courage in this ____, perceived his ____ in the crime, and deplored his participation in the ____. They ____ him for an ____ promise that mercy would be shown. She was in a ____, for she had not had time to arrange her hair in its usual broad ____. He was ____ of body. The ____ was refused.
_Sentences_: The ____ said he would ____ the manner in which the cashier had made away with the ____. The true ____ of the ____ was now known, yet he retained his ____. For you to make yourself an ____ of these wild theories is an ____ on your friends. The closing hour at the ____ is ____ thirty minutes on account of the rush of Christmas mail. He was ____ that his ____ had ____ the letter. One of the ____ elements in his ____ was gloom.
_Sentences_: He had no ____ as to what the ____ would ____. His ____ was so great that he could scarcely ____ the fact that the ____ was his. The judge ____ them of the likelihood that they would be ____.
_Sentences_: The young ____ was placed on ____. The will was brought into the ____ court. It is ____ that such ____ as his will win the ____ of evil-doers.
_Sentences_: The volcano was in ____. Though ____, he remained ____. The ____ of the barbarians ____ these reforms. The organization was ____ after having already been put to ____. The ____ he had chosen led to a ____ in their relationships. It was ____ work.
_Sentences_: The ____ was so small that he scarcely noticed he ____ it. The officer was ____ in making the ____ upon every tax-payer fair. During the ____ Congress remained in ____. He ____ in the city and has a ____ occupation. When the officer who ____ is firm, such commotions will quickly ____. He ____ the disgraced commander.
_Sentences_: On the ____ day they continued the ____. In the ____ chapter of the ____ the heroine is ____. The ____ of events is hard to follow. The ____ was that her brother began to ____ her ____. The district attorney ____ six ____ offenders, but thought it useless to bring any ____ offender to trial. It was a ____ occasion.
_Sentences_: The ____ had on his face a ____ made by a ____ thrown at him. In that ____ an old custom for every one to ____ in the ____ the sheep. There was, instead of the usual ____ a cliff that rose from the sea. All ____ as the freshman was, he had hardly a ____ of his former dignity. The ____ was very one-sided. A ____ of mist was about him.
_Sentences_: He ____ his approval of the ____. The disturbance caused by his ____ was ____. He ____ no reason for ____ those particular men. As he could not write his own ____, I ____ the document for him. It was a ____ defeat.
_Sentences_: On account of his ____ course he had given his parents many a problem to ____. He ____ the powder in a cupful of water and ____ to give it to the patient. This ____ of the difficulty did not win the ____ approval of his employer. The obstacles were many, but he was ____.
_Sentences_: His ____ was conducted in such a manner as to show the utmost ____. In ____ she noticed an odor of ____. From his ____ you would have taken him to be a ____ of wild animal. The ____ was better than we had ____ it to be. Though you have no ____ fondness for children, you will enjoy the ____ of them playing together. The ____ did not ____ what underhand tactics some of the players were resorting to. In ____ of all this, we made a ____ showing. The ____ is one you cannot ____. ____ this ____ of matters, she did not ____ the cause of her ____, but let him ____ what it might be.
_Sentences_: At the ____ of a few days it ____ that a ____ had actually been formed. The ____ of the division was such that every man ____ to meet the enemy forthwith. He was a man of much ____ and marked powers of ____. As he lay there, he merely ____ and ____; he had no thought whatsoever of things ____.
_Sentences_: The ____ of the motion was that the student who had been expelled should be ____. He ____ in his ____ resolution to go on the ____. She could not ____ the pleas of ____ people. He ____ her to alight at the ____. In an ____ you shall ____ what the ____ was that drove me to tempt ____ thus. We had gone but a little ____ when I perceived by the hungry working of his jaws that his ____ was the ____ in the next block. No ____ could cause him to ____. She was ____ in a ____ at the bazaar.
_Sentences:_ ____ of resting in a harbor, the ships were tossed about in an open ____. Little did it ____ him to cling to the old ____. A ____ nestled by the highway. To be known as ____ now stood him in good ____.
_Sentences_: We ____ them by means of ____ regulations. He ____ them to this course by his mere example. He attended ____ to his duties. You should not ____ your pleasures in this way. The ____ of long effort was telling on him.
_Sentences_: His appointment is ____ upon his removing this ____ from his name. His ____ is such that no ____ with evil could leave any ____ upon him. The contents were ____. With ____ he hopes to ____ the ____ approval of his auditors. It was a dark ____. The reason is ____.
_Sentences_: He held the property in ____. He kept the reckoning straight by means of ____ cut in a shingle. He resolved to ____ expenses by visiting the ____ less often. We need not go into ____. The profit lies in the difference between wholesale and ____ prices.
_Sentences_: Village life and things ____ thereto I shall willingly ____ from. I ____ that precepts of this kind in no sense ____ to public morals. If the gentleman can ____ the consent of his second, the chair will ____ the motion as he restates it. Though your forces may ____ heavy losses, they must ____ their position and ____ the enemy.
_Sentences_: At the ____ of the railroad stands a beautiful ____ station. The manner in which we may ____ the agreement remains ____. He ____ that rather than yield he would make the negotiations ____. During the second ____ they ____ all the rodents about the school.
_Sentences_: By the light of the ____ he saw a ____ fowl by the fireside and a ____ in the cupboard. The ____ of his countenance was due to the ____ he was undergoing. ____ his face into a very knowing look, he ____ that a man with a ____ in his buttonhole and ____ shell glasses on his nose had leered at the girls as he passed.
(draw): (1) tract, tractor, intractable, abstracted, retract, protract, detract, distract, attractive, contractor, trace, trail, train, trait, portray, retreat; (2) traction, tractate, distraught, extraction, subtraction.
_Sentences_: In an ____ manner he drove the ____ across a large ____ of ground. He ____ his gaze at the ____ girl. The ____ was now willing to ____ his statement that in the house as it stood there was no ____ of departure from the specifications. Down the weary ____ of the pioneer dashes the palatial modern ____. To be ____ was one of his ____. The artist ____ her as in a ____ state. The ____ of his forces ____ but little from his fame.
_Sentences_: The legislature ____ in order to pass a measure regarding the public ____. At the ____ the wily old politician was able to ____ his enemies. The ____ saw no means of ____ this infringement of his patent right. In that ____ we are likely to have an ____. Through the long, shaded ____ they strolled together.
_Sentences_: Though he carried a large ____ of goods, he was ____ to ____ them. He had ____ forgotten that it was his wedding ____. The ____ was on ____ subjects. They ____ a broad area where nothing had been done to ____ the danger that threatened them. With ____ stubbornness he held to his ____ of the story. He held that the reading of ____ is ____ of masculine qualities. His professors at the ____ soon ____ him to new social and economic theories. Her husband was such a ____ creature that she resolved to secure a ____. Americans are the most ____ people in the ____. The anecdote ____ his ____ himself. Her answer not only was ____, it revealed her ____. He had undergone grave ____ in his time.
_Sentences_: He was ____ that the campaign against the rebels in the ____ could not be ____. He ____ a lively interest in my theory that the fugitive could not be ____. He felt an ____ repugnance to ____ the man, and this in spite of his ____ that the man was guilty.
_Sentences_: He was a ____ ____ of the measure, but no sooner was the order issued than he wished it ____. In ____ the assembly he ____ the enthusiasm of his followers. That he should give ____ utterance to this thought ____ me; but the words, once spoken, were ____.
_Sentences_: It ____ upon me to put down the ____. In this ____ the heroine is ____ and the hero handy with a ____. He was ____ in a ____ uprising. He had laid the papers away in a ____. The ____ of civilization is a tedious story.
SECOND GENERAL EXERCISE
Copy both sections (the first consists of fairly familiar terms, the second of less familiar terms) of each of the following word-groups. Find the key-syllable, underscore it in each word, observe any modifications in its form. Decide for yourself what its meaning is; then verify or correct your conclusion by reference to the dictionary. Study the influence of the key-syllable upon the meaning of each separate word; find the word’s original signification, its present signification. Add to each word-group as many cognate words as you can (1) think of for yourself, (2) find in the dictionary by looking under the key-syllable. Fill the blanks in the sentences after each word-group with terms chosen from the first section of words in that group.
(1) Animosity, unanimous, magnanimity; (2) animate, animadvert, equanimity.
_Sentences_: It was the ____ opinion that to so noble a foe ____ should be shown. The spiteful man continued to display his ____.
(1) Annual, annuity, anniversary, perennial, centennial, solemn; (2) superannuate, biennial, millennium.
_Sentences_: The amateur gardener made the ____ discovery that the plant was a ____. The ____ celebration of the great man’s birth took a ____ and imposing form in our city. By a happy coincidence the increase in his ____ came on wedding ____.
(1) Audit, auditor, auditorium, audience, inaudible, obey; (2) aurist, auricular, auscultation.
_Sentences_: His voice may not have been ____, but it certainly did not fill the ____. Not one ____ in all that vast ____ but was willing to ____ his slightest suggestion. He was not willing that they should ____ his accounts.
(1) Automatic, automobile, autocrat, autobiography; (2) autograph, autonomy.
_Sentences_: The ____ dictated to his secretary the third chapter of his ____. The habit of changing gear properly in an ____ becomes almost ____.
(1) Cant, descant, incantation, chant, enchant, chanticleer, accent, incentive;
(2) canto, canticle, cantata, recant, chantry, chanson, precentor.
_Sentences_: He ____ upon this topic in a queer, foreign ____. Such utterances are mere sanctimonious ____; I had rather listen to the ____ of a voodoo conjurer. The little girl from the city was ____ with the crowing of ____. The ____ of the choir somehow gave him the ____ to try again.
(1) Cent, per cent, century, centennial; (2) centenary, centime, centurion, centimeter, centigrade.
_Sentences_: For nearly a ____ this family has been living on a small ____ of its income. I wouldn’t give a ____ for ____ honors; I want my reward now.
(1) Chronic, chronological, chronicle; (2) chronometer, synchronize, anachronism.
_Sentences_: It is a ____ record of changing activities and ____ ills. This page is a ____ of athletic news.
(1) Corps, corpse, corporal, corpulent, corporation, incorporate; (2) corpus, habeas corpus, corporeal, corpuscle, Corpus Christi.
_Sentences_: The ____ gentleman said he did not believe in ____ punishment. The hospital ____ carried the ____ into the office of a great ____. He resolved to ____ this idea into the reforms he was introducing.
(1 and 2 combined) Creed, credulous, credential, credit, accredit, discredit, incredible.
_Sentences_: He was not so ____ as to suppose that his ____ would be accepted and his statements ____ without some investigation. It is to his ____ that he refused to be bound by his former religious ____. That such ____ has been heaped upon him is ____.
(1) Crescent, increase, decrease, concrete, recruit, accrue, crew; (2) crescendo, excrescence, accretion, increment.
_Sentences_: The ____ now had ____ evidence that military life was not altogether pleasant. In the olden days on the sea deaths from scurvy might bring about a dangerous ____ in the size of the ____. His courage ____ with the profits that ____ to him. The ____ moon rode in the sky.
(1) Cure, secure, procure, sinecure, curious, inaccurate; (2) curate, curator.
_Sentences_: Occupying the position for a while will ____ of the notion that it is a ____. He was ____ to know so a bookkeeper had managed to ____ so high a salary. He ____ the equipment required.
(1 and 2 combined) Indignity, indignation, undignified, condign, deign, dainty.
_Sentences_: We must not be too ____ about visiting ____ punishment upon those responsible for this ____. He did not ____ to express his ____. It was an ____ act.
(1) Durable, endure, during, duration, obdurate; (2) durance, duress, indurate, perdurable.
_Sentences_: ____ the whole interview she remained ____. It is a ____ cloth; it will ____ all sorts of weather. The session was one of prolonged ____.
(1) Finite, infinite, define, definite, confine, final, in fine, unfinished;
(2) definitive, infinitesimal.
_Sentences_: One cannot ____ the ____. He ____ himself to purely ____ topics. ____ it was a ____ offer and the ____ one he expected to make. The bridge is still ____.
(1) Flexibility, inflexible, deflect, inflection, reflection, reflex; (2) circumflex, genuflection.
_Sentences_: The ____ influence of this act was great. I did not like the ____ of his voice. After some ____ he decided to remain ____. He was not to be ____ from his purpose. I could but admire the ____ of her tones.
(1) Fluent, affluent, influence, influenza, superfluous, fluid, influx, flush (rush of water), fluctuate;
(2) confluent, mellifluous, flux, reflux, effluvium, flume.
_Sentences_: When you ____ the basin, an ____ of water fills it again. He is an ____ man and a ____ writer. When I had ____, the doctor gave me a disgusting ____ to drink. The wind must have an ____ in making the waves ____ as they do. Any more would be ____.
(1) Fort, forte, effort, comfort, fortitude, fortify, fortress; (2) aqua fortis, pianoforte.
_Sentences_: The defenders of the ____ held out with great ____. Though a ____ or two stood at important passes, the border was not really ____. His ____ was not public speaking. It was only by an ____ that he could ____ them.
(1) Fraction, infraction, fracture, fragility, fragment, suffrage, frail, infringe;
(2) diffract, refractory, frangible.
_Sentences_: It was in the course of his ____ of the rules that he suffered the ____ of his collar-bone. He told the committee of ladies that he was as fond of ____ as of ____. It is hardly a proof of ____ that he is so willing to ____ upon the rights of others. The ____ scaffolding bent and swung as he trod it.
(1 and 2 combined) Fugitive, fugue, refuge, subterfuge, centrifugal.
_Sentences_: Closing his eyes as if to listen better to the ____ was a little ____ of his. The upward movement of the missile was arrested by the ____ attraction of the earth. The ____ took ____ in an abandoned barn.
(1) Refund, confound, foundry, confuse, suffuse, profuse, refuse, diffuse; (2) fusion, effusion, transfuse.
_Sentences_: With ____ cheeks and ____ utterance he made a ____ apology. The amount we lost through the defective work at your ____ should be ____ to us. Such a blow might ____ but not ____ him. He ____ the appointment.
(1) Belligerent, gesture, suggest, congested, digestion, register, jest; (2) gerund, congeries.
_Sentences_: As he stopped before the cash ____ he gave a ____ which showed that his ____ was none too good. His look was ____, but he lightly made a ____. Amid the ____ traffic she stopped to ____ that pink would be more becoming than lavender.
(1) Relate, translate, legislate, elation, dilated, dilatory; (2) collate, correlate, prelate, oblation, superlative, ablative.
_Sentences_: With ____ eyes he ____ the passage for me. The ____ was very ____ in agreeing upon the measure to be passed. He ____ the story with pride and ____.
(1) Locate, locality, locomotive, dislocate; (2) locale, allocate, collocation.
_Sentences_: In trying to ____ the mine as near the fissure as possible he fell and ____ his hip. It was only ____ in that entire ____.
(1) Soliloquy, loquacious, loquacity, colloquial, eloquent, obloquy, circumlocution, elocution;
(2) magniloquent, grandiloquent, ventriloquism, interlocutor, locutory, allocution. (For related _log_ and _Ology_ words see above under Prying Into a Word’s Relationships.)
_Sentences_: ____ always, he indulged at this time in a great deal of ____. Though it was mere ____, yet there was something ____ about it. Amid all this ____ he managed to rid himself of a good deal of ____ regarding Standish. Hamlet’s ____ on suicide is a famous passage.
(1) Allude, elude, delude, ludicrous, illusory, collusion; (2) prelude, postlude, interlude.
_Sentences_: Such evidence is ____, and belief in it is ____. He ____ to a possible ____ between them. The more credulous ones he ____, and the skeptical he manages to ____.
(1) Metrical, thermometer, barometer, pedometer, diametrically, geometry; (2) millimeter, chronometer, hydrometer, trigonometry, pentameter.
_Sentences_: He was careful to consult both the ____ and the ____. He always wore a ____ on these trips. The two were ____ opposed to each other. The poet has great ____ skill. ____ is an exact science.
(1) Monotone, monotonous, monoplane, monopoly, monocle, monarchy, monogram, monomania;
(2) monosyllable, monochrome, monogamy, monorail, monograph, monolith, monody, monologue, monad, monastery, monk.
_Sentences_: His eye held a ____, his gold ring bore a ____ seal, and his voice was a stilted ____. One thing I hate about a ____ is the ____ reference to everything as his majesty’s. He had a ____ of the trade in his town. He is suffering, not from madness, but from ____.
(1) Mortal, immortality, mortify, postmortem, mortgage, morgue; (2) mortmain, moribund, A la mort.
_Sentences_: After a hasty ____ examination, the body was taken to the ____. She was ____ at this reminder of the ____ on her father’s property. The ____ shall put on ____.
(1 and 2 combined) Mutual, mutation, permutation, commute, transmute, immutable, moult.
_Sentences_: As he ____ that morning he reflected upon the ____ and combinations of fortune. We suffer the ____ of this worldly life, but ourselves are not ____. God’s love is ____, and our love for each other should be ____. Birds when they ____ are weakened in body and depressed in spirit.
(1) Native, prenatal, innate, nature, unnatural, naturalize, nation, pregnant, puny;
(2) denatured, nativity, cognate, agnate, nascent, renascence, nee.
_Sentences_: It was some ____ influence, he thought, that gave him his ____ physique. It was a ____ reply, but its heartlessness was ____. He was not ____ to the country, but ____. ____ in his ____ was the love of his own ____.
(1) Note, notion, notable, notice, notorious, cognizant, incognito, recognize, noble, ignoble, ennoble, ignore, ignorance, ignoramus, reconnoiter, quaint, acquaintance;
(2) notary, notation, connotation, cognition, prognosticate, reconnaissance, connoisseur.
_Sentences_: In complete ____ of the enemy’s position, he decided that he would ____ it. ____ himself, he was ____ of what was going on about him. You must ____ the conduct of such an ____. His ____ with this ____ gentleman ____ him. He ____ but would not ____ this ____ fellow. The ____ is a ____ one. He could but ____ how ____ his brother had become.
(1) Panacea, panoply, panorama, pantomime, pan-American, pandemonium; (2) pantheist, pantheon.
_Sentences_: Arrayed in all the ____ of savages, they acted the scene out in ____. From this point the ____ of the country-side unrolled itself before him. It is no ____ for human ills; any supposition that it is will lead to ____. It is a ____ movement.
(1) Peter, petrify, petrol, stormy petrel, petroleum, saltpeter, pier; (2) petrology, parsley, samphire.
_Sentences_: As he walked along the ____, he observed the flight of the ____. The English name for gasoline is ____. ____ is used in the manufacture of gunpowder. He was almost ____ at hearing of this enormous stock of ____. The crowing of the cock caused ____ to weep bitterly.
(1 and 2 combined) Petty, petite, petit jury, petit larceny, petticoat, pettifogger.
_Sentences_: Charged with ____, he was tried by the ____. The contemptible ____ hid behind the ____ of his wife. She was a winsome maiden, dainty and ____. It is a ____ fault.
(1 and 2 combined) Philosophy, philanthropy, Philadelphia, bibliophile, Anglophile.
_Sentences_: His ____ was generous, but his ____ was not profound. That queer old ____ hangs to the library like a caterpillar. It was the love of humankind that caused Penn to name the city ____. Most Americans are not ____.
(1 and 2 combined) Cosmopolitan, metropolitan, politics, policy, police.
_Sentences_: Those who engage in ____ lack, as a rule, a ____ outlook. It is merely ____ intolerance of towns and villages. The ____ of the mayor was to increase the ____ force.
(1 and 2 combined) Potential, potency, potentate, impotent, omnipotent, plenipotentiary.
_Sentences_: So far from being ____, we possess a ____ difficult to estimate. The ____ sent an ambassador ____. A ____ solution of the problem is this. ____ God.
(1) Impute, compute, dispute, ill repute, reputation, disreputable; (2) putative, indisputable.
_Sentences_: She could not ____ the cost. There was some ____ as to the cause of his ____. Let them ____ to me what motives they will. Though somewhat ____, he was extremely
solicitous about his ____.
(1) Abrogate, arrogate, interrogate, arrogant, derogatory, prerogative; (2) surrogate, rogation, prorogue.
_Sentences_: In an ____ manner he ____ these ____ to himself. To ____ authority is to give opportunity for remarks ____ to one’s reputation. He skilfully ____ the witness.
(1) Salmon, sally, assail, assault, insult, consult, result, exultation, desultory;
(2) salient, salacious, resilient.
_Sentences_: After the ____ the firing was ____. The defenders ____ out and ____ us, but the ____ of this effort only added to our ____. We sat there watching the ____ leap over the waterfall and ____ about our arrangements for taking them. To accept the remark as an ____ is to acknowledge the speaker as an equal.
(1) Science, conscience, unconscious, prescience, omniscience, nice; (2) sciolist, adscititious, plebiscite.
_Sentences_: By his ____ understanding of the issues he was able to gain a reputation for ____. We thought he possessed ____, but he seemed ____ of his erudition. Except under the sharp necessities of ____, he was ruled by a ____ thoroughly tender.
(1) Sect, section, non-sectarian, dissect, insect, intersection, sickle, vivisection, segment;
(2) bisect, trisect, insection, sector, secant.
_Sentences_: He stood at the ____ of the roads, leaning on the shank of a sharp ____. The foreman of the ____ gang is a member of our ____. The boy was ____ an ____ with a butcher knife he had previously used to cut for himself a large ____ of the Sunday cake. It is a ____ movement. He defended the ____ of animals.
(1) Sense, consent, assent, resent, sentimental, dissension, sensation, sensibility, sentence, scent, nonsense;
(2) sentient, consensus, presentiment.
_Sentences_: A woman of her ____ would shrink from a ____ of this sort. He ____ in a single, crisp ____. To be ____ is to be guilty of ____. He had the good ____ to ____ to this course. He ____ such ____ and the causes that produced them. A hound hunts by ____.
(1) Despond, respond, correspond, corespondent, sponsor; (2) sponsion, spouse, espouse.
_Sentences_: She ____ that her husband had been ____ with the ____. The ____ of the movement could as yet see no reason to ____.
(1 and 2 combined) Structure, instructor, construct, obstruct, instrument, destructive, misconstrue.
_Sentences_: The student ____ the intentions of his ____. He resolved to ____ every effort to complete the ____. The ____ was one that might easily be turned to ____ work. They ____ a grandstand overlooking the racetrack.
(1) Terrace, territory, subterranean, inter, terrier; (2) terrene, tureen, terrestrial, terra cotta, Mediterranean, terra firma, parterre.
_Sentences_: The ____ was tearing a great hole in the ____ in order to ____ a bone. He found rich ____ deposits. The discoverers laid claim to the entire ____.
(1) Thesis, parenthesis, antithesis, anathema, theme, epithet, treasure; (2) hypothesis, synthesis, metathesis.
_Sentences_: To set two ideas in ____ to each other makes both more vivid. By way of ____ he informed me that the subject was ____ to his father. On this ____ he can summon a host of picturesque ____. The ____ is one you will find it hard to establish. He was seeking Captain Kidd’s buried ____.
(1 and 2 combined) Tumor, tumidity, tumult, tumulus, contumacy.
_Sentences_: The ____ of his joints was due to rheumatism. His ____ led to a ____ of opposition. So excited was he at the discovery of the ____ that he did not permit the ____ on his hand to restrain him from beginning the excavation.
(1 and 2 combined) Turbid, disturb, perturbation, turbulence, trouble, imperturbable.
_Sentences_: His ____ manner gave no hint of the ____ within him. The ____ sweep of the stream caused her not the slightest ____. Do not ____ yourself with the thought that you are putting me to any ____.
(1 and 2 combined) Pervade, invade, evasion, vade mecum.
_Sentences_: He promised that there would be no ____ of payments. Byron’s _Childe Harold_ was my ____ during my travels in Switzerland and Italy. The fragrance of heliotrope ____ the room. You must not ____ my privacy like this.
(1) Avail, prevail, prevalent, equivalent, valiant, validity, invalid, invalidate; (2) valetudinarian, valediction, valence.
_Sentences_: The ____ of the agreement has been thoroughly established. Our cause is just, and must ____. It is ____ to admitting that the terms are now ____. It was a ____ act and ____ the concessions previously wrested from us. The ____ impression is that mere ingenuity will not ____.
(1) Virtue, virile, virgin, virtually; (2) virago, virtuoso, triumvir.
_Sentences_: It was ____ a new arrangement. It is ____ soil. To be ____ and daring is every boy’s dream. ____ is its own reward.
(1) Revive, survival, convivial, vivid, vivify, vivacious, vivisection; (2) vive (le roi), qui vive, bon vivant, tableau vivant.
_Sentences_: He has a ____ manner, a ____ spirit. The ____ of the opposition to the ____ of animals is very marked. You cannot ____ a dead cause or scarcely ____ memories of it. The ____ coloring of her cheeks was a sure sign of health, or of skill.
THIRD GENERAL EXERCISE
Find the key-syllable (in a few instances the key-syllables) of each of the following words. How does it affect the meaning of the word? Does it appear, perhaps in disguised form, in any of the words immediately preceding or following? Can you bring to mind other words that embody it?
Innovation Commonwealth Welfare Wayfarer Adjournment Rival Derivation Arrive Denunciation Denomination Ignominy Synonym Patronymic Parliament Dormitory Demented Presumptuous Indent Dandelion Trident Indenture Contemporary Disseminate Annoy Odium Desolate Impugn Efflorescent Arbor vitae Consider Constellation Disaster Suburb Address Dirigible Dirge Indirectly Desperate Inoperative Benevolent Voluntary Offend Enumerate Dilapidate Request Exquisite Exonerate Approximate Insinuate Resurgence Insurrection Rapture Exasperate Complacent Dimension Commensurate Preclude Cloister Turnpike Travesty Atone Incarnate Charnal Etiquette Rejuvenate Eradicate Quiet Requiem Acquiesce Ambidextrous Inoculate Divulge Proper Appropriate Omnivorous Voracious Devour Escritoire Mordant Remorse Miser Hilarious Exhilarate Rudiment Erudite Mark Marquis Libel
Libretto Vague Vagabond Extravagant Souse Saucer Oyster Ostracize
FOURTH GENERAL EXERCISE
With a few exceptions like the Hale-heal group above under Verbal Families, most verbal families of straight English or of Germanic- Scandinavian-English descent are easily recognizable as families. Witness the _Good_ family and the _Stead_ family. The families in which kinship may be overlooked are likely to be of Latin or Greek ancestry, though perhaps with a subsequent infusion of blood from some other foreign language, as French. Hitherto our approach to verbal families has been through the descendants, or through that quality in their blood which holds them together. But we shall also profit from knowing something of the founders of these families–from having some acquaintance with them as individuals. Below (in separate lists) the more prominent of Latin and of Greek progenitors are named, their meaning is given, and two or three of their living representatives (not always direct descendants) are designated. Starred [*] words are those whose progeny has not been in good part assembled in the preceding pages; for these words you should assemble all the living representatives you can. (Inflectional forms are given only where they are needed for tracing English derivatives.)
_Latin word Meaning English representatives_
Ago, actum do, rouse agile, transact *Alius other alias, inalienable *Alter other alteration, adultery *Altus high altitude, exalt *Ambulo walk perambulator, preamble *Amicus friend amicable, enemy *Amo, amatum love inamorata, amateur, inimical *Anima life animal, inanimate Animus mind animosity, unanimous Annus year annuity, biennial *Aqua water aquarium, aqueduct Audio, auditum hear audience, audit *Bellum war rebel, belligerent *Bene well benefit, benevolence *Bonus good bonanza, bona fide *Brevis short abbreviate, unabridged Cado, casum fall cadence, casual Caedo, cecidi, caesum cut, kill suicide, incision Cano, cantum sing recant, chanticleer Capio, captum take, hold capacious, incipient *Caput, capitis head cape (Cape Cod), decapitate, chapter, biceps
Cedo, cessum go concede, accessory Centum hundred per cent, centigrade *Civis citizen civic, uncivilized *Clamo shout acclaim, declamation *Claudo, clausum close, shut conclude, recluse, cloister, sluice Cognosco (see _Nosco_)
*Coquo, coxi, coctum cook decoction, precocious *Cor, cordis heart core, discord, courage Corpus body corpse, incorporate Credo, credituin believe creed, discreditable Cresco, cretum grow crescendo, concrete, accrue *Crux, crucis cross crucifix, excruciating Cura care curate, sinecure Curro, cursum run occur, concourse *Derigo, directum direct dirge, dirigible, address *Dexter right, right hand ambidextrous, dexterity Dico speak, say abdicate, verdict *Dies day diary, quotidian Dignus worthy, fitting dignity, condign Do, datum give condone, data *Doceo, doctum teach document, doctor *Dominus lord dominion, danger *Domus house domicile, majordomo *Dormio sleep dormant, dormouse Duco lead traduce, deduction *Duo two dubious, duet
Durus hard durable, obdurate Eo, itum go exit, initial
Error, erratum wander erroneous, aberration Facio, feci, factum make, do manufacture, affect, sufficient, verify
Fero, latum carry transfer, relate Fido trust, believe confide, perfidious Finis end confine, infinity Flecto, flexum bend reflection, inflexible Fluo, fluxum flow influence, reflux Fortis strong fortress, comfort Frango, fractum break infringe, refraction *Frater brother fraternity, fratricide Fugio, fugitum flee centrifugal, fugitive Fundo, fusum pour refund, profuse, fusion Gero, gestum carry belligerent, gesture, digestion Gradior, gressus walk degrade, progress *Gratia favor, pleasure, ingratiate, congratulate, good-will disgrace
*Grex, gregis flock segregate, egregious Habeo, habitum have, hold habituate, prohibit Itum (see Eo)
Jacio, jeci, jactum throw, hurl reject, interjection Jungo, junctum join conjugal, enjoin, juncture Juro swear abjure, perjury Jus, juris law, right justice, jurisprudence Judex (from jusdico) judge judgment, prejudice *Juvenis young rejuvenate, juvenilia Latum (see Fero)
*Laudo, laudatum praise allow, laudatory Lego, lectum read, choose elegant, lecture, dialect *Lex, legis law privilege, illegitimate, legislature
*Liber book libel, library *Liber free liberty, deliberate Ligo bind obligation, allegiance, alliance *Linquo, lictum leave delinquent, relict, derelict *Litera letter illiterate, obliterate Locus place collocation, dislocate Loquor, locutus speak soliloquy, elocution Ludo, lusum play prelude, illusory /Lux, lucis light\ lucid, luminary \Lumen, luminis /
*Magnus great magnate, magnificent *Malus bad, evil malaria, malnutrition Mando order mandatory, commandment Manus hand manual, manufacture *Mare sea maritime, submarine *Mater mother maternal, alma mater *Medius middle mediocre, intermediate *Mens mind mental, demented *Miror wonder mirror, admirable Mitto, missum send commit, emissary *Mordeo, morsum bite mordant, morsel, remorse Mors, mortis death mortal, mortify Moveo, motum move remove, locomotive *Multus many multiform, multiplex Muto, mutatum change transmute, immutable, moult Nascor, natus be born renascence, cognate *Nihil nothing nihilism, annihilate *Nomen, nominis name denomination, renown *Norma rule abnormal, enormous /Nosco, notum cognosco \
\ cognitum know / notation, incognito *Novus new novelty, renovate *Nuntio announce denounce, renunciation *Opus, operis work magnum opus, inoperative *Pater father patrician, patrimony Patior, passus suffer impatient, passion Pello, pulsum drive propeller, repulse Pendeo, pensum hang pendulum, appendix Pendo, pensum weigh compendium, expense Pes, pedis foot expedite, biped Peto seek impetus, compete *Plaudo, plausum clap, applaud explode, plausible *Plecto, plexum braid perplex, complexion *Pleo, pletum fill complement, expletive *Plus, pluris more surplus, plural Plico, plicatum fold reply, implicate Pono, positum place opponent, deposit Porto carry report, porter Potens, potentis powerful impotent, potential Prendo, prehensum seize comprehend, apprise *Primus, primatis first primary, primate Probo, probatum prove improbable, reprobate *Pugno fight impugn, repugnant Puto think impute, disreputable *Quaero, quaesitum seek require, inquest, exquisite *Rapio, raptum seize enraptured, surreptitious *Rego, rectum rule, lead region, erect *Rideo, risum laugh deride, risible Rogo, rogatum ask prorogue, abrogate Rumpo, ruptum break disrupt, eruption Salio, saltum leap salient, insult *Sanguis blood sang froid, ensanguined Scio, scitum know prescience, plebiscite Scribo, scriptum write prescribe, manuscript, escritoire Seco, sectum cut secant, dissect Sedeo, sessum sit supersede, obsession Sentio, sensum feel presentiment, consensus Sequor, secutus follow sequence, persecute, ensue Signum sign insignia, designate *Solus alone solitude, desolate Solvo, solutum loosen solvent, dissolute *Somnus sleep somnambulist, insomnia *Sono sound consonant, resonance *Sors, sortis lot sort, assortment Specio, spectum look despicable, suspect Spiro, spiratum breathe perspire, conspiracy *Spondeo, sponsum promise respond, espouse Sto, steti, statum stand constant, establish Sisto, stiti, statum cause to stand consistent, superstition Stringo, strictum bind stringent, restrict Struo, structum build construe, destruction Tango, tactum touch intangible, tact Tempus, temporis time temporize, contemporary Tendo, tensum stretch distend, intense Teneo, tentuin hold tenure, detention *Tendo try tentative, attempt Terminus end, boundary terminal, exterminate Terra earth territory, inter Torqueo, tortum twist distort, tortuous Traho, tractum draw extract, subtraction Tumeo, tumidum swell tumor, contumacy Turba tumult, crowd turbulent, disturb *Unus one unify, triune, onion *Urbs city urbane, suburban Vado, vasum go pervade, invasion Valeo, validum be strong prevail, invalid Venio, ventum come intervene, adventure Verto, versum turn divert, adverse *Verus true verdict, veracity *Via way obviate, impervious, trivial Video, visum see provide, revise Vinco, victum conquer province, convict Vir man triumvir, virtue Vivo, victum live vivacious, vivisect Voco, vocatum call revoke, avocation *Volo wish malevolent, voluntary Volvo, volutum turn revolver, evolution Vox voice equivocal, vociferate
_Prefix Meaning English embodiments_
*A, ab from, away avert, abnegation, abstract *Ad to adduce, adjacent, affect, accede *Ante before antediluvian, anteroom *Bi two biped, bicycle
*Circum around circumambient, circumference *Cum, com, with, together combine, consort, coadjutor con, co
*Contra against contradict, contrast *De from, negative deplete, decry, demerit, declaim down, intensive
*Di, dis asunder, away from, divert, disbelief negative
*E, ex from, out of evict, excavate *Extra beyond extraordinary, extravagant *In in, into, not innate, instil, insignificant *Inter among, between intercollegiate, interchange *Intro, into, within introduce, intramural intra
*Non negative nonage, nondescript *Ob against, before
(facing), toward obloquy, obstacle, offer *Per through, extremely persecute, perfervid, pursue, pilgrim, pellucid
*Post after postpone, postscript *Pre before prepay, preoccupy *Pro before proceed, proffer
*Re back, again return, resound *Retro back, backward retroactive, retrospective *Se apart, aside seclude, secession *Semi half semiannual, semicivilized *Sub under, less than, subscribe, suffer, subnormal, inferior subcommittee
*Super above, extremely superfluous, supercritical, soprano *Trans across, through transfer, transparent *Ultra beyond, extremely ultramundane, ultraconservative
(Scientific terms in English are largely derived from the Greek)
_Greek word Meaning English representatives_
*Aner, andros, man, stamen androgynous, philander, anthropos philanthropy
*Archos chief, primitive archaic, architect *Astron star asterisk, disaster Autos self autograph, automatic, authentic *Barvs heavy baritone, barites *Biblos book Bible, bibliomania *Bios life biology, autobiography, amphibious *Cheir hand chiropody, chirurgical, surgeon *Chilioi a thousand kilogram, kilowatt *Chroma color chromo, achromatic Chronos time chronic, anachronism *Cosmos world, order cosmopolitan, microcosm *Crypto hide cryptogam, cryptology *Cyclos wheel, circle encyclopedia, cyclone *Deca ten decasyllable, decalogue *Demos people democracy, epidemic *Derma skin epidermis, taxidermist *Dis, di twice, doubly dichromatic, digraph *Didonai, dosis give dose, apodosis, anecdote *Dynamis power dynamite, dynasty *Eidos form, thing seen idol, kaleidoscope, anthropoid *Ethnos race, nation ethnic, ethnology Eu well euphemism, eulogy *Gamos marriage cryptogam, bigamy *Ge earth geography, geometry Genos family, race gentle, engender Gramma writing monogram, grammar Grapho write telegraph, lithograph *Haima blood hematite, hemorrhage, anemia *Heteros other heterodox, heterogeneous *Homos same homonym, homeopathy *Hydor water hydraulics, hydrophobia, hydrant *Isos equal isosceles, isotherm *Lithos stone monolith, chrysolite Logos word, study theology, dialogue Metron measure barometer, diameter *Micros small microscope, microbe Monos one, alone monoplane, monotone *Morphe form metamorphosis, amorphous *Neos new, young neolithic, neophyte *Neuron nerve neuralgia, neurotic Nomos law, science, astronomy, gastronomy, economy management
*Onoma name anonymous, patronymic *Opsis view, sight synopsis, thanatopsis, optician *Orthos right orthopedic, orthodox *Osteon bone osteopathy, periosteum *Pais, paidos child paideutics, pedagogue, encyclopedia
Pas, pan all diapason, panacea, pantheism Pathos suffering allopathy, pathology Petros rock petroleum, saltpeter *Phaino show, be visible diaphanous, phenomenon, epiphany, fantastic Philos loving bibliophile, Philadelphia *Phobos fear hydrophobia, Anglophobe Phone sound telephone, symphony *Phos light phosphorous, photograph *Physis nature physiognomy, physiology *Plasma form cataplasm, protoplasm *Pneuma air, breath pneumatic, pneumonia Polis city policy, metropolitan *Polys many polyandry, polychrome, polysyllable
Pous, pados foot octopus, chiropodist *Protos first protoplasm, prototype *Pseudes false pseudonym, pseudo-classic *Psyche breath, soul, psychology, psychopathy mind
*Pyr fire pyrography, pyrotechnics *Scopos watcher scope, microscope *Sophia wisdom philosophy, sophomore *Techne art technicality, architect *Tele far, far off telepathy, telescope {*Temno cut }
{*Tomos that which is } epitome, anatomy, tome { cut off }
*Theos god theosophy, pantheism *Therme heat isotherm, thermodynamics {Tithenai place } epithet, hypothesis, {Thesis a placing, } anathema
{ arrangement }
*Treis three trichord, trigonometry *Zoon animal zoology, protozoa, zodiac
_Prefix Meaning English embodiments_
*A, an no, not aseptic, anarchy *Amphi about, around, ambidextrous, amphitheater (Latin ambi) both
*Ana up, again anatomy, Anabaptist *Anti against, opposite antidote, antiphonal, antagonist *Cata down catalepsy, cataclysm *Dia through, across diameter, dialogue *Epi upon epidemic, epithet, epode, ephemeral *Hyper over, extremely hypercritical, hyperbola *Hypo under, in smaller hypodermic, hypophosphate measure
*Meta after, over metaphysics, metaphor *Para beside paraphrase, paraphernalia *Peri around, about periscope, peristyle *Pro before proboscis, prophet *Syn together, with synthesis, synopsis, sympathy
VI
WORDS IN PAIRS
Our first task in this volume was the study of words in combination. Our second was the study of individual words in two of their aspects–first, as they are seen in isolation, next as they are seen in verbal families. Now our third task confronts us. It is the study of words as they are associated, not in actual blood kinship, but in meaning.
Such an association in meaning may involve only two words (pairs) or larger groups. In this chapter we shall confine ourselves to the study of pairs.
Of the relationship between pairs there are three types. In the first the words are hostile to each other. In the second they may easily be confused with each other. In the third they are parallel with each other. We shall examine the three types successively.
But we must make an explanation first. Although we shall, in this and the following chapters, have frequent occasion to give the meanings of individual words, we shall give them without regard to dictionary methods. We shall not attempt formal, water-tight, or exhaustive definitions; our purpose is to convey, in the simplest and most human manner possible, brief general explanations of what the words stand for.
Pairs of the first type are made up of words by nature opposite to each other, or else thought of as opposite because they are so often contrasted. Here is a familiar, everyday list:
east, west straight, crooked myself, others large, small pretty, ugly major, minor laugh, cry walk, ride light, darkness top, bottom hard, soft friend, enemy sweet, sour clean, dirty temporal, spiritual meat, drink merry, sad means, extremes land, water private, public Jew, Gentile man, woman noisy, quiet independent, dependent old, new general, particular sublime, ridiculous age, youth wholesale, retail give, receive sick, well savage, civilized pride, humility brain, brawn wealth, poverty constructive, destructive soul, body positive, negative
None of these words needs explaining. If you think of one of them, you will think of its opposite; at least its opposite will be lurking in the back of your mind. As proof of this fact you have only to glance at the following list, from which the second member of each pair is omitted:
hot– black– boy– in–
off– over– love– wrong– strong– wet– first– day–
long– fast– good– hope– least– asleep– buy– left–
alive– winter– war– succeed– creditor– fat– internal– wise– drunk–
Many words of a more difficult kind are thus pitted against each other, and we learn them, not singly, but in pairs. At least we should. As good verbal hunters we should be alert to the chance of killing two birds with one stone.
_Allopath_ and _homeopath_, for example, are difficult opposites. We know of the existence of the two classes of medical practitioners; we know that they use different methods; but beyond this our knowledge is likely to be hazy. Let us set out, then, to _learn_ the two words. The best way is to learn them together. _Allopathy_ means other suffering, _homeopathy_ like suffering. An allopath uses remedies which create within the patient a condition that squarely conflicts with the further progress of the disease. A homeopath prescribes medicines (in small doses) which produce within the patient the same condition that the disease would produce; he “beats the disease to it,” so to speak–takes the job himself and leaves the disease nothing to do. The allopath travels around a race-track in the opposite direction from the disease, and thwarts it through a head-on collision. The homeopath travels around the race-track in the same direction as the disease, and thwarts it by pulling at the reins. If we consider the two words together and get these ideas in mind, we shall have no further trouble with allopaths and homeopaths–except, perhaps, when they have rendered their services and presented their bills.
_Objective_ and _subjective_ are also a troublesome pair. A thing is objective if it is an actual object or being, if it exists in itself rather than in our surmises. A thing is subjective if it is the creature of a state of mind, if it has its existence in the thought or imagination of some person or other. Thus if I meet a bear in the wilds, that bear is objective; whatever may be the state of my thoughts, _he is there_–and it would be to my advantage to reckon with this fact. But if a child who is sent off to bed alone says there is a bear in the room, the bear is subjective; it is not a living monster that will devour anybody, but a creature called into the mind of the child through dread.
EXERCISE – Opposites
Study the following words in pairs. Consult the dictionary for actual meanings. Then test your knowledge by embodying each word of each pair in a sentence, or in an illustration like those of the race-track and the bear in the preceding paragraphs.
superior, inferior concord, discord export, import domestic, foreign
fact, fiction prose, poetry
verbal, oral literal, figurative predecessor, successor genuine, artificial positive, negative practical, theoretical optimism, pessimism finite, infinite longitude, latitude evolution, revolution oriental, occidental pathos, bathos
sacred, profane military, civil clergy, laity capital, labor
ingress, egress element, compound horizontal, perpendicular competition, cooeperation predestination, freewill universal, particular extrinsic, intrinsic inflation, deflation dorsal, ventral acid, alkali
synonym, antonym prologue, epilogue nadir, zenith amateur, connoisseur anterior, posterior stoic, epicure
ordinal, cardinal centripetal, centrifugal stalagmite, stalactite orthodox, heterodox homogeneous, heterogeneous monogamy, polygamy induction, deduction egoism, altruism Unitarian, Trinitarian concentric, eccentric herbivorous, carnivorous deciduous, perennial esoteric, exoteric endogen, exogen
vertebrate, invertebrate catalectic, acatalectic
Pairs of the second type are made up of words which are often confused by careless writers and speakers, and which should be accurately discriminated.
Sometimes the words are actually akin to each other. _Continuous- continual_ and _enormity-enormousness_ are examples. Sometimes they merely look or sound much alike. _Mean-demean_ and _affect- effect_ are examples. Sometimes the things they designate are more or less related, so that the ideas behind the words rather than the words themselves are responsible for the confusion. _Contagious-infectious_ and _knowledge-wisdom_ are examples. Let us distinguish between the two members of each of the pairs named.
A thing is _continuous_ if it suffers no interruption whatever, _continual_ if it is broken at regular intervals but as regularly renewed. Thus “a continuous stretch of forest”; “the continual drip of water from the eaves.”
_Enormity_ pertains to the moral and sometimes the social, _enormousness_ to the physical. Thus “the enormity of the crime,” “the enormity of this social offense”; “the enormousness of prehistoric animals.”
_Demean_ is often used reproachfully because of its supposed relation to _mean_. But it has nothing to do with _mean_. The word with which to connect it is _demeanor_ (conduct). Thus “We observed how he demeaned himself” implies no adverse criticism of either the man or his deportment. Both may be debased to be sure, but they may be exemplary.
To _affect_ means to feign or to have an influence upon, to _effect_ to bring to pass. Thus “He affects a fondness for classical music,” “The little orphan’s story affected those who heard it”; “We effected a compromise.” _Affect_ is never properly used as a noun. _Effect_ as a noun means result, consequence, or practical operation. Thus “The shot took instant effect”; “He put this idea into effect.”
A disease is _contagious_ when the only way to catch it is through direct contact with a person already having it, or through contact with articles such a person has used. A disease is _infectious_ when it is presumably caused, not by contact with a person, but through widespread general conditions, as of climate or sanitation.
Our _knowledge_ is our acquaintance with a fact, or the sum total of our information. Our _wisdom_ is our intellectual and spiritual discernment, to which our knowledge is one of the contributors. _Knowledge_ comprises the materials; _wisdom_ the ability to use them to practical advantage and to worthy or noble purpose. _Knowledge_ is mental possession; _wisdom_ is mental and moral power.
EXERCISE – Confused
1. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each of the following pairs. In each blank of the illustrative sentences insert the word appropriate in meaning.
2. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each of the following pairs. Determine whether the words are correctly used in the illustrative sentences. (Some are; some are not.)
3. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each of the following pairs. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of the words. (Some of the words in this list, as well as some in other parts of the chapter, are considered in larger groups in the chapters following.)
earth, world efficiency, efficacy egoism, egotism eldest, oldest
elemental, elementary elude, evade emigrate, immigrate enough, sufficient envy, jealousy equable, equitable
equal, equivalent essential, necessary esteem, respect euphemism, euphuism evidence, proof exact, precise
exchange, interchange excuse, pardon exempt, immune expect, suppose
expedite, facilitate
facsimile, copy familiar, intimate fancy, imagination farther, further
feeling, sentiment feminine, effeminate fervent, fervid fewer, less
fluid, liquid first (or last) two, two first (or last) food, feed foreign, alien
force, strength forgive, pardon
gayety, cheerfulness genius, talent gentle, tame genuine, authentic
glance, glimpse grateful, thankful grieve, mourn
hanged, hung happen, transpire happiness, pleasure healthy, healthful hear, listen heathen, pagan
honorable, honorary horrible, horrid human, humane
illegible, unreadable image, effigy imaginary, imaginative impending, approaching imperious, imperial imply, infer
in, into inability, disability ingenious, ingenuous intelligent, intellectual insinuation, innuendo instinct, intuition involve, implicate irony, sarcasm
irretrievable, irreparable
judicious, judicial just, equitable justify, warrant
lack, want languor, lassitude later, latter lawful, legal
lax, slack leave, let
lend, loan liable, likely
libel, slander lie, lay
like, love linger, loiter
look, see loose, lose
luxurious, luxuriant
majority, plurality marine, maritime martial, military moderate, temperate mood, humor moral, ethical
moral, religious mutual, reciprocal myth, legend
natal, native nautical, naval
near, close necessaries, necessities needy, needful noted, notorious
novice, tyro
observance, observation observe, perceive obsolete, archaic omnipresent, ubiquitous on, upon oppose, resist
opposite, contrary oppress, depress
palliate, extenuate passionate, impassioned pathos, pity patron, customer
peculiar, unusual perspicuity, perspicacity permeate, pervade permit, allow
perseverance, persistence pertain, appertain pictorial, picturesque pitiable, pitiful pity, sympathy pleasant, pleasing
politician, statesman practicable, practical precipitous, precipitate precision, preciseness prejudice, bias prelude, overture
pride, vanity principal, principle process, procedure procure, secure
professor, teacher progress, progression propitious, auspicious proposal, proposition tradition, legend truth, veracity
quiet, quiescent
raise, rear raise, rise
ransom, redeem rare, scarce
reason, understanding reasonable, rational recollect, remember regal, royal
reliable, trustworthy requirement, requisite restive, restless reverse, inverse
ride, drive rime (or rhyme), rhythm
sacred, holy salutation, salute scanty, sparse scholar, student
science, art scrupulous, conscientious serf, slave shift, expedient
sick, ill silent, taciturn sit, set skilled, skilful
slender, slim smart, clever
sociable, social solicitude, anxiety stay, stop stimulus, stimulation strut, swagger suppress, repress
termination, terminus theory, hypothesis tolerate, permit torment, torture
tradition, legend truth, veracity
unbelief, disbelief unique, unusual
varied, various variety, diversity venal, venial vengeance, revenge
verse, stanza vindictive, revengeful visit, visitation visitant, visitor
wander, stray warn, caution
will, volition wit, humor
witness, see womanish, womanlike worth, value
Pairs of the third type are made up of words parallel in meaning. This class somewhat overlaps the second; many terms that are frequently confused are parallels, and parallelism is of course a cause of confusion.
Parallels are words that show likeness in meaning. Likeness, not sameness. Yet at one time actual sameness may have existed, and in many instances did. Nowadays this sameness has been lost, and the words have become differentiated. As a rule they still are closely related in thought; sometimes, however, the divergence between them is wide.
Why did words having the same meaning find lodgment in the language in the first place? The law of linguistic economy forbids any such happening, and only through sheer good fortune did English come to possess duplications. The original Anglo-Saxon did not contain them. But the Roman Catholic clergy brought to England the language of religion and of scholarship, Latin. Later the Normans, whose speech as a branch of French was an offshoot of Latin, came to the island as conquerors. For a time, therefore, three languages existed side by side in the country–Anglo- Saxon among the common folk, Latin among the clergy, and Norman-French at the court and among the nobility. The coalescing of the three (or of the two if we count Latin in its direct and indirect contributions as one) was inevitable. But other (mostly cognate) languages also had a part in the speech that was ultimately evolved. The Anglo-Saxon element was augmented by words from Dutch, Scandinavian, and the
Germanic tongues in general; and Latin was reinforced by Greek. Thus to imply, as is sometimes done, that modern English is simply a blend of Anglo-Saxon and Latin elements is misleading. _Native_ and _classic_ are the better terms to use, provided both are used broadly. _Native_ must include not only Anglo-Saxon but the other Germanic elements as well, and _classic_ must include French and Greek as well as Latin.
The welding of these languages made available two–in some instances more than two–words for a single object or idea. What became of these duplicates? Sometimes one of the words was dropped as needless. Oftentimes, however, both were retained–with such modifications in meaning that thereafter they designated, not the same object or idea, but different forms or aspects of it. Thus they became parallels, and the new language waxed rich with discriminations which neither of the component tongues had possessed.
Scott in _Ivanhoe_ gives the basis upon which the unification of the languages proceeded. The jester Wamba in conversation with the swineherd Gurth explains how the Anglo-Saxon term took on the homelier, rougher, more workaday uses and left the more refined and fastidious uses for the Norman-French. A domestic animal, says Wamba, was cared for by the conquered people, and in consequence bore while living a “good Saxon” name–swine, ox, or calf; but it was served at the tables of the conquerors, and therefore when ready for consumption bore a “good Norman-French” name–pork, beef, or veal. “When the brute [a sow] lives, and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes Norman and is called pork, when she is carried into the castle hall to feast among the nobles…. He [a calf] is Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a Norman name [Monsieur de Veau] when he becomes matter of enjoyment.”
Let us see how Scott’s contention fares if we extend his list of terms relative to animal life. As throughout the rest of this chapter, with the single and necessary exception of List B, the first word in each pair is native, the second classic:
sheep, mutton deer, venison horse, equine cow, bovine bull, taurine sheep, ovine wolf, lupine hog, porcine bear, ursine fox, vulpine cat, feline dog, canine fish, piscatorial mouse, vermin rat, rodent mankind, humanity man, masculine woman, feminine childish, infantile boyish, puerile
A glance at this list will show that, at least as regards animal life, the native word is likely to be the more familiar and unpretentious. But we must not leap to the conclusion that, taking the language as a whole, the simple, easy word is sure to be native, the abstruse word classic. In the following list one word in each pair is simpler, oftentimes much simpler, than the other; yet both are of classic origin. (In some instances the two are doublets; that is, they spring from the same stem.)
boil, effervesce plenty, abundance force, coerce clear, transparent sound, reverberate echo, reverberate toil, labor false, perfidious prove, verify join, unite join, annex try, endeavor carry, convey save, preserve save, rescue safe, secure poor, pauper poor, penurious poor, impecunious native, indigenous strange, extraneous excuse, palliate excusable, venial cannon, ordnance corpse, cadaverous parish, parochial fool, stultify fool, idiot rule, govern governor, gubernatorial wages, salary nice, exquisite haughty, arrogant letter, epistle pursue, prosecute use, utility use, utilize rival, competitor male, masculine female, feminine beauty, esthetics beauty, pulchritude beautify, embellish poison, venom vote, franchise vote, suffrage taste, gust tasteful, gustatory tasteless, insipid flower, floral count, compute cowardly, pusillanimous tent, pavilion money, finance monetary, pecuniary trace, vestige face, countenance turn, revolve bottle, vial grease, lubricant oily, unctuous revive, resuscitate faultless, impeccable scourge, flagellate power, puissance barber, tonsorial bishop, episcopal carry, portable fruitful, prolific punish, punitive scar, cicatrix hostile, inimical choice, option cry, vociferate ease, facility peaceful, pacific beast, animal chasten, castigate round, rotunda imprison, incarcerate bowels, viscera boil, ebullient city, municipal color, chromatics nervous, neurotic pleasing, delectable accidental, fortuitous change, mutation lazy, indolent fragrance, aroma pay, compensate face, physiognomy joy, rapture charitable, eleemosynary blame, blaspheme priest, presbyter coy, quiet prudent, provident pupil, disciple story, narrative pause, interval despise, abhor doctor, physician fate, destiny country, rustic aged, senile increase, increment gentle, genteel clear, apparent eagle, aquiline motion, momentum nourishment, nutrition pure, unadulterated closeness, proximity number, notation ancestors, progenitors confirm, corroborate convert, proselyte benediction, benison treasury, thesaurus egotism, megalomania
Sometimes the native word is less familiar than the classic:
seethe, boil loam, soil fare, travel abide, remain bestow, present bestow, deposit din, noise quern, mill learner, scholar shamefaced, modest hue, color tarnish, stain ween, expect leech, physician shield, protect steadfast, firm withstand, resist straightway, immediately dwelling, residence heft, gravity delve, excavate forthright, direct tidings, report bower, chamber rune, letter borough, city baleful, destructive gainsay, contradict cleave, divide hearten, encourage hoard, treasure
Again, the native word is sometimes less emphatic than the classic:
fly, soar old, venerable flood, cataclysm steep, precipitous wonder, astonishment speed, velocity sparkle, scintillate stir, commotion stir, agitate strike, collide learned, erudite small, diminutive scare, terrify burn, combustion fire, conflagration fall, collapse uproot, eradicate skin, excoriate hate, abominate work, labor bright, brilliant hungry, famished eat, devour twisted, contorted thin, emaciated sad, lugubrious mirth, hilarity
Despite these exceptions, the native word is in general better known and more crudely powerful than the classic. Thus of the pair _sweat-perspiration, sweat_ is the plain-spoken, everyday member, _perspiration_ the polite, even learned member. The man of limited vocabulary says _sweat_; even the sophisticated person, unless there is occasion to soften effects, finds _sweat_ the more natural term. No one would say that a horse perspires. No one would say that human beings must eat their bread in the perspiration of their faces. But _sweat_ is a word of connotation too vigorous (though honest withal) for us to use the term in the drawing room. A questionable woman in _The Vicar of Wakefield_ betrays her lack of breeding by the remark that she is in a muck of sweat.
The native word, besides being in itself simpler and starker than the classic, makes stronger appeal to our feelings and affections. In nearly every instance the objects and relationships that have woven themselves into the very texture of our lives are designated by native terms. Even if they are not so designated solely, they are so designated in their more cherished aspects. We warm more to the native _fatherly_ than to the classic _paternal_. We have a deeper sentiment for the native _home_ than for the classic _residence_.
That the native is the more downright term may be seen from the following words. (These pairs are of course merely illustrative. With them might be grouped a few special pairs, like _devilish-diabolical_ and _church_-_ecclesiastical_, of which the first members are classic in origin but of such early naturalization into English that they may be regarded as native.)
belly, stomach belly, abdomen navel, umbilicus suck, nurse naked, nude murder, homicide dead, deceased dead, defunct dying, moribund lust, salacity lewd, libidinous read, peruse lie, prevaricate hearty, cordial following, subsequent crowd, multitude chew, masticate food, pabulum eat, regale meal, repast meal, refection thrift, economy sleepy, soporific slumberous, somnolent live, reside rot, putrefy swelling, protuberant soak, saturate soak, absorb stinking, malodorous spit, saliva spit, expectorate thievishness, kleptomania belch, eructate sticky, adhesive house, domicile eye, optic walker, pedestrian talkative, loquacious talkative, garrulous wisdom, sapience bodily, corporeal name, appellation finger, digit show, ostentation nearness, propinquity wash, lave handwriting, chirography waves, undulations shady, umbrageous fat, corpulent muddy, turbid widow, relict horseback, equestrian weight, avoirdupois blush, erubescence
The word of classic origin in many instances survives only or mainly in the form of an adjective; as a noun (or other part of speech) it has completely or largely disappeared. This fact may be observed in lists already given, particularly List A. It may also be observed in the following words:
moon, lunar star, stellar star, sidereal sun, solar earth, terrestrial world, mundane heaven, celestial hell, infernal earthquake, seismic ear, aural head, capital hand, manual foot, pedal breast, pectoral heart, cardial hip, sciatic tail, caudal throat, guttural