It’s Vocab
Time!
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Adept
•(adj.)
thoroughly
skilled
•(n.) an expert
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Adept – L. adeptus "having
reached, attained," pp. of
adipisci "to attain to,
acquire," from ad- "to" +
apisci "grasp, attain,"
related to aptus "fitted."
Noun meaning "one who is
skilled in the secrets of
anything" is from a M.L.
use in alchemy.
Adept Mnemonic
Winning a Grammy is
proof that a musician
is adept.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Aspire
• (v.) to have
ambitious hopes or
plans, strive toward
a higher goal,
desire earnestly; to
ascend
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Aspire – O.Fr. aspirer
"aspire to, inspire,"
from L. aspirare "to
breathe upon," also
"to seek to reach,"
from ad- "to" +
spirare "to breathe"
Aspire Mnemonic
Some athletes aspire
to win a gold medal at
the Olympics.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Bleak
•(adj.) bare,
dreary,
dismal
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Bleak – O.N. bleikr "pale.
The same Gmc. root
produced the O.E. blac
"pale," but this died out,
probably from confusion
with blæc "black;" but
bleikr persisted, with a
sense of "bare" as well
as "pale."
Bleak Mnemonic
Global warming
predictions are bleak
unless humans change
their behaviors.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Chide
•(v.) to
blame;
scold
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Chide – Middle
English, from
Old English
cidan “to
quarrel,” chide,
from cid strife
Chide Mnemonic
The Supernanny chides
naughty children and
their parents.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Despicable
•(adj.) worthy
of scorn,
contemptible
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Despicable – L.L.
despicabilis, from
L. despicari "look
down on," from
de- "down" +
variant of specere
"to look"
Despicable Mnemonic
When Daffy Duck
becomes angry with
someone, he says,
“You’re despicable!”
Don’t forget your words!
It’s Vocab
Time!
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Diminutive
•(adj.) small,
smaller than
most others of
the same type
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Diminutive – O.Fr.
diminutif (fem. diminutive),
from L. diminutivum, from
deminuere "break into
small pieces," variant of
deminuere "lessen,
diminish," from de"completely" + minuere
"make small."
Diminutive Mnemonic
The munchkins are
diminutive people in
the movie, “The
Wizard of Oz.”
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Emancipate
•(v.) to free from
slavery; to
release or
liberate
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Emancipate – L. emancipatus, pp.
of emancipare "declare (someone)
free, give up one's authority over,"
in Roman law, the freeing of a son
or wife from the legal authority
(patria potestas) of the pater
familias, to make his or her own
way in the world; from ex- "out,
away" + mancipare "deliver,
transfer or sell," from mancipum
"ownership," from manus "hand" +
capere "take.”
Emancipate Mnemonic
Lincoln’s Emancipation
Proclamation gave freedom to
all slaves in the United States.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Erroneous
•(adj.) incorrect,
containing
mistakes
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Erroneous – L.
erroneus "vagrant,
wandering," from
erronem (nom. erro)
"vagabond," from
errare "to wander,
err"
Erroneous Mnemonic
It is erroneous to
believe that smoking
is not deadly.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Exploit
• (v.) to make use of,
develop; to make
improper use of for
personal profit
• (n.) a feat, deed
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Exploit – O.Fr. esploit, a very
common v., used in senses of
"action, deed, profit,
achievement," from L.
explicitum "a thing settled,
ended, displayed," neut. of
explicitus, pp. of explicare
"unfold" The v. (M.E.
espleiten, esploiten) meant “to
accomplish.”
Exploit Mnemonic
Dateline’s show, “To
Catch a Predator” uses a
decoy to catch predators
who try to exploit
teenagers.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Extemporaneous
•(adj.) made or
delivered on the
spur of the
moment
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Extemporaneous – L.L.
extemporaneus, from L.
ex tempore "offhand, in
accordance with (the
needs of) the moment,"
from ex- "out of" +
tempore, abl. of tempus
(gen. temporis) "time."
Extemporaneous Mnemonic
Getting married in Vegas
probably should not be an
extemporaneous decision.
Don’t forget your words!
It’s Vocab
Time!
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Impair
•(v.) to make
imperfect,
damage,
harm
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Impair – O.Fr.
empeirier, from V.L.
*impejorare "make
worse," from L. in"into" + L.L.
pejorare "make
worse," from pejor
"worse."
Impair Mnemonic
Drugs and alcohol
impair a person’s
judgment, mmm kay.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Invincible
•(adj.) not able
to be
defeated,
unbeatable
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Invincible – L.
invincibilis
"unconquerable,
" from in- "not"
+ vincibilis
"conquerable."
Invincible Mnemonic
Superman is invincible to
everything except
kryptonite.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Languid
•(adj.) drooping;
without energy,
sluggish
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Languid – L.
languidus "faint,
listless," from
languere "be weak
or faint," from PIE
base *(s)leg- "to
be slack"
Languid Mnemonic
Being languid in a
hammock is acceptable;
being languid in class is
not.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Mire
•(n.) mud; wet,
swampy ground;
a tough situation
•(v.) to get stuck
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Mire – O.N.
myrr "bog,
swamp,"
cognate with
O.E. mos
"bog"
Mire Mnemonic
It is easy to become
mired in the mud
while off-roading.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Obtrusive
•(adj.) forward;
undesirably
prominent;
thrust out
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Obtrusive – L.
obtrusus, past
participle of obtrudere
"thrust into, press
upon," from ob
"toward" + trudere "to
thrust," from PIE base
*treud- "to squeeze"
Obtrusive Mnemonic
Dumbo was born with
obtrusive ears.
Don’t forget your words!
It’s Vocab
Time!
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Preamble
•(n.) an
introduction to
a speech or a
piece of writing
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Preamble – O.Fr.
preambule (13c.), from
M.L. preambulum, neut.
adj. used as a noun,
properly "preliminary,"
from L.L. præambulus
"walking before," from L.
præ- "before" + ambulare
“to walk”
Preamble Mnemonic
The preamble to the
United States Constitution
has been in operation
since 1789.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Render
•(v.) to cause to
become; to
perform; to deliver
officially; to
process, extract
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Render – O.Fr. rendre
"give back, present,
yield," from V.L. *rendere
(formed on analogy of its
antonym, prendre "to
take"), from L. reddere
"give back, return,
restore," from re- "back"
+ comb. form of dare "to
give"
Render Mnemonic
Being fired rendered
Amy to lose her selfcontrol.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Rugged
•(adj.) rough,
irregular;
sever, stern;
strong; stormy
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Rugged – (originally of
animals), from O.N.
rogg "shaggy tuft"
probably related to rag
and perhaps also
rough. Sense evolved
to "coverlet, wrap"
(1591), then "mat for
the floor" (1808)
Rugged Mnemonic
Many women consider
Viggo Mortensen to be a
ruggedly handsome
actor.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Skeptical
•(adj.) inclined to
doubt; slow to
accept something
as true
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Skeptical – Fr. sceptique, from L.
scepticus, from Gk. skeptikos (pl.
Skeptikoi "the Skeptics"), lit.
"inquiring, reflective," the name
taken by the disciples of the Gk.
philosopher Pyrrho (c.360-c.270
B.C.E.), from skeptesthai "to
reflect, look, view." The extended
sense of "one with a doubting
attitude" first recorded 1615.
Skeptical Mnemonic
Tom was skeptical when he
received an email saying that
he had won a lottery in
Nigeria.
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
•Slipshod
•(adj.) untidy in
dress, personal
habits, etc;
careless, sloppy
Vocabulary Workshop, Level D Etymologies: Unit 10
• Slipshod – from slip (v.),
M.L.G. slippen "to glide,
slide," from P.Gmc.
*slipanan, from PIE
*sleib- "slimy, slippery,"
from base *(s)lei- "slimy,
sticky, slippery." + shod
"wearing shoes."
Slipshod Mnemonic
The movie “Gigli” is
an example of
slipshod work.
Don’t forget your words!