CAESAR’S ENGLISH VOCABULARY FROM LATIN, Lesson IV

Lesson IV

audible (AW-dih-bil) adj. – able to be heard

The English adjective audible, from the Latin audibilis, refers to anything that can be heard, but if often means something that is barely heard. In Treasure Island Robert Stevenson described “a steady whisper, that was no more than audible.”

In Spanish, audible is audible.

benevolent (ben-EH-vo-lent) adj. - charitable

Benevolent comes from the Latin benevolens. To be benevolent is to be charitable, to be of good (bene) will (vol). In his 1901 classic Kim, Rudyard Kipling wrote that “Kim considered the benevolent yellow face wrinkle by wrinkle.”

In Spanish, benevolent is benevolo.

somber (SOM-burr) adj. - gloomy

The adjective somber actually derives from the Latin umbra, shade, and refers to things that are dark, gloomy, melancholy. The British spell somber sombre. Esther Forbes wrote in Johnny Tremain that “Then he heard a somber rolling of the drums.”

In Spanish, somber is sombrio.

prostrate (PROSS-trait) adj. or v. – lying flat

Prostrate comes from the Latin prostatus. To be prostrate is to be lying down. You can prostrate yourself by throwing yourself down. In Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, one of the animals finds “himself lying on top of the prostrate Rat.”

In Spanish, prostrate is prostrado.

profuse (pro-FYOOS) adj. - abundant

The English adjective profuse, from the Latin profusus, means abundant. There can be profuse plants, profuse thanks, and profuse curls. In Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a character wipes “the profuse sweat from his brow,” and in Charles Dicken’s David Copperfield, a character is “profuse in his farewells.”

In Spanish, profuse is profuso.

Lesson IV

1. From Alfred Lansing’s Endurance

After supper that night there was a _______ quiet in the Ritz.

a. audible

b. profuse

c. benevolent

d. somber

Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge

1. From Alfred Lansing’s Endurance

After supper that night there was a _______ quiet in the Ritz.

a. audible

b. profuse

c. benevolent

d. somber

2. From Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

It was like a small voice…barely _______ in the roar of city sounds.

a. somber

b. profuse

c. audible

d. benevolent

2. From Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

It was like a small voice…barely _______ in the roar of city sounds.

a. somber

b. profuse

c. audible

d. benevolent

The Grammar of Vocabulary: benevolent, an adjective.

The stoic emperor lived a benevolent life.

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