Word Study
Crossroads Middle School
Year Two
Trimester Two
fid
 Latin
 Definition:
faith, trust
 Vocabulary
◦confidential
◦fidelity
◦infidel
confidential
 Part of speech: adjective
 Definition: private, secretive
 Sentences:
◦ “I have something to tell you,”
John whispered in a confidential
tone.
◦ This information is confidential
and should not be shared with
anyone else.
fidelity
Part of speech: noun
 Definition: the quality of being
loyal or faithful
 Sentences:
◦ Patriots are unwavering in
their fidelity to the cause of
freedom.
◦ This speaker system produces
high-fidelity sound quality.

infidel
Part of speech: noun
Definition: one without faith or belief
Sentences:
oThe leader of the revolution proudly
declared himself an infidel.
oReligious leaders attempted to
persuade the infidel to accept their
faith.
memor
Latin
 Definition: recall, remember
 Vocabulary
◦commemorate
◦memorial
◦memorize
commemorate



Part of speech: verb
Definition: to honor the memory of
someone or something by
observance or ceremony
Sentences:
◦ The annual festival
commemorates the town’s founding
date.
◦ A plaque will commemorate the
battle that took place here 200 years
ago.
memorial
Part of speech: noun

 Definition:
an object or ceremony
honoring the memory of a person or
event
 Sentences:
◦ The Viet Nam Memorial is a tribute
to the thousands who died in the
war.
◦ Thousands of flowers were left as
memorials at Princess Diana’s
burial site.
memorize
Part of speech: verb
Definition: to commit to memory;
learn by heart
Sentences:
oUsing a mnemonic device can help
you memorize the colors of the
rainbow.
oSong lyrics are easy to memorize
when you hear them repeatedly.
pseudo / fals
 Greek (pseudo); Latin (fals)
 Definition: false, fraudulent;
pretending to be something it is
not
 Vocabulary:
◦pseudonym
◦falsification
◦fallacy
pseudonym
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a fictitious (made up) name
Sentences:
Mark Twain is the pseudonym of the
American writer Samuel L. Clemens.
 The most notorious serial killer of the
19th century remains known only by the
pseudonym of Jack the Ripper.

falsification
 Part of speech: noun
 Definition: the act of making
false;
misrepresenting or concealing the
truth
 Sentences:
 The immigrant was arrested for
falsification of his birth certificate.
 Falsification of the results of the
scientific study resulted in
unreliable findings.
◦
 Part
fallacy
of speech: noun
 Definition: a false or mistaken idea
 Sentences:
 The fallacy of their ideas about good
medical treatment soon became
apparent as the patient’s condition
worsened.
 Studies have disproven the oncecommon fallacy that girls aren't as
good at math as boys.
cogn
 Latin
 Definition:
know, understand
 Vocabulary
◦cognition
◦incognito
◦recognize
cognition





Part of speech: noun
Definition: the act or process of
knowing or understanding
Sentences:
The students displayed poor cognition
of current events.
Parents can increase babies’ cognition
by playing games to improve memory
and attention.
incognito





Part of speech: adverb
Definition: when someone’s
identity is concealed (hidden)
Sentences:
Brad Pitt sometimes travels
incognito in order to avoid being
noticed in public.
A Halloween costume allowed me
to go to the party incognito.
recognize





Part of speech: verb
Definition: to identify using
previous knowledge
Sentences:
I met Eli only once, so I’m not sure
I would recognize him today.
Please recognize that police
officers are here to help us.
script / scrib
 Latin
 Definition:
to write, to record
 Vocabulary:
 prescribe
 inscription
 postscript
prescribe





Part of speech: verb
Definition: to provide a clear
guide, direction, or rule of action
Sentences:
The law prescribes a prison
sentence of at least five years for
the crime.
The regulations prescribe that all
employees must pass a physical
examination.
inscription





Part of speech: noun
Definition: important information
impressed, painted, engraved, or
written on stone or other hard
surface
Sentences:
The painting had an inscription
that read, “To my loving wife.”
The inscription on the stone
monument memorialized the
area’s first explorers.
postscript





Part of speech: noun
Definition: a note or series of notes
added to a signed letter
Sentences:
In a postscript to her letter, she
promised to write again soon.
An interesting postscript to the
story is that the two people
involved later got married.
mar / nav
 Latin
 Definition:
mar = sea;
nav = ship
 Vocabulary
◦marina
◦mariner
◦navigate
marina





Part of speech: noun
Definition: a docking area for
small boats
Sentences:
The marina provided a safe haven
for our boat during the hurricane.
The boats anchored at the marina
bobbed cheerfully in the water.
maritime





Part of speech: adjective
Definition: of or relating to the sea;
of shipping via the sea
Sentences:
The country's maritime industry is
an important part of its economy.
Susan is an expert in maritime law,
mostly because of the shipping
industry in the area.
navigate





Part of speech: verb
Definition: to make one's way over or
through; to steer or manage, to
operate or control the course of
Sentences:
Only flat-bottomed boats can safely
navigate the canal.
The downtown area is easily
navigated on foot.
aster / astro
 Greek
 Definition:
star; star-shaped
 Vocabulary
◦astrology
◦asterisk
◦astronomical
astrology





Part of speech: noun
Definition: the study of how the positions
and aspects of stars and planets influence
human and world events
Sentences:
The newspaper publishes the astrology
chart daily for people who believe their
lives are impacted by the stars.
Astrology is considered today to be
opposed to the findings of modern
science.
asterisk




Part of speech: noun
Definition: a star-shaped symbol used in
writing to indicate a footnote or to draw
attention to text
Sentences:
The asterisk at the end of the sentence
directed me to an explanation of an
unfamiliar
word in the sentence.
Please put an asterisk next to each Word
Study word you use in your essay.
astronomical





Part of speech: adjective
Definition: enormously large or
great; relating to astronomy (the
study of space)
Sentences:
The cost of the office building was
astronomical because of its height.
We got an astronomical telephone bill
this month after calling our family in
Italy.
gen
 Greek
 Definition:
race; kind
 Vocabulary
 genesis
 genealogy
 generation
genesis
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the origin or beginning of
something
Sentences:
The author wrote a book about the
genesis of the Civil Rights
movement.
John was present at the meeting which
was later considered the genesis of
the new political movement.
genealogy
Part of speech: noun
Definition: : an account of a person’s or
family’s ancestry
Sentences:
My sister has been researching our family
genealogy.
Hakim has a distinguished genealogy that
traces back to William the Conqueror.
generation
Part of speech: noun
Definition: average time between the
birth of parent and their offspring
(about 30 years); the act or process
of creating something
Sentences:
• The company claims to be
developing the next generation of
portable computers.
• That family has lived in the same
house for four generations.