83

The Word Within the Word • List #10

ped (foot or child) orthopedist, pedagogue, centipede, expedition, pedestrian, pedestal Latin

mort (death) mortal,mortician,mortified,immortality,mortuary,moribund Latin

carn (flesh) carnivorous, incarnate, reincarnated, carnival, carnation, carnage Latin

psych (soul) psychology,psychic,psychopathic,parapsychology,psychosis Greek

ethno (race or culture) ethnocentrism,ethnicgroup,ethnography,ethnologist Greek

gen (origin) genetics,hydrogen,progeny,engender,gene,ingenuous,indigenous Greek

nat (born) prenatal,native,natural,nativity,nation,nascent,natal,perinatal Latin

paleo (old) paleozoic,paleolithic,paleontologist,paleoanthropic,paleography Greek

curs (run) cursive,discursive,incursion,precursor,cursory,cursorial,cursor Latin

crypt (hidden) cryptic,cryptologist,crypt,cryptogram,encrypt,cryptesthesia Greek

cad (fall) cascade, cadaver, cadence, cadenza, cadaverous, decadent Latin

capit (head) decapitate, capital, recapitulate, capitulation, capitulum Latin

loqu (talk) loquacious,circumlocution,eloquent,soliloquy,somniloquy Latin

sacro (holy) sacrosanct,sacred,sacrifice,sacrament,sacrilege,consecrate Latin

uni (one) unicycle,universe,united,union,uniform,unison,unique,unicorn Latin

ness (quality) softness,redness,politeness,kindness,darkness,vagueness Old English

alt (high) altitude, alto, altimeter, altar, altocumulus, altiplano Latin

ics (art) politics, economics, aesthetics, graphics, ethics, calisthenics Greek

iso (equal) isothermal,isometric,isosceles,isomer,isocracy,isotope Greek

vert (turn) convert, revert, inverted, divert, vertex, controvert, extrovert, introvert Latin

ate (cause) domesticate, implicate, create, procreate, insinuate, placate, dominate Latin

cor (heart) core, concord, discord, misericord, cordial, courageous Latin

ess (female) lioness,empress,princess,baroness,seamstress,governess Greek

muta (change) mutant,mutation,mutagenic,mutable,transmutation,immutable Latin

fug (flee) centrifuge,fugitive,tempusfugit,subterfuge,refugee,fugue Latin

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The Word Within the Word • Stem Close-Up #10

subunder•beneath•below

The Latin stem sub,whichwedefineasmeaningunder,actuallycanhaveawidevarietyofmeaningsandissometimeswrittenassuc, suf, sug, sum, sup, sur, and even susinordertoblendwiththestemthatfollowsit.Thoughsuboftenmeans under, it can mean beneath, below, lower, somewhat, or even inferior.Herearesomeoftheinterestingwordsthat contain subinitsvariousshadesofmeaning:

subcutaneous: beneaththeskin.Hewastroubledbyasubcutaneousinfection.

subduct: todrawdownward.Sheswamagainstthesubductionintheoffshorecurrent.

sublunary: underthemoon.Theloversenjoyedabeautifulsublunarydance.

sublimate: toexpressacceptably.Theurgeoftheidcanfindcreativesublimations.

submontane: atthefootofthemountains.Thesubmontanevegetationwasmorelush.

subtle: notobvious.Subtlecluestoldhertoavoidaskingabouttheproblem.

subvert: tooverthrow.Theyworkedtosubverttheestablishedregime.

substratum: foundation.Hispeacefulhumilitywasfoundedonasubstratumofreligion.

subsistence: baresurvival.Theysurvivedatasubsistencelevelbygatheringfood.

subaqueous: underwater.Thesubaqueoushabitationgraduallydevelopedintoacity.

subservient: obsequious.Thetoady’ssubservientfawningirritatedher.

subtrahend: numbersubtracted.Thedeductionwasafearfulsubtrahendfromthecheck.

surreptitious: doneinsecret.TheplansweremadeatasurreptitiousmeetingintheAlps.

suffuse: tofillwithcolor.BeckyThatcher’sfacewassuffusedwithembarrassment.

suffrage: voting.Women’ssuffragebeganverylateinAmericanhistory.

succinct: briefandclear.Hersuccinctdescriptionimpressedthemall.

suggest: tomention.Hesuggestedasolution,butnoonelistened.

suffocate: tosmother.Smallbusinesseswerebeingsuffocatedbyfederalregulations.

suspend: tohang.Thebridgewassuspendedfrommassivecables.

sustain: maintain.Theywereunabletosustaintheirinitialenthusiasm.

summon: ordertoappear.Theperemptorysummonswasignored.

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The Word Within the Word • Sentences #10

1. TheorthopedistwentonanAfricanexpedition.

2. Themorticianwasmortifiedatthesightofthemortalwound.

3. ThecarnivorousbeastsofVenusarereincarnatedafterdeath.

4. Thepsychologistviewedtheparapsychologistwithsuspicion.

5. Ethnocentrismisdisturbingtoallethnicgroups.

6. Thegeneticist’shobbywasstudyingpathogenicsubstances.

7. Prenatal care is important to natives in naturalenvironments.

8. ThepaleontologistwasanexpertonthePaleozoicera.

9. Thediscursivespeechgaveonlycursoryattentiontotheproblem.

10. Thecryptologistworkedallnighttobreaktheenemysecretcode.

11. Thecadaverwasdiscoveredneartherushingcascade.

12. Decapitationwasonceacommonformofcapitalpunishment.

13. Theloquaciousboreansweredeveryquestionwithacircumlocution.

14. Thehero’ssacrificewasasacrosanctmemory.

15. TheUnitedPlanetsoftheUniversesooncelebratetheirunion.

16. Thesky’srednessandtheclouds’softnesswerebeautiful.

17. Thebrokenaltimeter no longer measured the altitude.

18. Computergraphicsenhancebooksonpolitics and economics.

19. Theisothermalpiedmontregionescapedtheextremesoftemperature.

20. Thenewconvert soon revertedtohispreviousviewsaboutadvertisement.

21. Tocalibrateone’sresponseistoobviateone’sapology.

22. Theextremediscordanceofviewpointspreventedconcord.

23. Thelioness ate the empressbutnottheprincess.

24. Thepost-warmutants lived in a mutagenicatmosphere.

25. “Tempus fugit,” said the escaped fugitivecaughtinthewhirlingcentrifuge.

86

Pictured on the left are wooden auloi, which were two pipes that were played together at one time by one player. Reeds were inserted in the end of the pipes. They are often pictured on Greek vases such as the one here from Sparta (note the long hair on the pipe player). The auloi apparently produced a sound like

an oboe. The Spartans marched into battle to the tune of these instruments. They would advance on the enemy slowly in a disciplined line that often struck fear into their adversaries, who on many occasions fled before battle was joined. Apparently the slow and measured pace of their advance was particularly frightening. The hoplites of other armies often ran into battle, charging their enemy at a trot or full run, as the Athenians had at Marathon. One reason to run into battle was to limit exposure to arrows, javelins, and sling shot; it was not desirable to shoot arrows or fling javelins if your hoplites were within inches of the enemy, but until the lines came together, advancing troops were easy targets. Another reason to charge into battle might be to engage before fear or prudence could overtake the warrior. However, the Spartans came slowly, unafraid of arrows and javelins and sling shot and certain of their courage in the impending engagement. If their enemies lost their nerve and fled, the Spartans did not pursue. In ancient battles the huge casualties occurred once the line was broken and one side fled; the fleeing soldiers were cut down from behind by their pursuers. By not giving chase, the Spartans allowed their opponents to think better of the fight and to escape with their lives, an outcome they would not be assured once battle was joined. The Spartans won many battles without a fight on the strength of their discipline and the sound of their auloi.

SPARTAN CHARACTERDr. Thomas Milton Kemnitz

Spartan men did not work, either in trades or in agriculture. The existence of Helot serfs allowed the Spartans to devote themselves to affairs of state, to physical fitness, to preparing for battle, and to discussions of topics of interest to them. Apparently a great deal of the education of the youth and the conversation of the adults was about what was and was not proper conduct. An enormous premium was put on character in Sparta; only physical prowess and character distinguished one Spartan from another.

Sparta was often praised by the ancient Greeks for many of its qualities. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle found much to admire. First and foremost was its emphasis on the character of the individual. Sparta was held in high esteem for the calm order of its society, which often contrasted with the disorder of other polities, particularly with the unruly behavior of the Athenian Assembly and juries. The absence of ostentatious display and luxury appealed to many. Some ancient writers praised the quality of the unadorned furniture that came from Sparta. The Agoge was thought to develop good and virtuous citizens. The prohibitions on overindulgence appealed to many; the self-control the Spartans exercised was widely admired. Others were taken with the economy of language with which the Spartans expressed themselves. Never was the conciseness more evident than when Philip of Macedonia sent a message to Sparta inviting it to submit to his hegemon and saying that if he entered Laconia, he would raze Sparta. The Spartans responded with a succinct single word: “If.”

Sparta avoided many problems and wars because it did not have a class of people who desired to enrich themselves by plunder. When the Spartans fought, their objectives were generally clear and relatively limited, and they were successful. The Spartan organization created a remarkably effective war machine because it had the only full-time soldiers. Generation after generation of Spartans went undefeated in battle. The army of the Greeks during the second Persian invasion was under Spartan leadership because the Spartans were the professionals and were most proficient at warfare. Indeed, their participation was so important that Themistocles ceded to Sparta the command of the navy, though Sparta had few ships, and when battle came on the seas, it was Themistocles and the Athenian ships that were the most important.

It is remarkable that most of what Sparta valued was transient and has vanished. There is nothing left of their music or dance, their physical fitness or athletic prowess, their courage or their capacity to endure pain or their abilities in war. Character is important, and we know a great deal about the character of many ancient Greeks; in this capacity the Spartans stand out and were acknowledged by their contemporaries to be outstanding. But their furniture has vanished along with their simple houses. Their city was without great monuments, so there is less to see than at other ancient sites. There is very little Spartan literature.

Sparta was clearly a preeminent city. The Spartans had the attention and respect of their fellow Hellenes. It was as men of war and statecraft and character that they were respected, and for that we have the testimony of others. The Spartans lived in Laconia, from which we get the adjective laconic to describe a person of few words. The Spartans were people of few words, and they left even fewer as their legacy.

481 BC600–490 BCArchaicPeriod

SilverfindatAthenianmines;decisiontobuild

thenavy

483 BC

Greekpolitiesmeettoformdefensive strategy

485 BC

Spartareceivesaprophecyat

Delphi

490–323 BCClassicalPeriod

88

The Word Within the Word • Ideas #10

EMOTION:

1. Howwouldyoufeelifyouwereforcedtocapitulate(Imaginethecircumstancesforyourself.)?Howwouldyoufeelifsomeonewereforcedtocapitulatetoyou?

2. Imagineyour emotions ifmutagenic substanceswere discovered in your drinkingwater—substances thatcouldbetracedtoanearbytoxicwastedump.Whowouldyouseekoutforactionsandexplanations?

AESTHETICS:

1. Whatsoundsdothesewordssuggest:unison, carnival, darkness, centrifuge, refugee, sacrifi ce, Paleozoic, calisthenics, and universe?

2. Isyourartisticappreciationethnocentric? Canyouthinkofanother—especiallyaverydifferent—culturewhoseartyoudeeplyadmire?

SYNTHESIS:

1. PickanexamplewordinList#10,anduseatleastthreeotherwordsfromthelisttodefinethewordyoupicked.

2. MakeacryptogramusingwordsfromList#10.Tomakeitmoredifficult,usewordsfromonefieldofthoughtonly—usewordsfrombiology,orhistory,etc.

DIVERGENCE:

1. Howmanycracy or archywordscanyouthinkofthatarenamesfordifferentformsofgovernment?Don’tforgetisocracy,agovernmentinwhicheachpersonhasanequalamountofpowertoeveryotherperson.Onceyouhaverememberedasmanyasyoucan,seehowmanyformsofgovernmentyoucaninvent,suchasthedormocracy:thegovernmentthatseemstobeasleep!Inventasmanynewgovernmentsasyoucan.

2. Haveyoueverbeentrappedbysomeonewhowantedtotalkabouta subject you wished to avoid? Or who wanted to ask aquestion you didn’t want to answer? Howmany cleversubterfugescanyouthinkoftoescapesuchasituation?Asanexample:“I’dlovetotalktoyounow,butIleftapoodleinthepetwash.”

:thegovernmentthatseemstobeasleep!Inventasmanynewgovernmentsasyoucan.

2. Haveyoueverbeentrappedbysomeonewhowantedtotalkabouta subject you wished to avoid? Or who wanted to ask aquestion you didn’t want to answer? Howmany clever

canyouthinkoftoescapesuchasituation?Asanexample:“I’dlovetotalktoyounow,butIlefta

Apollo was the god of music and dance, and on this Athenian-made, red-figure cylix, we see him playing a kithara. The kitharawas a stringed instrument more solemn in tone than the lyre. Apollo is seated on a square stool of a type frequently seen in vase illustrations; in front of him is an altar.

89

The Word Within the Word • Analogies #10

1. subterfuge : fugitive :: circumlocution:orthopedist politics:economics lioness:empress ingenuous:indigenous

2. unicycle : unique :: fugitive:refugee soliloquy:solitude extrovert:introvert concord:discord

3. dialogue : soliloquy :: altimeter:altitude mutagen:mutation colloquy:monologue aesthetics:graphics

4. domination : capitulation :: decapitate:recapitulate natal:perinatal pedagogue:pedestrian rule:surrender

5. aesthetics : ethics :: convert:revert sacrosanct:sacred art:morals economics:psychopathic

6. ethnologist : ethnic group :: entomologist:altimeter psychologist:ethnography paleontologist:tyrannosaurus cryptologist:cryptogram

7. consecration : sacrilege :: mutagenic:immutable precursor:forerunner nascent:moribund paleozoic:paleontologist

8. eloquent : soliloquy :: ingenuous:progeny psychic:psychology incarnate:carnival grandiloquent:panegyric

9. softness : kindness :: roughness:ingenuousness somniloquy:discursive decadence:cadence cryptologist:encryption

10. lioness : carnivorous :: extrovert:loquacious convert:introvert sacrifice:sanguinary alto:cadenza

The auloi were a favorite of both the Greeks and the Romans. The myth was that Athena was the originator

of the auloi, but when she saw herself playing them reflected in a pond with her face distorted by her puffed-out cheeks, she thought she looked ugly and threw the pipes away. Immediately the satyr Marsyas snatched the pipes up and began to play them. He produced such a beautiful sound that he dared Apollo, the god of music, to a contest. The Muses were appointed judges, and they decided for Apollo, who punished Marsyas for his hubris by having him flayed alive. The Greeks had a wide-spread concern

about hubris—excessive pride leading to defiance of the gods.

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The Word Within the Word • Notes #10

1. A Micropoem:HastherebeenarecentexpeditiontotheheadwatersoftheAmazon?Acommoncharacteristicofexpeditionsissuggestedbytheworditself:membersofanexpeditiongoout(ex)intothewildonfoot(ped).

2. Weallhavehadthedispleasureoflisteningtocircumlocution. Thatiswhensomeoneistalking(loqu)incircles (circum).Buttherearetwomainvarietiesofcircumlocution.Thereisunintentionalcircumlocution,inwhichapersonistalkingincirclesanddoesn’trealizeit,andthereisintentionalcircumlocution,inwhichsomeonetalksincirclesinordertoevadeansweringaquestion.

3. A Micropoem:Asubterfugeisacleverevasioninwhichapersontriestoavoidrevealingsomething;itisanevasivetrick,astratagem.Aliteralinterpretationofsubterfugemightbetoduck,inthesenseofduckingaquestion, since subterfugemeanstoflee(fug)under(sub).

4. Wesaythataspeechisdiscursiveifitisramblinganddigressive,ifthespeakerdoesn’tsticktothepoint.Theliteralmeaningofdiscursive,however,issomewhatmoreexciting.Aspeechisdiscursiveifitisarunaway,ifitisoutofcontrol.Thespeakerhasletthespeechrun(curs)away(dis)fromhim.

5. Youwouldn’tthinkthathydrogenwouldbeaninterestingword.Hydrogenisthenameofthesimplestandmostcommonelementintheuniverse,butonourplanetwepossessawonderfulhydrogen-basedtreasure:water.Theimportanceofwatertohumanlifecanhardlybeexaggerated—evenourbodiesaremostlywater.Sowhenitwastimetogivehydrogenaname,theobviouschoicewastonameitafteritsmostimportantrole:hydrogenisthemainingredientinthecreation(gen)ofwater(hydro).Hydrogenisthewater-originator.NoH,noH2O.

6. Oneofthemostbitingtermsofderisionistheadjectivepedestrian.Wesaythatsomeonehaspedestriantaste,orworse,apedestrianmind.Thismeansthatthepersonsimplyneverattainsanythingloftyorswift,gracefulorelegant;hejustslogsalongonfoot(ped),altitudezero,speed1mph.

7. Thewordcadaverisunusuallypoignant.Allofourlivesweliveintheearth’sgravitationalfield,andthevitalityofourbodiesallowsustoresistthatinvisibleforcewhichconstantlypullsdownonus.Wespendourlivesexertingequalbutoppositeforcetoresistsuccumbingtogravity’smysteriousforcefield.Attheendofourlives,gravitationwins,andwefall(cad).Acadaverisafallenperson.

8. Uniqueisaperfectlyself-explanatoryword.Itmeanspreciselywhatitsstemuni(one)implies.Thereisonlyone.Somethingcannotberatherunique;eitheritisone-of-a-kindandisunique,orthereareothersuchcases,anditisnotunique.

9. Spanish Cognates:OneofthemostimportantobservationstogainfromthestudyoftheetymologyofEnglishvocabularyisthatEnglishandSpanishsharethousandsofwordsthatarecognates—relatedwords—thathavecommonorigins.Often,theEnglishandtheSpanishwordsharenotonlyastem,butevenmorethanonestem,andofteninthesameorder.Asexamples,herearesomeEnglishwordsfromthislessonandtheirSpanishcognates:

orthopedist:ortopeda reincarnated:reincarnado ingenious:ingenuo crypt:cripta cascade:cascada

decapitate:decapitar unique:único ethics:ética indigenous:indígeno

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The Word Within the Word • Classic Words #10

Ineachcasebelow,oneofthechoiceswasreallythewordusedbytheauthorinthesentenceprovided.Allofthechoicescanbefoundintheexamplewordsonthefirstpageofthislesson.Yourchallengeistodecidewhichwordtheauthorused.Thisisnotatest;itismorelikeagamebecausemorethanonewordchoicemayworkperfectlywell.Seeifyoucanuseyoursensitivityandintuitiontoguesscorrectlywhichwordtheauthorused.Youmayneedadictionary.

1. From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables

Irejoicetohearsofavorableandso__________anaccountofmycousinClifford. a.decadent b.loquacious c.ingenuous d.mutable

2. From James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Hislifehadgrowntobeatissueof__________andfalsehood. a.subterfuge b.circumlocution c.capitulation d.eloquence

3. From Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper

Hethenwalkedupanddowntheroomtokeephisbloodinmotion,________asbefore. a.circumlocuting b.soliloquizing c.consecrating d.placating

4. From Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

How__________areourfeelings. a.mutable b.unique c.moribund d.nascent

5. From Henry David Thoreau’s Walden

Thetortoiseandthefrogareamongthe__________andheraldsofthisseason. a.ethnographies b.pedagogues c.pedestrians d.precursors