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<What Words to Learn First>
What, then, is your first task? Somebody has laid down the injunction--
and, as always when anything is enjoined, others have given it currency--
that each day you should learn two new words. So be it,--but which two?
The first two in the dictionary, or hitherto left untouched in your
syst... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
You will speedily discover that your vocabulary embraces several distinct
classes of words. Of these the first consists of those words which you
have at your tongue's end--which you can summon without effort and use in
your daily speech. They are old verbal friends. Numbered with them, to be
sure, there may be a few ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
The third class of words is made up of those you do not speak at all, but
sometimes write. They are acquaintance one degree farther removed than
those of the second class. Your task is to bring them into class two and
thence into class one--that is, to introduce them into your more formal
speech, and from this gradual... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
2. Con the words in each list carefully and repeatedly. Your task is to
transfer these words into a more intimate list--those in class four into
class three, those in three into two, those in two into one. You are then
to promote again the words in the lower classes, except that (if your
judgment so dictates) you may ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
About the only rule to be laid down regarding the definition of verbs,
adjectives, and adverbs is that you must not define a word in terms of
itself. Thus if you define _grudgingly_ as "in a grudging manner,"
you do not dissipate your hearer's uncertainty as to what the word means.
If you define it as "unwillingly" or... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
2. Define the following adjectives, adverbs, and verbs:
Miserable Rebuke Wise
Angrily Rapidly Boundless
Swim Paint Whiten
Haughtily Surly Causelessly
3. So define the following nouns as to prevent any possible confusion with
the nouns following them in parentheses:
W... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
If you are a scholar, _Murray's_ many-volumed _New English
Dictionary_ may be the publication for you; but if you are an ordinary
person, you will probably content yourself with something less expensive
and exhaustive. You will find the _Century Dictionary and
Cyclopedia_, in twelve volumes, or _Webster's New Internat... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
You now know the original sense of the word and its central signification
today. The two may be identical; they may be widely different; but through
reflection or study of the entire definition you will establish some sort
of connection between them. When you have done this, you have mastered the
word. From the two me... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
We must now lay the original meaning alongside the central meaning today,
in order to draw our conclusions. We perceive that the two meanings
correspond. Yet by prying into them we make out one marked difference
between them. The original meaning is literal, the modern largely
figurative. To be sure, the figure has be... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
To thread with minute fidelity the mazes of a word's former history is the
task of the linguistic scholar; our province is the practical and the
present-day. But words, like men, are largely what they are because of
what they have been; and to turn a gossip's eye upon their past is to
procure for ourselves, often, not... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Of the words we have examined, only _sans_ is obsolete, though
_pard_, _saws_, and _pantaloon_ are perhaps not entirely
familiar. That is, only one word in the passage, so far as its outward
form goes, is completely alien to our knowledge. But how different the
matter stands when we consider meanings! The words are wo... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Even apart from reading old literature and from having, when you use
words, no ghosts of their pristine selves rise up to damn you, you may
profit from a knowledge of how the meaning of a term has evolved. For
example, you will meet many tokens and reminders of the customs and
beliefs of our ancestors. Thus _coxcomb_ ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Again, you will perceive that many words once had more literal or more
definitely concrete meanings than they have now. To corrode is to gnaw
along with others, to differ is to carry apart, to refuse is to pour back.
Polite is polished, absurd is very deaf, egregious is taken from the
common herd, capricious is leapin... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
You will furthermore perceive that the exaggerated affirmations people are
always indulging in have led to the weakening of many a word. _Fret_
meant eat; formerly to say that a man was fretting was to use a vigorous
comparison--to have the man devoured with care. _Mortify_ meant to
kill, then killed with embarrassmen... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
A backward glance over the history of words repays you in showing you the
words for what they are, and in having them live out their lives before
you. Do you know what an _umpire_ is? He is a non (or num) peer, a
not equal man, an odd man--one therefore who can decide disputes. Do you
know what a _nickname_ is? It is ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
EXERCISE - Past
1. For each of the following words look up (a) the present meaning if you
do not know it, (b) the original meaning, (c) any other past meanings you
can find.
Exposition Corn Cattle
Influence Sanguine Turmoil
Sinecure Waist Shrew
Potential ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Nice Awful Atrocious
Grand Horrible Pitiful
Beastly Transpire Claim
Weird Aggravate Uncanny
Demean Gorgeous Elegant
Fine Noisome Mutual (in "a mutual friend")
Lovely Cute ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
This Lodovico is a _proper_ man. A very handsome man.
(Shakespeare: _Othello_)
Mice and rats and such small _deer_. (Shakespeare: _King Lear_)
This is no sound
That the earth _owes_. (Shakespeare: _The Tempest_)
Every shepherd _tells_ his _tale_. (Milton: _L'Allegro_)
Bring the _rathe_ primrose that forsaken dies. (_R... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
V.
INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS MEMBERS OF VERBAL FAMILIES
Our investigation into the nature, qualities, and fortunes of single words
must now merge into a study of their family connections. We do not go far
into this new phase of our researches before we perceive that the career
of a word may be very complicated. Most p... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
In our work hitherto we have had nothing to say of verbal consanguinity.
But we have not wholly ignored its existence, for the very good reason
that we could not. For example, in the latter portions of Chapter IV we
proceeded on the hypothesis that at least some words have ancestors. Also
in the analysis of the dictio... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
The _scribes_ are of undivided racial stock, Latin. Consider now the
_manu_, or _man_, words which sprang from the Latin
_manus_, meaning "hand." Here are some of them: manual, manoeuver,
mandate, manacle, manicure, manciple, emancipate, manage, manner,
manipulate, manufacture, manumission, manuscript, amanuensis. The... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Captain Cathedral Governor
Capital Chaise Gubernatorial
Decapitate Chair
Chef Shay Guardian
Chieftain Ward
Camp
Cavalry Campaign Guarantee
Chi... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
In English likewise are thousands of these verbal marriages. We may not be
aware of them; from our very familiarity with words we may overlook the
fact that in instances uncounted their oneness has been welded by a
linguistic minister or justice of the peace. But to read a single page or
harken for thirty seconds to o... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Intermarriage between the _phones_ and the _graphs_ or
_grams_ is a wedding of equals. Some families of words, however, are
of inferior social standing to other families, and may seek but not hope
to be sought in marriage. Compare the _ex's_ with the _ports_.
An _ex_, as a preposition, belongs to a prolific family but... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Prying Into a Word's Relationships>
Hitherto in our study of verbal relationships we have usually started with
the family. Having strayed (as by good luck) into an assembly of kinsmen,
we have observed the common strain and the general characteristics, and
have then "placed" the individual with reference to these. B... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Your investigations thus far have done more than teach you the meaning of
the word you began with. They have brought you some of the by-products of
the study of verbal kinships. For you no longer pass the _ologies_ by
with face averted or bow timidly ventured. You have become so well
acquainted with them that even a n... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
In _conchology_ only one element, _ology_, was really dubious at
the outset. Let us take a word of which both elements give you pause.
Suppose your thought is arrested by the word _eugenics_. You perhaps
know the word as a whole, but not its components. For by looking at it and
thinking about it you decide that its st... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Thus by studying two words, _conchology_ and _eugenics_, you
have for the first time placed yourself on an intimate footing with three
verbal families--the _ologies_, the _eu's,_ and the _gens_.
Observe that though you studied the _ologies_ apart from the
_eu's_ and the _gens_, your knowledge--once you have acquired
i... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Two Admonitions>
In tracing verbal kinships you must be prepared for slight variations in
the form of the same key-syllable. Consider these words: wise, wiseacre,
wisdom, wizard, witch, wit, unwitting, to wit, outwit, twit, witticism,
witness, evidence, providence, invidious, advice, vision, visit, vista,
visage, vi... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
FIRST GENERAL EXERCISE FOR THE CHAPTER
Each of the key-syllables given below is followed by (1) a list of fairly
familiar words that embody it, (2) a list of less familiar words that
embody it, (3) several sentences containing blank spaces, into each of
which you are ultimately to fit the appropriate word from the fi... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Sentences_: He plucked a ____ from the ____. The ____ hair of
the ____ was so glossy it seemed ____. He ____ his sword and bore
the ____ of the conflict. After drinking so much ____ he saw snakes in his
imagination, he staggered off into the woods and met Old ____ in reality.
<Cad, cas, cid> (fall): (1) cadence, dec... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Cide, cis(e)> (cut, kill): (1) decide, suicide, homicide, concise,
precise, decisive, incision, scissors, chisel, cement; (2) patricide,
fratricide, infanticide, regicide, germicide, excision, circumcision,
incisors, cesura.
_Sentences_: He could not ____ whether to make the ____ with
a ____ or a pair of ____. There... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Sentences_: We ____ the company to ____ the fare. They ____ ten
cents from the wages of each man, an average ____ of four per cent.
They ____ us when they say we have wilfully lessened ____. The highwaymen
____ the ____. If you have an ____, you can ____ an idea in other words.
<Error> (wander): (1) error, erroneous... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Fer> (bear, carry): (1) transfer, prefer, proffer, suffer, confer,
offer, referee, deference, inference, indifferent, ferry, fertile; (2)
referendum, Lucifer, circumference, vociferate, auriferous, coniferous,
pestiferous.
_Sentences_: With real ____ to their wishes he ____ to ____ the
goods by ____. The ____ of th... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<It> (go): (1) exit, transit, transition, initial, initiative,
ambition, circuit, perishable; (2) itinerant, transitory, obituary,
sedition, circumambient.
_Sentences_: The ____ was broken. It was his ____ shipment of ____
goods, and they suffered a good deal in ____. His ____ was to be regarded
as a man of great __... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Sentences_: In ____ he listened to the ____ and took an occasional
note in an ____ hand. She ____ an ____ costume. They ____ the only man
who was ____. He did not ____ to take up the ____. He was ____ rather
than ____. Her mind was too ____ to ____ all the circumstances.
<Lig> (bind): (1 and 2 combined) ligament, li... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Move, mote, mob> (move): (1) move, movement, removal, remote,
promote, promotion, motion, motive, emotion, commotion, motor, locomotive,
mob, mobilize, automobile, moment; (2) immovable, motivate, locomotor
ataxia, mobility, immobile, momentum.
_Sentences_: The next ____ was his, and his ____ was profound.
The ____ ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Pend, pense, pond> (hang, weigh): (1) pending, impending,
independent, pendulum, perpendicular, expenditure, pension, suspense,
expense, pensive, compensate, ponder, ponderous, preponderant, pansy,
poise, pound; (2) pendant, stipend, appendix, compendium, propensity,
recompense, indispensable, dispensation, dispensa... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Pose, pone> (place): (1) expose, compose, purpose, posture,
position, composure, impostor, postpone, post office, positive, deposit,
disposition, imposition, deponent, opponent, exponent, component;
(2) depose, impost, composite, apposite, repository, preposition,
interposition, juxtaposition, decomposition.
_Senten... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Sequ, secu, sue> (follow): (1) sequel, sequence, consequence,
subsequent, consecutive, execute, prosecute, persecute, sue, ensue,
suitor, suitable, pursuit, rescue, second; (2) obsequies, obsequious,
sequester, inconsequential, non sequitur, executor, suite.
_Sentences_: On the ____ day they continued the ____. In t... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_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... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Stead> (place): (1 and 2 combined) stead, steadfast, instead,
homestead, farmstead, roadstead, bestead.
_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 ___... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Term, termin> (end, bound): (1 and 2 combined) term, terminus,
terminal, terminate, determine, indeterminate, interminable, exterminate.
_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 t... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Vert, vers(e)> (turn): (1) avert, divert, convert, invert, pervert,
advertize, inadvertent, verse, aversion, adverse, adversity, adversary,
version, anniversary, versatile, divers, diversity, conversation,
perverse, universe, university, traverse, subversive, divorce;
(2) vertebra, vertigo, controvert, revert, avers... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_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 term... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
(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 littl... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Sentences_: Occupying the position for a while will ____ you 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 ____ ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_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 a... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_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, illuso... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_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, ign... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
(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, omnipo... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
(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 __... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_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 ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
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 overlook... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Latin Prefixes>
_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
*Cir... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Greek word Meaning English representatives_
*Aner, andros, man, stamen androgynous, philander,
anthropos philanthropy
*Archos chief, primitive archaic, architect
*Astron star asterisk, disaster
Autos self ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Greek Prefixes>
_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 antido... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Opposites>
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 ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_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... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Words Often Confused>
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 loo... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
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 purpos... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Allusion, illusion>. It is an ____ to suppose that I made any ____
to you.
<Allusion, reference>. It was more than a possible ____; it was an
unmistakable ____.
<Amateur, novice>. Though we call him a(n) ____, he is in skill by no
means the ____ you might think him.
<Ambiguous, equivocal>. You are unintentionally ___... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Belief, faith.> He possibly had ____, but not an active ____.
<Benignant, benign.> Her social manner was ____. The ____ influence
of sunlight.
<Beside, besides.> ____ his personal friends, many people he had not
even met stood ____ his sickbed.
<Blanch, whiten.> At this threat the face of the heroine ____. With a
pai... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Commercial, mercantile.> Petty commercial transactions. A mercantile
treaty.
<Common, mutual.> This pavilion was the common play-house for the
children of the neighborhood. Ward and Aker held this property as their
mutual possession.
<Complement, compliment.> This addition is the complement of our
quota. He paid his ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Credible, creditable.> I do not doubt it; it is entirely credible.
The success of the antidote seemed scarcely creditable.
<Credit, accredit.> Though he is the official and credited
ambassador, his assertions are not accredited.
<Cure, heal.> I cured the dog's wounds. The physician declared he
could heal leprosy.
<Cu... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Dry, arid.> A dry plain. An arid place to sleep in.
<Dumb, mute.> The man stood dumb with surprise. Always be kind to
mute animals.
<Durable, lasting.> Our joy is durable. Oak is a lasting wood.
3. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members
of each of the following pairs. Frame sentences to illust... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
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
majorit... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
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, reven... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
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 th... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
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 ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Sometimes the native word is less familiar than the classic:
<LIST C>
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 ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
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 so... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
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:
<LIST F>
moon, lunar ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
EXERCISE - Parallels
<LIST G>
Study the discriminations between the members of the following pairs. At
each blank in the illustrative sentences insert the appropriate word.
<Brotherly, fraternal.> _Brotherly_ is used of actual blood
kinship, or indicates close feeling, deep affection, or religious love.
_Fraternal_ i... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Manly, virile>. _Manly_ implies possession of traits or
qualities a man should possess; it may be used of immature persons.
_Virile_ implies maturity and robust masculinity; it is also used of
the power to procreate. "A ____ lad." "A ____ reply." "____ energy."
"____ and aggressive." "____ forbearance."
<Inner, inter... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Homesickness, nostalgia>. All of us have heard physicians call
commonplace ailments by extraordinary names. When homesickness reaches the
stage where a physician is or might be called in, it becomes nostalgia.
The latter term suggests morbid or chronic suffering. A healthy boy away
from home for the first time is hom... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Greedy, voracious.> _Greedy_ denotes excessiveness (usually
habitual) of appetite or, in its figurative uses, of desire; it nearly
always carries the idea of selfishness. _Voracious_ denotes intense
hunger or the hasty and prolonged consumption of great quantities of food;
it may indicate, not habitual selfishness, b... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Truth, veracity.> _Truth_ has to do with the accuracy of the
statement, of the facts; _veracity_ with the intention of the person
to say nothing false. "I cannot vouch for the veracity of the story, but I
can for the truth of the teller." "Though he is not a man of veracity, I
believe he is now speaking the truth." "... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Lean, attenuated>. "The fat man had grown attenuated."
"Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look." "The hot metal was then drawn
into an attenuated wire." "Only a lean line of our soldiers faced the
dense masses of the enemy."
<Home-like, domestic>. "The scene was quiet and domestic." "It is
home-like, inexpressibly de... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
nightly,-- motherly,--
breadth,-- buy,--
hot,-- fall,--
thought,-- sleeplessness,--
fatherly,-- yearly,--
outer,-- depth,--
womanly,-- speech,--
<LIST K>
Discriminate between the members of each of the following pairs, and frame
sentences to illustrate the correct... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<LIST M>
Cover with a piece of paper the native (left-hand) members of the
following pairs, and if possible ascertain what they are by studying the
classic members. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of both
words in each pair.
skin, cuticle thunder, fulminate
skin, in... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<LIST N>
For each of the following pairs frame a sentence which shall contain one
of the members. Can the other member be substituted without affecting the
meaning of the sentence? Read the discrimination of _Height-altitude_
in EXERCISE - Parallels. Ask yourself similar questions to bring out the
distinction between... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
Turn back to Lists A, B, C, D, E, and F. Discriminate between the members
of each pair contained in these lists. Frame sentences to illustrate the
correct use of the words.
VII
SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (1)
In considering pairs we have, without using the word, been studying
synonyms. For most pairs are synonyms (... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
In your study of synonyms you will find most of the dictionaries
previously named of great help. You may also profitably consult the
following books of synonyms (heavy, scholastic works not suited for
ordinary use are omitted):
<Books of Plain Synonyms and Antonyms>
Edith B. Ordway: _Synonyms and Antonyms_. A compact... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
The principle of proceeding from the known to the unknown may be applied
to synonyms in various ways. Two of these--the two of most importance--we
must consider here.
First, you should reckon with your personal, demonstrated needs. Just as
you have already analyzed your working vocabulary for its general limits
and sh... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
We are aware that the world is made up of various classes and conditions
of men. How did we learn this? Let us go back to the time when our minds
were a blank, when we were babes and sucklings, when we had not perceived
that men exist, much less that mankind is infinitely complex. A baby comes
slowly to understand tha... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
So it is with all our ideas and with all our words to cap them. We radiate
from an ascertained center into new areas of knowledge; we proceed from
the broad, fundamental, generic to the precise, discriminatory, specific.
Upon this natural law are based the exercises in this chapter and the two
to follow. The starting-... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
EXERCISE A
After three introductory groups (dealing with thoroughly concrete ideas
and words) the synonyms in this exercise are arranged alphabetically
according to the first word in each group.
This first word is generic. It is immediately followed by a list of its
synonyms. These are then informally discriminated o... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Assignment for further discrimination_: <sneak, shamble, amble,
wander, stamp, slouch, gad, gallivant, glide, hike>.
_Sentences_: They ____ down the lane in the moonlight. Rip Van
Winkle loved to ____ about the mountains. "The plowman homeward ____ his
weary way." The old man ____ down the street with his cane. The ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Assignment for further discrimination_: <chortle, roar>.
_Second assignment_: Name all the words you can that designate
inaudible laughter (for example, <smile, smirk, grin>).
_Sentences_: The rough fellow ____ in the lecturer's face. "If you
prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not ____?" He kept ____... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Assignment for further discrimination_: <leer, view, survey,
inspect, regard, watch, contemplate>.
_Sentences_: The inspecting officer ____ the men's equipment. The
student ____ his lessons carefully. At this unexpected proposal Dobbett
merely ____. Jimmie ____ at the fellow who had kicked the pup. The
inquisitive m... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Sentences_: They ____ the guilty officer from captain to lieutenant.
A man should ____ himself before God. He had so ____ himself that I no
longer expected good of him. His detection at cheating had ____ him before
the students. By successive overlords they had been ____ into a condition
of serfdom. The aristocratic ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Ask, inquire, question, interrogate, interpellate, query, quiz,
catechize, request, beg, solicit, entreat, beseech, crave, implore,
supplicate, importune, petition.>
From the general tree of asking grow many branches, different in size, in
the direction they take, in the shades of meaning they cast. What can we
lear... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Burn, scorch, singe, sear, parch, char, incinerate, cremate,
cauterize.>
If you consume or injure something by bringing it in contact with fire or
heat, you _burn_ it. If you do not consume it but burn it
superficially so as to change the texture or color of its surface, you
_scorch_ it. If you burn off ends or proj... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Sentences_: Early in life he acquired ____ habits. By patient and
____ study you may overcome those defects of your early education. "How
doth the ____ little bee improve each shining hour." The manager gave such
____ attention to details that he made few mistakes. He is ____ at
present. Oh, yes, he is always ____. "... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Death, decease, demise.>
Men are as mindful of rank and pretension in their terms for the cessation
of life as in their choice of tombstones for the departed. _Death_ is
the great, democratic, unspoilable word. It is not too good for a clown or
too poor for an emperor. _Decease_ is a more formal word. Its
employment... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Face, countenance, features, visage, physiognomy.>
We hear some one say that he reads faces. How? Through long study of them
and what they indicate. The human race as a whole has been reading faces
through the centuries. It has felt such need to label certain recurring
aspects of them that it has invented the design... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Flee, abscond, decamp.>
To _flee_ is to run away from what one would avoid, as danger,
arrest, or the like. To _abscond_ is to steal off secretly and hide
one's self, as from some disgraceful reason or to avoid arrest. To
_decamp_ is to leave suddenly in great haste to get away; the word is
often used humorously.
_S... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
_Sentences_: With such wages as those, he can barely ____ a living.
He ____ a pardon by appealing to the governor. The speaker ____ his point
by forcing his opponent to admit that the figures were misleading. By
buying in June I can ____ a good overcoat at half price. Did you ____ only
seven thousand dollars for your ... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 | |
<Hate, detest, abhor, loathe, abominate, despise>.
To _hate_ involves deep or passionate dislike, sometimes bred of
ill-will. To _detest_ involves an intense, vehement, or deep-seated
antipathy. To _abhor_ involves utter repugnance or aversion, with an
impulse to recoil. To _loathe_ involves disgust because of physic... | The Century Vocabulary Builder | Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) | 1889 | 1947 | ['en'] | 104 | {'Vocabulary'} | PG10073 |
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