Finding the True Meaning of a Word
• Step 1: Identify the PIE for the following words:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Affidavit
Witness
Scientific
Advisory
Confirm
Epidermis
Fealty
Spiritual
Inspire
Nice
Finding the True Meaning of a Word
• Step 2: Find three cognates in various Indo
European languages (preferably Latin, French,
English, Germanic, or Greek)
• Step 3: Identify other words with cognates of
the root
• Step 4: Trace the change in form (see today’s
lesson)
Finding the True Meaning of a Word
Identify the PIE for the following words:
– Affidavit (fid- bheidh)
– Witness (wit- weid)
– Scientific (sci- skei)
– Advisory (vid- weid)
– Fealty (fea- bheidh )
– Spiritual (spir-s/peis )
– Inspire (spir- s/peis)
– Nice (sci- skei)
M.O.O. to the R. Words and Phrases
Define the Following Words using Etymology and your Law Dictionary;
You will see the definitions are similar
• Identity
• Person
• Nationality
• Race
M.O.O. to the R. Words and Phrases
• Identity
– from yon, referring to “it” or “that one”
• Person
– refers to a mask or face
• Nationality
– refers to birth and origin
• Race
– refers to a species or kind
M.O.O. to the R. Words and Phrases
Define the Following Words using Etymology and your Law Dictionary;
You will see the definitions are similar
• Minority
• Black
• Black-a-moor
• Color
M.O.O. to the R. Words and Phrases
• Minority
– condition of being smaller; pertains to legal age
• Black
– to burn a bright, pale hue
• Black-a-moor
– a Moor derogatorily marked as Black.
• Color
– to conceal or hide
Why Etymology
• Aren’t etymological definitions archaic? Are
they still in usage?
• Isn’t that confusing? Can students really
distinguish between connotative and
denotative differences?
• Does it really matter today anyway? Don’t we
commonly use connotative meanings, so that
is what we should continue to teach?
Indo-European
How Words Change in Form
Recall
1. The Proto Indo-European (PIE) root of word
is identifying the true essence of the word’s
meaning.
2. Indo-European language family refers to a
common tongue that was spoken during the
5th century BC. It is the home of Spanish,
English, Sanskrit, Russian, Urdu, Greek, Latin,
etc…
Etymological Study
• To trace a word back to its true and root
meaning using the American Heritage
Dictionary of English Language:
– Identify the word’s part of speech
– [Look in the brackets] at the end of the definition.
– Identify the Indo European Root
– Look in the Appendix to see its name and its
cognates in other languages within the language
family.
How Words Change in Form
• Cognate: common descent
– loc; loqui; loqu; log (to speak)
– lig, leg, leag; lex; lec (to bind)
– fact, fic, fect (to do or make)
• Ablaut: vowel shift
– ran and run
– ride and rode
– fly, flew, flown, etc…
• Umlaut: vowel is modified to conform more closely to the
vowel in the next syllable
Consonant Sounds and Language
Chart
Transliteration of Words
• Permutation
– changes through the classes
• per (through) + mutate (change) + ion (noun)
• Transmutation
– changes across the class
• trans (across) + mutate (change) + ion (noun)
Transliteration of Words
How Words Change in Form
Epenthesis
adding on or more
sounds to a word
(esp the interior).
Epi= on; en= in;
thesis= putting
• Excresence (adding a
consonant)
• Anaptyxis (adding a
vowel)
•
•
•
•
Examples
thunor-thunder
tremulare-trembler
messagermessenger
homine-homnehomre- hombre
How Words Change in Form
Apheresis
To take away a
sound.
ap(o) + here + sis
Apo=away
hairein= to take
Examples
• [a]cute- cute
• [a]mend-mend
• [e]scape + goat- scapegoat;
[E]gipcien- gipcyan, gipsen
‘Gypsy’
• [e]squire
• [A]ssyria- Syria
• [e]strange- strange
How Words Change in Form
Metathesis
Put a sound in a
different
order/change the
order
meta + the + sis
Meta=change + thesis=
put
Examples
• comf[ort]ablecomfterble
• ca[val]ry- calvary
• hrso-horse
How Words Change in Form
Apocope: take away one or more vowels at the end of a
word
apo + cope
Examples
grand[e]-gran
buen[o]-buen
tan[to]-tan
un[o]-un; cien[to]-cien
primer[o]-primer
tercer[o]-tercer
How Words Change in Form
Syncope: the loss of one or more sounds from the
interior of a word
syn + cope
• Syn= without; cope (koptein)= strike, cut off
• Occurs in inflections, poetic devices, and informal speech
• Examples: o[v]er-o’er; ne[v]er-ne’er; heav[e]n-heav’n; did
n[o]t- didn’t; I w[oul]d h[av]e- I’d’ve
Spanish and Latin Cognates
• Spanish: apellido
– refers to last name or surname
– relates to repeal, appeal
– Latin: appellare, meaning to call
– peal reduces to pel and pl
Spanish and Latin Cognates
• ct  ch:
–
–
–
–
duct (English); ducha (Spanish); duche (French)
refers to wash/shower
Latin: ductus
d-ct to d-ch
– See also:
•
•
•
•
facticius and hechizo
reluctant and luchar
direct and derecho
macha and immaculate
Spanish and Latin Cognates
• cl  ll:
–
–
–
–
claim (English); llamar (Spanish)
refers to call or claim
Latin: clamare
cl to ll
–
–
–
–
enclave (English); llave (Spanish)
refers to key
Latin: clavis
see Spanish clavo, for nail
Spanish and Latin Cognates
• FP
– five (English); cinco (Spanish)
– Latin:
– Greek: penta
– Indo European p transliterates to f sound in
English by way of the Germanic languages and
tribes.
Classifying Vowel Shifts
Classify the following shifts in sound
ct to ch
(permutation and epenthesis)
cl to ll
(permutation and syncope)
f to p
(transmutation)