BREAKDOWN: TOPO- (place) + -ONYM (name)

• toponymy is the study of placenames, their origins, meanings, and evolution

See also: contronym, eponymous, metonym

“Every bookshop is a condensed version of the world… It is not an international frontier you must cross but a footstep--a mere footstep--you must take to change topography, toponyms, and time: a volume first published in 1976 sits next to one launched yesterday, which has just arrived; a monograph on prehistoric migrations cohabits with a study of the megalopolis in the twentieth-first century; the complete works of Camus precede those of Cervantes... It is not a main road, but rather a set of stairs, perhaps a threshold, maybe not even that...” —Jorge Carrión

[Fun Word Friday introduces more advanced or technical words that are based on word roots. Yes, these words may still be tested on standardized exams. Try to use this word in a sentence today!]

BREAKDOWN: PED- (child) + -ANT (one who [teaches]) + -IC (like)

• pedant is someone who focuses on displaying learning or knowledge to an excessive or inappropriate degree; a stickler or nitpicker

• pedantry is an excessive or annoying concern with minor details or technical correctness

See also: pedagogy

“Why is it that the less one has to say the more one says it in the most pompous and pedantic way possible?... Is it to fool the world or just to fool themselves?” —Carlos Ruiz Zafon

• enticing means attractive, appealing, or tempting

• enticement is the act or method of luring or tempting someone to do something

BREAKDOWN: The word entice has been describing the act of temptation since the 1300s as a Middle English word originally meaning to stir up or incite. The origin of the word can be traced through the Old French enticier (meaning to excite or set on fire) to the Latin intitiāre just meaning to set on fire. The root of this word is the Latin titio meaning firebrand.

“The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.” —Jim Rohn

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]

BREAKDOWN: OB- (to) + EI- (to listen) + -ENCE (act or state)

• obeisant means politely deferential or servile

“Everyone was well versed in how they were expected to behave towards the regime. They had mouths only to keep shut, hands only to make obeisance, knees only to bend and kneel, backs only to bend, and bodies only to shrink before the authorities.” —Perumal Murugan

BREAKDOWN: IG- (not) + GNO- (to know) + -BLE (worthy of)

• ignobility is a lack of honor, virtue, or quality

See also: agnostic, cognoscenti, prognosticate

“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of effort, labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.” —Theodore Roosevelt

WORD MATCH
Match each number of each word to the matching phrase. One word has no matching phrase.

1. rebuke | 2. tacit | 3. sartorial | 4. intercede | 5. caucus | 6. consensus

_______ Convention or conclave

_______ To chide or castigate

_______ Stylish or sharp

_______ Unity or accord

_______ Assumed or unspoken

QUOTE MATCH
Complete each quote using the words from the word bank.

1. intercession | 2. caucus | 3. consensus | 4. rebuke | 5. tacit

“A sailing ship is no democracy; you don’t _______ a crew as to where you’ll go anymore than you inquire when they’d like to shorten sail.” —Sterling Hayden

“Usually a person relates to another under the _______ assumption that the other shares his view of reality, that indeed there is only one reality.” —Paul Watzlawick

“You will accomplish more by kind words and a courteous manner than by anger or sharp _______, which should never be used except in necessity.” —Angela Merici

“We imagine our paths are freely chosen. But there is a need to account for biology and history, the random _______ of other people, culture, race, and the mystery of the transcendent.” —George Critchlow

“The _______ seemed to be that if really large numbers of men were sent to storm the mountain, then enough might survive the rocks to take the citadel. This is essentially the basis of all military thinking.” —Terry Pratchett

ROOT QUIZ
For each of the following words, fill in the meaning of each prefix, suffix, and base. For bonus points, define the word and list other words with the same roots.

RE- (_______) + BUC- (to strike)

INTER- (between) + CED- (_______)

SARTOR- (tailor) + -IAL (_______)

TAC- (_______) + -IT (to make or do)

CON- (with) + SENS- (_______) + -US (state)

Scroll down for answers. But first, make sure you know what the word AMALGAM means…

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BREAKDOWN: SUB- (under) + STAN- (stand, be firm) + -IATE (to make)

• substantiation is the act of proving, verifying, or supporting a thing

• unsubstantiated means lacking lacks sufficient evidence or data

See also: substantive

“That’s how it works: someone important believes in us, loudly and with conviction and against all substantiation, and over time, we begin to believe, too—not in our shot at perfection, mind you, but in the good enough version of us that they have reflected.” —Kelly Corrigan

BREAKDOWN: SARTOR- (tailor) + -IAL (pertaining to)

• sartorialism is the study, appreciation, and practice of tailoring, craftsmanship, and classic clothing

“Extravagant sartorial display had a purpose. It created the impression of wealth and power on the opponent and pride in the wearer which has been lost sight of in our nervously egalitarian times.” —Barbara W. Tuchman

[Fun Word Friday introduces more advanced or technical words that are based on word roots. Yes, these words may still be tested on standardized exams. Try to use this word in a sentence today!]

BREAKDOWN: RE- (back) + BUC- (to strike)

• rebuke as a noun is a reprimand or reproof

“May I never wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until I make reparation.” —Eusebius

• caucus as a verb means to meet as a group, usually privately, to means to choose candidates, set policy, or coordinate strategy

BREAKDOWN: The word caucus, though inescapable during election season, has an uncertain origin. The most common theory traces the term to the Algonquian caucauasu (alternately cawassough or kaw-kaw-was) meaning counselor or advisor. Other etymologists have noted the obvious resemblance and connotative connection to the Late Latin caucus meaning drinking cup or vessel.

“In fact, caucus, a word derived from the Algonquin languages, better reflected the layers of talking circles and the goal of consensus that were at the heart of governance.” —Gloria Steinem

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]

BREAKDOWN: TAC- (to be silent) + -IT (to make or do)

See also: reticent

“In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some diehard’s vote.” —David Foster Wallace

BREAKDOWN: INTER- (between) + CED- (to go)

• intercession is mediation in a dispute; argument in favor of another; prayer to a higher power to to help, heal, or show mercy to someone else

• an intercessor is a mediator, negotiator, or religious agent acting on behalf of another

• intercessory means of or pertaining to prayer or pleading for others

See also: preceding

“From a child’s perspective, parents are gigantic and seemingly all-powerful beings with a knack for showing up whenever bodily or emotional needs arise. It’s natural, therefore, for a young mind to also believe in stories about omnipotent beings interceding in matters of life and death.” —Sheldon Solomon

WORD MATCH
Match each number of each word to the matching phrase. One word has no matching phrase.

1. egalitarian | 2. petrify | 3. coerce | 4. grimoire | 5. grievous | 6. lurid

_______ Dire or distressing

_______ To intimidate or impel

_______ Graphic, garish, or gruesome

_______ Even-handed and unbiased

_______ Magical manual

QUOTE MATCH
Complete each quote using the words from the word bank.

1. lurid | 2. petrified | 3. grievance | 4. egalitarian | 5. coercion

“Be _______ regarding persons. Be elitist regarding ideas.” —Peter Kreeft

“If there is one thing I dislike, it is the man who tries to air his _______(s) when I wish to air mine.” —P.G. Wodehouse

“People would far rather believe a _______ lie than a sorry string of accidents. Would far rather believe the world is full of evil than full of bad luck, selfishness and stupidity.” —Joe Abercrombie

“If you always try to subjugate people by _______ because you are strong, then sooner or later you will run into somebody who is just as strong, if not stronger. Then you’ll be in trouble.” —Max Nowaz

“I will not pretend I wasn’t _______. I was. But mixed in with the awful fear was a glorious feeling of excitement. Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn’t be exciting if they didn’t.” —Roald Dahl

ROOT QUIZ
For each of the following words, fill in the meaning of each prefix, suffix, and base. For bonus points, define the word and list other words with the same roots.

GRAM- (_______) + -AR (pertaining to)

CO- (_______) + ARC- (to hold or guard)

PETR- (_______) + -IFY (to make or do)

GRIEV- (_______) + -OUS (inclined to)

EQUI- (_______) + AL- (pertaining to) + -ITY (quality) + -ARIAN (one who likes)

Scroll down for answers. But first, Feliz Día de los Muertos!

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BREAKDOWN: CON- (with) + SENS- (to feel or think) + -US (state)

“Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results... If it’s consensus, it isn’t science. If it’s science, it isn’t consensus. Period.” —Michael Crichton

BREAKDOWN: GRAM- (letter) + -AR (pertaining to) [same roots as grammar]

See also: ideogram

“For let’s recall that many occultic words are connected to those of language: Spelling and spells. Grammar and grimoire. Abracadabra is thought to be derived from an Aramaic phrase that translates to “I create like the word.” To write, then, is to make magic.” —Taisia Kitaiskaia

[Fun Word Friday introduces more advanced or technical words that are based on word roots. Yes, these words may still be tested on standardized exams. Try to use this word in a sentence today!]

BREAKDOWN: PETR- (rock, stone) + -IFY (to make or do)

• petrified means rendered motionless by terror or transformed to stone

• petrification refers to any process that turns organic material into stone (also petrifaction)

See also: Fright Night

“When one has understood, one stops, satisfied with what one has understood... But a mere why, a new why can set one off again, can unpetrify what was petrified and everything starts flowing afresh.” —Eugène Ionesco

• luridness is the quality or state of being ghastly, grim, or unnaturally pale

BREAKDOWN: The word lurid derives directly from the Latin lūridus meaning pale yellow, sallow, or ghastly. The earliest connotation of lurid signified a sickly yellow or bruised color associated with death or horror. Over time, the word became associated both with sickly pallor or with glowing reds and oranges. By the mid-19th century, lurid described anything particularly dreadful, shocking, or sensational.

“Blessed are all simple emotions, be they dark or bright! It is the lurid intermixture of the two that produces the illuminating blaze of the infernal regions.” —Nathaniel Hawthorne

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]

BREAKDOWN: GRIEV- (to make heavy) + -OUS (inclined to)

• a grievance is something which causes grief or a complaint, often a formal one

See also: aggrieved

“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” —Marcus Aurelius

BREAKDOWN: EQUI- (equal) + AL- (pertaining to) + -ITY (quality) + -ARIAN (one who likes)

• an egalitarian is someone who promotes equality and equity

• egalitarianism is the belief that all humans have equal moral worth and count the same

See also: equanimity, equivocate, unequivocal

“Egalitarians adjust to aristocracies just fine, as long as they get to be the aristocrats.” —Lois McMaster Bujold

WORD MATCH
Match each number of each word to the matching phrase. One word has no matching phrase.

1. foray | 2. bravura | 3. enumerate | 4. pernicious | 5. aphorism | 6. boycott

_______ Damaging or deleterious

_______ To abstain or embargo

_______ Inroad or invasion

_______ Guts or gallantry

_______ Adage or axiom

QUOTE MATCH
Complete each quote using the words from the word bank.

1. enumerate | 2. aphorism | 3. boycott | 4. foray | 5. pernicious

“I am living permanently in my dream, from which I make brief _______(s) into reality.” —Ingmar Bergman

“An _______ is a personal observation inflated into a universal truth, a private posing as a general.” —Stefan Kanfer

“You can burn libraries, ban books, _______ scholars, and blacklist intellectuals, but you cannot blot out ideas.” —Matshona Dhliwayo

“The most _______ aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off till our deathbed.” —Steven Pressfield

“We fail tasks we don’t have the guts to quit... knowing when to quit is such a strategic advantage that every single person, before undertaking an endeavor should _______ conditions under which they should quit.” —David Epstein

ROOT QUIZ
For each of the following words, fill in the meaning of each prefix, suffix, and base. For bonus points, define the word and list other words with the same roots.

FOR- (_______) + -AY (to do)

BRAV- (_______) + -URA (show of)

APO- (from) + HORIZ- (_______) + -SM (state)

PER- (thoroughly) + NEC- (_______) + -IOUS (full of)

E- (out) + NUMER- (_______) + -ATE (to make or do)

Scroll down for answers. But first, learn what the word POLEMIC has to do with ancient Greece…

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