Dictionaries - Latin and Greek Elements in English | LATN 1010, Exams of Latin language

Download Dictionaries - Latin and Greek Elements in English | LATN 1010 and more Exams Latin language in PDF only on Docsity! Latin and Greek Elements in English Chapter 1: Dictionaries • one purpose of this class is to learn to use the dictionary fully and effectively – especially, the etymologies [often in braces] pilgrim, n. [Fr. pelerin; It. pellegrino, from L. peregrinus, a wanderer, a traveler in foreign parts; a foreigner; per, through, and ager, land.] 1. a wanderer, a sojourner. 2. a person who travels to a shrine or holy place. Latin and Greek Elements in English Chapter 1: Dictionaries • ETYMOLOGY: “the origin and analysis of a word as shown by breaking it down into its constituent historical elements” – literally, “the study of the true or real (meanings of words)” • Grk etumos: “real, actual, precise” • -ologia: “study of” Latin and Greek Elements in English Chapter 2: Definitions • RULE #1: Define a word with an equivalent grammatical form – i.e. a noun with a noun, a verb with a verb, etc. – “assimilate” = verb • WRONG: “alike” (adjective); “a thing alike” (noun) • RIGHT: “to make alike” – in context, it’s easy to tell whether the grammatical form of the definition is equivalent to the word being defined • Will the definition substitute for the word? Latin and Greek Elements in English Chapter 2: Definitions • RULE #2: Stick to the essence of the word – do not describe, dilate or render judgment on the word – e.g., evolution • WRONG: “Darwin’s folly” • RIGHT: “the act of unfolding (literally, ‘rolling out’) over time” – e.g., time • WRONG: “nature’s way of keeping everything from happening all at once” Latin and Greek Elements in English Chapter 2: Definitions • RULE #3: Do not use a word (or any part of it) to define the word itself – instead, use a synonym – e.g. uncontrollable • WRONG: “unable to be controlled” or “out of control” • RIGHT: “incapable of being managed” Latin and Greek Elements in English Chapter 2: Latin Bases • ROOT/BASE: “the central element of a word which is left after the removal of all affixes” – e.g. MOV- = the base of removal • BASES should always be written in CAPITAL letters, with a dash after the BASE – e.g. FIRM- = the base of affirmative • n.b. in English, -e has been added to some Latin BASES – e.g. re-MOV-e – but this is not part of the BASE ÷ ignore it! • this “silent -e” is a convention of English spelling Latin and Greek Elements in English Chapter 2: Latin Bases • often there are two forms of Latin BASES – nominative form • e.g. HOMO-, as in homo sapiens – base form • e.g. HOMIN-, as in hominid • this form is more important – more pervasive in English derivatives – over 90% of English derivatives use the base form – often Ayers gives only the base form Latin and Greek Elements in English Chapter 2: Latin Bases • Latin vs. Old French BASES (doublets) – often a Latin BASE has entered English twice • once from Latin directly: either during Roman times or after the seventeenth century • once through French: during the Middle Ages • e.g. reCEPTion vs. reCEIVE – thus, Ayers often cites BASES in two forms: Latin and Old French • e.g. CEPT- [CEIV-] • n.b. brackets for French forms!