Caesar’s English II
Lesson XIV
Caesar’s English XIV
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
verdure: vegetation
equivocal: ambiguous
orthodox: traditional
profane: irreverent
tumult: disturbance
verdure n.(VUR-dyoor):vegetation
The English noun
verdure, from the latin
viridis, refers to
vegetation, to greenery.
The adjective form is
verdant. In All the King’s
Men Robert Penn
Warren wrote that “you
hear the July flies
grinding away in the
verdure.”
Spanish: verdor
equivocal adj.(ee-KWIV-o-cul):ambiguous
To be equivocal (from the Latin
aequivocus) is to be ambiguous, to
say or suggest two things at the
same time, perhaps intentionally so
as to avoid taking a stand. It is to
give equal (equi) voice (voc) to
both sides. The verb form is
equivocate, and the noun is
equivocation. We also often see
the negative form, unequivocal,
which is what you are when you do
take a stand. Perhaps the most
famous equivocal sentence of all
comes from Shakespeare’s
Macbeth: “Faith, here’s an
equivocator that could swear in
both the scales against either
scale.” What do you think that line
means?
Spanish: equívoco
orthodox adj. (ORTH-o-dox): traditional
The English adjective
orthodox comes from the Latin
orthodoxus, which the Romans
got from the Greek orthodoxos.
To be orthodox is to be
traditional or conventional in
your views, to believe what
society expects you to, to have
your opinion (dox) straight
(ortho), in the eyes of others.
John Kennedy, in Profiles of
Courage, wrote that “any
unpopular or unorthodox
course arouses a storm of
protests.”
Spanish: ortodoxo
profane adj. (pro-FAIN): irreverent
The English adjective
profane, from the
Latin profanus, means
irreverent, un-holy. It
can even mean
defiled. Frederick
Douglass, in his
famous Narrative, says
that Mr. Plummer was
“a profane swearer,
and a savage
monster.”
Spanish: profano
tumult n. (TUM-ult): disturbance Spanish: tumulto
The English noun tumult,
from the Latin tumultus,
means a disturbance and
even traces back to the Latin
verb tumere, to swell. A
tumult is a disturbance that
suddenly swells up, sudden
uproar and clamor. In
Kenneth Grahame’s The
Wind in the Willows, the
animals can “hear the
tumultuous applause.” In
what way is a tumult like a
swelling?
Caesar’s English XIV
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
verdure: vegetation
equivocal: ambiguous
orthodox: traditional
profane: irreverent
tumult: disturbance
Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
1. From Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World.
No offense is so heinous as _________ of
behavior.
a. verdure
b. equivocation
c. unorthodoxy
d. tumult
Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
1. From Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World.
No offense is so heinous as _________ of
behavior.
a. verdure
b. equivocation
c. unorthodoxy
d. tumult
2. From Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of
the Baskervilles
He was a most wild, __________, and godless
man.
a.
b.
c.
d.
profane
orthodox
tumultuous
equivocal
2. From Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of
the Baskervilles
He was a most wild, __________, and godless
man.
a.
b.
c.
d.
profane
orthodox
tumultuous
equivocal
3. From Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
His answers were at the same time so vague
and ____________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
profane
orthodox
equivocal
tumultuous
3. From Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
His answers were at the same time so vague
and ____________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
profane
orthodox
equivocal
tumultuous
The Grammar of Vocabulary:
equivocal, an adjective.
Caesar was equivocal, and they hesitated circumspectly.