Word Study
Crossroads Middle School
Year One
Trimester Two
The Mind
The first set of Greek and Latin
roots relate to the mind.
voc
Latin
Definition: to call, talk, speak, say, voice; word
Vocabulary
 vociferous
 advocate
 convocation
 avocation
 vocation
vociferous
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: noisy; clamorous
Sentences:
 He is her most vociferous critic.
 He was vociferous in his support of the proposal.
 The decision was made over their vociferous
objections.
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advocate
Part of speech: noun or verb
Definition: one who speaks or writes in support of
another or a cause
Sentences:

Noun- He is a passionate advocate of civil rights

She works as a consumer advocate.

Verb- He advocates traditional teaching methods.

The plan is advocated by the president.
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convocation
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a large formal assembly
Sentences:
 They called for the immediate convocation of the
council.
 He was the first speaker to address
the convocation.
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avocation
Part of speech: noun
Definition: an activity taken up in addition to one's
regular work or profession, usually for enjoyment; a
hobby
Sentence: Her favorite avocation is reading.
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vocation
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the career to which one feels one is called;
any trade or occupation
Sentence:
 I'm a carpenter by vocation, but my avocation is
painting.
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path
Greek
Definition: one suffering from
Vocabulary
 sympathy
 empathy
 pathos
 pathogen
sympathy
Part of speech: noun
Definition: sameness of a feeling; a mutual liking or
understanding
Sentences:

When he lost his job, his partner showed great
sympathy and support.

My deepest sympathies go out to the families of the
September 11th victims.

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
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
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empathy
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the ability to share in another’s emotions,
thoughts, or feelings
Sentence:
 She felt a great empathy for the woman whose
difficulties were described in the newspaper article.
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pathos
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the quality in something which arouses
pity, sorrow, or sympathy
Sentences:
 Our knowledge of his tragic end adds an element of
pathos to the story of his early success.
 The stage play, based on the story of a farm boy,
created a sense of pathos in the audience, as they
remembered their own experiences.
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pathogen
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a microorganism capable of causing
disease
Sentences:
 Strategies to reduce the number of poultry carrying food
borne pathogens could potentially decrease the number
of human infections.
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geo
Greek
Definition: of the earth
Vocabulary
 geothermal
 geopolitical
 geocentric
geothermal
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: of the heat inside the earth
Sentence:

Geothermal energy is power extracted from heat stored in
the earth.
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geopolitical
Part of speech: noun
Definition: studying or applying the influence of
political and economic geography on the politics,
national power, foreign policy, of a state
Sentences:
 Each article treats selected aspects of the geopolitics
of drugs in a single country or region.
 During the cold war, immigration was more a question
of global geopolitics.
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geocentric
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: having the earth and its inhabitants as a
center of a theory or belief
Sentence:
 The idea of the sun traveling around the Earth is an
old geocentric theory.
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struct
Latin
Definition: to build, to build up, to pile, to construct,
to place together
Vocabulary
 instructive
 constructive
 indestructible
 obstruct
instructive
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: serving to instruct or inform; conveying
knowledge or information
Sentences:

The teacher gave an interesting and instructive lesson
in reading class.

My mother gave an instructive demonstration of the
proper way to pack a suitcase so my clothes don't
arrive in a mess.
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constructive
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: leading to improvement; positive
Sentences:

I tried to offer constructive criticism.

Your feedback was not very constructive because you
did not provide enough advice on ways for
improvement.
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indestructible
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: something that cannot be destroyed
Sentence:
 Diamonds are widely considered to be indestructible
because they are one of the hardest known
substances.
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obstruct
Part of speech: verb
Definition: to block or stop up
Sentences:

A large tree obstructed the driver’s view of the road.

A piece of food obstructed his airway and caused him
to stop breathing.

She was charged with obstructing justice by lying to
investigators.
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Physical / Natural
bio
Greek
Definition: of living things
Vocabulary
 biology
 biodegradable
 biopsy
 symbiotic
biology
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the science that deals with the origin,
history, characteristics, etc. of plants and animals
Sentences:

In biology class, we dissected a frog.

There has been several advances in the field
of biology.

In class we studied the biology of the rain forest.
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biodegradable
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: capable of being readily decomposed
by the action of microbes
Sentence:

The trash bags are biodegradable.
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biopsy
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the removal of bits of living tissue for
diagnosis
Sentence:

Sarah went to the doctor for a biopsy.
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symbiosis
Part of speech: noun
Definition: describes the living together of two kinds
of organisms to their mutual advantage
Sentences:

The bird lives in symbiosis with the hippopotamus.

Their professional association was one
of symbiosis.
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gn (o) / sci
Greek
Definition: know, learn
Vocabulary
 cognition
 gnostic
 conscience
 conscientious
cognition
Part of speech: noun
Definition: The mental process of knowing,
including aspects; such as, awareness, perception,
reasoning, and judgment.
Sentence:

There are disabilities that affect cognition and
judgment.
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gnostic
Part of speech: noun
Definition: pertaining to or possessing knowledge
Sentence:

Because he believed that knowledge could free
his spirit, he was considered a Gnostic.
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conscience
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a sense of right and wrong, with an urge
to do right
Sentences:


The thief must have had an attack of conscience because
he returned the wallet with nothing missing from it.
The teacher emphasized that the students should let their
conscience be their guide when deciding what to do.
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conscientious
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: governed by one’s conscience
Sentences:


She has always been a very conscientious worker.
He was conscientious about following the doctor's
orders.
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Helpful Tip . . .
Conscience is the voice some people
never hear until they are caught doing
something wrong; while truly
conscientious people are those whose
consciences tell them to do the right
thing even when they are conscious
that they won't get caught.
morph
Greek
Definition: shape, form, figure, appearance
Vocabulary




metamorphosis
anthropomorphic
morphotic
morphology
metamorphosis
Part of speech: noun
Definition: change of form, structure, substance or
function
Sentences:
The class learned about how caterpillars undergo
metamorphosis to become butterflies.
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
anthropomorphic
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: describes the attribution of human
characteristics to gods or objects
Sentence:

I enjoy reading stories in which the characters are
anthropomorphic animals.
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morphology
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the study of form or structure
Sentences:

She wanted to gain an insight into the morphology
of our political system.
Merriam Webster
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para
Greek
Definition: beside, beyond, helping, accessory
Vocabulary
 paradox
 paradigm
 parameter
 paragon
paradox
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a statement that seems contradictory,
but may be true in fact
Sentences:

It is a paradox that computers need maintenance so
often, since they are meant to save people time.

“More haste, less speed” is one example of a
paradoxical statement.
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paradigm
Part of speech: noun
Definition: an example or model
Sentences:

Her recent book provides us with a new paradigm
for modern biography.
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parameter
Part of speech: noun
Definition: A characteristic element or factor; a
quantity or quality that gives a particular form to
the thing it characterizes.
Sentence:

We will discuss the parameters of the project at our
next meeting.
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paragon
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a model of perfection or excellence
Sentence:

The knight is a paragon of virtue.
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Resources
Merriam Webster
http://www.merriam-webster.com
http://wordinfo.info
http://www.wordcentral.com/edu/index.htm
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Kelli Zicha 2010-2011