5th Grade – Stems and Vocabulary from Caesar’s English Lessons 13-20
Stem = meaning – modern examples
(English/Spanish* examples)
bene = good – benefit, benediction, benefactor
(benediction/bendicion)
son = sound – sonorous, dissonance, sonnet
(sonorous/sonoro)
nov = new – novice, nova, innovation
(novice/novicio)
sangui = blood – sanguine, sanguinary, consanguinity (sanguine/sanguineo)
cogn = know – cognizance, incognito, cognoscenti
(cognizance/cognicion)
ject = throw – dejection, interject, conjecture
(interjection/interjeccion)
dorm = sleep – dormant, dormitory, dormer
(dormant/durmiente)
magn = great – magnate, magnificent, magnanimous
(magnaninmous/magnanimo)
ver = true – verify, veracity, verdict
(verify/verificar)
put = think – dispute, putative, reputation
(dispute/disputer)
archy = government = monarchy, oligarchy, anarchy
(monarchy/monarquia)
bio = life – biology, biography, biomorphic
(biology/biologia)
auto = self – autograph, autocracy, autobiography
(autocracy/autocracia)
chron = time – chronic, chronological, synchronize
(chronic/cronico)
dec = ten – decade, decimal, decimate
(decade/decada)
geo = earth – geography, geology, geometry
(geography/geografia)
scope = look – telescope, microscope, periscope
(telescope/telescopio)
anti = against – anti-aircraft, anticlimax, antithesis
(anti-aircraft/antiaereo)
intro = into – introduce, introspective, introvert
(introspective/introspectivo)
neo = new – neon, Neolithic, neophyte
(neophyte/neofito)
Advanced Words
cognizance = refers to the condition of awareness, of knowing

Stem = cogn (know)
sanguine = cheerful, rosy-cheeked

Stem = sangui (blood)
magnanimous = generous, noble in one’s thoughts

Stems = magn (great) and anim (mind)
dejection = a throwing down in spirit, when we are sad, full of despair (dejected)

Stems = ject (thrown) and de (down)
anarchy = no government, perhaps because the former government has fallen, and
different groups are struggling for power

Stems = an (not) and archy (government)
chronic = lasting or happening frequently

Stem = chron (time)
neophyte = a beginner – from biology it is a baby plant

Stems = neo (new) and phyte (plant)
introspective = thinking deeply about your own personal feelings and thoughts

Stems = spect (looking) and intro (into)
Vocabulary from Latin
wistful = yearning - longing
subtle = slight
sagacity = wisdom – someone with sagacity is sagacious – they have sound judgment
and a keen mind (a sage)
remonstrate = to object – plead in protest, argue repeatedly over something
tedious = boring – dull, tiresome
articulate = express clearly – used as verb or noun (pronounced differently)
vex = to irritate – bother, baffle; annoying, provoking, troubling, worrying, or
tormenting people is vexing them
prostrate = lying down – throw yourself down flat on the ground, verb or adjective
abyss = a bottomless depth – literal and poetic use
martyr = one who suffers – someone who suffers or dies for a principle
apprehension = fear – gripped or grasped by fear
superfluous = extra – more than needed, excessive, unnecessary
tangible = touchable – opposite is intangible refers to things that cannot be touched
lurid = sensational – in the sense of being horrible or gruesome, can also describe
something that glows unnaturally or is garishly red (literal or metaphorical)
pervade = spread throughout – permeates
genial = kind – someone who is warm or kind to us
stolid = unemotional – impassive, someone standing flat-faced and unmoved with
little response
palpable = touchable – tangible, easily seen; sometimes used to describle intangible
things (“The ugliness they left was palpable” – Maya Angelou)
austere = bare – severe, stern, solemn, unornamented
furtive = stealthy – sneaky, surreptitious, done like a thief
*Spanish words do not have proper accents. Will be corrected in next update.