CAESAR’S ENGLISH
VOCABULARY FROM LATIN, Lesson IV
Lesson IV
WORD
DEFINITION
audible
able to be heard
benevolent
charitable
somber
gloomy
prostrate
lying flat
profuse
abundant
audible (AW-dih-bil) adj. – able to be heard
The English adjective audible, from the Latin
audibilis, refers to anything that can be heard, but if
often means something that is barely heard. In Treasure
Island Robert Stevenson described “a steady whisper,
that was no more than audible.”
In Spanish, audible is audible.
benevolent (ben-EH-vo-lent) adj. - charitable
Benevolent comes from the Latin benevolens. To be
benevolent is to be charitable, to be of good (bene) will
(vol). In his 1901 classic Kim, Rudyard Kipling wrote
that “Kim considered the benevolent yellow face
wrinkle by wrinkle.”
In Spanish, benevolent is benevolo.
somber (SOM-burr) adj. - gloomy
The adjective somber actually derives from the
Latin umbra, shade, and refers to things that are
dark, gloomy, melancholy. The British spell
somber sombre. Esther Forbes wrote in Johnny
Tremain that “Then he heard a somber rolling of
the drums.”
In Spanish, somber is sombrio.
prostrate (PROSS-trait) adj. or v. – lying flat
Prostrate comes from the Latin prostatus. To be
prostrate is to be lying down. You can prostrate
yourself by throwing yourself down. In Kenneth
Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, one of the animals
finds “himself lying on top of the prostrate Rat.”
In Spanish, prostrate is prostrado.
profuse (pro-FYOOS) adj. - abundant
The English adjective profuse, from the Latin
profusus, means abundant. There can be profuse
plants, profuse thanks, and profuse curls. In Herman
Melville’s Moby Dick, a character wipes “the profuse
sweat from his brow,” and in Charles Dicken’s David
Copperfield, a character is “profuse in his farewells.”
In Spanish, profuse is profuso.
Lesson IV
WORD
DEFINITION
audible
able to be heard
benevolent
charitable
somber
gloomy
prostrate
lying flat
profuse
abundant
Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
1. From Alfred Lansing’s Endurance
After supper that night there was a _______ quiet
in the Ritz.
a. audible
b. profuse
c. benevolent
d. somber
1. From Alfred Lansing’s Endurance
After supper that night there was a _______ quiet
in the Ritz.
a. audible
b. profuse
c. benevolent
d. somber
2. From Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man
It was like a small voice…barely _______ in the
roar of city sounds.
a. somber
b. profuse
c. audible
d. benevolent
2. From Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man
It was like a small voice…barely _______ in the
roar of city sounds.
a. somber
b. profuse
c. audible
d. benevolent
The Grammar of Vocabulary: benevolent,
an adjective.
The
stoic emperor lived a benevolent life.
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