Word Study
Crossroads Middle School
7th/8th Grade
Trimester Two
2014-2015
*Updated 2014
fid
Latin
Definition: faith, trust
Vocabulary
● confidential
● fidelity
● infidel
confidential
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: private, secretive
Sentence:
“I have something to tell
you,” Janna whispered in a
confidential tone.
fidelity
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the quality of
being loyal or faithful
Sentence:
Patriots are unwavering in
their fidelity to the cause of
freedom.
infidel
Part of speech: noun
Definition: one without faith or belief
Sentence:
Religious 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
Sentence:
The annual festival commemorates
the town’s founding date.
memorial
Part of speech: noun
Definition: an object or ceremony
honoring the memory of a person or
event
Sentence:
The Vietnam Memorial is a tribute
to the thousands of soldiers who
died in the war.
memorize
Part of speech: verb
Roy G. Biv
Definition: to commit to memory
Sentence:
Using a mnemonic device can help
you memorize the colors of the
rainbow.
pseudo / fals
Greek /Latin
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
Sentence:
American author Samuel Langhorne
Clemens took the pseudonym Mark
Twain from a phrase that he heard
while working on a riverboat.
falsification
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the act of making false
or fake
Sentence:
The immigrant was arrested for
falsification of his birth certificate.
◦
fallacy
Part of speech: noun
Definition: an untrue or mistaken
idea
Sentence:
It is a fallacy that girls aren't as
good as boys at math.
cogn
Latin
Definition: know, understand
Vocabulary
● cognition
● incognito
● recognize
cognition
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the act or process
of knowing or understanding
Sentence:
Children can increase their
cognition by playing games to
improve thinking skills.
incognito
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: when someone’s
identity is concealed or hidden
Sentence:
Since we were incognito in our
Halloween costumes, no one at
the party knew who we were.
recognize
Part of speech: verb
Definition: to identify using
previous knowledge
Sentence:
You might recognize these actors
if you saw The Hunger Games.
script / scrib
Latin
Definition: to write, to record
Vocabulary:
● prescribe
● inscription
● postscript
prescribe
Part of speech: verb
Definition: to provide a clear
guide or rule of action
Sentence:
The doctor prescribed medicine
to cure the infection.
inscription
Part of speech: noun
Definition: important information
engraved or written on stone or other
hard surface
Sentence:
Tourists travel to read the inscription
on the Liberty Bell symbolizing
America’s freedom.
postscript
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a note or series of
notes added to a signed letter
Sentence:
At the end of her letter, Keri
added a postscript asking me to
write back soon.
mar / nav
Latin
Definitions:
mar - sea
nav - ship
Vocabulary
● marina
● maritime
● navigate
marina
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a docking area for
small boats
Sentence:
The boats anchored at the
marina bobbed cheerfully in the
water.
maritime
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: relating to the sea
Sentence:
Officer Matthews is an expert in
maritime law because he is an active
member of the Coast Guard.
navigate
Part of speech: verb
Definition: to direct or manage a
course
Sentence:
Only flat-bottomed boats can
safely navigate through the
canal.
aster / astro
Greek
Definition: star; outer space
Vocabulary
● astronomy
● asterisk
● astronomical
astronomy
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the scientific study of the
universe and the objects in it
Sentence:
People who study astronomy spend a
lot of time looking up at the sky.
asterisk
*
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a star-shaped symbol
used in writing to to draw attention
to text
Sentence:
*Please put an asterisk next to
each Word Study word you used
in your essay.
astronomical
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: enormously large or
great; relating the study of space
Sentence:
We got an astronomical telephone
bill this month after calling our
family in India.
gen
Greek
Definition: birth; race; kind
Vocabulary
● genesis
● genealogy
● generation
genesis
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the origin or
beginning of something
Sentence:
The author wrote a book
describing the genesis of the
Civil Rights movement and the
great impact that followed.
genealogy
Part of speech: noun
Definition: : an account of a person’s or
family’s ancestry
Sentence:
Jane has a distinguished genealogy
that traces back to Queen Elizabeth.
generation
Part of speech: noun
Definition: average time between the birth
of parent and their children
Sentence:
Our family has four generations made
up of my great-grandmother, my
grandmother, my mother and me!