English Vocabulary and Etymology 2016/11/3(Week8)

▲Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a poem written in 1922 by Robert Frost, and published in 1923 in his New Hampshire volume.

                                                        Robert Frost

◇Poem

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

▲Sigh no more by William Shakespeare

                                                William Shakespeare

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,

Men were deceivers ever;
One foot in sea, and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blith and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no mo
Of dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leavy.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blith and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

▲Prefix

⬥be- thoroughly, completely; to make, cause seem; to provide with; at, on, to, for

For example, begin, beside

⬥de- down, down from, from, off; concerning

For example, decrease, decline

⬥mal- bad

For example, malediction, malevolence

⬥audi- listen

For example, audience, audition

⬥spec- to look

For example, spectacle, spectator

▲Suffix

⬥-ium or –eum: a place

For example, aquarium, museum

▲Vocabulary

☆Week16, Week17, Week18

✪cursory (adj) c. 1600, from Middle French cursoire "rapid," from Late Latin cursorius "hasty, of a race or running," from Latin curs-, past participle stem of currere "to run" (see current (adj.)).

✪consummate (adj) mid-15c., from Latin consummatus "perfected, complete," past participle of consummare "sum up, complete" (see consummation). Of persons, "accomplished, very qualified," from 1640s. Related: Consummately.

(V.)1520s, "to bring to completion," from Latin consummatus, past participle of consummare "to sum up, make up, complete, finish" (see consummation). Meaning "to bring a marriage to completion" (by sexual intercourse) is from 1530s. Related: Consummated; consummating.

✪concoct (v) 1530s, "to digest," from Latin concoctus, past participle of concoquere "to digest; to boil together, prepare; to consider well," from com- "together" (see com-) + coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)). Meaning "to prepare an edible thing" is from 1670s. First expanded metaphorically beyond cooking 1792. Related: Concocted; concocting.

✪perpetrate (v) 1540s, from Latin perpetratus, past participle of perpetrare "to perform, to accomplish," from per- "completely" + patrare "carry out," originally "bring into existence," from pater "father" (see father (n.)). Earlier in English was perpetren, mid-15c., from Old French perpetrer. Neither good nor bad in Latin, first used in English in statutes, hence its sense of "to perform criminally." Related: Perpetrated; perpetrating.

✪subterfuge (n) 1570s, from Middle French subterfuge (14c.) or directly from Medieval Latin subterfugium "an evasion," from Latin subterfugere "to evade, escape, flee by stealth," from subter "beneath, below;" in compounds "secretly" (from PIE *sup-ter-, suffixed (comparative) form of *(s)up-; see sub-) + fugere "flee" (see fugitive (adj.)).

✪manifold (n) in mechanical sense, first as "pipe or chamber with several outlets," 1884, see manifold (adj.); originally as manifold pipe (1857), with reference to a type of musical instrument mentioned in the Old Testament.

✪manifold (adv) Old English manigfealdlic "in various ways, manifoldly," from the source of manifold (adj.).

✪manifold (adj) Old English monigfald (Anglian), manigfeald (West Saxon), "various, varied in appearance, complicated; numerous, abundant," from manig (see many) + -feald (see -fold). A common Germanic compound (Old Frisian manichfald, Middle Dutch menichvout, German mannigfalt, Swedish mångfalt, Gothic managfalþs), perhaps a loan-translation of Latin multiplex (see multiply). Retains the original pronunciation of many. Old English also had a verbal form, manigfealdian "to multiply, abound, increase, extend."

✪fraught (adj) late 14c., "freighted, laden, loaded, stored with supplies" (of vessels); figurative use from early 15c.; past participle adjective from obsolete verb fraught "to load (a ship) with cargo," Middle English fraughten (c. 1400), which always was rarer than the past participle, from noun fraught "a load, cargo, lading of a ship" (early 13c.), which is the older form of freight (n.).This apparently is from a North Sea Germanic source, Middle Dutch vrecht, vracht "hire for a ship, freight," or similar words in Middle Low German or Frisian, apparently originally "earnings," from Proto-Germanic *fra-aihtiz "property, absolute possession," from *fra-, here probably intensive + *aigan "be master of, possess" (see owe (v.)). Related: Fraughtage.

✪impeccable (adj) 1530s, "not capable of sin," from Middle French impeccable (15c.) or directly from Late Latin impeccabilis "not liable to sin," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + peccare "to sin" (see peccadillo). Meaning "faultless" is from 1610s. Related: Impeccably; impeccant; impeccancy.

✪resourceful (adj) 1807, from resource + -ful. Related: Resourcefully; resourcefulness.

✪assiduous (adj)1530s, from Latin assiduus "attending; continually present, incessant; busy; constant," from assidere "to sit down to" (thus "be constantly occupied" at one's work); from assimilated form of ad "to" (see ad-) + sedere "to sit" (see sedentary). The word acquired a taint of "servility" in 18c. Related: Assiduously; assiduousness.

✪component (n) 1640s, "constitutional element" (earlier "one of a group of persons," 1560s), from Latin componentem (nominative componens), present participle of componere "to put together" (see composite). As an adjective, from 1660s.

✪labyrinth (n) c. 1400, laberynthe (late 14c. in Latinate form laborintus) "labyrinth, maze, great building with many corridors and turns," figuratively "bewildering arguments," from Latin labyrinthus, from Greek labyrinthos "maze, large building with intricate passages," especially the structure built by Daedelus to hold the Minotaur, near Knossos in Crete, a word of unknown origin. 

✪evaluate (v) 1831, back-formation from evaluation, or else from French évaluer, back-formation from évaluation. Originally in mathematics. Related: Evaluated; evaluating.

✪murky (adj)mid-14c., from murk + -y (2). Rare before 17c. Related: Murkily; murkiness.

✪gullible (adj) 1821, apparently a back-formation from gullibility. Spelling gullable is attested from 1818.

✪deploy (v) 1786 as a military word, from French déployer "unroll, unfold," from Old French desploiier "unfold," from Latin displicare "unfold, scatter," from dis- (see dis-) + plicare "to fold" see ply (v.1)). "In its AFr. form regularly adopted in ME as desplay" [OED]. Related: Deployed; deploying.

✪attest (v) 1590s, from Middle French attester (Old French atester, 13c.) "affirm, attest," from Latin attestari "confirm," literally "bear witness to," from ad "to" (see ad-) + testari "bear witness," from testis "witness" (see testament). Related: Attested; attesting.

✪exult (v) 1560s, "to leap up;" 1590s, "to rejoice, triumph," from Middle French exulter, from Latin exultare/exsultare "rejoice exceedingly, revel, vaunt, boast;" literally "leap about, leap up," frequentative of exsilire "to leap up," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.)). The notion is of leaping or dancing for joy. Related: Exulted; exulting.

✪enigma (n) 1530s, "statement which conceals a hidden meaning or known thing under obscure words or forms," earlier enigmate (mid-15c.), from Latin aenigma "riddle," from Greek ainigma (plural ainigmata) "a dark saying, riddle," from ainissesthai "speak obscurely, speak in riddles," from ainos "tale, story; saying, proverb;" according to Liddell & Scott, a poetic and Ionic word, of unknown origin. General sense in English of "anything inexplicable to an observer" is from c. 1600.

✪innate (adj) early 15c., "existing from birth," from Late Latin innatus "inborn, native, natural" (source also of French inné, Spanish and Italian innato), past participle of innasci "to be born in, originate in," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + nasci "to be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus). Opposed to acquired. Related: Innately; innateness.

✪abortive (adj) late 14c., "born prematurely or dead," from Latin abortivus "prematurely born; pertaining to miscarriage; causing abortion," from abort-, past participle stem of aboriri "disappear, miscarry, fail" (see abort). From 14c.-18c. stillborn children or domestic animals were said to be abortive. Transferred meaning "not brought to completion or successful issue" is from 1590s. Also see abortion. Related: Abortiveness.

✪modify (v) late 14c., from Old French modifier (14c.), from Latin modificare "to limit, measure off, restrain," from modus "measure, manner" (see mode (n.1)) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Related: Modified; modifying.

✪spontaneous (adj) 1650s, "occurring without external stimulus," from Late Latin spontaneus "willing, of one's free will," from Latin (sua) sponte "of one's own accord, willingly;" of uncertain origin. Related: Spontaneously; spontaneousness. Used earlier of persons and characters, with a sense "acting of one's own accord" (c. 1200). Spontaneous combustion first attested 1795. Spontaneous generation (the phrase, not the feat) attested from 1650s.

✪accommodate (v) 1530s, "fit one thing to another," from Latin accomodatus "suitable, fit, appropriate to," past participle of accomodare "make fit, make fit for, adapt, fit one thing to another," from ad "to" (see ad-) + commodare "make fit," from commodus ""proper, fit, appropriate, convenient, satisfactory" (see commode). From late 16c. as "make suitable," also "furnish (someone) with what is wanted," especially "furnish with suitable room and comfort" (1712). Related: Accommodated; accommodating

✪crave (v) Old English crafian "ask, implore, demand by right," from North Germanic *krabojan (source also of Old Norse krefja "to demand," Danish kræve, Swedish kräva); perhaps related to craft in its base sense of "power." Current sense "to long for" is c. 1400, probably through intermediate meaning "to ask very earnestly" (c. 1300). Related: Craved; craving.

✪myriad (n) 1550s, from Middle French myriade and directly from Late Latin myrias (genitive myriadis) "ten thousand," from Greek myrias (genitive myriados) "a number of ten thousand, countless numbers," from myrios (plural myrioi) "innumerable, countless, infinite; boundless," as a definite number, "ten thousand" ("the greatest number in Greek expressed by one word," Liddell & Scott say), of unknown origin; perhaps from PIE *meue- "abundant" (source also of Hittite muri- "cluster of grapes," Latin muto "penis," Middle Irish moth "penis"). Specific use is usually in translations from Greek or Latin.

✪irrelevant (adj) 1680s, from assimilated form of in- (1) "not, opposite of" + relevant. Related: Irrelevantly.

It is worth remembering that irrelevant & relieving are the same word; that, presumably, is irrelevant which does not relieve or assist the problem in hand by throwing any light upon it. [Fowler]

✪urbane (adj) 1530s, "of or relating to cities or towns," from Middle French urbain (14c.) and directly from Latin urbanus "belonging to a city," also "citified, elegant" (see urban). The meaning "having the manners of townspeople, courteous, refined" is from 1620s, from a secondary sense in classical Latin. Urbanity in this sense is recorded from 1530s. For sense connection and differentiation of form, compare human/humane; german/germane.

✪veneer (v) 1728 (earlier fineer, 1708), from German furnieren (see veneer (n.)). Related: Veneered; veneering.

✪veneer (n) 1702, from German Furnier, from furnieren "to cover with a veneer, inlay," from French fournir "to furnish, accomplish," from Middle French fornir "to furnish," from a Germanic source (compare Old High German frumjan "to provide;" see furnish). From German to French to German to English. Figurative sense of "mere outward show of some good quality" is attested from 1868.

✪deem (v) Old English deman "to judge, condemn, think, compute," from root of dom (see doom (n.)). Originally "to pronounce judgment" as well as "to form an opinion." The two judges of the Isle of Man were called deemsters in 17c., a title formerly common throughout England and Scotland and preserved in the surname Dempster.

✪buff (v) "to polish, make attractive," 1885, in reference to the treatment of buff leather or else to the use of buff cloth in polishing metals, from buff (n.). Related: Buffed; buffing.

(adj) "well-built, hunky," 1980s, from buff (v.) "polish, make attractive."

(n) 1570s, buffe leather "leather made of buffalo hide," from Middle French buffle "buffalo" (15c., via Italian, from Latin bufalus; see buffalo (n.)).
The color term comes from the hue of buffalo hides (later ox hides). Association of "hide" and "skin" led c. 1600 to in the buff. Buff-colored uniforms of New York City volunteer firefighters since 1820s led to meaning "enthusiast" (1903).

The Buffs are men and boys whose love of fires, fire-fighting and firemen is a predominant characteristic. [N.Y. "Sun," Feb. 4, 1903]

✪latent (adj) mid-15c., "concealed, secret," from Latin latentem (nominative latens) "lying hid, concealed, secret, unknown," present participle of latere "lie hidden, lurk, be concealed," from PIE *late-, suffixed form of root *lādh- "to be hidden" (source also of Greek lethe "forgetfulness, oblivion," lethargos "forgetful," lathre "secretly, by stealth," lathrios "stealthy," lanthanein "to be hidden;" Old Church Slavonic lajati "to lie in wait for"). Meaning "dormant, undeveloped" is from 1680s, originally in medicine.

✪inherent (adj) 1570s, from Latin inhaerentem (nominative inhaerens), present participle of inhaerere "be closely connected with, be inherent," literally "adhere to, cling to," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + haerere "to adhere, stick" (see hesitation). Related: Inherently

✪tortuous (adj) late 14c., "full of twists and turns," from Anglo-French tortuous (12c.), Old French tortuos, from Latin tortuosus "full of twists, winding," from tortus "a twisting, winding," from stem of torquere "to twist, wring, distort" (see torque (n.)). Related: Tortuously; tortuousness.

✪conjugal (adj) 1540s, from Middle French conjugal (13c.), from Latin coniugalis "relating to marriage," from coniunx (genitive coniugis) "spouse," related to coniugare "to join together," from com "with, together" (see com-) + iugare "to join," from iugum "yoke" (see jugular).

✪peregrination (n) early 15c., from Old French peregrination "pilgrimage, long absence" (12c.) or directly from Latin peregrinationem (nominative peregrinatio) "a journey, a sojourn abroad," noun of action from past participle stem of peregrinari "to journey or travel abroad," figuratively "to roam about, wander," from peregrinus "from foreign parts, foreigner," from peregre (adv.) "abroad," properly "from abroad, found outside Roman territory," from per (see per) + agri, locative of ager "field, territory, land, country" (see acre).

✪itinerant (adj) 1560s (attested in Anglo-Latin from late 13c.), from Late Latin itinerantem (nominative itinerans), present participle of itinerare "to travel," from Latin iter (genitive itineris) "a journey," from ire "go" (see ion). Originally in reference to circuit courts. As a noun from 1640s. Related: Itinerancy. Middle English had itineral "having to do with travel" (late 15c.)

✪barometer (n) 1660s, from Greek baros "weight," from suffixed form of PIE root *gwere- (2) "heavy" (see grave (adj.)) + -meter. Probably coined (and certainly popularized) by English scientist Robert Boyle (1627-1691).