Word Power Made Easy - Norman Lewis 2014
11 How то insult your enemies (Sessions 28-31)
Part two. Gaining increased momentum
Teaser preview
What do you call a person who:
✵ insists on complete and blind obedience?
✵ toadies to the rich or influential?
✵ dabbles in the fine arts?
✵ is a loud-mouthed, quarrelsome woman?
✵ has a one-track mind?
✵ sneers at other people’s cherished traditions?
✵ does not believe in God?
✵ has imaginary ailments?
Session 28
There are few of us who do not need warm and nourishing relationships to lead a fulfilled life.
Psychology makes clear that loving and being loved are important elements in emotional health, but also points out the necessity for expressing, rather than repressing, our hostilities. (You know how good you feel once you blow ofi steam? And how much closer you can become attached to someone once you directly and honestly vent your anger, resentment, or irritation instead of bottling it up and seething in fury?)
It is a mark of your own emotional maturity if you can accept hostility as well as dish it out So let us pretend, in order to encourage you to become personally involved in the introductory ten words of this chapter, that each paragraph in the next few pages accurately describes you. What label exactly fits your personality?
Ideas
1. slave driver
You make everyone toe the mark—right down to the last centimeter. You exact blind, unquestioning obedience; demand the strictest conformity to rules, however arbitrary or tyrannical; and will not tolerate the slightest deviation from your orders. You are, in short, the very epitome of the army drill sergeant.
You are a martinet.
2. bootlicker
You toady to rich or influential people, catering to their vanity, flattering their ego. You are the personification of the traditional ward heeler, you out-yes the Hollywood yes men. And on top of all these unpleasant characteristics, you’re a complete hypocrite. All your servile attentions and unceasing adulation spring from your own selfish desires to get ahead, not out of any sincere admiration. You cultivate people of power or property so that you can curry favor at the opportune moment.
You are a sycophant.
3. dabbler
Often, though not necessarily, a person of independent income, you engage superficially in the pursuit of one of the fine arts— painting, writing, sculpturing, composing, etc. You do this largely for your own amusement and not to achieve any professional competence; nor are you at all interested in monetary rewards. Your artistic efforts are simply a means of passing time pleasantly.
You are a dilettante.
4. battle-ax
You are a loud-mouthed, shrewish, turbulent woman; you’re quarrelsome and aggressive, possessing none of those gentle and tender qualities stereotypically associated with femininity. You’re strong-minded, unyielding, sharp-tongued, and dangerous. You can curse like a stevedore and yell like a fishwife—and often do.
You are a virago.
5. superpatriot .
Anything you own or belong to is better—simply because you own it or belong to it, although you will be quick to find more justifiable explanations. Your religion, whatever it may be, is far superior to any other; your political party is the only honest one; your neighborhood puts all others in the city in the shade; members of your own sex are more intelligent, more worthy, more emotionally secure, and in every way far better than people of the opposite sex; your car is faster, more fun to drive, and gets better gas mileage than any other, no matter in what price range; and of course your country and its customs leave nothing to be desired, and inhabitants of other nations are in comparison barely civilized. In short, you are exaggeratedly, aggressively, absurdly, and excessively devoted to your own affiliations—and you make no bones about advertising such prejudice.
You are a chauvinist.
6. fanatic
You have a one-track mind—and when you’re riding a particular hobby, you ride it hard. You have such an excessive, all- inclusive zeal for one thing (and it may be your business, your profession, your husband or wife, your children, your stomach, your money, or whatever) that your obsession is almost absurd. You talk, eat, sleep that one thing—to the point where you bore everyone to distraction.
You are a monomaniac.
7. attacker
You are violently against established beliefs, revered traditions, cherished customs—such, you say, stand in the way of reform and progress and are always based on superstition and irrationality. Religion, family, marriage, ethics—you weren’t there when these were started and you’re not going to conform simply because most unthinking people do.
You are an iconoclast.
8. skeptic
There is no God—that’s your position and you’re not going to budge from it.
You are an atheist.
9. self-indulger
You are, as a male, lascivious, libidinous, lustful, lewd, wanton, immoral—but more important, you promiscuously attempt to satisfy (and are often successful in so doing) your sexual desires with any woman within your arm’s reach.
You are a lecher.
10. worrier
You are always sick, though no doctor can find an organic cause for your ailments. You know you have ulcers, though medical tests show a healthy stomach. You have heart palpitations, but a cardiogram fails to show any abnormality. Your headaches are caused (you’re sure of it) by a rapidly growing brain tumor—yet X rays show nothing wrong. These maladies are not imaginary, however; to you they are most real, non-existent as they may be in fact. And as you travel from doctor to doctor futilely seeking confirmation of your imminent death, you become more and more convinced that you’re too weak to go on much longer. Organically, of course, there’s nothing the matter with you. Perhaps tensions, insecurities, or a need for attention is taking the form of simulated bodily ills.
You are a hypochondriac.
Using the words
Can you pronounce the words?
Can you work with the words?
Words
1. martinet
2. sycophant
3. dilettante
4. virago
5. chauvinist
6. monomaniac
7. iconoclast
8. atheist
9. lecher
10. hypochondriac
Key ideas
a. superficiality
b. patriotism
c. godlessness
d. single-mindedness
e. antitradition
f. sex
g. illness
h. discipline
i. turbulence
j. flattery
Key: 1-h, 2-j, 3-a, 4-i, 5-b, 6-d, 7-e, 8-c, 9-f, 10-g
Do you understand the words?
Key: 1-no, 2-no, 3-no, 4-no, 5-no, 6-yes, 7-yes, 8-no, 9-no, 10-yes
Can you recall the words?
1. a person whose emotional disorder is reflected in non-organic or imaginary bodily ailments
2. a strict disciplinarian
3. a lewd and sexually aggressive male
4. a toady to people of wealth or power
5. a disbeliever in God
6. a dabbler in the arts
7. a shrewish, loud-mouthed female
8. a scoffer at tradition
9. person with a one-track mind
10. a blatant superpatriot
1. H ...
2. M ...
3. L ...
4. S ...
5. A ...
6. D ...
7. V ...
8. I ...
9. M ...
10. C ...
Key: 1-hypochondriac, 2-martmet, 3-lecher, 4-sycophant, 5-atheist, 6-dilettante, 7-virago, 8-iconoclast, 9-mono- maniac, 10-chauvinist
Can you use the words?
1. She scoffs at beliefs you have always held dear.
2. You know he’s hale and hearty —but he constantly complains of his illness.
3. She insists her political affiliations are superior to yours.
4. She insists on her subordinates toeing the mark.
5. He makes sexual advances to everyone else’s wife—and is too often successful.
6. He cultivates friends that can do him good—financially.
7. She dabbles with water colors.
8. She insists there is no Deity.
9. She’s a shrew, a harridan, a scold, and a nag.
10. His only interest in life is his fish collection—and he is fanatically, almost psychotically, devoted to it.
1. ...
2. ...
3. ...
4. ...
5. ...
6. ...
7. ...
8. ...
9. ...
10. ...
Key: 1-iconoclast, 2-hypochondriac, 3-chauvinist, 4-martinet, 5-lecher, 6-sycophant, 7-dilettante, 8-atheist, 9-virago, 10-monomaniac
(End of Session 28)
Session 29 Origins and related words
1. the French drillmaster
Jean Martinet was the Inspector General of Infantry during the reign of King Louis XIV—and a stricter, more fanatic drillmaster France had never seen. It was from this time that the French Army’s reputation for discipline dated, and it is from the name of this Frenchman that we derive our English word martinet. The word is always used in a derogatory sense and generally shows resentment and anger on the part of the user. The secretary who calls his boss a martinet, the wife who applies the epithet to her husband, the worker who thus refers to the foreman—these speakers all show their contempt for the excessive, inhuman discipline to which they are asked to submit.
Since martinet comes from a man’s name (in the Brief Intermission which follows we shall discover that a number of picturesque English words are similarly derived), there are no related forms built on the same root. There is an adjective martinetish 
and another noun form, martinetism, but these are used only rarely.
2. a Greek ’’fig-shower’’
Sycophant comes to us from the Greeks. According to Shipley’s Dictionary of Word Origins:
When a fellow wants to get a good mark, he may polish up an apple and place it on teacher’s desk; his classmates call such a lad an apple-shiner. Less complimentary localities use the term bootlicker. The Greeks had a name for it: fig-shower. Sycophant is from Gr. sykon, fig, [and] phanein, to show. This was the fellow that informed the officers in charge when (1) the figs in the sacred groves were being taken, or (2) when the Smyrna fig-dealers were dodging the tariff.
Thus, a sycophant may appear to be a sort of “stool pigeon,” since the latter curries the favot of police officials by “peaching” on his fellow criminals. Sycophants may use this means of ingratiating themselves with influential citizens of the community; or they may use flattery, servile attentions, or any other form of insinuating themselves into someone’s good graces. A sycophant practices sycophancy 
and has a sycophantic 
attitude. All three forms of the word are highly uncomplimentary—use them with care.
Material may be so delicate or fine in texture that anything behind it will show through. The Greek prefix dia- means through; and phanein, as you now know, means to show—hence such material is called diaphanous 
Do not use the adjective in reference to all material that is transparent (for example, you would not call glass diaphanous, even though you can see tight through it), but only material that is silky, gauzy, filmy, and, in addition, transparent or practically transparent. The word is often applied to female garments—nightgowns, negligees, etc.
3. just for one's own amusement
Dilettante is from the Italian verb dilettare, to delight. The dilettante paints, writes, composes, plays a musical instrument, or engages in scientific experiments purely for amusement — not to make money, become famous, or satisfy a deep creative urge (the latter, I presume, being the justifications for the time that professional artists, writers, composers, musicians, poets,and scientists spend at their chosen work). A dilettantish 
attitude is superficial, unprofessional; dilettantism 
is superficial, part-time dabbling in the type of activity that usually engages the full time and energy of the professional artist or scientist.
Do not confuse the dilettante, who has a certain amount of native talent or ability, with the tyro 
who is the inexperienced beginner in some art, but who may be full of ambition, drive, and energy. To call a person a tyro is to imply that he is just starting in some artistic, scientific, or professional field—he’s not much good yet because he has not had time to develop his skill, if any. The dilettante usually has some skill but isn’t doing much with it. On the other hand, anyone who has developed consummate skill in an Artistic field, generally allied to music, is called a virtuoso 
— like Heifetz or Menuhin On the violin, Horowitz or Rubinstein on the piano. Pluralize virtuoso in the normal way—virtuosos; or if you wish to sound more sophisticated, give it the continental form—virtuosi 
Similarly, the plural of dilettante is either dilettantes or dilettanti 
The i ending for a plural is the Italian form and is common in musical circles. For example, libretto, the story (or book) of an opera, may be pluralized to libretti; concerto, a form of musical composition, is pluralized concerti. However, the Anglicized librettos and concertos are perfectly correct also. Libretto is pronounced 
libretti is
concerto is
and concerti is 
Suit your plural form, I would suggest, to the sophistication of your audience.
4. “masculine” women
Virago comes, oddly enough, from the Latin word for man, vir. Perhaps the derivation is not so odd after all; a virago, far from being stereotypically feminine (i.e., timid, delicate, low-spoken, etc.), is stereotypically masculine in personality—coarse, aggressive, loud-mouthed. Termagant
and harridan 
are words with essentially the same uncomplimentary meaning as virago. To call a brawling woman a virago, a termagant, and a harridan is admittedly repetitious, but is successful in relieving one’s feelings.
5. the old man
Nicolas Chauvin, soldier of the French Empire, so vociferously and unceasingly aired his veneration of Napoleon Bonaparte that he became the laughingstock of all Europe. Thereafter, an exaggerated and blatant patriot was known as a chauvinist—and still is today. Chauvinism 
by natural extension, applies to blatant veneration of, or boastfulness about, any other affiliation besides one’s country.
To be patriotic is to be normally proudof, and devoted to, one’s country—to be chauvinistic 
is to exaggerate such pride and devotion to an obnoxious degree.
We might digress here to investigate an etymological side road down which the word patriotic beckons. Patriotic is built on the Latin word pater, patris, father—one’s country is, in a sense, one’s fatherland.
Let us see what other interesting words are built on this same root.
1. patrimony 
— an inheritance from one’s father. The -топу comes from the same root that gives us money, namely Juno Moneta, the Roman goddess who guarded the temples of finance. The adjective is patrimonial
2. patronymic 
— a name formed on the father’s name, like Johnson (son of John), Martinson, Aaronson, etc. The word combines pater, patris with Greek onyma, name. Onyma plusthe Greek prefix syn-, with or together, forms synonym 
a word of the same name (or meaning), etymologically “a together name.” Onyma plus the prefix anti- against, forms antonym 
a word of opposite meaning, etymologically “an against name.” Onyma plus Greek homos, the same, forms homonym
a word that sounds like another but has a different meaning and spelling, like bare— bear, way—weigh, to—too—two, etc., etymologically “a same name.”A homonym is more accurately called a homophone 
a combination of homos, the same, and phone, sound. The adjective form of synonym is synonymous 
Can you write, and pronounce, the adjective derived from:
antonym? ...
homonym? ...
homophone? ...
3. paternity 
— fatherhood, as to question some one’s paternity, to file a paternity suit in order to collect child support from the assumed, accused, or self-acknowledged father. The adjective is paternal
fatherly. Paternalism 
is the philosophy or system of governing a country or of managing a business or institution, so that the citizens, employees, or staff are treated in a manner suggesting a fatherchildren relationship. (Such a system sounds, and often is, benign and protective, but plays havoc with the initiative, independence, and creativity of those in subordinate roles.) The adjective is paternalistic 
4. patriarch (PAY'-tree-ark')—a venerable, fatherlike old man; an old man in a ruling, fatherlike position. Here pater, patris is combined with the Greek root archein, to rule. The adjective is patriarchal 
the system is a patriarchy
5. patricide 
— the killing of one’s father. Pater, patris combines with -cide, a suffer derived from the Latin verb caedo, to kill. The adjective is patricidal 
This list does not exhaust the number of words built on pater, father, but is sufficient to give you an idea of how closely related many English words are. In your reading you will come across other words containing the letters pater or patr—you will be able to figure them out once you realize that the base is the word father. You might, if you feel ambitious, puzzle out the relationship to the “father idea” in the following words, checking with a dictionary to see how good your linguistic intuition is:
1. patrician
2. patron
3. patronize
4. patronizing (adj.)
5. paterfamilias
6. padre
6. the old lady
Pater, patris is father. Mater, matrix is mother.
For example:
1. matriarch 
— the mother-ruler; the “mother person” that controls a large household, tribe, or country. This word, like patriarch, is built on the root archein, to rule. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth or Queen Victoria, England was a matriarchy 
Can you figure out the adjective form? ...
2. maternity 
— motherhood
3. maternal 
— motherly
4. matron 
— an older woman, one sufficiently mature to be a mother. The adjective matronly 
conjures up for many people a picture of a woman no longer in the glow of youth and possibly with a bit of added weight in the wrong places, so this word should be used with caution; it may be hazardous to your health if the lady you are so describing is of a tempestous nature, or is a virago.
5. alma mater 
— etymologically, “soul mother”; actually, the school or college from which one has graduated, and which in a sense is one’s intellectual mother.
6. matrimony 
— marriage. Though this word is similar to patrimony in spelling, it does not refer to money, as patrimony does; unless, that is, you are cynical enough to believe that people marry for money. As the language was growing, marriage and children went hand in hand—it is therefore not surprising that the word for marriage should be built on the Latin root for mother. Of course, times have changed, but the sexist nature of the English language has not. The noun suffix -топу indicates state, condition, or result, as in sanctimony, parsimony, etc. The adjective is matrimonial 
1. matricide 
— the killing of one’s mother. The adjective? ...
7. murder most foul. . .
Murder unfortunately is an integral part of human life, so there is a word for almost every kind of killing you can think of. Let’s look at some of them.
1. suicide 
— killing oneself (intentionally); -cide plus sui, of oneself. This is both the act and the person who has been completely successful in performing the act (partially doesn’t count); also, in colloquial usage, suicide is a verb. The adjective?
2. fratricide 
— the killing of one’s brother; -cide plus jrater, fratris, brother. The adjective? ...
3. sororicide 
— the killing of one’s sister; -cide plus soror, sister. The adjective? ...
4. homicide 
— the killing of a human being; -cide plus homo, person. In law, homicide is the general term for any slaying. If intent and premeditation can be proved, the act is murder and punishable as such. If no such intent is present, the act is called manslaughter and receives a lighter punishment. Thus, if your mate/lover/spouse makes your life unbearable and you slip some arsenic into his/her coffee one. bright morning, you are committing murder—that is, if he/she succumbs. On the other hand, if you run your victim down—quite accidentally — with your car, bicycle, or wheelchair, with no intent to kill, you will be accused of manslaughter — that is, if death results and if you can prove you didn’t really mean it. It’s all rather delicate, however, and you might do best to put thoughts of justifiable homicide out of your mind. The adjective? ...
5. regicide I 
— the killing of one’s king, president, or other governing official. Booth committed regicide when he assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Adjective? ...
Derivation: Latin rex, regis, king, plus -cide.
6. uxoricide 
— the killing of one’s wife.
Adjective? ... Derivation: Latin uxor, wife, plus -cide.
7. mariticide 
— the killing of one’s husband.
Adjective? ... Derivation: Latin maritus, husband, plus -cide.
8. infanticide 
— the killing of a newborn child. Adjective? ... Derivation: Latin infans, infantis, baby, plus -cide.
9. genocide 
— the killing of a whole race or nation. This is a comparatively new word, coined in 1944 by a UN official named Raphael Lemkin, to refer to the mass murder of the Jews, Poles, etc. ordered by Hitler. Adjective? ... Derivation: Greek genos, race, kind, plus -cide.
10. parricide 
— the killing of either or both parents. Adjective? ...
Lizzie Borden was accused of, and tried for, parricide in the 1890s, but was not convicted. A bit of doggerel that was popular at the time, and, so I have been told, little girls jumped rope to, went somewhat as follows:
Lizzie Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks—
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
REVIEW OF ETYMOLOGY
USING THE WORDS
Can you pronounce the words? (I)
Can you pronounce the words? (II)
Can you pronounce the words? (Ill)
Can you pronounce the words? (IV)
Can you pronounce the words? (V)
Can you pronounce the words? (VI)
Can you work with the words? (I)
1. sycophancy
2. dilettantism
3. chauvinism
4. patrimony
5.patricide
6. matricide
7. fratricide
8. sororicide
9. homicide
10. regicide
a. murder of one’s father
b. excessive patriotism
c. murder of one’s ruler
d. inheritance from one’s father
e. murder of one’s sister
f. murder of one’s brother
g. murder of a person
h. toadying
i. murder of one’s mother
j. dabbling
Key: 1-h, 2-j, 3-b, 4-d, 5-a, 6-i, 7-f, 8-e, 9-g, 10-c
Can you work with the words? (II)
1. uxoricide
2. infanticide -
3. genocide
4. matrimony
5. matriarch
6. maternity
7. matron
8. alma mater
9. paternity
10. patriarch
a. marriage
b. killing of one’s child
c. fatherhood
d. mother-ruler
e. killing of one’s wife
f. older woman
g. one’s school or college
h. motherhood
i. old man in governing position
j. killing of whole groups of people
Key: 1-e, 2-b, 3-j, 4-a, 5-d, 6-h, 7-f, 8-g, 9-c, 10-i
Con you work with the words? (Ill)
1. parricide
2. patronymic
3. chauvinistic
4. sycophantic
5. diaphanous
6. dilettanti
7. tyro
8. virtuoso
9. termagant
a. catering to people of power or position
b. name from father
c. dabblers
d. an accomplished musician
e. filmy, gauzy
f. blatantly overpatriotic
g. loud-mouthed woman
h. a beginner
i. killing of either or both parents
Key: 1-i, 2-b, 3-f, 4-a, 5-e, 6-c, 7-h, 8-d, 9-g
Can you work with the words? (IV)
1. synonyms
2. antonyms
3. homonyms
4. paternalism
5. suicide
6. mariticide
7. martmetish
8. dilettantish
9. paternal
10. matronly
a. system in which those in power have a father-child relationship with subordinates
b. like a strict disciplinarian
c. self-killing
d. fatherly
e. referring to or like, those who “play at” an art
f. words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have unrelated meanings
g. words of similar meaning
h. referring to, or like, an older woman
i. husband-killing
j. words of opposite meaning
Key: 1-g, 2—j, 3-f, 4-a, 5-c, 6-i, 7-b, 8-e, 9-d, 10-h
Can you work with the words? (V)
1. harridan
2. homophones
3. maternal
4. matrimonial
5. synonymous
6. antonymous
7. homonymous
8. patriarchal
9. matriarchal
10. homicidal
a. motherly
b. similar in meaning
c. referring to a system in which older men are in power
d. the same in sound but not in spelling or meaning
e. likely to kill; referring to the killing of a person
f. referring to a system in which older women are in power
g. virago
h. opposite in meaning
i. referring to marriage
j. words that sound the same
Key: 1-g, 2-j, 3-a, 4-i, 5-b, 6-h, 7-d, 8-c, 9-f, 10-e
Do you understand the words?
Key: 1-no, 2-yes, 3-no, 4-no, 5-yes, 6-no, 7-no, 8-yes, 9-yes, 10-yes, 11-yes, 12-no, 13-yes, 14-yes, 15-no
Can you recall the words? (I)
1. father-killing (noun)
2. wife-killing (noun)
3. mature woman
4. toadying to people of influence (adj.)
5. skilled musician
6. exaggerated patriotism
7. turbulent female (three words)
8. name derived from father’s name
9. powerful father figure in a ruling position
10. powerful mother figure in a ruling position
11. motherly
12. motherhood
13. marriage
14. one’s school or college
15. attitude of catering to wealth or prestige (noun)
16. killing of a race or nation
17. dabbling in the fine arts (noun)
18. a beginner in a field
19. plural of virtuoso (Italian form)
20. having an attitude of excessive patriotism (adj.)
21. inheritance from father
22. sheer, transparent
23. mother-killing (noun)
24. brother-killing (noun)
25. sister-killing (noun)
26. killing of a human being
27. killing of one’s ruler
28. killing of a baby
29. killing of one’s husband
30. killing of either parent or of both parents
1. P ...
2. U ...
3. M ...
4. S ...
5. V ...
6. C ...
7. T ... or H ... or V ...
8. P ...
9. P ...
10. M ...
11. M ...
12. M ...
13. M ...
14. A ...
15. S ...
16. G ...
17. D ...
18. T ...
19. V ...
20. C ...
21. P ...
22. D ...
23. M ...
24. F ...
25. S ...
26. H ...
27. R ...
28. I ...
29. M ...
30. P ...
Key: 1-patricide, 2-uxoricide, 3-matron, 4-sycophantic, 5-virtuoso, 6-chauvinism, 7-termagant, harridan, virago, 8-patronymic, 9-patriarch, 10-matriarch, 11-matemal, 12-matemity, 13-matrimony, 14—alma mater, 15-sycophancy, 16-genocide, 17-dilettantism, 18-tyro, 19-virtuosi, 20-chauvinistic, 21-patrimony, 22-diaphanous, 23-matricide, 24-fratricide, 25-sororicide, 26-homicide, 27-regicide, 28-infanticide, 29-mariticide, 30-parricide
Can you recall the words? (II)
1. words of similar meaning
2. words of Opposite meaning
3. words of the same sound
4. fatherly
5. protective and fatherly toward one’s subordinates (adj.)
6. older woman
7. self-destructive
8. meaning the same (adj.)
9. having opposite meanings (adj.)
10. sounding the same but spelled differently (adj.)
1. S...s
2. A...s
3. H...s or H...s
4. P ...
5. P ...
6. M ...
7. S ...
8. S ...
9. A ...
10. H ... or H ...
Key: 1-synonyms, 2-antonyms, 3-homonyms or homophones, 4-patemal, 5-patemalistic, 6-matron, 7-suicidal, 8-synonymous, 9-antonymous, 10-homonymous or homophonous
(End of Session 29)
Session 30 Origins and related words
1. brothers and sisters, wives and husbands
Frater, brother; soror, sister; uxor, wife; and maritus, husband —these roots are the source of a number of additional English words:
1. to fraternize 
— etymologically, to have a brotherly relationship (with). This verb may be used to indicate social intercourse between people, irrespective of sex, as in, “Members of the faculty often fraternized after school hours.”
Additionally, and perhaps more commonly, there may be the implication of having a social relationship with one’s subordinates in an organization, or even with one’s so-called inferiors, as in, “The president of the college was reluctant to fraternize with faculty members, preferring to keep ah her contacts with them on an exclusively professional basis”; or as in, “The artist enjoyed fraternizing with thieves, drug addicts, prostitutes, and pimps, partly out of social perversity, partly to find interesting faces to put in his paintings.”
The verb also gained a new meaning during and after World War П, when soldiers of occupying armies had sexual relations with the women of conquered countries, as in, “Military personnel were strictly forbidden to fraternize with the enemy.” (How euphemistic can you get?)
Can you write the noun form of fraternize? ...
2. fraternal 
— brotherly. The word also designates non-identical (twins).
3. fraternity 
— a men’s organization in a high school or college, often labeled with Greek letters (the Gamma Delta Epsilon Fraternity); or any group of people of similar interests or profession (the medical fraternity, the financial fraternity).
4. sorority 
— a women’s organization in high school or college, again usually Greek-lettered; or any women’s social club.
5. uxorious 
— an adjective describing a man who excessively, even absurdly, caters to, dotes on, worships, and submits to the most outlandish or outrageous demands of, his wife. This word is not synonymous with henpecked, as the henpecked husband is dominated by his wife, perhaps because of his own fear or weakness, while the uxorious husband is dominated only by his neurosis, and quite likely the wife finds his uxoriousness 
comical or a pain in the neck.
(There can, indeed, be too much of a good thing!)
6. uxorial — pertaining to, characteristic of, or befitting, a wife, as uxorial duties, privileges, attitudes, etc.
7. marital 
— etymologically, pertaining or referring to, or characteristic of, a husband; but the meaning has changed to include the marriage relationship of both husband and wife (don’t ever let anyone tell you that our language is not sexist!), as marital duties, obligations, privileges, arguments, etc. Hence extramarital is literally outside the marriage, as in extramarital affairs (hanky-panky with someone other than one’s spouse). And premarital (Latin prefix pre-, before) describes events that occur before a planned marriage, as premarital sex, a premarital agreement as to the division of property, etc.
2. of cabbages and kings (without the cabbage)
Rex, regis is Latin for king. Tyrannosaurus rex was the king (i.e., the largest) of the dinosaurs (etymologically, “king of the tyrant lizards”). Dogs are often named Rex to fool them into thinking they are kings rather than slaves. And regal 
is royal, or fit for a king, hence magnificent, stately, imperious, splendid, etc., as in regal bearing or manner, aregal mansion, a regal reception, etc. The noun is regality 
Regalia 
a plural noun, designated the emblems or insignia or dress of a king, and now refers to any impressively formal clothes; or, more commonly, to the decorations, insignia, or uniform of a rank, position, office, social club, etc. “The Shriners were dressed in full regalia,” “The five-star general appeared in full regalia,” etc.
3. “madness” of all sorts
The monomaniac develops an abnormal obsession in respect to one particular thing (Greek monos, one), but is otherwise normal. The obsession itself, or the obsessiveness, is monomania 
the adjective is monomaniacal
Monomaniacal, like the adjective forms of various other manias, is tricky to pronounce—practice carefully to make sure you can say it correctly without stuttering.
Psychology recognizes other abnormal states, all designating obsessions, and built on Greek mania, madness.
1. dipsomania 
— morbid compulsion to keep on absorbing alcoholic beverages (Greek dipsa, thirst). The dipsomaniac has been defined as the person for whom one drink is too many, a thousand not enough. Recent investigations suggest that dipsomania, or alcoholism, may not necessarily be caused by anxieties or frustrations, but possibly by a metabolic or physiological disorder.
Adjective: dipsomaniacal 
2. kleptomania 
— morbid compulsion to steal, not from any economic motive, but simply because the urge to take another’s possessions is irresistible. The kleptomaniac (Greek klepte, thief) may be wealthy, and yet be an obsessive shoplifter. The kleptomaniac, for reasons that psychologists are still arguing about, is more often a female than a male, and may pinch her best friend’s valueless trinket, or a cheap ashtray or salt shaker from a restaurant, not because she wants, let alone needs, the article, but because she apparently can’t help herself; she gets carried away. (When she arrives home, she may toss it in a drawer with other loot, and never look at it again.)
Can you write (and correctly pronounce) the adjective? ...
3. pyromania 
— morbid compulsion to set fires. Pyromania should not be confused with incendiarism
which is the malicious and deliberate burning of another’s property, and is not a compulsive need to see the flames and enjoy the thrill of the heat and the smoke. Some pyromaniacs join volunteer fire companies, often heroically putting out the very blazes they themselves have set. An incendiary 
is antisocial, and usually sets fires for revenge. Either of these two dangerous characters is called, colloquially, a “firebug.”
In law, setting fire to another’s, or to one’s own, property for the purpose of economic gain (such as the collection of the proceeds of an insurance policy) is called arson
and is a felony. The pyromaniac sets fire for the thrill; the incendiary for revenge; the arsonist 
for money.
Pyromania is built on Greek pyros, fire; incendiarism on Latin incendo, incensus, to set fire; arson on Latin ardo, arsus, to bum.
Can you write, and pronounce, the adjective form of pyromaniac? ...
4. megalomania 
— morbid delusions of grandeur, power, importance, godliness, etc. Jokes accusing the heads of governments of megalomania are common. Here’s an old chestnut from the forties:
Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin were talking about their dreams.
Churchill: I dreamed last night that God had made me Prime Minister of the whole world.
Roosevelt: I dreamed that God had made me President of the whole world. .
Stalin: How could you gentlemen have such dreams? J didn’t dream of offering you those positions!
Hitler, Napoleon, and Alexander the Great have been called megalomaniacs—all three certainly had delusions about their invincibility.
Can you write (and pronounce correctly!) the adjective derived from megalomaniac? ...
Megalomania is built on Greek megas, great, big, large, plus mania.
[Can you think of the word for what someone speaks through to make the sound (phone) of his voice greater? ...
5. nymphomania 
— morbid, incessant, uncontrollable, and intense desire, on the part of a female, for sexual intercourse (from Greek nymphe, bride, plus mania).
The person? ...
The adjective? ...
6. satyromania 
— the same morbid, incessant, etc. desire on the part of a male (from Greek satyros, satyr, plus mania).
The person? ...
The adjective? ...
A satyr 
was a mythological Greek god, notorious for lechery. He had horns, pointed ears, and the legs of a goat; the rest of him was in human form. Satyromania is also called satyriasis 
4. and now phobias
So much for maniacs. There is another side to the coin. Just as personality disorders can cause morbid attraction toward certain things or acts (stealing, fire, power, sex, etc.), so also other emotional ills can cause violent or morbid repulsions to certain conditions, things, or situations. There are people who have irrational and deep-seated dread of cats, dogs, fire, the number thirteen, snakes, thunder or lightning, various colors, and so on almost without end:* Such morbid dread or fear is called, in the language of psychology, a phobia, and we might pause to investigate the three most common ones. These are:
1. claustrophobia 
— morbid dread of being physically hemmed in, of enclosed spaces, of crowds, etc. From Latin claustrum, enclosed place, plus Greek phobia, morbid fear. The person: claustrophobe 
Adjective: claustrophobic 
2. agoraphobia 
— morbid dread of open space, the reverse of claustrophobia. People suffering from agoraphobia prefer to stay shut in their homes as much as possible, and become panic-stricken in such places as open fields, large public buildings, airport terminals, etc. From Greek agora, market place, plus phobia.
The person? ...
The adjective? ...
3. acrophobia 
— morbid dread of high places. The victims of this fear will not climb ladders or trees, or stand on tops of furniture. They refuse to go onto the roof of a building or look out the window of one of the higher floors. From Greek akros, highest, plus phobia.
The person? ...
The adjective? ...
* For some of these esoteric phobias, see Appendix.
Review of etymology
Using the words
Can you pronounce the words? (I)
Can you work with the words? (I)
1. fraternize
2. fraternal
3. sorority
4. uxorious
5. uxorial
6. marital
7. extramarital
8. premarital
9. regal
10. regalia
a. pertaining to, characteristic of, or befitting, a wife
b. outside the marriage
c. kingly, royal; splendid, stately, magnificent, etc.
d. referring to marriage
e. before marriage
f. socialize
g. excessively indulgent to, or doting on, one’s wife
h. brotherly
i. badges, insignia, dress, etc. of rank or office
j. sisterhood
Key: 1—f, 2-h, 3-j, 4-g, 5-a, 6-d, 7-b, 8-e, 9-c, 10-i
Can you pronounce the words? (II)
Can you work with the words? (II)
1. monomania
2. dipsomania
3. kleptomania
4. pyromania
a. obsession for alcohol
b. obsession for setting fires
c. obsession in one area
d. obsession for thievery
Key: 1-c, 2-a, 3-d, 4-b
Can you pronounce the words? (Ill)
Can you pronounce the words? (IV)
Can you work with the words? (Ill)
1. incendiarism
2. arson
3. megalomania
4. nymphomania
5. satyromania
6. claustrophobia
7. agoraphobia
8. acrophobia
a. delusions of grandeur
b. compulsive sexual needs on the part of a male
c. morbid dread of open spaces
d. morbid dread of enclosed places
e. malicious setting of fires, as for revenge, etc.
f. morbid dread of heights
g. compulsive sexual needs on the part of a female
h. felony of setting fire for economic gain
Key: 1-e, 2-h, 3-a, 4-g, 5-b, 6-d, 7-c, 8-f
Can you work with the words? (IV)
1. incendiary
2. arsonist
3. megalomaniac
4. nymphomaniac
5. satyriasis
6. claustrophobe
7. agoraphobe
8. acrophobe
a. one who has delusions of greatness or power
b. male compulsion for sexual intercourse
c. one who fears shut-in or crowded places
d. one who sets fires out of malice
e. one who fears heights
f. one who fears large or open spaces
g. one who sets fires for economic and illegal profit
h. woman with compulsive, incessant sexual desire
Key: 1-d, 2-g, 3-a, 4-h, 5-b, 6-c, 7-f, 8-e
Do you understand the words?
Key: 1—no, 2-yes, 3-yes, 4-yes, 5-no, 6-no, 7-no, 8-no, 9-no, 10-yes, 11-no, 12-no, 13-yes, 14—no, 15-no, 16-yes, 17-no
Can you recall the words?
1. to socialize
2. excessively indulgent to, and doting on, one’s wife
3. full dress, with ribbons, insignia, badges of office, etc.
4. obsessed in one area or with one overriding interest (adj.)
5. having a compulsion to set fires (adj.)
6. having a psychological compulsion to steal (adj.)
7. person who sets fires for revenge
8. felony of putting the torch to property for economic profit
9. obsessive need for sexual gratification by a male
10. morbidly dreading enclosed or cramped places (adj.)
11. morbidly dreading heights (adj.)
12. morbidly dreading wide-open spaces (adj.)
13. having delusions of grandeur or power (adj.)
14. referring to a female who obsessively needs sexual gratification (adj.)
15. alcoholism
16. stealing for thrills or out of psychological compulsion (adj.)
17. brotherly
18. characteristic of, or befitting, a wife
19. referring to, characteristic of, or involved in, the matrimonial relationship
20. kingly, royal; splendid; etc.
21. outside the marriage (adj.)
22. before marriage (adj.)
1. F ...
2. U ...
3. R ...
4. M ...
5. P ...
6. К ...
7. I ...
8. A ...
9. S ... or S ...
10. C ...
11. A ...
12. A ...
13. M ...
14. N ...
15. D ...
16. K ...
17. F ...
18. U ...
19. M ...
20. R ...
21. E ...
22. P ...
Key: 1-fraternize, 2-uxorious, 3-regalia, 4-monomaniacal, 5-pyromaniacal, 6-kleptomaniacal, 7-incendiary, 8-arson, 9-satyromania or satyriasis, 10-claustrophobic, 11-acrophobic, 12-agoraphobic, 13-megalomaniacal, 14-nympho- maniacal, 15-dipsomania, 16-kleptomaniacal, 17-fraternal, 18-uxorial, 19-marital, 20-regal, 21-extramarital, 22-premarital
(End of Session 30)
Session 31 Origins and related words
1. no reverence
The iconoclast sneers at convention and tradition, attempts to expose our cherished beliefs, our revered traditions, or our stereotypical thinking as shams and myths. H. L. Mencken was the great iconoclast of the 1920s; Tom Wolfe (The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby), of the 1960s.
Adolescence is that confused and rebellious time of life in which iconoclasm 
is quite normal—indeed the adolescent who is not iconoclastic 
to some degree might be considered either immature or maladjusted. The words are from eikon, a religious image, plus klaein, to break. Iconoclasm is not of course restricted to religion.
2. is there a God?
Atheist combines the Greek negative prefix a- with theos, God. Do notconfuse atheism 
with agnosticism 
the philosophy that claims that God is unknowable, that He may or may not exist, and that human beings can never come to a final conclusion about Him. The agnostic
does not deny the existence of a deity, as does the atheist, but simply holds that no proof can be adduced one way or the other.
3. how to know
Agnostic (which is also an adjective) is built on the Greek root gnostos, known, and the negative prefix a-. An agnostic claims that all but material phenomena is unknown, and, indeed, unknowable.
A diagnosis 
constructed on the allied Greek root gnosis, knowledge, plus dia-, through, is a knowing through examination or testing. A prognosis 
on the other hand, is etymologically a knowing beforehand, hence a prediction, generally, but not solely, as to the course of a disease. (The Greek prefix pro-, before, plus gnosis.)
Thus, you may say to a doctor: “What’s the diagnosis, Doc?” “Diabetes.”
Then you say, “And what’s the prognosis?”
“If you take insulin and watch your diet, you’ll soon be as good as hew.”
The doctor’s prognosis, then, is a forecast of the development or trend of a disease. The doctor knows beforehand, from previous similar cases, what to expect.
The verb form of diagnosis is diagnose 
the verb form of prognosis is prognosticate 
To use the verb prognosticate correctly, be sure that your meaning involves the forecasting of developments from a consideration of symptoms or conditions—whether the problem is physical, mental, political, economic, psychological, or what have you.
In school, you doubtless recall taking diagnostic I
tests; these measured not what you were supposed to have learned during the semester, but your general knowledge in a field, so that your teachers would know what remedial steps to take, just as doctors rely on their diagnosis to decide what drugs or treatments to prescribe.
In a reading center, various diagnostic machines and tests are used—these tell the clinician what is wrong with a student’s reading and what measures will probably increase such a student’s reading efficiency.
The medical specialist in diagnosis is a diagnostician
The noun 
form of the verb prognosticate is prognostication
4. getting back to God
Theos, God, is also found in:
1. Monotheism
—belief in one God.
(Monos, one, plus theos, God.)
Using atheism, atheist, and atheistic as a model, write the word for the person who believes in one God: ...
The adjective? ...
2. Polytheism 
— belief in many gods, as in ancient Greece or Rome. (Polys, many, plus theos.)
The person with such a belief? ...
The adjective? ...
3. Pantheism 
— belief that God is not in man’s image, but is a combination of all forces of the universe. (Pan, all, plus theos.) The person? ...
The adjective? ...
4. Theology
—the study of God and religion.
(Theos plus logos, science or study.)
The student is a theologian 
the adjective is theological
5. of sex and the tongue
A lecher practices lechery 
The derivation is Old French techier, to lick. The adjective lecherous 
has many close or not-so-close synonyms, most of them also, and significantly, starting with the letter I, a sound formed with the tongue, supposedly the seat of sensation.
1. libidinous 
— from libido, pleasure.
2. lascivious 
— from lascivia, wantonness.
3. lubricious
— from lubricus, slippery, the same root found in lubricate. The noun is lubricity
— from licere, to be permitted, the root from which we get license, etymologically, “permission,” and illicit, etymologically, “not permitted.”
5. lewd—the previous four words derive from Latin, but this one is from Anglo-Saxon lewed, vile.
6. lustful—from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning pleasure, desire. Noun: lust.
Libidinous, lascivious, lubricious, licentious, lewd, lecherous, lustful are seven adjectives that indicate sexual desire and/or activity. The implication of all seven words is more or less derogatory.
Each adjective becomes a noun with the addition of the noun suffix -ness; lubricity and lust are alternate noun forms of two of the adjectives.
6. of sex and the itch
Prurient 
from Latin prurio, to itch, to long for, describes someone who is filled with great sexual curiosity, desire, longing, etc. Can you form the noun? ...
Pruritis 
from the same root, is a medical condition in which the skin is very itchy, but without a rash or eruptions. (Scratch enough, of course, as you will be irresistibly tempted to do, and something like a rash will soon appear.) The adjective is pruritic 
7. under and over
Hypochondria 
is built on two Greek roots: hypos, under, and chondros, the cartilage of the breastbone. This may sound farfetched until you realize that under the breastbone is the abdomen; the ancient Greeks believed that morbid anxiety about one’s health arose in the abdomen—and no one is more morbidly, unceasingly, and unhappily anxious about health than the hypochondriac.
Hypochondriac is also an adjective—an alternate and more commonly used adjective form is hypochondriacal
Hypos, under, is a useful root to know. The hypodermic needle penetrates under the skin; a hypothyroid person has an underworking thyroid gland; hypotension is abnormally low blood pressure.
On the other hand, hyper is the Greek root meaning over. The hypercritical person is excessively fault-finding; hyperthyroidism is an overworking of the thyroid gland; hypertension is high blood pressure; and you can easily figure out the meanings of hyperacidity, hyperactive, hypersensitive, etc.
The adjective forms of hypotension and hypertension are hypotensive and hypertensive.
Review of etymology
Using the words
Can you pronounce the words? (I)
Can you pronounce the words? (II)
Can you pronounce the words? (Ill)
Can you pronounce the words? (IV)
This has been a long chapter, and we have discussed, more or ' less in detail, over one hundred words. Just to keep everything straight in your mind now, see how successfully you can work out the following matching exercises, which will concern any of the words discussed in this chapter.
Can you work with the words? (I)
1. martinet
2. sycophancy
3. dilettantism
4. tyro
5. virtuoso
6. termagant
7. chauvinism
8. patrimony
9. patronymic
10. patriarch
a. lack of seriousness in an art or profession
b. harridan, shrew
c. excessive patriotism
d. name from father
e. venerable and influential old man
f. beginner
g. brilliant performer
h. bootlicking
i. inheritance from father
j. strict disciplinarian
Key: 1-j, 2-h, 3-a, 4-f, 5-g, 6-b, 7-c, 8-i, 9-d, 10-e
Can you work with the words? (II)
1. patricide
2. alma mater
3. matricide
4. fratricide
5. uxoricide
6. uxorious
7. monomaniacal
8. pyromaniacal
9. megalomaniacal
10. dipsomaniacal
a. mother-killing
b. tending to fixate obsessively on one thing
c. wife-killing
d. father-killing
e. tending to set fires
f. alcoholic
g. wife-doting
h. school or college from which one has graduated
i. tending to delusions of grandeur
j. brother-killing
Key: 1-d, 2-h, 3-a, 4-j, 5-c, 6-g, 7-b, 8-e, 9-i, 10-f
Can you work with the words? (II)
1. kleptomania
2. libidinous
3. atheism
4. agnosticism
5. polytheism
6. monotheism
7. theology
8. pantheism
9. satyriasis
10. hypochondria
a. disbelief in God
b. belief in many gods
c. lewd
d. belief that God is nature
e. morbid anxiety about health
f. belief in one God
g. study of religion
h. obsessive thievery
i. abnormal male sexual needs
j. skepticism about God
Key: 1-h, 2-c, 3-a, 4-j, 5-b, 6-f, 7-g, 8-d, 9-i, 10-e
Can you work with the words? (IV)
1. hypotension
2. lascivious
3. hypertension
4. agnostic
5. incendiarism
6. arson
7. iconoclasm
8. prognosticate
9. diagnosis
10. prognosis
a. high blood pressure
b. malicious fire-setting
c. abnormally low blood pressure
d. fire-setting for illegal gain
e. to forecast (probable developments)
f. a determination through examination or testing of the nature, type, causes, etc. of a condition
g. one who claims that ultimate reality is unknowable
h. sexually immoral
i. a foretelling of probable developments
j. a scoffing at tradition
Key: 1—c, 2-h, 3-a, 4-g, 5-b, 6-d, 7-j, 8-e, 9-f, 10-i
Can you work with the words? (V)
1. prurience
2. satyromania
3. agoraphobia
4. claustrophobia
5. acrophobia
6. theologian
7. lubricious
8. hypochondriacal
9. hypotensive
10. hypertensive
11. pruritis
a. abnormal need for sexual intercourse by a male
b. fear of enclosed places
c. student of religion
d. sexual longing or curiosity
e. fear of heights
f. fear of open spaces
g. having, or referring to, abnormally low blood pressure
h. itching
i. having, or referring to, high blood pressure
j. sexually immoral; lewd
k. beset by anxieties about one’s health
Key: 1-d, 2-a, 3-f, 4-b, 5-e, 6-c, 7-j, 8-k, 9-g, 10-i, 11-h
Can you recall the words? (I)
I. manias and phobias
1. single fixed obsession
2. irresistible compulsion to set fires
3. unceasing desire, on the part of a woman, for sexual intercourse
4. obsessive desire to steal
5. delusions of grandeur
6. alcoholism
7. compulsion for sexual intercourse by a male
8. dread of heights
9. dread of open spaces
10. dread of cramped quarters
1. M ...
2. P ...
3. N ...
4. К ...
5. M ...
6. D ...
7. S ... or S ...
8. A ...
9. A ...
10. C ...
Key: 1-monomania, 2-pyromania, 3-nymphomania, 4-kleptomania, 5-megalomania, 6-dipsomania, 7-satyromania or satyriasis, 8-acrophobia, 9-agoraphobia, 10-claustrophobia
Can you recall the words? (II)
II. sex
Write seven adjectives; all starting with L, more or less meaning “sexually immoral, desirous, etc.”; write the adjective starting with P meaning “sexually curious or longing.”
1. L ...
2. L ...
3. L ...
4. L ...
5. L ...
6. L ...
7. L ...
8. P ...
Key: (1-7 in any order) 1-lecherous, 2-libidinous, 3-lascivious, 4-lubricious, 5-licentious, 6-lewd, 7-lustful, 8-prurient
Can you recall the words? (Ill)
III. God
1. study of religion
2. belief that God is the sum total of natural forces
3. belief that there is no God
4. belief that God’s existence is unknowable
5. belief in one God
6. belief in many gods
1. T ...
2. P ...
3. A ...
4. A ...
5. M ...
6. P ...
Key: 1-theology, 2-pantheism, 3-atheism, 4-agnosticism, 5-monotheism, 6-polytheism
Can you recall the words? (IV)
1. morbid anxiety about one’s health
2. high blood pressure
3. malicious fire-setting
4. the felony of setting fire for economic gain
5. sneering contempt for convention or tradition
6. a forecast of development (of a disease, etc.)
7. designed to discover causes or conditions (adj.)
8. abnormally low blood pressure
9. to forecast (probable future developments) by examining present conditions
10. to determine the nature of a disease, condition, or state by examination
11. the act of forecasting (probable future developments) by examining present conditions
12. doctor who is an expert at recognizing the nature of a disease or condition
13. possessed of, or referring to, high blood pressure
14. possessed of, or referring to, abnormally low blood pressure
15. one who studies religion
1. H ...
2. H ...
3. I ...
4. A ...
5. I ...
6. P ...
7. D ...
8. H ...
9. P ...
10. D ...
11. P ...
12. D ...
13. H ...
14. H ...
15. T ...
Key: 1-hypochondria, 2-hypertension, 3-incendiarism, 4-arson, 5-iconoclasm, 6-prognosis, 7-diagnostic, 8-hypotension, 9-prognosticate, 10-diagnose, 11-prognostication, 12-diagnostician, 13-hypertensive, 14-hypotensive, 15-theologian
Chapter review
A. Do you recognize the words?
1. Disciplinarian:
(a) martinet, (b) virago, (c) dilettante
2. Bootlicker:
(a) chauvinist, (b) sycophant, (c) lecher
3. Scoffer at tradition:
(a) monomaniac, (b) hypochondriac, (c) iconoclast
4. Disbeliever in God:
(a) agnostic, (b) atheist, (c) chauvinist
5. Accomplished musician:
(a) tyro, (b) dilettante, (c) virtuoso
6. Sheer, flimsy:
(a) diaphanous, (b) uxorious, (c) paternal
7. Abusive woman:
(a) termagant, (b) virtuoso, (c) matriarch
8. Murder of one’s wife:
(a) genocide, (b) uxoricide, (c) sororicide
9. Old man in ruling position:
(a) matriarch, (b) patricide, (c) patriarch
10. Morbid compulsion to steal:
(a) dipsomania, (b) nymphomania, (c) kleptomania
11. Delusions of grandeur:
(a) megalomania, (b) egomania, (c) pyromania
12. Lewd, lustful:
(a) prurient, (b) agnostic, (c) hypochondriac
13. Belief in many gods:
(a) polytheism, (b) monotheism, (c) agnosticism
14. Setting fire for economic gain:
(a) pyromania, (b) incendiarism, (c) arson
15. Morbid fear of heights:
(a) agoraphobia, (b) acrophobia, (c) claustrophobia
16. High blood pressure:
(a) hypotension, (b) hypertension, (c) hypochondria
17. Abnormal need for sexual intercourse by a male:
(a) lechery, (b) lubricity, (c) satyriasis
Key: 1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-b, 5-c, 6-a, 7-a, 8-b, 9-c, 10-c, 11-a, 12-a, 13-a, 14-c, 15-b, 16-b, 17-c
B. Can you recognize roots?
Key: 1-fig, 2-to show, 3-man (male), 4-father, 5-name, 6-the same, 7-sound, 8-to rule, 9-mother, 10-soul, 11-of oneself, 12-to kill, killing, 13-brother, 14-sister, 15-person, 16-king, 17-wife, 18-husband, 19-baby, 20-race, kind, 21-madness, 22-one, 23-thirst, 24-thief, 25-fire, 26-to set fire, 27-to bum, 28-great, large, 29-satyr, 30-bride, 31-enclosed place, 32-market place, 33-highest, 34-mor- bid dread, 35-religious image, 36-to break, 37-God, 38-known, 39-knowledge, 40-many, 41-all, 42-science, study, 43-to itch, 44-under, 45-over
Teaser questions for the amateur etymologist
1. If a patronymic is a name derived from the name of one’s father, can you figure out the word for a name derived from one’s mother’s name? ...
2. Incendo, incensus, to set on fire, is the origin of the adjective incendiary, the noun incense, and the verb to incense.
(a) What is an incendiary statement or speech? ...
(b) Why do people use incense, and why is it called incense? ...
(c) If someone incenses you, or if you feel incensed, how does the meaning of the verb derive from the root? ...
3. Ardo, arsus, to bum, is the source of ardent and ardor. Explain these two words in terms of the root.
(a) ardent: ...
(b) ardor: ...
4. What is used to make sound greater (use the roots for great and sound)? ...
5. A metropolis, by etymology, is the mother city (Greek meter, mother, plus polis, city, state). Construct a word for a great city (think of megalomania, delusions of greatness): ...
6. Polis, city, state, is the origin of the word for the uniformed group guarding the city or state. The English word? ... Can you think of the word from the same root for the art of governing the city or state? ...
7. What is a bibliokleptomaniac? ...
Coin a word for one who has an irresistible compulsion to steal women: ... To steal children (use the Greek, not the Latin, root for child): ...To steal males (use the Greek root):... To steal people (use the Greek root): ...
8. What word can you coin for someone who has an obsession to reach the highest places? ... To be in the market place, or in wide-open spaces? ... To be in confined places? ...
9. Coin a word for one who has a morbid dread of thieves: ...; of fire: ...; of women: ...; of males: ...; of people: ...
10. Guess at the meaning, thinking of the roots you have learned, of gnosiology: ...
11. Wolfgang Amadeus Theophilus Gottlieb Mozart was a famous eighteenth-century Austrian composer. You can recognize the roots in Theophilus. How are his other two middle names similar to Theophilus? ...
12. Thinking of the root phanein, define cellophane: ...
13. Recognizing the root hypos, can you define hypoglycemia?
Construct a word that is the opposite of hypoglycemia: ...
14. Pan, all; occurs in Pantheon, pandemonium, and panorama. Can you figure out the meanings?
(a) Pantheon: ...
(b) pandemonium: ...
(c) panorama: ...
15. Recognizing the roots in monarchy, define the word: ...
(Answers in Chapter 18)
Magazines that will help you
When a pregnant woman takes calcium pills, she must make sure also that her diet is rich in vitamin D, since this vitamin makes the absorption of the calcium possible. In building your vocabulary by learning great quantities of new words, you too must take a certain vitamin, metaphorically speaking, to help you absorb, understand, and remember these words. This vitamin is reading—for it is in books and magazines that you will find the words that we have been discussing in these pages. To learn new words without seeing them applied in the context of your reading is to do only half the job and to run the risk of gradually forgetting the additions to your vocabulary. To combine your vocabulary-building with increased reading is to make assurance doubly sure.
You are now so alert to the words and roots we have discussed that you will find that most of your reading will be full of the new words you have learned—and every time you do see one of the words used in context in a book or magazine, you will understand it more fully and will be taking long steps toward using it yourself.
Among magazines, I would like particularly to recommend the following, which will act both to keep you mentally alert and to set the new words you are learning:
1. Harper's Magazine
2. Atlantic Monthly
3. The New Yorker
4. Time
5. Newsweek
6. Esquire
7. Psychology Today
8. Saturday Review
9. Ms.
10. Mother Jones
11. Signs
12. National Geographic
13. Smithsonian
14. Human Nature
15. Scientific American
16. Natural History
These periodicals are aimed at the alert, verbally sophisticated, educated reader; you will see in them, without fail, most of the words you have been studying in this book—not to mention hosts of other valuable words you will want to add to your vocabulary, many of which you will be able to figure out once you recognize their etymological structure.
(End of Session 31)
Brief Intermission Seven
Some interesting derivations
People who made our language
Bloomers
Mrs. Elizabeth Smith Miller invented them in 1849, and showed a working model to a famous women’s rights advocate, Amelia J. Bloomer. Amelia was fascinated by the idea of garments that were both modest (they then reached right down to the ankles) and convenient—and promptly sponsored them. ...
Boycott
Charles C. Boycott was an English land agent whose difficult duty it was to collect high rents from Irish farmers. In protest, the farmers ostracized him, not even allowing him to make purchases in town or hire workers to harvest his crops.
Marcel
Marcel was an ingenious Parisian hairdresser who felt he could improve on the button curls popular in 1875. He did, and made a fortune.
Silhouette
Finance Minister of France just before the Revolution, Etienne de Silhouette advocated the simple life, so that excess money could go into the treasury instead of into luxurious living. And the profile is the simplest form of portraiture, if you get the connection.
Derrick
A seventeenth-century English hangman, Derrick by name, hoisted to their death some of the most notorious criminals of the day.
Sadist
Because Count de Sade, an eighteenth-century Frenchman, found his greatest delight in torturing friends and mistresses, the term sadist was derived from his name. His works shocked his nation and the world by the alarming frankness with which he described his morbid and bloodthirsty cruelty.
Galvanism
Luigi Galvani, the Italian physiologist, found by accident that an electrically charged scalpel could send a frog’s corpse into muscular convulsions. Experimenting further, he eventually discovered the principles of chemically produced electricity. His name is responsible not only for the technical expressions galvanism, galvanized iron, and galvanometer, but also for that highly graphic phrase, “galvanized into action.”
Guppies
In 1868, R. J. Lechmere Guppy, president of the Scientific Association of Trinidad, sent some specimens of a tiny tropical fish to the British Museum. Ever since, fish of this species have been called guppies.
Nicotine
Four hundred years ago, Jean Nicot, a French ambassador, bought some tobacco seeds from a Flemish trader. Nicot’s successful efforts to popularize the plant in Europe brought him linguistic immortality.
Places that made our language
Bayonne, France
Where first was manufactured the daggerlike weapon that fits over the muzzle end of a rifle—the bayonet.
Cantalupo, Italy
The first place in Europe to grow those luscious melons we now call cantaloupes.
Calicut, India
The city from which we first imported a kind of cotton cloth now known as calico.
Tuxedo Park, New York
In the country club of this exclusive and wealthy community, the short (no tails) dinner coat for men, or tuxedo, was popularized.
Egypt
It was once supposed that the colorful, fortunetelling wanderers, or Gypsies, hailed from this ancient land.
Damascus, Syria
Where an elaborately patterned silk, damask, was first made.
Tzu-t’ing, China
Once a great seaport in Fukien Province. Marco Polo called it Zaitun, and in time a silk fabric made there was called satin.
Frankfurt, Germany
Where the burghers once greatly enjoyed their smoked beef and pork sausages, which we now ask for in delicatessen stores and supermarkets by the name of frankfurters, franks, or hot dogs.