Caesar’s English II
Lesson XV
culp (blame) culprit, culpable, exculpate
CULP means blame.
We blame the culprit; to
be culpable is to be
guilty; and to exculpate
someone is to free them
from blame!
Spanish…culpable
pugn (fight) pugnacious, pugilist, oppugn
PUGN means fight.
A pugnacious person is
combative; a puglilist is
a fighter; and to oppugn
something is to attack or
resist it!
Spanish…pugnaz
URB (city) urban, suburb, urbane
URB means city.
An urban environment is a city environment; the
suburbs are the neighborhoods around the city;
and an urbane person is sophisticated and
citified!
Spanish…urbano
numer (number) numeral, enumeration,
supernumerary
NUMER means
number.
A numeral is a
number; to enumerate
is to list; and
supernumeraries are
extra people!
Spanish…enumeración
acr (sharp) acrid, acerbity, acrimony
ACR means sharp.
An acrid smell such as ammonia is sharp; acerbity
is sharpness of temper; and acrimony is a sharp
and heated dispute!
Spanish…acrimonia
Advanced Word: Pugnacious
The adjective pugnacious comes
from the stems pugn, fight, and ous, full
of. To be pugnacious is to be
combative, ready to fight anyone.
Pugnacious people are aggressive and
ready to challenge. Sometimes they
seem insulting, with a chip on their
shoulder. In 1974 E.L. Doctorow wrote,
in his novel Ragtime, that “This caused
him to tile his chin upwards in order to
see, giving him a pugnacious look.” In
Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22 a
character “thundered pugnaciously in a
voice loud enough to rattle the whole
building.”
Caesar’s English II Lesson XV
Stem
meaning
Example
culp
blame
culprit
pugn
fight
Pugnacious
urb
city
urban
numer
number
Numeral
acr
sharp
acrid
PUGILIST : PUGNACIOUS ::
a. urban : suburban
b. culprit : culpable
c. exculpate : innocent
d. enumerate : items
PUGILIST : PUGNACIOUS ::
a. urban : suburban
b. culprit : culpable
c. exculpate : innocent
d. enumerate : items
OPPUGN : SANCTION ::
a. pugilist : glove
b. city : suburb
c. supernumerary : extra
d. exculpate : convict
OPPUGN : SANCTION ::
a. pugilist : glove
b. city : suburb
c. supernumerary : extra
d. exculpate : convict
Find the best opposite.
ACRIMONY
a. pugnacity
b. verisimilitude
c. urbanity
d. harmony
Find the best opposite.
ACRIMONY
a. pugnacity
b. verisimilitude
c. urbanity
d. harmony
PUGNACIOUS
a. mollifying
b. oppugning
c. enumerating
d. exculpating
PUGNACIOUS
a. mollifying
b. oppugning
c. enumerating
d. exculpating
The gladiators were trained as
expert ___________.
a. culprits
b. pugilists
c. supernumeraries
d. interlocutors
The gladiators were trained as
expert ___________.
a. culprits
b. pugilists
c. supernumeraries
d. interlocutors
Prisoners captured in Gaul were
rarely ____________.
a. exculpated
b. oppugned
c. disputed
d. enumerated
Prisoners captured in Gaul were
rarely ____________.
a. exculpated
b. oppugned
c. disputed
d. enumerated
The spectacles in the Colosseum
required a great many
______________.
a. acrimonies
b. numerals
c. exculpations
d. supernumeraries
The spectacles in the Colosseum
required a great many
______________.
a. acrimonies
b. numerals
c. exculpations
d. supernumeraries
The Grammar of Vocabulary:
pugnancious, an adjective.
The pugnacious Gauls
were no
match
for the legions.
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Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
From Frederick Douglass’s Narrative
I would allow myself to suffer…rather than
______________ myself.
a. enumerate
b. oppugn
c. exculpate
d. impute
Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
From Frederick Douglass’s Narrative
I would allow myself to suffer…rather than
______________ myself.
a.
b.
c.
d.
enumerate
oppugn
exculpate
impute
From James Watson’s The Double Helix
Rosy and Gosling were ___________ assertive.
a.
b.
c.
d.
urbanely
acrimoniously
culpably
pugnaciously
From James Watson’s The Double Helix
Rosy and Gosling were ___________ assertive.
a.
b.
c.
d.
urbanely
acrimoniously
culpably
pugnaciously
From Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
They treated her with coldness and ___________.
a. enumeration
b. acrimony
c. pugnacity
d. urbanity
From Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
They treated her with coldness and ___________.
a. enumeration
b. acrimony
c. pugnacity
d. urbanity