Transcript ante

ANTE
definition: before
anteroom
(n.) a room
you pass
through
before you
get to the
main room.
antebellum
(adj.) Describes a
time before a war
(usually the Civil
War).
anti (before) +
belli (war)
ante
(v.) – to place chips or
money “in the kitty” before
a poker hand is played.
Word play
• Now that you know what ante means,
what do you suppose meridian means, as
in the abbreviation a.m. (11:00 a.m.)?
Answer
• Meridian means noon or midday, so ante
meridian (a.m.) means before noon.
ANTHRO, ANTHROP
definition: man, mankind
philanthropy
(n.) Goodwill towards mankind.
philo (friend) + anthrop (man)
anthropology
(n.) The scientific study of the
origins and culture of man.
anthrop (man) + logo (thought)
Word fun
• In science fiction, what is an android?
• Think of other words ending in oid.
• What might the suffix oid mean?
Answers
• An android is a robot resembling a human.
• Other words using the oid suffix are
humanoid, asteroid, factoid.
• Oid means resembling or like
BELLI
definition: war
belligerent
(adj.) Warlike; given to raging
war.
belli (war) + gerere (to conduct).
rebellion
(n.) War or resistance to authority,
control, or tradition
Word fun
• In the past, some words in our language
formed their female form with the suffix
trix. For example, aviatrix is an old term for
a female pilot. Executrix is an old term for
a woman who manages an estate.
What is an old term for a female warrior?
Answer
• An old term for a female
warrior is bellatrix (latin for
female warrior). Bellatrix is the
name of a bright star in the
Orion constellation. In Greek,
the same star is named
Amazon, after a group of
mythological female warriors
who loped off one breast to be
able to shoot arrows more
effectively.
COUNTER
definition: against, opposite
counteract
(tr. v.) to act in opposition to; frustrate by
contrary action.
counter (against) + act
counterintelligence
(n.) the activity of an
intelligence service
employed in going against
the efforts of an enemy's
intelligence agents to gather
information or commit
sabotage
Word play
• Name a concept that is counterintuitive.
Answer
• Until you study Boolean logic, it might
seem counterintuitive that when you add
the word “and” to a Google search, you
end up with fewer hits rather than more.
CRED
definition: believe
incredible
(adj.) hard to believe; unbelievable.
in (not) + cred (believe) + able (able to)
credence
(n.) belief as to
the truth of
something.
Word play
• A credenza is a table, shelf, sideboard, or
cabinet used in a church, office or home. It
owes its name to its former use as a place
for holding a lord’s food for a servant to
taste to make sure there was no poison in
it—taking the concept of belief to a whole
new level.
CULPA
definition: fault
culpability
(n.) deserving blame or censure.
mea culpa
Through my fault; my fault (used as an
acknowledgment of one's responsibility).
Word play
• Using your knowledge of culpa, what is the
definition of a culprit?
Answer
• A culprit is one who is thought to be at
fault.
DERM
definition: skin
hypodermic
(adj.) introduced under the skin .
hypo (under) + derm (skin)
dermatitis
(n.) inflammation of the skin.
derm (skin) + itis (inflammation)
Word play
• What does a dermatologist do when
he/she administers dermabrasion?
Answer
• Dermabrasion is a procedure of improving
skin by scraping the skin (abrasion) and
allowing new skin growth to correct faults.
DUC, DUCT
definition: lead
aquaduct
(n.) a bridgelike structure that carries a water
conduit or canal across a valley or over a river.
aqua (water) + duct (lead)
air duct
(n.) an enclosure, usually of sheet metal, that
conducts heated or conditioned air.
Word play
• Originally, duct tape held ducts together.
What’s the most unusual use you’ve heard
of for duct tape?
• Please note, it’s not spelled duck tape.
DYS
definition: hard, ill, with difficulty
dysfunction
(n.) malfunctioning, as of an organ or structure
of the body.
dys (ill) + function
dyslexia
(n.) A learning disorder marked by impairment
of the ability to recognize and comprehend
written words.
dys (ill) + lexi (word)
Word play
• Probably everyone knows the symptoms
of dysentery. What do you suppose enteric
means?
• What are other words that use variations
of enteron?
Answer
• Enteric means intestines.
• Other words using this root are entrails,
gastroenterologist.
EGO
definition: I, self
egomaniac
(n.) One who is obsessively preoccupied with
the self.
ego (self) + mania (madness)
egocentric
(adj.) regarding the self
or the individual as the
center of all things
ego (self) + centric
(middle of)
Word play
• If alter means other, what is an alter ego?
Answer
• An alter ego is another self you take on
when it suits your purpose.
FAC
definition: do, make
manufacture
(tr. v.) to make or produce by hand or
machinery, esp. on a large scale.
manus (hand) + fac (make)
factory
(n.) A building in which goods are made;
a plant.
fac (make) + tory (relating to)
Word play
• A high school is dependent on trained
teachers who can do a variety of things.
Another named for a combined group of
teachers is a f _ _ _ _ _ _.
Answer
• faculty