Vocab for classics 1100

• “two or more words in different
• languages which have the same root”

–e.g. mother/madre/mère/moeder

• a word borrowed from another word or
• root, usually from another language”

–e.g. Lat. rivus(“river bank”) > rival

• two words of the same language which are
• derived from the same original word,”e.g.

–Lat. fragilis(“breakable”): fragile/frail

• –Lat. amator(“lover”):
• amatory/amateur

• –Grk. gramma(“sign”):
• grammar/glamour

• “the process by which adjacent sounds
• (usually consonants) acquire similar or identical characteristics,”e.g.

•in-+ literate >

• •ob-+
• press >

• –the
• reason for this is to ease pronunciation

• “the
• tendency toward greater ease of pronunciation resulting in combinative changes,
• largely due to speed and economy of utterance”

• –e.g. ad-+
• -literation> alliteration

Illiterateoppress

• “a change
• in the internal vowel of a base, often when the base is prefixed,”e.g. •re-+ CAPT-+ -ion >•in-+ HAB-+ -it(e) + -ion >•the
• reason for this is that the lack of stress on the BASE leads to a weakening of
• its sound–but vowel gradation can occur for other reasons•POND-(“heavy”), e.g. ponderous•vs. PEND-(“hang”), e.g. pendant
• reception inhibition

• “an abbreviation that spells a word or pronounceable
• unit,”e.g.–zip (code):–yuppie: –scuba: –nimby: –snafu: –posh: Zone Improvement PlanYoung Urban ProfessionalSelf-Contained Underwater
• Breathing ApparatusNot In My Back YardSituation Normal All Fouled UpPort Out,
• Starboard Home

• the creation of simpler forms
• from more complex forms, usually by the removal of an affix,”e.g.

–reune< reunion

–surveil< surveillance

–lase/lasing < laser

• a
• word composed of elements drawn from different
• languages”–off-color:–superman:–ultrafast: –teledata: –audiophile:
• –microprocessor: •why are there hybrids? –why are there morons?
• English/LatinLatin/EnglishLatin/EnglishGreek/LatinLatin/GreekGreek/Latin

• an
• adjective which functions as a noun, without changing the form of the word,”
• e.g. a deductible

• –the
• good, the bad and the ugly

• –a
• heavy, a stiff, a moderate

• –the
• Aggies, Big Blue, the Longhorns, the Trojans

• –trojans,
• rubbers, prophylactics

• the process by which two
• similar or identical sounds diverge or become unlike, usually in order to
• facilitate pronunciation,”e.g. meridiem(< *medi-diem)

• –the most common form of
• dissimilation occurs with l/r, e.g. -arvs. -al suffixes

• •familiar
• < famili-al, cf. general

• •lunar
• < lun-al, cf. renal

–also, -iety< *-iity

• •piety, society, anxiety,
• notoriety, sobriety, propriety, variety, satiety

• an adjective formed from a
• verb, in English usually by adding -ing(present) or -ed (past) to a verb
• base,”e.g. preserving, preserved

• •n.b. Latin -t(um) is cognate
• with English -ed

• –-t(um) accounts for the
• frequency of two forms of a base

• •e.g. TEN-/TENT-(present/past);
• REG-/RECT-

the modification of meaning in a word”

–sema(Greek): “significance, meaning”

• •basic
• process: similitude >metaphor >new meaning

• –see
• Ayers, p.76

• –e.g.
• carrothead, egghead, meathead

• “an implied comparison between
• two things,”e.g. “All the world’s a stage…”

• –the armof a chair, the buttof
• a rifle, a ship plowingthrough waves, head over heels

• the process by which the meaning of a
• word moves from a more general to a more specific sense,”e.g.

–RADIC-: “root”>“one type of root, radish”

• –RAP-:
• “seize, pillage”> “seize a woman by
• force, rape”

• –VOT-:
• “wish, prayer”>“wish of a
• council, vote”

• –LIQUOR-:
• “fluid”>“alcoholic drink,
• liquor/liqueur”

• the process by which the
• meaning of a word moves from a more specific to a more general sense,”e.g.

• –TREMENDUS: “dreadful, to be
• trembled at”> “awesome, huge, amazing, very good, tremendous”

• –COMOEDIA: “party-song, ribald
• verse”> “humorous drama, anything funny or comical”

• –TRIUMPHUS: “Roman parade in
• honor of a victorious general”> “military conquest, any sort of triumph”

• the process by which a word takes on a
• new usage as a different part of speech, without a change in form or the
• addition of a suffix”

•vs. participles: verbs >adjectives, with the addition of a suffix

• –e.g.
• what’s in(or out): preposition >adjective

• –to
• outsomeone: preposition >verb

• –prosand
• cons: (Latin) prefix/preposition >noun

• –to while away
• the time: conjunction >verb

• –to
• firmup: adjective >verb

• –to
• blackout: adjective >verb

• •
• “the process by which a word comes to mean
• something more objectionable or contemptible than it did before,” e.g.
• intercourse (< “between + run/go”)

– monster:

• •
• Lat. monstrum (“omen, marvel”)

• •
• > “a horrific thing, a cruel person”

– rococo:

• •
• Fr. roche, rocaille (“rock,
• rock-work”)

• •
• > “florid and tasteless”

• •
• the process by which a word comes to mean
• something more pleasant or lofty than it did before”

• –
• eutopia: orig. utopia (“no-place”)

• •
• from Thomas Moore’s satire Utopia

• •
• > “an idyllic locale” (lit. “good-place”)

• •
• for u- prefix, cf. uchronia (“no-time”), a novel
• about an imaginary historical period, e.g. Hitler winning WWII

– angel: orig. “messenger” (Greek angelos)

• •
• > “a heavenly herald, a savior”

• •
• :“the process by which a word which is concrete
• in meaning comes to have an abstract sense, without the addition of a suffix”

• •
• –e.g., the association of a particular type of
• sensitivity with a part of the body:

• •
• •ear(hearing): She’s got a good “ear”for music.

• •
• •eye(seeing): The tennis player has a good
• “eye”for the ball.

• •
• •hand(control of an instrument): Rembrandt’s
• “hand”was clearly evident in the painting.

• •
• •lip(sassy speech): Don’t give me any more
• “lip”! Just do your homework

•

• •
• :“the
• process by which a word which is abstract in meaning comes to have a concrete
• sense, without the addition of a suffix”

• •
• –a
• very common type of
• change!

• •
• •because people find it easier on the whole to
• speak about concrete things rather than intangible abstracts

• •
• •also, when we need to create an abstract noun,
• we have many abstract noun-forming suffixes at our disposal, e.g.

• •
• –Latin: -imony (matrimony), -ity (propensity)

• •
• –English: -hood (childhood), -dom (freedom)

• •
• •but the reverse is less true: we have far fewer
• concrete noun-forming suffixes (“the result of,”“the product of”)

•

• •
• exaggeration”

• •
• –literally in
• Greek “over-throw”

• •
• –often used for
• emphasis or humorous effect

• •
• •i.e. it’s not
• meant to be taken literally but to get attention

• •
• –hyperbole is a
• natural extension of human exuberance and love of comedy

• •
• •works on the
• same principle as the rule that “bigger is better”

• •
• •in this case, a
• point becomes clearer and more interesting when it is overstated

• The process
• by which a word with a stronger sense acquires a weaker one–the constant
• fireworks in language can lead to boredom
• that boredom
• then creates a need for even more extreme languag–and that new
• extreme language suggests that the older, now less extreme language is merely
• the normal or unexaggerated way of saying something •this is why
• certain Latin prefixes came to represent mere intensification (ad-, con-, de-,
• ex-, etc. they were
• stronger forms that were “weakened”in later Latin
• mortify:
• originally, “kill”(lit., “make dead”)
• •>“humiliate, shame, embarrass”
• –unique: originally, “being one of a kind,
• standing as the only example of something”(from UN-, “one”) “very different,
• special”–atom: originally, “a thing that is
• unsplittable”(lit. “not-split”)
• “a thing that is
• very small” thus, “splitting the atom”is technically an oxmoron

• “the act of replacing a word which is more

• disagreeable or unpleasant with one that is less so”

• – also, “the more pleasant word which replaces the less

• pleasant one”

• •
• • n.b. “a euphemism”: example of
• abstract-to-concrete change

• “an
• indirect or lengthy way of

• expressing
• a simple or concrete idea”

• –
• n.b. the point of circumlocution is to avoid the obvious

• or
• literal, often to cover up or disguise a truth

• –
• e.g. from psychology: “His family is dysfunctional.”

• •
• – from sports: “He was a little
• shaken up on the play.”

• •
• the
• process by which a word changes form through a mistaken assimilation of that
• word to another word or form which it resembles”

• •
• –also
• called paronomasia (“mistaken word creation”)

• •
• •this
• is also the technical term for punning

• •
• –folk
• etymology is the product of misunderstanding

• •
• •i.e.
• basic human ignorance, especially of history

• •
• –e.g.
• momento, for memento

• •
• •a
• confusion of the Latin word memento(“remember!”) with the word “moment”(“importance, turning point”)

• •
• –as in “the moment of truth”or “of great
• moment”; cf. momentous

• •
• “a
• word which has lost its initial or final part (or both) but retains the same
• general meaning,”e.g.

• •
• –computer
• terminology

• •
• •boot
• <“bootstrapping program”or
• “bootstrap loader”

• •
• –a program which loads the rest of the operating
• system

• •
• –n.b. a metaphor from skiing

• •
• –medicine

• •
• •prep <prepare (e.g. for surgery)

• •
• •doc <doctor

• •
• •premie<premature baby

• •
• a
• word formed by combining two other words such that a part of each remains and
• the meaning of the new word suggests both of its constituent members,”e.g.

• •
• –herstory=her +history: “the study of
• the past focusing on issues relating to women’s lives and concerns”

• •
• –affluenza=affluent +influenza: “an unnatural
• interest in making and keeping wealth”

• •
• •also,
• called “portmanteau words”

• •
• –portmanteau:
• a steamer trunk that opens like a book

• •
• –phrase
• coined by Lewis Carroll