Vocabulary and Etymology / Week9

• ac-

academic (adj.)

✓relating to education, especially education in colleges and universities

example: The book brings together several academic disciplines.

account (n.)

✓a report or description of an event or experience

example: A detailed account of what has been achieved.

acquire (v.)

✓to get something, for example by buying it or being given it

example: We acquired the shares for £1.75 each.

• meta-

✓ indicating change, alteration, or alternation

metabolism (n.)

-       meaning: all the chemical processes by which cells produce the energy and substances necessary for life. Food is separated into the parts it is made up of to produce heat and energy to repair tissues, and to help growth to happen

-       example: Exercises to speed up your metabolism.

metamorphosis (n.)

-       meaning: a major change that makes someone or something very different

-       example: The metamorphosis of this tiny fishing village into a huge holiday resort.

Electoral College (United States)

The United States Electoral College is a mechanism established by Article Two of the United States Constitution in the indirect United States presidential election system to select the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States. Citizens of the United States vote in each state at a general election to choose a slate of "electors" pledged to vote for a party's candidate.

The Twelfth Amendment requires each elector to cast one vote for president and another vote for vice president. In each state and the District of Columbia, electors are chosen every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and then meet to cast ballots on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. The candidates who receive an absolute majority of electoral votes among the states are elected President and Vice President of the United States when the Electoral College vote is certified by Congress in January.

• fore-

✓ before in time or rank

foresight (n.)

-       meaning: the good judgment to think and plan before an event, so that you are prepared for whatever may happen

-       example: I’m glad you had the foresight to bring warm clothes.

foreman (n.)

-       meaning: a man who is in charge of a team of workers

-       example: One superintendent, one supervisor, one foreman and eight hourly employees were terminated.

✓ at or near the front; before in place

forehead (n.)

-       meaning: the upper part of your face between your eyes and your hair

-       example: She had a long face, with a high forehead.

forecourt (n.)

-       meaning: an open area in front of a large building or petrol station

-       example: There is a petrol forecourt at the front and a retail unit at the rear.

President-elect

A person who has been elected to a position but who has not yet been installed may be referred to as an officer-elect. For example, a President who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a President-elect.

• tele-

✓ at or over a distance; distant

telescope (n.)

-       meaning: an optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer, containing an arrangement of lenses, or of curved mirrors and lenses, by which rays of light are collected and focused and the resulting image magnified

-       example: Other stations showed images from the few optical telescopes in Earth orbit.

telekinesis (n.)

-       meaning: the supposed ability to move objects at a distance by mental power or other non-physical means

-       example: She possesses the power of telekinesis.

telemeter (n.)

-       meaning: an apparatus for recording the readings of an instrument and transmitting them by radio.

-       example: Radio signals from telemeters were detected by antennae surrounding each respirometer.

✓ by means of or via

television (n.)

-       meaning: a system for converting visual images (with sound) into electrical signals, transmitting them by radio or other means, and displaying them electronically on a screen

-       example: The days before television.

telephone (n.)

-       meaning:  a system for transmitting voices over a distance using wire or radio, by converting acoustic vibrations to electrical signals

-       example: A telephone call.

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc (6 January c. 1412[6] – 30 May 1431), nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (French: La Pucelle d'Orléans), is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War, and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. Joan of Arc was born to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée, a peasant family, at Domrémy in north-east France. Joan said she received visions of the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to support Charles VII and recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years' War. The uncrowned King Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted only nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII's coronation at Reims. This long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory.

vocabulary (w21~24)

juxtapose (v.) 

"to place (two or more objects) side by side or close together," 1826, a back-formation from juxtaposition or else from French juxtaposer (18c.). Related: Juxtaposed; juxtaposing.

incompatibility (n.) 

1610s, from incompatible + -ity, or from French incompatibilité (15c.).

cope (v.) 

late 14c., "come to blows with," from Old French couper, earlier colper "hit, punch," from colp "a blow" (see coup). Meaning evolved 17c. into "handle successfully," perhaps influenced by obsolete cope "to traffic" (15c.-17c.), a word in North Sea trade, from the Flemish version of the Germanic source of English cheap. Related: Coped; coping.

plight (n.2) 

"pledge," mid-13c., "pledge, promise," usually involving risk or loss in default, from Old English pliht "danger, risk, peril, damage," from Proto-Germanic *pleg- (source also of Old Frisian plicht "danger, concern, care," Middle Dutch, Dutch plicht "obligation, duty," Old High German pfliht, German Pflicht "obligation, duty" (see plight (v.)). Compare Old English plihtere "look-out man at the prow of a ship," plihtlic "perilous, dangerous."

covert (adj.) 

c. 1300, from Old French covert "hidden, obscure, underhanded," literally "covered," past participle of covrir "to cover" (see cover). Related: Covertly.

fabricate (v.) 

mid-15c., "to fashion, make, build," from Latin fabricatus, past participle of fabricare "to make, construct, fashion, build," from fabrica (see fabric). In bad sense of "tell a lie (etc.)," it is recorded by 1779. Related: Fabricated; fabricating.

connubial (adj.)

1650s, from Latin connubialis, variant of conubialis "pertaining to wedlock," from conubium "marriage," from com "with, together" (see com-) + nubere "to wed" (see nuptial).

demur (v.) 

c. 1200, "to linger, tarry, delay," from Old French demorer "delay, retard," from Latin demorari "to linger, loiter, tarry," from de- (see de-) + morari "to delay," from mora "a pause, delay" (see moratorium). Main modern sense of "raise objections" is first attested 1630s. Related: Demurred; demurring.

appellation (n.) 

late 15c., "action of appealing" (to a higher authority), from Old French apelacion (13c.), from Latin appellationem (nominative appellatio) "an addressing, accosting; an appeal; a name, title," noun of action from past participle stem of appellare (see appeal). Meaning "designation, name given to a person, thing, or class" is from mid-15c., from a sense also found in Middle French appeler.

incapacitate (v.) 

1650s in a legal sense; 1660s in general use, "deprive of natural power," from incapacity + -ate. Related: Incapacitated; incapacitating.

escalation (n.) 

1938, derived noun from escalate; the figurative sense is earliest, originally in reference to the battleship arms race among global military powers.

indifference (n.) 

mid-15c., "quality of being neither good nor bad, neutral quality," from Latin indifferentia "want of difference, similarity," noun of quality from indifferentem (see indifferent). From late 15c. as "lack of prejudice, impartiality;" from 1650s as "state of being apathetic." Meaning "comparative mediocrity, inexcellence"" is from 1864.

potential (adj.) 

late 14c., "possible" (as opposed to actual), from Old French potenciel and directly from Late Latin potentialis "potential," from Latin potentia "power, might, force;" figuratively "political power, authority, influence," from potens "powerful" (see potent). The noun, meaning "that which is possible," is first attested 1817, from the adjective.

cumulative (adj.) 

c. 1600, from Latin cumulatus, past participle of cumulare "to heap," from cumulus "heap" (see cumulus) + -ive.

recondite (adj.) 

1640s, "removed or hidden from view," from Old French recondit, from Latin reconditus, past participle of recondere "store away, hide, conceal, put back again, put up again, lay up," from assimilated form of com- "together" (see com-) + -dere "put," from PIE root *dhe- "to put, place" (source also of English do; see factitious). Meaning "removed from ordinary understanding, profound" is from 1650s; of writers or sources, "obscure," it is recorded from 1817.

acknowledge (v.) 

late 15c., "admit or show one's knowledge," a blend of Middle English aknow "admit or show one's knowledge" (from Old English oncnawan "understand, come to recognize," from on (see on (prep.)) + cnawan "recognize;" see know) and Middle English knowlechen "admit, acknowledge" (c. 1200; see knowledge). "By 16th c. the earlier vbs. knowledge and a(c)know ... were obs., and acknowledge took their place" [OED]. 

delude (v.) 

c. 1400, from Latin deludere "to play false; to mock, deceive," from de- "down, to one's detriment" (see de-) + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Related: Deluded; deluding.

palliate (v.) 

"alleviate without curing," early 15c., from Medieval Latin palliatus, literally "cloaked," from past participle of Late Latin palliare "cover with a cloak, conceal," from Latin pallium "cloak" (see pall (n.)). Related: Palliated; palliating; palliation.

prelude (n.) 

1560s, from Middle French prélude "notes sung or played to test the voice or instrument" (1530s), from Medieval Latin preludium "prelude, preliminary," from Latin praeludere "to play beforehand for practice, preface," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Purely musical sense first attested in English 1650s. Related: Prelusion.

chimerical (adj.) 

1630s, from chimera + -ical. Related: Chimeric (1650s).

maladjusted (adj.) 

1846, from mal- + adjusted (see adjust).

heterogenous (adj.) 

1690s, less-accepted form of heterogeneous. Related: Heterogeneity.

perspicacious (adj.) 

1630s, formed as an adjective to perspicacity, from Latin perspicax "sharp-sighted, having the power of seeing through; acute" (see perspicacity). Related: Perspicaciously; perspicaciousness.

analogous (adj.) 

"corresponding (to some other) in particulars," 1640s, from Latin analogus, from Greek analogos "proportionate, according to due proportion," from ana "throughout; according to" (see ana-) + logos "ratio, proportion," a specialized use (see logos). Used with to or with.

gamut (n.) 

1520s, "low G, lowest note in the medieval musical scale" (the system of notation devised by Guido d'Arezzo), a contraction of Medieval Latin gamma ut, from gamma, the Greek letter, used in medieval music notation to indicate the note below the A which began the classical scale, + ut (now do), the low note on the six-note musical scale that took names from syllables sung to those notes in a Latin sapphic hymn for St. John the Baptist's Day:

neurotic (adj.) 

1775, "acting upon or stimulating the nerves," from Greek neuron "nerve" (see neuro-) + -otic, as in hypnotic. Sense of "affected by neurosis" is 1887. The noun meaning "a neurotic person" is from 1896. Related: Neurotically.

decade (n.) 

mid-15c., "ten parts" (of anything; originally in reference to the books of Livy), from Middle French décade (14c.), from Late Latin decadem (nominative decas), from Greek dekas (genitive dekados) "group of ten," from deka "ten" (see ten). Meaning "period of ten years" is 1590s in English.

morality (n.) 

late 14c., "moral qualities," from Old French moralité "moral (of a story); moral instruction; morals, moral character" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin moralitatem (nominative moralitas) "manner, character," from Latin moralis (see moral (adj.)). Meaning "goodness" is attested from 1590s.

susceptible (adj.) 

c. 1600, from Late Latin susceptibilis "capable, sustainable, susceptible," from Latin suscept-, past participle stem of suscipere "to take, catch, take up, lift up; receive, admit; submit to; sustain, support, bear; acknowledge, accept," from sub "up from under" (see sub-) + capere "to take," from PIE root *kap- "to grasp" (see capable). Susceptive in the same sense is recorded from early 15c. Related: Susceptibly.

phenomenon (n.) 

1570s, "fact, occurrence," from Late Latin phænomenon, from Greek phainomenon "that which appears or is seen," noun use of neuter present participle of phainesthai "to appear," passive of phainein (see phantasm). Meaning "extraordinary occurrence" first recorded 1771. Plural is phenomena.

enunciate (v.) 

1620s, "declare, express," from Latin enunciatus, properly enuntiatus, past participle of enuntiare "speak out, say, express, assert; divulge, disclose, reveal, betray," from assimilated form of ex- "out" (see ex-) + nuntiare "to announce," from nuntius "messenger" (see nuncio). Or perhaps a back-formation from enunciation. Meaning "to articulate, pronounce" is from 1759. Related: Enunciated; enunciating.

irascible (adj.) 

late 14c., from Old French irascible (12c.) and directly from Late Latin irascibilis, from Latin irasci "be angry, be in a rage," from ira "anger" (see ire).

introspective (adj.) 

"having the quality of looking within," 1820 (Southey), from Latin introspect-, past participle stem of introspicere "look into, look at" (see introspection) + -ive. Related: Introspectively; introspectiveness.

pedagogue (n.) 

late 14c., "schoolmaster, teacher," from Old French pedagoge "teacher of children" (14c.), from Latin paedagogus, from Greek paidagogos "slave who escorts boys to school and generally supervises them," later "a teacher," from pais (genitive paidos) "child" (see pedo-) + agogos "leader," from agein "to lead" (see act (n.)). Hostile implications in the word are at least from the time of Pepys (1650s). Related: Pedagogal.

inordinate (adj.) 

late 14c., "not ordered, lacking order or regularity," from Latin inordinatus "unordered, not arranged," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + ordinatus, past participle of ordinare "to set in order" (see order (n.)). Sense of "immoderate, excessive" is from notion of "not kept within orderly limits." Related: Inordinately; inordinateness.

perpetuate (v.) 

1520s, a back-formation from perpetuation or else from Latin perpetuatus, past participle of perpetuare "to make perpetual," from perpetuus (see perpetual). Related: Perpetuated; Perpetuating.

catastrophic (adj.) 

1824, from catastrophe + -ic. Related: Catastrophical; catastrophically.

neutralize (v.) 

1734, "to render neutral" (in a chemical sense), from French neutraliser (17c.), from neutral (see neutral (adj.)). Meaning "to counterbalance, to kill by opposing" is from 1795. Related: Neutralized; neutralizing.

mandate (v.) 

1620s, "to command," from mandate (n.). Meaning "to delegate authority, permit to act on behalf of a group" is from 1958; used earlier in the context of the League of Nations, "to authorize a power to control a certain territory for some specified purpose" (1919). Related: Mandated; mandating.

compensatory (adj.) 

c. 1600, from French compensatoire, from Latin compensatus, past participle of compensare (see compensate). Psychological sense is from 1921.

inanimate (adj.) 

early 15c., "without vital force,having lost life," from Late Latin inanimatus "lifeless," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + animatus (see animation). The Latin word closest corresponding in form and sense is inanimalis. Meaning "lacking vivacity, without spirit, dull" is from 1734. Inanimate as a verb meant "infuse with life or vigor" (17c.), from the other in- (see in- (2)).

artifact (n.) 

1821, artefact, "anything made by human art," from Italian artefatto, from Latin arte "by skill" (ablative of ars "art;" see art (n.)) + factum "thing made," from facere "to make, do" (see factitious). The spelling with -i- is by 1884, by influence of the Latin stem. Archaeological application dates from 1890.

fetish (n.) 

"material object regarded with awe as having mysterious powers or being the representative of a deity that may be worshipped through it," 1610s, fatisso, from Portuguese feitiço "charm, sorcery, allurement," noun use of an adjective meaning "artificial." 

anthropologist (n.) 

1798, from anthropology + -ist.

bizarre (adj.) 

1640s, from French bizarre "odd, fantastic" (16c.), from Italian bizarro "irascible, tending to quick flashes of anger" (13c.), from bizza "fit of anger, quick flash of anger" (13c.). The sense in Italian evolved to "unpredictable, eccentric," then "strange, weird," in which sense it was taken into French and then English. Older derivation from Basque bizar "a beard" is no longer considered tenable.

taint (v.) 

1570s, "to corrupt, contaminate," also "to touch, tinge, imbue slightly" (1590s), from Middle English teynten "to convict, prove guilty" (late 14c.), partly from Old French ataint, past participle of ataindre "to touch upon, seize" (see attainder). Also from Anglo-French teinter "to color, dye" (early 15c.), from Old French teint (12c.), past participle of teindre "to dye, color," from Latin tingere (see tincture). Related: Tainted; tainting.

prohibition (n.) 

late 14c., "act of prohibiting, a forbidding by authority," from Anglo-French and Old French prohibition (early 13c.), from Latin prohibitionem (nominative prohibitio) "a hindering, forbidding; legal prohibition," noun of action from past participle stem of prohibere "hold back, restrain, hinder, prevent," from pro "away, forth" (see pro-) + habere "to hold" (see habit (n.)). Meaning "forced alcohol abstinence" is 1851, American English; in effect nationwide in U.S. as law 1920-1933 under the Volstead Act.

imprudent (adj.) 

late 14c., from Latin imprudentem (nominative imprudens) "not foreseeing, unaware, inconsiderate, heedless," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + prudens, contraction of providens, present participle of providere "to provide," literally "to see before (one)" (see provide). Related: Imprudently.

taboo (adj.) 

also tabu, 1777 (in Cook's "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean"), "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed," explained in some English sources as being from Tongan (Polynesian language of the island of Tonga) ta-bu "sacred," from ta "mark" + bu "especially." But this may be folk etymology, as linguists in the Pacific have reconstructed an irreducable Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu "sacred, forbidden" (compare Hawaiian kapu "taboo, prohibition, sacred, holy, consecrated;" Tahitian tapu "restriction, sacred, devoted; an oath;" Maori tapu "be under ritual restriction, prohibited"). The noun and verb are English innovations first recorded in Cook's book.

imperative (n.) 

mid-15c., in grammar; later "something imperative" (c. 1600), from Old French imperatif in the grammatical sense (13c.) and directly from Late Latin imperativus (see imperative (adj.)). In philosophy from 1796.

contemptuous (adj.) 

1590s, from Latin contemptus (see contempt). Related: Contemptuously.

absurd (adj.) 

"plainly illogical," 1550s, from Middle French absurde (16c.), from Latin absurdus "out of tune, discordant;" figuratively "incongruous, foolish, silly, senseless," from ab- "off, away from," here perhaps an intensive prefix, + surdus "dull, deaf, mute," which is possibly from an imitative PIE root meaning "to buzz, whisper" (see susurration). Thus the basic sense is perhaps "out of tune," but de Vaan writes, "Since 'deaf' often has two semantic sides, viz. 'who cannot hear' and 'who is not heard,' ab-surdus can be explained as 'which is unheard of' ..." The modern English sense is the Latin figurative one, perhaps "out of harmony with reason or propriety." Related: Absurdly; absurdness.

bigot (n.) 

1590s, "sanctimonious person, religious hypocrite," from French bigot (12c.), which is of unknown origin. Earliest French use of the word is as the name of a people apparently in southern Gaul, which led to the now-doubtful, on phonetic grounds, theory that the word comes from Visigothus. The typical use in Old French seems to have been as a derogatory nickname for Normans, the old theory (not universally accepted) being that it springs from their frequent use of the Germanic oath bi God. But OED dismisses in a three-exclamation-mark fury one fanciful version of the "by god" theory as "absurdly incongruous with facts." At the end, not much is left standing except Spanish bigote "mustache," which also has been proposed but not explained, and the chief virtue of which as a source seems to be there is no evidence for or against it. 

abhor (v.) 

mid-15c., from Latin abhorrere "shrink back from, have an aversion for, shudder at," from ab "off, away from" (see ab-) + horrere "tremble at, shudder," literally "to bristle, be shaggy," from PIE *ghers- "start out, stand out, rise to a point, bristle" (see horror). 

universal (adj.) 

late 14c., "pertaining to the whole of something specified; occurring everywhere," from Old French universel "general, universal" (12c.), from Latin universalis "of or belonging to all," from universus "all together, whole, entire" (see universe). In mechanics, a universal joint (1670s) is one which allows free movement in any direction. Universal product code is recorded from 1974.

originate (v.) 

1650s, probably a back-formation of origination. In earliest reference it meant "to trace the origin of;" meaning "to bring into existence" is from 1650s; intransitive sense of "to come into existence" is from 1775. Related: Originated; originating.

entreaty (n.) 

mid-15c., "treatment; negotiation;" see entreat + -y (1). Meaning "urgent solicitation, earnest request" is from 1570s. Related: Entreaties.

inviolable (adj.) 

mid-15c., "that is to be kept without violation" (of an oath, etc.), from Latin inviolabilis "inviolable, invulnerable," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + violabilis "that may be injured, easily wounded," from violare "to do violence to" (see violation). Meaning "having a right or guaranty of immunity" (of a place of sanctuary, etc.) is from 1570s. Meaning "incapable of being injured" is from 1520s. Related: Inviolably.

vulnerable (adj.) 

c. 1600, from Late Latin vulnerabilis "wounding," from Latin vulnerare "to wound, hurt, injure, maim," from vulnus (genitive vulneris) "wound," perhaps related to vellere "pluck, to tear" (see svelte), or from PIE *wele-nes-, from *wele- (2) "to strike, wound" (see Valhalla).

tradition (n.) 

late 14c., "statement, belief, or practice handed down from generation to generation," especially "belief or practice based on Mosaic law," from Old French tradicion "transmission, presentation, handing over" (late 13c.) and directly from Latin traditionem (nominative traditio) "delivery, surrender, a handing down, a giving up," noun of action from past participle stem of tradere "deliver, hand over," from trans- "over" (see trans-) + dare "to give" (see date (n.1)). The word is a doublet of treason (q.v.). Meaning "a long-established custom" is from 1590s. The notion is of customs, ways, beliefs, doctrines, etc. "handed down" from one generation to the next.