教育 MIS-misaddress misadvise misapply misapprehend misarrange misbelieve mischance mischief misconduct misdate misdeed misfortune mislead misogynist misplace mispronounce misstate misstep mistrust misunderstand MULTI- multicolor multifarious multiform multilingual multiply multipurpose multitude NE-nefarious nescience neuter naught nay neither never none null negotiate NEO-neoclassicism neocolonialism neoimpressionism neologism neonatal neophyte NON-nonaggression nonaligned noncombatant noncombustible noncommittal nondurable nonentity nonessential nonmember nonpartisan nonsectarian nonverbal OB-obdurate obedient obfuscate obituary object objurgate oblige oblique oblong obscene obstacle obstinate obstruct obtain obvious omit occasion occult occupy occur offend offer opponent oppress ostentation OCTA-octagon octahedron octave octavo October octopus OMNI-omnibus omnipotent omnipresent omniscient omnivorous OUT- outbreak outdo outgrow outlandish outlaw outline outlive outnumber outpace outrage outrival outrun outwear outwit OVER-overact overbear overburden overcast overcoat overcome overcrowd overdo overeat overestimate overflow overhang overhaul overhear overlap overlay overload overlook overnight overpay overpower overrate overseas overset oversight oversleep overtake overthrow overturn overwhelm PEN-peninsula penultimate penumbra 48 奥可教育 LESSON TWELVE NOM nominate nomination nominative nominator nominee denominate denomination denominative denominator ignominy renown ignominious misnomer nomenclature nominal PATER/PATR paternal paternity patriarch patricide patriot patriotic patriotism patron patronage patronize compatriot repatriate repatriation expatriate paternalistic patrician patrimony LEGA legation legatee delegate delegacy relegation delegation legacy legate relegate GREG gregarious aggregation congregate segregation aggregate congregation egregious segregate FLU/FLUCT fluent fluency fluid fluidity flume flush fluctuate flood affluent circumfluent circumfluence confluent confluence effluence influent influence influential superfluous superfluity inflow overflow reflow flux fluxion afflux conflux efflux influx reflux affluence effluent fluctuation mellifluous PREHEND/PREHENS prison prisoner imprison imprisonment apprise comprise enterprise enterprising reprisal surprise surprisingly prize apprehend apprehensible apprentice apprenticeship comprehensible comprehension comprehensive misapprehend misapprehension reprehend reprehension apprehensive comprehend prehensile reprehensible TEMPER temperament temperamental temperature tempered distemper intemperate temper tempera temperance PURG purgation compurgation expurgation expurgator expurgatory expurgate purgative purgatory purge MILL milligram milliliter millimeter millennial mille fleur millenarianism millipede millisecond 49 奥可教育 HEMI-/SEMI-hemicycle hemisphere semiannual semicircle semiconscious semifinal semimonthly semiofficial semiprofessional semitropical semitone semicolon semiconductor SUB subcutaneous subdivide subdue subjacent subject subjunctive sublime submarine submerge submit subscribe subside subsist substance substitute subsume subterfuge subtitle suburb subway succeed succinct suffer suffice suffocate suffuse suggest summon support suppress suppurate surrogate susceptible suspect sustain subconscious subjugate subliminal subversion HYPER hyperacidity hyperborean hypercriticism hyperinflation hypersensitive hypersonic hypertrophy hyperactive hyperbole hypertension hyperventilate PRE precaution precede precinct precipice preclude predecessor predict predilection prefabricate preface prefer pregnant prehistoric prejudice preliminary prelude premature premium preoccupy prepare preponderate preposterous presage prescribe present preserve preside presume pretend prevail prevent preview previous problem proceed proclaim procure prodigal produce profane profess proficient profit profligate profound profuse program progress prohibit project prologue prolong promenade prominent promiscuous promise promote promulgate pronoun pronounce propel prophecy propitious proportion propose propound prorogue prosecute prospect prostitute prostrate protect protest protrude provide provoke purchase purport purpose pursue purvey proffer prudent precept precocious predispose prerequisite PARA parable parachute paragraph parallel parallelogram paralyze paramount paranoid paraphrase paraplegia parasite parasol paratyphoid parenthesis parody palsy paradigm paradox paragon parameter META metamorphosis metaphor metaphysical metastasis meteor method metabolism metaphorical metaphysics metonymy PER perambulate perceive percussion perennial perfect perfidy perforate perform perfume perfunctory perish permanent permit pernicious perpendicular perpetual perplex persecute persist perspective perspiration persuade pertinent peruse pervade pervert parboil pardon pellucid pilgrim percolate peremptory permeate persevere ANT/ANTI anti-communist antagonist antigen antipathy antithesis 50 奥可教育 CONTRA contradict contraposition contrary contrast controvert counter counteract counterattack counterbalance counterfeit countermeasure counterpart contraband contraindication contravene contretemps QIASI-quasi-cholera quasi-contract quasi-judicial quasi-official quasi-war RE-rebate rebel rebound rebuke rebut recalcitrant recall recant recapitulate recede receive reciprocate recite reclaim recline recognize recoil reconcile recondite reconnaissance record recreation recruit recur reduce redundant refer reflect reform refraction refresh refrigerator refuge refurbish refuse regress rehearse reimburse reinforce reiterate reject rejuvenate relax relevant relic relieve relinquish reluctant remedy reminiscence remit remonstrate remorse renaissance renew renounce repast repeat repel repent reply report reprisal reproach repugnant repute require requite rescind research resemble resist respect resplendent restore restrain resume resurrection retaliate retard reticent retire retort retract retrench retrieve return reunion reveal revenue reverberate revere revise revive revoke revolt redeem redintegrate render SE-secede seclude secret secrete secure seduce segregate select separate sequester sever SEPT- September septennial SEX-sexcentenary sexpartite sextuple STPE-Stepbrother stepchild stepdaughter stepfather stepmother stepparent stepsister stepson SUPER-superabundant superb supercharge supercilious superficial superfluous superimpose superintend superior supernal supernatural supernumerary supersonic superstition superstructure supervene supervise supreme supremacy soprano sovereign surcharge surface surfeit surmise surmount surname surpass surplus surrender surround surveillance survey survive SYN-synagogue synchronism syndicate syndrome synonym synopsis syntax synthesis system syllable syllogism symbiosis symbol symmetry sympathy symphony symposium symptom 51 奥可教育 TWI-twice twig twilight twill twin twine twist ULTRA-ultra ultramarine ultramodern ultramontane ultrasonic ultraviolet UN-unarm unbind unbuckle unburden unbury unbutton uncap uncase unclose uncork uncover undo undress unearth unfold unhinge unload unlock unmask unpack unroll unseal unsettle unshackle untangle untie unveil unwind unwrap unwrinkled unabashed unabridged unalterable unambiguous unapproachable unashamed unattainable unattended unauthorized unbelief unbiased unblemished uncertainty unchangeable unchaste uncivilized uncomely uncomfortable unconditional unconformity unconscious uncontrollable uncultivated undecided undefined undesirable undue unexhausted unfeasible unfeigned unfinished unfortunate ungenerous unintentional unknowingly unlicensed unmanned unmerciful unmistakable unorthodox unparalleled unprecedented unquestionable unreliable unrest unsanitary unseasonable unsophisticated unsuitable unsystematic untidy untimely unutterable unverifiable unwarrantable unwholesome unwilling unwitting unwonted unworldly unyielding UNDER-underage undercurrent underdeveloped underemployment underestimate undergo undergraduate underground underlie underline undermine underpass underrate understand undertake undertone UP-upend uphold upland uplift upright uproar uproot upset upstairs upsurge upturn VICE-vice-chairman vice-chancellor vice-consul vice-governor vice-minister vice-president vice-principle vice-regent viscount WITH-withdraw withhold withstand -AIN captain chaplain villain -AIRE billionaire millionaire -AN/-IAN/-EAN pedestrian American German Mohammedan barbarian magician musician pedestrian physician European -ANT assistant descendant emigrant immigrant inhabitant servant tenant 52 奥可教育 -AR beggar burglar liar scholar -ARD/ART coward drunkard sluggard Spaniard steward braggart -ARY adversary contemporary functionary lapidary secretary -ATE advocate apostate candidate delegate magnate pirate -EE committee devotee employee examinee nominee referee trainee trustee -EER auctioneer engineer mountaineer pioneer profiteer volunteer -EN citizen heathen warden -ENT agent correspondent opponent president resident student -ER baker commander customer gardener leader Londoner manufacturer mariner messenger miller murderer owner philosopher prisoner producer -ESE Chinese Japanese Portuguese -ESS actress baroness empress hostess princess stewardess -EUR amateur connoisseur -HERD cowherd shepherd -IER cashier cavalier financier premier soldier -IFF plaintiff sheriff -IST communist defeatist dogmatist florist novelist oculist ornithologist sophist specialist tourist typist violinist -ITE cosmopolite Israelite laborite Tokyoite –IVE captive fugitive native operative relative -MAN/-SMAN chairman fisherman postman salesman sportsman statesman stuntman -ON champion companion matron patron 53 奥可教育 -OR/OUR ambassador conqueror counselor governor inspector neighbor savior successor tailor tutor -STER gamester gangster minister songster spinster youngster -Y/YER enemy lady lawyer sawyer 54 奥可教育 LESSON THIRTEEN ACERB/ACRI acid acidify acidity acidulate acidulous acrimonious acerbic acrid acrimony exacerbate STRING/STRICT string stringency straight strain strait straiten strangle strangulate stress stretch strict strictness stricture astringency constringe constrain constrained constraint constriction constrictive constrictor distress distressful district overstrain restrain restraint restrict restriction restrictive astringent constrict prestigious stringent STRU/STRUCT structure structural construct construction reconstruct reconstruction construe destroy destruct destructible destruction destructive instruct instruction instructive instructor instrument instrumentality misconstrue misconstruction obstruct obstruction obstructive substructure superstructure deconstruction infrastructure construe instrumental PROP/PROPRI proper property proprietor proprietorship appropriation appropriator expropriation impropriety misappropriate misappropriation appropriate expropriate proprietary propriety TORT/TORS torture torturer tortuous tortoise torment torch contort contortion contortionist distort distortion extortion retort tort extort torsion tortuous VIV victual viand vital vitality vitalize vivacity vivid vivify vivisect devitalize revitalize revive revivification reviviscence survive survival survivor convivial revivify vivacious vivisection SERV serve servant service servility serf serfdom sergeant conserve conservancy conservation conservative conservatory deserve disserve disservice observe observance observation observatory preserve preservation preservative reserve reserved reservation reservoir serviceable servile servitude subservient CLUD/CLUS close closet closure conclude conclusion conclusive disclose disclosure enclose exclude exclusion exclusionism exclusive include inclusion inclusive occlude preclusion reclusion reclusive seclude secluded claustrophobia 55 奥可教育 occlusion preclude recluse seclusion TEXT textile textual texture contextual contexture intertexture subtle subtlety tissue context pretext subtext textual PLAC/PLAIS placate placatory placid complacency please pleased pleasing pleasant pleasantry pleasure complaisance displease displeasing displeasure unpleasant complaisant placebo placidity implacable AUT/AUTO autobiography autocracy autoinfection autonym authentic automaton autodidact autonomy autism GRAT grateful ungrateful gratification ingrate ingratitude gratis grace graceful gracious disgrace disagree agree agreeable agreement congratulate congratulation ingratiation gratify gratuity gratuitous ingratiate CLAM/CLAIM claim claimant clamorous acclaim declamation exclaim exclamation exclamatory proclaim proclamation reclaim reclaimable acclamation clamor declaim reclamation CRAC/CRAT aristocrat autocratic bureaucrat plutocracy PUNG/PUNC pungency punctuate punctilio punctual punctuality punctuate punctuation puncture acupuncture compunctious expunction pounce punch poignant point appoint appointment disappoint disappointment compunction expunge punctilious pungent PLIC implicit explicate replicate supplication -CLE article follicle icicle miracle particle speckle vehicle -EL/LE damsel model vessel bottle bundle pebble riddle -EN/-IN chicken kitten maiden bulletin elfin violin -ET/-ETTE banquet blanket bouquet cabinet islet tablet ticket cigarette gazette novelette 56 奥可教育 -KIN cannikin lambkin manikin napkin pumpkin -LET booklet bullet cutlet fillet hamlet leaflet pamphlet rivulet streamlet -LING darling duckling gosling seedling underling yearling -OCK bullock hillock paddock -(C)ULE animalcule globule granule minuscule molecule -IE/-Y auntie birdie Billy daddy kitty pony Tommy -ACE grimace menace solace -ADE ambuscade arcade blockade cannonade crusade decade escapade lemonade masquerade orangeade renegade stockade -AGE courage marriage passage shortage shrinkage usage wreckage -AL approval arrival betrayal denial refusal survival trial withdrawal -ANCE/-ENCE provenance absence appearance confidence decency forbearance hindrance innocence insolvency utterance vacancy -CY aristocracy bankruptcy fallacy intimacy prophecy -DOM freedom martyrdom wisdom -HOOD/-HEAD boyhood childhood falsehood likelihood livelihood manhood neighborhood godhead maidenhead -IC(S)aerobatics aesthetics arithmetic classics ethics logic magic mathematics metaphysics phonetics physic physics skeptic stoic -ICE/ISE avarice caprice cowardice justice service treatise -ING aging bearing blessing calling clothing thanksgiving -ION reception addition civilization coronation exaggeration extension invitation protection quotation submission 57 奥可教育 -ISM/ASM antagonism aphorism barbarism Buddhism communism existentialism exoticism hedonism heroism Marxism modernism optimism passivism pessimism enthusiasm -ITUDE altitude aptitude decrepitude fortitude gratitude latitude magnitude multitude solitude -(I)UM aluminum ammonium barium magnesium petroleum -MENT banishment fulfillment lineament movement treatment -MONY ceremony harmony matrimony testimony -NESS adhesiveness abrasiveness consciousness friendliness goodness happiness kindness likeness madness wordiness -O(U)R ardor behavior endeavor favor humor odor savor splendor valor -RY artistry bravery bribery luxury mystery pedantry penury rivalry robbery slavery -SHIP citizenship fellowship friendship hardship landscape partnership relationship scholarship workmanship worship -T/-TH flight gift restraint thrift weight breadth death growth stealth warmth width -TY/-ETY/-ITY bounty certainty cruelty loyalty novelty poverty anxiety propriety variety absurdity elasticity familiarity fixity futurity hilarity hospitality immensity maturity originality proximity rapidity reality sagacity singularity stupidity -URE censure creature departure disclosure exposure failure furniture legislature literature mixture pressure seizure -Y agony delivery discovery flattery folly honesty jealousy modesty treaty tyranny -AGE baronage foliage peerage plumage –ARY dictionary vocabulary -RY cavalry gentry machinery poultry scenery -ACE furnace terrace 58 奥可教育 -AGE anchorage cottage village -ARY apothecary granary library seminary -DOM dukedom filmdom kingdom stardom -ERY bakery brewery cemetery gallery -ORY dormitory factory laboratory observatory territory -UM aquarium auditorium gymnasium museum sanatorium -Y abbey balcony county treasury 59 奥可教育 LESSON FOURTEEN MAND/MEND command commander commandment countermand demand commend recommend recommendation commendation mandate mandatory remand UND inundate redound redundancy undulant SACR/SANCT sacred sacrifice sacrilegious sacrament sacramental sanctify sanctification sanctimony sanctimonious consecrate consecration desecrate desecration execrate execration execrable n saint sanction sacrilege sacrosanct sanctuary LOC/LOQU circumlocution elocution colloquial loquacious VIR triumvirate virago virility virtuosity VAL valence valiant valid validation validity valor value valuable valuation avail available convalesce convalescence convalescent countervail devaluate devaluation evaluate invalid invalidate invalidity invaluable multivalent prevail prevalence prevailing undervalue undervaluation equivalent prevalent valorous validate CRE/CRET accrue create creation creative creator creature concrete concretion decrepit decrease increase procreate recreate re-create recreation accretion crescent excrescence increment FUND/FUS fuse fusible fusion found foundry confound circumfuse circumfusion confuse confusion diffusion diffusive effuse effusion infuse infusion interfuse perfuse profuse refuse suffusion transfuse futile refute diffuse effusive profusion suffuse VERB verbal verbalism verbalize verbosity adverb adverbial verbose proverb verbatim verbiage SIMIL/SIMUL similar similarity similitude simultaneous simultaneity assimilation dissimilate dissimulate semblance assemble assemblage assembly dissemble facsimile resemble resemblance verisimilar verisimilitude assimilate simile simulacrum simulate 60 奥可教育 SCAND/SCEND scan scansion ascend ascent ascension ascendant descend descent condescension transcendent transcendence transcendental scale escalade escalator transcend condescend descendant ascendancy TEN/TENU attenuate extenuating tenure tenuous SCRIB/SCRIP scribe scribble scrip script scripture scrivener ascribe ascription circumscription conscribe conscript describe description descriptive indescribable inscribe manuscript nondescript postscript prescribe prescript prescription prescriptive proscription subscribe subscriber subscript subscription superscription transcribe transcription conscription circumscribe inscription proscribe MENS commensurate dimension immensity SOLV/SOLU solve solute solution solvable solvent absolution absolute dissolve dissoluble dissolute dissolvable dissolvent insolvable insolvency insolvent resolvable resolute resolution absolve dissolution resolve soluble HYDR hydrant hydrate hydrogen hydrogenate hydrophobia hydrotherapy hydrotropism dehydrate hydraulic hydroelectric hydroponics -ABLE inhospitable amenable available changeable culpable desirable imponderable innumerable irritable noticeable reasonable unforgettable contemptible horrible incredible negligible -AL/IAL prodigal brutal federal literal mortal Occidental punctual regal aerial cordial genial racial -AN European republican suburban veteran agrarian Christian Egyptian Parisian -ANT/-ENT incipient brilliant buoyant defiant indignant luxuriant radiant triumphant ardent fluent insolent obedient proficient prudent quiescent -AR circular familiar muscular poplar popular similar vulgar -ARY customary dilatory elementary exemplary imaginary temporary voluntary 61 奥可教育 -ATE/-ETE/UTE accurate affectionate considerate fortunate obstinate ornate passionate temperate complete obsolete absolute minute -ED dejected aged bearded crowned gifted landed moneyed ringed talented -EN brazen earthen golden leaden wooden woolen -ERN eastern northern southern western modern -ESE Chinese Japanese Portuguese -FOLD manifold twofold tenfold -FUL dreadful fruitful graceful merciful mournful regretful scornful shameful thoughtful -IAC cardiac demoniac insomniac maniac -IC polychromatic academic angelic arctic athletic calorific carbonic diplomatic domestic emphatic enigmatic exotic fantastic gigantic idiotic lunatic patriotic rustic scenic soporific -ICAL botanical chemical methodical physical radical surgical theatrical tropical zoological -ID languid limpid placid rapid solid splendid stupid timid vivid -ILE ductile facile fertile fragile hostile juvenile puerile sterile versatile -INE divine feminine genuine masculine sanguine -ING agonizing astonishing charming cunning daring lasing promising refreshing striking trying willing -IOR inferior junior senior superior -IQUE/-ESUQE antique arabesque grotesque oblique picturesque 62 奥可教育 -ISH bookish brownish childish feverish selfish yellowish -ITE finite exquisite favorite infinite opposite polite -IVE definitive exclusive exhaustive imaginative initiative massive representative respective talkative -LESS aimless groundless helpless odorless priceless reckless restless senseless shapeless -LIKE businesslike childlike ladylike sportsmanlike warlike womanlike -LY bodily costly cowardly earthly fortnightly friendly leisurely monthly stately timely worldly -MOST almost foremost innermost utmost -ORY compulsory contradictory obligatory obligation preparatory satisfactory -OUS ambiguous covetous envious furious glorious gorgeous industrious laborious perilous righteous spacious strenuous tremulous vicious virtuous -PROOF airproof bombproof bulletproof fireproof rainproof soundproof waterproof weatherproof -SOME venturesome burdensome irksome meddlesome quarrelsome tiresome troublesome wearisome wholesome -WARD awkward downward eastward homeward onward seaward wayward -Y bloody bushy cloudy clumsy dreamy dusky foggy greedy icy plumy scanty spicy tardy worthy -ENCE hence thence whence darkling sideling headlong -LY absolutely actually barely heartily invariably literally readily roughly shortly 63 奥可教育 steadily violently -S besides needs nowadays sometimes -WARD(S)afterwards backwards downwards homewards inwards northwards outwards southwards sunwards upwards -WAY(S)/WISE always anyway endways sideways someway straightway crosswise likewise otherwise sidewise -ATE agitate accommodate assassinate congratulate fascinate isolate navigate nominate originate speculate vibrate -EN darken fasten hasten heighten lengthen moisten redden sharpen strengthen threaten weaken worsen -ER batter chatter flicker flutter glitter loiter patter quiver shiver totter twitter waver -ESCE acquiesce coalesce convalesce deliquesce effloresce evanesce incandesce obsolesce -FY pacify classify edify fortify fructify identify justify liquefy mollify nullify personify petrify purify qualify satisfy signify simplify stupefy vilify -ISH admonish banish blemish blush cherish demolish diminish embellish famish flourish furnish garnish languish publish punish -IZE/-ISE cauterize civilize dramatize generalize organize pulverize specialize symbolize utilize victimize -LE chuckle dazzle dwindle scribble sparkle sprinkle startle trickle twinkle 64 奥可教育 PART II ORIGIN 1. Where Words About Human Beings Come From ACHIEVE：to come to a head This seems like a simple word,but its history is extremely complicated.The word achieve derives,if you can believe it,from the Latin phrase ad caputvenire,which literally meant”to come to a head.”Sometimes the Romans used it in the gloomy meaning”to die.”Later on Old French took over the phrase adcaput,”to a head” and built on it the verb achever,”to finish,”and this passed into English as achieve.In Chaucer’s day,and even up to the time of Queen Elizabeth,achieve could still mean”to die”or”to kill”Shakespeare used it in this sense in one of his plays,as”Bid them achieve(“kill”)me and then sell my bones.”Along with achieve the Old French developed the word meschever,in English mischief,which in the beginning meant to overwhelm with destruction,and both of these words still have in them the original sense of the Latin caput,or”head.”For when you have achieved something,you have”brought it to a head,”haven’t you?But should you get into mischief,things have been”brought to a bad head”(Latin mis-,”bad”),and those who perpetrated the mischief are apt to come to grief. Thus,when Merlin,the wise man of Arthurian legend,said:”Synne draweth bothe man and woman to myschebouse ends,”he was using the word in its early and stronger sense. ADEPT:originally an alchemist Are you adept,that is,highly skilled at some particular thing?Then you should know the secret of the philosopher’s stone that transformed base metals into gold.In the Middle Ages the alchemists who claimed to have this secret called themselves adeptus,a Latin word that means”attained,”from the verb adipiscor,from ad,”to,”and apiscor,”attain.”That is,the alchemists had”attained”their goal.Later,in the 17th century,adeptus became a title of honor that was applied only to alchemists of recognized reputation.But when alchemy finally fell into disrepute,the word became a general term of skill.Now you can be adept at cooking or tennis or such. But if you are inept,you have”not”(Latin in,”not”)attained your goal.You are inexpert and awkward and you are apt to say things that are unbecoming and inappropriate to the occasion. AMBLE:just walking around According to the dictionary when you amble,you”move,ride,or walk at an easy and careless pace.”The derivation is from the Latin ambulo,”walk.”You can also easily detect this same term ambulo in our word ambulance or,as the French used to call this vehicle at the time of the Crimean War,hospital ambulant,”walking hospital.”The English soon left off the hospital part and just called it an ambulance.And there is the perambulator,too,that we push the baby around 65 奥可教育 in,and that also takes walking to do. ANTICS:originally fantastic images On the walls of the Baths of the Roman Emperor Titus some old and fantastic images were carved,representing people and animals and flowers all running together in the most grotesque fashion possible.The Italians applied their word antico,”old,”to these curious carvings,but because of the weird posturings of the figure antico came also to mean “bizarre,”and so gave us our word antic.Thus,when a person cuts up with some antics,it means that he is going through a lot of queer capers like those weir Roman figures,or like a clown in a circus.This Italian word antico derives from the Latin antiquus,and from this latter term through the French we received out word antique.Antiquus meant”venerable”and so ”excelling in worth and value,”which is what we hope for when we buy antiques. ASSASSIN: once a drug-fiend Some 800 years ago there was an East Indian sheik who was colorfully known as ” The Old Man of the Mountains.” He was the supposed head of an early version of “Murder, Inc.,” and his fanatical followers made it their business to slaughter the Christian Crusaders who were on their way to the Holy Land. The murderers got themselves into the proper frenzy for their job by chewing hashish, an Eastern variety of hemp that could produce a fine state of intoxication in any teetotalling Mohammedan. Today cifarettes called ”reefers”are made out of this hemp and are smoked by marihuana addicts. In the ancient days of India word hashshashin entered Medieval Latin as assassinus, and so into English as our word assassin, which still retains its murderous history in its meaning. BANDIT: under summons A bandit is “banned”or outlawed. Our word comes originally from the Germanic root bann, meaning “a summons,” “proclamation.” This entered Late Latin as bannire, which meant “to proclaim,” and then was absorbed into Italian as bandito, or “outlawed”; that is,a proclamation against something. Old English already had the word as bann, ”command,” ”interdict.” So when anyone was put under a ban, he was told he couldn’t do something. Thismeaning is implied in bandit, and also is involved in the word banish. With the banns of marriage we return to the original meaning of “proclamation.” DANGER: ruled by a master A word that has strangely changed its meaning. Danger now means “to be exposed to harm or injury,” but in olden days it meant to be in someone else’s power. As a pensioner wrote in 1461 to his patron: “I am gretly yn your danger and dette for my pension.” This subservience to others is explained by the history of the word. It traces back by many changes of spelling to the Latin dominium, “power,” “lordship,” which in turn derives from dominus, “master.” In early England any whim of his master put a serf in danger. DISASTER: the stars are evil If you are faced with disaster, the “stars” are “against” you, for the word disaster is from the 66 奥可教育 Latin dis-, “against,” and astrum, “star.” In their investigations of the cycle theory, scholar seem to have proved that our lives are influenced by such things as the climate, the sun spots, and the stars. Apparently the ancient astrologers (astrum, “star,” and logos, “knowledge”) had an idea by the tail. Our fortunes can sometimes be considered “illstarred.” And then again, with the word consider, we are dealing with astrology, for consider is thought to be from the Latin cum, “with,” and sidus, “star.” When the ancients considered a matter in an effort to come to a decision, they consulted “with” the “stars.” EARL: opposite of churl If a man is churlish in his manner, he is acting like a surly, illbred boor. In the English of another day a churl, or a ceorl as it was then spelled, was at the bottom of the social ladder in the very lowest rank of the freeman. When titles came to be conferred the word eorl was used to distinguish a man of noble rank from the ceorl. The spelling went to erl and finally to earl. During the Norman period an earl was the equivalent of the French count, and the word count traces to the Latin comes, or “companion,” so a count was a sometime companion to a king. Among the other title that the Normans brought across the channel was duke, which eventually goes back to the Latin dux, “leader.” Next below the duke is the marquis, borrowed from the French and once spelled marchis. This man controlled a march, which was a tract of borderland. Naturally all of these lesser title follow the prince, since he is actually and etymologically “first” in the land, the ruler. And princeps is derived from primus, “first,” and capio, “take.” So whatever it is, the prince “takes” it “first.” EMANCIPATE: remove the hand According to Roman law there were prescribed ceremonies for the purchase and liberation of slaves. When they were bought, the new master laid his hand upon them in token of possession. This act was called mancipium, “possession by the hand.” Our word emancipate has the opposite meaning, and is from the Latin emancipatus; e-, “away,” manus, “hand,” and capio, “take.” So when our slaves were emancipated, the owners “took away their hands.” ETIQUETTE: a ticket In 16th-century French etiquette meant a ticket or label. As a matter of fact we get our word ticket from this. Also buying things on tick. The first rules of etiquette were tacked up in conspicuous places in the army posts. The list gave the rules of the day. The Old French word was estiquette, from estiquer, “to stick.” The rules were “stuck” up on the walls. Perhaps we could say that etiquette is a “ticket” to polite society. FAME: what they say When you are talked about enough you are famous, or infamous, perhaps, for fame is from the Latin fama, “report,” which is related to the Greek phemi, “speak.” Thus fame is what they say about you. Reputation, however, lasts longer, for your reputation is not what they “say” but what they “think” about you. From the Latin reputo, from re-, “again,” and puto, “think”; that is, to think over again, to consider. 67 奥可教育 FOIBLE: originally a fencing term One of the rules of the game of fencing is to receive your enemy’s foible with your own forte, two French borrowings. His foible is the weak part of his foil, from the middle to the tip. Your forte is the strong part from the middle to the hilt. So the foibles of a human being are his weak points and his moral frailties, while his forte is his strong point, that in which he excels. FOOL: tongue-wagger Let those who talk too much take care, for the Latin word follis, which gave us fool, means “a windbag.” And yet there is a more innocent way than this to get the reputation of being foolish. The ancient Greeks called those who didn’t hold public office idiots, whence our word idiots, and this may be what our politicians think of us today. FREE: once, beloved The word free ties into the Old English freo, a close relative lf the German word frei which meant “loving” or “beloved.” In meant “agreeable” or “beloved.” In the ancient Sanskrit language priya-, diatantly related to free,meant “agreeable” or “beloved.”. If you had been a patrician in those olden days, your “loved ones” who would have been free ,and your slaves .Or if your should have been slaves enough, you would probably have bought his liberty and made him free too, so finally our Old English word fero evoluted into the modern word free, that is ,”not slave”; and freond ,”loving one”, grew into “friend”. HERMAPHRODITE : originally a god’s name Biologically ,today ,a hermaphrodite is a living being having both male and female organs. This highly technical word, however , has a romantic history .Hermaphroditos was the son of the Greed god Hermes and of Aphrodite, goddess of love ,and was supposed to have not only the names, but the beauty of both his parents. On a certain occasion, a susceptible nymph, Saimacis by name , saw the handsome son bathing in her pool and she immediately fell head over heels in love with him. To her horror he turned her down.. But she was a resourceful girl and prayed to the gods for an indissoluble union with him .The gods answered her prayer and arranged that the body of the nymph and the body of Hermaphroditos should grow together as one. Our biological name hermaphrodite was taken from this story and was applied quite logically to bisexual individuals. HOTTENTOT: just gibberish The musical comedy stage has made the savage Hottentots familiar to us. They were a native tribe of the Cape of Good Hope. When the Dutch landed there they couldn’t understand the native dialect at all since it was full of clicks and jerks and sounded like so much stammering .The only syllables that the Dutch sailors could understand were hot and tot, and so the mariners named the people just that : hot-en-tot ,for en is “and” in Dutch. IMPEDE: putting your foot in it When you are impeded ,that is ,when there are obstacles in your way that hinder you from doing what you wish ,it means that your “foot “ is “in” something ,from the Latin im-.”in” ,and 68 奥可教育 pes, pedis ,”foot”. That is ,your “foot” is entangled “in” something and your can’t get it out. You have really “put your foot in it,” or more literally ,you have something “in the way of your foot.” That’s why we call heavy baggage impedimenta,it tangles up our feet. But when someone expedites matters for you (ex, “out,” and pes, pedis, foot”) he gets your “foot” “out” of its entanglement so that you can do what you want to without hindrance. INCUBUS: once an obscene spirits This word and its sister succubus have morbid and obscene origins. Incubus is from the Latin incubo,”lie upon,” and in the beginning referred to an evil spirit who would lie with the ladies when they were asleep and for no good purpose. A succubus ,Latin succumbo, “lie beneath,” was a female domon who, in turn ,was reputed to have sexual connection with men in their sleep . Both sexes, apparently, were well taken care of .In its later history the word incubus has come to mean a handi-happing burden of some sort,as ”His career was held back by the incubus of poverty.”A succubus,however,never changed and is still a strumpet. INVESTIGATE:looking for footprints When detectives investigate a murder,it is likely today that they will first look for fingerprints.And yet if the crime had been committed on a snowy night they would search for foot prints too.And here we have the sealed-in picture of investigate:Latin in,”in,”and vestigo,”follow a footprint,” from vestigium, “footprint.”This latter,of course,gives us our word vestige, as,”There is not a vestige of truth in the statement.”T hat is,not a trace or a footprint of truth. LUNATIC: moonstruck There are many people today who would feel uncomfortable if they had to sleep with the moon shining in their faces.They probably wouldn’t believe that this act would turn then into lunatics,but the shadow of that superstition still remains in the race .Down through the centuries there has been a widespread notion that madness is related to the moon,and that the violence of madness changes with the phases of the moon.In Roman mythology luna was the moon goddess,and it was her name that gave us lunatic because she was supposed to create this condition. MAIM:knocking out a front tooth An early statute says that you have maimed a man if you knock out his front tooth ,but that he is not maimed if you knock out one of his grinders,because with a front tooth he can bite and tear at the enemy,while with a grinder he can only masticate his food.Another amusing law in 1641 says that “The cutting off of an eare,or nose ,or breaking of the hinder teeth,or such like ,is no maihem.”Now ,of course, the words maim and mayhem apply to any willful mutilation. MAROON:take to the wilds . When pirates of old took a dislike to one of their fellow buccaneers,they would set him ashore,or maroon him,on some farlff island and simply sail away.In the beginning though, maroon was a moun, and maroons were the Negroes who lived in Dutch Guiana and the West Indies.The word is from the French term marron, a short form of the Spanish word cimarron,meaning wild and untamed.Later on maroon changed to mean “one left in the wilds .” 69 奥可教育 MOB:from a Latin phrase The English have often accused us Americans of being lazy with our language.We won’t bother,they say,to call a man a baseball fanatic.We clip this to “a baseball fan.”But if we turn back the pages of history, we discover that the British had this same habit around the beginning of the 18th century.They,too were coining new words by snipping bits off old ones.The essayist, Joseph Addison,was quite haughty about it all. He refers to the practice as:”This Humour of speading no more than we needs must which has so miserably curtailed some of our Words”，and he cites the new vulgarism mob as an example.Before the reign of Charles II folks never said such a slang word as mob. They used the Latin phrase mobile vulgus,”the fickle crowd.”But to Addison’s horror they soon shortened this to mobile Then to the mob which we still have with us. MOUNTEBANK:on a bench The history of mountebank ties in to those barkers who talk you into sideshows at the circus, and to the old-time fakers who stepped up on a soapbox and sold Indian snake oil cures.The derivation of the word proves the point Mounteband comes from the Italian montambanco, a contraction of the phrase monta-in-banco, that reads in translation”mount-on-bench.”In Italian montambanco,a contraction of the phrase monta-in-banco ,that reads in translation “mount-on-bench.”In Italy the montambanco was a quack who customarily perched on a bench to hawk his fraudulent wares,and gathered a crowd around him with his jokes and juggling. NEIGHBOR:your friend on the next farm Literally,the farmer who lives near you,from the Old English neshgebur which meant “near-by farmer.”Neah appears in modern German as nahe and in English as nigh ,both of which mean”near”Gebur is related to Bauer ,”farmer ”or “peasant,”in modern German and entered our languang from Dutch as boor ,no longer a farmer or peasant but a city person’s idea of someone with the awkward and clumsy manners of a peasant .This same Dutch word boer gave us the Boer War in which the English fought the Dutch farmers in South Africa. NICKNAME: an added name In days long past, a nickname was an ekename, and eke meant “added”, a name ”added” to your given name. At that time an ekename was a surname , and even in surname we have the same meaning in the French sur , which means “over” or ”above” , a name “over” and “above” your first name . the Middle English word ekename finally absorbed the “n” from ‘an” and became a ekename , and later , with us , a nickname . Once again a name “added” to those you already have. OPPORTUNE: the ship is at the harbor Each year on August 17th the romans had a feast in honor of Portunus, the general god who protected the ports and harbors. His name is derived from portus, the Latin words for “harbor ”. Our word opportune traces to the Latin words ob-,”before”, and portus , “port ,” or “before the port .” When a ship is at the harbor mouth it is an opportune moment , or a happy , fitting, and suitable time for many things. 70 奥可教育 PALLIANTE: cover with a garment The traditional garb of the Greek philosophers was a rectangular woolen cloak draped over the left shoulder and around the body , called by the Romans a pallium . By some strange coincidence , and just as a passing piece of gossip , this was also the popular garment of the hetaerae , those charming and cultural entertainers and courtesans of the day . From the term pallium , “cloak,” the Latins derived the word palliates which meant “covered with a cloak” , and in this circuitous way we get our word palliate with some of the original meaning left . When we palliateour sins , for instance , we attempt to cover them as with a cloak so that they will not be so easily seen and will seem less offensive . When we palliate pain , we reduce its severity and make it less obvious . Again, in a sense , we are “cloaking” it . PARAGON: a testing stone In order to test the purity of gold it is often rubbed against a fine-grained , dark stone like jasper in order to see what kind of a mark it leaves . This testing stone is called a “touchstone”. Ourword paragon comes through Old French from the Italian word paragone which originally meant a touchstone, and hence paragon came finally to be a standard of true worth, so that we can now say , “he is a paragon of virtue.” PECULIAR: related to cattle The story of the word peculiar has a “peculiar” history. In the beginning of Rome, when there were as yet no minted coins, cattle, called pecus in Latin, took the place of money . From pecus the word peculium was finally formed and it meant “private property”. This grew into the word peculiaris which applied to possessions that were “one’s own”. The term entered Old French as peculiar and English as peculiar , with the meaning of property belonging exclusively to someone and not owned by others, or it often could refer to characteristics that were quite distinct from those of other individuals. As the poet Robert Browning said : “Yes, this in him was the peculiar grace.” Now, more and more, peculiar has taken on the meaning of characteristics that are odd and queer. PEDIGREE: foot of a crane Perhaps you take just pride in your family tree. Like a blooded horse, you are proud of you pedigree. But you may not know that, when you boast of your pedigree, you are really speaking of a crane’s foot, for pedigree seems to have been our way of pronouncing the French phrase pied de grue which means “the foot of a crane.” In those very old documents that recorded a family tree, the three-line graph of lineal descent looked for all the world like the imprints of a crane’s foot and suggested the picturesque name. The Latin ancestors of the word pedigree are pes, “foot,” de, “of,” and grus, “crane.” PERNICIOUS: death-dealing A pernicious practice is a harmful one that will work evil, but even though the word still implies a threat, it has weakened in power through the centuries. The Latin perniciosus gave it to us, and this splits into per-, “through and through,” and nex, necis, “death.” 71 奥可教育 PERSON: first was a mask Actors in Roman and Greek dramas often had to take more than one part in a single performance,and for each chanracter that they portrayed they would wear a different mask.the name of such a mask in latin was persona,and since,in a fashion,we are all actors,the word persona came to mean the part that anyone plays in the world.and finally it designated an individuality,or,as of today,a person.by a similar figure of speech,if we impersonate another,we put on his mask. POSTMAN:reminder of romance when the postman rings our doorbell on his daily rounds,he gives little hint of the romance of his beginnings.the first postman were royal couriers who rode post,and a post was one of a chain of stations that furnished a relay of fresh men and horses to carry the king`s messages to some distant point.later on these postriders carried the mails.the word post itself came up from the latin posita,"placed,"for the original posts were "placed"at intervals,along a communication route. PRECARIOUS:obtained by prayer when we are in a precarious positiomn,oursituation is uncertain and often dangerous.the whole thing started out with the idea of prayer,for precarious is based on the latin word prex,precis, "prayer."it looks as though the romans thought when you got anything by prayer or entreaty,it was a pretty uncertain piece of business,for their same word precarious meant "risky".in the begings of the English language precarious meant supplication,and in 1656 the English lexicographer Blount defined precarious as something "granted to one by prayer and entreaty,to use as long as it pleases the party and no longer."Now the word more nearly means "dependent on chance or hazard." PRECOCIOUS: half-baked? Latin prae-,"before,"and coquere,"to cook,"were combined to form praecoquere,"to cook beforehand"or"ripen beforehand."in the latter sense the word applied to fruits that ripened early.From this was derived the English word precocious ,originally applied to plants and trees with the meaning "flowwering or fruiting early or before the usual time ,""early or prematurely ripe or edveloped."We speak of a precocious child as one who is unusually forward and mature .He is "cooked ahead"or if he happpens to be a brat you don't like ,you might prefer to say he is "half-baked." PRESTIGE:meant magic When we say that a man has gained great prestige we intend it as a compliment ,but the French word prestige that we have borrowed is allied to prestidigitation and originally meant juggling tricks ,or illusion. So the prestige that has been won by some of our political leaders may sometimes have something to do with sleight of hand. As one 17th-century writer put it:"I am not deceived by the prestiges of the impostor." PUNTY:born later 72 奥可教育 The word puny has meant many things down through the years, as:"inferior in rank," a puny officer;"more recent in time," a puny date;" a junior,"he left his money to the older children, none to the punies;"a novice or tyro,"I see you are but a puny in your studies.And now puny just means small and feeble.The word is directly trom the 12th-century French puisne,from puis, "later,"and ne,"born,"and its meaning "of small growth" or "weak" simply refers to the fact that babies and younger children "born later" have less strength than the older ones.if you bive the French pronunciation to puisne the sound is almost identical with puny. ROBOT:a slave A long familiar word, but brought into wide notice by the play R.U.R.(Rossum's Universal Robots)written by Karel Capek in 1929. In his play these man-made mechanical robots overpower human beings.The term robot is from the Czech word robotnik," slave," which goes back to the term robota, "work." ROBUST:like an oak That robust man with the magnificent build is literally "strong as an oak," for our descriptive word comes from the Latin robustus ,"oaken." If you wish to make a statement that is strong and powerful, you coroborate it, or "make it like an oak," from the Latin cor-, an intensive, and robur ,"a very hard oak." SCAVENGER:FORMERLY A TAX-COLLECTOR When England was young, scavenger was spelled scavager and meant a "tax-collector " or "inspector." Later on an "n" found its way into the word, and by this time the scavenger had become a supervisor of street cleaning, which comes close to our modern meaning. The word derives from Anglo-French scawager, ultimately from Old French escauver,”inspect.”In the reign of Henry VIII, Leonard Skevington, a lieutenant of the Tower, invented a dreadful instrument of torture that squeezed the body until blood flowed from the ears and nose.This was named”the scavenger’s daughter,”a revolting little tale that shows how the tax-collector has been loved through the ages.Of course, a scavenger now is an animal that feeds on a dead o r decaying carcass. SCINTILIATE: gives out sparks Some fifty years ago a lady named Ellen T.Fowler dashed off a relatively deathless line.” My wit,” she wrote,”is all of the P.m.variety and never scintillates in the moring.”As a matter of fact, the only thing that ever scintillates is wit,for the English language seems to have found no other use for the aord.In its special connection,however,scintillate is a highly descriptive word,as it means”to gtive off sparks”;it is based on the Latin scintilla which meant “spark”.And that sparkling tinsel on the Christmas tree comes from the identical Latin source, but in passing into French scintilla became etincelle.We English dropped the initial“e” and turned tincelle into tinsel. SIMPLICITY: has nothing to hide Simplicity is single in purpose and has nothing to conceal. It comes from a hypothetical Latin 73 奥可教育 prefix sem-,”one,” and plico,”fold”.That is ,opened up,unfolded,laid out flat. The word duplicity, however, is from the Latin duo, “two”, and plico,”fold”.In this case the paper is “folded overtwice”and can hide something in to. Those who practice duplicity are double-dealing, the opposite of simple, or single dealing. They are trying to fool you. With the word diplomat, we turn to the Greek word diploma, “a paper folded twice, “which diplomats took along as their credentials, and which college students now receive as their reward. STEWARD: watched the pigs A steward in one of our exclusive clubs might not be pleased to know that his name used to signify” keeper of the pigs”. The word steward recalls the days when a man’s chief treasure really was his pigsty. To guard the valuable herd from robbers and wild beasts, a special watchman was appointed who was called a steward from stig,“sty” and weard,”warden”or”guardian.”Later on, wealth expanded from herds of swine to herds of cattle and to lands and the job of the steward was now to watch over all of these.In feudal times,the steward rose to great power,becoming a sort of agent for the lord of the manor.He leased lands and collected rents.In some cases he became a magistrate,sttling disputes and such.Thus,in Great Britain,until 1849.the Lord Steward of the Household even had judicial powers and was a minister of the British Cabinet. THUG: an ancient gangster From the Hindustani word thag,“cheat,” which in turn derives from the Sanskrit sthaga,”cheat,”from sthag,”conceal.”These East Indian thugs operated until about 100 years ago. Like modern gangsters they had their “finger men” who spotted the victim. When these thugs were in formed by their spies that a man of property was about to take a journey, they followed him until he arrived at some lonely spot and then, like our modern muggers, they strangled and robbed him. It was all presumed to be done in honor of their goddess Kali, but this ancient murder syndicate profited handsomely by this service to their faith. And their brutality gave us our word thug. TROUBLE: full of commotion When a person is in trouble, his mind is ill at ease. The Latin parent of the word trouble indicates just that, for turbo meant, “ disturb”. It came to us first with the spelling turble, then truble, finally trouble. This same Latin word turbo has given us turbulent,” full of commotion”; disturb,” throw into complete disorder”; and turbid, that is, a turbid stream which is “all muddied up.” VIRILITY: for men only All of the words deriving from the Latin word vir,”man,” are flattering. Virtus, in Latin meant strength, courage, excellence, all of which describe our word virility . And to be virtuous, of course, is to have the traits of a man. And should you be able 74 奥可教育 2. Sources of the Words of Attitudes and Emotions AMUCK: murderous frenzy The famous 18th-century British navigator,Captain Jamer Cook,who was certainly a traveled gentleman,claimed that when a man amuck it was all because of his jealousy of a woman,Whether this be true or not ,our exotix word is borrowed from the Malay.In the Malay language the term amoq,sometimes spelled amok,is the term for a mental disease similar morbid depression into a state of murderous frenzy in which he will attack anyone in his path.This description contains the sense in which we use our word amuck. ASTONISH:thunderstruck With changes in spelling from the French estoner,which is derived from the Latin ex,"out,"and tonare,"to thunder."When one is astonished,he is literally"thunderstruck."And a similar picture is behind our word "thunder,"which derives from the same source as thor,the god of Norse mythology called "the Thunderer,"who was supposed to hurl lighting bolts at the earth.In olden days when one was astonished,he was atunned as by a blow and in a trance."I astonysshe with a stroke upon thehead ,"writes a long-ago author.Nowadays astonished doesn not mean much more than surprised. BEDLAM:is really "Bethlehem" This is a British corruption of the word Bethlehem.The priory of St.Mary of Bethlehem was founded in 1242.But any londoner of this day would have called it,in his disalect,"St.Mary'of Bedlam."In 1402 the priory was turned into a hospital for the insane,and from the reign of Henry VIII it has been a royal foundation for lunatics.So when the Londoners spoke of the Holy City of Bethlehem they were careful to pronounce it the way we now do to distinguish it from the asylum,bedlam.But when our hourse is a perfect bedlam,it still sounds,with its noise and confusion,like the inside of old lunatic asylum. BIGWIG:fine feathers Even tody we occasionally speak of who ranks himself overimportantly as a bigwig.In the England of the 18th centrury a man of distinction was spotted by his large,powdered wig.An august judge bacame more august by this symbol of authority.There were nouns then,now unfamimilar to us,that were once a part of the language,like wiglomeration that meant the pomp and fuss of legal proceedingd.In our times a bigwig is more apt to be a stuffed shirt. BUGBEAR:a bogy TO us a bugbear is a thing of appreciable dread.But in Wales it represented a phantom that was used to scare the naughty children,and the bug part is said to have come from the,to us, unpronounceable Welsh word bwg,"specter,"This word passed into English as bugge,then bug,and gave us bugbear,a goblin-animal of some kind.Our bogyman ,really a "goblin-man," is 75 奥可教育 also to be Welsh .And bugaboo is probably just the same goblin with a frightening boo on the end. DISMAL:merely bad days The Egyptians believed in unluckly days,and apparently these so-called "Egyption days"came into Rome and then on into the Europe of the Middle Ages.In France two such days were marked on the calendar each month and were called the dis malfrom the Latin dies mali,"the evil days."Dis mal was transferred into Middle English as the adjective dismale which descriped these unluckly days when it was wise to be very careful,since misfortune lurked at every tune .Now dismal just means gloomy and depressing. MAWKISH meant simply “ without appetite,” “inclined to be sickly.” Now it’s something that makes you feel sick,like the actions of an over-sentimental and mawkish lover. MELANCHOLY: black bile The Greeks defined melancholia as “the black bile that produces temperament,” and they believed that it was the presence of too much black bile in the system-melas, “ black,” and chole, “bile-” that caused the blues. This notion went down through the centuries. The Elizabethans thought that sullen and gloomy people were suffering from this disease which was very fashionable at that time among the ultra-refined. The favorite dose for depressed and fainting females was melancholy-water. MISOGAMIST: the hater Many an old bachelor is a misogamist,a misogynist, and a misanthrope. The inspiration for the word misogamist is the Greek miso-, “hating,” and gamos, “marriage.” A misogynist is a hater of women, again miso-, “hate,” and gyne, “woman.” While the word misanthrope comes from the Greek word for hate plus anthropos which means “mankind,”so this chap hates everybody. Again in Greek, philo means “love,” and so a philanthropist for his part loves all people. NAUGHTY :good-for-nothing In the days of Miles Standish they spoke of “the naughty canoes,”and this gives an idea of the original meaning of the word :worthless; of bad quality; or just good-for-naught. This was merely a stronger way of saying naught which is derived from the Old English nawiht; that is, “no whit ” or “nothing”. Later on naughty came to signify evil or corrupt, as a naughty pack; that is, “a woman of bad character.” Not until fairly modern times did naughty come to describe a child’s mischief as it does now. NICE : formerly meant ignorant In the Middle Ages nice meant foolish or ignorant , for it comes from the Latin word nescio which is made up of ne, “not”, and scio, “to know.” Then , because ignorant people are often silent, its meaning changed to “shy” or “coy”. Sometimes shy folks get the reputation of being a little uppish because of their offish ways, so the meaning of the word shifted until it meant “hard to please.” “precise,” “ exacting.” We use it today in that sense when we say : “ That is a 76 奥可教育 nice (exacting) problem.” Finally it became general in its meaning and is now applied to many things ,such as people of good taste and disposition. ORDEAL: first with boiling water When a girl says that her day of shopping was quite an ordeal, she is using the word in a somewhat softer sense than it originally had. In the England of another day this term, spelled ordal in Old English and meaning “judgment ,” was most often used in the phrase “trial by ordeal,” a phrase that recalls a legal practice of our ancestral British courts. If a degendant in this original ordeal could carry a red-hot iron without being burned, he was innocent. If he flinched at plunging his hand in boiling water, he was guilty. It was as simple as that,though the tests varied from time to time. And now an ordeal can be a severe test of character, or just a trying experience. OSTRACIZE: reminiscent of Greek democracy When society ostracizes a person today it is recalling one of the quainter aspects of Greek democracy. From time to time the Athenians would make up their minds that the influnence of a certain public man was dangerous and unwholesome. On such an occasion the citizens would assemble in the market place and vote as to whether fellow should be banished. They simply wrote the name of the undesirable man down on a tile or potsherd called an ostrakon. There was no special accusation before the vote, no redress after the votes were taken. If 6000 ostrakons were cast, the victim just kept out of the state for 5 or 10 year. That was all. From this custom and from the Greek term osirakon came our word ostracize with its present and somewhat less brutal significance. ROUÉ: once a criminal From the French word rouer that meant "to break on the wheel or "torture on the rack," this word came to us from the Duke of Orleans who was Regent of France around the turn of the 18th century while Louis XV was still a minor, and after whom our city of New Orleans was named. The Duke liked ribaldry and revelry, and so surrounded himself with dissolute and most disreputable people. And quite as in these days when a man will affectionately call another, "you old bastard, you," the Duke addressed these dissipated companions as his dear roués, there wasn’t one of them who shouldn’t have been jailed or stretched on the rack. SAVAGE: forest dweller We move from the Latin silva, “forest,” and silvaticus, also salvaticus, ”(man) of the forest,” through the Old French sauvage to our word savage. The dwellers in towns looked upon the “men of the woods” as wild men and so the word savage gradually took on its present-day meanings of brutality and cruelty. SILLY: originally meant happy When silly was spelled sœlig it meant “blessed” or “happy.” Then “innocent,” “plain,” “rustic,” “simple.” By the 17th century silly conveyed the notion that the person so-called was weak, harmless, and deserving pity, as “this silly, aged king.” And about this date we arrived at 77 奥可教育 modern meaning “foolish.” SKEPTIC: examine carefully The Greek philosopher, Pyrrho, started a new school of thought some three or four centuries before Christ and he and his followers are regarded as the first skeptics. The epithet skeptic was innocent enough at the beginning. It was taken from the Greek word skeptomai which merely meant to “look at something carefully” and “examine” and “consider” it. Pyrrho felt that our physical senses were admittedly unreliable, and that we could, therefore, never know the true nature of things. With this in mind he taught his pupils to look out upon the world with an unruffled indifference, and to more or less permanently suspend judgment. With the passing of time the name skeptic was applied to anyone who questioned things too much, notably to anyone who had doubts about the Christian religion. STIGMA: literally a brand While a stigma with us is an unpleasant mark of disgrace it used to be a lot more painful than that. When the officials stigmatized a petty criminal in 17th –century England, they actually branded him with a red-hot iron. The Newgate Calendar tells of a hangman who was so ignorant that he could only burn the letter “T” for thief on the palm of the culprit, this being the only letter of the alphabet he knew. The word stigma in Greek meant a brand made by a pointed instrument. SUPERCILIOUS: lifted eyebrows Those who wish to be “snooty” and lift their noses in the air are acting out a slang word. Those, however, who prefer to be supercilious and express their disdain by merely raising their eyebrows are portraying a word that is neither touched nor tainted by slang. Our word supercilious is a direct descendant of the Latin supercilium, “haughtiness,” which splits into super, “above,” and cilium, “eyelid.” Raise your eyebrows and there you are, the picture of disdain. THRILL: to bore a hole in The words thrill and nostril are close cousins. When you are thrilled about a play, for example, the play has actually “pierced” you with emotion, because the Middle English word thrillen meant, at first, “to pierce.” And, similarly, our word Nostril used to be spelled nosthirl, that is ,a hole drilled in the nose. TOADY: first a toad-eater When we use the verb toady, as” He toadied to the wealthy,” we are using a word with a somewhat comic history. You see it was once the custom of charlatans to have attendants who ate, or pretended to eat, toads. The toad was regarded for many years as poisonous, so, after the attendant had apparently swallowed the toad, the charlatan would appear to save his life by getting rid of the poison. The word toady originally stood for toadeater, but in modern usage it is applied to a flatterer who will do distasteful and nauseating things to please his patron. He will toady to people with great names and great wealth. 78 奥可教育 TORTURE: to twist In the days of the Spanish Inquisition victims were tortured by twisting and stretching them on the rack. The word torture come from the Latin tortus, a derivation of torqueo which means “turn” or “twist”. A tortuous road is a “twisting” and winding one. When a robber or blackmailer extorts (Latin ex, “from”) money from persons, he “twists” or wrests it from them by physical or mental violence. If a face is distorted (Latin dis-, “away”), it is “twisted away” from its normal shape, and a contorted (Latin con-, “with”) body is “twisted with” or upon itself. While a retort (Latin re-, “back”), is a remark “twisted” or turned “back” upon the challenger. And even our word torch seems to have come from a “twisted” wick. TRIVIAL: three ways The Romans were human and they knew that where their road crossed would be the spot where the women would meet and gossip on the way back from market. The words for this in Latin would be tri-, “three,” and via, “way,” that is, trivia, which in our language means “trifles.” The word trivial comes straight from the Latin trivialis which means in translation “of the crossroads.” That is , crossroads small talk. Just gossip. VILLAIN: only a farmer The villain whom we used to hiss on the stage started as a quite honest son of the soil. The word villa in Latin stood for a farm Or house. This entered Old French as vilein and Middle English as vyleyn, and until that time this villain of ours was just a rustic fellow, half serf, and bound to the country estate or villa of some lord. Of course he was of low birth, and hence, to the aristocrats, was a person of low morals and villainy in general. Shakespeare employed the word villain in both its ancient and modern uses, but after him the bad sense of the term took over. ZANY: began as a nickname You have probably seen a group of people acting like fools at a cocktail party, If so , you could properly call them zanies. At its beginning the Italian word Zani was a Venetian dialect from equivalent to Gianni, a shortened form of the proper name Giovanni, which equals our “John.” It was a nickname applied to porters and other servants. Thus in the Commedia dell’ Arte a clowning servant was a Zani. His role was to mimic and make fun of his master. By the time zany reached the English language, it meant any silly person. 79 奥可教育 3. Romance Behind Business Terms BUCKET SHOP: originally a bucket of beer In the 1870’s this was applied to a low-down drinking establishment where patrons could come with a small bucket and carry away an evening’s supply of beer. About ten years later the name was transferred to a brokerage establishment that operates illegally, speculating against its customers, failing to execute their commands, and pocketing profits thus accrued. The Oxford English Dictionary claims that the first application of this term was in Chicago on the grain marker. In 1882, the Chicago Board of Trade refused to allow transactions of less than 5,000 bushels so an “Open” Board began to trade in small lots in an alley. If trade on the legitimate board was slack, members are supposed to have said, ”I’ll send down and get a bucketful pretty soon.” BUDGET: just a little bag French merchants of the Middle Ages carried their money around in a bougette, or “little bag”, a word that descended from the Latin bulga, “a leather bag”. The English word bulge comes from the same source. Belly is a very distant relative too, although that’s not so obvious, but they all have the idea of “swelling” in them. When a storekeeper made up his budget in those days he opened his bag to find out his resources and counted the cash.. BUTCHER: slaughtered the goats The original occupation of the butcher seems to have been the slaying of he-goats. Our word comes from the early French bocher, “butcher”, derived from boc, “goat”, An old French ordinance states that the bocher “shall not cast the blood of goats in public ways, nor slaughter the goats in the streets.” In olden times the butcher was of the very elite of tradesmen, as is evidenced by a 14th-century writer who reports: ”A woman that was queen of Fraunce by eritage wedded a bocher for his fairness.” CALCULATE: suggests pebbles When a shopkeeper calculates his accounts, he is apt to use an adding machine. But in Rome 2,000 years ago the merchant figured his profit and loss in a more primitive way. He used what he called calcui, or “little stones” as his counters. So the Latin term calculus, “pebble”, not only gave us our word calculus which we apply to one of most complicated forms of modern mathematics. CANCEL: a lattice of ink The word for “lattice” in Latin is cancelli. In a business sense, when a clerk in the Post Office “cancels” a stamp, he makes a lattice of ink marks right across it. Cancel is from the same source as the chancel of a church-originally the lattice division that separated the choir from the nave-now the part of the church so separated. And the word cancellarius, “usher of the law 80 奥可教育 court,” who was so named because he stood ad cancellos, “at the lattice.” CAPITAL: from the human head The word capital in the sense of wealth comes ultimately from the Latin caput , “head”. The Latin root of caput appears in scores of English words in various forms depending upon whether it came to us through the French or directly from the Latin. Both of our words capital and cattle, for example, are from caput, for in the earliest days a man’s wealth, or capital, was reckoned in cattle, and we still speak of a herd of a thousand “head”. A chattel mortgage is really a “cattle” mortgage, and up to the 16th century the English spoke of “goods and cattals” instead of “goods and chattels”. CHARGE: from a Roman chariot When you charge a customer for a purchase you owe a debt to Rome for the term you are using. The Latin word for the four-wheeled baggage wagon that Julius Caesar used in his campaigns was carrus. In later Latin carrus developed the verb. Carricare which meant“to load on a wagon，”and the French took this over as chargier. A “charge account,” of course, “loads” a person with the obligation of paying. We charge, or burden a man with his crime. You charge or “load” your mind with a responsibility. And in the olden days, they used to charge a musket with powder and sot. They “loaded” it and when they discharged it they “unloaded” it. Beyond this the Roman chariot carrus gave other words. Our car came up through the North French word carre, and the carriage we used to ride in came through the Old Norman French cariage. Cargo is another great-grandchild of carricare, ‘to load.” Cargo is “ loaded” on a cart. But most curiously of all we inherit the word caricature from carricare which sometimes meant to “over-load” and so o exaggerate, as caricaturists are supposed to do. CHAUFFEUR: stoked the fire A French word that used merely to mean a fireman or stoker and that eventually goes back to the Latin calificare, “to make hot.” Around the year 1900, in the first days of the automobile when it often was a steam-driven vehicle, the French gave the bantering name of chauffeur of “stoker” to the professional who drove the car. The term chauffeur derives from chauffer, “to heat,” and this contributed another word to English. The Old French form chaufer went into English as chaufen, “to warm,” which finally changed into our present word chafe which used to mean “to make warm by rubbing,” but now is most commonly used by us in the sense of making the skin sore or sensitive by rubbing. The chafing-dish is the only modern use that retains the original meaning of “heat.” And the chauffeur is no longer a “fireman.” COAL: first a glowing ember The word coal, spelled col in Old English, meant at one time a piece of carbon glowing without flame. Later coal took on its modern meaning; and confusingly enough, the word charcoal means something that has been “charred” and so reduced to coal. One of the earliest mentions of coal is found in the Saxon Chronicle of the abbey of Petersborough in the England of 852 A.D. The abbot had let some land to a certain Wulfred who was to send to the monastery in 81 奥可教育 return, among other things, 60 loads of wood, 12 loads of coal, and 6 loads of peat. The type of hard coal known as anthracite owes the beginning of its name history to the Greek word anthrax, meaning “coal,” which was described by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus in a script he wrote on Stones aboyt 371 B.C. Bituminous, or soft coal, got its name from he Latin word bitumen, a mineral pitch found in Palestine and Babylon that was used for mortar. In the Douay Bible of 1609 we read: “Thou shalt pitch it (the arke) within and without with bitumen.” The coal called lignite is so imperfectly formed that it still has the brown look of decayed wood. Hence its name from he Latin lignum, “wood.” COBALT: a devil A tough, steel-gray metallic element, valuable to certain steel alloys, and useful in some of its compounds as a pigment. Its lustrous sheen often made the miners think they had discovered a more precious meal. Because of this, and also because the arsenic and sulphur it often contains was harmful to those working over it, this meal was regarded as the demon of the mines and was nicknamed from the German Kobalt, a variant of Kobold, meaning a “goblin.” The miners chose a similar name for nickel. In German it used to be Kupfernickel, “copper demon,” because this tricky ore looks copper and isn’t. We took the word nickel from he Swedish kopparnickel, dropping the first half of the name in transit. Nickel, then, is just a bit of he Old Nick. COMPANY: eats bread with you The term company corresponds to companion and this in turn derives from he Latin words cum, “with,” and panis, “bread.” A companion, then, is one who eats bread with you, a “messmate,” and when you have company at your house they share your hospitality. In its business use he romantic associations of the word company are drained off. 82 奥可教育 4. Word Histories of Your Garden MISTLETOE It’s too bad to rob the mistletoe of any of its delightful associations, but the beginnings of the word are anything but romantic. When we trace mistletoe back to its origin, we find it spelled mistiltan, and mistily comes, of all things, from a word meaning “dung,” and tan means “twig.” So here we have a “twig of dung.” This all grew out of the popular belief that this plant sprang from bird droppings, In a 17th-century essay we read that mistletoe “come onely by the mewting of birds . . . which feed thereupon and let it passé through their body.” The ancient Druids thought that the mistletoe of the oak was a cure for the various ailments of old age, and William Bullein, writing in 1562 in his Bulwarke of Defence Against All Sickness and Woundes said: “The miseln groweth . . . upon the tree through the dounge of byrdes.” We regard the plant as an invitation to a kiss, but the American Indians, being on the practical side, didn’t trifle with it in this way. They chewed the stuff for toothache. NARCISUS The history of this flower-name leads us into an involved love story of the Grecian gods which eventually contrituted three useful words to the English language. Echo, daughter of air and earth, was an attendant on Gera, queen of the heavens. She happened to offend her mistress, however, and for punishment was deprived of all spech save the power to repeat such word echo. In spite of her handicap, she fell hopelessly in love with the beautiful youth Narcissus, son of a river god, but he spurned her love and as a result Echo faded away until only her bone and her voice were left. In order to punish Narcissus for his crime Nemeses, goddess of vengence, made the youth fall in love with his own reflection in the waters of a fountain; and since such love as this could never be consummated, Narcissus pined away and finally changed into a flower.So from this we have our word echo, the Freudian term narcissism, and narcissus itself, with its handsome and usually white or yellow flowers. NASTURTIUM The pungent smell of these flowers caused them to be nicknamed “nose-twisters ” by the ancients. You see, the word nasturtium was made up of the Latin words nasus, “nose,” and torqueo, “twist.” It was the Roman naturalist Pliny who said, in the 1st century, that this flower “received its name from tormenting the nose.” And if you chew one of the seeds the bitter taste will make the meaning of the name more obvious. ORCHID The lovely and expensive orchid holds in its name the Greek word for “testicle,” orchis. Even Pliny the Elder, Roman author and naturalist, said,these 2,000 years ago, that the orchid was remarkable in that, with its double roots, it resembles the testicles. These are his Latin words:” 83 奥可教育 Mirabilis est orchis herba, sive serapias, gemina radice testiculis simili.” The word orchis now survives in English only as a botanical and medical term. The meaning proper has disappeared along with the study of Greek from the general ken. PANSY Some poetic mind fancied that this dainty flower had a thoughtful face, and so named it pensee, French for “thoughtful,” which turned easily into our word pansy. PASSION FLOWER So named because its parts resemble the instruments of Christ’s passion. The corona is the crown of thorns; the flower, the nails or wounds. The five sepals and five petals are the ten apostles. Peter and Judas were not counted. PEONY These striking, heavy-headed plants so characteristic of early summer wereonce widely used in medicine so they were named after Paion, a personage of Greek mythology who was the physician of the gods. PETUNIA The botanists saw a resemblance between this small tropical plant with its white and violet flowers and the tobacco plant so they took the American Indian word petun, “tobacco,” and put a Latin sounding ”ia” on the end. PHILODENDRON A tropical Amirican plant that likes to climb trees, among other things, and so takes its name from the Greek philodendros, from philos, “loving,” and dendron, ”tree,” that is, a “tree-loving plant.” PHLOX The solid and variegated colors of the phlox glow like flames. Why shouldn’t they, since phlox, in Greek, means “flame”? POINSETTIA The Honorable Joel Roberts Poinsett of Charleston, South Carolina, was adistinguished diplomat, Secretary of War in President Martin Van Buren’s cabinet, author, congressman, authority on military science, Union leader in the Civil War, but for all that he would probably gave been forgotten had he not been appointed as a special minister to Mexico. It was while there that he became attracted to the large, flaming flowers that we now know so well. He brought some of the plants back to the States and his name Poinsett gave us poinsettia. RHODODENDRON A rose tree,from the Greek rhodon, “rose,” and dendron, ”tree.” SALVIA The oldsters knew something of the mystical healing powers of sage tea. This idea is contained in the Latin name salvia, which is from salvus, meaning “sound” or “in good health.” In Old French this same Latin word became sauge which eventually gave us sage. But the scarlet 84 奥可教育 variety of sage is an ornamentai plant, and it retains its stylish Latin name of salvia. SCABIOSA A thoroughly unromantic Latin name, a derivation of scabies , “the itch,” from scabo, ”scratch,” which is what you do when you have the itch. The plant was called this because it used to be thought of as a cure for certain skin diseases. SHAMROCK From the Irish seamrog, the diminutive of seamar which means “clover.” Therefore the shamrock is a “little clover.” The plant was used by St.Patrick to illustrate the Trinity because of its three leaves, and it became his symbol. It is for this reason that it comes in order on St.Patrick ’s day “to drown the shamrock” by way of a drinking celebration. SYRINGA This ornamental shrub with its sweet-scented white flowers got its name from the Greek syrinx, syringes, which meant “reed.” This name is said to have been chosen because the stems of the plant were used a good deal in the manufacture of pipes. TRILLIUM This flower of many colors with its whorl of three green leaves derives its name from the Latin tri-, which means “three.” TULIP Again among the descriptive names is the tulip which, with its showy colors and velvet texture, has somewhat the appearance of a turban. The word comes to us through the obsolete French word tulipan, from tulbend, the Turkish way of saying”turban.” VERBENA To us the verbena is a fragrant perennial with spikes of broad flat clusters of white, red, and lilac flowers, but to the Romans the word verbena meant “sacred bough” and applied to the sacred boughs of myrtle, cypress, and what-not carried by the heralds who declared war, demanded redress for wrongs, grievances, and all. WISTERIA A high-climbing shrub with flowers that run the gamut of white, pink, and violet, a plant that is especially popular in Japan and in the southern United States. It also grows in the northern states, but southerners usually refuse to recognize this fact. These flowers were named wisteria in 1818 for Caspar Wistar who was one-time professor of “anatomy, midwifery, and surgery” at what was then the College of Pennsylvania. ZINNIA A plant, with striking, highly colored, but rather coarse blooms. Native toMexico and the Southwest, but for some reason adopted as the state flower of Indiana. The name zinnia comes from that of J.G.Zinn, an obscure 18th-century German botanist who seems to have no other claim to fame than this. 85 奥可教育 5. Word Stories About Your Dining Table BREAD: merely a fragment If you had gone into an English bakery around 700 A.D. and had asked for a loaf then meant bread, and their word bread meant “a little piece,” “a fragment.” So when you spoke of a loaf of bread, the clerk would have understood you to have said “a bread of fragments,” than which nothing could have sounded sillier. Finally, however, bread came to mean “a piece of bread;” later “broken bread;” and in the end bread and loaf took on their present meanings. CANDY: broken bits Until quite recent times we said, not just candy but sugar candy, and the derivation of these words indicates that our confection must have always been on the hard side for candy is ultimately from the Sanskrit khanda which meant a piece of something, or lump sugar. These two words sarkara khanda are represented in Italian to form zucchero candi, our familiar sugar candy. CAROUSE: bottoms up Sometimes a party that starts innocently and pleasantly will end in a wild carouse. When we pronounce this word carouse, we are coming as near as we can to saying gar aus which is the German word for “completely finished.” When a celebrant is drinking in a tavern and his glass is gar aus, or “completely finished,” it is empty, and if it is gar aus too often he is starting to carouse. And when we drink we are usually hob-nobbing with other people, that is, we are chatting socially and being convivial. But in the 12th century when the English cried habban-nabban they were saying “have”-- “have not,” which was a sort of take or leave it invitation to a drink. CEREAL: named for a goddess When you are eating your morning cereal, you are paying a small tribute to an ancient goddess. In 496 B.C. the Roman countryside was cursed by a terrible drouth. The priests of the day turned to the Sibylline oracle for help. As a result of this divine consultation. The priests reported that a new goddess, Ceres, must be adopted, and they recommended that immediate sacrifices be made to her so that she would bring rain to the land. In the end, Ceres became the protector of the crops. The caretakers of her temple were the overseers of the grain market, which, however, the goddess controlled since it was her influence that determined the harvest, and to insure a good harvest the first cuttings of the corn were always sacrificed to her. The Latin adjective cerealis, which meant “of Ceres,” gave us our word cereal. CHARTREUSE: from a monastery’s name The name derives from La Grande Chartreuse, an old Carthusian monastery, where this cordial was originally made. In the early 17th century the Marechal d’Estréss gave the monks a recipe 86 奥可教育 for the liqueur which consisted of fine herbs and brandy. But in 1880 the Order was expelled from France and they set up their distillery in Spain at Terragona. Connoisseurs claim that the cordial is not right now because the herbs are gathered in an alien spot. It is reported that the monks are using legal action to get back to their original spot so that the cognoscenti can have their chartreuse with the right flavor. CHOWDER: named after a pot In the little villages of Brittany, on the north coast of France, it has long been the custom for each fisherman to toss a bit of his catch into a common mess of fish and biscuit that cooks in a community pot or chaudière. This dish was so good that its fame spread to Newfoundland and so to the east coast of the United States, and the name of the pot was soon applied to the contents, and the spelling chaudière was restyled as chowder. COFFEE: decoction of berries It is said that back somewhere in the year 850, a goatherd named Kaldi became puzzled at the strange way his flock was acting. He noticed that they were nibbling on certain berries, so he decided to try the berries himself. He did, and was so excited at the feeling of exhilaration he got that he rushed off to tell the other goatherds about the bush. The Arabs soon learned how to dry and boil the berries, and they called the brew qahwe. Its use immediately stirred up a great ruction among the orthodox Mohammedans.Some of the faithful drank their qahwe to keep awake during the interminable religious services,but for that reason others thought that qahwe should be barred as an intoxicant.Turkey took up the brew qahwe,and this gave France her cafe,hence our word coffee. COGNAC:named for a town When guess sip their after dinner cognac,they are tasting a liquor that has been in the world for more than 400 years.The name cognac is short for Eau de Vie de Cognac,“water of life of Cognac,”a town in southwest France where brandy-marking is the main industry.It was a Dutchman who discovered brandy they say,a sharp businessman who was worried because more grape-wine was being produced in Cognac than they could ship out.Sohe thought if he distilled the water from the wine there would be less bulk and more of the product could be transported. The idea was that the customer could pour the water back in when he received the stuff.It was a good idea at that,but for some reason it didn＇t work.Brandy as we know it seems to havebeen introduced into France from Italy at the time HenryⅡ,then Duke of Orleans,married Catherine de Medici.This was in 1533,and soon after cognac became one of the most famous Frence brandies. COLLATION:began with the monks In the Benedictine monasteries the monks used to gather in the evening and read aloud from the Collations,or lives of the saints.Then they would talk about these things and eat a light meal the while .Later this came to be called a collation,or a light meal that was eaten on fast days in place of supper.Finally in later days,and with the laity,it was used to mean a meal,and 87 奥可教育 sometimes an elaborate one. COOK:just means cook The word cook itself holds little inerest for us.It traces back to the Latin word cocus or coquus,from coquo,“cook.”But the derivatives from it may be worth our attention.A biscuit,for instance,is “twice-cooked”or“baked”out of the French bis, “twice,”andcuit,“cooked,”which is similar to “zwieback,”from the German zwie,“twice,”and backen,“bake.”If you should concoct a story or a soup,you cook the ingredients together(Latin con-,“together”)until you＇ve made up a good one.Both of the words kitchen and cake come by different routes from coquo. CORDIAL:close to the heart Should you ever in your life have sipped a cordial,it warmed your heart,didn＇t it? And it properly should,for the word cordial comes from the Latin term cor,cordis,“heart.”Likewise a cordialhandshake is a “hearty”handshake.When we are in accord(Latin ac-,“to”)with a neighbor,our “hearts”and minds are in harmony.But should there be discord(dis-,“awayuote ),our hears and minds are apart.A man of courage is a man of “heart,”for courage comes to us though French from the Latin cor.Again,the record that is kept divides into re-,“again,”and cor,cordis,“heart,”because in former times,when writing was not such a simple art,the records were often passed on by word of mouth and had to be leaned by“heart.” DATE:like a finger The fruit of the date palm was once thought toresemble the human finger,and hence our word date comes ultimately from dactylus,the Latin term for“finger.”As all Bible readers know, the date palm was common in the Mediterranean region long ago.Its introduction into America was due to the efforts of Spanish missionaries in the 18th century who started seedlings in Mexico and elsewhere. DISTILL:drop at a time When a substance is distilled it is vaporized in a retort,passed into a receiver,and condensed drop by drop.The Latin term distillo suggests this process when we split the word up into de,“down,”and stilla,a“drop.”And when we instill the young with wisdom,that,too, is poured“into”their minds“drop bydrop.” EGGS BENEDICT:resulted from a hangover In the year1894 a certain Samuel Benedict,man-about-town and member of New York＇s cafe society,came into the old Wal-dorf-Astoria on 34th Street with a wicked hangover.He knew precisely what he wanted for his breakfast.He ordered bacon butter toast,twopoached eggs,and a hooker of hollandaise.Oscar,famous maitre d＇hotel ofthe Waldorf was impressed with the dish,and put ham and a toasted English muffin in place of the bacon and toast,and christened the whole affair Eggs Benedict in honor of the genial rake. EPICURE:should be moderate If you are a lover of good food and wine and if you take a fastidious and sensuous delight in 88 奥可教育 your pleasures,it would be correct to call you an epicure,although the use of the word in this sense is a gross slander on the hight in your pleasure,it would be correct to call you an epicure,although the use of the word in this sense is a gross slander on the original Epicureans.TheGreek philosopher,Epicrueans, taught moderation in all things.Pleasure,he advised,is acertain quota of pain,and so he instructed his pupils in temperance.When the English-speaking people took over the word,however,they seized upon the single idea of“pleasureand”and now the words epicure and epicurus and his followers so deplored. GOUT:just a drop This disease,down through the years,has been the honored ailment of oldgentlemen who lived high and drank large quantities of port after dinner.There may now be a medical doubt about the cause,as today gout is ranked under the vague and general term of rheumatism.But,be that as it may,gout goes back thourgh Frech to the Latin gutta,"drop." The notion was that morid matter"dropped"from the blood and settled about the joints,and so caused them to swell and become painful.In the 19th century folks had gout stools that were made to hold one foot. GRAPE: a hook for gathering fruit The original Old English word for this was winberige form the Germanic win,"vine,"and berige,"berry";literally,"berry of the vine." But in the 11th century William of Normandy conquered England and with his victory the fancier Frech words came in at a great pace.It is true that the humble farmer went on saying winberige,but his lords were now saying grappe,which really meant a cluster of fruit growing together,and this latter word ultimately comes form grape,the vine hook with which they gathered the grapes.By this route the word grape came to us,and also the lusty word grapple that you use when you grapple with a problem. HERMETICALLY: a god-given name When a housewife hermetically seals her jars of preserves,she would hardly guess that she was dealing with the magic of a Greek God. Hermes,an Olympian god, was a messenger like the Roman god Mercury,a god of magic,alchemy,and the occult.Our word hermetically is formed form the name of Hermes,possibly because the process of sealing wounds or jars hermetically seems to have to do with the mystic and magical powers of the gods. INTOXICATE:poisoned arrows The modern meaning of this word came about in a simple and logical fashion.The Greek word toxon meant"bow."The poison with which the soldiers tipped their arrows was calld toxikon(pharmakon) which led to the Latin toxikum,a more general word covering any poison.We then turn to the late Latin intoxicatus from the verb intoxico,"poison,"the base of our word intoxicale.And so we have taken a trip down through the centuries from the Greek warrior who poisoned his arrows to the intoxicated chap who says,"Name your poison!" Of course in our medical word toxic we have retained the ancient meaning. 89 奥可教育 JULEP:merely rose-water Here is a name poetic as a Kentucky colonel. The origin lies in the Arabic word julab which meant"rose-water."This innocent potion became alcoholic in the good old U.S.A.As early as 1787 records show that the landlords of Virginia started the day at six in the morning with a julep as an eyeopener. JUNKET:originally a basket We have here a strange tie-up between a rush basket and the pleasure junket that a group of congressmen take,we'll say, to the Philippines, and the junket that we feed to children.In old France the custard that was made there of"cream,rose water,and sugar"was taken to market in the jonquette,or basket of rushes,and this custard soon took on the name of the basket in which it was carried and was respelled junket.These baskets suggested a picnic and the junkets the congressmen go on certainly have the character of a picnic,and received their name because of this.So there we are,except that this all stems from the juncus of the Romans which was their word for "rush." LUNCHEON:a lump of food The origin of this common word is so old that it has become somewhat clouded.Lunch first meant"a lump"and lunshin,an English dialect word,meant"a lump of food."But there also existed the dialect word nonschench which splits into anon,"noon,"and schench,"a drink."High authorities claim that these two words nonschench and lunshin blended to form the word luncheon which could then roughly mean"a lump of food with a noon drink." Of course,when you have breakfast,you merely"break the fast."Dinner is from the French diner,"to dine,"and supper is"to sup,"which is really to "sip"either food or drink.And a morsel is a"little bite"since it comes from the Latin term morsum,"bitten." MANHATTAN:origin unknown Of course the name Manhattan,whether applied to the drink or the city,belonged to the tribe of Indians who originally inhabited Manhattan Island.The Manhattan cocktail came into vogue toward the end of the last century,and the year 1894 is the earliest recorded use of the name,but as yet there is no further explanation of the origin.The history of the martini is equally obscure. NAPKIN: first a little tablecloch The tiny paper napkins that we use at times would never have done in the old days when knives,and spoons were limited,or nonexixtent.Then you needed a tremendous linen square to mop up with.These enormous napkins were a sign of elegance long after flat sliver came in,and even in the 1890's large napkins were an important part of any top-drawer dinner.We have the word napery now for table linen,and in this term is buried another word,nape,which once meant tablecloth.In our language when we say napkin we mean a little nape,which is an Old French word,and so "a little tablecloth."In Old French the derivative of nape was naperon.This was borrowed into Middle English as naperon and an apron was first called a napron,but by error 90 奥可教育 the initial n became joined to the a and an apron took the place of a napron.In similar fashion the snake,an adder,used to be called"a nadder."And all of this finally derives from the Latin word mappa which also meant napkin or"cloth." OMELETTE:originally a thin blade The history of this word is just as mixed up as a modern omelette.The term came to us by a series of absurd blunders.The Latin word lamella,"a thin plate,"entered French as la melle,and later the word was reinterpreted as l'alemelle.But the French already had a word alemette which meant the thin blade of a sword,and before we know it l'alemelle is being spelled l'alemette,and later on,omelette.So,if you have followed through this labyrinth,you will see that an omelette is really a thin blade and has practically nothing to do with eggs.And while on the subject of omelette the word yolk comes quite understandably form its color.It is a derivative of the Middle English word yolke through Old English geolca,from geolu,"yellow." ONION:related to a pearl In Latin there is a word union which is translated as "oneness"or"union".The word onion is derived form this Latin term.It rates its name because it consists of a number of united layers.There is also another interesting analogy between union and onion.The rustics about Rome not only used the word unio to mean onion,but they also thought it a suitable desigation for a pearl.And even today a cook will speak of "pearl onions"when she means the small,slivery-white variety. ORGY:meant secret rites Dionysius was a god and giver of the grape and the wine.The grateful Greek held night festivals in his honor,and these often turned into drunken parties where the boys and girls danced and sang and violated all the sex laws.The Greek called 91 奥可教育 6. Political Terms and Their Origins BALLOT: why we “cast” a ballot The ballot we cast and the bullet we shoot were both balls at the beginning, but are descended from widely different parents. Bullet comes down to us through the French boulette, “a small ball,” from the Latin bulla, a “bubble,” “boss,” or “stud,” while ballot traces to the Italian ballota. “a little ball,” a word of Germanic origin. With us a ballot is sheet of paper we put a cross on and drop in a box on election day, unless we are dealing with voting machines. But the ancient Greek dropped a white ball of stone or metal or shell in a container when he favored a candidate, a black ball when he was against-which explains why the undesirable are still “blackballed” in our clubs. The ball we throw and bat around in our games has a closely related parentage as it comes from the same Germanic source as the Italian ballotta. BALLYHOO: from county cork, Ireland When you raise a lot of ballyhoo you are making a general fuss and pother. This all is thought to have grown out of a village called Ballyhooly, that lies east of Mallow in Cork County, Ireland. As the congressional Record of March, 1934, says: “The residents engage in most strenuous debate, a debate that is without equal in the annals of parliamentary, or ordinary discussion, and from the violence of these debates has sprung forth a word known in the English language as ballyhoo.” BRIBE: a piece of bread Many of the words that concern themselves with the idea of companionship or conciliation (including these two words themselves) have to do with the sharing of food. Bribe is such a word. In modern French, and in the plural, bribes means bits, odds, ends, and leavings, but in Old French it meant a lump of bread, or, as an olden-time author said: “A peece, lumpe or cantill of bread given unto a beggar.” The development of bribe seems to have been along the following lines: first a piece of bread, then begging, then living by beggary, then theft, and finally blackmail and bribery in the modern sense. BUNK: a speech for Buncombe County Around the year 1820 a debate was in progress in the House of Representatives on the complicated question of the Missouri Compromise. In the middle of the discussion a member from Buncombe County, North Carolina, arose and started a long, dull, and completely irrelevant talk. Many members walked out. Others called for the question. Finally the speaker apologized with the now famous statement: “I’m talking for buncombe,” which meant, of course, for his constituents in Buncombe which was a county in his district. According to the Niles’ Weekly Register, published in Philadelphia from 1811 to 1849, the phrase “talking to (or for) Bunkum” was well-known in 1828. We clipped the word to bunk, which now means 92 奥可教育 inflated and empty speech or pretentious humbuggery. A colorful and expressive derivative of this word is debunk which came into use in the early 1920’s. The debunkers were first a school of historians in the years between Wars I and II who were popular for the straightforward and outspoken ways in which they stripped some of our heroic figures. CANDIDATE: clad in white When a Roman politician went campaigning he took care that his toga was immaculately white so that he could make the best impression possible. The Latin word candidates first simply meant “a person dressed in white” but later it took on the meaning that our word candidate has, a seeker after office. The root of candidates can be recognized in our word incandescent which means “white and glowing” and in candid, for a candid person, in the figurative sense is white and pure, and therefore frank and honest. CARTEL: originally a chart Here is a word that has gone through dramatic changes of meaning. It originated in the Latin term charta which meant “paper” and gave us our English word chart. A cartel was originally a written challenge to a fight. Then later it meant a libelous statement in writing. By the 17th century it was an agreement concerning the exchange of prisoners in a war. And now it has the dignified meaning of “an agreement in restraint of trade,” or one of those international combines that makes such an agreement about the fixing of prices and output. FASCISM: based on a bundle If you will look on the back of the American dime, you will see the mark of the Fascist. The term Fascism comes from the Italian Fascismo and this in turn is built on the Latin fascis which meant a bundle, usually a bundle of sticks or rods. This bundle, with the ax protruding, was the symbol of official power that was carried before all Roman magistrates. Benito Mussolini resurrected it ofr his own use. FILIBUSTER: once a freebooter The buccaneers who infested the West Indies and the SpanishAmerican Coast in the 17th century were called filibusters and freebooters. The word freebooter come from the Danish vrijbuiter, vrij, “free,” and buit, “booty,” but vrijbuiter gave us another word by another route. It passed into French as filibuster, then into Spanish as filibustero, and so into English as filibuster. The word came to mean anyone who waged an irregular sort of warfare for his own gain. And now a filibuster is conducted by a sometimes irregular sort of congressman who speaks interminably to delay legislation. GERRYMANDER: child of a salamander Coined around 1812 and infrequently used except in politics. At that time the Massachusetts legislature ingeniously contrived to rearrange the shape of Essex County so as the better to control elections. When they got through with their redistribution it was noticed that this county resembled a salamander. The governor of the state at that time was Elbridge Gerry and a smart newspaper editor used his surname and the last half of salamander to create gerrymander. Such 93 奥可教育 a redistribution of boundaries today for the purposes of political advantages is still called gerrymandering. GOVERNOR: he directed a ship When we speak of the “ship of state” we are more accurate than we know, for to the Greeks their word kybernao meant to “direct a ship” and, also, even in those days it had the figurative meaning to “direct the ship of state.” Kybernao isn’t too far in sound from governor. The Romans borrowed the word as guberno, passed it on to the French; then it crossed the channel to England as governor. The president of the United States, however, is actually a presiding officer, for the word president comes from the Latin praesideo, “sit in front of” or “protect”; and the Premier of England should really be the first and topmost citizen of his country because Premier is from the Latin word primaries which means “belonging to the first rank.” The Czar is another story, for it traces back to the old Slavic word cesare which obviously owes its beginning to Caesar, the name of the Roman emperors. The title Tsar was first used in Russia in the 15th century and was adopted as his official title by Ivan the Terrible in 1547. INAUGURATE: they studied the birds first In modern days when we inaugurate a president, we induct him into office with solemn and suitable ceremonies. But in olden times such important affairs were not left to chance. The Latin Word inauguratus splits up into in-, “in”, and augur, “diviner.” The augurs and prophets of those days studied the flights and habits of birds, and from their findings told the emperors and governors what the future held in store. And the advice of the soothsayers was usually followed. The Emperor Claudius, however, became impatient during the Punic Wars. When the sacred birds refused to come out of their cage, he tossed them into the sea, declaring: “If they won’t eat, they must drink.” In modern days our presidents and governors receive no help from the diviners when they are inaugurated and are forced to take their own chances. LOBBY: began as an arbor The word lobby that describes the operations of the political pressure groups in Washington shows us that some words have moved from German to Latin to English. We are wont to believe that Latin is always original in its contributions. In Old High German lauba meant a shelter of foliage. This term entered the Latin of the Middle Ages as lobia and in the 16th century was adopted by English as lobby, “a cover ed walk,” which meaning was modified to a “passage” or “anteroom.” In 1640 it was first applied to the anteroom of the House of Commons, and here the lobby began and the lobbyist went to work. MACHIAVELLIAN: from a stateman’s name In the days of the wicked Lucrezia Borgia, there lived a famous statesman and diplomat by the name of Niccola Machiavelli. Even the characteristics of his face and manner suggested his practices. He was thin-lipped, with an aquiline nose; his was vulgar in his humor, feverishly active in his ways, and acidly sarcastic. Machiavelli had a mind that was startling in its brilliance and keen in its analytical powers, and he was thought of as “the idea man” for the 94 奥可教育 politicians of early 16th-century Florence. In time he lost favor with the ruling Medici family. For this reason he was forced to stop his active practice of politics, and started to write down his theories about them instead. Through his book Il principe he has become known as the founder of political science. Unfair critics have maligned him, claiming that he believed a ruler to be justified in using any means, no matter how unscrupulous., to maintain his power. For this reason a machiavellian policy now means a policy of craft, cunning, and bad faith. MUGWUMP: great man In 1884 there was a split in the Republican party, and a large number of members refused to support James G. Blaine for president. They were accused by the regulars of assuming a superior attitude and such epithets as “Pharisees” and mugwumps were hurled at them. Apparently mugwump, or mugquomp as it was spelled in one of the Massachusetts dialects, was an Algonquian Indian word meaning “great man” or even “chief.” Today the word is applied to anyone who takes a position independent of “the party line.” Albert J. Engel is reported to have said in the House of Representatives in April, 1936, that a mugwump has “his mug on one side of the political fence and his wump on the other,” although this joke is thought to be older than Engel. PLATFORM: it’s flat In French plat means “flat,” so a platform is really a “flat-form.” Since the 1800’s the word platform, in the political argot of the United States, has signified the basis of a party’s appeal to the public. The party leaders carry on endless arguments about the “planks” that are to be put in the platform, and these “planks” take us right back to the broad pieces of sawed lumber that make up the familiar speaker’s platform. POLL: first a human head Poll is a term that has a meaning quite different from the one it began with. In Middle English the word was spelled polle and meant “head,” or more particularly, the “top of the head,” for that was the part of a person that could be seen above the crowd when a count of “heads” was being taken. In this way the word came to mean the registering of votes. A poll tax, of course, is a “head” tax. PROTOCOL: first concerned glue We are familiar with the sharp protocol of diplomacy that determines what official shall call on whom first, and where the ambassador’s wife shall sit at a formal dinner party. The word protocol itself travels back finally to the Greek term protokollon. Which was the first leaf glued to the front of a manuscript with an index of the contents written on it. The elements of the word are protos, “first,” and kolla, “glue.” Our word protocol from which an official treaty or document was eventually drawn. Then the meaning was extended to the rules of etiquette of the diplomatic corps and others. RADICAL: to the root of things This word now is not much more than a general term of abuse, although it started off 95 奥可教育 innocently enough. It comes directly from the Latin radicalis from radix, “root.” This same word radix gave us the name of our homely vegetable the radish which is nothing more than an edible “root.” Therefore a radical, essentially, is merely a person who likes to go to the “root” of a matter. In its original sense, radical meant “fundamental” or “primary.” But around the end of the 18th century, a group of English politicos came to be known as radical reformers because they wanted to go right to the root of things and revamp the existing political set-up. No one called them “reds,” however, because their special badge happened to be a white hat. They were soon a hated crew, for folks don’t like change, and the word radical eventually became a name of low reproach. SENATE: a group of old men Our sometime comment about the “nine old men” of the Supreme Court indicates that our young nation doesn’t look upon old age with as much respect as the Romans did. For their word senatus, “senate,” derived from the Latin senex, “an old man,” and their senate, thus, was a revered council of elders. We Americans are more apt to look upon old age as senile, which also is a derivative of senex. TAMMANY: an Indian saint Tammany Hall was founded in New York City as a private social club in 1789. It was said to have been sharpened into a political weapon by Aaron Burr, and with its new power practically swung the political election to Thomas Jefferson. People were indignant and complained about a private club playing politics. So Tammany split up. One half took out a charter as a social and benevolent outfit, bought a meeting-place called “The Hall,” and rented the space to the other and political half. They borrowed the name for their association from a Delaware Indian chief of the 17th to 18th centuries called Tammany or Taminy. Chief Tammany was described as a friend of George Washington, and may have been the Indian with whom William Penn had his famous negotiations for the land which became Penn’s woods, or Pennsylvania. Later on the Delaware chief was facetiously canonized as the patron saint of the republic, and so for more than 160 years New York City has often been ruled by the loyal Sons of Saint Tammany. 96 奥可教育 7. War Words and Their Histories ADMIRAL:a Saracen chief Originally an admiral was an amir, or a Saracen chief. The amir-al-bahr was commander of the sea.Amir,"commander," al,"the ,"bahr,"sea."This was his official title in the early days of Spain and Sicily.The first tow parts of the Arabic word were taken into French as amiral which was later reinterpreted as admiral due to the equivalence of Old French a-and Latin ad-.This word passed into English and was associated with the navy as early as the 13th century.Later,a flagship was called the Admiral which led to the word's application in modern English to a sea commander. ALARM: to arms' If we are alarmed at any time, we should spring to arms for that is what the Italian cry all'arme meant.In later years the Italians combined the two word s into allarme and the meaning was extended from the military command itself to the emotion was fright that had been felt on hearing it shouted.Now,very often, alarm has only to do with the warning of the morning alarm clock.The word had even reached this low point at the time of Samuel Pepys who noted in his Diary on July 15,1665, after a hard day at the Exchequer:"And so to bed,to be up betimes by the helpe of a larum watch,which by chance I borrowed of my watchmaker today which my owne is mending." AMNESTY:loss of memory When a lawyer begs amnesty for his client, he is actually asking the judge to have and attack of amnesia.The first person in history to grant amnesty was reported to have been a Greek general who said that he would forgive his enemies and " not remember"(Greek a-,"not,"mnasthai,"to remember")their misdeeds.And from this we inherited our two English words, amnesia,"loss of memory ,"and amnesty ,"a pardon for offenses." ANNOY:once a military term In the 16th century the English had a Jury of Annoyances to deal with such public nuisances as the "slaughter of bestes within the cyte."The word annoy was much stronger then.An attacking enemy would "annoy a town."This term ternm traces back by changes of spelling to the Latin phrase in odio which meant "in hatred."The French took the Latin word over in the derived form enuier,"displease,"and from this term we inherited in English the tow words annoy and ennui,the fist meaning "to displease"and the second,"the act of being bored by unpleasantness,"or just boredom in general.Another useful English word comes from the same Latin parentage.The word could have been annoy-some but we reduced this to the less awkward word noisome,meaning"disgusting," "offensive,"which is the extremity of annoyance. BASIN:a soldier's helmet 97 奥可教育 You dont't have to tell a soldier that his helmet is often his only wsbasin or soup bowl. This word basin started in Roman days with the Late Latin term bachinus,"an eating lowl."In the Middle Ages, the knights of Charlemagne, king of the Franks wore cone-shaped metal caps or helmets.This word for this helmet was bacin, actually ,"a bowl for the head." Bacin slipped into English,then became basin. These words of ours proiferate, and before long we had bassinet or"little basin," that beriboned crib in which we put babies. BESIEGE:sitting by a towm This word traces through the Old French sieger,"to sit,"ultimately from the Latin sedeo,plus the English prefix be-, "by."When the enemy besieges a town,it sits by"it until somebody sives up.Or it used to ,at least,in the days before atomic fission.The Lation roots sed,sid ,and sess,form sedeo, came to us directly,without the changes incurred by passing through the French language.Therefore we have the session of Congress during which our legislators "sit";and those sedate paople who "sit"gravely in their chairs. Then there is the sediment that "sits" on the bottom and the sedentary jobs of the clerks.Or a nice, fat subsidy that lets you "sit" for the test of your life. BOOTY:your share The modern word booty comes from the Middke Low German word bute which meant a distribution or a sharing .When bute entered our language it began to mean booty as we understand it,something takenillegally and then sharedin the fashion of the pirates and freebooters of those days.Its spelling was influenced by the English word boot which meant profit or advantage. This we now use in such an expression as:"He sold him his camera and then gave him a couple of films to bot";that is , something besides, or in addition to,the article bough.But the word boot that applies to the covring that yu wear on your foot is merely a corruption of the Hindustani word lut,meaning "something plundered." 98 奥可教育 8. Terms of Science and the Professions ACADEMY: named for a Greek farmer? This is a pleasant story about a Greek farmer. It seems that a Spartan maiden, named Helen, was kidnapped by the legendary hero Theseus. Her twin brothers, Castor and Pollux, who are now in our heavens as two bright stars, searched for their sister without success until they met the farmer, Akademos, who seems to have given them some hint as to the whereabouts of the kidnapper and his victim. As a reward for his alertness the grove of Akademos was eternally watched over by the gods. It was in this grove that the great philosopher Plato held his classes. The grove was called Academeia, and for many years after his death his pupils and followers met in this same spot for their discussions. Plato never did verify the story of the farmer, but he gave us the word academy that now means a place of learning. ALGEBRA: bone-setting The ancients had to borrow a medical term to christen this branch of mathematics. They took the Arabic words al jebr, with the meanings al, “the,” and jebr, “reuniting what is broken.” Sometimes these words were used to mean “bone-setting.” Out of this they built a really impressive phrase for the new science, ilm al-jebr wa’l-mup-abalah, which meant “reduction and comparison by equations.” The Italians mercifully took the second and third words of this phrase and combined them to form algebra. Even as late as the 17th century the word algebra kept its original Arabic meaning and still referred to surgical treatment. For instance we read in the historian Halle: “This Araby worde Algebra sygnifyeth as well fractures of bones as sometime the restauration of the same.” But to the school-child today, it’s just a mathematical headache. ANESTHESIA: no feeling Sir Humphry Davy first accomplished artificial anesthesia in 1800 and in that period medical men would have had enough Greek to know that Plato used the word anaisthesia to mean “insensibility” from an-, “not,” and aesthesis, “feeling.” CHEMISTRY: a search for gold The early alchemists spent most lf their time trying to find a way to turn baser metals into gold; and atomic fission is showing Us that they weren’t as stupid as we thought . When the Arabs invaded Europe , they brought with them the idea for their type of research and also introduced the name of it , al-kimia , which eventually became alchemy . The word chemist was coined by shortening alchemist , and the term chemistry followed . DEAN: he led ten The dean of your university is a descendant of the Roman decanus who was a commander of a division of ten . Late on this became a church term and was the title of the ecclesiastic who was 99 奥可教育 at the head of ten monks in a monastery . By the time the colleges borrowed the title decanus , it was spelled dean , and now he can be the head of as many as he wants . Decanus is derived from decem , the Latin word for ‘ten’ . DISSECT: cut it apart When a biologist dissects a frog he dis-, ‘apart,’ and seco , ‘cut,’ or ‘cuts’ it ‘apart .’ In geometry we bisect a circle ,or ‘cut’ it in ‘two .’ A road that intersects another ‘cuts’ ‘in between .’ And a section is something ‘cut off .’ ELECTRICITY: the beaming sun The Greeks knew that when you rubbed amber, it would become magnetic and begin to draw feathers and strings and other light objects to it. Little more than this was known about electricity until comparatively recent times. The ancients used to make love amulets out of amber, and guaranteed that the wearing of one would attract a lover . Since friction can make amber give off sparks , the Greeks named it electron , from elektor, ‘the beaming sun.’ This word into Latin as electrum, was turned into the adjective electritcus, whence our electric and electricity. ELIXIR: of magic powers With us an elixir is usually a panacea or life-giving potion, as: ‘The book is full of a veritable elixir of spiritual vitality.’ In the earliest days, Eastern alchemists continually tried to turn base metals into gold.There was an imaginary substance that they thought would do the trick, and they called it al-iksir, literally ‘the dry power.’ This entered Medieval Latin as elixir,still a word of magic, for in medieval times the boys were looking for an elixir vitae or ‘elixir of life’ that would bring eternal youth . Ponce de Leon sought the elixir in Florida , and Faust searched for this imaginary cordial in his laboratory . Even today elixir retains a magic meaning . ENTOMOLOGY: cut up This is the branch of zoology that treats of insects. The word is based on the Greek entomos which means ‘cut up.’ If we examine an ant or a similar insect, we will see that their bodies are indented and appear to be ‘cut up’ in to sections. The word ‘insect’ from the Latin insectum, ‘cut up,’ is simply a Roman rendering of the Greek idea. INOCULATE: a gardening term When the doctor inoculates you, he ‘plants’ in your body a small seedling of the virus or germ that causes the disease in order to make your immune to attack. But at first the word inoculate was a purely horticultural term and meant to insert an eye or bud in a plant for propagation. It came form the Latin in, ‘into,’ and oculus, ‘eye.’ Its present use dates form the time of the first inoculate against smallpox. LAW: something laid down When we lay down the law to someone, we are almost saying the same thing twice over. In the early days of our language law was spelled lagu in the pural and lagu is so closelyrelated to the word ‘lay’ we can safely say the law was something ‘laid down.’ A statute, on the other hand ,is 100 奥可教育 quite the opposite. The grandparent of this word is the Latin statutes which simply means something ‘set up.’ We ‘set up’ laws on the books. NAUSEA: derived from a ship In the dim and distant days folks weren’t any better sailors than we are . They , too, got that type of nausea that we call seasickness and that the French speak of as mal de mer , or ‘sickness of the sea .’The Greeks were the ones who invented the world nausia , and they took it straight from their word naus , ’ship ,’ the vehicle that produced the condition . The Roman satirist , Juvenal ,points out with some bitterness in his Legend of Bad Women , that wives are always seasick , but that a mistress remains healthy and good-tempered during the whole voyage . This word nausea, that in those days meant seasickness, has taken on a broader meaning in English. PANACEA: named from a goddness A panacea is a cure for all ills, and comes by its meaning in all honesty. If you look at the front of a modern physician’s car, you will usually see a metal piece representing a serpent twined medicine . The serpent was taken to represent medicine because he is the symbol of the renewing of youth and eternal life from the fact that he gets a new skin every year. The mythical Asclepius had a daughter with the happy name of Panakecia, “the all-healing,” and from her name was derive our word panacea. PEDAGOGUE: he led the children An instructor of young people is a schoolmaster ,and the history of the word demands that he should be , for this term comes from the identical Greek word pedagogue, which divides into pais , paidos, “child ,” and ago, “lead.” Originally , and quite literally ,the slave who “led” the “child” to school and home again by the hand.. Little attention was paid to the education of girls in ancient Greek days , but the sons were taught by the pedagogues who were slaves in the families of the rich. A demagogue ,by the way ,leads the “people”(demos) in other directions. PUPIL: just a doll When we see a group of young pupils sitting in a classroom, they look a bit like little dolls , and that’s why the word pupil came from the Latin term pupilla ,” a little doll.” And then we have the other English word pupil , the pupil of your eye . When we look another person in the eye, we often see a minute image of ourself reflected there , and this miniature picture also reminded the Romans of a pupilla or “little doll.” And so pupilla contributed the word pupil to us with a second meaning , the pupil of your eye . And it is interesting to know that the Jews were drawn to this same figure of speech. The Hebrew word for the pupil of the eye were eshon ayin, or “little man of the eye.” QUARANTINE: forty days The length of time that a ship is now held in quarantine varies with the nature of the contagious disease that is suspected of being aboard ,but years ago the quarantine was for a flat forty days .The word quarantine comes eventually from the Latin quadraginta, “forty,” and this 101 奥可教育 magic number forty has several uses in our language . Quarentena, for instance , was the Medieval Latin name giben to the desert where Christ fasted for forty days ,and in the early Rome Catholic Church a quarantine was a penance or fast lasting for the same period of time. Now it is an indulgence corresponding to such a penance. In common law, we have the “window’s quarantine” which permits the bereaved woman to live in her deceased husband’s house for a period of forty days after his death . It would seem that there is a bit of religious significance in this mystic number “forty”. QUINSY: choked a dog The Greeks called a sore throat kynanche, from kyon, “dog,” and ancho,”choke.” This word illustrates,in its career, the dramatic shifts in spelling that can occur. In Medieval Latin kynanche became quinancia , which entered Middle English as quinesye, later quinsy, the quinsy sore throat that we have today. SCHOLAR: leisure to study To be a true scholar one must have leisure for reading , research, meditation , and intelligent discussions. So it isn’t strange to find that our word scholar is from the Greek word schole which means “leisure.” Later , when philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato taught groups of young men, the early classes were termed schole. This passed into Latin as schola, “school,” and so gave us school, scholar, and all the related words. But the word school as used in the phrase “ a school of fish “ is from an entirely different source. It comes down to us from the Dutch word school which is related to the Old English term scolu which meant “a band of people.” SCOTLAND YARD: palace of the kings This place ,made famous by detective story writers, was so called because it stands on the site of a palace where the Scottish kings once lived when they visited England . The last of the Scottish Royal Family to stay there was Margaret ,Queen of James VI. ZODIAC:meant animal The zodiac is that imaginary belt of animals that supposed by the ancients to encircle the heavens.The twelve parts were named for taurus,"the bull,"pisces,"the fish,"and such .Each division is important to astrology for reading the character of those born under these signs.If we follow this word zodiac back far enough ,we will find its ancestor in the Greek word zoion,"animal." 102 奥可教育 9. Romantic Stories of Words about Women ALIMONY: eating money We have in English the word aliment that menas foof. This traces to the Latin alo, “norish.” So the way the most of our divorce laws are written now, if a wife sues for release from her bonds, she expects alimony, which, etymologically, is really“eating money.” ALLURING: from falconry When falconry was at its height in Englang and on the continent, allure was a device used by hunters to call back their hawks. It consisted of a bunch of feathers with a long cord attached. It was from this contraption that the hawk wasd fed during his training period, hence the attraction. So when a girl purposely allures a man, she is using the deceptive methods of a hunter. We have inherited the word from Old French allure; a, “to,”and lure, “bait.” AMAZONS: they had only one breast The Amazons were a race of female warriors who were alleged by the Greek historian Herodotus to live in Scythia. These manlike women fought many battles with the Greeks and the famous hero Achilles was presumed to have slain their queen penthesilea when the Amazons were trying to heop the besieged Trojans. These mythical women were said to have cut off their right breasts so that they could draw their bows more easily. The Greeks invented this fable to connect the word Amazon with a “without,”and mazos,”breast.”These Scythian women were responsible for the name of our south American river, the amazon. This river was called by its discoverer Rio Santa Maria de la Mar Dulce. But when the Spanish explorer Orellana made the first descent of the river from the Andes to the sea, he was engaged in battle by a savage tribe in which he believed that women fought beside the men and it is the accepted story that he then techristened the mighty river Amazonas. So when we call a modern woman an amazon, we mean that she is masculine, powerful, and inclined to give battle. AUBURN: blong to red Lots of mistakes have occurred in the making of our language.For example, the Latin word alburnus meant fair-haired,literally”like shite,”for alba meant”white.”Albunus passed over into Old French and Middle English as auburne, and then ,of all things, got confused with the native word vroune which meant brown. So the alburnus or fair –haired girls of ancient rome –and the Roman club-men loved their blondes –became The auburn-or reddish-brown-haired girls of today. AVOIRDUPOIS: sold by weight In our weight-conscious country, the United States, avoirdupois is a polite way of speaking of wxcess fat ,but its Old French ancestor aveir de peis meant”goods sold by weight,”such as wool.Lter on ,in English-speaking countries, avoidupois became the standard system of weights for goods other than gems, metals, and drugs.Adiose is another polite and pet word of the overweight, but its derivation is more blunt. The Latin adeps, adipis, is the source, and this just means “grease:or 103 奥可教育 “fat”and nothing nicer. BEVY: merely a drinking copany The Latin word bibere, meant”to drink.” This became beivre in Old French. One of its derivatives came into our language as beverage,”that which is drunk.” By the same path bevee seems to have entered Old English with the meaning”a group of drinkers,”and then changed to signify a small group of birds, animals, or people,the people usually being women . In the late Middle Ages a bevy was a company of “roes, larks, quails,or ladies. The Latin term bibere perhaps also contributed the baby’s bib to our langyage, for ,after all, a bib does have to “imbibe”the moisture that the baby spills. BLUESTOCKING: affectedly literary this is a word that was more familiar to Washington Irving than it is to us ,but there are parts of the countru where an affectedly studious and literary woman is still called a bluestocking. It all began with Elizabeth Montagu, a famous leader of London society in the 1700’s, who introduced”literary evenings” in her home as a substitute for the frivolous card-playing parties of the day . She is said to have adopted blue stockingsdeliberately as a badge of her ideas. The ladies who had a taste for such gatherings were dubbed Bluestockings by a certain Admiral Buscawen and his epithet still lives. BOUDOIR: at one time, a pouting-room With us , of course ,an elegantly furnished room to which a lady can retire to alone or to receive her intimate friends. But in the middle Ages a young lady was sent to her boudoir to get over the sulks. Our word comes from the French verb bouder,”to pout.”So a lady ‘s boudoir is really her pouting-room. BRIDAL: the toast that was drunk At modern wedding receptions of the well-to-do the bride is usually toasted in champagne. This is not at all in tune with the history of word. Tht drink should really be a tankard of that homely brew, ale for the word bridal is formed of two old English words, bruyd, “bride” and ealu,”ale,” and our bridal ceremony takes its name from the traditional “bride’s ale ” that was always drunk at the time. Brydealu changed to bridale, then bridal. The bridegroom, is another story. He should be called a bridegoom,literally a “brideman.”But somebody down the line got confused and substituted groom for goom, so now a bride has married a man who takes care of horses. BUXOM: once meant obedient When we call a girl buxom we mean that she is fat .But when a bitish bride of early times promised to be “buxom and bonnyh”to her husband,she didn’t mean that she was going to put on a few extra pounds.The word buxom, or buhsum, as it was then spelled, seems to have come from bugan meaning “bend,”and therefore pliant, pleasant, and kindlyl.It was customary,in that era,to talk of being buxom,that is,”obedient,”to the judges, or even buxom to the pope.Then, later ,the meaning turned to “blithe and gay”;still later to “full of health and vigor.”But now the original “bend “has gone into the curves of her figure, and a buxom girl is just pleasingly plump. CAPRICE: liKe a goat 104 奥可教育 One hundred years ago the British author, Thomas De Quincey wrote somewhat superciliously:”Eerywhere I observe in the feminine mind something of a beautiful caprice, a floral esuberande of that charming willfulness which characterizes our dear human sisters, Ifear, through all the world.” This lefthanded compliment makes women seem attractively feminine, and yet ,when a girl is capricious, her actions are reminiscent of the lowly billy goat. The word caprice comes through the Itaian capriccio from the Latin caper, “goat.”So when a girl is capricious and cuts up capers,she is imitating the frixsky, playful antics of the male cousin of a sheep. CHARM: formerly a danger word If a girl were called charming 14th-century England, you could be pretty sure that she was headed for the torture chamber or to a horrifying trial by ordeal. The charm that is now courted by every woman would be sure, at that timem to bring complete social ostracism.we inherited this word from the French charme which found its source in the Latin Carmen, “song,” usually a wicked chant or incantation of magic power lide that of the notorious Lorelei. And there was also the charm that was worn to ward off evil, the progenitor of the innocent charm bracelet that has been worn by women since the 1860’s.Even as late as the 16th century we uncover the quotation:”The serpent stoppeth his eares with hir taile, to the end that she may not heare the charmes and sorceries of the inchanter.”But by shakespeare’s time the word carried a good deal less weight and now it is a high compliment to tell a girl that she has charm. COQUETTE: once applied to men Men used to habe a share in this word, but the girls finally took over. Coquette comes from the French coq,”cock,” and first referred to someone who behaved like a barnyard cock with his strutting gait and amorous habits. Later the word went completely feminine and we discover the coquette defined in 17th century dictionary as “a frisking and fliperous minx” The nearest male counterpart for this word is “cocky.” COURTESAN: formerly a perfect lady In the beginning this lady ,as her name implies, was merely a perfectly proper member of the court circle, but since her morals were often no better than they should be ,she turned into a court mistress. The term courtesan is rarely used of a prostitute .There is a nice distinction here that was aptly pointed out by a 17th-century writer named sharpham. “Your whore”,he says,”is for euery rascall,but your curtizan is for your courtier.And it is entertaining to know in this connection that court plaster was sonamed because the xourtesans and other ladies of the court cut bits of plaster into fancy shapes and wore these black patches on the face or shoulders. DAMASK: soft as a rose This fine patterned fabric was named for the city of Damascus. and the damask cheeks of the English ladies to which the romantic poets paid such high tribute were so called because they resembled the fine pink rose,known as damask rose, which was also named for thsyrian city of Damascus. ENCHANT:began as sorcery 105 奥可教育 An enchantress can be a bewitching and fascinating woman,or, in history, she could be a sorceress who practiced magic and the Eeil arts.In the earliest days of England enchant had only the sinister meaning of witchcraft, but by the 14th-century it had taken on the sense of “win over,” as illustrated by the phrase “enchant to charity.”This meaning was inherited from its ancestral grandparent,the Latin incantare,built upon in ,”over,”and cantare, “to sing”;that is, to “sing”someone “over”to your side. FAINT:once meant pretend When a fencer feints, he makes a false motion with intent to deceibe. This is just what the Victorian lady did when she would faint for these wesk sisters could always solve any dilemma by swooning away . The French words faint and feint both meant “pretended” or “feigned,” and they came from feindri, which meant “be cowardly,” “avoid one’s duty,” “pretend.” So when a girl faints, she may be feintging. GLAMOUR:made by word magic It’s strange to find that the glamour girl of today was named after the full Latin grammar that we thumbed our way through in school .Yor see, all through the ages there has been a mystery attached to words. The ancient Egyptian priests, for the sake of power , kept the art of reading and writing as a secret of the templem, and the people looked upon these skills with superstitious awe. Even in 16th-century Englang the ability to read and write was regarded with a fishy eye, and this special knowledge was associated with black magic.In that day latin was the language of the cultured few. Books were written in this dead speech, and the intellectuals conversed in Latin .A famous German professor was actually unfrocked because he dared to deliver a lecture in English.But the illiterate masses accredited occult and devilish powers to those who were fluent in Latinand in Latin grammar. As the years went by, the letter “r”in the mysterious word grammar changed to “I,” as “r” often does in the mutations of language. Other modifications ctept in ,and a new word glamour was born that first carried with it the same cabalistic overtones that had attached to Latin grammar, for the word glamour originally meant “magic,””a spell or charm.”Now the meaning has been modified, and the Hollywood starlet who has glamour casts a spell over men instead of over Latin grammar. 106 奥可教育 10. Your Favorite Sports and Their Word Histories BACKGAMMON: back game The beautifully inlaid 5,000-yeat-old backgammon board of Queen Shub-ad was found in her tomb during the excavation of the ancient capital of Babylonia, Ur of the Chaldees. Backgammon and its blood cousin, checkers, were known throughout the East thousands of years ago. From a date far back before the time of Christ comes a representation of a lion and an antelope at play over a draughts board. As a point of information, the lion is in the act of grabbing the stakes. Roughly speaking, the game of backgammon as we know it is usually dated form the 10th century, since the board was more or less standardized at that time. The word gamen in early English meant “game.” Hence backgammon really means “back game” because the pieces are often “sent back” to reenter the board. BADMINTON: named for an estate The Duke of Beaufort had a tidy bit of property ten miles in circumference in Gloucestershire, England. This estate of his, called Badminton, was apparently the scene of several innovations in English living in the late 19th century. A claret and soda drink was named badminton after it, but that has long since been forgotten. Everyone, however, knows of the game badminton, which was first played in England in 1873. The game itself was imported from India by the British. BLINDFOLD: meant a blow In the children’s game of blindman’s buff, one of the players is blindfolded, and this sounds as though a handerchief were folded around the victim’s eyes, but the word blindfold means nothing of the kind. The Middle English word blindfellen meant “strike blind,” and fellen meant “strike” but blindfelled the form of the past tense, was eventually altered to blindfold. And, by the way, the buff in blindman’s buff means a “blow” that was struck during the game. BOWLING: kings forbade it This game has a romantic history although the derivation of the word bowling is simple. It is originally from the Latin bulla, “bubble.” Bulla finally became “bowl” which, at first, meant either the ball itself or the active cast or delivery of the ball. Modern keglers may be interested to know that the complete equipment for playing their game was discovered by Sir Flinders Petrie, the British archaeologist, in an Egyptian tomb dating back to 5,200 B.C. And these same keglers may be surprised to learn that bowling was forbidden in England by Edward | | |, Richard｜｜，and other monarchs because it was thought to be too harmless a sport and one that provided no training for war such as archery did. Henry V| | | also forbade bowling, but he had a fine alley laid out at Whitehall so that he might amuse himself between executions. But in spite of all this, the Dutch brought a variety of this game over and taught it to us on Bowling Green, those acres that lie in New York’s financial district. ]BRIDGE: first a man’s game 107 奥可教育 The earlier name for this was biritch. The game was enthusiastically taken up by the British in the lush 1880’s. Women were at first excluded and it was as much of a man’s game as poker, but the turn of the century changed that, and women’s clubs became more common than men’s. The story that card were invented to amuse a feeble-minded king seem not to be quite accurate. It is true, however, that the first record of playing cards in Europe appears in the household accounts of Charles VI in 1392 or 1393. But, since his mental illness didn’t appear until 1393, it would seem doubtful that the game of cards could suddenly be invented for his sake. Little is known of their actual beginning, although some writers say that a Chinese by the name of Seun-ho, who lived around 1120 A.D., devised the game for the amusement of his concubines. In Egypt, cards were connected with religious ideas. At the least, we know that by 1483 Europe took to playing cards with such a passion that the first sermon was preached against them by Saint Bernardion of Siena at Bologna, Italy. His congregation was so stirred that they rushed home and made a bonfire of every pack that they had. Germany was an early center of card manufacturing. These cards had images of bell, hearts, leaves, and acorns, representing the nobility, clergy, landowners, and laborers. The Spanish went in for swords, batons, cups, and money. Our own symbols came directly from the French, but the names are a mixture. The club is a translation of the Spanish basto, “baton,” but the figure is the French trefoil, that is, “three-leaved,” really a clover. Spade is from the Spanish espada, or “sward,” which comes ultimately from the Greek spathe which meant “wooden sword.” The French word carreau really means a pane of glass or a tile, but when they use it in cards it identifies what we call a diamond. The heart is simply a conventional drawing of the human heart. In card games the word discard is often used. An earlier spelling of this term was decard, from de, “away,” and card, “card,” which first meant to reject a card from your hand. Now discard is used in other ways than card playing. CHESS: the king is dead When chess plays call “check” as a warning to an opponent, they are really saying: “Mind your king, he’s in danger.” Both the words check and chess originated in the Far East back somewhere in the dim ages and both come from the Persian word shah, or “king.” The term shah worked down through Arabic into Old French as eschec, into Middle English as chek, finally to check, which first only signified check as it is used in a chess game, but later logically came to mean a stop, loss, or hindrance, as it does in modern English. The companion word chess entered Middle English as ches from the Old French word eschecs, which is merely the plural form of eschec that gave us the word check. That is, chess is simply a series of check. When a Persian in ancient days had his opponent’s king hopelessly cornered, he announced shah-mat that is, “the king is dead.” If you pronounce those Persian words you will not be very far away from the modern chess player’s phrase, “check-mate.” CUE: first a tail The long, tapering stick that we use in billiards takes its name from the Latin cauda, “tail.” The 108 奥可教育 spelling form is greatly changed, but this is natural, for the game of billiards was popular and played by all classes, and the name of the stick that is used in the game passed through dozens of dialects before it emerged as coe, then cue. Our word queue is exactly the same term, but its form was adopted from the modern French spelling. Its common meaning, of course, is “pigtail.” But other thing can be long and tapering too, like the queue that waits for the second show at the movies. FORFEIT: originally a crime With us a forfeit is not much more than a penalty in games. As Augustin Daly said in one of his plays back in the 8o’s: “I wish to gracious we could have one of those old-fashion forfeit games where kissing comes in.” But in Old English days a forfaite was a crime, as was a forfait in Old French. If you were discovered committing a forfait, you were arrested. This French word is a compound of the Old French words fors, “outside,” and fait, “done,” hence it literally meant “done outside” or “beyond,” and thus beyond the bounds of the law. This led to the original meaning of transgression, and transgress, itself, simply means “to step across,” that is, across the legal line. A sister word of forfeit is counterfeit from the French word contrefaire, “imitate” or “make parallel with.” GOLF: named from a club It is unfortunate that the origin of the name of such a popular game cannot be traced with absolute surety. The majority of the scholars claim that it came from the Dutch word kolf, the term for a club that was used in such games as hockey and croquet. This might indicate that golf began in Holland. It is true that most of the early accounts of the game are out of Scotland, but the records show, nevertheless, that the Scotch imported their best golf balls from the Dutch. The game grew to such popularity in Scotland that the government became disturbed. Golf was crowding out archery as a sport, and practice in archery was important to war. So in March,1457, the Scottish Parliament decreed that golf be “utterly cryit doun and nochtusit.” A few years later James I forbade it entirely, as he had done with bowling, yet the accounts of the Lord High Treasurer for 1503-1506 still show that the Crown’s money was going for golf balls. As s side light, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was a golf fiend and played a few rounds several days after the murder of her husband. However, as students of history will recall, the girl came to no good end. GYMNASTICS: in the nude It is easy to see the resemblance between our word gymnastics and its Greek parent gymnazo, which means “train naked” and comes from gymnos, meaning just plain “naked.” In ancient Greece, exercises were often performed in the nude by both boys and men, and, at one period, the famous Olympic track meets were run off in the nude. The Greeks of the time believed that nudity was conducive to health, just as our passionate sunbathers do today. The great Greek physician Hippocrates claimed that the sun was health and soothing to the nerves of the back. As an amusing side note, our mineral “gymnite” is so called because it is found at Bare Hills, 109 奥可教育 Maryland! With us modern gymnastics are usually performed in a gymnasium while the term athletics generally applies to outdoor contests. The word athletics descends to us from the Greek athlon, the “prize” that the winning athlete received. HAZARD: the die is cast At one time hazard simply meant a dice game, as is indicated by the Arabic origin of the word, al, “the,” and zahr, “die.” But since the cast of the dice is uncertain, the Arabic word al-zahr came into Spanish as azar, meaning “an unexpected accident.” This entered French as hasard, English as hazard. Hazard is still a gambling game, but the word now also means exposure to the chance of loss or injury. MARATHON: recalls an ancient battle Nearly two and one-half millenniums ago a little band of 10,000 Athenians defeated 100,000 Persians at the battle of Marathon. A courageous runner brought the news of the thrilling victory to the city of Athens that lay some 26miles away. When the Olympic Games were revived for the first time in 1869, a long distance race was planned to cover the same ground that the earlier runner had traversed almost 2,400 years before. Quite properly, a Greek won this event. Now the word marathon can 110 11.Terms of Place,Time, Shape, and Size, and their Origins FATHOM Fathom is now six feet.And since sailors are primarily interested in depth,we finally devised the abstract verb fathom which meant “to get to the bottom of ”as of a problem or mystery. FURLONG:as long as a furrow The modern fancier of race horses calls this measure of distance a furlong,but there was a period in England when the word was spelled furlang,furh for the “furrow”that the farmer turns with his plow,and lang for “long.”That is,a furlong was just as long as a furrow,and in those days a furrow was reasonably constant in length because a furrow was thought of as existing in a field of ten acres.But this measure was still a little elastic for accuracy and by the 9th century the wise men decided to call a furlong an eighth of a mile and let it go at that.Today a furlong is 220 yards. GEYSER: a gusher In Iceland in an area of about two square miles there are approximately a hundred hot springs that have been a source of wonder to men for centuries .The Icelandic name for such a spring is hver.The largest of the group,however ,has been named the geysir,and from this came our word geyser. The literal meaning of geysir in Iceland is gusher. HALCYON:started as a kingfisher Halcyon days are days of peace and calm when the skies are clear and the winds are still.These days had an actual place on the ancient calendar and were the fourteen days at about the time of the winter solstice .It was during this period that the halcyon,or kingfisher,was supposed to sit on her nest as it floated in the sea.She was believed,you see,to have a magic power to calm the winds and waves so that her nest would be secure .Halcyon is a Latin word that came from the Grddk term,alcyon,or “kingfisher.” JOURNEY: a day’s mileage This word is based,with several shifts of sound and derivation ,on the Latin word diurnum,”day.”A journey used to mean the distance covered in a “day”;and that journal of yours is what you have written in a “day.”So is a diary (from dies ,another Latin word for day).When we sojourn we spend the “day”and when we adjourn we have finished those things,”belonging to the day.”Or should we adjourn sine die,Latin for “without a day,”our meeting is adjourned indefinitely.And you could guess that a journeyman plumber is really a “day laborer.” MILESTONE: a thousand paces It seems that Augustus,first of the Roman emperors,set up a central stone in the Forum called a milliarium from which all distances were reckoned. The mane of this key stone was derived from the Latin word mille which meant a “thousand,”for the Roman mile was calculated as a thousand paces with each pace equalling five feet. Under the imperial regime,the roads were 111 systematically marked off every mille passuum,or thousand paces.and a stone,or milliarium,was set up with the mane of the emperor carved on it,the date ,the place from which the distance was measured,and usually the name of the roadmaker.In forming our word milestone,we took the first half from the Latin word ,mille,but for the second half we adopted the simple native word stan,now stone. ORIENT: towards the sunrise We speak of Japan as “the land of the rising sun,”and we correctly call all of the far eastern countries the Orient,for the word Orient comes from th Latin term oriens,orientis,which means “rising.”To the Europe of the early days ,the Orient was where the sun rose.The East signified luck to the ancient soothsayers;the sunrise represented life and the beginning of things .These old time prophets judged the future by the flight of birds.If the sacred birds flew east when the priests released them from their cages,it meant good fortune.This superstition was taken over by the Christians ,and it was the traditional plan of the architecture of the early churches to place the chief altar at the eastern end of the edifice .In these ancient Roman augurs,however,if the sacred birds happened to fly west it presaged disaster,for the early fathers associated the setting sun with death and destruction.In the Latin language the verb occido meant “set ,”as the sun,but it also meant “die.”Of course, it was Latin occidens,occidentis,”falling,” “setting,” that gave to the Europeans and to us the name Occidentals in contradistinction to the Orientals, for we live in the land of the setting sun. PLUMB: began with lead When you try to plumb the depths of a philosopher, you are, in a poetic sense, letting down a piece of lead on a line in an attempt to fathom his meaning. This verb plumb, of course, comes from the Latin word plumbum which means “lead”, and a plummet is a lead on the end of the line Since a weighted string hangs straight, the term plumb itself took on the meaning of “straight”, as, “He is going plumb to Hell.” Therefore, anything “out of plumb” is off the perpendicular. Also when you plumment down, you are going down in the most direct fashion possible. With all of this, there is no mystery about where the name plumber come from. This is the handyman who fixed your bathroom pipes when they were only made of plumbum, or “lead”. SHAPE: it came through many spellings This simple word has appeared in many forms, the Old Norse skap, Old English gesceap, Middle English schap, and a host of other spellings in between up to just plain shape as we use it. All of these words have the idea of creation in them, of “shaping” with the hands. And from shape, in the form of ship, we have such words as friendship, penmanship,horsemanship. And worship, which simply means “worthy shape”. TAPER: grow thinner Tapering fingers are like a taper candle which is shaped so that it diminishes in diameter at one end. In similar fashion if we taper off in eating or drinking, our consumption gradually grows 112 less and less like the narrowing cylinder of a candle. The word taper itself seems to come by many intermediate shifts in spelling from the Latin word papyrus which meant taper or wick, for the wicks in those days were made from the pith of the papyrus plant a plant native to Egypt. TIDE AND TIME: first meant the same thing There is the old familiar phrase: “Time and tide wait for no man”. The history of tidy will be easier to trace if we first take a glance at tide and time. Originally these two words had almost identical meanings. We still preserve the first sense of tide in such an expression as Christmastide, which really means Christmas time, and it wasn’t until the 14th century that tide applied to the ebb and flow of the ocean, which is , of course, connected with time. Once upon a time our word tidy meant timely, too. They would speak of a tidie happening, meaning “opportune” or timely. Finally tidy came to mean “neat”, “clean”, and “in good order”. TRAVEL: was once suffering If you don’t like to travel, you have a historical reason for your feeling. Travel, in the old days, could be bitterly uncomfortable and highly dangerous what with bandits, beasts, and barbarians, and the memories of its perils are still held in many terms. The word travel itself, for example, is from precisely the same source as travail which means extreme agony. They are both derived from the French term travailler which means “to work hard” and this word has as its remote ancestor, the Late Latin trepalium which was a device for torturing. When we say farewell, we are actually saying “travel well”. And even our word peril comes from the Latin periculum which meant “the danger of going forth to travel”. ZENITH: over your head We call the zenith that point in the sky directly overhead. The word zenith derives from the term samt in the Arabic phrase samt arras, “way over the head”, which is just what we mean by the word a millennium or two later. It would seem impossible that the spelling samt would ever end up as zenith, but here’s the story that will show how these spellings can wander around. The word samt had a variant form semt, and then in Medieval Latin days some fellow must have mistaken the form and he miscopied it as cenit. This version popped into the French of that day as cenith, and into English as senyth. The stretch from senyth to zenith is easy for an imagination to cover. This may help us to understand the wide variation in form that often exists between the original word and its modern version. The point in the celestial sphere right under your two feet is called the nadir, and this comes directly from the Arabic nazir, “opposite”, for in this case its spelling wasn’t monkeyed with much. Probably the most important units of time that govern our lives are the months of the year and the days of the week. Here are their stories. Months of the Year JANUARY When the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve and December 113 Passes into January, we say farewell to the year just gone and we hail the New Year ahead. It is fitting that first month should be called January, for the Roman god Janus who gave this month its name was always represented with two faces, one that gazed at the past and one that looked to the future. However, before the name January was adopted in English, this month was called Wulf-Monath, or “wolf-month”, because at this time of the year the bitter cold brought wolves into the villages to forage for food. FEBRUARY The middle of the month of February was marked in ancient Rome for a religious ceremony in which women were beaten for barrenness. This was called the festival of Lupercalia and was held in a cave by the river Tiber. Two youths were selected to play the leading role in the celebration. After the goats were sacrificed, thongs were cut from their hides and given to the youths.these thongs were called februa, or “instruments of purification”, and should they strike a women, she would no longer be barren. The two young men in question would run around the city with the sacred thongs and give smart and “curative” slaps to any barren girls they saw. No one knows just how they knew whom to hit although the barrenness of a women would probably be common knowledge in any village. However this may be, the magic power of the thongs came from Juno, whose epithet as the goddess of fertility was Februaria, and from this word we took the name of our month. February had 29 days, but the Roman Senate took one away and gave it to August, so that August would not be inferior to July. It’s a long step down from all this romance to the original native name for February. The factual English simply called it SProte-kalemonath because the cabbages were sprouting. MARCH Before the time of Julius Caesar, the Roman New Year began with the month of Marth. This was not only the beginning of the year but was the open spring season for the waging of war, so the month was dedicated to mars, the god of war, and was named sfter him. Its Old English name was Hlyd-Monath, that is, “boisterous-month”, because of the winds. And, by the way , the expression “mad as a March hare “ comes from the fact that March is the mating season for hares, and are supposedly full of whimsy all month. APRIL This was the month of the first flowers in ancient Italy, as it is with us, and the opening spring buds gave the month its name. The Rome name was Aprilis, based on the Latin word aperio with means “open”. The early Britons, on the other hand, lacked the poetry of the Mediterrancen. They rather flat-footedly called April Easter-Monath, or “Easter-month”, Of course, April brings in April Fool’s Day, and this recalls the festivities held by all ancient peoples at the vernal equinox, beginning on their New Year’s Day, March 25th, and ending on April 1st . It was not until the 18th century in Great Britain that April Fool’s Day, as we know it, was created. The theory about this day traces the tradition back to the medieval miracle plays that used to represent the sending of Christ from Pilate to Herod. 114 MAY This is when “the time of the singing birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land”. Sir Thomas Malory called it “the lusty moneth of May”. It is strange that the romantic time of May has always been considered unlucky for marriage. The Romans objected to it for the quite understandable reason that it contained the feast in honor of Bona Dea who was the goddess of chastity. Also the festival of the unhappy dead fell in the month of May. The name May, in Latin, Maius, is believed by many to have come from Maia who was the mother of the god Hermes. The native English had a less romantic but much more practical name for the month . They called it Thrimilce because , in the long , spring days , the cows could be milked three time between sunrise and evening . JUNE This name is probably form Junius , the name of Latin family to which the murderers of Julius Caesar belonged . Some scholars believe , however , that the name June came form the goddess Juno who was the protectress of women since June has been the favorite month for marriages all the way down form earliest Rome . It can be that the ancient taboos against May marriages are responsible for our modern June rush to the altar . The English name for June was Sere-Monath . or “dry-month .” JULY The name of this month was proposed by Mark Antony , the Roman general and famous lover of Cleopatra . Antony suggested that this birthday month of Caius Julius Casesar be named Julius in his honor , and the name came into use the year of Caesar’s assassination . In English , the spelling became first Julie , then July . But before the English adopted the Latin name , they had called the month Mad-Monath , or “meadow-month ,” since the meadows were in bloom and the cattle were in pasture . AUGUST Octavian ,the first Roman emperor ,was the nephew of Julius Caesar , and longed to gain the fame and power of his uncle . He wanted , among other things , to have a month named after him . His birthday was in September , but he selected what is now known as August , for this particular month had been a fortunate one in his career . The Senate had given Octavian the official title of Augustus in honor of his distinguished sercices to the state , so the month he had chosen became Augistus , which we have shortened to August . The prosy and downright English had called this the Weod-Monath , or “weed-month ,” although , in fairness , the word “weed” yhen applied to greenery in general . SEPTEMBER Inasmush as the Roman year originally started in March ,September was their seventh month , and the name is taken from the Latin word septem which meant “seven .”When the calendar was changed and September became the ninth month , the name was not altered . Charlemagne , who was Emperor of the West at the beginning of the 9th century , refused to accept the Roman 115 name and called September the “harvest-month .”England followed suit , and for a long time September was konwen as Harfest-Monath .The harvest then was largely barley , which the thirsty English promptly converted into ale . OCTOBER This is the season when the smoke of burning leaves is apt to be in the air . Even the Roman poet Martial called October “fumosus ,” or “smoky ,” because the time for lighting fires was at hand . Officially though , the name remained October from the Latin octo , “eight ,” for this month was the eighth on the list before the calendar was altered . The Roman general Germanicus Caesar wanted the month named after him , but he never got very far with his wish . The English first gave the name Win-Monath , or “wine-month ,” to October , and probably a little elderberry wine and such were concocted , but the real preoccupation was the “Brown October Ale “ that we still sing about today . NOVEMBER Since the Emperor Augustus had his month and Julius Caesar his , the polite and politic Romans thought it only proper to propose that November be renamed for the Emperor Tiberius . But Tiberius objected and said rather wittily , “What will you do if you have eleven Caesars?” So the name remained Novernber , from the Latin novem ,”nine .” To the forthright English November was the Blot-Monath , or “sacrifice-month” as it was the time when the heathen Anglo-Saxons sacrificed cattle to their gods . Sometimes they also called it the Wind-Monath , for obvious reasons . DECEMBER Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus , Emperor of Rome toward the end of the 2nd century , once asked his mistress how she would like to see her name on the calendar . “Amazonius ,” was the name the emperor had in mind ,since the lady had once been painted as an Amazon , but the Senate was not sympathetic and apparently told him to gao watch the gladiators and lions instead . So December went on being called by its old name from decem , “ten,” since December was originally the tenth month . The common name among the English for December was Mid-Winter-Monath , although the Christians of the day called it Haligh-Monath , or “Holy-Month ,”because of birth of Christ . MONDAY In mythology ,, the moon was the wife of the sun , and so had to have her day in the week , which in Old English was Monandag , or “moon day ,” a translation of the Latin lunae dies ,”day of the moon .” In the superstitious England of theose times people believed that the phases of the moon affected crops and disthe potency medicine , and they were sure too that bacon killed on the old of the moon would shrivel in the pan . TUESDAY In Norse mythology there was a god named Tyr . A wolf spirit called Fenrir was troubling the world and Tyr volunteered to bind him . He used a chain made of strange substances , the 116 footstep of a cat , the beards of women , the roots of stones , the breath of fishes . Tyr put his hand in Fenrir’s mouth and bound him , but his hand , in the , was bitten off . In Old English the god’s name Tyr appears as Tiw . He was really a Germanic deity , one very much like Mars , the Roman god of war , and his name gave us the Old English word Tiwesdag ,”the day of Tiw ,” OUR Tuesday , which is a rendering of the Latin dies martis , “day of Mars .” WEDNESDAY In Old English Wednesday was spelled Wodnesdag , which was the day of the great Germanic god Woden , who corresponded to the Roman divinity Mercury . Both were swift in movement and noted for their eloquence . Woden was the father of Tyr ,who gave us the name Tuesday , and was the god of storms . He welcomed brave warriors to the heaven of Valhalla and treated them to the pleasures that they most loved on earth . He also slew Chaos and created earth from his body , his flesh making the dry land , his bones the mountains , his blood the sea , his Mercurii dies , the “day of Mercury ,” and the French took this over as Mercredi , their name for Wednesday . THURSDAY Thor was the strongest and bravest of the Norse deities , and corresponded in the heavenly hierarchy to the Roman god Jupiter , who also handled the lightning bolts . Thor , you see , was the god of thunder which he made with a chariot drawn by he-goats across the sky .Thor owned a massive hammer which the giant Thrym once stole from him and refused to give up unless Freya , the goddess of love , would marry him . Thor dressed up in her clothes wheedled the hammer from Thrym , and then slugged his host . It was the name of this same Thor that formed the Old English word thuresdag , or Thursday , “the day of Thor ,” which equals the Roman dies jives , or “day of Jupiter .” FRIDAY In Old English , Friday was frigedag , the day of the Norse goddess Frigg , wife of Woden and the goddess Venus , and her day , Friday , was like the Latin dies Veneris , or “day of Venus .”Wednesday and Thursday had been named for her husband Woden and her son Thor , so Friday was assigned to her as appeasement . The Norsemen regarded Friday as their luxky day , but not so the Christians since the Crucifixion took place on Friday . SATURDAY In Old English saternesdag , merely “Saturn’s day ,” is half-translation and half-adoption of the Latin Saturni dies , or “day of Saturn ,” the Roman god of sowing . SUNDAY Sunday replaced Saturday as the Sabbath because the Resurrection took place on a Sunday .It was around the 4th century that the church made it a holiday and forebade anyone to work . In old English it was spelled sunnandag , literally the “sun’s day ,” a translation of the Latin dies solis , or “day of the sun .” 117 PART III SENTENCE 1. abbreviate : shorten * Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to abbreviate her speech. 2. abate : subside or moderate * Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. 3. absolute : complete; totally unlimited; certain * Although the King of Siam was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without absolute evidence of her infidelity. 4. abstract : theoretical; not concrete; non-representational * To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal. 5. abusive : coarsely insulting; physically harmful * An abusive parent damages a child both mentally and physically. 6. accelerate : move faster * In our science class, we learn how falling bodies accelerate. 7. accessible : easy to approach; obtainable * We asked our guide whether the ruins were accessible on foot. 8. abscond : depart secretly and hide * The teller absconded with the bonds and was not found. 9. aberrant : abnormal or deviant * Given the aberrant nature of the data, we came to doubt the validity of the entire experiment. 14. adulterate : make impure by mixing with baser substances * It is a crime to adulterate foods without informing the buyer. 15. adversity : poverty, misfortune * We must learn to meet adversity gracefully. 16. abase : lower; degrade; humiliate * Anna expected to have to curtsy to the King of Siam; when told to cast herself down on the ground before him, however she refused to abase herself. 17. abash : embarrass * He was not at all abashed by her open admiration. 18. abdicate : renounce; give up * When Edward VII abdicated the British throne, he surprised the entire world. 20. abject : wretched; lacking pride * On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from the wind. 118 21. abjure : renounce upon oath * He abjured his allegiance to the king. 24. abominate : loathe; hate * Moses scolded the idol worshippers in the tribe because he abominated the custom. 25. abrasive: rubbing away; tending to grind down * Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's patience. 26. abrogate : abolish * He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor. 27. absolve : pardon (an offense) * The father confessor absolved him of his sins. 28. abstain : refrain; withhold from participation * After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking while he trained for the race. 31. accede : agree * If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will be the victim of future demands. 32. acclimate : adjust to climate or environment * One of the difficulties of our present air age is the need of travelers to acclimate themselves to their new and often strange environments. 33. acclivity : sharp upslope of a hill * The car could not go up the acclivity in high gear. 35. accord : agreement * She was in complete accord with the verdict. 36. accost : approach and speak first to a person * When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me. 38. accretion : growth; increase * The accretion of wealth marked the family's rise in power. 39. accrue : come about by addition * You must pay the interest that has accrued on your debt as well as the principal sum. 40. acidulous : slightly sour; sharp; caustic * James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks. 42. acquiesce : assent; agree passively * Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made. 43. acquittal : deliverance from a charge * His acquittal by the jury surprised those who had thought him guilty. 119 45. acrimonious : stinging, caustic * His tendency to utter acrimonious remarks alienated his audience. 47. actuate : motivate * I fail to understand what actuated you to reply to this letter so nastily. 53. adherent : supporter; follower * In the wake of the scandal, the senator's one-time adherent quietly deserted him. 54. adjunct : something attached to but holding an inferior position * I will entertain this concept as an adjunct to the main proposal. 55. adjuration : solemn urging * Her adjuration to tell the truth did not change the witnesses' testimony. 57. admonish : warn; reprove * He admonished his listeners to change their wicked ways. 58. adorn : decorate * Wall paintings and carved statues adorned the temple. 61. advent : arrival * Most Americans were unaware of the advent of the Nuclear Age until the news of Hiroshima reached them. 62. adventitious : accidental; casual * He found this adventitious meeting with his friend extremely fortunate. 63. adversary : opponent; enemy * Batman struggled to save Gotham City from the machinations of his wicked adversary, the Joker. 64. adverse : unfavorable; hostile * adverse circumstances compelled him to close his business. 65. advert : refer to * Since you advert to this matter so frequently, you must regard it as important. 66. advocate : urge; plead for * The abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves. 68. affable : courteous * Although he held a position of responsibility, he was an affable individual and could be reached by anyone with a complaint. 74. affix : attach or add on; fasten * First the registrar had to affix his signature to the license; then he had to affix his official seal. 75. affluence : abundance; wealth * Foreigners are amazed by the affluence and luxury of the American way of life. 76. affront : insult; offend * Accustomed to being treated with respect, Miss Challoner was affronted by 120 Vidal's offensive behavior. 80. aggrandize : increase or intensify; raise in power, wealth, rank or honor * The history of the past quarter century illustrates how a President may aggrandize his power to act aggressively in international affairs without considering the wishes of Congress. 81. aggregate : sum; total * The aggregate wealth of this country is staggering to the imagination. 83. agility : nimbleness * The agility of the acrobat amazed and thrilled the audience. 84. agitate : stir up; disturb * Her fiery remarks agitated the already angry mob. 85. agnostic : one who is skeptical of the existence of knowability of a god or any ultimate reality * The agnostic demanded proof before she would accept the statement of the minister. 87. agrarian : pertaining to land or its cultivation * As a result of its recent industrialization, the country is gradually losing its agrarian traditions. 91. alias : an assumed name * John Smith's alias was Bob Jones. 92. alienate : make hostile; separate * Her attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith in each other. 93. alimentary : supplying nourishment * The alimentary canal in our bodies is so named because digestion of foods occurs there. 94. alimony : payments make to an ex-spouse after divorce * Because Tony had supported Tina through medical school, on their divorce he asked the court to award him $500 a month in alimony. 95. allay : calm; pacify * The crew tried to allay the fears of the passengers by announcing that the fire had been controlled. 96. allege : state without proof * It is alleged that she had worked for the enemy. 98. alleviate : relieve * This should alleviate the pain; if it does not, we shall have to use stronger drugs. 100. alloy : mixture as of metals * alloy of gold are used more frequently than the pure metal. 101. allude : refer indirectly 121 * Try not to allude to this matter in his presence because the topic annoys him. 102. allure : entice; attract * allured by the song of the sirens, the helmsman steered the ship toward the reef. 103. allusion: indirect reference * the allusions to mythological characters in Milton's poems bewilder the reader who has not studied Latin. 105. aloof : apart; reserved * Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed. 107. altercation : noisy quarrel * Throughout the altercation, not one sensible word was uttered. 108. altruistic : unselfishly generous; concerned for others * In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships to hundreds of economically disadvantaged youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly altruistic deed. 109. amalgamate : combine; unite in one body * The unions will attempt to amalgamate their groups into one national body. 110. amass : collect * The miser's aim is to amass and hoard as much gold as possible. 111. Amazon : female warrior * Ever since the days of Greek mythology we refer to strong and aggressive women as amazons. 112. ambidextrous : capable of using either hand with equal ease * A switch-hitter in baseball should be naturally ambidextrous. 114. ambiguous : unclear or doubtful in meaning * His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take. 117. ambrosia : food of the gods * ambrosia was supposed to give immortality to any human who ate it. 119. ameliorate : improve * Many social workers have attempted to ameliorate the conditions of people living in the slums. 120. amenable : readily managed; willing to be led * He was amenable to any suggestions that came from those he looked up to; he resented advice from his inferiors. 121. amend : correct; change, generally for the better * Hoping to amend his condition, he left Vietnam for the United States. 123. amiable : agreeable; lovable * His amiable disposition pleased all who had dealings with him. 124. amicable : friendly * The dispute was settled in an amicable manner with no harsh words. 122 126. amity : friendship * Student exchange programs such as the Experiment in International Living were established to promote international amity. 127. amnesia : loss of memory * Because she was suffering from amnesia, the police could not get the young girl to identify herself. 128. amnesty : pardon * When his first child was born, the king granted amnesty to all in prison. 129. amoral : non-moral * The amoral individual lacks a code of ethics; he should not be classified as immoral. 130. amorous : moved by sexual love; loving * Don Juan was known for his amorous adventures. 131. amorphous : shapeless; vague; indeterminate * John was subject to panic attacks that left him prey to vague, amorphous fears: he knew he was terrified, but could neither define nor explain the cause of his terror. 132. amphibian : able to live both on land and in water * Frogs are classified as amphibian. 133. amphitheater : oval building with tiers of seats * The spectators in the amphitheater cheered the gladiators. 134. ample : abundant * He had ample opportunity to dispose of his loot before his police caught up with him. 135. amplify : enlarge * Her attempts to amplify her remarks were drowned out by the jeers of the audience. 136. amputate : cut off part of body; prune * When the doctors had to amputate Ted Kennedy's leg to prevent the spread of cancer, he did not let the loss of his leg keep him from participating in sports. 137. amok : in a state of rage * The police had to be called in to restrain him after he ran amok in the department store. 139. anachronism : something or someone misplaced in time * Shakespeare's reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is an anachronism; no clocks existed in Caesar's time. 141. analogous : comparable * She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analogous situation and recommended that we do the same. 142. analogy : similarity; parallelism * Your analogy is not a good one because the two situations are not similar. 144. anarchy : absence of governing body; state of disorder 123 * The assassination of the leaders led to a period of anarchy. 149. anecdote : short account of an amusing or interesting event * Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Raegan told anecdotes about poor people who became wealthy despite their impoverished backgrounds. 152. anguish : acute pain; extreme suffering * Visiting the site of explosion, Premier Gorbachev wept to see the anguish of the victims and their families. 153. angular : sharp-cornered; stiff in manner * His features, though angular, were curiously attractive. 156. animosity : active enmity * He incurred the animosity of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their power. 157. animus : hostile feeling or intent * The animus of the speaker became obvious to all when he began to indulge in sarcastic and insulting remarks. 158. annals : records; history * In the annals of this period, we find no mention of democratic movements. 162. annuity : yearly allowance * The annuity he set up with the insurance company supplements his social security benefits so that he can live very comfortably without working. 163. annul : make void * The parents of the eloped couple tried to annul the marriage. 170. antecede : precede * The invention of the radiotelegraph anteceded the development of television by a quarter of a century. 172. antediluvian : antiquated; ancient * The antediluvian customs had apparently not changed for thousands of years 173. anthropoid : manlike * The gorilla is the strongest of the anthropoid animals. 176. anticlimax : letdown in thought or emotion * After the fine performance in the first act, the rest of the play was an anticlimax. 177. antipathy : aversion; dislike * His extreme antipathy to dispute caused him to avoid argumentative discussions with his friends. 179. antiseptic : substance that prevents infection * It is advisable to apply an antiseptic to any wound, no matter how slight or insignificant. 124 180. antithesis : contrast; direct opposite of or to * This tyranny was the antithesis of all that he had hoped for, and he fought it with all his strength. 182. apathetic : indifferent * He felt apathetic about the conditions he had observed and did not care to fight against them. 183. apathy : lack of caring; indifference * A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never bothered to vote. 187. aphasia : loss of speech due to injury or illness * After the automobile accident, the victim had periods of aphasia when he could not speak at all or could only mumble incoherently. 188. aphorism : pithy maxim * An aphorism differs from an adage in that it is more philosophical or scientific. 193. apogee : highest point * When the moon in its orbit is furthest away from the earth, it is at its apogee. 195. apostate : one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs * Because he switched from one party to another, his former friends shunned him as an apostate. 196. apothecary : druggist * In Holland, apothecaries still sell spices as well as ointments and pills. 198. apotheosis : deification; glorification * The Roman empress Livia envied the late emperor his apotheosis; she hopedthat on her death she, too, would be exalted to the rank of a god. 200. apparition : ghost; phantom * Hamlet was uncertain about the identity of the apparition that had appeared and spoken to him. 201. appease : pacify; soothe * We have discovered that, when we try to appease our enemies, we encourage them to make additional demands. 202. appellation : name; title * He was amazed when the witches hailed him with his correct appellation. 203. append : attach * I shall append this chart to my report. 204. application : diligent attention; (secondary meaning) apply * Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence, Aunt Polly praised him for his application. 205. apposite : appropriate; fitting 125 * He was always able to find the apposite phrase, the correct expression for every occasion. 206. appraise : estimate the value of * It is difficult to appraise old paintings; it is easier to call them priceless. 207. appreciate : be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of * Little Orphan Annie truly appreciated the stocks Daddy Warbucks ave her, w hose value appreciated considerably over the years. 208. apprehend : arrest ( a criminal); dread; perceive * The police will apprehend the culprit and convict him before long. 209. apprehensive : fearful; discerning * His apprehensive glances at the people who were walking in the street revealed his nervousness. 210. apprise : inform * When he was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, he decided to postpone his trip. 211. approbation : approval * Wanting her parents' regard, she looked for some sign of their approbation 212. appropriate : acquire; take possession of for one's own use * The ranch owners appropriated the lands that had originally been set aside for the Indians' use. 215. aptitude : fitness; talent * The counselor evaluated his aptitudes before advising him about the careerhe should follow. 222. arcade : a covered passageway, usually lined with shops * The arcade was popular with shoppers because it gave them protection from the summer sun and the winter rain. 223. arcane : secret; mysterious * What was arcane to us was clear to the psychologist. 226. archetype : prototype; primitive pattern * The Brooklyn Bridge was the archetype of the many spans that now connect Manhattan with Long Island and New Jersey. 229. ardor : heat; passion; zeal * Katya's ardor was contagious; soon all her fellow demonstrators were busily making posters and handing out flyers, inspired by her ardent enthusiasm for the cause. 232. aria : operatic solo * At her Metropolitan Opera audition, Marian Anderson sang an aria from Norma. 233. arid : dry; barren * The cactus had adapted to survive in an arid environment. 126 234. aristocracy : hereditary nobility; privileged class * Americans have mixed feelings about hereditary aristocracy: 235. armada : fleet of warships * Queen Elizabeth's navy was able to defeat the mighty armada that threatened the English coast. 236. aromatic : fragrant * Medieval sailing vessels brought aromatic herbs from China to Europe. 241. arrogance : pride, haughtiness * The arrogance of the nobility was resented by the middle class. 246. artisan : a manually skilled worker * Artists and artisans alike are necessary to the development of a culture. 247. artless : without guile; open and honest * Red Riding Hood's artless comment, \Grandma, what big eyes you have!\ indicates the child's innocent surprises at her \grandmother's\ changed appearance. 248. ascendancy : controlling influence * President Marcos failed to maintain his ascendency over Philippines. 251. ascribe : refer; attribute; assign * I can ascribe no motive for her acts. 258. aspersion : slanderous remark * Do not cast aspersions on her character. 259. aspirant : seeker after position or status * Although I am as aspirant for public office, I am not willing to accept the dictates of the party bosses. 260. aspiration : noble ambition * Youth's aspirations should be as lofty as the stars. 261. assail : assault * He was assailed with questions after his lecture. 263. assent : agree; accept * It gives me great pleasure to assent to your request. 264. assert : state strongly or positively; insist on or demand recognition of (rights,claims, etc). * When Jill asserted that nobody else in the junior class had such an early curfew, her parents Asserted themselves, telling her that if she didn't get home by nine o'clock she would be grounded for the week. 266. assiduous : diligent * It took Rembrandt weeks of assiduous labor before he was satisfied with his portrait of his son. 267. assimilate : absorb; cause to become homogenous 127 * The manner in which the United States was able to assimilate the hordes of immigrants during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries will always be a source of pride. 268. assuage : ease; lessen(pain) * Your messages of cheer should assuage her suffering. 269. assumption : something taken for granted; the taking over or taking possession of * The young princess made the foolish assumption that the regent would not object to her Assumption of power. 270. assurance : promise or pledge; certainty; self-confidence * When Gutherie gave Guiness his assurance that rehearsals were going well,he spoke with such assurance that Guiness was convinced. 274. astringent : binding; causing contraction; harsh or severe * The astringent quality of unsweetened lemon juice made swallowing difficult. 278. asylum : place of refuge or shelter; protection * The refugees sought asylum from religious persecution in a new land. 279. asymmetric : not identical on both sides of a dividing central line * Because one eyebrow was set markedly higher than the other, William's face had a particularly asymmetric appearance. 281. atheistic : denying the existence of God * His atheistic remarks shocked the religious worshippers. 285. attenuate : make thin; weaken * By withdrawing their forces, the generals hoped to attenuate the enemy lines. 286. attest : testify; bear witness * Having served as a member of a grand jury, I can attest that our system of indicting individuals is in need of improvement. 287. attribute : essential quality * His outstanding attribute was his kindness. 288. attribute : ascribe; explain * I attribute her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents. 292. augment : increase * How can we hope to augment our forces when our allies are deserting us? 293. augury : omen; prophecy * He interpreted the departures of the birds as an augury of evil. 294. august : impressive; majestic * Visiting the palace at Versailes, she was impressed by the august surroundings in which she found herself. 297. auspicious : favoring success * With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to set sail 128 302. authoritative : having the weight of authority; dictatorial * We accepted her analysis of the situation as authoritative. 308. avarice : greed for wealth * King Midas's avarice has been famous for centuries. 309. aver : state confidently * I wish to aver that I am certain of success. 310. averse : reluctant * He was averse to revealing the sources of his information. 311. aversion : firm dislike * Their mutual aversion was so great that they refused to speak to one another. 312. avert : prevent; turn away * She averted her eyes from the dead cat on the highway. 313. aviary : enclosure for birds * The aviary at the zoo held nearly 300 birds. 315. avocation : secondary or minor occupation * His hobby proved to be so fascinating and profitable that gradually he abandoned his regular occupation and concentrated on his avocation. 316. avow : declare openly * I must avow that I am innocent. 338. bantering : good-naturedly ridiculing * They resented his bantering remarks because they misinterpreted his teasing as sarcasm. 342. baroque : highly ornate * Accustomed to the severe, angular lines of modern skyscrapers, they found the flamboyance of baroque architecture amusing. 343. barrage : barrier laid down by artillery fire; overwhelming profusion * The company was forced to retreat through the barrage of heavy canyons. 344. barrister : counselor-at-law * Galsworthy started as a barrister, but when he found the practice of law boring, turned to writing. 346. bask : luxuriate; take pleasure in warmth * basking on the beach, she relaxed so completely that she fell asleep. 358. beguile : amuse; delude; cheat * I beguiled himself during the long hours by playing solitaire. 362. belabor : explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; assail verbally * The debate coach warned her student not to bore the audience by belaboring his point. 366. belittle : disparage; depreciate 129 * Parents should not belittle their children's early attempts at drawing, but should encourage their efforts. 367. bellicose : warlike * His bellicose disposition alienated his friends. 368. belligerent : quarrelsome * Whenever he had too much to drink, he became belligerent and tried to pick fights with strangers. 370. benediction : blessing * The appearance of the sun after the many rainy days was like a benediction 371. benefactor : gift giver; patron * Scrooge later became Tiny Tim's benefactor and gave him a benediction. 372. beneficent : kindly; doing good * The overgenerous philanthropist had to curb his beneficent impulses before he gave away all his money and left himself with nothing. 373. beneficiary : person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy * You may change your beneficiary as often as you wish. 374. benevolent : generous; charitable * His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. 375. benign : kindly; favorable; not malignant * The old man was well liked because of his benign attitude toward friend and stranger alike. 378. bequeath : leave to someone by means of a will; hand down * In his will, Father bequeathed his watch to Phillip; the bequest meant a great deal to the boy. 383. beset : harass; trouble * Many problems beset the American public school system. 387. betroth : become engaged to marry * The announcement that they had become betrothed surprised their friends who had not suspected any romance. 389. bicameral : two-chambered, as a legislative body * The United States Congress is a bicameral body. 391. biennial : every two years * The group held biennial meetings instead of annual ones. 392. bifurcated : divided into two branches; forked * With a bifurcated branch and a piece of elastic rubber, he made a crude but effective slingshot. 418. boon : blessing; benefit * The recent rains that filled our empty reservoirs were a boon to the whole 130 community. 421. bountiful : generous; showing bounty * She distributed gifts in a bountiful and gracious manner. 427. braggart : boaster * Modest by nature, she was no braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves. 430. brazen : insolent * Her brazen contempt for authority angered the officials. 432. breadth : width; extent * We were impressed by the breadth of her knowledge. 433. brevity : conciseness * brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word. 459. cacophony : discord * Some people seem to enjoy the cacophony of an orchestra that is tuning up. 462. cadence : rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat * Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant. 469. calorific : heat-producing * Coal is much more calorific than green wood. 474. candor : frankness * The candor and simplicity of his speech impressed all, it was all clear he held nothing back. 478. cant : pious phraseology; jargon of criminals * Angry that the president had slashed the education budget, we dismissed his speech on the importance of education as mere cant. 484. capacious : spacious * In the capacious areas of the railroad terminal, thousands of travelers lingered while waiting for their train. 487. caprice : whim * She was an unpredictable creature, acting on caprice, never taking thought of the consequences. 489. caption : title; chapter heading; text under illustration * I find the captions that accompany these cartoons very clever and humorous 499. carnage : destruction of life * The carnage that can be caused by atomic warfare adds to the responsibilities of our statesmen. 500. carnal : fleshly 131 * The public was more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters. 501. carnivorous : meat-eating * The lion is a carnivorous animal. 504. carrion : rotting flesh of a dead body * Buzzards are nature's scavengers; they eat the carrion left behind by other predators. 506. cascade : small waterfall * We could not appreciate the beauty of the many cascades as we made detours around each of them to avoid getting wet. 509. casualty : serious or fatal accident * The number of automotive casualties on this holiday weekend was high. 510. cataclysm : deluge; upheaval * A cataclysm such as the French Revolution affects all countries. 511. catalyst : agent that brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged * Many chemical reactions cannot take place without the presence of a catalyst. 512. catapult : slingshot; hurling machine * Airplanes are sometimes launched from battleships by catapults. 513. cataract : great waterfall; eye abnormality * She gazed with awe at the mighty cataract known as Niagara Falls. 514. catastrophe : calamity * The Johnstown flood was a catastrophe. 524. cauterize : burn with hot iron or caustic * In order to prevent infection, the doctor cauterized the wound. 526. cavalier : casual and offhand; arrogant * Sensitive about having her ideas taken lightly, Marcia felt insulted by Mark's cavalier dismissal of her suggestion. 528. cede : transfer; yield title to * I intend to cede this property to the city. 529. celerity : speed; rapidity * Hamlet resented his mother's celerity in remarrying within a month after his father's death. 534. censure : blame; criticize * He was censured for his inappropriate behavior. 536. centigrade : denoting a widely used temperature scale (basically same as Celsius) * On the centigrade thermometer, the freezing point of water is zero degrees 537. centrifugal : radiating; departing from the center * Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force. 132 539. centripetal : tending toward the center * Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth's surface? 544. cessation : stopping * The workers threatened a cessation of all activities if their demands were not met. 545. cession : yielding to another; ceding * The cession of Alaska to the United States is discussed in this chapter. 552. champion : support militantly * Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize because he championed the oppressed in their struggle for equality. 573. chronic : long established, as a disease * The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches and nausea a to traces of formaldehyde gas in his apartment. 574. chronicle : report; record (in chronological order) * The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of the socially prominent celebrities. 580. circuitous : roundabout * Because of the traffic congestion on the main highways, she took a circuitous route. 581. circumlocution : indirect or roundabout expression * He was afraid to call spade a spade and resorted to circumlocutions to avoid direct reference to his subject. 582. circumscribe : limit; confine * Although I do not wish to circumscribe your activities, I must insist that you complete this assignment before you start anything else. 583. circumspect : prudent; cautious * Investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect. 584. circumvent : outwit; baffle * In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting our major campaign. 586. cite : quote; commend * She could cite passages in the Bible from memory. 590. clamor : noise * The clamor of the children at play outside made it impossible for her to take a nap. 595. claustrophobia : fear of being locked in * His fellow classmates laughed at his claustrophobia and often threatened to lock him in his room. 609. coalesce : combine; fuse * The brooks coalesce into one large river. 133 615. coeval : living at the same time as; contemporary * coeval with the dinosaur, the pterodactyl flourished during the Mesozoic era. 617. cogent : convincing * She presented cogent arguments to the jury. 618. cogitate : think over * cogitate on this problem; the solution will come. 619. cognate : related linguistically; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature * The English word \mother\ cognate to the Latin word \mater,\ whose influence is visible in the words \maternal\ and \maternity.\ 620. cognitive : having to do with knowing or perceiving related to the mental precesses * Though Jack was emotionally immature, his cognitive development was admirable; he was very advanced intellectually. 621. cognizance : knowledge * During the election campaign, the two candidates were kept in full cognizance of the international situation. 622. cohere : stick together * Solids have a greater tendency to cohere than liquids. 623. cohesion : tendency to keep together * A firm believer in the maxim \Divide and conquer,\ the emperor, by lies and trickery, sought to disrupt the cohesion of the free nations. 626. coincident : occurring at the same time * Some people find the coincident events in Hardy's novels annoyingly improbable. 628. collaborate : work together * Two writers collaborated in preparing this book. 630. collate : examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order * They collated the newly found manuscripts to determine their age. 631. collateral : security given for loan * The sum you wish to borrow is so large that it must be secured by collateral. 633. colloquial : pertaining to conversational or common speech * Your use of colloquial expressions in a formal essay such as the one you have presented spoils the effect you hope to achieve. 634. colloquy : informal discussion * I enjoy our colloquies but I sometimes wish that they could be made more formal and more searching. 635. collusion : conspiring in a fraudulent scheme * The swindlers were found guilty of collusion. 646. commensurate : equal in extent 134 * Your reward will be commensurate with your effort. 647. commiserate : feel or express pity or sympathy for * Her friends commiserated with the widow. 648. commodious : spacious and comfortable * After sleeping in a small roadside cabins, they found their hotel suite commodious. 649. communal : held in common; of a group of people * When they were divorced, they had trouble dividing their communal property 650. compact : agreement; contract * The signers of the Mayflower Compact were establishing a form of government. 651. compact : tightly packed; firm; brief * His short, compact body was better suited to wrestling than to basketball. 652. compatible : harmonious; in harmony with * They were compatible neighbors, never quarreling over unimportant matters. 654. compendium : brief, comprehensive summary * This text can serve as a compendium of the tremendous amount of new material being developed in this field. 657. complacent : self-satisfied * There was a complacent look on his face as he examined his paintings. 658. complaisant : trying to please; obliging * The courtier obeyed the king's orders in a complaisant manner. 659. complement : complete; consummate; make perfect * The waiter recommended a glass of port to complement the cheese. 660. compliance : conformity in fulfilling requirements; readiness to yield * The design for the new school had to be in compliance with the local building code. 661. compliant : yielding * He was compliant and ready to go along with his friends' desires. 662. complicity : participation; involvement * You cannot keep your complicity in this affair secret very long; you would be wise to admit your involvement immediately. 663. component : element; ingredient * I wish all the components of my stereo system were working at the same time. 664. comport : bear one's self; behave * He comported himself with great dignity. 665. composure : mental calmness * Even the latest work crisis failed to shake her composure. 666. compound : combine; constitute; pay interest; increase * The makers of the popular cold remedy compounded a nasal decongestant with an antihistamine. 135 667. comprehensive : thorough; inclusive * This book provides a comprehensive review of verbal and math skills for the SAT. 668. compress : close; squeeze; contract * She compressed the package under her arm. 669. comprise : include; consist of * If the District of Columbia were to be granted a statehood, the United States of America would comprise fifty-onestates, not just fifty. 670. compromise : adjust; endanger the interests or reputation of * Your presence at the scene of the dispute compromises our claim to neutrality in this matter. 671. compunction : remorse * The judge was especially severe in this sentencing because he felt that the criminal had shown no compunction for his heinous crime. 672. compute : reckon; calculate * He failed to compute the interest, so his bank balance was not accurate. 674. concave : hollow * The back-packers found partial shelter from the storm by huddling against the concave wall of the cliff. 675. concede : admit; hield * Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to concede that she was right. 676. conceit : whimsical idea; extravagant metaphor * He was an entertaining companion, always expressing himself in amusing conceits and witty turns of phrase. 678. conception : beginning; forming of a idea * At the first conception of the work, he was consulted. 680. concession : an act of yielding * Before they could reach an agreement, both sides had to make certain concessions. 682. concise : brief and compact * When you define a new word, be concise; the shorter the definition, the easier it is to remember. 684. conclusive : decisive; ending all debate * When the stolen books turned up in John's locker, we finally had conclusive evidence of the identity of the mysterious thief. 685. concoct : prepare by combining; make up in concert * How did the inventive chef ever concoct such strange dish? 687. concord : harmony * Watching Tweediedum and Tweedledee battle, Alice wondered why the two brothers 136 could not manage to life in concord. 688. concur : agree * Did you concur with the decision of the court or did you find it unfair? 689. concurrent : happening at the same time * In America, the colonists were resisting the demands of the mother country; at the concurrent moment in France, the middle class was sowing the seeds of rebellion. 690. condescend : bestow courtesies with a superior air * The king condescended to grant an audience to the friends of the condemned man. 693. condole : express sympathetic sorrow * His friends gathered to condole with him over his loss. 694. condone : overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse * Unlike Widow Douglass, who condoned Huck's minor offenses, Miss Watson did nothing but scold. 697. confidant : trusted friend * He had no confidants with whom he could discuss his problems at home. 698. confiscate : seize; commandeer * The army confiscated all available supplies of uranium. 699. conflagration : great fire * In the conflagration that followed the 1906 earthquake, much of San Francisco was destroyed. 700. confluence : flowing together; crowd * They built the city at the confluence of two rivers. 701. conformity : harmony; agreement * In conformity with our rules and regulations, I am calling a meeting of our organization. 702. confound : confuse; puzzle * No mystery could confound Sherlock Holmes for long. 703. congeal : freeze; coagulate * His blood congealed in his veins as he saw the dread monster rush toward him. 704. congenial : pleasant; friendly * My father loved to go out for a meal with congenial companions. 705. congenital : existing at birth * His congenital deformity disturbed his parents. 708. conifer : pine tree; cone-bearing tree * According to geologists, the conifers were the first plants to bear flowers. 709. conjecture : surmise; guess * I will end all your conjectures; I admit I am guilty as charged. 711. conjure : summon a devil; proactive magic; imagine; invent 137 * He conjured up an image of a reformed city and had the voters completely under his spell. 713. connoisseur : person competent to act as judge of art, ect.; a lover of an art * She had developed into a connoisseur of fine china. 714. connotation : suggested or implied meaning of an expression * Foreigners frequently are unaware of the connotations of the words they use. 716. consanguinity : kinship * The lawsuit developed into a test of the consanguinity of the claimant to the estate. 717. conscientious : scrupulous; careful * A conscientious editor checked every definition for its accuracy. 718. conscript : draftee; person forced into military service * Did Rambo volunteer to fight in Vietnam, or was he a conscript, drafted against his will? 719. consecrate : dedicate; sanctify * We shall consecrate our lives to this noble purpose. 720. consensus : general agreement * The consensus indicates that we are opposed to entering into this pact. 721. consequential : pompous; self-important * Convinced of his own importance, the actor strutted about the dressing room with a consequential air. 722. conservatory : school of the fine arts (especially music or drama) * A gifted violinist, Maria was selected to study at the conservatory. 723. consign : deliver officially; entrust; set apart * The court consigned the child to her paternal grandmother's care. 724. consistency : absence of contradictions; dependability; uniformity; degree of thickness * Holmes judged puddings and explanations on their consistency; he liked his puddings without lumps and his explanations without improbabilities. 725. console : lessen sadness or disappointment; give comfort * When her father died, Marius did his best to console Cosette. 726. consonance : harmony; agreement * Her agitation seemed out of consonance with her usual calm. 727. consort : associate with * We frequently judge people by the company with whom they consort. 728. consort : husband or wife * The search for a consort for the young Queen Victoria ended happily. 729. conspiracy : treacherous plot * Brutus and Cassius joined in the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar. 138 730. constituent : supporter * The congressman received hundreds of letters from angry constituents after the Equal Rights Amendment failed to pass. 731. constraint : compulsion; repression of feelings * There was a feeling of constraint in the room because no one dared to criticize the speaker. 732. construe : explain; interpret * If I construe your remarks correctly, you disagree with the theory already advanced. 733. consummate : complete * I have never seem anyone who makes as many stupid errors as you do; you must be a consummate idiot. 734. contagion : infection * Fearing contagion, they took drastic steps to prevent the spread of the disease. 735. contaminate : pollute * The sewage system of the city so contaminated the water that swimming was forbidden. 737. contend : struggle; compete; assert earnestly * In Revolt of the Black Athlete, sociologist Harry Edwards contends that young black athletes have been exploited by some college recruiters. 738. contentious : quarrelsome * We heard loud and contentious noises in the next room. 739. contest : dispute * The defeated candidate attempted to contest the election results. 740. context : writings preceding and following the passage quoted * Because these lines are taken out of context, they do not convey the message the author intended. 741. contiguous : adjacent to; touching upon * The two countries are contiguous for a few miles; then they are separated by the gulf. 742. continence : self-restraint; sexual chastity * She vowed to lead a life of continence. 743. contingent : conditional * The continuation of this contract is contingent on the quality of your first output. 745. contraband : illegal trade; smuggling; smuggled goods * The coast guard tries to prevent contraband in U.S. waters. 746. contravene : contradict; oppose: infringe on or transgress * Mr. Barrett did not expect his frail daughter Elizabeth to contravene his will by eloping with Robert Browning. 749. controvert : oppose with arguments; contradict 139 * To controvert your theory will require much time but it is essential that we disprove it. 750. contumacious : disobedient; resisting authority * The contumacious mob shouted defiantly at the police. 754. convention : social or moral custom; established practice * Flying in the face of convention, George Sand (Amandine Dudevant) shocked her contemporaries by taking lovers and wearing men's clothes. 755. conventional : ordinary; typical * His conventional upbringing left him wholly unprepared for his wife's eccentric family. 756. converge : come together * Marchers converged on Washington for the great Save Our Cities-Save Our Children March. 757. conversant : familiar with * The lawyer is conversant with all the evidence. 758. converse : opposite * The inevitable converse of peace is not war but annihilation. 759. convert : one who has adopted a different religion or opinion * On his trip to Japan, though the President spoke at length about the merits of American automobiles, he made few converts to his beliefs. 760. convex : curving outward * He polished the convex lens of his telescope. 761. conveyance : vehicle; transfer * During the transit strike, commuters used various kinds of conveyances. 762. conviction : strongly held belief * Nothing could shake his conviction that she was innocent. 763. convivial : festive; gay; characterized by joviality * The convivial celebrators of the victory sang their college songs. 764. convoke : call together * Congress was convoked at the outbreak of the emergency. 765. convoluted : coiled around; involved; intricate * His argument was so convoluted that few of us could follow a it intelligently. 768. cordial : gracious; heartfelt * Our hosts greeted us at the airport with a cordial welcome and a hearty hug. 769. cordon : extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress * The police cordon was so tight that the criminals could not leave the area 773. corporeal : bodily; material * He was not a churchgoer; he was interested only in corporeal matters. 140 774. corpulent : very fat * The corpulent man resolved to reduce. 776. corroborate : confirm * Unless we find a witness to corroborate your evidence, it will not stand up in court. 777. corrosive : eating away by chemicals or disease * Stainless steel is able to withstand the effects of corrosive chemicals. 779. cosmic : pertaining to the universe; vast * cosmic rays derive their name from the fact that they bombard the earth's atmosphere from outer space. 781. countenance : approve; tolerate * He refused to countenance such rude behavior on their part. 782. countenance : face * When Jose saw his newborn daughter, a proud smile spread across his countenance. 783. countermand : cancel; revoke * The general countermand the orders issued in his absence. 784. counterpart : a thing that completes another; things very much alike * Night and day are counterparts. 789. covert : secret; hidden; implied * She could understand the covert threat in the letter. 790. covetous : avaricious; eagerly desirous of * The child was covetous by nature and wanted to take the toys belonging to his classmates. 797. craven : cowardly * When he saw the enemy troops advancing, he had a craven impulse to run for his life. 798. credence : belief * Do not place any credence in his promises. 799. credo : creed * I believe we may best describe his credo by saying that it approximates the Goldren Rule. 800. credulity : belief on slight evidence * The witch doctor took advantage of the credulity of the superstitious natives. 801. creed : system of religious or ethical belief * In any loyal American's creed, love of democracy must be emphasized. 809. crux : crucial point * This is the crux of the entire problem. 817. culpable : deserving blame * Corrupt politicians who condone the activities of the gamblers are equally culpable. 141 818. culvert : artificial channel for water * If we build a culvert under the road at this point, we will reduce the possibility of the road at this point, we will reduce the possibility of the road's being flooded during the rainy season. 819. cumbersome : heavy; hard to manage * He was burdened down with cumbersome parcels. 822. curator : superintendent; manager * The members of the board of trustees of the museum expected the new curator to plan events and exhibitions that would make the museum more popular. 824. cursive : flowing, running * In normal writing we run our letters together in cursive form; in printing, we separate the letters. 825. cursory : casual; hastily done * A cursory examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson; a more extensive study should be undertaken. 837. daunt : intimidate * Your threats cannot daunt me. 838. dauntless : bold * Despite the dangerous nature of the undertaking, the dauntless soldier volunteered for the assignment. 844. debase : reduce to lower state * Do not debase youself by becoming maudlin. 851. decadence : decay * The moral decadence of the people was reflected in the lewd literature of the period. 853. decapitate : behead * They did not hang Lady Jane Grey; they decapitated her. 854. decelerate : slow down * Seeing the emergency blinkers in the road ahead, he decelerated quickly. 855. deciduous : falling off, as of leaves * The oak is a deciduous tree. 857. decipher : decode * I could not decipher the doctor's handwriting. 858. declivity : downward slope * The children loved to ski down the declivity. 863. decrepitude : state of collagse caused by illness or old age * I was unprepared for the state of decrepitude in which I had found my old friend; he seemed to have aged twenty years in six months. 864. decry : express strong disapproval of ; disparage 142 * The founder of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, strongly decries the lack of financial and moral support for children in America today. 865. deducible : derived byreasoning * If we accept your premise, your conclusions are easily deducible. 866. deface : mar; disfigure * If you deface a library book, you will have to pay a hefty fine. 867. defamation : harming a person's reputation * Such defamation of character may result in a slander suit. 868. default : failure to do * As a result of her husband's failure to appear in court, she was granted a divorce by default. 869. defeatist : resigned to defeat; accepting defeat as a natural outcome * If you maintain your defeatist attitude, you will never succeed. 870. defection : desertion * The children, who had made him an idol, were hurt most by his defection from our cause. 871. deference : courteous regard for another's wish * In deference to his desires, the employers granted him a holiday. 872. defile : pollute; profane * The hoodlums defiled the church with their scurrilous writing. 873. definitive : most reliable or complee * Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln may be regarded as the definitive work on the life of the Great Emancipator. 874. deflect : turn aside * His life was saved when his cigarette case deflected the bullet. 875. defoliate : destroy leaves * In Vietnam the army made extensive use of chemical agents to defoliate the woodlands. 880. degenerate : become worse; deteriorate * As the fight dragged on, the champion's style degenerated until he could barely keep on his feet. 881. degraded : lowered in rank; debased * The degraded wretch spoke only of his past glories and honors. 882. dehydrate : remove water from; dry out * Vigorous dancing quickly dehydrates the body; between dances, be sure to drink more water than normal. 883. deify : turn into a god; idolize * Admire the rock star all you want; just don't deify him. 143 887. deliberate : consider; ponder; unhurried * Offered the new job, she asked for time to deliberate before she made her decision. 890. delta : flat plain of mud or sand between branches of a river * His dissertation discussed the effect of intermittent flooding on the fertility of the Nile delta. 891. delude : deceive * Do not delude yourself into believing that he will relent. 892. deluge : flood; rush * When we advertised the position, we received a deluge of applications. 893. delusion : false belief; hallucination * This scheme is a snare and a delusion. 896. demagogue : person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader * He was accused of being a demagogue because he made promises that aroused futile hopes in his listeners. 899. demented : insane * She became increasingly demented and had to be hospitalized. 900. demise : death * Upon the demise of the dictator, a bitter dispute about succession to power developed. 903. demoniac : fiendish * The Spanish Inquisition devised many demoniac means of torture. 904. demotic : pertaining to the people * He lamented the passing of aristocratic society and maintained that a demotic society would lower the nation's standards. 909. denotation : meaning; distinguishing by name * A dictionary will always give us the denotation of a word; frequently, it will always give us its connotation. 911. denounce : condemn; critcize * The reform candidate denounced the corrupt city officers for having betray ed the public's trust. 912. depict : portray * In this book, the author depicts the slave owners as kind and benevolent masters. 913. deplete : reduce; exhaust * We must wait until we deplete our present inventory before we order replacements. 914. deplore : regret * Although I deplore the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely. 915. deploy : move troops so that the battle line is extended at the expense of depth 144 * The general ordered the battalion to deploy in order to meet the offensive of the enemy. 916. depose : dethrone; remove form office * The army attempted to depose the king and set up a military government. 917. deposition : testimony under oath * He made his deposition in the judge's chamber. 919. deprecate : express disapproval of; protest against; belittle * A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post deprecated the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names. 920. depreciate : lessen in value * If you neglect this properly, it will depreciate. 921. depredation : plundering * After the depredations of the invaders, the people were penniless. 923. derelict : neglectful of duty; abandoned * The corporal who fell asleep while on watch was thrown into the guardhouse for being derelict in his duty. 924. deride : scoff at * The people derided his grandiose schemes. 925. derision : ridicule * They greeted his proposal with derision and refused to consider it seriously. 927. dermatologist : one who studies the skin and its diseases * I advise you to consult a dermatologist about your acne. 928. derogatory : expressing a low opinion * I resent your derogatory remarks. 930. desecrate : profane; violate the sanctity of * The soldiers desecrated the temple. 931. desiccate : dry up * A tour of this smokehouse will give you an idea of how the pioneers used to desiccate food in order to preserve it. 932. desolate : rob of joy; lay waste to; forsake * The bandits desolated the countryside, burning farms and carrying off the harvest. 933. desperado : reckless outlaw * Butch Cassidy was a bold desperado with a price on his head. 934. despicable : contemptible * Your despicable remarks call for no reply. 935. despise : scorn * I despise your attempts at a reconciliation at this time and refuse to meet you. 936. despoil : plunder 145 * If you do not yield, I am afraid the enemy will despoil the countryside. 937. despondent : depressed; gloomy * To the dismay of his parents, he became more and more depondent every day. 939. destitute : extremely poor * The costs of the father's illness left the family destitute. 940. desultory : aimless; haphazard; digressing at random * In prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to him reading was purposeful, not desultory. 941. detached : emotionally removed; calm and objective; indifferent * A psychoanalyst must maintain a detached point of view and stay uninvolved with her patients' personal lives. 942. determinate : having a fixed order of procedure; invariable * At the royal wedding, the procession of the nobles followed a determinate order of precedence. 943. deterrent : something that discourages; hindrance * Does the threat of capital punishment serve as a deterrent to potential killers? 944. detonation : explosion * The detonation of the bomb could be heard miles away. 945. detraction : slandering; aspersion * He is offended by your frequent detractions of his ability as a leader. 946. detrimental : harmful; damaging * Your acceptance of her support will ultimately prove detrimental rather than helpful to your cause. 947. deviate : turn away from * Do not deviate from the truth; you must face the facts. 948. devious : going astray; erratic * Your devious behavior in this matter puzzles me since you are usually direct and straightforward. 949. devoid : lacking * He was devoid of any personal desire for gain in his endeavor to secure improvement in the community. 950. devolve : deputize; pass to others * It devolved upon us, the survivors, to arrange peace terms with the enemy. 951. devotee : enthusiastic follower * A devotee of the opera, he bought season tickets every year. 953. dexterous : skillful * The magician was so dexterous that we could not follow his movements as he performed his tricks. 146 957. diaphanous : sheer; transparent * They saw the burglar clearly through the diaphanous curtain. 958. diatribe : bitter scolding; invective * During the lengthy diatribe delivered by his opponent he remained calm and self-controlled. 960. dictum : authoritative and weighty statement * She repeated the statement as though it were the dictum of the most expert worker in the group. 961. didactic : teaching; instructional; preaching or moralizing * The didactic qualities of his poetry overshadow its literary qualities; the lesson he teaches is more memorable than the lines. 963. diffidence : shyness * You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to become a salesperson. 964. diffusion : wordiness; spreading in all directions like a gas * Your composition suffers from a diffusion of ideas; try to be more compact 966. dilapidated : ruined because of neglect * We felt that the dilapidated building needed several coats of paint. 967. dilate : expand * In the dark, the pupils of your eyes dilate. 968. dilatory : delaying * Your dilatory tactics may compel me to cancel the contract. 969. dilemma : problem; choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives * In this dilemma, he knew no one to whom he could turn for advice. 971. diligence : steadiness of effort; persisten hard work * Her employers were greatly impressed by her diligence and offered her a partnership in the firm. 972. dilute : make less concentrated; reduce in strength * She preferred her coffee diluted with milk. 973. diminution : lessening; reduction in size * The blockaders hoped to achieve victory as soon as the diminution of the enemy's supplies became serious. 981. disabuse : correct a false impression; undeceive * I will attempt to disabuse you of your impression of my client's guilt; I know he is innocent. 986. disband : dissolve; disperse * The chess club disbanded after its disastrous initial season. 990. disclaim : disown; renounce claim to * If I grant you this previlege, will you disclaim all other rights? 147 991. disclose : reveal * Although competitors offered him bribes, he refused to disclose any information about his company's forthcoming product. 994. disconcert : confuse; upset; embarrass * The lawyer was disconcerted by the evidence produced by her adversary. 996. discordant : inharmonious; conflicting * She tried to unite the discordant factions. 997. discount : disregard * Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex-wife. 998. discourse : formal disscussion; conversation * The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers. 999. discredit : defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve * The campaign was highly negative in tone; each candidate tried to discredit the other. 1000. discrepancy : lack of consistency; difference * The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him. 1001. discrete : separate; unconnected * The universe is composed of discrete bodies. 1002. discretion : prudence; ability to adjust actions to circumstances * Use your discretion in this matter and do not discuss it with anyone. 1004. discursive : digressing; rambling * They were annoyed and bored by her discursive remarks. 1005. disdain : treat with scorn or contempt * You make enemies of all you disdain. 1006. disembark : go ashore; unload cargo from a ship * Before the passengers could disembark, they had to pick up their passports from the ship's purser. 1009. disfigure : mar the appearance of; spoil * An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face. 1010. disgorge : surrender something; efect; vomit * Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run away. 1012. dishearten : discourage * His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him. 1014. disinclination : unwilingness * Some mornings I feel a great disinclination to get out of bed. 1016. disinter : dig up; unearth 148 * They disinterred the body and held an autopsy. 1017. disinterested : unprejudiced * The only disinterested person in the room was the judge. 1021. dismember : cut into small parts * When the Austrian Empire was dismembered, several new countries were established. 1022. dismiss : eliminate from consideration; reject * Believing in John's love for her, she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful. 1024. disparate : basically different; unrelated * It is difficult, if not impossible, to organize these disparate elements into a coherent whole. 1025. disparity : difference; condition of inequality * The disparity in their ages made no difference at all. 1026. dispassionate : calm; impartial * In a dispassionate analysis of the problem, he carefully examined the causes of the conflict and proceeded to suggest suitable remedies. 1027. dispatch : speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed * Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a dispatch to headquarters, informing his commander of the great victory. 1028. dispel : scatter; drive away; cause to vanish * The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist. 1029. disperse : scatter * The police fired tear gas into crowd to disperse the protesters. 1031. disport : amuse * The popularity of Florida as a winter resort is constantly increasing; each year, thousands more disport themselves at Miami and Palm Beach. 1032. disputatious : argumentative; fond of argument * People avoided discussing contemporary problems with him because of his disputatious manner. 1033. disquisition : a formal systematic inquiry; an explanation of the results of a formal inquiry * In his disquisition, he outlined the steps he had taken in reaching his conclusions. 1034. dissection : analysis; cutting apart in order to examine * The dissection of frogs on the laboratory is particularly unpleasant to some students. 1035. dissemble : disguise; pretend * Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew there not to dance but to meet girls. 1036. disseminate : scatter (like seeds) 149 * The invention of the radio helped propagandists to disseminate their favorite doctrines very easily. 1037. dissent : disagree * In a landmark Supreme Court decision, Justice Marshall dissented from the majority opinion. 1038. dissertation : formal essay * In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities, a candidate is frequently required to prepare a dissertation on some scholarly subject. 1039. dissident : dissenting; rebellious * In the purge that followed the student demonstrations at Tianamen Square, the government hunted down the dissident students and their supporters. 1040. dissimulate : pretend; conceal by feigning * She tried to dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude. 1041. dissipate : squander * The young man quickly dissipated his inheritance and was soon broke. 1042. dissolution : disintegration; looseness in morals * The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula's Rome appall some historians. 1043. dissonance : discord * Some contemporary musicians deliberately use dissonance to achieve certain effects. 1044. dissuade : advise against * He could not dissuade his friend from joining the conspirators. 1045. distant : reserved or aloof; cold in manner * His distant greeting made me feel unwelcome from the start. 1046. distend : expand; swell out * I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead. 1047. distill : purify; refine; concentrate * A moon shiner distills mash into whiskey; an epigrammatist distills thoughts into quips. 1048. distortion : twisting out of shape * It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of this event because of the distortions and exaggerations of the reporters. 1051. diurnal : daily * A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows, for example, must be milked regularly. 1053. diverge : vary; go in different directionsfrom the same point * The spokes of the wheel diverge from the hub. 1054. divergent : differing; deviating * The two witnesses presented the jury with remarkably divergent accounts of the same 150 episode. 1055. diverse : differing in some characteristics; various * There are diverse ways of approaching this problem. 1056. diversion : act of turning aside; pastime * After studying for several hours, he needed a diversion from work. 1057. diversity : variety; dissimilitude * The diversity of colleges in this country indicates that many levels of ability are being served. 1058. divest : strip; deprive * He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern. 1059. divine : perceive intuitively; foresee the future * Nothing infuriated Tom more than Aunt Polly's ability to divine when he was not telling the truth. 1061. docile : obedient; easily managed * As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast. 1063. doctrinaire : unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding * Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China, but the repressive response of the doctrinaire hard-liners crushed his dreams of democracy. 1064. document : provide written evidence * She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm. 1066. doff : take off * A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady. 1067. dogged : determined;stubborn * Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert's long, dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean. 1069. dogmatic : positive; arbitrary * Do not be so dogmatic about that statement; it can be easily refuted. 1072. dolt : stupid person * I thought I was talking to a mature audience; instead, I find myself addressing a pack of dolts. 1075. don : put on * When Clark Kent had to don his Superman outfit, he changed clothes in a convenient phone booth. 1076. dormant : sleeping; lethargic; torpid * Sometimes dormant talents in our friends surprise those of us who never realize how 151 gifted our acquaintances really are. 1077. dormer : window projecting from roof * In remodeling the attic into a bedroom, we decided that we needed to put in dormers to provide sufficient ventilation for the new room. 1093. dubious : doubtful * He has the dubious distinction of being the lowest man in his class. 1094. ductility : malleability; flexibility; ability to be drawn out * Copper wire has many industrial uses because of its extreme ductility. 1097. duplicity : double-dealing; hypocrisy * People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair, as he had always seemed honest and straightforward. 1099. dutiful : respectful; obedient * The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult aware of his civic obligations. 1100. dwindle : shrink; reduce * They spent so much money that their funds dwindled to nothing. 1101. dynamic : active; efficient * A dynamic government is necessary to meet the demands of a changing society. 1105. ebullient : showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm * His ebullient nature could not be repressed. 1106. eccentric : odd; whimsical; irregular * The comet passed close by the earth in its eccentric orbit. 1107. eccentricity : oddity; idiosyncrasy * Some of his friends tried to account for his rudeness to strangers as the eccentricity of genius. 1110. eclipse : darken; extinguish; surpass * The new stock market high eclipsed the previous record set in 1985. 1112. economy : efficiency or conciseness in using something * Reading the epigrams of Pope, I admire the economy of his verse: in few words he conveys worlds of meaning. 1113. ecstasy : rapture, joy; any overpowering emotion * The announcement that the war had ended brought on an ecstasy that resulted in many uncontrolled celebrations. 1115. edify : instruct; correct morally * Although his purpose was to edify and not to entertain his audience, many of his listeners were amused and not enlightened. 1117. efface : rub out * The coin had been handled so many times that its data had been effaced. 1118. effectual : efficient 152 * If we are to succeed, we must seek effectual means of securing our goals. 1122. efficacy : power to produce desired effect * The efficacy of this drug depends on the regularity of the dosage. 1123. effigy : dummy * The mob showed its irritation by hanging the judge in effigy. 1125. effrontery : shameless boldness * She had the effrontery to insult the guest. 1126. effusion : pouring forth * The critics objected to her literary effusion because it was too flowery. 1128. egoism : excessive interest in one's self; belief that one should be interested in one's self rather than in others * His egoism prevented him from seeing the needs of his colleagues. 1129. egotism : conceit; vanity * She thought so much of herself that we found her egotism unwarranted and irritating. 1130. egregious : notorious; conspicuously bad; shocking * She was an egregious liar; we all knew better than to believe a word she said. 1131. egress : exit * Barnum's sign \To the Egress\ fooled many people who thought they were going to see an animal and instead found themselves in the street. 1132. ejaculation : exclamation * He could not repress an ejaculation of surprise when he heard the news. 1140. eloquence : expressiveness; persuasive speech * The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's eloquence. 1141. elucidate : explain; enlighten * He was called upon to elucidate the disputed points in his article. 1142. elusive : evasive; baffling; hard to grasp * His elusive dreams of wealth were costly to those of his friends who supported him financially. 1144. emaciated : thin and wasted * His long period of starvation had left him emaciated. 1145. emanate : issue forth * A strong odor of sulfur emanated from the spring. 1146. emancipate : set free * At first, the attempts of the Abolitioninst to emancipate the slaves were unpopular in New England as well as in the South. 1147. embargo : ban on commerce or other activity * As a result of the embargo, trade with colonies was at a standstill. 1148. embark : commence; go on board a boat; begin a journey 153 * In devoting herself to the study of gorillas, Dian Fossey embarked on a course of action that was to cost her life. 1149. embed : enclose; place in something * Tales of actual historical figures like King Alfred have become embedded in legends. 1150. embellish : adorn * My mother-in-law's stories about her journey from Russia made us laugh because she embellished the bare facts of her travels with humorous anecdotes. 1157. eminent : high; lofty * After his appointment to this emiment position, he seldom had time for his former friends. 1158. emissary : agent; messenger * The secretary of State was sent as the President's special emissary to the conference on disarmament. 1164. enamored : in love * Narcissus became enamored of his own beauty. 1168. encompass : surround * Although we were encompassed by enemy forces, we were cheerful for we were well stocked and could withstand a siege until our allies joined us. 1170. encumber : burden * Some people encumber themselves with too much luggage, when they take short trips. 1172. endemic : prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific are or country * This disease is endemic in this part of the world; more than 80 percent of the population are at one time or another affected by it. 1173. endorse : approve; support * Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for the city council the mayor would endorse. 1177. enervate : weaken * She was slow to recover from her illness; even a short walk to the window enervated her. 1178. enfranchise : admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote) * Although blacks were enfranchised shortly after the Civil War, women did not receive the right to vote until 1920. 1179. engage : attract; hire; pledge oneself; confront * \Your case has engaged my interest, my lord,\ said Holmes, \You many engage my services.\ 1180. engender : cause; produce 154 * To receive praise for real accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child. 1182. enhance : advance; improve * Your chances for promotion in this department will be enhanced if you take some more courses in evening school. 1184. enigmatic : obscure; puzzling * Many have sought to fathom the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa. 1185. enjoin : command; order; forbid * The owners of the company asked the court to enjoin the union from picketing the plant. 1186. enmity : ill will; hatred * At Camp David President Carter labored to bring an end to the enmity that prevented Egypt and Israel from living in peace. 1188. enormity : hugeness (in a bad sense) * He did not realize the enormity of his crime until he saw what suffering he had caused. 1189. enrapture : please intensely * The audience was enraptured by the freshness of the voices and the excellent orchestration. 1191. ensue : follow * The evils that ensued were the direct result of the miscalculations of the leaders. 1192. enthrall : capture; enslave * From the moment he saw her picture, he was enthralled by her beauty. 1193. entice : lure; attract; tempt * She always tried to entice her baby brother into mischief. 1195. entomology : study of insects * I found entomology the least interesting part of my course in biology; studying insects bored me. 1196. entrance : put under a spell; carry away with emotion * Shafts of sunlight on a wall could entrance her and leave her spellbound. 1197. entreat : plead; ask earnestly * She entreated her father to let her stay out till midnight. 1200. enumerate : list; mention one by one * Huck hung his head in shame as Miss Watson enumerated his many flaws. 1201. enunciate : speak distinctly * How will people understand you if you do not enunciate? 1203. eon : long period of time; an age * It has taken eons for our civilization to develop. 1205. ephemeral : short-lived; fleeting 155 * The mayfly is an ephemeral creature. 1206. epic : long heroic poem, novel, or similar work of art * Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai is an epic portraying the struggle of seven warriors to destroy a band of robbers. 1208. epigram : witty thought or saying, usually short * Poor Richard's epigrams made Benjamin Franklin famous. 1209. epilogue : short speech at conclusion of dramatic work * The audience was so disappointed in the play that many did not remain to hear the epilogue. 1212. epitaph : inscription in memory of a dead person * In his will, he dictated the epitaph he wanted placed on his tombstone. 1213. epithet : word or phrase characteristically used to describe a person or thing * So many kings of France were named Charles that modern students need epithets to tell them apart: Charles the Wise, for example, was someone far different from Charles the Fat. 1214. epitome : perfect example or embodiment * Singing \I am the very model of a modern Major-General\ in The Pirates of Penzance, Major-General Stanley proclaimed himself the epitome of an officer and a gentleman. 1215. epoch : period of time * The glacial epoch lasted for thousands of years. 1216. equable : tranquil; steady; uniform * After the hot summers and cold winters of New England, he found the climate of the West Indies equable and pleasant. 1217. equanimity : calmness of temperament * In his later years, he could look upon the foolishness of the world with equanimity and humor. 1221. equinox : period of equal days and nights; the beginning of spring and autumn * The vernal equinox is usually marked by heavy rainstorms. 1222. equipoise : balance; balancing force; equilibrium * The high-wire acrobat used his pole as an equipose to overcome the swaying caused by the wind. 1223. equitable : fair; impartial * I am seeking an equitable solution to this dispute, one which will be fair and acceptable to both sides. 1224. equity : fairness; justice * Our courts guarantee equity to all. 1225. equivocal : doubtful; ambiguous * Macbeth was misled by the equivocal statements of the witches. 156 1226. equivocate : lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth * The audience saw through his attempts to equivocate on the subject under discussion and ridiculed his remarks. 1227. erode : eat away * The limestone was eroded by the dripping water 1229. errant : wandering * Many a charming tale has been written about the knights-errant who helped the weak and punished the guilty during the Age of Chivalry. 1230. erratic : odd; unpredictable * Investors become anxious when the stock market appears erratic. 1231. erroneous : mistaken; wrong * I thought my answer was correct, but it was erroneous. 1232. erudite : learned; scholarly * His erudite writing was difficult to read because of the many allusions which were unfamiliar to most readers. 1233. escapade : prank; flighty conduct * The headmaster could not regard this latest escapade as a boyish joke and expelled the young man. 1235. esoteric : hard to understand; known only to the chosen few * New Yorker short stories often include esoteric allusions to obscure peoplee and events: the implication is if you are in the in-crowd, you'll get the reference; if you come from Cleveland, you won't. 1236. espionage : spying * In order to maintain its power, the government developed a system of espionage that penetrated every household. 1237. espouse : adopt; support * She was always ready to espouse a worthy cause. 1244. etymology : study of word parts * A knowledge of etymology can help you on many English tests. 1247. eulogy : praise * All the eulogies of his friends could not remove the sting of the calumny heaped upon him by his enemies. 1248. euphemism : mild expression in place of an unpleasant one * The expression \he passed away\ is a euphemism for \he died.\ 1249. euphony : sweet sound * Noted for its euphony even when it is spoken, the Italian language is particularly pleasing to the ear when sung. 1251. euthanasia : mercy killing 157 * Many people support euthanasia for terminally ill patients who wish to die 1252. evanescent : fleeting; vanishing * For a brief moment, the entire skyline was bathed in an orange-red hue inthe evanescent rays of the sunset. 1253. evasive : not frank; eluding * Your evasive answers convinced the judge that you were witholding important evidence. 1254. evince : show clearly * When he tried to answer the questions, he evinced his ignorance of the subject matter. 1256. evoke : call forth * He evoked much criticism by his hostile manner. 1258. exacerbate : worsen; embitter * This latest arrest will exacerbate the already existing discontent of the people and enrage them. 1259. exacting : extremely demanding * The colonies rebelled against the exacting financial claims of the mother country. 1260. exalt : raise in rank or dignity; praise * The actor Alec Guinness was exalted to the rank of knighthood by the Queen; he now is known as Sir Alec Guinness. 1261. exasperate : vex * Johnny often exasperates his mother with his pranks. 1262. excerpt : selected passage (written or musical) * The cinematic equivalent of an excerpt from a novel is a clip from a film. 1264. excise : cut away; cut out * When you excise the dead and dying limbs of a tree, you not only improve its appearance but also enhance its chances of bearing fruit. 1266. exculpate : clear from blame * He was exculpated of the crime when the real criminal confessed. 1267. execrable : very bad * The anecdote was in execrable taste and shocked the audience. 1268. execrate : curse; express abhorrence for * The world execrates the memory of Hitler and hopes that genocide will never again be the policy of any nation. 1269. execute : put into effect; carry out * The choreographer wanted to see how well she could execute a pirouette. 1271. exemplary : serving as a model; outstanding * Her exemplary behavior was praised at commencement. 158 1272. exemplify : show by example; furnish an example * Three-time winner of the Super Bowl, Joe Montana exemplifies the ideal quarterback. 1273. exertion : effort; expenditure of much physical work * The exertion involved in unscrewing the rusty bolt left her exhausted. 1274. exhort : urge * The evangelist will exhort all sinners in his audience to reform. 1275. exhume : dig out of the ground; remove from a grave * Because of the rumor that he had been poisoned, his body was exhumed in order that an autopsy might be performed. 1279. exodus : departure * The exodus from the hot and stuffy city was particularly noticeable on Friday evenings. 1280. exonerate : acquit; exculpate * I am sure this letter naming the actual culprit will exonerate you. 1282. exorcise : drive our evil spirits * By incantation and prayer, the medicine man sought to exorcise the evil spirits that had taken possession of the young warrior. 1283. exotic : not native; strange * Because of his exotic headdress, he was followed in the streets by small children who laughed at his strange appearance. 1285. expatriate : exile; someone who has withdrawn from his native land * Henry James was an American expatriate who settled in England. 1286. expedient : suitable; practical; politic * A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was expedient rather than by what was ethical. 1287. expedite : hasten * We hope you will be able to expedite delivery because of our tight schedule. 1288. expertise : specialized knowledge; expert skill * Although she was knowledgeable in a number of fields, she was hired for her particular expertise in computer programming. 1290. expletive : interjection; profane oath * The sergeant's remarks were filled with expletives that offended the new recruits. 1291. explicate : explain; interpret; clarify * Harry Levin explicated James Joyce's novels with such clarity that even Finnegan's Wake seemed comprehensible to his students. 1293. exploit : deed or action, particularly a brave deed * Raoul Wallenberg was noted for his exploits in rescuing Jews from Hitler's forces. 159 1294. exploit : make use of, sometimes unjustly * Caesar Chavez fought attempts to exploit migrant farmworkers in California 1297. exposure : risk, particularly of being exposed to disease or to the elements; unmasking; act of laying something open * Exposure to sun and wind had dried out her hair and weathered her face. 1298. expunge : cancel; remove * If you behave, I will expunge this notation from your record. 1299. expurgate : clean; remove offensive parts of a book * The editors felt that certain passages in the book had to be expurgated before it could be used in the classroom. 1300. extant : still in existence * Although the authorities suppressed the book, many copies are extant and may be purchased at exorbitant prices. 1301. extemporaneous : not planned; impromptu * Because his extemporaneous remarks were misinterpreted, he decided to write all his speeches in advance. 1302. extenuate : weaken; mitigate * It is easier for us to extenuate our own shortcomings than those of others. 1303. extirpate : root up * The Salem witch trials were a misguided attempt to extirpate superstitionand heresy. 1304. extol : praise; glorify * The astronauts were extolled as the pioneers of the Space Age. 1305. extort : wring from; get money by threats, etc. * The blackmailer extorted money from his victim. 1309. extricate : free; disentangle * He found that he could not extricate himself from the trap. 1310. extrinsic : external; not inherent; foreign * Do not be fooled by extrinsic causes. We must look for the intrinsic reason. 1311. extrovert : person interested mostly in external objects and actions * A good salesperson in usually an extrovert, who likes to mingle with people. 1312. extrude : force or push out * Much pressure is required to extrude these plastics. 1313. exuberant : abundant; effusive; lavish * His speeches were famous for his exuberant language and vivid imagery. 1314. exude : discharge; give forth * The maple syrup is obtained from the sap that the trees exude in early spring. 1315. exult : rejoice * We exulted when our team won the victory. 160 1317. facade : front of the building * The facade of the church had often been photographed by tourists because it was more interesting than the rear. 1318. facet : small plane surface (of a gem); a side * The stonecutter decided to improve the rough diamond by providing it with several facets. 1319. facetious : humorous; jocular * Your facetious remarks are not appropriate at this serious moment. 1320. facile : easy; expert * Because he was a facile speaker, he never refused a request to address an organization. 1321. facilitate : make less difficult * He tried to facilitate repayment of the loan by getting a part-time job. 1322. facsimilie : copy * Many museums sell facsimilies of the works of art on display. 1323. faction : party; clique; dissension * The quarrels and bickering of the two small factions within the club disturbed the majority of the members. 1324. factious : inclined to form factions; causing dissension. * Your statement is factious and will upset the harmony that now exists. 1325. factitous : artificial; sham * Hollywood actresses often create factitious tears by using glycerine. 1326. factotum : handyman; person who does all kinds of work * Although we had hired him as a messenger, we soon began to use him as a general factotum around the office. 1327. faculty : mental or bodily powers; teaching staff * As he grew old, he feared he might lose his faculties and become useless to his employer. 1328. fallacious : misleading * Your reasoning must be fallacious because it leads to a ridiculous answer. 1329. fallible : liable to err * I know I am fallible, but I feel confident that I am right this time. 1333. fancied : imagined; unreal * You are resenting fancied insults. No one has ever said such things about you. 1335. fanciful : whimsical; visionary * This is a fanciful scheme because it does not consider the facts. 1337. fantastic : unreal; grotesque; whimsical * Your fears are fantastic because no such animal as you have described exists. 161 1342. fatuous : foolish; inane * He is far too intelligent to utter such fatuous remarks. 1343. fauna : animals of a period or region * The scientist could visualize the fauna of the period by examining the skeletal remains and the fossils. 1346. feasible : practical * This is an entirely feasible proposal. I suggest we adopt it. 1349. feign : pretend * Lady Macbeth feigned illness in the courtyard although she was actually healthy. 1350. feint : trick; shift; sham blow * The boxer was fooled by his opponent's feint and dropped his guard. 1355. ferment : agitation; commotion * With the breakup of the Soviet Union, much of Eastern Europe was in a state of ferment. 1357. fervent : ardent; hot * She felt that the fervent praise was excessive and somewhat undeserved. 1358. fervid : ardent * Her fervid enthusiasm inspired all of us to undertake the dangerous mission. 1359. fervor : glowing ardor * Their kiss was full of the fervor of first love. 1362. festive : joyous; celebratory * Their wedding in the park was a festive occasion. 1369. fictitious : imaginary * Although this book purports to be a biography of George Washington, many of the incidents are fictitious. 1370. fidelity : loyalty * A dog's fidelity to its owner is one of the reasons why that animal is a favorite household pet. 1371. figment : invention; imaginary thing * That incident never took place; it is a figment of your imagination. 1372. figurative : not literal, but metaphorical; using a figure of speech * \To lose one's marbles\ is a figurative expression; if you're told Jack has lost his marbles, no one expects you to rush out to buy him a replacement set. 1378. finale : conclusion * It is not until we reach the finale of this play that we can understand the author's message. 1387. flagrant : conspicuously wicked * We cannot condone such flagrant violations of the rules. 162 1390. flamboyant : ornate * Modern architecture has discarded the flamboyant trimming on buildings and emphasizes simplicity of line. 1405. flourish : grow well; prosper; make sweeping gestures * The orange trees flourished in the sun. 1408. fluency : smoothness of speech * He spoke French with fluency and ease. 1412. flux : flowing; series of changes * While conditions are in such a state of flux, I do not wish to commit myself too deeply in this affair. 1418. foliage : masses of leaves * Every autumn before the leaves fell he promised himself he would drive though the New England to admire the colorful fall foliage. 1423. forbearance : patience * We must use forbearance in dealing with him because he is still weak from his illness. 1428. foreshadow : give an indication beforehand; portend; prefigure * In retrospect, political analysts realized that Yeltsin's defiance of the attempted coup foreshadowed his emergence as the dominant figure of the new Russian republic. 1429. foresight : ability to foresee future happenings; prudence * A wise investor, she had the foresight to buy land just before the current real estate boom. 1430. forestall : prevent by taking action in advance * By setting up a prenuptial agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to forestall any potential arguments about money in the event of a divorce. 1431. forgo : give up; do without * Determined to lose weight for the summer, Ida decided to forgo dessert until she could fit into a size eight again. 1432. formality : adherence to established rules or procedures * Signing this petition is a mere formality; it does not obligate you in any way. 1434. forsake : desert; abandon; renounce * No one expected Foster to forsake his wife and children and run off with another woman. 1435. forswear : renounce; abandon * The captured knight could escape death only if he agreed to forswear Christianity and embrace Islam as the one true faith. 1436. forte : strong point or special talent 163 * I am not eager to play this rather serious role, for my forte is comedy. 1437. forthright : straightforward; direct; frank * I prefer Jill's forthright approach to Jack's tendency to beat around the bush. 1438. fortitude : bravery; courage * He was awarded the medal for his fortitude in the battle. 1441. founder : fail completely; sink * After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and soon foundered. 1442. founder : person who establishes (an organization, business) * Among those drowned when the Titanic sank was the founder of the Abraham & Straus chain. 1445. frailty : weakness * The doctor prescribed vitamin and mineral supplements for the sick old woman because of her frailty. 1457. frigid : intensely cold * Alaska is in the frigid zone. 1465. fugitive : fleeting or transitory; roving * The film brought a few fugitive images to her mind, but on the whole it made no lasting impression upon her. 1475. fusion : union; coalition * The opponents of the political party in power organized a fusion of disgruntled groups and became an important element in the election. 1476. futile : ineffective; fruitless * Why waste your time on futile pursuits? 1497. garnish : decorate * Parsley was used to garnish the boiled potato. 1505. gazette : official publication * He read the gazettes regularly for announcement of his promotion. 1506. genealogy : record of descent; lineage * He was proud of his genealogy and constantly referred to the achievements of his ancestors. 1507. generality : vague statement * This report is filled with generalities; you must be more specific in your statements. 1508. generic : characteristic of an entire class or species * Sue knew so many computer programmers who spent their spare time playing fantasy games that she began to think that playing Dungeon & Dragons was a generic trait. 1509. genesis : beginning; origin 164 * Tracing the genesis of a family is the theme of \Roots.\ 1512. genteel : well-bred; elegant * We are looking for a man with a genteel appearance who can inspire confidence by his cultivated manner. 1514. gentry : people of standing; class of people just below nobility * The local gentry did not welcome the visits of the summer tourists and tried to ignore their presence in the community. 1521. gestate : evolve, as in prenatal growth * While this scheme was being gestated by the conspirators, they maintained complete silence about their intentions. 1555. granary : storehouse for grain * We have reason to be thankful, for our crops were good and our granaries are full. 1556. grandeur : impressiveness; stateliness; majesty * No matter how often he hiked through the mountains, David never failed to be struck by the grandeur of the Sierra Nevada range. 1557. grandiloquent : pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language * The politician could never speak simply; she was always grandiloquent. 1558. grandiose : imposing; impressive * His grandiose manner impressed those who met him for the first time. 1560. graphic : pertaining to the art of delineating; vividly described * I was particularly impressed by the graphic presentation of the storm. 1563. gratify : please * Her parents were gratified by her success. 1564. gratis : free * The company offered to give one package gratis to every purchaser of one of their products. 1565. gratuitous : given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for * Quit making gratuitous comments about my driving; no one asked you for your opinion. 1566. gratuity : tip * Many service employees rely more on gratuities than on salaries for their livelihood. 1567. gravity : seriousness * We could tell we were in serious trouble from the gravity of her expression. 1571. grimace : a facial distortion to show feeling such as pain, disgust, etc. * Even though he remained silent, his grimace indicated his displeasure. 1573. grotesque : fantastic; comically hideous * On Halloween people enjoy wearing groteque costumes. 1602. hap : chance; luck 165 * In his poem hap, Thomas Hardy objects to the part chance plays in our lives. 1603. haphazard : random; by chance * His haphazard reading left him unaquainted with the authors of the books. 1605. harangue : long, passionate, and vehement speech * In her lengthy harangue, the principal berated the offenders. 1617. headlong : hasty; rash * The slave seized the unexpected chance to make a headlong dash across the border to freedom. 1618. headstrong : stubborn; willful; unyielding * Because she refused to marry the man her parents had chosen for her, every one scolded Minna and called her a foolish, headstrong girl. 1620. hedonism : belief that pleasure is the sole aim in life * hedonism and asceticism are opposing philosophies of human behavior. 1622. hegemony : dominance, especially of one nation over others * As one Eastern European nation after another declared its independence, commentators marveled at the sudden breakdown of the once monolithic Soviet hegemony. 1624. herbivorous : grain-eating * Some herbivorous animals have two stomachs for digesting their food. 1631. heterodox : unorthodox; unconventional * To those who upheld the belief that the earth did not move, Galileo's theory that the earth circled the sun was disturbingly heterodox. 1632. heterogeneous : dissimilar * In a heterogeneous group, we have an unassorted assemblage, while in a homogeneous group we have people or things that have common traits. 1633. hew : cut to pieces with ax or sword * The cavalry rushed into melee and hewed the enemy with their swords. the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. 1640. hilarity : boisterous mirth * The hilarity is improper on this solemn day of mourning. 1642. hindrance : block; obstacle * Stalled cars along the highway are a hindrance to traffic that tow trucks should remove without delay. 1652. homage : honor; tribute * In her speech she tried to pay homage to a great man. 1656. homogeneous : of the same kind * Many educators try to put pupils of similar abilities in the same class because they believe that his homogeneous grouping is advisable. 166 1665. hubris : arrogance; excessive self-conceit * Filled with hubris, Lear refused to heed his friends' warnings. e and cry that the thief was captured. 1668. humane : kind * His humane and considerate treatment of the unfortunate endeared him to all. 1670. humid : damp * She could not stand the humid climate and moved to a drier area. 1671. humility : humbleness of spirit * He spoke with a humility and lack of pride that impressed his listeners. 1673. humus : substance formed by decaying vegetable matter * In order to improve his garden, he spread humus over his lawn and flower beds. 1678. hyperbole : exaggeration; overstatement * This salesman is guilty of hyperbole in describing his product; it is wise to discount his claims. 1679. hypercritical : excessively exacting * You are hypercritical in your demands for perfection; we all make mistakes. 1681. hypocritical : pretending to be virtuous; deceiving * I resent his hypocritical posing as a friend for I know he is interested only in his own advancement. 1682. hypothetical : based on assumptions or hypotheses * Why do we have to consider hypothetical cases when we have actual case histories that we may examine? 1687. idiom : special usage in language * I could not understand their idioms because literal translation made no sense. 1688. idiosyncrasy : peculiarity; eccentricity * One of his personal idiosyncrasies was his habit of rinsing all cutlery given him in a restaurant. 1694. ignoble : of lowly origin; unworthy * This plan is inspired by ignoble motives and I must, therefore, oppose it. 1695. ignominious : disgraceful * The country smarted under the ignominious defeat and dreamed of the day when it would be victorious. 1696. illicit : illegal * The defense attorney claimed that the police had entrapped his client; that is, they had elicited the illicit action of which they now accuse of him. 1698. illuminate : brighten; clear up or make understandable; enlighten * Just as a lamp can illuminate a dark room, a perceptive comment can illuminate a knotty problem. 167 1699. illusion : misleading vision * It is easy to create an optical illusion in which lines of equal length appear different. 1707. immaculate : pure; spotless * The West Point cadets were immaculate as they lined up for inspection. 1708. imminent : near at hand; impending * Rosa was such a last-minute worker that she could never start writing a paper till the deadline was imminent. 1711. immure : imprison; shut up in confinement * For the two weeks before the examination, the student immureed himself in his room and concentrated upon his studies. 1712. immutable : unchangeable * Scientists are constantly seeking to discover the immutable laws of nature. 1713. impair : worsen; diminish in value * This arrest will impair her reputation in the community. 1714. impale : pierce * He was impaled by the spear hurled by his adversary. 1715. impalpable : imperceptible; intangible * The ash is so fine that it is impalpable to the touch but it can be seen as a fine layer covering the window ledge. 1716. impasse : predicament from which there is no escape * In this impasse, all turned to prayer as their last hope. 1717. impassive : without feeling; not affected by pain * The Native American has been incorrectly depicted as an impassive individual, undemonstrative and stoical. 1718. impeach : charge with crime in office; indict * The angry congressman wanted to impeach the President for his misdeeds. 1720. impecunious : without money * Now that he was wealthy, he gladly contributed to funds to assist impecunious and disbled persons. 1721. impede : hinder; block * The special prosecutor determined that the Attorney General, though inept, had not intentionally set out to impede the progress of the investigation. 1722. impediment : hindrance; stumbling-block * She had a speech impediment that prevented her from speaking clearly. 1723. impending : nearing; approaching * The entire country was saddened by the news of his impending death. 1724. impenetrable : not able to be pierced or entered * How could the murderer have gotten into the locked room? To Watson, the mystery, 168 like the room, was impenetrable. 1725. impenitent : not repentant * We could see by his brazen attitude that he was impenitent. 1729. impertinent : insolent * I regard your remarks as impertinent and I resent them. 1731. impervious : not penetrable; not permitting passage through * You cannot change their habits for their minds are impervious to reasoning. 1732. impetuous : violent; hasty; rash * We tried to curb his impetuous behavior because we felt that in his haste he might offend some people. 1733. impetus : moving force; incentive; stimulus * A new federal highway program would create jobs and five added impetus to our economic recovery. 1735. impinge : infringe; touch; collide with * How could they be married without impinging on one another's freedom? 1736. impious : irreverent * The congregation was offended by her impious remarks. 1737. implacable : incapable of being pacified * Madame Defarge was the implacable enemy of the Evremonde family. 1739. implement : put into effect; supply with tools * The mayor was unwilling to implement the plan until she was sure it had the governor's backing. 1740. implication : that which is hinted at or suggested * If I understand the implications of your remark, you do not trust our captain. 1741. implicit : understood but not stated * Jack never told Jill he adored her; he believed his love was implicit in his deeds. 1742. implore : beg * He implored her to give him a second chance. 1743. imply : suggest a meaning not expressed * Even though your statement does not declare that you are at war with that country, your actions imply that that is the actual situation. 1744. impolitic : not wise * I think it is impolitic to raise this issue at the present time because the public is too angry. 1745. imponderable : weightless * I can evaluate the data gathered in this study; the imponderable items are not so easily analyzed. 1746. import : significance 169 * I feel that you have not grasped the full import of the message sent to us by the enemy. 1747. importunate : urging; demanding * He tried to hide from his importunate creditors until his allowance arrived. 1748. importune : beg persistently * Democratic and Republican phone solicitors importuned her for contributions so frequently that she decided to give nothing to either party. 1749. imposture : assuming a false identity; masquerade * She was imprisoned for her imposture of a doctor. 1750. impotent : weak; ineffective * Although he wished to break the nicotine habit, he found himself impotent in resisisting the craving for a cigarette. 1751. imprecation : curse * Roused from the bed at what he considered an ungodly hour, Roy muttered imprecations under his breath. 1754. impropriety : state of being inappropriate * Because of the impropriety of his costume, he was denied entrance into the dining room. 1756. improvise : compose on the spur of the moment * She would sit at the piano and improvise for hours on themes from Bach and Handel. 1757. imprudent : lacking caution; injudicious * It is imprudent to exercise vigorously and become overheated when you are unwell. 1758. impugn : doubt; challenge; gainsay * I cannot impugn your honesty without evidence. 1760. impunity : freedom from punishment * The bully mistreated everyone in the class with impunity for he felt that no one would dare retaliate. 1761. impute : attribute; ascribe * If I wished to impute blame to the officers in charge of this program, I would state my feelings definitely and immediately. 1765. inanimate : lifeless * she was asked to identify the still and inanimate body. 1766. inarticulate : speechless; producing indistinct speech * He became inarticulate with rage and uttered sounds without meaning. 1767. inaugurate : begin formally; install in office * The candidate promised that he would inaugurate a new nationwide health care plan as soon as he was inaugurated as president. 1768. incandescent : strikingly bright; shining with intense heat 170 * If you leave on an incandescent light bulb, it quickly grows too hot to touch. 1769. incantation : singing or chanting of magical formula * Uttering incantations to make the brew more potent, the witch doctor stirred the liquid in the caldron. 1771. incarcerate : imprison * The warden will incarcerate the felon after conviction. 1772. incarnate : endowed with flesh; personified * Your attitude is so fiendish that you must be a devil incarnate. 1773. incarnation : act of assuming a human body and human nature * The incarnation of Jesus Christ is a basic tenet of Christian theology. 1775. incense : enrage; infuriate * Unkindness to children incensed her. 1776. incentive : spur; motive * Students who dislike school must be given an incentive to learn. 1777. inception : start; beginning * She was involved with the project from its inception. 1778. incessant : uninterrupted * The crickets kept up an incessant chirping that disturbed our attempts to fall asleep. 1780. incidence : rate of occurrence; particular occurrence * Health professionals expressed great concern over the high incidence of infant mortality in major urban areas. 1781. incidental : not essential; minor * The scholarship covered his major expenses at college and some of his incidental expenses as well. 1783. incisive : cutting; sharp * His incisive remarks made us see the fallacy in our plans. 1784. incite : arouse to action * The demagogue incited the mob to take action into its own hands. 1786. incline : slope; slant * The architect recommended that the nursing home's ramp be rebuilt because its incline was too steep for wheelchairs. 1788. inclusive : tending to include all * The comedian turned down the invitation to join the Player's Club, saying any club that would let him in was too inclusive for him. 1789. incognito : with identity concealed; using an assumed name * The monarch enjoyed traveling throughthe town incognito and mingling with the populace. 1792. incompatible : inharmonious 171 * The married couple argued incessantly and finally decided to separate because they were incompatible. 1798. incorporate : introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite * Breaking with precedent, President Truman ordered the military to incorporate blacks into every branch of the armed services. 1800. incorrigible : uncorrectable * Though Widow Douglass hoped to reform Huck, Miss Watson pronounced him incorrigible and said he would come to no good end. 1801. incredulity : a tendency to disbelief * Your incredulity in the face of all the evidence is hard to understand. 1802. incredulous : withholding belief; skeptical * When Jack claimed he hadn't eaten the jelly doughnut, Jill took an incredulous look at his smeared face and laughed. 1803. increment : increase * The new contract calls for a 10 percent increment in salary for each employee for the next two years. 1804. incriminate : accuse; serve as evidence against * The witness's testimony against the racketeers incriminates some high public officials as well. 1805. incubate : hatch; scheme * Inasmuch as our supply of electricity is cut off, we shall have to rely on the hens to incubate these eggs. 1806. incubus : burden; mental care; nightmare * The incubus of financial worry helped bring on her nervous breakdown. 1807. incumbent : officeholder * The newly elected public official received valuable advice from the present incumbent. 1808. incur : bring upon oneself * His parents refused to pay any future debts he might incur. 1809. incursion : temporary invasion * The nightly incursions and hit-and-run raids of our neighbors across the border tried the patience of the country to the point where we decided to retaliate in force. 1813. indeterminate : uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite * That interest rates shall rise appears certain; when they will do so, however, remains indeterminate. 1814. indicative : suggestive; implying * A lack of appetite may be indicative of a major mental or physical disorder. 1815. indict : charge 172 * If the grand jury indicts the suspect, he will go to trial. 1816. indifferent : unmoved; lacking concern * Because she felt no desire to marry, she was indifferent to his constant proposals. 819. indignation : anger ar an injustice * He felt indignation at the ill-treatment of the helpless animals. 1820. indignity : offensive or insulting treatment * Although he seemed to accept cheerfully the indignities heaped upon him, he was inwardly very angry. 1822. indisputable : too certain to be disputed * In the face of these indisputable statements, I withdraw my complaint. 1824.indite : write; compose * Cyrano indited many letters for Christian. 1828. induce : persuade; bring about * After the quarrel, Tina said nothing could induce her to talk to Tony again. 1829. inductive : pertaining to induction or preceeding from the specific to the general * The discovery of the planet Pluto is an excellent example of the results that can be obtained from inductive reasoning. 1832. ineffable : unutterable; cannot be expressed in speech * Such ineffable joy must be experienced; it cannot be described. 1836. inequity : unfairness * In demanding equal pay for equal work, women protest the basic inequity of a system that allots greater financial rewards to men. 1837. inerrancy : infallibility * Jane refused to believe in the pope's inerrancy, reasoning: \All human beings are capable of error. The pope is a human being. Therefore, he pope is capable of error. 1839. inevitable : unavoidable * Death and taxes are both inevitable. 1840. inexorable : relentless; unyielding; implacable * After listening to the pleas for clemency, the judge was inexorable and gave the convicted man the maximum punishment allowed by law. 1841. infallible : unerring * We must remember that none of us is infallible; we all make mistakes. 1842. infamous : notoriously bad * Jesse James was an infamous outlaw. 1843. infantile : childish; infantlike * When will he outgrow such infantile behavior? 1844. infer : deduce; conclude * We must be particularly cautious when we infer that a person is guilty on the basis of 173 circumstantial evidence. 1845. infernal : pertaining to hell; devilish * They could think of no way to hinder his infernal scheme. 1846. infidel : unbeliever * The Saracens made war against tne infidels. 1847. infiltrate : pass into or through; penetrate (an organization) sneakily * In order to infiltrate enemy lines at night without being seen, the scouts darkened their faces and wore black coveralls. 1848. infinitesimal : very small * In the twentieth century, physicists have made their greatest discoveries about the characteristics of infinitesimal objects like the atom and its parts. 1849. infirmity : weakness * Her greatest infirmity was lack of willpower. 1850. inflated : exaggerated; pompous; enlarged (with air or gas) * His claims about the new product were inflated; it did not work as well as he had promised. 1851. influx : flowing into * The influx of refugees into the country has taxed the relief agencies severely. 1852. infraction : violation * Because of his many infractions of school regulations, he was suspended by the dean. 1853. infringe : violate; encroach * I think your machine infringes on my patent and intend to sue. 1854. ingenious : clever * He came up with a use for Styrofoam packing balls that was so ingenious that his business school professors declared it was marketable. 1855. ingenuous : naive; young and unsophisticated * Although she was over forty, the movie star still insisted that she be cast as an ingenuous sweet young thing. 1856. ingrained : deeply established; firmly rooted * Try as they would, the missionaries were unable to uproot the ingrained superstitions of the natives. 1857. ingrate : ungrateful person * That ingrate Bob sneered at the tie I gave him. 1858. ingratiate : become popular with * He tried to ingratiate himself into her parents' good graces. 1859. inherent : firmly established by nature or habit * His inherent love of justice compelled him to come to their aid. 1860. inhibit : prohibit; restrain 174 * The child was not inhibited in her responses. 1864. initiate : begin; originate; receive into a group * The college is about to initiate a program for reducing math anxiety among students. 1865. injurious : harmful * Smoking cigarettes can be injurious to your health. 1867. innate : inborn * His innate talent for music was soon recognized by his parents. 1868. innocuous : harmless * Let him drink it; it is innocuous and will have no ill effect. 1871. inopportune : untimely; poorly chosen * A rock concert is an inopportune setting for a quiet conversation. 1872. inordinate : unrestrained; excessive * She had an inordinate fondness for candy. 1873. inquisitor : questioner (specially harsh); investigator * Fearing being grilled ruthlessly by the secret police, Marsha faced her inquisitors with trepidation. 1875. insatiable : not easily satisfied; greedy * Welty's thirst for knowledge was insatiable; she was in the library day and night. 1877. insensate : without feeling * She lay there as insensate as a log. 1878. insensible : unconscious; unresponsive * Sherry and I are very different; at times when I would be covered with embarrassment, she seems insensible to shame. 1879. insidious : treacherous; stealthy; sly * The fifth column is insidious because it works secretly within our territory for our defeat. 1880. insinuate : hint; imply* What are you trying to insinuate by that remark? 1881. insipid : lacking in flavor; dull * Flat prose and flat ginger ale are equally insipid: both lack sparkle. 1882. insolence : imprudent disrespect; haughtiness * How dare you treat me so rudely! The manager will hear of you insolence. 1883. insolvent : bankrupt; lacking money to pay * When rumors that he was insolvent reached his creditors, they began to press him for payment of the money due them. 1884. insomnia : wakefulness; inability to sleep * He refused to join us in a midnight cup of coffee because he claimed it gave him insomnia. 1886. instigate : urge; start; provoke 175 * I am afraid that this statement will instigate a revolt. 1889. insularity : narrow-mindedness; isolation * The insularity of the islanders manifested itself in their suspicion of anything foreign. 1891. insurgent : rebellious * We will not discuss reforms until the insurgent troops have returned to their homes. 1892. insurrection : rebellion; uprising * Given the current state of affairs in South Africa, an insurrection seems unavoidable. 1893. intangible : not able to be perceived by touch; vague * Though the financial benefits of his Oxford post were meager, Lewis was drawn to it by its intangible rewards: prestige, intellectual freedom, the fellowship of his peers. 1894. integral : complete; necessary for completeness * Physical education is an integral part of our curriculum; a sound mind and a sound body are complementary. 1895. integrate : make whole; combine; make into one unit * She tried to integrate all their activities into one program. 1896. integrity : uprightness; wholeness * Lincoln, whose personal integrity has inspired millions, fought a civil war to maintain the integrity of the republic, that these United States might remain undivided for all time. 1897. intellect : higher mental powers * He thought college would develop his intellect. 1899. inter : bury * They are going to inter the body tomorrow ar Broadlawn Cemetry. 1900. interdict : prohibit; forbid * Civilized nations must interdict the use of nuclear weapons if we expect out society to live. 1901. interim : meantime * The company will not consider our proposal until next week; in the interim, let us proceed as we have in the past. 1903. interminable : endless * Although his speech lasted for only twenty minutes, it seemed interminable to his bored audience. 1904. intermittent : periodic; on and off * Our picnic was marred by intermittent rains. 1906. interpolate : insert between * She talked so much that I could not interpolate a single remark. 1908. interrogate : question closely; cross-examine * Knowing that the Nazis would interrogate him about his background, the secret agent 176 invented a cover story that would help him meet their questions. 1909. intervene : come between * She intervened in the argument between her two sons. 1911. intimidation : fear * A ruler who maintains his power by intimidation is bound to develop clandestine resistance. 1912. intractable : unruly; refractory * The horse was intractable and refused to enter the starting gate. 1916. introspective : looking within oneself * We all have our introspective moments during which we examine our souls. 1917. introvert : one who is introspective; inclined to think more about oneself * In his poetry, he reveals that he is an introvert by his intense interest in his own problems. 1918. intrude : trespass; enter as an uninvited person * She hesitated to intrude on their conversation. 1919. intuition : power of knowing without reasoning * She claimed to know the truth by intuition. 1920. inundate : overflow; flood * The tremendous waves inundated the town. 1921. inured : accustomed; hardened * She became inured to the Alaskan cold. 1922. invalidate : weaken; destroy * The relatives who received little or nothing sought to invalidate the will by claiming that the deceased had not been in his right mind when he signed the document. 1925. inveigle : lead astray; wheedle * She was inveigled into joining the club after an initial reluctance. 1926. inverse : opposite * There is an inverse ratio between the strength of light and its distance. 1927. invert : turn upside down or inside out * When he inverted his body in a hand stand, he felt the blood rush to his head. 1929. invidious : designed to create ill will or envy * We disregarded her invidious remarks because we realized how jealous she was. 1930. invincible : unconquerable * Superman is invincible. 1932. invoke : call upon; ask for * She invoked her advisor's aid in filling out her financial aid forms. 1933. invulnerable : incapable of injury * Achilles was invulnerable except in his heel. 177 1938. irksome : annoying; tedious * He found working on the assembly line irksome because of the monotony of the operation he had to perform. 1942. irrelevant : not applicable; unrelated * This statement is irrelevant and should be disregarded by the jury. 1943. irremediable : incurable; uncorrectable * The error she made was irremediable; she could see no way to repair it. 1944. irreparable : not able to be corrected or repaired * Your apology cannot atone for the irreparable damage you have done to her reputation. 1945. irrepressible : unable to be restrained or held back * Her high spirits were irrepressible. 1946. irresolute : uncertain how to act; weak * She had no respect for him because he seemed weak-willed and irresolute. 1948. irrevocable : unalterable * Let us not brood over past mistakes since they are irrevocable. 1949. isotope : varying form of an element * The study of the isotopes of uranium led to the development of the nuclear bomb. 1951. itinerant : wandering; traveling * He was an itinerant peddler and traveled through Pennsylvania and Virginia selling his wares. 1952. itinerary : plan of a trip * Before leaving for his first visit to France and England, he discussed his itinerary with people who had been there and with his travel agent. 1953. intersperse : scatter * The molecules will intersperse throughout the space according to the second law of thermodynamics. 1954. inquisitive : unduly curious; prying; seeking knowledge * We need more inquisitive students in this school; lectures are dull. 1958. jaunt : trip; short journey * He took a quick jaunt to Atlantic City. 1959. jaunty : lighthearted; animated; easy and carefree * In Singing in the Rain, Gene Kelly sang and danced his way through the lighthearted title number in a properly jaunty style. 1962. jingoism : extremely aggressive and militant patriotism * We must be careful to prevent a spirit of jingoism from spreading at this time. 1970. judicious : sound in judgment; wise * At a key moment in his life, he made a judicious investment that was the foundation 178 of his later wealth. 1972. juncture : crisis; joining point * At this critical juncture, let us think carefully before determining the course we shall follow. 1975. jurisprudence : science of law * He was more a student of jurisprudence than a practitioner of the law. 1976. juxtapose : place side by side * Comparison will be easier if you juxtapose the two objects. 1979. killjoy : grouch; spoilsport * At breakfast we had all been enjoying our bacon and eggs until that killjoy John started talking about how bad animal fats and cholesterol were for our health. 1980. kindle : start a fire; inspire * Her teacher's praise kindled a spark a hope inside her. 1993. laborious : demanding much work or care; tedious * In putting together his dictionary of the English language, Doctor Johnson undertook a laborious task. 2006. languid : weary; sluggish; listless * Her siege of illness left her languid and pallid. 2007. languish : lose animation; lose strength * In stories, lovelorn damsels used to languish and pine away. 2008. languor : lassitude; depression * His friends tried to overcome the languor into which he had fallen by taking him to parties and to the theater. 2016. lateral : coming from the side * In order to get good plant growth, the gardener must pinch off all lateral shoots. 2017. latitude : freedom from narrow limitations * I think you have permitted your son too much latitude in this matter. 2020. lavish : liberal; wasteful * The actor's lavish gifts pleased her. 2021. lax : careless * We dislike restaurants where the service is lax and inattentive. 2024. lectern : reading desk * The chaplain delivered his sermon from a hastily improvised lectern. 2027. legacy : a gift made by a will * Part of my legacy from my parents is an album of family photographs. 2028. legend : explanatory list of symbols on a map * The legend at the bottom of the map made it clear which symbols stood for rest areas 179 along the highway and which stood for public camp sites. 2035. levitate : float in the air (especially by magical means) * As the magician passed his hands over the recumbent body of his assistant, she appeared to rise and levitate about three feet above the table. 2036. levity : lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity * Stop giggling abd wriggling around in the pew; such levity is improper in church. 2037. levy : impose (a fine); collect (a payment) * Crying \No taxation without representation,\ the colonists demonstrated against England's power to levy taxes. 2041. liability : drawback; debts * Her lack of an extensive vocabulary was a liability that she was able to overcome. 2043. libelous : defamatory; injurious to the good name of a person * He sued the newspaper because of its libelous story. 2044. libertine : debauched person, roue * Although she was aware of his reputation as a libertine, she felt she could reform him and help him break his dissolute way of life. 2046. libido : emotional urges behind human activity * The psychiatrist maintained that suppression of the libido often resulted in maladjustment and neuroses. 2047. libretto : text of an opera * The composer of an opera's music is remembered more frequently than the author of its libretto. 2048. licentious : wanton; lewd; dissolute * The licentious monarch helped bring about his country's downfall. 2055. limpid : clear * A limpid stream ran through his property. 2058. linguistic : pertaining to language * The modern tourist will encounter very little linguistic difficulty as English has become an almost universal language. 2065. litigation : lawsuit * Try to settle this amicably; I do not want to start litigation. 2072. loiter : hang around; linger * The policeman told him not to loiter in the alley. 2074. longevity : long life * When he reached ninety, the old man was proud of his longevity. 2076. loquacious : talkative * She is very loquacious and can speak on the telephone for hours. 2078. low : moo 180 * From the hilltop, they could see the herd like ants in the distance; they could barely hear the cattle low. 2079. lucid : easily understood; clear; intelligible * Her explanation was lucid enough for a child to grasp. 2082. ludicrous : laughable; trifling * Let us be serious; this is not a ludicrous issue. 2087. luminary : celebrity; dignitary * A leading light of the American stage, Ethel Barrymore was a theatrical luminary whose name lives on. 2088. luminous : shining; issuing light * The sun is a luminous body. 2089. lunar : pertaining to the moon * lunar craters can be plainly seen with the aid of a small telescope. 2093. luster : shine; gloss * The soft luster of the silk in the dim light was pleasing. 2094. lustrous : shining * Her large and lustrous eyes gave a touch of beauty to an otherwise drab face. 2095. luxuriant : fertile; abundant; ornate * Farming was easy in this luxuriant soil. 2096. laxative : facilitating evacuation of the bowels * The effect of the constipation medicine is laxative; it empties the bowels 2106. magnanimity : generosity * Noted for his magnanimity, philanthropist Eugene Lang donated millions to charity. 2107. magnate : person of prominence or influence * The steel magnate decided to devote more time to city politics. 2108. magniloquent : boastful, pompous * In their stories of the trial, the reporters ridiculed the magniloquent speeches of the defense attorney. 2109. magnitude : greatness; extent * It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of his crime. 2111. maladroit : clumsy; bungling * In his usual maladroit way, he managed to upset the cart and spill the food. 2112. malaise : uneasiness; distress * She felt a sudden vague malaise when she heard sounds at the door. 2114. malcontent : person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs * He was one of the few malcontents in the Congress; he constantly voiced his objections to the Presidential program. 2115. malediction : curse 181 * The witch uttered maledictions against her captors. 2116. malefactor : criminal * We must try to bring these malefactors to justice. 2117. malevolent : wishing evil * We must thwart his malevolent schemes. 2118. malfeasance : wrongdoing * The authorities did not discover the campaign manager's malfeasance until after he had spent most of the money he had embezzled. 2120. malign : speak evil of; defame * Because of her hatred of the family, she maligns all who are friendly to them. 2121. malignant : having an evil influence; virulent * This is a malignant disease; we must have to use drastic measures to stop its spread. 2127. manacle : restrain; handcuff * The police immediately manacled the prisoner so he could not escape. 2128. mandate : order; charge * In his inaugural address, the President stated that he had a mandate from the people to seek an end to social evils such as poverty and poor housing. 2129. mandatory : obligatory * These instructions are mandatory; any violation will be severely punished. 2132. manifest : understandable; clear * His evil intentions were manifest and yet we could not stop him. 2133. manifestation : outward demonstration; indication * Mozart's early attraction to the harsichord was the first manifestation of his pronounced musical bent. 2134. manifesto : declaration; statement of policy * The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels proclaimed the principles of modern communism. 2135. manifold : numerous; varied * I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your manifold kindnesses. 2136. manipulate : operate with the hands; control or change by artful means * How do you manipulate these puppets? 2138. manumit : emancipate; free from bondage * Enlightened slave owners were willing to manumit their slaves and thus put an end to the evil slavery in the country. 2140. maritime : bordering on the sea; nautical * The maritime Provinces depend on the sea for their wealth. 2141. marked : noticeable; targeted for vengeance * He walked with a marked limp, a souvenir of an old IRA attack. As British 182 ambassador, he knew he was a marked man. 2149. materialism : preoccupation with physical comforts and things * By its nature, materialism is opposed to idealism, for where the materialist emphasizes the needs of the body, the idealist emphasizes the needs of the soul. 2150. maternal : motherly * Many animals display maternal instincts only while their offspring are young and helpless. 2151. matriarch : woman who rules a family or larger social group * The matriarch ruled her gypsy tribe with a firm hand. 2152. matrix : point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die * Some historians claim the Nile Valley was the matrix of the Western civilization. 2159. maxim : proverb; a truth pithily stated * Aesop's fables illustrate moral maxims. 2164. meddlesome : interfering * He felt his marriage was suffering because of his meddlesome mother-in-law 2165. mediate : settle a dispute through the services of an outsider * Let us mediate out differences rather than engage in a costly strike. 2166. mediocre : ordinary; commonplace * We were disappointed because he gave a rather mediocre performance in this role. 2170. megalomania : mania for doing grandiose things * Developers who spend millions trying to build the world's tallest skyscraper suffer from megalomania. 2173. memento : token; reminder * Take this book as a memento of your visit. 2174. memorialize : commemorate * Let us memorialize his great contribution by dedicating this library in his honor. 2175. mendacious : lying; false * He was pathological liar, and his friends learned to discount his mendacious stories. 2179. mercantile : concerning trade * I am more interested in the opportunities available in the mercantile field than I am in those in the legal profession. 2180. mercenary : motivated solely by money or gain * \I'm not in this war because I get my kicks waving flags,\ said the mercenary soldier. \I'm in it for the dough.\ 2181. mercurial : fickle; changing * He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable. 2182. meretricious : flashy; tawdry; falsely attractive * Her jewels were inexpensive but not meretricious. 183 2183. merger : combination (of two business corporations) * When the firm's president married the director of financial planning, the office joke was that it wasn't a marriage, it was a merger. 2186. metamorphosis : change of form * The metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly is typical of many such changes in animal life. 2187. metaphor : implied comparison * \He soared like an eagle\ is an example of a simile; \He is an eagle in flight,\ is a metaphor. 2188. metaphysical : pertaining to speculative philosophy * The modern poets have gone back to the fanciful poems of the metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century for many of their images. 2189. mete : measure; distribute * He tried to be impartial in his efforts to mete out justice. 2190. meteoric : swift; momentarily brilliant * We all wondered at his meteoric rise to fame. 2191. methodical : systematic * An accountant must be methodical and maintain order among his financial records. 2193. metropolis : large city * Every evening this terminal is filled with the thousands of commuters who are going from this metropolis to their homes in the suburbs. 2196. microcosm : small world * In the microcosm of our rural village, we find illustrations of all the evils that beset the universe. 2197. migrant : changing its habitat; wandering * These migrant birds return every spring. 2198. migratory : wandering * The return of the migratory birds to the northern sections of this country is a harbinger of spring. 2200. militant : combative; bellicose * Although at this time he was advocating a policy of neutrality, one could usually find him adopting a more militant attitude. 2201. militate : work against * Your record of lateness and absence will militate against your chances of promotion. 2202. millenium : thousand-year period; period of happiness and prosperity * I do not expect the milennium to come during my lifetime. 2205. mincing : affectedly dainty * Yum-Yum walked across the stage with mincing steps. 184 2207. minuscule : extremely small * Why should I involve myself with a project with so minuscule a chance for success? 2208. minute : extremely small * The twins resembled one another closely; only minute differences set them apart. 2209. minutiae : petty details * She would have liked to ignore the minutiae of daily living. 2210. mirage : unreal reflection; optical illusion * The lost prospector was fooled by a mirage in the desert. 2213. misadventure : mischance; ill luck * The young explorer met death by misadventure. 2214. misanthrope : one who hates mankind * We thought the hermit was a misanthrope because he shunned our society. 2215. misapprehension : error; misunderstanding * To avoid misapprehension, I am going to ask all of you to repeat the instructions I have given. 2217. mischance : ill luck * By mischance, he lost his week's salary. 2218. misconstrue : interpret incorrectly; misjudge * She took the passage seriously rather than humorously because she misconstrued the author's ironic tone. 2221. miserly : stingy; mean * The miserly old man hoarded his coins not out of prudence but out of greed 2223. mishap : accident * With a little care you could have avoided this mishap. 2224. misnomer : wrong name; incorrect designation * His tyrannical conduct proved to all that his nickname, King Eric the Just, was a misnomer. 2226. misogynist : hater of women * She accused him of being a misogynist because he had been a bachelor all his life. 2227. missile : object to be thrown or projected * Scientists are experimenting with guided missiles. 2232. mobile : movable; not fixed * The mobile blood bank operated by the Red Cross visited our neighborhood today. 2233. mode : prevailing style * She was not used to their lavish mode of living. 2235. modish : fashionable * She always discarded all garments that were no longer modish. 2236. modulation : toning down; changing from one key to another 185 * When we she spoke, it was with quiet modulation of voice. 2238. molecule : the smallest particle (one or more atoms) of a substance that has all the properties of that substance * In chemistry, we study how atoms and molcules react to form new substances. 2239. mollify : soothe * We tried to mollify the hysterical child by promising her many gifts. 2241. molt : shed or cast off hair or feathers * The male robin molted in the spring. 2243. momentous : very important * On this momentous occasion, we must be very solemn. 2244. momentum : quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus * The car lost momentum as it tried to ascend the steep hill. 2245. monarchy : government under a single hereditary ruler with varying degrees of power * England today remains a monarchy. 2248. monochromatic : having only one color * Most people who are color blind actually can distinguish several colors; some, however, have a truly monochromatic view of a world all in shades of gray. 2250. monotheism : belief in one God * Abraham was the first to proclaim his belief in monotheism. 2251. monotony : sameness leading to boredom * He took a clerical job, but soon grew to hate the monotony of his daily routine. 2252. monumental : massive * Writing a dictionary is a monumental task. 2255. morbid : given to unwholesome thought; gloomy * These morbid speculations are dangerous; we must lighten our spirits by emphasizing more pleasant matters. 2258. moribund : at the point of death * The doctors called the family to the bedside of the moribund patient. 2260. mortician : undertaker * The mortician prepared the corpse for burial. 2261. mortify : humiliate; punish the flesh * She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears. 2262. mosaic : picture made of smell, colorful inlaid tiles * The mayor compared the city to a beautiful mosaic made up of people of every race and religion on earth. 2264. motif : theme 186 * This simple motif runs throughout the score. 2272. multifarious : varied; greatly diversified * A career woman and mother, she was constantly busy with the multifarious activities of her daily life. 2274. multilingual : having many languages * Because they are bordered by so many countries, the Swiss people are multilingual. 2275. multiplicity : state of being numerous * He was appalled by the multiplicity of details he had to complete before setting out on his mission. 2277. munificent : very generous * The munificent gift was presented to the bride by her rich uncle. 2283. mutable : changing in form; fickle * His opinion were mutable and easily influenced by anyone who had any powers of persuasion. 2286. mutinous : unruly; rebellious * The captain had to use force to quiet his mutinous crew. 2287. myopic : nearsighted * In thinking only of your present needs and ignoring the future, you are being rather myopic. 2292. naï veté: quality of being unsophisticated * I cannot believe that such naivete is unassumed in a person of her age and experience. 2295. nascent : incipient; coming into being * If we could identify these revolutionary movements in their nascent state, we would be able to eliminate serious trouble in later years. 2298. nauseate : cause to become sick; fill with disgust * The foul smells began to nauseate him. 2299. nautical : pertaining to ships or navigation * The Maritime Museum contains many models of clipper ships, logbooks, anchors and many other items of a nautical nature. 2301. necromancy : black magic; dealings with the dead * Because he was able to perform feats of necromancy, the natives thought he was in league with the devil. 2302. nefarious : very wicked * He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds. 2303. negation : denial * I must accept his argument since you have been unable to present any negation of his evidence. 187 2304. negligence : carelessness * negligence can prove costly near complicated machinery. 2305. negligible : so small, trifling, or unimportant as to be easily disregarded * Because the damage to his car had been negligible, Michael decided he wouldn't bother to report the matter to his insurance company. 2307. neologism : new or newly coined word or phrase * As we invent new techniques and professions, we must also invent neologisms such as \microcomputer\ and \astronaut\ to describe them. 2308. neophyte : recent convert; beginner * This monuntain slope contains slides that will challenge esperts as well as neophytes. 2312. nexus : connection * I fail to see the nexus that binds these two widely separated events. 2317. nihilism : denial of traditional values; total skepticism * nihilism holds that existence has no meaning. 2319. nocturnal : done at night * Mr. Jones obtained a watchdog to prevent the nocturnal raids on his chicken coops. 2323. nominal : in name only; trifling * He offered to drive her to the airport for only a nominal fee. 2325. noncommittal : neutral; unpledged; undecided * We were annoyed by his noncommittal reply for we had been led to expect de finite assurances of his approval. 2326. nondescript : undistinctive; ordinary * The private detective was a short, nondescript fellow with no outstanding features, the sort of person one would never notice in a crowd. 2327. nonentity : person of no importance; nonexistence * Don't dismiss John as a nonentity; in his quiet way, he's very important to the firm. 2332. novelty : something new; newness * The computer is no longer a novelty around the office. 2333. novice : beginner * Even a novice can do good work if he follows these simple directions. 2334. noxious : harmful * We must trace the source of these noxious gases before they asphyxiate us. 2338. nullify : to make invalid * Once the contract was nullified, it no longer had any legal force. 2342. nutrient : nourishing substance * As a budding nutritionist, Kim has learned to design diets that contain foods rich in important basic nutrients. 2344. obdurate : stubborn 188 * He was obdurate in his refusal to listen to our complaints. 2348. obfuscate : confuse; muddle * Do not obfuscate the issues by dragging in irrelevant arguments. 2349. obituary : dealth notice * I first learned of her death when I read the obituary in the newspaper. 2350. objective : not influenced by emotions; fair * Even though he was her son, she tried to be objective about his behavior. 2352. obligatory : binding; required * It is obligatory that books borrowed from the library be returned within two weeks. 2353. oblique : slanting; deviating from the perpendicular or from a straight line * The sergeant ordered the men to march \oblique right.\ 2354. obliterate : destroy completely * The tidal wave obliterated several island villages. 2356. obloquy : slander; disgrace; infamy * I resent the obloquy that you are casting upon my reputation. 2357. obnoxious : offensive * I find your behavior obnoxious; please mend your ways. 2358. obscure : dark; vague; unclear * Even after I read the poem a fourth time, its meaning was still obscure. 2359. obscure : darken; make unclear * At times he seemed purposely to obscure his meaning, preferring mystery to clarity. 2360. obsequious : slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic * Helen valued people who behaved as if they respected themselves; nothing irritated her more than an excessively obsequious waiter or a fawning salesclerk. 2361. obsequy : funeral ceremony * Hundreds paid their last respects at his obsequies. 2362. obsession : fixed idea; continued brooding * This obsession with the supernatural has made him unpopular with his neighbors. 2364. obsolete : outmoded * \Hip\ is an obsolete expression; it went out with love beads and tie-dye shirts. 2365. obstetrician : physician specializing in delivery of babies * Unlike midwives, who care for women giving birth at home, obstetricians generally work in a hospital setting. 2366. obstinate : stubborn * We tried to persuade him to give up smoking, but he was obstinate and refused to change. 2368. obtrusive : pushing forward * I found her a very obstrusive person, constantly seeking the center of the stage. 189 2370. obviate : make unnecessary; get rid of * I hope this contribution will obviate any need for further collections of funds. 2371. occident : the West * It will take occident to understand the ways and customs of the orient. 2372. occlude : shut; close * A blood clot occluded an artery to the heart. 2373. occult : mysterious; secret; supernatural * The occult rites of the organization were revealed only to members. 2374. oculist : physician who specialized in treatment of the eyes * In many states, an oculist is the only one who may apply medicinal drops to the eyes for the purpose of examining them. 2377. odoriferous : giving off an odor * The odoriferous spices stimulated her jaded appetite. 2380. offensive : attacking; insulting; distasteful * Getting into street brawls is no minor offense for professional boxers, who are required by law to restrict their offensive impulses to the ring. 2387. omnipotent : all-powerful * The monarch regarded himself as omnipotent and responsible to no one for his acts. 2388. omnipresent : universally present; ubiquitous * On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus is omnipotent. 2389. omniscient : all-knowing * I do not pretend to be omniscient, but I am positive about this fact. 2390. omnivorous : eating both plant and animal food; devouring everything * Some animals, including humans, are omnivorous and eat both meat and vegetables; others are either carnivorous or herbivorous. 2392. onomatopoeia : words formed in imitation of natural sounds * Words like \rustle\ and \gargle\ are illustrations of onomatopoeia. 2399. opportunist : individual who sacrifices principles for expediency by taking advantage of circumstances * Forget about ethics! He's such an opportunist that he'll vote in favor of any deal that will give him a break. 2402. optimist : person who looks on the bright side * The pessimist says the glass is half-empty; the optimist says it is half-full. 2403. optimum : most favorable * If you wait for the optimum moment to act, you may never begin your project . 2404. optional : not compulsory; left to one's choice * I was impressed by the range of optional accessories for my microcomputer that were available. 190 2405. optometrist : one who fits glasses to remedy visual defects * Although an optometrist is qualified to treat many eye disorders, she may not use medicinesor surgery in her examinations. 2408. oracular : foretelling; mysterious * Oedipus could not understand the oracular warning he received. 2409. oratorio : dramatic poem set to music * The Glee Club decided to present an oratorio during their recital. 2412. ordinance : decree * Passing a red light is a violation of a city ordinance. 2413. ordination : ceremony conferring holy orders * The candidate for ordination had to meet with the bishop and the diocean officers before being judged ready to be ordained a deacon. 2414. orient : get one's bearings; adjust * Philip spent his first day in Denver orienting himself to the city. 2417. ornate : excessively or elaborately decorated * Furniture of the Baroque period can be recognized by its ornate carvings. 2418. ornithologist : scientific student of birds * Auduborn's drawings of American bird life have been of interest not only to the ornithologists but also to the general public. 2419. orthodox : traditional; conservative in belief * Faced with a problem, he preferred to take an orthodox approach rather than shock anyone. 2420. orthography : correct spelling * Many of us find English orthography difficult to master because so many of our words are written phonetically. 2423. ossify : change or harden into bone * When he called his opponent a \bonehead,\ he implied that his adversary'sbrain had ossified and that he was not capable of clear thinking. 2424. ostensible : apparent; professed; pretended * Although the ostensible purpose of this expedition is to discover new lands, we are really interested in finding new markets for our products. 2425. ostentatious : showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention * Trump's latest casino in Atlantic City is the most ostentatious gambling place in the East: it easily outglitters its competitors. 2429. outmoded : no longer stylish; old-fahioned * Unconcerned about keeping in style, Lenore was perfectly happy to wear outmoded clothes as long as they were clean and unfrayed. 2433. outwit : outsmart; trick 191 * By disguising himself as an old woman, Holmes was able to outwit his pursuers and escape capture. 2435. overbearing : bossy; arrogant; decisively important * Certain of her own importance and of the unimportance of everyone else, Lady Bracknell was intolerably overbearing in manner. \In choosing a husband,\ she said, \good birth is of overbearing importance; compared to that, neither wealth nor talent 2436. overt : open to view * According to the United States Constitution, a person must commit an overt act before he may be tried for treason. 2440. overhaul : thoroughly examine the condition of and repair if necessary * It is necessary for the engineers of NASA to overhaul the rocket everyday; otherwise, an incident similar to that of Challenger accident might happen. 2441. pachyderm : thick-skinned animal * The elephant is probably the best-known pachyderm. 2442. pacifist : one opposed to force; antimilitarist * The pacifists urged that we reduce our military budget and recall our troops stationed overseas. 2443. pacify : soothe; make calm or quiet; subdue * Dentists criticize the practice of giving fussy children sweets to pacify them. 2445. painstaking : showing hard work; taking great care * The new high-frequency word list is the result of painstaking efforts on the part of our research staff. 2455. palpable : tangible; easily perceptible * I cannot understand how you could overlook such a palpable blunder. 2456. palpitate : throb; flutter * As he became excited, his heart began to palpitate more and more erratically. 2457. paltry : insignificant; petty * This is a paltry sum to pay for such a masterpiece. 2458. pan : criticize harshly * Hoping for a rave review of his new show, the playwright was miserable when the critics panned it unanimously. 2459. panacea : cure-all; remedy for all diseases * There is no easy panacea that will solve our complicated international situation. 2461. pandemic : widespread; affecting the majority of people * They feared the AIDS epidemic would soon reach pandemic proportions. 2462. pandemonium : wild tumult * When the ships collided in the harbor, pandemonium broke out among the passengers. 192 2466. pantomime : acting without dialogue * Because he worked in pantomime, the clown could be understood wherever he appeared. 2467. papyrus : ancient paper made from stem of papyrus plant * The ancient Egyptians were among the first to write on papyrus. 2469. paradigm : model; example; pattern * Pavlov's experiment in which he trains a dog to salivate on hearing a bell is a paradigm of the conditioned-response experiment in behavioal psychology. 2470. paradox : statement that looks false but is actually correct; a contradictory statement * Wordworth's \The child is father to the man\ is an example of paradox. 2474. paramount : foremost in importance; supreme * Proper nutrition and hygiene are of paramount importance in adolescent development and growth. 2475. paramour : illicit lover * She sought a divorce on the grounds that her husband had a paramour in another town. 2476. paranoia : psychosis marked by delusions of grandeur or persecution * Suffering from paranoia, he claimed everyone was out to get him; ironically, his claim was accurate; even paranoids have enemies. 2478. paraphrase : restate a passage in one's own words while retaining thought of author * In 250 words or less, paraphrase this article. 2479. parasite : animal or plant living on another; toady; sycophant * The tapeworm is an example of the kind of parasite that may infest the human body. 2482. parity : equality; close resemblance * I find your analogy inaccurate because I do not see the parity between the two illustrations. 2486. parody : humorous imitation; travesty * We enjoyed the clever parodies of popular songs that the chorus sang. 2491. partial : incomplete * In this issue we have published only a partial list of contributors because we lack space to acknowledge everyone. 2492. partial : biased; having a liking for something * I am extremely partial to chocolate eclairs. 2493. partiality : inclination; bias * As a judge, not only must I be unbiased, but I must also avoid any evidence of partiality when I award the prize. 193 2494. partisan : one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party * On certain issues of conscience, she refused to take a partisan stand. 2496. passive : not active; acted upon * Mahatma Gandhi urged his followers to pursue a program of passive resistance as he felt that it was more effective than violence and acts of terrorism. 2500. pathetic : causing sadness, compassion, pity; touching * Everyone in the auditorium was weeping by the time he finished his pathetic tale about the orphaned boy. 2501. pathological : pertaining to disease * As we study the pathological aspects of this disease, we must not overlook the psychological elements. 2502. pathos : tender to sorrow; pity; quality in art or literature that produces these feelings. * The quiet tone of pathos that ran through the novel never degenerated into the maudlin or the overly sentimental. 2505. patriarch : father and ruler of a family or tribe * In many primitive tribes, the leader and lawmaker was the patriarch. 2506. patrician : noble; aristocratic * We greatly admired her well-bred, patrician elegance 2507. patronize : support; act superior toward * Experts in a field sometimes appear to patronize people who are less knowledgeable of the subject. 2512. pedagogue : teacher * He could never be a stuffy pedagogue; his classes were always lively and filled with humor. 2513. pedagogy : teaching; art of education * Though Maria Montessori gained fame for her innovations in pedagogy, it took years before her teaching techniques became common practice in American schools. 2514. pedant : scholar who overemphasizes book learning or technicalities * Her insistence that the book be memorized marked the teacher as a pedant rather than a scholar. 2515. pedantic : showing off learning; bookish * Leaving his decisions with humorous, down-to-earth anecdotes, Judge Walker was not at all pedantic legal scholar. 2516. pedestrian : ordinary; unimaginative * Unintentionally boring, he wrote page after page of pedestrian prose. 2517. pediatrician : physician specializing in children's diseases. * The family doctor advised the parents to consult a pediatrician about their child's 194 ailment. 2520. pellucid : transparent; limpid; easy to understand * After reading these stodgy philosophers, I find his pellucid style very enjoyable. 2521. penance : self-imposed punishment for sin * The Ancient Mariner said, \I have penance done and penance more will do,\to atone for the sin of killing the albatross. 2523. pendant : hanging down from something * Her pendant earrings glistened in the light. 2524. pendant : ornament (hanging from a necklace, etc.) * The grateful team presented the coach with a silver chain and pendant engraved with the school's motto. 2525. pendulous : hanging; suspended * The pendulous chandeliers swayed in the breeze as if they were about to fall from the ceiling. 2526. penitent : repentant * When he realized the enormity of his crime, he became remorseful and penitent. 2527. pensive : dreamily thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness * The pensive youth gazed at the painting for a long time and then sighed. 2528. penumbra : partial shadow (in an eclipse) * During an eclipse, we can see an area of total darkness and a lighter area, which is the penumbra. 2530. penury : extreme poverty * When his pension fund failed, George feared he would end his days in penury. 2532. perceptive : insightful; aware; wise * Although Maud was a generally perceptive critic, she had her blind sports: she could never see flaws in the work of her friends. 2533. percussion : striking one object against another sharply * The drum is a percussion instrument. 2536. peremptory : demanding and leaving no choice * From Jack's peremptory knock on the door, Jill could tell he would not give up until she let him in. 2537. perennial : something long-lasting * Tese plants are hardy perennials and will bloom for many years. 2538. perifidious : treacherous; disloyal * When Caesar realized that Brutus had betrayed him, he reproached his perfidious friend. 2539. perforate : pierce; put a hole through * Before you can open the aspirin bottle, you must first perforate the plastic safety seal 195 that covers the cap. 2540. perfunctory : superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm * The auditor's perfunctory inspection of the books overlooked many errors. 2541. perigee : point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth * The rocket which was designed to take photographs of the moon was launched as the moon approached its perigee. 2542. perimeter : outer boundary * To find the perimeter of any quadrilateral, we add the lengths of the four sides. 2544. peripheral : marginal; outer * We lived, not in central London, but in one of those peripheral suburbs that spring up on the outskirts of the great city. 2545. periphery : edge, especially of a round surface * He sensed that there was something just beyond the periphery of his vision. 2546. perjury : false testimony while under oath * When several witnesses appeared to challenge his story, he was indicted for perjury. 2547. permeable : porous; allowing passage through * Glass is permeable to light. 2548. pernicious : very destructive, harmful * He argued that these books had a pernicious effect on young and susceptible minds. 2549. peroration : conclusion of an oration * The peroration was largely hortatory and brought the audience to its feet clamoring for action at its close. 2551. perpetual : everlasting * Ponce de Leon hoped to find perpetual youth. 2552. perquisite : any gain above stipulated salary * The perquisites attached to this job make it even more attractive than the salary indicates. 2553. personable : attractive * The man I am seeking to fill this position must be personable since he will be representing us before the public. 2554. perspicacious : having insight; penetrating; astute * The brillant lawyer was known for his perspicacious deductions. 2555. perspicuity : clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity * One of the outstanding features of this book is the perspicuity of its author; her meaning is always clear. 2556. perspicuous : plainly expressed * Her perspicuous comments eliminated all posibility of misinterpretation. 2558. pertinacious : stubborn; persistent 196 * He is bound to succeed because his pertinacious nature will not permit him to quit. 2559. pertinent : suitable; to the point * The lawyer wanted to know all the pertinent details. 2560. perturb : disturb greatly * I am afraid this news will perturb him and cause him grief. 2561. perusal : reading * I am certain that you have missed important details in your rapid perusal of this document. 2562. pervasive : spread throughout * Despite airing them for several hours, she could not rid her clothes of the pervasive odor of mothbals that clung to them. 2563. perverse : stubbornly wrongheaded; wicked and unacceptable * When Hannibal Lecter was in a perverse mood, he ate the flesh of his victims. 2564. perversion : corruption; turning from right to wrong * Inasmuch as he had no motive for his crimes, we could not understand his perversion. 2565. pessimism : belief that life is basically bad or evil; gloominess * The good news we have been receiving lately indicates that there is little reason for your pessimism. 2568. petrify : turn to stone * His sudden and unexpected appearance seemed to petrify her. 2572. phenomena : observable facts; subjects of scientific investigation * We kept careful records of the phenomena we noted in the course of these experiments. 2574. philanthropist : lover of mankind; doer of good * As he grew older, he became famous as a philanthropist and benefactor of the needy. 2577. philology : study of language * The professor of philology advocated the use of Esperanto as an international language. 2590. pinnacle : peak * We could see the morning sunlight illuminate the pinnacle while the rest of the mountain lay in shadow. 2598. placate : pacify; conciliate * The teacher tried to placate the angry mother. 2600. placid : peaceful; calm * After his vacation in this placid section, he felt soothed and rested. 2602. plaintive : mournful * The dove has a plaintive and melancholy call 197 2606. plauditory : approving; applauding * The theatrical company reprinted the plauditory comments of the critics in its advertisement. 2607. plausible : having a show of truth but open to doubt; specious * Even though your argument is plausible, I still would like to have more proof. 2609. plenary : complete; full * The union leader was given plenary power to negotiate a new contract with the employers. 2610. plenitude : abundance; completeness * Looking in the pantry, we admired the plenitude of fruits and pickles we had preserved during the summer. 2612. pliable : flexible; yielding; adaptable * In remodeling the bathroom, we replaced all the old, rigid lead pipes with new, pliable copper tubing. 2620. poignancy : quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion * Watching the tearful reunion of the long-separated mother and child, the social worker was touched by the poignancy of the scene. 2621. polarize : split into opposite extremes or camps * The abortion issue has polarized the country into pro-choice and anti-abortion camps. 2623. politic : expedient; prudent; well devised * Even though he was disappointed, he did not think it politic to refuse the offer. 2624. polity : form of government of nation or state * Our polity should be devoted to the concept that the government should strive for the good of all citizens. 2625. polygamist : one who has more than one spouse at a time * He was arrested as a polygamist when his two wives filed complaints about him. 2626. polyglot : speaking several languages * New York City is a polyglot community because of the thousands of immigrants who settle there. 2628. ponderous : weighty; unwieldy * His humor lacked the light touch; his jokes were always ponderous. 2632. portend : foretell; presage * The king did not know what these omens might portend and asked his soothsayers to interpret them. 2633. portent : sign; omen; forewarning * He regarded the black cloud as a portent of evil. 2634. portly : stout; corpulent * The salesclerk tactfully referred to the overweight customer as portly rather than fat. 198 2637. posthumous : after death (as of child born after father's death or book published after author's death) * The critics ignored his works during his lifetime; it was only after the posthumous publication of his last novel that they recognized his great talent. 2639. posture : assume an affected pose; act artificially * No matter how much Arnold boasted or postured, I could not believe he was as important as he pretended to be. 2640. potable : suitable for drinking * The recent drought in the Middle Atlantic States has emphasized the need for extensive research in ways of making sea water potable. 2641. potent : powerful; persuasive; greatly influential * The jury was swayed by the highly potent testimony of the crime's sole eye witness. 2642. potentate : monarch; sovereign * The potentate spent more time at Monte Carlo than he did at home on his throne. 2643. potential : expressing possibility; latent * The juvenile delinquent is a potential murderer. 2647. practicable : feasible * The board of directors decided that the plan was practicable and agreed to undertake the project. 2648. practical : based on experience; useful * He was a practical man, opposed to theory 2649. pragmatic : practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something * This coming trip to France should provide me with a pragmatic test of thevalue of my conversational French class. 2650. pragmatist : practical person * No pragmatist enjoys becoming involved in a game that he can never win 2653. preamble : introductory statement * In the preamble to the Constitution, the purpose of the document is set forth. 2654. precarious : uncertain; risky * I think this stock is a precarious investment and advise against its purchase. 2655. precedent : something preceding in time that may be used as an authority or guide for future action * This decision sets a precedent for future cases of a similar nature. 2656. precedent : preceding in time, rank, etc. * Our discussions, precedent to this event, certainly did not give you any reason to believe that we would adopt your proposal. 2657. precept : practical rule guiding conduct 199 * \Love thy neighbor as thyself\ is a worthwhile precept. 2658. precipice : cliff; dangerous position * Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice 2659. precipitate : headlong; rash * Do not be precipitate in this matter; investigate further. 2660. precipitate : throw headlong; hasten * The removal of American political support appeared to have precipitated the downfall of the Marcos regime. 2661. precipitous : steep; overhasty * This hill is difficult to climb because it is so precipitous; one slip, and our descent will be precipitous as well. 2662. precise : exact * If you don't give me precise directions and a map, I'll never find your place. 2663. preclude : make impossible; eliminate * This contract does not preclude my being employed by others at the same time that I am working for you. 2664. precocious : advanced in development * By her rather adult manner of discussing serious topics, the child demonstrated that she was precocious. 2665. precursor : forerunner * Though Gray and Burns share many traits with the Romantic poets who followed them, most critics consider them precursors of the Romantic Movement, not true Romantics. 2666. predatory : plundering * The hawk is a predatory bird. 2667. predecessor : former occupant of a post * I hope I can live up to the fine example set by my late predecessor in this office. 2668. predilection : partiality; preference * Although the artist used various media from time to time, she had a predilection for watercolors. 2669. preeminent : outstanding; superior * The king traveled to Boston because he wanted the preeminent surgeon in the field to perform the operation. 2670. preempt : head off; forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself; supplant * Hoping to preempt any attempts by the opposition to make educational reform a hot political issue, the candidate set out her own plan to revitalize the public schools. 2673. prehensile : capable of grasping or holding * Monkeys use not only their arms and legs but also their prehensile tails in traveling 200 through the trees. 2675. prelude : introduction; forerunner * I am afraid that this border raid is the prelude to more serious attacks. 2677. premise : assumption; postulate * Because Jack had based his argument upon a faulty premise, his opponent cheerfully pointed out the holes in his logic. 2679. premonitory : serving to warn * You should have visited a doctor as soon as you felt these premonitory chest pains. 2680. preponderance : superiority of power, quantity, etc. * The rebels sought to overcome the preponderance of strength of the government forces by engaging in guerrilla tactics. 2681. preposterous : absurd; ridiculous * When the candidate tried to downplay his youthful experiments with marijuana by saying he hadn't inhaled, we all thought, \What a preposterous excuse!\ 2682. prerogative : privilege; unquestionable right * The President cannot levy taxes; that is the prerogative of the legislative branch of government. 2683. presage : foretell * The vultures flying overhead presaged the discovery of the corpse in the desert. 2684. prescience : ability to foretell the future * Given the current wave of Japan-bashing, it does not take prescience for me to foresee problems in our future trade relations with Japan. 2685. presentiment : premonition; foreboding * Hamlet felt a presentiment about his meeting with Laertes. 2686. prestige : impression produced by achievements or reputation * The wealthy man sought to obtain social prestige by contributing to popular charities. 2688. pretentious : ostentatious; ambitious * I do not feel that your limited resources will permit you to carry out such a pretentious program. 2689. preternatural : beyond that which is normal in nature * John's mother's total ability to tell when he was lying struck him as almost preternatural. 2690. pretext : excuse * He looked for a good pretext to get out of paying a visit to his aunt. 2691. prevail : induce; triumph over * He tried to prevail on her to type his essays for him. 2692. prevalent : widespread; generally accepted * A radical committed to social change, Reed had no patience with the conservative 201 views prevalent in the America of his day. 2694. prey : target of a hunt; victim * In Stalking the Wild Asparagus, Euell Gibbons has as his prey not wild beasts but wild plants. 2696. primogeniture : seniority by birth * By virtue of primogeniture, in some cultures the first-born child has many privileges denied his brothers and sisters. 2697. primordial : existing at the beginning (of time); rudimentary * The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors. 2700. privation : hardship; want * In his youth, he knew hunger and privation. 2701. privy : secret; hidden; not public * We do not care for privy chamber of government. 2702. probe : explore with tools * The surgeon probed the wound for foreign matter before suturing it. 2703. probity : uprightness; incorruptibility * Everyone took his probity for granted; his defalcations, therefore, shocked us all. 2704. problematic : perplexing; unsettled: questionable * Given the many areas of conflict still awaiting resolution, the outcome of the peace talks remains problematic. 2705. proclivity : inclination; natural tendency * The cross old lady has a proclivity to grumble. 2707. procurement : obtaining * The personnel department handles the procurement of new employees. 2709. prodigal : wasteful; reckless with money * The prodigal son squandered his inheritance. 2711. prodigy : highly gifted child; marvel * Menuhin was a prodigy, performing wonders on his violin when he was barely eight years old. 2712. profane : violate; desecrate * Tourists are urged not to profane the sanctity of holy places by wearing improper garb. 2713. profligate : dissipated; wasteful; licentious * In this profligate company, she lost all sense of decency. 2714. profound : deep; not superficial; complete * Freud's remarkable insights into human behavior caused his fellow scientists to honor him as a profound thinker. 2715. profusion : lavish expenditure; overabundant condition 202 * Seldom have I seen food and drink served in such profusion as at the wedding feast. 2716. progenitor : ancestor * The Roth family, whose progenitors emigrated from Germany early in the nineteenth century, settled in Peru, Illinois. 2717. progeny : children; offspring * He was proud of his progeny but regarded George as the most promising of all his children. 2718. prognosis : forecasted course of a disease; prediction * If the doctor's prognosis is correct, the patient will be in a coma for at least twenty-four hours. 2719. prognosticate : predict * I prognosticate disaster unless we change our wasteful ways. 2720. projectile : missile * Man has always hurled projectiles at his enemy whether in the form of stones or of highly explosive shells. 2722. proliferate : grow rapidly; spread; multiply * Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage countless get-rich-quick schemes to proliferate 2723. prolific : abundantly fruitful * She was a prolific writer who produced as many as three books a year. 2725. prolong : extend; draw out; lengthen * In their determination to discover ways to prolong human life, doctors fail to take into account that longer lives are not always happier ones. 2726. prominent : conspicuous; notable; protruding * Have you ever noticed that Prince Charles's prominent ears make him resemble the big-eared character in Mad comics? 2727. promiscuous : mixed indiscriminately; haphazard; irregular, particularly sexually * In the opera La Boheme, we get a picture of the promiscuous life led by the young artists of Paris. 2728. promontory : headland * They erected a lighthouse on the promontory to warn approaching ships of their nearness to the shore. 2729. prompt : cause; provoke; provide a cue for an actor * Whatever prompted you to ask for such a big piece of cake when you're on a diet? 2730. promulgate : make known by official proclamation or publication * As soon as the Civil Service Commission promulgates the names of the successful candidates, we shall begin to hire members of our staff. 2733. propellant : substance that propels or drives forward 203 * The development of our missile program has forced our scientists to seek more powerful propellants. 2734. propensity : natural inclination * Convinced of his own talent, Sol has an unfortunate propensity to belittle the talents of others. 2735. prophetic : having to do with predicting the future * In interpreting Pharaoh's prophetic dream, Joseph said that the seven fat cows eaten by the seven lean cows represented seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. 2737. propinquity : nearness; kinship * Their relationship could not be explained as being based on mere propinquity: they were more than relatives; they were true friends. 2739. propitious : favorable; kindly * I think it is advisable that we wait for a more propitious occasion to ann ounce our plans; this is not a good time. 2740. proponent : person who supports or proposes (an idea) * After the bill had been amended and re-amended in committee, even its original proponents didn't want to vote in its favor. 2741. propound : put forth for analysis * In you discussion, you have propounded several questions; let us consider each one separately. 2742. propriety : fitness; correct conduct * I want you to behave at this dinner with propriety; don't embarass me. 2743. propulsive : driving forward * The jet plane has a greater propulsive power than the engine-driven plane. 2746. proscribe : ostracize; banish; outlaw * Antony, Octavius and Lepidus proscribed all those who had conspired against Julius Caesar. 2749. prosperity : good fortune; financial success; physical well-being * Promising to stay together \for richer, for poorer,\ the newlyweds vowed to be true to one another in prosperity and hardship alike. 2750. prostrate : stretch out full on ground * He prostrated himself before the idol. 2752. protocol : diplomatic etiquette * We must run this state dinner according to protocol if we are to avoid offending any of our guests. 2753. prototype : original work used as a model by others * The crude typewriter on display in this museum is the prototype of the elaborate 204 machines in use today. 2754. protract : prolong * Seeking to delay the union members' vote, the management team tried to protract the negotiations endlessly, but the union representatives saw through their strategy. 2755. protrude : stick out * His fingers protruded from the holes in his gloves. 2759. provident : displaying foresight; thrifty; preparing for emergencies * In his usual provident manner, he had insured himself against this type of loss. 2760. provincial : pertaining to a province; limited in outlook; unsophisticated * As provincial governor, Sir Henry administered the Queen's law in his remote corner of Canada. 2762. proviso : stipulation * I am ready to accept your proposal with the two proviso that you meet your obligations within the next two weeks. 2763. provoke : stir up anger; cause retaliation * In order to prevent a sudden outbreak of hostilities, we must not provoke our foe. 2764. proximity : nearness * The deer sensed the hunter's proximity and bounded away. 2766. prude : excessively modest or proper person * The X-rated film was definitely not for prudes. 2767. prudent : cautious; careful * A miser hoards money not because he is prudent but because he is greedy. 2769. pseudonym : pen name * Samuel Clemens' pseudonym was Mark Twain. 2770. psychiatrist : a doctor who treats mental diseases * A psychiatrist often needs long conferences with his patient before a diagnosis can be made. 2771. psychopathic : pertaining to mental derangement * The psychopathic patient suffers more frequently from a disorder of the nervous system than from a diseased brain. 2772. psychosis : mental disorder * We must endeavor to find an outlet for the patient's repressed desires if we hope to combat this psychosis. 2774. puerile : childish * His puerile pranks sometimes offended his more mature friends. 2776. pugnacious : combative; disposed to fight * As a child he was pugnacious and fought with everyone. 2780. pulsate : throb 205 * We could see the blood vessels in his temple pulsate as he became more angry. 2781. pulverize : crush or grind into very small particles * Before sprinkling the dried herbs into the stew, Michael first pulverized them into a fine powder. 2783. punctilious : laying stress on niceties of conduct or form; precise * We must be punctilious in our planning of this affair, for any error may be regarded as a personal affront. 2785. pungency : sharpness; stinging quality * The pungency of the cigarette smoke made me cough. 2786. punitive : punishing * He asked for punitive measures against the offender. 2788. purchase : firm grasp or footing * The mountaineer struggled to get a proper purchase on the slippery rock. 2789. purgatory : place of spiritual expiation * In this purgatory, he could expect no help from his comrades. 2790. purge : clean by removing impurities; clear of changes * If you are to be purged of the charge of contempt of Congress, you must be willing to answer the questions previously asked. 2791. purport : intention; meaning * If the purport of your speech was to arouse the rabble, you succeeded admirably. 2792. purveyor : furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer * As purveyor of rare wines and viands, he traveled through France and Italy every year in search of new products to sell. 2797. pyre : heap of combustible material, esp. for burning a corpse. * The mortician put pyre on the corpse before burning a corpse. 2798. pest : troublesome or annoying person * He was a pest; always bothering people. 2799. prohibitive : extremely high (of prices etc.) * The super computer's price was prohibitive. 2801. quadruped : four-footed animal * Most mammals are quadrupeds. 2806. qualified : limited; restricted * Unable to give the candidate full support, the mayor gave him only a qualified endorsement. 2812. quash : subdue; crush; squash * The authorities acted quickly to quash the student rebellion, sending in tanks to cow the demonstrators. 2816. querulous : fretful; whining 206 * His classmates were repelled by his querulous and complaining statements. 2819. quiescent : at rest; dormant * After this geyser erupts, it will remain quiescent for twenty-four hours. 2820. quietude : tranquility * He was impressed by the air of quietude and peace that pervaded the valley 2821. quintessence : purest and highest embodiment * Noel Coward displayed the quintessence of wit. 2825. quiver : case for arrows * Robin Hood reached back and plucked one last arrow from his quiver. 2829. quotidian : daily; commonplace; customary * To Philip, each new day of his internship was filled with excitement; he could not dismiss his rounds as merely quotidian routine. 2836. ramble : wander aimlessly (physically or mentally) * Listening to the teacher ramble, Judy wondered whether he'd ever get to his point. 2845. random : without definite purpose, plan, or aim; haphazard * Although the sponsor of the raffle claimed all winners were chosen at random, people had their suspicions when the grand prize went to the sponsor's brother-in-law. 2846. rankle : irritate; fester * The memory of having been jilted rankled him for years. 2848. rapacious : excessively grasping; plundering * Hawks and other rapacious birds prey on variety of small animals. 2852. ratify : approve formally; verify * Before the treaty could go into effect, it had to be ratified by the president. 2853. ratiocination : reasoning; act of drawing conclusions from premises * While Watson was a man of average intelligence, Holmes was a genius, whose gift for ratiocination made him a superb detective. 2854. rationalization : bringing into conformity with reason * All attempts at rationalization at this time are doomed to failure; tempers and emotions run too high for intelligent thought to prevail. 2855. rationalize : reason; justify an improper act * Do not try to rationalize your behavior by blaming your companions. 2857. ravage : plunder; despoil * The marauding army ravaged the countryside. 2858. rave : overwhelmingly favorable review * Though critic John Simon seldom has a good word to say about contemporary plays, his review of All in the Timing was a total rave. 2861. ravine : narrow valley with steep sides * Steeper than a gully, less precipitous than a canyon, a ravine is, like them, the 207 product of years of erosion. 2862. raze : destroy completely * The owners intend to raze the hotel and erect an office building on the site. 2863. reactionary : recoiling from progress; retrograde * His program was reactionary since it sought to abolish many of the social reforms instituted by the previous administration. 2864. realm : kingdom; sphere * The realm of possibilities for the new invention was endless. 2866. rebate : discount * We offer a rebate of ten percent to those who pay cash. 2867. rebuff : snub; beat back * She rebuffed his invitation so smoothly that he did not realize he had been snubbed. 2869. rebuttal : refutation; response with contrary evidence * The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case, sure that she could answer his arguments in her rebuttal. 2870. recalcitrant : obstinately stubborn * Donkeys are reputed to be the most recalcitrant of animals. 2871. recant : repudiate; withdraw previous statement * Unless you recant your confession, you will be punished severely. 2872. recapitulate : summarize * Let us recapitulate what has been said thus far before going ahead. 2873. receptive : quick or willing to receive ideas, suggestions, etc. * Adventure-loving Huck Finn proved a receptive audience for Tom's tales of buried treasure and piracy. 2874. recession : withdrawal; retreat; time of low economic activity * The slow recession of the flood waters created problems for the crews working to restore power to the area. 876. recipient : receiver * Although he had been the recipient of many favors, he was not grateful to his benefactor. 2878. reciprocate : repay in kind * If they attack us, we shall be compelled to reciprocate and bomb their territory. 2879. recluse : hermit * The recluse lived in a hut in the forest. 2880. reconcile : correct inconsistencies; become friendly after a quarrel * Every time we try to reconcile our checkbook with the bank statement, we quarrel. However, despite these monthly lovers' quarrels, we always manage to reconcile. 2881. recondite : abstruse; profound; secret 208 * He read many recondite books in order to obtain the material for the scholarly thesis. 2882. reconnaissance : survey of enemy by soldiers; reconnoitering * If you encounter any enemy soldiers during your reconnaissance, capture them for questioning. 2883. recount : narrate or tell; count over again * About to recount the latest adventure of Sherlock Holmes, Watson lost track of exactly how many cases Holmes had solved and refused to begin his tale until he'd recounted them one by one. 2884. recourse : resorting to help when in trouble * The boy's only recourse was to appeal to his father for aid. 2885. recrimination : countercharges * Loud and angry recriminations were her answer to his accusations. 2886. rectify : correct * I want to rectify my error before it is too late. 2887. rectitude : uprightness * He was renowned for his rectitude and integrity. 2888. recumbent : reclining; lying down completely or in part * The command \AT EASE\ does not permit you to take a recumbent position. 2890. recurrent : occurring again and again * These recurrent attacks disturbed us and we consulted a physician. 2891. redolent : fragrant; odorous; suggestive of an odor * Even though it is February, the air is redolent of spring. 2892. redoubtable : formidable; causing fear * During the Cold War period, neighboring countries tried not to offend the Russians because they could be redoubtable foes. 2894. redundant : superfluous; excessively wordy; repetitious * Your composition is redundant; you can easily reduce its length. 2896. refectory : dining hall * In this huge refectory, we can feed the entire student body at one sitting 2897. refraction : bending of a ray of light * When you look at a stick inserted in water, it looks bent because of the refraction of the light by the water. 2898. refractory : stubborn; unmanageable * The refractory horse was eliminated from the race when he refused to obey the jockey. 2899. refrain : v. abstain from; resist n. chorus * Whenever he heard a song with a lively chorus, Sol could never refrain from joining in on the refrain. 209 2900. refurbish : renovate; make bright by polishing * The flood left a deposit of mud on everything; it was necessary to refurbish our belongings. 2901. refute : disprove * The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to refute the false testimony of the prosecution's only witness. 2902. regal : royal * Prince Albert had a regal manner. 2903. regale : entertain * John regaled us with tales of his adventures in Africa. 2905. regeneration : spiritual rebirth * Modern penologists strive for the regeneration of the prisoners. 2906. regicide : murder of a king or queen * The beheading of Mary Queen of Scots was an act of regicide. 2907. regime : method or system of government * When a Frenchman mentions the Old Regime, he refers to the government existing before the revolution. 2908. regimen : prescribed diet and habits * I doubt whether the results warrant our living under such a strict regimen 2910. reimburse : repay * Let me know what you have spent and I will reimburse you. 2911. reiterate : repeat * He reiterated the warning to make sure everyone understood it. 2913. rejuvenate : make young again * The charlatan claimed that his elixir would rejuvenate the aged and weary. 2914. relegate : banish; consign to inferior position * If we relegate these experts to minor posts because of their political persuasions, we shall lose their valuable services. 2916. relevant : pertinent; referring to the case in hand * Teri was impressed by how relevant Virginia Woolf's remarks were to her as a woman writer; it was as if Woolf had been writing with Teri's situation in mind. 2917. relic : surviving remnant; memento * Egypt's Department of Antiquities prohibits tourists from taking mummies and other ancient relics out of the country. 2918. relinquish : abandon * I will relinquish my claims to this property if you promise to retain my employees. 2920. remediable : reparable * Let us be grateful that the damage is remediable. 210 2921. reminiscence : recollection * Her reminiscences of her experiences are so fascinating that she ought to write a book. 2922. remiss : negligent * He was accused of being remiss in his duty when the prisoner escaped. 2923. remission : temporary moderation of disease symptoms; cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon * Though Senator Tsongas had been treated for cancer, his symptoms were in r emission, and he was considered fit to handle the strains of a Presidential race 2925. remonstrance : protest; objection * The authorities were deaf to the pastor's remonstrances about the lack of police protection in the area. 2926. remorse : guilt; self-reproach * The murderer felt no remorse for his crime. 2929. render : deliver; provide; represent * He rendered aid to the needy and indigent. 2932. renegade : deserter; traitor* Because he had abandoned his post and joined forces with the Indians, his fellow officers considered the hero of Dances with Wolves a renegade. 2934. renounce : abandon; disown; repudiate * Even though she knew she would be burned at the stake as a witch, Joan of Arc refused to renounce her belief that her voices came from God. 2935. renovate : restore to good condition; renew * They claim that they can renovate worn shoes so that they look like new ones. 2936. renown : fame * For many years an unheralded researcher, Barbara McClintock gained international renown when she won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. 2938. reparable : capable of being repaired * Fortunately, the damages we suffered in the accident were reparable and our car looks brand new. 2939. reparation : amends; compensation * At the peace conference, the defeated country promised to pay reparations to the victors. 2941. repeal : revoke; annul * What would the effect on our society be if we decriminalized drug use by repealing the laws against the possession and sale of narcotics? 2942. repellent : driving away; unattractive * Mosquitoes find the odor so repellent that they leave any spot where this liquid has 211 been sprayed. 2943. repercussion : rebound; reverberation; reaction * I am afraid that this event will have serious repercussions. 2945. repine : fret; complain * There is no sense repining over the work you have left undone. 2946. replenish : fill up again * Before she could take another backpacking trip, Carla had to replenish her stock of freeze-dried foods. 2947. replete : filled to capacity; abundantly supplied * The book is replete with humorous situations. 2948. replica : copy * Are you going to hang this replica of the Declaration of Independence in the classroom or in the auditorium? 2949. replicate : reproduce; duplicate * To the chagrin of the scientists, they were unable to replicate the results of their controversial experiment. 2950. repository : storehouse * Libraries are repositories of the world's best thoughts. 2951. reprehensible : deserving blame * Your vicious conduct in this situation is reprehensible. 2952. repress : restrain; crush; oppress * Anne's parents tried to curb her impetuosity without repressing her boundless high spirits. 2953. reprieve : temporary stay * During the twenty-four-hour reprieve, the lawyers sought to make the stay of execution permanent. 2955. reprisal : retaliation * I am confident that we are ready for any reprisals the enemy may undertake 2957. reproach : blame; censure * I want my work to be above reproach and without error 2958. reprobate : person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency * I cannot understand why he has so many admirers if he is the reprobate you say he is. 2959. reprobation : severe disapproval * The students showed their reprobation of his act by refusing to talk with him. 2960. reprove : censure; rebuke * The principal reproved the students when they became unruly in the auditorium. 2962. repugnance : loathing * She looked at the snake with repugnance. 212 2963. repulsion : act of driving back; distaste * The repulsion of the enemy forces was not accomplished bloodlessly; many of the defenders were wounded in driving the enemy back. 2964. reputable : respectable * If you want to buy antiques, look for a reputable dealer; far too many dealers today pass off fakes as genuine antiques. 2965. reputed : supposed * He is the reputed father of the child. 2967. requisite : necessary requirement * Many colleges state that a student must offer three years of a language as a requisite for admission. 2968. requite : repay; revenge * The wretch requited his benefactors by betraying them. 2969. rescind : cancel * Because of public resentment, the king had to rescind his order. 2970. reserve : self-control; formal but distant manner * Although some girls were attracted by Mark's reserve, Judy was put off by it, for she felt his aloofness indicated a lack of openness. 2971. residue : remainder; balance * In his will, he requested that after payment of debts, taxes, and funeral expenses, the residue be given to his wife. 2972. resignation : patient submissiveness; statement that one is quitting a job * If Bob Cratchit had not accepted Scrooge's bullying with timid resignation, he might have gotten up the nerve to hand in his resignation. 2973. resilient : elastic; having the power of springing back * Highly resilient, steel makes excellent bedsprings. 2974. resolution : determination * Nothing could shake his resolution to succeed despite all difficulties. 2975. resolve : determination * Nothing could shake his resolve that his children would get the best education that money could buy. 2976. resolve : decide; settle; solve * Homes resolved to travel to Bohemia to resolve the dispute between Irene Adler and the King. 2977. resonant : echoing; resounding; deep and full in sound * The deep, resonant voice of the actor James Earl Jones makes him particulary effective when he appears on stage. 2978. respiration : breathing; exhalation 213 * The doctor found that the patient's years of smoking had adversely affected both his lung capacity and his rate of respiration. 2980. resplendent : brilliant; lustrous * The toreador wore a resplendent costume called a suit of lights. 2981. responsiveness : state of reacting readily to appeals, order, etc. * The audience cheered and applauded, delighting the performers by its responsiveness. 2982. restitution : reparation; indemnification * He offered to make restitution for the window broken by his son. 2984. restraint : controlling force * She dreamt of living an independent life, free of all restraints. 2985. resumption : taking up again; recommencement * During the summer break, Don had not realized how much he missed university life: at the resumption of classes, however, he felt marked excitement and pleasure. 2986. resurgent : rising again after defeat, etc. * The resurgent nation surprised everyone by its quick recovery after total defeat. 2987. resuscitate : revive * The lifeguard tried to resuscitate the drowned child by applying artificial respiration. 2988. retain : keep; employ * Fighting to retain his seat in Congress, Senator Foghorn retained a new manager to head his reelection campaign. 2989. retaliate : repay in kind (usually for bad treatment) * Fear that we will retaliate immediately deters our foe from attacking us. 2990. retentive : holding; having a good memory * The pupil did not need to spend much time in study as he had a retentive mind. 2991. reticent : reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence * Hughes preferred reticent employees to loquacious ones, noting that the formers' dislike of idle chatter might ensure their discretion about his affairs. 2992. retinue : following; attendants * The queen's retinue followed her down the aisle. 2993. retiring : modest; shy * Given Susan't retiring personality, no one expected her to take up public speaking; surprisingly enough, she became a star of the school debate team. 2994. retort : quick, sharp reply * Even when it was advisable for her to keep her mouth shut, she was always ready with a retort. 2995. retraction : withdrawal * He dropped his libel suit after the newspaper published a retraction of its statement. 214 2996. retrench : cut down; economize * If they were to be able to send their children to college, they would have to retrench. 2997. retribution : vengeance; compensation; punishment for offenses * The evangelist maintained that an angry deity would exact retribution from the sinners. 2998. retrieve : recover; find and bring in * The dog was intelligent and quickly learned to retrieve the game killed by the hunter. 2999. retroactive : taking effect before its enactment (as a law) or imposition (as a tax) * Because the new pension law was retroactive to the first of the year, even though Martha had retired in February she was eligible for the pension. 3000. retrograde : go backwards; degenerate * Instead of advancing, our civilization seems to have retrograded in ethics and culture. 3001. retrospective : looking back on the past * It is only when we become retrospective that we can appreciate the tremendous advances made during this century. 3003. reverberate : echo; resound * The entire valley reverberated with the sound of the church bells. 3007. revoke : cancel; retract * Repeat offenders who continue to drive under the influence of alcohol face having their driver's licenses permanently revoked. 3008. revulsion : sudden violent change of feeling; negative reaction * Many people in this country who admired dictatorships underwent a revulsion when they realized what Hitler and Mussolini were trying to do. 3012. rider : amendment or clause added to a legislative bill * Senator Foghorn said he would support Senator Filibuster's tax reform bill only if Filibuster agreed to add an antipollution rider to the bill. 3015. rig : fix or manipulate * The ward boss was able to rig the election by bribing people to stuff the ballot boxes with ballots marked in his candidate's favor. 3016. rigid : stiff and unyielding; strict; hard and unbending * By living with a man to whom she was not married, George Eliot broke Victorian society's most rigid rule of respectable behavior. 3017. rigor : severity * Many settlers could not stand the rigors of the New England winters. 3020. rivulet : small stream * As the rains continued, the trickle of water running down the hillside grew into a rivulet that threatened to wash away a portion of the slope. 3023. roil : to make liquids murky by stirring up sediment; to disturb 215 * Be careful when you pour not to roil the wine; if you stir up the sediment you'll destroy the flavor. 3028. rotunda : circular building or hall covered with a dome * His body lay in state in the rotunda of the Capitol. 3029. rotundity : roundness; sonorousness of speech * Washington Irving emphasized the rotundity of the governor by describing his height and circumference. 3030. rousing : lively; stirring * \And now, let's have a rousing welcome for TV's own Roseanne Arnold, who'll lead us in a rousing rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'\ 3035. rudimentary : not developed; elementary * His dancing was limited to a few rudimentary steps. 3042. rustic : pertaining to country people; uncouth * The backwoodsman looked out place in his rustic attire. 3043. rusticate : banish to the country; dwell in the country * I like city life so much that I can never understand how people can rusticate in the suburbs. 3045. relapse : fall back or sink again * The economy relapsed into a depression from the peak. 3048. sacrilegious : desecrating; profane * His stealing of the altar cloth was a very sacrilegious act. 3049. sacrosanct : most sacred; inviolable * The brash insurance salesman invaded the sacrosanct privacy of the office of the president of the company. 3052. sagacious : keen; shrewd; having insight * He is much too sagacious to be fooled by a trick like that. 3053. sage : person celebrated for wisdom * Hearing tales of a mysterious Master of All Knowledge who lived in the hills of Tibet, Sandy was possessed with a burning desire to consult the legendary sage. 3055. salient : prominent * One of the salient features of that newspaper is its excellent editorial page. 3056. saline : salty * The slightly saline taste of this mineral water is pleasant. 3058. salubrious : healthful * Many people with hay fever move to more salubrious sections of the country during the months of August and September. 3059. salutary : tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome * The punishment had a salutary effect on the boy, as he became a model student. 216 3061. sanctimonious : displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness * You do not have to be so sanctimonious to prove that you are devout. 3062. sanction : approve; ratify * Nothing will convince me to sanction the engagement of my daughter to such a worthless young man. 3063. sanguinary : bloody * The battle of lwo Jina was unexpectedly sanguinary with many casualties. 3064. sanguine : cheerful; hopeful * Let us not be too sanguine about the outcome; something could go wrong. 3069. sate : satisfy to the full; cloy * Its hunger sated, the lion dozed. 3070. satellite : small body revolving around a larger one * During the first few years of the Space Age, hundreds of satellites were launched by Russia and the United States. 3071. satiate : surfeit; satisfy fully * The guests, having eaten until they were satiated, now listened inattentively to the speakers. 3072. satire : form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack vice and folly * Gulliver's Travels, which is regarded by many as a tale for children, is actually a bitter satire attacking human folly. 3073. satirical : mocking * The humor of cartoonists Gary Trudeau often is satirical; though the comments of the Doonesbury characters, Trudeau ridicules political corruption and folly. 3074. saturate : soak * Their clothes were saturated by the rain. 3079. savor : enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality * Relishing his triumph, Costner especially savored the chagrin of the critics who had predicted his failure. 3080. savory : tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable * Julia Child's recipes enable amateur chefs to create savory delicacies for their guests. 3084. scale : climb up; ascend * To locate a book on the top shelf of the stacks, Lee had to scale an exceptionally rickety ladder. 3085. scanty : meager; insufficient * Thinking his helping of food was scanty, Oliver Twist asked for more. 3088. scenario : plot outline; screenplay; opera libretto * Scaramouche startled the other actors in the commedia troupe when he suddenly 217 departed from their customary scenario and began to improvise. 3108. seclusion : isolation; solitude * One moment she loved crowds; the next, she sought seclusion. 3109. secrete : hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism. * The pack rat secretes odds and ends in its nest; the pancreas secretes insulin in the islets of Langerhans. 3110. sectarian : narrow-minded; limited in scope * As university chaplain, she sought to address universal religious issues and not limit herself to mere sectarian concerns. 3111. secular : worldly; not pertaining to church matters; temporal * The church leaders decided not interfere in secular matters. 3112. sedate : composed; grave * The parents were worried because they felt their son was too quiet and sedate. 3113. sedentary : requiring sitting * Because he had a sedentary occupation, he decided to visit a gymnasium weekly. 3114. sedition : resistance to authority; insubordination * His words, though not treasonous in themselves, were calculated to arouse thoughts of sedition. 3115. sedulous : diligent * The young woman was so sedulous that she received a commendation for her hard work. 3122. semblance : outward appearance; guise * Although this book has a semblance of wisdom and scholarship, a careful examination will reveal many errors and omissions. 3123. seminal : germinal; influencing future developments; related to seed or semen * Although Freud has generally been regarded as a seminal thinker who shaped the course of psychology, his psychoanalytic methods have come under attack recently. 3124. seminary : school for training future ministers; secondary school, especially for young women * Sure of his priestly vocation, Terrence planned to pursue his theological training at the local Roman Catholic seminary. 3125. senility : old age; feeble mindedness of old age * Most of the decisions are being made by the junior members of the company because of the senility of the president. 3126. sensual : devoted to the pleasures of the senses; carnal; voluptous * I cannot understand what caused him to drop his sensual way of life and become so ascetic. 3127. sensuous : pertaining to the physical senses; operating through the senses 218 * He was stimulated by the sights, sounds and smells about him; he was enjoying his sensuous experience. 3128. sententious : terse; concise; aphoristic * After reading so many redundant speeches, I find his sententious style particulary pleasing. 3132. sequester : retire from public life; segregate; seclude * Although he had hoped for a long time to sequester himself in a small community, he never was able to drop his busy round of activities in the city. 3138. servile : slavish; cringing * Constantly fawning on his employer, humble Uriah Heap was a servile creature. 3139. servitude : slavery; compulsory labor * Born a slave, Douglass resented his wife of servitude and plotted to escape to the North. 3141. severity : harshness; plainness * The newspapers disapproved of the severity of the sentence. 3145. shambles : slaughterhouse; scene of carnage * By the time the police arrived, the room was a shambles. 3163. simile : comparison of one thing with another, using the word like or as * \My love is like a red, red rose\ is a simile. 3165. simplistic : oversimplified * Though Jack's solution dealt adequately with one aspect of the problem, it was simplistic in failing to consider various complicating factors that might arise. 3166. simulate : feign * He simulated insanity in order to avoid punishment for his crime. 3171. sinuous : winding; bending in and out; not morally honest * The snake moved in a sinuous manner. 3172. skeptic : doubter; person who suspends judgment until he has examined the evidence supporting a point of view. * In this matter, I am a skeptic; I want proof. 3182. slake : quench; sate * When we reached the oasis, we were able to slake our thirst. 3194. sluggard : lazy person * \You are a sluggard, a drone, a parasite,\ the angry father shouted at his lazy son. 3195. sluggish : slow; lazy; lethargic * After two nights without sleep, she felt sluggish and incapable of exertion. 3205. sojourn : temporary stay * After his sojourn in Florida, he began to long for the colder climate of his native New England home. 219 3206. solace : comfort in trouble * I hope you will find solace in the thought that all of us share your loss. 3209. solemnity : seriousness; gravity * The minister was concerned that nothing should disturb the solemnity of the marriage service. 3210. solicit : request earnestly; seek * Knowing she needed to have a solid majority for the budget to pass, the mayor telephoned all the members of the city council to solicit their votes. 3211. solicitous : worried, concerned * The employer was very solicitous about the health of her employees as replacements were difficult to get. 3212. soliloquy : talking to oneself * The soliloquy is a device used by the dramatist to reveal a character's innermost thoughts and emotions. 3213. solstice : point at which the sun is farthest from the equator * The winter solstice usually occurs on December 21. 3214. solvent : able to pay all debts * By dint of very frugal living, he was finally able to become solvent and avoid bankruptcy proceedings. 3216. somber : gloomy; depressing * From the doctor's grim expression, I could tell he had somber news. 3217. somnambulist : sleepwalker * The most famous somnambulist in literature is Lady Macbeth; her monologue in the sleepwalking scene is one of the highlights of Shakespeare's play. 3218. somnolent : half asleep * The heavy meal and the overheated room made us all somnolent and indifferent to the speaker. 3219. sonorous : resonant * His sonorous voice resounded through the hall. 3220. sophist : teacher of philosophy; quibbler; employer of fallacious reasoning * You are using all the devices of a sophist in trying to prove your case; your argument is specious. 3221. sophistication : artificiality; unnaturalness; act of employing sophistry in reasoning * Sophistication is an acquired characteristic, found more frequently among city dwellers than among residents of rural areas. 3222. sophistry : seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning * Instead of advancing valid arguments, he tried to overwhelm his audience with a 220 flood of sophistries. 3223. sophomoric : immature; shallow * Your sophomoric remarks are a sign of your youth and indicate that you have not given much thought to the problem. 3224. soporific : sleep producing * I do not need a sedative when I listen to one of his soporific speeches. 3234. specious : seemingly reasonable but incorrect * Let us not be misled by such specious arguments. 3235. spectral : ghostly * We were frightened by the spectral glow that filled the room. 3236. spectrum : colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism * The visible portion of the spectrum includes red at one end and violet at the other. 3243. sportive : playful * Such a sportive attitude is surprising in a person as serious as you usually are. 3260. static : unchanging; lacking development * Nothing had changed at home; things were static there 3261. statute : law * We have many statutes in our law books which should be repealed. 3263. steadfast : loyal; unswerving * Penelope was steadfast in her affections, faithfully waiting for Ulysses to return from his wanderings. 3264. stealth : slyness; sneakiness; secretiveness * Fearing detection by the sentries on duty, the scout inched his way toward the enemy camp with great stealth. 3266. stellar : pertaining to the stars * He was the stellar attraction of the entire performance. 3271. stickler : perfectionist; person who insists things be exactly right * The Internal Revenue Service agent was a stickler for accuracy; no approximations or rough estimates would satisfy him. 3273. stigma : token of disgrace; brand * I do not attach any stigma to the fact that you were accused of this crime; the fact that you were acquitted clears you completely. 3281. stoic : person who is indifferent to pleasure or pain * The doctor called her patient a stoic because he had borne the pain of the examination without whimpering. 3288. stricture : critical comments; severe and adverse criticism * His strictures on the author's style are prejudiced and unwarranted. 3290. stringent : binding; rigid 221 * I think these regulations are too stringent. 3295. stupefy : make numb; stun; amaze * Disapproving of drugs in general, Laura refused to take sleeping pills or any other medicine that might stupefy her. 3300. subjective : occurring or taking place within the mind; unreal * Your analysis is highly subjective; you have permitted your emotions and your opinions to color your thinking. 3301. subjugate : conquer; bring under control * It is not our aim to subjugate our foe; we are interested only in establishing peaceful relations. 3303. sublime : exalted; noble; uplifting * Mother Teresa has been honored for her sublime deeds. 3305. submissive : yielding; timid * Crushed by his authoritarian father, Will had no defiance left in him; he was totally submissive in the face of authority. 3308. subsequent : following; later * In subsequent lessons, we shall take up more difficult problems. 3309. subservient : behaving like a slave; servile; obsequious * He was proud and dignified; he refused to be subservient to anyone. 3310. subside : settle down; descend; grow quiet * The doctor assured us that the fever would eventually subside. 3311. subsidiary : subordinate; secondary * This information may be used as subsidiary evidence but is not sufficient by itself to prove your argument. 3312. subsidy : direct financial aid by government, etc. * Without this subsidy, American ship operators would not be able to compete in world markets. 3313. subsistence : existence; means of support; livelihood * In those days of inflated prices, my salary provided mere subsistence. 3314. substantiate : verify; support * I intend to substantiate my statement by producing witnesses. 3316. subsume : include; encompass * Does the general theory of relativity contradict Newtonian physics, or is Newton's law of gravity subsumed into Einstein's larger scheme? 3317. subterfuge : pretense; evasion * As soon as we realized that you had won our support by a subterfuge we withdrew our endorsement of your candidacy. 3318. subtlety : nicety; cunning; guile; delicacy 222 * The subtlety of his remarks was unnoticed by most of his audience. 3319. subversive : tending to overthrow; destructive * At first glance, the notion that Styrofoam cups may actually be more ecologically sound than paper cups strikes most environmentalists as subversive. 3320. succinct : brief; terse; compact * His remarks are always succinct and pointed. 3321. succor : aid; assistance; relief * We shall be ever grateful for the succor our country gave us when we were in need. 3323. succumb : yield; give in; die * I succumb to temptation whenever it comes my way. 3324. suffragist : advocate of voting rights (for women) * In recognition of her efforts to win the vote for women, Congress authorized coining a silver dollar honoring the suffragist Susan B. Anthony. 3325. suffuse : spread over * A blush suffused her cheeks when we teased her about her love affair. 3328. summation : act of finding the total, summary * In his summation, the lawyer emphasized the testimony given by the two witnesses. 3329. sumptuous : lavish; rich * I cannot recall when I have had such a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast. 3332. superannuated : retired or disqualified because of age * The superannuated man was indignant because he felt that he could still perform a good day's work. 3333. supercilious : contemptuous; haughty * I prefer Jill's modesty to Jack's supercilious and arrogant attitude. 3335. superficial : trivial; shallow * Since your report gave only a superficial analysis of the problem, I cannot give you more than a passing grade. 3336. superfluous : excessive; overabundant, unnecessary * Please try not to include so many superfluous details in your report; just give me the bare facts. 3337. superimpose : place over something else * Your attempt to superimpose another agency in this field will merely increase the bureaucratic nature of our government. 3338. supernumerary : person or thing in excess of what is necessary; extra * His first appearance on the stage was as a supernumerary in a Shakespearean tragedy. 3339. supersede : cause to be set aside; replace * This regulation will supersede all previous rules. 3341. supplant : replace; usurp 223 * Corazon Aquino supplanted Ferdinand Marcos as president of the Philippines 3342. supple : flexible; pliant * The angler found a supple limb and used it as a fishing rod. 3343. suppliant : entreating; beseeching * He could not resist the dog's suppliant whimpering, and he gave it some food. 3344. supplicate : petition humbly; pray to grant a favor * We supplicate Your Majesty to grant him amnesty. 3345. supposition : hypothesis; surmise * I based my decision to confide in him on the supposition that he would bediscreet. 3346. supposititious : assumed; counterfeit; hypothetical * I find no similarity between your supposititious illustration and the problem we are facing. 3347. surfeit : satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything * Every Thanksgiving we are surfeited with an overabundance of holiday treats. 3348. surly : rude; cross * Because of his surly attitude, many people avoided his company. 3349. surmise : guess * I surmise that he will be late for this meeting. 3350. surmount : overcome * He had to surmount many obstacles in order to succeed. 3351. surpass : exceed * Her SAT scores surpassed out expectations. 3352. surreptitious : secret * News of their surreptitious meeting gradually leaked out. 3353. surrogate : substitute * For a fatherless child, a male teacher may become a father surrogate. 3354. surveillance : watching; guarding * The FBI kept the house under constant surveillance in the hope of capturing all the criminals at one time. 3355. susceptible : impressionable; easily influenced; having little resistance, as to a disease * He was a very susceptible young man, and so his parents worried that he might fall into bad company. 3356. sustain : experience; support; nourish * He sustained such a severe injury that the doctors feared he would be unable to work to sustain his growing family. 3357. sustenance : means of support, food, nourishment * In the tropics, the natives find sustenance easy to obtain because of all the fruit trees. 224 3367. syllogism : logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument * There must be a fallacy in this syllogism; I cannot accept its conclusion. 3369. symbiosis : interdependent relationship (between groups, species), often mutually beneficial * Both the crocodile bird and the crocodile derive benefit from their symbiosis; pecking away at food particles embedded in the crocodile's teeth, the bird derives nourishment; the crocodile, meanwhile, derives proper dental hygiene. 3370. symmetry : arrangement of parts so that balance is obtained; congruity * The addition of a second tower will give this edifice the symmetry that it now lacks. 3371. synchronous : similary timed; simultaneous with * We have many examples of scientists in different parts of the world who have made synchronous discoveries. 3373. synthesis : combining parts into a whole * Now that we have succeeded in isolating this drug, our next problem is to plan its synthesis in the laboratory. 3374. synthetic : artificial; resulting from synthesis * During the twentieth century, many synthetic products have replaced the natural products. 3375. sedative : calming drug or influence * It is dangerous to drive after taking the sedative; it brings drowsiness. 3376. stygian : literary dark * The stygian room reminded him of an empty space. 3377. tacit : understood; not put into words * We have a tacit agreement based on only a handshake. 3378. taciturn : habitually silent; talking a little * New Englanders are reputedly taciturn people. 3384. tangible : able to be touched; real; palpable * Although Tom did not own a house, he had several tangible assets--a car, a television, a PC--that he could sell if he needed cash. 3398. temper : moderate; tone down or restrain; toughen (steel) * Not even her supervisor's grumpiness could temper Nancy's enthusiasm for her new job. 3399. temperament : characteristic frame of mind; disposition; emotional excess * Although the twins look alike, they differ markedly in temperament: Tod is calm, but Rod is excitable. 3400. temperate : restrained; self-controlled * Noted for his temperate appetite, he seldom gained weight. 225 3402. temporal : not lasting forever; limited by time; secular * At one time in our history, temporal rulers assumed that they had been given their thrones by divine right. 3403. temporize : avoid committing oneself; gain time * I cannot permit you to temporize any longer; I must have a definite answer today. 3404. tenacious : holding fast * I had to struggle to break his tenacious hold on my arm. 3405. tenacity : firmness; persistency; adhesiveness * It is extremely difficult to overcome the tenacity of a habit such as smoking. 3406. tendentious : having an aim; biased; designed to further a cause * The editorials in this periodical are tendentious rather than truth-seeking. 3407. tender : offer; extend * Although no formal changes had been made against him, in the wake of the recent scandal the mayor felt he should tender his resignation. 3408. tenet : doctrine; dogma * The agnostic did not accept the tenets of their faith. 3409. tensile : capable of being stretched * Mountain climbers must know the tensile strength of their ropes. 3410. tentative : provisional; experimental * Your tentative plans sound plausible; let me know when the final details are worked out. 3411. tenuous : thin; rare; slim * The allegiance of our allies is held by rather tenuous ties; let us hope they will remain loyal. 3412. tenure : holding of an office; time during which such an office is held * He was permanent tenure in this position and cannot be fired. 3414. terminate : to bring to an end * When his contract was terminated unexpectedly, he desperately needed a new job. 3415. terminology : terms used in a science or art * The special terminology developed by some authorities in the field has done more to confuse laypersons than to enlighten them. 3416. terminus : last stop of railroad * After we reached the railroad terminus, we continued our journey into the wilderness on saddle horses. 3417. terrestrial : on or relating to the earth * We have been able to explore the terrestrial regions much more thoroughly than the aquatic or celestial regions. 3421. testator : maker of a will 226 * The attorney called in his secretary and his partner to witness the signature of the testator. 3425. theocracy : government of a community by religious leaders * Some Pilgrims favored the establishment of a theocracy in New England. 3431. thrifty : careful about money; economical * A thrifty shopper compares prices before making major purchases. 3434. throng : crowd * Throngs of shoppers jammed the aisles. 3440. timidity : lack of self-confidence or courage * If you are to succeed as a salesperson, you must first lose your timidity and fear of failure. 3441. timorous : fearful; demonstrating fear * His timorous manner betrayed the fear he felt at the moment. 3447. title : right or claim to possession; mark of rank; name (of a book, film, etc.) * Though the penniless Duke of Ragwort no longer held title to the family estate, he still retained his title as head of one of England's oldest families. 3454. topography : physical features of a region * Before the generals gave the order to attack, they ordered a complete study of the topography of the region. 3457. torrent : rushing stream; flood * Day after day of heavy rain saturated the hillside until the water ran downhill in torrents. 3459. tortuous : winding; full of curves * Because this road is so tortuous, it is unwise to go faster than twenty miles an hour on it. 3460. touchstone : stone used to test the fineness of gold alloys; criterion * What touchstone can be used to measure the character of a person? 3461. touchy : sensitive; irascible * Do not discuss this phase of the problem as he is very touchy about it. 3462. tout : publicize; praise excessively * I lost confidence in my broker after he touted some junk bonds that turned out to be a bad investment. 3463. toxic : poisonous * We must seek an antidote for whatever toxic substance he has eaten. 3464. tract : pamphlet; a region of indefinite size * The King granted William Penn a tract of land in the New World. 3465. tractable : docile * You will find the children in this school very tractable and willing to learn. 227 3466. traduce : expose to slander * His opponents tried to traduce the candidate's reputation by spreading rumors about his past. 3467. trajectory : path taken by a projectile * The police tried to locate the spot from which the assassin had fired the fatal shot by tracing the trajectory of the bullet. 3468. tranquility : calmness; peace * After the commotion and excitement of the city, I appreciate the tranquillity of these fields and forests. 3469. transcend : exceed; surpass * This accomplishment transcends all our previous efforts. 3470. transcribe : copy * When you transcribe your notes, please send a copy to Mr.Smith and keep the original for our files. 3471. transgression : violation of a law; sin * Forgive us our transgressions; we know not what we do. 3472. transient : momentary; temporary; staying for a short time * Lexy's joy at finding the perfect Christmas gift for Phil was transient; she still had to find presents for the cousins and Uncle Bob. Located near the airport, this hotel caters to the largely transient trade. 3473. transition : going from one state of action to another * During the period of transition from oil heat to gas heat, the furnace will have to be shut off. 3475. translucent : partly transparent * We could not recognize the people in the next room because of the translucent curtains that separated us. 3476. transmute : change; convert to something different * He was unable to transmute his dreams into actualities. 3477. transparent : permitting to light to pass through freely; easily detected * Your scheme is so transparent that it will fool no one. 3478. transpire : be revealed; happen * When Austen writes the sentence \It had just transpired that he had left gaming debts behind him,\ her meaning is not that the debts had just been incurred, but the the shocking news had just leaked out. 3479. transport : strong emotion * Margo was a creature of extremes, at one moment in transports of joy over a vivid sunset, at another moment in transports of grief over a dying bird. 3483. traverse : go through or across 228 * When you traverse this field, be careful of the bull. 3484. travesty : comical parody; treatment aimed at making something appear ridiculous * The ridiculous decision the jury has arrived at is a travesty of justice. 3485. treatise : article treating a subject systematically and thoroughly * He is preparing a treatise on the Elizabethan playwrights for his graduate degree. 3488. tremulous : trembling; wavering * She was tremulous more from excitement than from fear. 3491. tribulation : distress; suffering * After all the trials and tribulations we have gone through, we need this rest. 3492. tribunal : court of justice * The decision of the tribunal was final and the prisoner was sentenced to death. 3493. tribute : tax levied by a ruler; mark of respect * The colonists refused to pay tribute to a foreign despot. 3496. trilogy : group of three works * Romain Rolland's novel Jean Christophe was first published as a trilogy. 3498. trite : hackneyed; commonplace * The trite and predictable situations in many television programs alienate many viewers. 3499. trivia : trifles; unimportant matters * Too many magazines ignore newsworthy subjects and feature trivia. 3503. truism : self-evident truth * Many a truism is well expressed in a proverb. 3505. tryst : meeting * The lovers kept their tryst even though they realized their danger. 3506. tumid : swollen; pompous; bombastic * I especially dislike his tumid style; I prefer writing which is less swollen and bombastic. 3509. turbid : muddy; having the sediment disturbed * The water was turbid after the children had waded through it. 3510. turbulence : state of violent agitation * We were frightened by the turbulence of the ocean during the storm. 3519. tyranny : oppression; cruel government * Frederick Douglass fought against the tyranny of slavery throughout his entire life. 3520. tyro : beginner; novice * For a mere tyro, you have produced some marvelous results. 3521. timid : easily frightened; apprehensive * He was timid and cowardish; always backing up at daunting situations. 229 3523. toil : work laboriously; make slow painful progress * You must toil through 3500 words list in order to achieve a high score on GRE. 3526. ultimate : final; not susceptible to further analysis * Scientists are searching for the ultimate truths. 3527. ultimatum : last demand; warning * Since they have ignored our ultimatum, our only recourse is to declare war 3528. umbrage : resentment; anger; sense of injury or insult * She took umbrage at his remarks and stormed away in a huff. 3529. unanimity : complete agreement * We were surprised by the unanimity with which our proposals were accepted by the different groups. 3531. unassuming : modest * He is so unassuming that some people fail to realize how great a man he really is. 3534. unconscionable : unscrupulous; excessive * She found the load shark's demands unconscionable and impossible to meet. 3538. undermine : weaken; sap * The recent corruption scandals have undermined many people's faith in the city government. 3539. underscore : emphasize * Addressing the jogging class, Kim underscored the importance to runners of good nutrition. 3541. unearth : dig up * When they unearthed the city, the archeologists found many relics of an ancient civilization. 3542. unearthly : not earthly; weird * There is an unearthly atmosphere in her work that amazes the casual observer. 3546. unfeigned : genuine; real * She turned so pale that I am sure her surprise was unfeigned. 3552. uniformity : sameness; consistency; monotony * After a while, the uniformity of TV situation comedies becomes boring. 3553. unilateral : one-sided * This legislation is unilateral since it binds only one party in the controversy. 3557. unique : without an equal; single in kind * You have the unique distinction of being the first student whom I have had to fail in this course. 3558. unison : unity of pitch; complete accord * The choir sang in unison. 3559. universal : characterizing or affecting all; present everywhere 230 * At first, no one shared Christopher's opinions; his theory that the world was round was met with universal disdain. 3564. unravel : disentangle; solve * With equal ease Miss Marple unraveled tangled balls of yarn and baffling murder mysteries. 3565. unrequited : not reciprocated * Suffering the pangs of unrequited love, Olivia rebukes Cesario for his hard-heartedness. 3567. unsavory : distasteful; morally offensive * People with unsavory reputations should not be allowed to work with youngchildren. 3574. unwarranted : unjustified; groundless; undeserved * We could not understand Martin's unwarranted rudeness to his mother's guests. 3575. unwieldy : awkward; cumbersome; unmanageable * The large carton was so unwieldy that the movers had trouble getting it up the stairs. 3576. unwitting : unintentional; not knowing * She was the unwitting tool of the swindlers 3577. unwonted : unaccustomed * He hesitated to assume the unwonted role of master of ceremonies at the dinner. 3578. upbraid : scold; reproach * I must upbraid him for his unruly behavior. 3579. uproarious : marked by commotion; extremely funny; very noisy * The uproarious comedy hit Home Alone featured Macaulay Culkin, whose mugging and comic antics provoked gales of uproarious laughter from audiences coast to coast. 3581. urbane : suave; refined; elegant * The courtier was urbane and sophisticated 3584. usurp : seize power; supplant * The revolution ended when the victorious rebel leader usurped the throne. 3585. usury : lending money at illegal rates of interest * The loan shark was found guilty of usury. 3588.undergird : strengthen the base of * Whereas relativity theory undermined the Newtonian mechanics, cosmology was undergirded by it. 3590. vacuous : empty; lacking in ideas; stupid * The candidate's vacuous remarks annoyed the audience, who had hoped to hear more than empty platitudes 3591. vagabond : wanderer; tramp * In summer, college students wander the roads of Europe like carefree vagabonds. 3592. vagary : caprice; whim 231 * She followed every vagary of fashion. 3593. vagrant : stray; random * He tried to study, but could not collect his vagrant thoughts. 3594. vagrant : homeless wanderer * Because he was a stranger in town with no visible means of support, Martin feared he would be jailed as a vagrant. 3595. vainglorious : boastful; excessively conceited * She was a vainglorious and arrogant individual. 3596. valedictory : pertaining to farewell * I found the valedictory address too long; leave-taking should be brief. 3597. valid : logically convincing; sound; legally acceptable * You're going to have to come up with a better argument if you want to convince me that your reasoning is valid. 3598. validate : confirm; ratify * I will not publish my findings until I validate my results. 3599. valor : bravery * He received the Medal of Honor for his valor in battle. 3602. vantage : position giving an advantage * They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find. 3604. variegated : many-colored * Without her glasses, Gretchen saw the fields of tulips as a variegated blur. 3608. vegetate : live in a monotonous way * I do not understand how you can vegetate in this quiet village after the adventurous life you have led. 3609. vehement : impetuous; with marked vigor * He spoke with vehement eloquence in defense of his client. 3619. vent : small opening; outlet * The wine did not flow because the air vent in the barrel was clogged. 3620. vent : express; utter * He vented his wrath on his class. 3623. venturesome : bold * A group of venturesome women were the first to scale Mt.Annapurna. 3625. veracious : truthful * I can recommend him for this position because I have always found him veracious and reliable. 3626. veracity : truthfulness * Trying to prove Hill a liar, Senator Spector repeatedly questioned her veracity. 232 3627. verbalize : put into words * I know you don't like to talk about these things, but please try to verbalize your feelings. 3628. verbatim : word for word * He repeated the message verbatim. 3629. verbiage : pompous array of words * After we had waded through all the verbiage, we discovered that the writer had said very little. 3630. verbose : wordy * This article is too verbose; we must edit it. 3633. verge : border; edge * Madame Curie knew she was on the verge of discovering the secrets of radioactive elements. 3634. verisimilitude : appearance of truth; likelihood * Critics praised her for the verisimilitude of her performance as Lady Macbeth. She was completely believable. 3635. verity : truth; reality * The four verities were revealed to Buddha during his long meditation. 3638. versatile : having many talents; capable of working in many fields * He was a versatile athlete; at college he had earned varsity letters in baseball, football, and track. 3639. vertex : summit * Let us drop a perpendicular line from the vertex of the triangle to the base. 3640. vertigo : dizziness * We test potential plane pilots for susceptibility to spells of vertigo. 3644. viable : capable of maintaining life; practicable; workable * The infant, though prematurely born, is viable and has a good chance to survive. 3645. viand : food * There was a variety of viands at the feast. 3648. victuals : food * I am very happy to be able to provide you with these victuals; I know you are hungry. 3650. vigilance : watchfulness * Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. 3651. vigor : active strength * Although he was over seventy years old, Jack had the vigor of a man in his prime. 3653. vilify : slander * She is a liar and is always trying to vilify my reputation. 233 3654. vindicate : clear of charges * I hope to vindicate my client and return him to society as a free man. 3655. vindictive : revengeful * She was very vindictive and never forgave an injury. 3659. virtual : in essence; for practical purposes * She is a virtual financial wizard when it comes to money matters. 3660. virtue : goodness; moral excellence; good quality * A virtue carried to extremes can turn into something resembling vice; humility, for example, can degenerate into servility and spinelessness. 3661. virtuoso : highly skilled artist * The child prodigy Yehudi Menuhin grew into a virtuoso whose virtuosity on the violin thrilled millions. 3662. virulent : extremely poisonous * The virus is highly virulent and has made many of us ill for days. 3663. virus : disease communicator * The doctors are looking for a specific medicine to control this virus. 3664. visage : face; appearance * The stern visage of the judge indicated that she had decided to impose a severe penalty. 3667. viscous : sticky, gluey * Melted tar is a viscous substance. 3668. vise : tool for holding work in place * Before filling its edges, the keysmith took the blank key and fixed it firmly between the jaws of a vise. 3669. visionary : produced by imagination; fanciful; mystical * She was given to visionary schemes that never materialized. 3670. vital : vibrant and lively; critical; living, breathing * The vital, highly energetic first aid instructor stressed that it was vital in examining accident victims to note their vital signs. 3675. vivacious : lively or animated; sprightly * She had always been vivacious and sparkling. 3676. vivisection : act of dissecting living animals * The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals opposed vivisection and deplored the practice of using animals in scientific experiments. 3678. vociferous : clamorous; noisy * The crowd grew vociferous in its anger and threatened to take the law into its own hands. 3681. volition : act of making a conscious choice 234 * She selected this dress of her own volition. 3682. voluble : fluent; glib * She was a voluble speaker, always ready to talk. 3683. voluminous : bulky; large * Despite her family burdens, she kept up a voluminous correspondence with her friends. 3684. voluptuous : gratifying the senses * The nobility during the Renaissance led voluptuous lives. 3685. voracious : ravenous * The wolf is a voracious animal, its hunger never satisfied. 3686. vortex : whirlwind; whirlpool; center of turbulence; predicament into which one is inexorably plunged * Sucked into the vortex of the tornado, Dorothy and Toto were carried from Kansas to Oz. 3689. vulnerable : susceptible to wounds * Achilles was vulnerable only in his heel. 3700. wanton : unrestrained; willfully malicious; unchaste * Pointing to the stack of bills, Sheldon criticized Sarah for her wanton expenditures. In response, Sara accused Sheldon of making an unfounded, wanton attack. 3710. weather : endure the effects of weather or other forces * He weathered the changes in his personal life with difficulty, as he had no one in whom to confide. 3711. welt : mark from beating or whipping * The evidence of child abuse was very clear; Jennifer's small body was covered with welts and bruises. 3714. wheedle : cajole; coax; deceive by flattery * She knows she can wheedle almost anything she wants from her father. 3716. whet : sharpen; stimulate * The odors from the kitchen are whetting my appetite; I will be ravenous by the time the meal is served. 3728. winsome : agreeable; gracious; engaging * By her winsome manner, she made herself liked by everyone who met her. 3729. wispy : thin; slight; barely discernible * Worried about preserving his few wispy tufts of hair, Walter carefully massaged his scalp and applied hair restorer every night. 3731. withdrawn : introverted; remote * Rebuffed by his colleagues, the initially outgoing young researcher became increasingly withdrawn. 235 3732. wither : shrivel; decay * Cut flowers are beautiful for a day, but all too soon they wither. 3738. worldly : engrossed in matters of this earth; not spiritual * You must leave your worldly goods behind you when you go to meet your Maker. 3746. wry : twisted; with a humorous twist * We enjoy Dorothy Parker's verse for its wry wit. 3747. xenophobia : fear or hatred of foreigners * When the refugee arrived in America, he was unprepared for the xenophobia he found there. 3750. yield : amount produced; crop; income on investment * An experienced farmer can estimate the annual yield of his acres with surprising accuracy. 3751. yield : give in; surrender * The wounded knight refused to yield to his foe. 3752. yoke : join together, unite * I don't wish to be yoked to him in marriage, as if we were cattle pulling a plow. 3753. yokel : country bumpkin * At school, his classmates regarded him as a yokel and laughed at his rustic mannerisms. 3756. zeal : eager enthusiasm * Wang's zeal was contagious; soon all his fellow students were busily making posters, inspired by his ardent enthusiasm for the cause. 3757. zealot : fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal * It is good to have a few zealots in our group for their enthusiasm is contagious. 236 PART IV QUIZ QUIZ ONE 1.antebellum 1.quarrelsome 2.appease 2.solemn agreement 3.rebellion 3.to make peaceful 4.pacify 4.before the war 5.pacifist 5.aggressiveness 6.belligerence 6.opposition to authority 7.pact 7.to calm by satisfying 8.bellicose 8.one who opposes war 1.utter honesty 1.approbation 2.approval 2.reprobate 3.rascal 3.recrimination 4.demonstrate as false 4.criminology 5.study of illegal behavior 5.probity 6.accuse 6.disprove 7.reduce penalty for 7.decriminalize 8.counterattack 8.incriminate 1.levity 1.solemn dignity 2.gravitas 2.relieve 3.gravid 3.lift, raise 4.alleviate 4.something that lightens 5.elevate 5.move toward as if drawn 6.leavening 6.pregnant 7.gravity 7.lack of seriousness 8.gravitate 8.seriousness 237 QUIZ TWO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. synagogue provenance prodigal venturesome agitate advent litigate venue conjecture protracted dejected retraction trajectory detract adjacent intractable hypothermia a. courthouse b. arena c. temple d. cinema a. part of France b. origin c. Italian cheese d. invitation a. brilliant b. poor c. missing d. lavish a. daring b. western c. forthright d. timid a. soothe b. vibrate c. consume d. shake up a. propaganda b. arrival c. commerce d. departure a. select a jury b. judge c. argue in court d. negotiate a. jury b. place c. menu d. decision a. suppose b. conclude c. guess d. know a. lengthened b. continued c. circular d. extended a. excited b. downcast c. depressed d. forlorn a. withdrawal b. regret c. disavowal d. denial a. curve b. path c. line d. target a. decrease b. diminish c. defy d. minimize a. near b. adjourned c. touching d. bordering a. impossible b. uncontrollable c. stubborn d. untouchable a. excitability b. subnormal temperature c. external temperature d. warmth thermo cline a. area of warm water b. area of cold water c. area between warm and cold water d. deep ocean water hypocrisy a. dislike b. low energy c. insincerity d. nickname thermal a. keeping out b. keeping warm c. keeping safe d. keeping cold hypothetical a. typical b. substandard c. sympathetic d. assumed thermocouple a. temperature gauge b. nuclear reaction trigger c. ocean current gauge d. altitude gauge thermonuclear a. nuclear reaction requiring high heat b. chemical reaction requiring a vacuum c. biological reaction producing bright light d. nuclear reaction based on distance from the sun 238 1.flattering 2.persuade 3.temptation 4.subtraction 5.helpful 6.ordered 7.produce 8.significant 1.affinity 2.susceptible 3.definitive 4.reception 5.finite 6.incipient 7.infinitesimal 8.perceptible 1.ambivalent 2.epithet 3.amphitheater 4.epiphyte 5.ambiguous 6.epitaph 7.ambient 8.ephemeral 1.deduction 1.denial 2.obsequious 2.assume 3.induce 3.depressed 4.execute 4.difficult 5.seduction 5.take away 6.consequential 6.drawn out 7.conducive 7.curved path 8.sequential 8.nearby 1.noticeable 2.ultimate 3.beginning 4.easily influenced 5.tiny 6.attraction 7.receiving 8.limited 1.having more than one 2.surrounding 3.wavering 4.grave inscription 5.stage surrounded with tiered seats 6.descriptive nickname 7.short-lived 8.non-parasitic plant growing on another 1.protracted 2.adjacent 3.trajectory 4.retraction 5.conjecture 6.intractable 7.detract 8.dejected 239 QUIZ THREE 1.dissipate 2.homonym a. drink slowly b. scatter c. make pale d. undo a. word meaning the same a another b. word spelled and sounded the same as another c. one with same name as another d. one who loves another of the same sex 3.disseminate a. spread widely b. plant in rows c. dissolve d. make longer 4.homogeneous a. self-loving b. unusually brilliant c. having many parts d. consistent throughout 5.diffraction a. breaking up of friendships b. breaking up of light waves c. breaking up of meetings d. breaking up of atoms 6.homologous a. of different length b. of similar size c. of different stages d. of similar origin 7.dissension a. confusion b. disagreement c. satisfaction d. curiosity 8.homophone a. word that sounds like another b. word that means the same thing as another c. word that looks like another d. word relating to sexual desire 1.bad faith 1.perfidy 1.simultaneous 1.impediment 2.timid 2.creditable 2.obstacle 2.precursor 3.acceptance 3.diffident 3.hasty 3.expedient 4.trust-based 4.credulity 4.forerunner 4.discursive 5.sworn document 5.creed 5.convenient 5.pedestrian 6.well-done 6.affidavit 6.speed up 6.expedite 7.principles 7.fiduciary 7.rambling 7.cursory 8.trustfulness 8.credence 8.ordinary 8.concurrent 1.posthumous a. before the event b. born prematurely c. occurring after death d. early in development 2.flexor a. radar detector b. muscle c. sunscreen d. bone 3.posterior a. on the front b. on the back c. underneath d. on top 4.deflect a. fold over b. kneel c. turn aside d. protect 5.postmodern a. ultramodern b. traditional c. contemporary d. using past styles 6.inflection a. style in art b. change in pitch c. muscle d. part to the rear 7.genuflect a. kneel b. flex a muscle c. fold back d. change one’s tone of voice 8.postmortem a. after the event b. before the event c. caused by the event d. causing the event 240 QUIZ FOUR 1.malevolent 2.cataclysm 3.malign 4.catacomb 5.malicious 6.catatonic 7.malnourished 8.catalyst 1.orthodox 2.rectify 3.orthopedics 4.rector 5.orthography 6.rectitude 7.orthodontics 8.rectlinear 1.derogatory 2.inquisition 3.abrogate 4.perquisite 5.prerogative 6.acquisitive 7.requisition 8.arrogate 1.deplete 2.replete 3.odometer a. wishing evil b. wishing well c. blowing violently d. badly done a. loud applause b. feline behavior c. natural disaster d. inspiration a. speak well of b. speak to c. speak ill of d. speak of repeatedly a. underground road b. underground cemetery c. underground spring d. underground treasure a. vague b. explosive c. confusing d. mean a. refreshing b. slow c. motionless d. boring a. fed frequently b. fed poorly c. fed excessively d. fed occasionally a. literary agent b. insurance agent c. cleaning agent d. agent of change a. straight b. pier c. conventional d. waterfowl a. redo b. make right c. modify d. make longer a. foot surgery b. children’s medicine c. medical dictionaries d. treatment of skeletal defects a. warden b. headmaster c. direction d. effect a. correct color b. correct map c. correct direction d. correct spelling a. roughness b. integrity c. certainty d. sameness a. dentistry for children b. dentistry for gums c. dentistry for crooked teeth d. dentistry for every one a. moving in a straight line b. moving in a curved line c. moving at 45o angle d. moving in a circle a. critical b. unflattering c. admiring d. scornful a. examination b. interrogation c. pardon d. inquiry a. neglect b. abolish c. steal d. ignore a. privilege b. bonus c. salary d. right a. right b. persuasion c. power d. privilege a. grateful b. grasping c. grabby d. greedy a. purchase order b. receipt c. request d. demand a. claim b. seize c. grab d. release a. straighten out b. draw down c. fold d. abandon a. refold b. repeat c. abundantly provided d. fully clothed a. intelligence measurer b. heart-rate measure c. height measurer d. distance measurer 241 4.tachometer a. speed measurer b. sharpness measurer c. fatigue measurer d. size measurer 5.complement a. praise b. number required c. abundance d. usual dress 6.metric a. relating to poetic rhythm b. relating to ocean depth c. relating to books d. relating to particles of matter 7.implement a. put to death b. put to pasture c. put into practice d. put to sleep 8.symmetrical a. uncomplicated b. measured c. unattractive d. balanced 1.to date before 1.protocol 1.dystrophy 1.impaired 2.cell contents 2.antechamber 2.euphemism 2.beset by indigestion 3.morning 3.protagonist 3.dyslexia 3.muscular deterioration 4.rules of behavior 4.ante meridiem 4.eugenic 4.crusading zeal 5.towards the front 5.protoplasm 5.dysfunctional 5.polite term 6.model 6.antedate 6.euphoria 6.reading disorder 7.waiting room 7.prototype 7.dyspeptic 7.promoting superior 8.hero or heroine 8.anterior 8.evangelism 8.great happiness 1.symmetrical 1.drain 2.tachometer 2.put to use 3.metric 3.counterpart 4.replete 4.balanced 5.odometer 5.distance measurer 6.deplete 6.speed measurer 7.implement 7.full 8.complement 8.relating to a measuring system 242 QUIZ FIVE 1.sinecure 2.curator 3.periodontal 4.peripatetic 5.procure 6.curative 7.perimeter 8.periheral 1.theosophy 2.sentiment 3.sensuous 4.sophomoric 5.sophistry 6.sentient 7.sophisticated 8.sensational 1.inaudible 2.auditory 3.ultrasound 4.resonance 5.auditor 6.sonic 7.dissonant 8.audition a. hopeful sign b. fruitless search c. careless act d. easy job a. doctor b. lawyer c. caretaker d. spectator a. visual b. inside a tooth c. around a tooth c. wandering a. wandering b. unemployed c. surrounding d. old-fashioned a. say b. obtain c. look after d. heal a. purify b. healing c. saving d. repairing a. factor b. characteristic c. supplement d. boundary a. supplementary b. around a tooth c. wandering d. dangerous 1.immaturely overconfident 2.outstandingly excellent 3.docrine of God and the world 4.gratifying the senses 5.false reasoning 6.opinion colored by emotion 7.receiving perceptions 8.highly complex 1.involving sound 1.compared to 1.introspection 2.impossible to hear 2.shrewd 2.visitation 3.diagnostic technique 3.prophet 3.vis-a-vis 4.a critical hearing 4.appearance 4.auspicious 5.relating to hearing 5.self-examination 5.perspicacious 6.unharmonious 6.noticeable 6.visionary 7.finacial examiner 7.favorable 7.conspicuous 8.continuing or echoing sound 8.official call 8.visage 243 QUIZ SIX 1.inherent 2.fugue a. part of b. inherited c. confused d. loyal a. mathematical formula b. musical form c. marginal figure d. masonry foundation 3.adherent a. sticker b. stinker c. follower d. flower 4.centrifugal a. moving upward b. moving backward c. moving downward d. moving outward 5.cohesion a. unity b. thoughtfulness c. uniformity d. thoughtlessness 6.suterfuge a. overhead serve b. underhanded plot c. powerful force d. secret supporter 7.incoherent a. attached b. constant c. controlled d. confused 8.fugitive a. traveler b. sailor c. escapee d. drifter 1.injunction a. order b. position c. fact d. connection 2.impartial a. fair b. biased c. accurate d. opinionated 3.adjunct a. warning b. addition c. disclosure d. difference 4.participle a. verb part b. warning c. supplement d. guerrilla fighter 5.junta a. dance b. point c. group d. symphony 6.impart a. separate b. support c. favor d. disclose 7.disjunction a. prohibition b. break c. requirement d. intersection 8.partisan a. judge b. teacher c. supporter d. leader 1.force by moral pressure 1.remittance 2.letter 2.compel 3.drive irresistibly 3.repulsion 4.disgust 4.manumission 5.agent 5.expel 6.payment 6.missive 7.drive out 7.impel 8.emancipation 8.emissary 1.glowing 1.lucubration 2.production of organic matter 2.phosphorescent 3.clarify 3.translucent 4.passing diffused light 4.elucidate 5.elemental particle 5.photogenic 6.brightly clear 6.photosynthesis 7.hard study 7.photon 8.visually appealing 8.lucent 244 1.cosmopolitan 2.omniscience 3.cosmetic 4.conscientious 5.unconscionable 6.cosmology 7.prescient 8.cosmos 1.having foresight 2.universe 3.universal knowledge 4.sophosticated 5.for the sake of appearance 6.scrupulous 7.inexcusable 8.decription of the universe 245 QUIZ SEVEN 1.convoluted a. spinning b. babbling c. grinding d. winding 2.turbine a. whirlpool b. engine c. headdress d. carousel 3.evolution a. process of development b. process of democracy c. process of election d. process of elimination 4.perturb a. reset b. inset c. preset d. upset 5.voluble a. whirling b. unpleasant c. talkative d. garbled 6.turbulent a. churning b. turning c. yearning d. burning 7.turbid a. flat b. calm c. confused d. slow 8. devolution a. handing down b. handing in c. turning up d. turning around 1.descant a. climb downward b. added melody c. supposed inability d. writing table 2.allude a. play b. detract c. avoid d. refer 3.incantation a. ritual chant b. ceremony c. solemn march d. recorded song 4.prelude a. aftermath b. conclusion c. introduction d. admission 5.cantata a. snack bar b. pasta dish c. sung composition d. farewell gesture 6.ludicrous a. tough b. laughable c. simple d. ugly 7.cantor a. singer b. refusal c. traitor d. gallop 8.collusion a. accidental crash b. illegal cooperation c. new material d. magic spell 1.matriculate a. give birth b. enroll c. tickle d. adjust 2.premonition a. introduction b. scolding c. pre maturity d. forewarning 3.matrilineal a. through the mother’s family b. graduating c. adopted c. female 4.monitory a. monetary b. mean c. cautionary d. enthusiastic 5.metropolitan a. urban b. suburban c. rural d. oceanic 6.monitor a. think b. persuade c. avoid d. watch 7.maternity a. motherhood b. childhood c. Robin Hood d. sainthood 8.admonish a. praise b. arrest c. await d. scold 1.monologue a. speech b. drama c. catalog d. boredom 2.impute a. imply b. revise c. attribute d. defy 3. reputed a. rethought b. accused c. determined d. believed 4. neologism a. new day b. new word c. new way d. new thought 5. putative a. assumed b. appointed c. solved d. ignored 6. genealogy a. generation b. inheritance c. family history d. height 7. disputatious a. courageous b. disproved c. unknown d. argumentative 8. eulogy a. high praise b. high flight c. high times d. high jump 246 1.voluable 1. murky 1.through the female line 2.turbine 2.fluent 2.warning 3.evolution 3.seething 3.sign up at school 4.turbid 4.complicated 4.regulate 5.devolution 5.turning engine 5.gently correct 6.perturb 6.degeneration 6.early suspicion 7.convoluted 7.disturb 7.motherliness 8.turbulent 8.progress 8.city 1.theater area 1.mariner 2.blue-green gem 2.terrestrial 3.under the ground 3.marina 4.near the sea 4.terrarium 5.contained habitat 5.maritime 6.seaman 6.parterre 7.small harbor 7.subterranean 8.earthly 8.aquamarine 1.monitor 2.premonition 3.maternity 4.metropolitan 5.matrilineal 6.matriculate 7.admonish 8.monitory 247 QUIZ EIGHT 1.resentment 1.penumbra 2.brownish color 2.travesty 3.installing in office 3.transvestite 4.cross-dresser 4.adumbrate 5.imitation 5.divest 6.get rid of 6.umbrage 7.near shadow 7.investiture 8.partially disclose 8.umber 1.deity 1.state ruled by religion 2.pantheistic 2.dramatic device 3.apotheosis 3.supreme being 4.divinity 4.non god believing 5.atheistic 5.godlines 6.divinatory 6.accepting all gods 7.theocracy 7.prophetic 8.deus ex machine 8.perfect example 1.accuse 1. accord 1.skilled craft man 1.artful 2.excuse 2.concordance 2.natural talent 2.artifice 3.agreement 3.mea culpa 3.skillfully sly 3.adaptation 4.heartfelt 4.discordant 4.expert 4.inept 5.grant 5.culpable 5.slyness 5.artisan 6.blamable 6.cordial 6.process of change 6.aptitude 7.disagreeing 7.inculpate 7.man-made object 7.adept 8.confession 8.exculpate 8.awkward 8.artifact 1.pandemic a. isolated b. widespread c. present d. absent 2.populace a. politics b. numerous c. masses d. popularity 3.endemic a. common b. absent c. infection d. occasional 4.demotic a. devilish b. common c. cultural d. useful 5.populous a. well-liked b. foreign c. numerous d. obscure 6.demographic a. describing politics b. describing populations c. describing policies d. describing epidemics 7.populist a. communist b. campaigner c. socialist d. believer in the people 8.vox populi a. public policy b. public survey c. public opinion d. public outrage 1.precision a. accuracy b. beauty c. conciseness d. dependence 2.decadent a. rotten b. generous c. self-indulgent d. ten years long 248 3.excise a. tax b. examine c. refuse d. cut out 4. recidivism a. backsliding b. backstabbing c. backscratching d. backslapping 5.incisive a. damaging b. direct c. dirty d. definite 6.casualty a. serious remark b. serious outlook c. serious condition d. serious injury 7.concise a. short b. sure c. shifting d. sharp 8. cadaver a. victim b. suspect c. corpse d. detective 249 QUIZ NINE 1.mysterious 1.apocryphal 1.thorough 1.renaissance 2.code writing 2.abstraction 2.beginning 2.pediatrician 3.fake 3.abscond 3.boring teacher 3.cognate 4.difficult 4.cryptic 4.related 4.encyclopedic 5.tomb 5.abstruse 5.present from birth 5.nascent 6.theory 6.crypt 6.education 6.pedant 7.self-controlled 7.cryptography 7.revival 7.innate 8.flee 8.abstemious 8.children’s doctor 8.pedagogy 1.fertile 1.supreme 1. avert 1.with many uses 2.transcendent 2.implied conclusion 2.spherical 2.upper atmosphere 3.deferential 3.glorification 3.divert 3.wrongheaded 4.transfiguration 4.productive 4.hemisphere 4.avoid 5.proliferate 5.multiply 5.versatile 5.half-sphere 6.transient 6.yielding 6.biosphere 6.entertain 7.inference 7.passing 7.stratosphere 7.globelike 8.transfuse 8.transfer 8.perverse 8.life zone 1.indoctrinate 1.instruction costs 2.tutelage 2.easily led 3.doctrine 3.fill with a point of view 4.tutorial 4. insight 5.doctrinaire 5.guardianship 6.intuition 6.teaching 7.docile 7.individual instruction 8.tuition 8.rigidly principled 1.disposition a. temperature b. personality c. anger d. riddance 2.tenacious a. sticking b. intelligent c. loving d. helping 3.superimpose a. surpass b. put into c. place over d. amaze 4.abstinence a. self-help b. self-will c. self-service d. self-restraint 5.repository a. tomb b. storage container c. office d. library 6.tenable a. decent b. tough c. reasonable d. controlled 7.component a. part b. whole c. some d. all 8.sustenance a. substance b. apartment c. clothing d. nourishment 1.evince a. reveal b. throw out c. eject d. overcome 2.interminable a. remarkable b. unthinkable c. reliable d. eternal 3.terminollgy a. instruction b. design c. vocabulary d. technology 250 4.provincial a. professional b. global c. local d. national 5.invincible a. unsuitable b. impossible c. inflammable d. unconquerable 6.terminal a. fatal b. technical c. verbal d. similar 7.indeterminate a. lengthy b. uncertain c. unending d. likely 8.victimize a. conquer b. applaud c. deceive d. invite 1.docile a. tame b. learned c. taught d. beloved 2.tuition a. requirement b. instruction c. resolution d. housing 3.indoctrinate a. medicate thoroughly b. research thoroughly c. instruct thoroughly d. consider thoroughly 4.tutelage a. responsibility b. protection c. instruction d. safeguard 5.doctrine a. solution b. principle c. religion d. report 6.tutorial a. small class b. large class c. night class d. canceled class 7.doctrinaire a. by the way b. by the by c. by the rule d. by the class 8.intuition a. ignorance b. quick understanding c. payment d. consideration 251 QUIZ TEN 1.topical 1.central point 2.egocentric 2.centered on one’s own group 3.topiary 3.away from its usual place 4.ethnocentric 4.self-centered 5.topography 5.of current interest 6.eccentric 6.ornamentally pruned 7.ectopic 7.placed off-center 8.epicenter 8.landscape features 1.retrogress 1.enormous 2.propitious 2.effective as of earlier 3.retrospective 3.promising 4.retrofit 4.put off 5.procrastinate 5.review of a body of work 6.prophylaxis 6.revert to an earlier state 7.retroactive 7.disease prevention 8.prodigious 8.modernize 1.chronic 1.current 2.temporal 2.order of events 3.anachronism 3.ongoing 4.extemporaneous 4.happening at the same time 5.synchronous 5.talk to fill time 6.temporize 6.unplanned 7.chronology 7.measurable by time 8.contemporary 8.something from the past 1.ancient 1.perennial 2.of the same age 2.longevity 3.yearly payment 3.primeval 4.era of earthly paradise 4.coeval 5.of the Middle ages 5.millennium 6.worn out 6.annuity 7.length of life 7.medieval 8.continuing 8.superannuated 1.domination a. name b. control c. attraction d. movement 2.habitation a. custom b. limit c. dwelling d. chewing 3.domicile a. imbecile b. ridicule c. home d. supremacy 252 4.inhibit a. live in b. laugh at c. restrain d. retrain 5.dominion a. weakness b. kingdom c. game d. habit 6.habitual a. customary b. concise c. ordinary d. gnawing 7.predominant a. longest b. lightest c. strongest d. earliest 8.exhibitionist a. show-off b. shower c. show time d. showdown 1.perennial a. flowerlike b. excellent c. everlasting d. thorough 2.longevity a. length b. long life c. longitude d. longing 3.superannuated a. amazing b. huge c. aged d. perennial 4.coeval a. ancient b. simultaneous c. same-sized d. continuing 5.millennium a. thousand b. century c. era d. a thousand years 6.annuity a. annual event b. annual payment c. annual income d. annual garden 7.medieval a. antiquated b. middle-aged c. romantic d. knightly 8.primeval a. wicked b. elderly c. primitive d. muddy 1.codify a. conceal b. list c. disobey d. interpret 2.signet a. stamp b. gold ring c. Pope’s sign d. baby swan 3.codicil a. small fish b. one-tenth c. amendment to a will d. legal objection 4.assignation a. signature b. assassination c. secret lover d. appointment 5.resign a. accept b. appoint c. assign d. arrest 6. codex a. private seal b. handwritten book c. secret letter d. coded message 7.signatory a. document b. agreement c. banner d. consigner 8.decode a. explain b. conceal c. symbolize d. disguise 253 QUIZ ELEVEN 1.philology a. study of cigars b. study of trees c. study of language d. study of love 2.negligible a. small b. correctable c. noteworthy d. considerate 3.oenophile a. pig lover b. book lover c. word lover d. wine lover 4.renegade a. restorer b. rebel c. reformer d. realist 5.philatelist a. stamp collector b. gem collector c. wine collector d. coin collector 6. abnegation a. abundance b. abruptness c. self-denial d. self-satisfaction 7.philter a. healing lotion b. sieve c. car part d. love potion 8.renege a. repeat b. go back on c. renegotiate d. overturn 1.fungible a. identical b. unique c. exchangeable d. defective 2.permutation a. perversion b. rearrangement c. deviation d. inflation 3.functionary a. bureaucrat b. hard worker c. activist d. executive 4.transmute a. reconsider b. send away c. silence d. convert 5.perfunctory a. perfect b. mechanical c. thorough d. persuasive 6.immutable a. unchangeable b. immature c. noisy d. defiant 7.malfunction a. work slowly b. work improperly c. work evilly d. work mechanically 8.commutation a. driving b. train ride c. replacement d. review 1.correlate a. carry over b. show a relationship c. get along d. compare 2.degrade a. reduce in size b. raise in esteem c. lower in rank d. increase in importance 3.collate a. arrange in order b. distribute c. review d. produce 4.graduate a. go to school b. measure exactly c. increase in size d. rise to a higher stage 5.prelate a. high church official b. foremost player c. important officer d. graduate degree 6.gradation a. program in a series b. stage in a series c. eventual decline d. definite improvement 7.relativity a. galactic travel b. altered speed of light c. relationship between mass, energy, and time d. relationship of human races 8.retrograde a. moving in reverse b. grading again c. primitive d. switching grades 1.dynamo a. powerhouse b. force unit c. time interval d. power outage 2.incumbent a. coming in b. retiring c. holding office d. standing up 3.dynasty a. glamorous clam b. ruling family c. great wealth d. powerful leader 4.succumb a. rest b. enchant c. approach d. give up 5. incubate a. brood b. store c. lie down d. sleep 6. hydrodynamic a. relating to moving fluids b. water-resistant 254 7.recumbent 8.dynamic 1.recapitulate 2.misanthropic 3.capitalism 4.anthropoid 5.decapitate 6.anthropology 7.capitulate 8.philanthropy 1.telepathic 2.refraction 3.telemetry 4.fragmentary 5.telegenic 6.fractious 7.teleological 8.infraction c. relating to boats d. relating to water a. tired again b. lying down c. vulnerable d. not straight a. explosive b. energetic c. excited d. dangerous 1.free-market system 2.charitable act 3.surrender 4.summarize 5.hating humans 6.study of cultures 7.ape 8.behead 1.incomplete 2.quarrelsome 3.mind-reading 4.distortion 5.violation 6.well-suited to television 7.long-distance measurement 8.relating to design or purpose 255 QUIZ TWELVE 1.persevere 2.metonymy 3.permeate 4metaphysics 5.peremptory 6.percolate 7.metaphorical 8.metabolism 1.prerequisite 2.paragon 3.predispose 4.paradigm 5.precept 6.paradox 7.precocious 8.parameter 1.paternlistic 2.nomenclature 3.patrimony 4.misnomer 5.expatriate 6.nominal 7.ignominious 8.patrician 1.hyperactive 2.subjugate 3.hyperventilate 4.subconscious 5.hypertension 6.subversion 7.hyperbole 8.subliminal 1.seep 2.equating one thing with another 3.spread throughout 4.keep going 5.use of an associated term 6.study of the nature of things 7.biological absorption processes 8.abrupt and final a. pattern b. requirement c. preference d. direction a. geometric figure b. imposing figure c. model of excellence d. location a. recycle b. eliminate c. demonstrate d. influence a. example b. punishment c. tale d. characteristic a. general rule b. teacher c. contradiction d. model a. contrary belief b. instructive c. opposing truths d. painful truth a. nearly cooked b. maturing early c. self-contradictory d. necessary a. rule b. requirement c. large framework d. characteristic element 1.wrong name 2.aristocrat 3.exercising fatherly 4.heritage 5.naming system 6.disgraceful 7.in name only 8.living abroad 1.breathe deeply and rapidly 2.secret effort to overthrow 3.extreme overstatement 4.not strong enough to be sensed 5.beneath the level of consciousness 6.overly active 7.conquer 8.high blood pressure 256 1.place of misery 2.unrestrained 3.remove offensive material 4.mix or moderate 5.purifying 6.moderation or abstinence 7.remove impure elements 8.egg-based paint 1.tempera 2.purge 3.temperance 4.purgative 5.temper 6.expurgate 7.intemperate 8.purgatory 257 QUIZ THIRTEEN 1.vivacious a. sweet-tempered b. loud c. lively d. gluttonous 2.extort a. obtain by force b. pay up c. engage in crime d. exterminate 3.vivisection a. living area b. animal experimentation c. experimental treatment d. removal of organs 4.torsion a. elasticity b. twisting c. body trunk d. axis 5.convivial a. life-giving b. drunk c. contrary d. sociable 6.tortuous a. painful b. winding c. harmful d. monstrous 7.revivify a. revive b. reclaim c. retain d. restrain 8.tort a. deformity b. law c. product d. injury 1.explicate a. explain b. bend c. fold d. mutilate 2.expunge a. mop up b. partially restore c. remove completely d. hesitate slightly 3.supplication a. substitution b. plea c. use d. subdivision 4.pungent a. sharp b. rotten c. round d. funny 5.punctilious a. pointed b. careful c. prompt d. unusual 6.replicate a. reflect b. breed c. copy d. measure 7.compunction a. desire b. bravery c. scruple d. conviction 8.implicit a. difficult b. unspoken c. written d. faithful 1.complaisant 1.relating to written matter 2.context 2.unchangeable 3.placebo 3.underlying meaning 4.texual 4.eager to please 5.placidity 5.setting of spoken or written words 6.subtext 6.harmless substance 7.implacable 7.excuse hiding a real motive 8.pretext 8.peacefulness 1.autocratic 1.recovery 2.declaim 2.noble 3.plutocracy 3.noisy din 4.acclamation 4.government official 5.reclamation 5.speak formally 6.bureaucrat 6.ruled by one person 7.clamor 7.rule by the rich 8.aristocrat 8.acceptance with cheers 258 QUIZ FOURTEEN 1.needless repetition 1.mandate 1.commensurate 1.prohibit 2.required 2.undulant 2.proscribe 2.aspect 3.flood 3.commendation 3.immensity 3.engraving 4.formal citation 4.redundancy 4.conscription 4.equivalent 5.reflect 5.inundate 5.dimension 5.measurable 6.direct 6.remand 6.circumscribe 6.limit 7.wavy 7.mandatory 7.mensurable 7.hugeness 8.send back 8.redound 8.inscription 8.draft 1.prevalent 1.brave 2.virago 2.masculinity 3.vituosity 3.confirm 4.virility 4.strong woman 5.valorous 5.skill 6.triumvirate 6.widespread 7.equivalent 7.three-person board 8.validate 8.similar in value 1.sanction a. criminalize b. punish c. trade d. approve 2.elocution a. public opinion b. public speaking c. public platform d. public transportation 3.sacrilege a. religion b. blasphemy c. priest d. conviction 4.sacrosanct a. sacred b. churchlike c. Christian d. priestly 5.loquacious a. abundant b. silent c. talkative d. informative 6.sanctuary a. belief b. holiness c. cemetery d. refuge 7.colloquial a. slangy b. disrespectful c. conversational d. uneducated 8.circumlocution a. exaggeration b. excess of words c. falsehood d. confusion 1.excrescence a. disgust b. outgrowth c. extremity d. unusual formation 2.suffuse a. overwhelm b. flow c. spread through d. inject 3.accrection a. layer b. eruption c. decision d. buildup 4.effusive a. emotional b. gradual c. continual d. general 5.increment a. entrance b. slight increase c. construction d. income 6.diffuse a. consider b. make harmless c. spread widely d. pour in 7.crescent a. pie-shaped b. half-full c. stickle-shaped d. increasing 8.profusion a. distinction b. abundance c. addition d. completion 1.ascendancy a. growth b. climb c. control d. rank 2.extenuating a. partly balding b. partly excusing c. partly specific d. partly mending 259 3.descendant 4.tenure 5.transcend 6.attenuate 7.condescend 8.tenuous a. offspring b. ancestor c. cousin d. forerunner a. teaching b. term of office c. election d. grasp a. exceed b. astound c. fulfill d. transform a. make free b. make late c. make friends d. make thin a. stoop b. remove c. agree d. reject a. stretching b. tender c. insubstantial d. arranged 260
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