Chapter 6
Aegis: protection, sponsorship
• Since the adult Zeus covered his shield with
this goat’s skin (aigis is Greek for “goatskin”),
which made the shield invulnerable, Zeus’
shield was known as the aegis.
• Synonyms: guardianship, support, patronage,
auspices
• Our ambassadors are under the aegis of the
United States government.
Auspicious: favorable, promising a
good outcome
• The word “auspicious” devies from the Latin
avis (“ bird”) and specio (“see”). The Romans
dissected birds, for they thought the birds’
internal organs predicted events.
• Synonyms: promising, encouraging, propitious
• Related word: opportune
• A student who gets all “A’s” in his/her first
semester has an auspicious beginning in
college.
Jaded: wearied, dulled, or bored by
having too much
• The word “jaded” derives from tired, worn-out
horses. Norse jalda meant “mare.”
• Syn: Worn-out, overindulged, satiated
• Americans are so jaded with sweets, spices,
and refined foods, that they have no appetite
for a wholesome diet.
• Children jaded with an overabundance of toys
cannot appreciate any gift.
Atone: make up (for a wrong)
• Originally, “atonement” meant “at-one-ment”
with God, in other words reconciled for in
peaceful harmony with God.
• Syn: make amends, make reparations, expiate
• On Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement,
Jews fast and pray that God will forgive their
sins.
Lewd: obscene, indecent, lustful
• “Lewd” comes from Old English laewede,
meaning “lay” or “not of the church.”
• Syn: vulgar, smutty, lascivious
• Lewd songs have indecent sexual overtones.
Succinct: Briefly and clearly expressed
• The ancient Romans wore a loose garment,
somewhat like a long shirt called a tunic.
When the Romans wanted to shorten their
tunics so as to move more freely, they would
tuck up the tunic under the cinctura.
• Syn: brief, concise, terse
• Related: laconic
• Teachers of freshman composition continually
tell their students to cut out wordiness and be
succinct.
Prevaricate: stray from the truth:
mislead
• “Prevaricate” derives from Latin varicus
(“straddling”) which came from varus
(“bent”), a term applied to a knock-kneed or
crooked-legged person who did not walk
straight.
• Syn: lie, misinform, equivocate
• Government officials prevaricated during the
Senate hearing in order to cover up their
illegal actions.
Aloof: reserved, detached,
unconcerned
• “Aloof” comes from a (“towards”) and the
Dutch word loef (“to windward”). “Aloof” thus
derives from a nautical term meaning to head
the ship into the wind so as to keep distance
from the shore.
• Syn: removed, unresponsive, indifferent
• Some people may appear cold and aloof
although in reality they are merely shy.
Jovial: full of hearty humor and fun;
jolly
• Jove (Jupiter), on the other hand, went on to
joyfully lord the heavens.
• Syn: merry, cheerful, jocular
• No one would hire a frowning, saturnine man
to play the part of jovial, jolly Santa Claus.
Saturnine: gloomy, grave
• Foremost among these Titans was Cronus,
whose Roman name is Saturn.
• Syn: moody, sulky, morose
• My boss never smiles; he is the gloomiest,
most saturnine man I know.
Eulogy: speech or writing in praise of
someone or something, especially of
one who has died
Euphemism: pleasant, mild, or
inoffensive expression substituted
from an unpleasant or offensive one
Eugenics: science of improving a breed
or species through selection of parents
Euphoria: feeling of complete wellbeing , great happiness
Euthanasia: mercy killing, painlessly
putting to death someone suffering
from a prolonged and incurable
condition