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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10073-0.txt b/10073-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fc43586 --- /dev/null +++ b/10073-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12361 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10073 *** + +Note: Italics indicated by _ + Bold print by <...> + + THE CENTURY HANDBOOK SERIES + +THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING. +By Garland Greever and Easley S. Jones. + +THE CENTURY VOCABULARY BUILDER. +By Garland Greever and Joseph M. Bachelor. + +THE CENTURY DESK BOOK OF GOOD ENGLISH. +By Garland Greever and Joseph M. Bachelor. + +A BUSINESS MAN'S DESK BOOK. +By Garland Greever and Joseph M. Bachelor. + +THE FACTS AND BACKGROUNDS OF LITERATURE, English and American. +By George F. Reynolds, University of Colorado, and Garland Greever. + +PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. +By General Henry M. Robert. + +_Other Volumes To Be Arranged_ + + + + + + THE CENTURY VOCABULARY BUILDER. + + By GARLAND GREEVER + + and + + JOSEPH M. BACHELOR + + + + +TO + +DANA H. FERRIN + +WHOM THIS BOOK OWES MORE +THAN A MERE DEDICATION CAN ACKNOWLEDGE + + + + +PREFACE + +You should know at the outset what this book does _not_ attempt to +do. It does not, save to the extent that its own special purpose requires, +concern itself with the many and intricate problems of grammar, rhetoric, +spelling, punctuation, and the like; or clarify the thousands of +individual difficulties regarding correct usage. All these matters are +important. Concise treatment of them may be found in THE CENTURY HANDBOOK +OF WRITING and THE CENTURY DESK BOOK OF GOOD ENGLISH, both of which +manuals are issued by the present publishers. But this volume confines +itself to the one task of placing at your disposal the means of adding to +your stock of words, of increasing your vocabulary. + +It does not assume that you are a scholar, or try to make you one. To be +sure, it recognizes the ends of scholarship as worthy. It levies at every +turn upon the facts which scholarship has accumulated. But it demands of +you no technical equipment, nor leads you into any of those bypaths of +knowledge, alluring indeed, of which the benefits are not immediate. For +example, in Chapter V it forms into groups words etymologically akin to +each other. It does this for an end entirely practical--namely, that the +words you know may help you to understand the words you do not know. Did +it go farther--did it account for minor differences in these words by +showing that they sprang from related rather than identical originals, did +it explain how and how variously their forms have been modified in the +long process of their descent--it would pass beyond its strict utilitarian +bounds. This it refrains from doing. And thus everything it contains it +rigorously subjects to the test of serviceability. It helps you to bring +more and more words into workaday harness--to gain such mastery over them +that you can speak and write them with fluency, flexibility, precision, +and power. It enables you, in your use of words, to attain the readiness +and efficiency expected of a capable and cultivated man. + +There are many ways of building a vocabulary, as there are many ways of +attaining and preserving health. Fanatics may insist that one should be +cultivated to the exclusion of the others, just as health-cranks may +declare that diet should be watched in complete disregard of recreation, +sanitation, exercise, the need for medicines, and one's mental attitude to +life. But the sum of human experience, rather than fanaticism, must +determine our procedure. Moreover experience has shown that the various +successful methods of bringing words under man's sway are not mutually +antagonistic but may be practiced simultaneously, just as health is +promoted, not by attending to diet one year, to exercise the next, and to +mental attitude the third, but by bestowing wise and fairly constant +attention on all. Yet it would be absurd to state that all methods of +increasing one's vocabulary, or of attaining vigor of physique, are +equally valuable. This volume offers everything that helps, and it yields +space in proportion to helpfulness. + +Aside from a brief introductory chapter, a chapter (number X) given over +to a list of words, and a brief concluding chapter, the subject matter of +the volume falls into three main divisions. Chapters II and III are based +on the fact that we must all use words in combination--must fling the +words out by the handfuls, even as the accomplished pianist must strike +his notes. Chapters IV and V are based on the fact that we must become +thoroughly acquainted with individual words--that no one who scorns to +study the separate elements of speech can command powerful and +discriminating utterance. Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and IX are based on the +fact that we need synonyms as our constant lackeys--that we should be able +to summon, not a word that will do, but a word that will express the idea +with precision. Exercises scattered throughout the book, together with +five of the six appendices, provide well-nigh inexhaustible materials for +practice. + +For be it understood, once for all, that this volume is not a machine +which you can set going and then sit idly beside, the while your +vocabulary broadens. Mastery over words, like worthy mastery of any kind +whatsoever, involves effort for yourself. You can of course contemplate +the nature and activities of the mechanism, and learn something thereby; +but also you must work--work hard, work intelligently. As you cannot +acquire health by watching a gymnast take exercise or a doctor swallow +medicine or a dietician select food, so you cannot become an overlord of +words without first fighting battles to subjugate them. Hence this volume +is for you less a labor-saving machine than a collection and arrangement +of materials which you must put together by hand. It assembles everything +you need. It tags everything plainly. It tells you just what you must do. +In these ways it makes your task far easier. _But the task is yours_. +Industry, persistence, a fair amount of common sense--these three you must +have. Without them you will accomplish nothing. + +Even with them--let the forewarning be candid--you will not accomplish +everything. You cannot learn all there is to be learned about words, any +more than about human nature. And what you do achieve will be, not a +sudden attainment, but a growth. This is not the dark side of the picture. +It is an honest avowal that the picture is not composed altogether of +light. But as the result of your efforts an adequate vocabulary will some +day be yours. Nor will you have to wait long for an earnest of ultimate +success. Just as system will speedily transform a haphazard business into +one which seizes opportunities and stops the leakage of profits, so will +sincere and well-directed effort bring you promptly and surely into an +ever-growing mastery of words. + + + + CONTENTS + + +CHAPTERS + +I. REASONS FOR INCREASING YOUR VOCABULARY. + + +II. WORDS IN COMBINATION: SOME PITFALLS. +Tameness +Exercise +Sovenliness +Exercises +Wordiness +Exercises +Verbal Discords +Exercise + 1. Abstract vs. Concrete Terms; General vs. Specific Terms + Exercise + 2. Literal vs. Figurative Terms + Exercise + 3. Connotation + Exercise + + +III. WORDS IN COMBINATION: HOW MASTERED +Preliminaries: General Purposes and Methods +1. A Ready, an Accurate, or a Wide Vocabulary? +2. A Vocabulary for Speech or for Writing? +The Mastery of Words in Combination + 1. Mastery through Translation + Exercise + 2. Mastery through Paraphrasing + Exercise + 3. Mastery through Discourse at First Hand + Exercise + 4. Mastery through Adapting Discourse to Audience + Exercise + + +IV. INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS VERBAL CELIBATES +What Words to Learn First +The Analysis of Your Own Vocabulary +Exercise +The Definition of Words +Exercise +How to Look up a Word in the Dictionary +Exercise +Prying into a Word's Past +Exercise + + +V. INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS MEMBERS OF VERBAL FAMILIES +Words Related in Blood +Exercise +Words Related by Marriage +Exercise +Prying into a Word's Relationships +Exercise +Two Admonitions +General Exercise for the Chapter (with Lists of +Words Containing the Same Key-Syllables) +Second General Exercise (with Additional Lists) +Third General Exercise +Fourth General Exercise +Latin Ancestors of English Words +Latin Prefixes +Greek Ancestors of English Words +Greek Prefixes + + +VI. WORDS IN PAIRS. +Opposites +Exercise +Words Often Confused +Exercise +Parallels (with Lists) +Exercise + + +VII. SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (1) +How to Acquire Synonyms +Exercise (with Lists) + + +VIII. SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (2) +Exercise (with Lists) + + +IX. MANY-SIDED WORDS +Exercise +Literal vs. Figurative Applications +Exercise +Imperfectly Understood Facts and Ideas +Exercise + + +X. SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF WORDS +Exercise + + +XI. RETROSPECT + + +APPENDICES + +1. The Drift of Our Rural Population Cityward (an Editorial) +2. Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty (by Edmund Burke) +3. Parable of the Sower (Gospel of St. Matthew) +4. The Seven Ages of Man (by William Shakespeare) +5. The Castaway (by Daniel Defoe) +6. Reading Lists + +INDEX + + + + +CENTURY VOCABULARY BUILDER + + +I + + REASONS FOR INCREASING YOUR VOCABULARY + + +Sometimes a dexterous use of words appears to us to be only a kind of +parlor trick. And sometimes it _is_ just that. The command of a wide +vocabulary is in truth an accomplishment, and like any other +accomplishment it may be used for show. But not necessarily. Just as a man +may have money without "flashing" it, or an extensive wardrobe without +sporting gaudy neckties or wearing a dress suit in the morning, so may he +possess linguistic resources without making a caddish exhibition of them. +Indeed the more distant he stands from verbal bankruptcy, the less likely +he is to indulge in needless display. + +Again, glibness of speech sometimes awakens our distrust. We like actions +rather than words; we prefer that character, personality, and kindly +feelings should be their own mouthpiece. So be it. But there are thoughts +and emotions properly to be shared with other people, yet incapable of +being revealed except through language. It is only when language is +insincere--when it expresses lofty sentiments or generous sympathies, yet +springs from designing selfishness--that it justly arouses misgivings. +Power over words, like power of any other sort, is for use, not abuse. +That it sometimes is abused must not mislead us into thinking that it +should in itself be scorned or neglected. + +Our contempt and distrust do not mean that our fundamental ideas about +language are unsound. Beneath our wholesome dislike for shallow facility +and insincerity of speech, we have a conviction that the mastery of words +is a good thing, not a bad. We are therefore unwilling to take the vow of +linguistic poverty. If we lack the ability to bend words to our use, it is +from laziness, not from scruple. We desire to speak competently, but +without affectation. We know that if our diction rises to this dual +standard, it silently distinguishes us from the sluggard, the weakling, +and the upstart. For such diction is not to be had on sudden notice, like +a tailor-made suit. Nor can it, like such a suit, deceive anybody as to +our true status. A man's utterance reveals what he is. It is the measure +of his inward attainment. The assertion has been made that for a man to +express himself freely and well in his native language is the surest proof +of his culture. Meditate the saying. Can you think of a proof that is +surer? + +But a man's speech does more than lend him distinction. It does more than +reveal to others what manner of man he is. It is an instrument as well as +an index. It is an agent--oftentimes indeed it is _the_ agent--of his +influence upon others. How silly are those persons who oppose words to +things, as if words were not things at all but air-born unrealities! Words +are among the most powerful realities in the world. You vote the +Republican ticket. Why? Because you have studied the issues of the +campaign and reached a well-reasoned conclusion how the general interests +may be served? Possibly. But nine times in ten it will be because of that +_word_ Republican. You may believe that in a given instance the +Republican cause or candidate is inferior; you may have nothing personally +to lose through Republican defeat; yet you squirm and twist and seek +excuses for casting a Republican ballot. Such is the power--aye, sometimes +the tyranny--of a word. The word _Republican_ has not been selected +invidiously. _Democrat_ would have served as well. Or take religious +words--_Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist, +Lutheran,_ or what not. A man who belongs, in person or by proxy, to +one of the sects designated may be more indifferent to the institution +itself than to the word that represents it. Thus you may attack in his +presence the tenets of Presbyterianism, for example, but you must be wary +about calling the Presbyterian name. _Mother, the flag_--what sooner +than an insult coupled with these terms will rouse a man to fight? But +does that man kiss his mother, or salute the flag, or pay much heed to +either? Probably not. Words not realities? With what realities must we +more carefully reckon? Words are as dangerous as dynamite, as beneficent +as brotherhood. An unfortunate word may mean a plea rejected, an +enterprise baffled, half the world plunged into war. A fortunate word may +open a triple-barred door, avert a disaster, bring thousands of people +from jealousy and hatred into coöperation and goodwill. + +Nor is it solely on their emotional side that men may be affected by +words. Their thinking and their esthetic nature also--their hard sense and +their personal likes and dislikes--are subject to the same influence. You +interview a potential investor; does he accept your proposition or not? A +prospective customer walks into your store; does he buy the goods you show +him? You enter the drawing room of one of the elite; are you invited again +and again? Your words will largely decide--your words, or your verbal +abstinence. For be it remembered that words no more than dollars are to be +scattered broadcast for the sole reason that you have them. The right word +should be used at the right time--and at that time only. Silence is +oftentimes golden. Nevertheless there are occasions for us to speak. +Frequent occasions. To be inarticulate _then_ may mean only +embarrassment. It may--some day it will--mean suffering and failure. That +we may make the most of the important occasions sure to come, we must have +our instruments ready. Those instruments are words. He who commands words +commands events--commands men. + + + +II + + WORDS IN COMBINATION: SOME PITFALLS + + +You wish, then, to increase your vocabulary. Of course you must become +observant of words and inquisitive about them. For words are like people: +they have their own particular characteristics, they do their work well or +ill, they are in good odor or bad, and they yield best service to him who +loves them and tries to understand them. Your curiosity about them must be +burning and insatiable. You must study them when they have withdrawn from +the throng of their fellows into the quiescence of their natural selves. +You must also see them and study them in action, not only as they are +employed in good books and by careful speakers, but likewise as they fall +from the lips of unconventional speakers who through them secure vivid and +telling effects. In brief, you must learn word nature, as you learn human +nature, from a variety of sources. + +Now in ordinary speech most of us use words, not as individual things, but +as parts of a whole--as cogs in the machine of utterance by which we +convey our thoughts and feelings. We do not think of them separately at +all. And this instinct is sound. In our expression we are like large-scale +manufacturing plants rather than one-man establishments. We have at our +disposal, not one worker, but a multitude. Hence we are concerned with our +employees collectively and with the total production of which they are +capable. To be sure, our understanding of them as individuals will +increase the worth and magnitude of our output. But clearly we must have +large dealings with them in the aggregate. + +This chapter and the following, therefore, are given over to the study of +words in combination. As in all matters, there is a negative as well as a +positive side to be reckoned with. Let us consider the negative side +first. + + +<Tameness> + +Correct diction is too often insipid. There is nothing wrong with it, but +it does not interest us--it lacks character, lacks color, lacks power. It +too closely resembles what we conceive of the angels as having-- +impeccability without the warmth of camaraderie. Speech, like a man, +should be alive. It need not, of course, be boisterous. It may be intense +in a quiet, modest way. But if it too sedulously observes all the _Thou +shalt not's_ of the rhetoricians, it will refine the vitality out of +itself and leave its hearers unmoved. + +That is why you should become a disciple of the pithy, everyday +conversationalist and of the rough-and-ready master of harangue as well as +of the practitioner of precise and scrupulous discourse. Many a speaker or +writer has thwarted himself by trying to be "literary." Even Burns when he +wrote classic English was somewhat conscious of himself and made, in most +instances, no extraordinary impression. But the pieces he impetuously +dashed off in his native Scotch dialect can never be forgotten. The man +who begins by writing naturally, but as his importance in the publishing +world grows, pays more and more attention to felicities--to "style"--and +so spoils himself, is known to the editor of every magazine. Any editorial +office force can insert missing commas and semicolons, and iron out +blunders in the English; but it has not the time, if indeed the ability, +to instil life into a lifeless manuscript. A living style is rarer than an +inoffensive one, and the road of literary ambition is strewn with failures +due to "correctness." + +Cultivate readiness, even daring, of utterance. A single turn of +expression may be so audacious that it plucks an idea from its shroud or +places within us an emotion still quivering and warm. Sustained discourse +may unflaggingly clarify or animate. But such triumphs are beyond the +reach of those, whether speakers or writers, who are constantly pausing to +grope for words. This does not mean that scrutiny of individual words is +wasted effort. Such scrutiny becomes the basis indeed of the more +venturesome and inspired achievement. We must serve our apprenticeship to +language. We must know words as a general knows the men under him--all +their ranks, their capabilities, their shortcomings, the details and +routine of their daily existence. But the end for which we gain our +understanding must be to hurl these words upon the enemy, not as +disconnected units, but as battalions, as brigades, as corps, as armies. +Dr. Johnson, one of the most effective talkers in all history, resolved +early in life that, always, and whatever topic might be broached, he +would on the moment express his thoughts and feelings with as much vigor +and felicity as if he had unlimited leisure to draw on. And Patrick Henry, +one of the few really irresistible orators, was wont to plunge headlong +into a sentence and trust to God Almighty to get him out. + + +EXERCISE - Tameness + +1. Study Appendix I (The Drift of Our Rural Population Cityward). +Do you regard it as written simply, with force and natural feeling? Or +does it show lack of spontaneity?--suffer from an unnatural and self- +conscious manner of writing? Is the style one you would like to cultivate +for your own use? + +2. Express, if you can, in more vigorous language of your own, the thought +of the editorial. + +3. Think of some one you have known who has the gift of racy colloquial +utterance. Make a list of offhand, homely, or picturesque expressions you +have heard him employ, and ask yourself what it is in these expressions +that has made them linger in your memory. With them in mind, and with your +knowledge of the man's methods of imparting his ideas vividly, try to make +your version of the editorial more forceful still. + +4. Study Appendix 2 (Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty) as an +example of stately and elaborate, yet energetic, discourse. The speech +from which this extract is taken was delivered in Parliament in a vain +effort to stay England from driving her colonies to revolt. Some of +Burke's turns of phrase are extremely bold and original, as "The religion +most prevalent in our northern colonies is a refinement on the principle +of resistance; it is the dissidence of dissent and the Protestantism of +the Protestant religion." Moreover, with all his fulness of diction, Burke +could cleave to the heart of an idea in a few words, as "Freedom is to +them [the southern slave-holders] not only an enjoyment, but a kind of +rank and privilege." Find other examples of bold or concise and +illuminating utterance. + +5. Read Appendix 3 (Parable of the Sower). It has no special audacities of +phrase, but escapes tameness in various ways--largely through its simple +earnestness. + +6. Make a list of the descriptive phrases in Appendix 4 (The Seven Ages of +Man) through which Shakespeare gives life and distinctness to his +pictures. + +7. Study Appendix 5 (The Castaway) as a piece of homely, effective +narrative. (Defoe wrote for the man in the street. He was a literary +jack-of-all-trades whom dignified authors of his day would not +countenance, but who possessed genius.) It relies upon directness and +plausibility of substance and style rather than temerity of phrase. Yet it +never sags into tameness. Notice how everyday expressions ("My business +was to hold my breath," "I took to my heels") add subtly to our belief +that what Defoe is telling us is true. Notice also that such expressions +("the least capful of wind," "half dead with the water I took in," "ready +to burst with holding my breath") without being pretentious may yet be +forceful. Notice finally the naturalness and lift of the sinewy idioms ("I +fetched another run," "I had no clothes to shift me," "I had like to have +suffered a second shipwreck," "It wanted but a little that all my cargo +had slipped off"). + +8. Once or twice at least, make a mental note of halting or listless +expressions in a sermon, a public address, or a conversation. Find more +emphatic wording for the ideas thus marred. + +9. To train yourself in readiness and daring of utterance, practice +impromptu discussion of any of the topics in Activity 1 for EXERCISE - +Discourse. + + +<Slovenliness> + +Though we are to recognize the advantage of working in the undress of +speech rather than in stiffly-laundered literary linens, though we are not +to despise the accessions of strength and of charm which we may obtain +from the homely and familiar, we must never be careless. The man whose +speech is slovenly is like the man who chews gum--unblushingly +commonplace. + +We must struggle to maintain our individuality. We must not be a mere copy +of everybody else. We must put into our words the cordiality we put into +our daily demeanor. If we greeted friend or stranger carelessly, +conventionally, we should soon be regarded as persons of no force or +distinction. So of our speech and our writing. Nothing, to be sure, is +more difficult than to give them freshness without robbing them of +naturalness and ease. Yet that is what we must learn to do. We shall not +acquire the power in a day. We shall acquire it as a chess or a baseball +player acquires his skill--by long effort, hard practice. + +One thing to avoid is the use of words in loose, or fast-and-loose, +senses. Do not say that owning a watch is a fine proposition if you mean +that it is advantageous. Do not say that you trembled on the brink of +disaster if you were threatened with no more than inconvenience or +comparatively slight injury. Do not say you were literally scared to death +if you are yet alive to tell the story. + + +EXERCISE - Slovenliness I + +Give moderate or accurate utterance to the following ideas: + +The burning of the hen-coop was a mighty conflagration. +The fact that the point of the pencil was broken profoundly surprised me. +We had a perfectly gorgeous time. +It's a beastly shame that I missed my car. +It is awfully funny that he should die. +The saleslady pulled the washlady's hair. +A cold bath is pretty nice of mornings. +To go a little late is just the article. + +Another thing to avoid is the use of words in the wrong parts of speech, +as a noun for a verb, or an adjective for an adverb. Sometimes newspapers +are guilty of such faults; for journalistic English, though pithy, shows +here and there traces of its rapid composition. You must look to more +leisurely authorities. The speakers and writers on whom you may rely will +not say "to burglarize," "to suspicion," "to enthuse," "plenty rich," +"real tired," "considerable discouraged," "a combine," or "humans." An +exhaustive list of such errors cannot be inserted here. If you feel +yourself uncertain in these details of usage, you should have access to +such a volume as _The Century Desk Book of Good English_. + + +EXERCISE - Slovenliness II + +1. For each quoted expression in the preceding paragraph compose a +sentence which shall contain the correct form, or the grammatical +equivalent, of the expression. + +2. Correct the following sentences: + +The tramp suicided. +She was real excited. +He gestured angry. +He was some anxious to get to the eats. +All of us had an invite. +Them boys have sure been teasing the canine. + +Another thing to avoid is triteness. The English language teems with +phrases once strikingly original but now smooth-worn and vulgarized by +incessant repetition. It can scarcely be said that you are to shun these +altogether. Now and then you will find one of them coming happily as well +as handily into your speech. But you must not use them too often. Above +all, you must rid yourself of any dependence upon them. The scope of this +book permits only a few illustrations of the kinds of words and phrases +meant. But the person who speaks of "lurid flames," or "untiring efforts," +or "specimens of humanity"--who "views with alarm," or has a "native +heath," or is "to the manner born"--does more than advertise the +scantness of his verbal resources. He brands himself mentally indolent; he +deprives his thought itself of all sharpness, exactness, and power. + + +EXERCISE - Slovenliness III + +Replace with more original expressions the trite phrases (italicized) +in the following sentences: + +_Last but not least_, we have _in our midst_ one who began life +_poor but honest_. + +After we had _done justice to a dinner_ and gathered in the drawing +room, we listened _with bated breath_ while she _favored us with a +selection_. + +_A goodly number_ of _the fair sex_, perceiving that _the +psychological moment_ had come, _applauded him to the echo_. + +We were _doomed to disappointment; the grim reaper_ had already +gathered unto himself _all that was mortal_ of our comrade. + +_No sooner said than done_. I soon found myself _the proud +possessor_ of that for which I had acknowledged _a long-felt +want_. + +After _the last sad rites_ were over and her body was _consigned to +earth_, we began talking _along these lines_. + +With _a few well-chosen words_ he _brought order out of chaos_. + +The way my efforts were _nipped in the bud_ simply _beggars +description_. I am somewhat _the worse for wear. Hoping you are the +same_, I remain Yours sincerely, Ned Burke. + +Finally, to the extent that you use slang at all, be its master instead of +its slave. You have many times been told that the overuse of slang +disfigures one's speech and hampers his standing with cultivated people. +You have also been told that slang constantly changes, so that one's +accumulations of it today will be a profitless clutter tomorrow. These +things are true, but an even more cogent objection remains. Slang is +detrimental to the formation of good intellectual habits. From its very +nature it cannot be precise, cannot discriminate closely. It is a vehicle +for loose-thinking people, it is fraught with unconsidered general +meanings, it moves in a region of mental mists. It could not flourish as +it does were fewer of us content to express vague thoughts and feelings +instead of those which are sharply and specifically ours. Unless, +therefore, you wish your intellectual processes to be as hazy and +haphazard as those of mental shirkers and loafers, you must eschew, not +necessarily all slang, but all heedless, all habitual use of it. Now and +then a touch of slang, judiciously chosen, is effective; now and then it +fulfils a legitimate purpose of language. But normally you should express +yourself as befits one who has at his disposal the rich treasuries of the +dictionary instead of a mere stock of greasy counterfeit phrases. + +EXERCISE - Slovenliness IV + +Replace the following slang with acceptable English: + +We pulled a new wrinkle. +He's an easy mark. +Oh, you're nutty. +Beat it. +I have all the inside dope. +You can't bamboozle me. +What a phiz the bloke has! +You're talking through your hat. +We had a long confab with the gink. +He's loony over that chicken. +The prof. told us to vamoose. +Take a squint at the girl with the specs. +Ain't it fierce the way they swipe umbrellas? +Goodnight, how she claws the ivory! +Nix on the rough stuff. +And there I got pinched by a cop for parking my Tin Lizzie. + + +<Wordiness> + +As a precaution against tameness you should cultivate spontaneity and +daring. As a precaution against slovenliness you should cultivate +freshness and accuracy. But to display spontaneity, daring, freshness, +accuracy you must have or acquire a large stock, a wide range, of words. +Now this possession, like any other, brings with it temptation. If we have +words, we like to use them. Nor do we wait for an indulgence in this +luxury until we have consciously set to work to amass a vocabulary. + +Verbosity is, in truth, the besetting linguistic sin. Most people are +lavish with words, as most people are lavish with money. This is not to +say that in the currency of language they are rich. But even if they lack +the means--and the desire--to be extravagant, they yet make their +purchases heedlessly or fail to count their linguistic change. The degree +of our thrift, not the amount of our income or resources, is what marks us +as being or not being verbal spendthrifts. The frugal manager buys his +ideas at exactly the purchase price. He does not expend a twenty-dollar +bill for a box of matches. + +Have words by all means, the more of them the better, but use them +temperately, sparingly. Do not think that a passage to be admirable must +be studded with ostentatious terms. Consider the Gettysburg Address or the +Parable of the Prodigal Son. These convey their thought and feeling +perfectly, yet both are simple--exquisitely simple. They strike us indeed +as being inevitable--as if their phrasing could not have been other than +it is. They have, they are, finality. What could glittering phraseology +add to them? Nothing; it could only mar them. Yet Lincoln and the +Scriptural writers were not afraid to use big words when occasion +required. What they sought was to make their speech adequate without +carrying a superfluous syllable. + +"The sun set" is more natural and effective than "The celestial orb that +blesses our terrestrial globe with its warm and luminous rays sank to its +nocturnal repose behind the western horizon." Great writers--the true +masters--have often held "fine writing" and pretentious speaking up to +ridicule. Thus Shakespeare has Kent, who has been rebuked for his +bluntness, indulge in a grandiloquent outburst: + + "Sir, in good sooth, in sincere verity, + Under the allowance of your grand aspect, + Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire + On flickering Phoebus' front,--" + +No wonder Kent is interrupted with a "What meanest by this?" Sometimes +great writers use ornate utterance for humorous effects. Thus Dickens +again and again has Mr. Micawber express a commonplace idea in sounding +terms which at length fail him, so that he must interject an "in short" +and summarize his meaning in a phrase amusing through its homely contrast. +But humor based on ponderous diction is too often wearisome. Better say +simply "He died," or colloquially "He kicked the bucket," than "He +propelled his pedal extremities with violence against the wooden pail +which is customarily employed in the transportation of the aquatic fluid." + + +EXERCISE - Wordiness I + +Express these ideas in simpler language: + +The temperature was excessive. +The most youthful of his offspring was not remarkable for personal +pulchritude. +Henry Clay expressed a preference for being on the right side of public +questions to occupying the position of President of the United States of +America. +He who passes at an accelerated pace may nevertheless be capable of +perusing. +A masculine member of the human race was mounted on an equine quadruped. + +But the number of the terms we employ, as well as their ostentatiousness, +must be considered. Most of us blunder around in the neighborhood of our +meaning instead of expressing it briefly and clearly. We throw a handful +of words at an idea when one word would suffice; we try to bring the idea +down with a shotgun instead of a rifle. Of course one means of correction +is that we should acquire accuracy, a quality already discussed. Another +is that we should practice condensation. + +First, let us learn to omit the words which add nothing to the meaning. +Thus in the sentence "An important essential in cashing a check is that +you should indorse it on the back," several words or groups of words +needlessly repeat ideas which are expressed elsewhere. The sentence is as +complete in substance, and far terser in form, when it reads "An essential +in cashing a check is that you should indorse it." + +Next, let us, when we may, reduce phrases and even clauses to a word. Thus +the clause at the beginning and the phrase at the close of the following +sentence constitute sheer verbiage: "Men who have let their temper get the +better of them are often in a mood to do harm to somebody." The sentence +tells us nothing that may not be told in five words: "Angry men are often +dangerous." + +Finally, let us substitute phrases or clauses for unnecessary sentences. +The following series of independent assertions contains avoidable +repetitions: "One morning I was riding on the subway to my work. It was +always my custom to ride to my work on the subway. This morning I met +Harry Blake." The full thought may better be embodied in a single +sentence: "One morning, while I was, as usual, riding on the subway to my +work, I met Harry Blake." + +By applying these instructions to any page at hand--one from your own +writing, one from a letter some friend has sent you, one from a book or +magazine--you will often be able to strike out many of the words without +at all impairing the meaning. Another means of acquiring succinct +expression is to practice the composition of telegrams and cable messages. +You will of course lessen the cost by eliminating every word that can +possibly be spared. On the other hand, you must bear it in mind that your +punctuation will not be transmitted, and that the recipient must be +absolutely safeguarded against reading together words meant to be +separated or separating words meant to be read together. That is, your +message must be both concise and unmistakably clear. + + +EXERCISE - Wordiness II + +1. Condense the editorial (Appendix 1) by eliminating unnecessary words +and finding briefer equivalents for roundabout expressions. + +2. Try to condense similarly the Parable of the Sower (Appendix 3) and the +Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). (The task will largely or altogether +baffle you, but will involve minute study of tersely written passages.) + +3. Condense the following: + +A man whose success in life was due solely to his own efforts rose in his +place and addressed the man who presided over the meeting. + +A girl who sat in the seat behind me giggled in an irritating manner. + +We heard the wild shriek of the locomotive. Any sound in that savage +region seemed more terrible than it would in civilized surroundings. So as +we listened to the shriek of the locomotive, it sounded terrible too. + +I heard what kind of chauffeur he was. A former employer of his told me. +He was a chauffeur who speeded in reckless fashion because he was fond of +having all the excitement possible. + +4. Condense the following into telegrams of ten words or less: + +Arrived here in Toledo yesterday morning talked with the directors found +them not hostile to us but friendly. + +Detectives report they think evidence now points to innocence of man +arrested and to former employee as the burglar. + +5. The following telegrams are ambiguous. Clarify them. + +Jane escaped illness I feared Charley better. + +Buy oil if market falls sell cotton. + +6. Base a telegraphic night letter of not more than fifty words +upon these circumstances: + +(a) You have been sent to buy, if possible and as cheaply as possible, a +majority of the stock in a given company. You find that many of the +stockholders distrust or dislike the president and are willing to sell. +Some of these ask only $50 a share for their holdings; the owners of 100 +shares want as much as $92; the average price asked is $76. By buying out +all the president's enemies, which you can now do beyond question, you +would secure a bare majority of the stock. But $92 a share seems to you +excessive; that is, you think that by working quietly among the +president's friends you can get 100 shares at $77 or thereabouts and thus +save approximately $1500. On the other hand, should your dealings with the +friends of the president give him premature warning, he might stop the +sales by these friends and himself begin buying from his enemies, and thus +make your purchase of a majority of the stock impossible. Is the $1500 you +would save worth the risk you would be obliged to take? You call for +instructions. + +(b) You are telegraphing a metropolitan paper the results of a +Congressional election. Philput, the Republican candidate, leads in the +cities, from which returns are now complete. Wilkins, the Democratic +candidate, leads in the country, from only certain districts of which-- +those nearest the cities--returns have been heard. If the present +proportionate division of the rural vote is maintained for the total, +Philput will be elected by a plurality of three hundred votes. Philput +asserts that the proportions will hold. Wilkins points out, however, that +he is relatively stronger in the more remote districts and predicts that +he will have a plurality of seven hundred votes. Smallbridge, an +independent candidate, is apparently making a better race in the country +than in the city, but he is so weak in both places that the ballots cast +for him can scarcely affect the outcome unless the margin of victory is +infinitesimal. + +7. Compress 6a and 6b each into a telegram of not more than ten words. + +8. (Do not read this assignment until you have composed the night letters +and telegrams called for in 6 and 7.) Compare your first night letter in 6 +and your first telegram in 7 with the versions given below. Decide where +you have surpassed these versions, where you have fallen short of them. + +_Night letter_: Two factions in company I can buy from enemies +president bare majority stock at average seventy-six but hundred of these +shares held at ninety-two I could probably get hundred quietly from +friends president about seventy-seven but president might detect move and +buy majority stock himself wire instructions. (Fifty words.) + +_Telegram_: Wire whether buy safe or risk control saving fifteen +hundred. (Ten words.) + +A final device for escaping wordiness you will have discovered for +yourself while composing telegrams and telegraphic night letters. It is to +pass over details not vital to your purpose. Of course you must have due +regard for circumstances; details needed for one purpose may be +superfluous for another. But all of us are familiar with the person who +loses her ideas in a rigmarole of prosaic and irrelevant facts. Such a +person is Shakespeare's scatter-brained Dame Quickly. On one occasion this +voluble woman is shrilly reproaching Sir John Falstaff for his +indebtedness to her. "What is the gross sum that I owe thee?" he inquires. +She might answer simply: "If thou wert an honest man, thyself and the +money too. Thou didst promise to marry me. Deny it if thou canst." +Instead, she plunges into a prolix recital of the circumstances of the +engagement, so that the all-important fact that the engagement exists has +no special emphasis in her welter of words. "If thou wert an honest man," +she cries, "thyself and the money too. Thou didst swear to me upon a +parcel-gilt goblet, sitting in my Dolphin-chamber, at the round table, by +a sea-coal fire, upon Wednesday in Wheeson week, when the prince broke thy +head for liking his father to a singing-man of Windsor, thou didst swear +to me then, as I was washing thy wound, to marry me and make me my lady +thy wife. Canst thou deny it? Did not goodwife Keech, the butcher's wife, +come in then and call me gossip Quickly? coming in to borrow a mess of +vinegar; telling us she had a good dish of prawns; whereby thou didst +desire to eat some, whereby I told thee they were ill for a green wound? +And didst thou not, when she was gone down stairs, desire me to be no more +so familiarity with such poor people; saying that ere long they should +call me madam? And didst thou not kiss me and bid me fetch thee thirty +shillings? I put thee now to thy book-oath; deny it if thou canst." + + +EXERCISE - Wordiness III + +1. Study the following paragraph, decide which ideas are important, +and strike out the details that merely clog the thought: + +As I stepped into the room, I heard the clock ticking and that caused me +to look at it. It sits on the mantelpiece with some layers of paper under +one corner where the mantel is warped. When the papers slip out or we move +the clock a little as we're dusting, the ticking stops right away. Of +course the clock's not a new one at all, but it's an old one. It has been +in the family for many a long year, yes, from even before my father's +time. Let me see, it was bought by my grandfather. No, it couldn't have +been grandfather that bought it; it was his brother. Oh, yes, I remember +now; my mother told me all about it, and I'd forgotten what she said till +this minute. But really my grandfather's brother didn't exactly buy it. He +just traded for it. He gave two pigs and a saddle, that's what my mother +said. You see, he was afraid his hogs might take cholera and so he wanted +to get rid of them; and as for the saddle, he had sold his riding-horse +and he didn't have any more use for that. Well, it isn't a valuable clock, +like a grandfather clock or anything of that sort, though it is antique. +As I was saying, when I glanced at it, it read seven minutes to six. I +remember the time very well, for just then the factory whistle blew and I +remember saying to myself: "It's seven minutes slow today." You see, it's +old and we don't keep it oiled, and so it's always losing time. Hardly a +day passes but I set it up--sometimes twice a day, as for the matter of +that--and I usually go by the factory whistle too, though now and then I +go by Dwight's gold watch. Well, anyhow, that tells me what time it was. +I'm certain I can't be wrong. + +2. Study, on the other hand, The Castaway (Appendix 5) for its judicious +use of details. Defoe in his stories is a supreme master of verisimilitude +(likeness to truth). As we read him, we cannot help believing that these +things actually happened. More than in anything else the secret of his +lifelikeness lies in his constant faithfulness to reality. He puts in the +little mishaps that would have befallen a man so situated, the things he +would have done, the difficulties he might have avoided had he exercised +forethought. Though Defoe had little insight into the complexities of +man's inner life, he has not been surpassed in his accumulations of +naturalistic outer details. These do not cumber his narrative; they +contribute to its purpose and add to its effectiveness. In this selection +(Appendix 5) observe how plausible are such homely details as Crusoe's +seeing no sign of his comrades "except three of their hats, one cap, and +two shoes that were not fellows"; as his difficulty in getting aboard the +ship again; and as his having his clothes washed away by the rising of the +tide. Find half a dozen other such incidents that You consider especially +effective. + + +<Verbal Discords> + +We may pitch our talk or our writing in almost any key we choose. Our +mood may be dreamy or eager or hilarious or grim or blustering or somber +or bantering or scornful or satirical or whatever we will. But once we +have established the tone, we should not--except sometimes for broadly +humorous effects--change it needlessly or without clear forewarning. If we +do, we create one or the other of two obstacles, or both of them, for +whoever is trying to follow what we say. In the first place, we obscure +our meaning. For example, we have been speaking ironically and suddenly +swerve into serious utterance; or we have been speaking seriously and then +incongruously adopt an ironic tone. How are our listeners, our readers to +take us? They are puzzled; they do not know. In the second place, we +offend--perhaps in insidious, indefinable fashion--the esthetic +proprieties; we violate the natural fitness of things. For example, we +have been speaking with colloquial freedom, sprinkling our discourse with +_shouldn't_ and _won't;_ suddenly we become formal and say +_should not_ and _will not_. Our meaning is as obvious as +before, but the verbal harmony has been interrupted; our hearers or +readers are uneasily aware of a break in the unity of tone. + +A speaker or writer is a host to verbal guests. When he invites them to +his assembly, he gives each the tacit assurance that it will not be +brought into fellowship with those which in one or another of a dozen +subtle ways will be uncongenial company for it. He must never be forgetful +of this unspoken promise. If he is to avoid a linguistic breach, he must +constantly have his wits about him; must study out his combinations +carefully, and use all his knowledge, all his tact. He will make due use +of spontaneous impulse; but that this may be wise and disciplined, he will +form the habit of curiosity about words, their stations, their savor, +their aptitudes, their limitations, their outspokenness, their reticences, +their affinities and antipathies. Thus when he has need of a phrase to +fill out a verbal dinner party, he will know which one to select. + +Certain broad classifications of words are manifest even to the most +obtuse user of English. _Shady_, _behead_, and _lying_ are +"popular" words, while their synonyms _umbrageous,_ decapitate,_ +and _mendacious_ are "learned" words. _Flabbergasted_ and +_higgledy-piggledy_ are "colloquial," while _roseate_ and +_whilom_ are "literary." _Affidavit_, _allegro_, _lee shore_, +and _pinch hit_ are "technical," while _vamp_, _savvy_, _bum +hunch_, and _skiddoo_ are "slang." It would be disenchanting +indeed were extremes of this sort brought together. But offenses of a less +glaring kind are as hard to shut out as February cold from a heated house. +Unusual are the speeches or compositions, even the short ones, in which +every word is in keeping, is in perfect tune with the rest. + +For the attainment of this ultimate verbal decorum we should have to +possess knowledge almost unbounded, together with unerring artistic +instinct. But diction of a kind only measurably inferior to this is +possible to us if we are in earnest. To attain it we must study the +difference between abstract and concrete terms, and let neither intrude +unadvisedly upon the presence or functions of the other; do the same by +literal and figurative terms and instruct ourselves in the nature and +significance of connotation. + +Before considering these more detailed matters, however, we may pause for +a general exercise on verbal harmony. + + +EXERCISE - Discords + +1. Study the editorial in Appendix 1 for unforewarned changes in mood and +assemblages of mutually uncongenial words. Rewrite the worst two +paragraphs to remove all blemishes of these kinds. + +2. Compare Burke's speech (Appendix 2) with Defoe's narrative (Appendix 5) +for the difference in tone between them. Does each keep the tone it adopts +(that is, except for desirable changes)? + +3. Note the changes in tone in the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). Do the +changes in substance make these changes in tone desirable? + +4. In the following passages, make such changes and omissions as are +necessary to unify the tone: + +How I loved to stroll, on those long Indian summer afternoons, into the +quiet meadows where the mild-breathed kine were grazing! An old cow that +switches her tail at flies and puts her foot in the bucket when you milk +her, I absolutely loathe. How I loved to hear the birds sing, to listen to +the fall of ripe autumnal apples! + +It wasn't the girl yclept Sally. This girl was not so vivacious as Sally, +but she had a mug on her that was a lot less ugly to look at. Gee, when +she stood there in front of me with those mute, ineffable, sympathetic +eyes of hers, I was ready to throw a duck-fit. + + Old Grimes is dead, that dear old soul; + We'll never see him more; + He wore a great long overcoat, + All buttoned down before. + + +<I. Abstract vs. Concrete Terms; General vs. Specific Terms> + +Abstract terms convey ideas; concrete terms call up pictures. If we say +"Honesty is the best policy," we speak abstractly. Nobody can see or hear +or touch the thing _honesty_ or the thing _policy_; the +apprehension of them must be purely intellectual. But if we say "The +rat began to gnaw the rope," we speak concretely. _Rat_, _gnaw_, +and _rope_ are tangible, perceptible things; the words bring to us +visions of particular objects and actions. + +Now when we engage in explanations and discussions of principles, +theories, broad social topics, and the like--when we expound, moralize, or +philosophize,--our subject matter is general. We approach our readers or +hearers on the thinking, the rational side of their natures. Our +phraseology is therefore normally abstract. But when, on the other hand, +we narrate an event or depict an appearance, our subject matter is +specific. We approach our readers or hearers on the sensory or emotional +side of their natures. Our phraseology is therefore normally concrete. + +You should be able to express yourself according to either method. You +should be able to choose the words best suited to make people understand; +also to choose the words best suited to make people realize vividly and +feel. Now to some extent you will adopt the right method by intuition. But +if you do not reinforce your intuition with a careful study of words, you +will vacillate from one method to the other and strike crude discords of +phrasing. Of course if you switch methods intelligently and of purpose, +that is quite another matter. An abstract discussion may be enlivened by a +concrete illustration. A concrete narrative or portrayal may be given +weight and rationalized by generalization. Moreover many things lie on the +borderland between the two domains and may properly be attached to either. +Thus the abstraction is legitimate when you say or write: "A man wishes to +acquire the comforts and luxuries, as well as the necessaries, of life." +The concreteness is likewise legitimate when you say or write: "John Smith +wishes to earn cake as well as bread and butter." + +In most instances general terms are the same as abstract, and specific the +same as concrete. Some subtle discriminations may, however, be made. Of +these the only one that need concern us here is that the wording of a +passage may not be abstract and yet be general. Suppose, for example, you +were telling the story of the prodigal son and should say: "He was very +hungry, and could not obtain food anywhere. When he had come to his +senses, he thought, 'I should be better off at home.'" This language is +not abstract, but it is general rather than specific. When Jesus told the +story, he wished to put the situation as poignantly as possible and +therefore avoided both abstract and general terms: "And he would fain have +filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave +unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of +my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" +Many a person who shuns abstractions and talks altogether of the concrete +things of life, yet traps out circumstance in general rather than specific +terms. To do this is always to sacrifice force. + + +EXERCISE - Abstract + +1. Discuss as abstractly as possible such topics as those listed in +Activity 1 for EXERCISE - Discourse, or as the following: + +Is there any such thing as luck? +Is the Golden Rule practicable in the modern business world? +Is modesty rather than self-assertion regarding his own merits and +abilities the better policy for an employee? +Are substantial, home-keeping girls or girls rather fast and frivolous the +more likely to obtain good husbands? +Is it desirable for a young man to take out life insurance? +Is self-education better than collegiate training? +Should one always tell the truth? + +2. Discuss as concretely as possible the topics you have selected from 1. +Use illustrations drawn from life. + +3. Restate in concrete terms such generalizations as the following: + +Experience is the best teacher. +Self-preservation is the first law of nature. +To him who in the love of nature holds +Communion with her visible forms, she speaks +A various language. +Necessity is the mother of invention. +The bravest are the tenderest. +Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. +Pride goeth before destruction. +The evil that men do lives after them. + +4. Compare the abstract statement "Truths and high ethical principles are +received by various men in various ways" with the concrete presentation of +the same idea in Appendix 3. Which expression of the thought would be the +more easily understood by the average person? Why? Which would you +yourself remember the longer? Why? + +5. Compare the statement "The second period of a human being's life is +that of his reluctant attendance at school" with Shakespeare's picture of +the schoolboy in Appendix 4. + +6. Burke, near the close of his speech (Appendix 2), presents an idea, +first in general terms, and then in specific terms, thus: "No contrivance +can prevent the effect of...distance in weakening government. Seas roll, +and months pass, between the order and the execution, and the want of a +speedy explanation of a single point is enough to defeat a whole system." +Find elsewhere in Burke's speech and in the editorial (Appendix I) general +assertions which may be made more forceful by restatement in specific +terms, and supply these specific restatements. + +7. State in your own words the general thought or teaching of the Parable +of the Prodigal Son. (_Luke_ 15: 11-24.) + +8. Make the following statements more concrete: + +In front of our house was a tree that at a certain season of the year +displayed highly colored foliage. + +A celebrated orator said: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" + +On the table were some viands that assailed my nostrils agreeably and +others that put into my mouth sensations of anticipated enjoyment. + +From this window above the street I can hear a variety of noises by day +and a variety of different noises by night. + +As he groped through the pitch-dark room he could feel many articles of +furniture. + +9. State in general terms the thought of the following sentences: + +A burnt child dreads the fire. +A stitch in time saves nine. +A cat may look at a king. +A barking dog never bites. +If his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? +If two men ride a horse, one must ride behind. +Stone walls do not a prison make. +A merry heart goes all the day. +Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just. +As the twig is bent, so the tree is inclined. + +10. Describe a town as seen from a particular point of view, or at a +particular time of day, or under particular atmospheric conditions. Make +your description as concrete as possible. + +11. Compare your description with this from Stevenson: "The town came down +the hill in a cascade of brown gables, bestridden by smooth white roofs, +and spangled here and there with lighted windows." Stevenson's sentence +contains twenty-five words. How many of them are "color" words? How many +"motion" words? How many of the first twenty-five words in your +description appeal to one or another of the five senses? + +12. Narrate as vividly as possible an experience in your own life. Compare +what you have written with the account of Crusoe's escape to the island +(Appendix 5). Which narrative is the more concrete? How much? + + +<2. Literal vs. Figurative Terms> + +Phraseology is literal when it says exactly what it means; is figurative +when it says one thing, but really means another. Thus "He fought bravely" +is literal; "He was a lion in the fight" is figurative. Literal +phraseology as a rule appeals to our scientific or understanding +faculties; figurative to our emotional faculties. Here again, as with +abstraction and concreteness, you should learn to express yourself by +either method. + +Both have their advantages and their drawbacks. We all admire the man who +has observed, and can state, accurately. It is upon this belief of ours in +the literal that Defoe shrewdly traffics. (See Appendix 5.) He does not +stir us as some writers do, but he gains our implicit confidence. Dame +Quickly, on the contrary, makes egregious use of the literal. (See +paragraph above EXERCISE - Wordiness III above.) Her facts are accurate, +yes; but how strictly, how unsparingly accurate! And how many of them are +beside the point! She quite convinces us that the devotee of the literal +may be dull. + +An advantage of the figurative also is that it may make meanings lucid. +Thus when Burke near the close of his discussion (Appendix 2) wishes to +make it clear that by a law of nature the authority of extensive empires +is slighter in its more remote territories, he has recourse to a figure of +speech: "In large bodies, the circulation of power must be less vigorous +at the extremities. Nature has said it." More often, however, the function +of the figurative is to drive home a thought or a mood of which a mere +statement would leave us unmoved--to make us _feel_ it. Thus Burke +said of the Americans "Their love of liberty, as with you, fixed and +attached on this specific point of taxing." He added: "Here they felt its +pulse, and as they found that beat they thought themselves sick or sound." +Had you been one of his Parliamentary hearers, would not that second +sentence have made more real and more important the colonial attitude to +taxation? The poets of course make frequent and noble use of the +figurative. This is how Coleridge tells us that the descent of a tropical +night is sudden: + + "The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out; + At one stride comes the dark." + +The words _rush out_ and _at one stride comes_ convert the stars +and the darkness into vast beings or at least vast personal forces; the +comparisons are so natural as to seem inevitable; we are transported to +the very scene and feel the overwhelming abruptness of the nightfall. But +if a figure of speech seems artificial, if it is strained or far-fetched +or merely decorative, it subtracts from the effectiveness of the passage. +Thus when Tennyson says: + + "When the breeze of a joyful dawn blew free + In the silken sail of infancy." + +we must stop and ponder before we perceive that what he means is "When I +was a happy child." The figure is like an exotic plant rather than a +natural outgrowth of the soil; it appears to us something thought up and +stuck on; it is a parasite rather than a helper. + +Of course, as with abstraction and concreteness, you should develop +facility in gliding from literalness to figurativeness and back again. But +you are always to remember that your gymnastics are not to militate +against verbal concord. You must never set words scowling and growling at +each other through injudicious combinations like this: "She was five feet, +four and three-quarter inches high, had a small, round scar between her +nose and her left cheek-bone, and moved with the lissom and radiant grace +of a queen." + + +EXERCISE - Literal + +1. Give the specifications for a house you intend to build. + +2. Make a list of comparisons (as to a nest, a haven, a goal) to show what +such a house might mean in the life of a man. Expand as many of these +comparisons as you can, but do not carry the process to absurd lengths. +(In the figure of the nest you may mention the parent birds, their +activities, the nestlings; in the figure of the haven you may mention the +quiet, sheltered waters in contrast to the turbulent billows outside; in +the figure of the goal you may mention the struggle necessary to reach +it.) + +3. Describe the looks of the house. Use as many figures of speech as you +can. If you can find no appropriate figures, at least make your words +specific. + +4. Give a surveyor's or a tax assessor's or a conveyancer's description of +a piece of land. Then describe the land through figures of speech which +will vivify its outward appearance or its emotional significance to the +owner. + +5. Observe that the Parable of the Sower (Appendix 3) is an extended +figure of speech. Is the main figure effective? Are its detailed +applications effective? + +6. The Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4) is also an extended figure of +speech. Does it, as Shakespeare intends, bring vividly to your +consciousness the course, motives, stages, evolution of a human being's +life? There are several subsidiary figures. Do these add force, +definiteness to the picture Shakespeare is drawing at that moment? + +7. Observe from Appendix 3, Appendix 4, and the sentences listed in +Activity 9 for EXERCISE - Abstract above, that a thing meant to be +concrete is likely to be stated figuratively. + +8. Examine The Castaway (Appendix 5) for its proportionate use of literal +and figurative elements. See Activity 2 of EXERCISE - Wordiness III above +for a statement of Defoe's purpose. Could he have effected this purpose so +well had he employed more figures of speech? + +9. Examine Appendix 2 for its use of figures. Are the figures appropriate +to the subject matter? Are there enough of them? + +10. Galvanize the thought of any sentence or paragraph in editorial +(Appendix 1) by the use of a figure of speech. + +11. Summarize or illustrate your opinion on any of the topics listed in +Activity 1 for EXERCISE - Discourse, through the employment of figure of +speech. + +12. Are these figures effective? + +Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. +The flower of our young manhood is scaling the ladder of success. + + Fair as a star, when only one + Is shining in the sky. + Silence, like a poultice, comes + To heal the blows of sound. + In my head + Many thoughts of trouble come, + Like to flies upon a plum! + +Let me tell you first about those barnacles that clog the wheels of +society by poisoning the springs of rectitude with their upas-like eye. + + The day is done, and the darkness + Falls from the wings of night, + As a feather is wafted downward + From an eagle in his flight. + +Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, +I will fear no evil. + + Life, like a dome of many-colored glass, + Stains the white radiance of eternity. + +Mountains stood out like pimples or lay like broken welts +across the habitable ground. + + Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player + That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, + And then is heard no more; it is a tale + Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, + Signifying nothing. + +I saw him in Russia, where the infantry of the snow and the cavalry of the +wild blast scattered his legions like winter's withered leaves. + +13. Recast the following sentences to eliminate the clashing of literal +and figurative elements: + +Life is like a rich treasure entrusted to us, and to sustain it we must +have three square meals a day. + +She glanced at the mirror, but did not really see herself. She was trying +to puzzle out the right course, and could only see as through a glass +darkly. + +Arming himself with the sword of zeal and the buckler of integrity, he +wrote the letter. + +He swept the floor every morning, and was a ray of sunshine in the office. +He also emptied the waste baskets and cleaned the cuspidors. + + +<3. Connotation> + +The connotation of a word is the subtle implication, the emotional +association it carries--often quite apart from its dictionary definition. +Thus the words _house_ and _home_ in large measure overlap in +meaning, but emotionally they are not equivalents at all. You can say +_house_ without experiencing any sensation whatever, but if you utter +the word _home_ it will call back, however slightly, tender and +cherished recollections. _Bald heads_ and _gray hair_ are both +indicative of age; but you would pronounce the former in disparaging +allusion to elderly persons, and the latter with sentiments of veneration. +You would say, of a clodpole that he plays the _fiddle_, but of Fritz +Kreisler that he plays the _violin_. And just as you unconsciously +adapt words to feelings in these obvious instances, you must learn, on +peril of striking false notes verbally, to do so when distinctions are +less gross. + +Moreover circumstance as well as sentiment may control the connotation of +a word. A word or phrase may have a double or triple connotation, and +depend upon vocal inflection, upon gesture, upon the words with which it +is linked, upon the experience of speaker or hearer, upon time, place, and +external fact, or upon other forces outside it for the sense in which it +is to be taken. You may be called "old dog" in an insulting manner, or +(especially if a slap on the shoulder accompanies the phrase) in an +affectionate manner. You may properly say, "Calhoun had logic on his +side"; add, however, the words "but his face was to the past," and you +spoil the sentence,--for _face_ gives a reflex connotation to +_side_, slight perhaps and momentary, but disconcerting. Think over +the funny stories you have heard. Many of them turn, you will find, on the +outcropping of new significance in a phrase because of its environment. +Thus the anecdote of the servant who had been instructed to summon the +visiting English nobleman by tapping on his bedroom door and inquiring, +"My lord, have you yet risen?" and who could only stammer, "My God! ain't +you up yet?" Or the anecdote of the minister who in a sermon on the +Parable of the Prodigal Son told how a young man living dissolutely in a +city had been compelled to send to the pawnbroker first his overcoat, next +his suit, next his silk shirt, and finally his very underclothing--"and +then," added the minister, "he came to himself." Only by unresting +vigilance can you evade verbal discords, if not of this magnitude, at +least of much frequency and stylistic harm. + +EXERCISE - Connotation + +1. Note the contrast in emotional suggestion that comes to you from +hearing the words: + +"Sodium chloride" and "salt" +"A test-tube of H2O" and "a cup of cold water" +"A pair of brogans" and "a little empty shoe" +"Bump" and "collide" +"A brilliant fellow" and "a flashy fellow" +"Bungled it" and "did not succeed" +"Tumble" and "fall" +"Dawn" and "6 A.M." +"Licked" and "worsted" +"Fat" and "plump" +"Wept" and "blubbered" +"Cheek" and "self-assurance" +"Stinks" and "disagreeable odors" +"Steal" and "embezzle" +"Thievishness" and "kleptomania" +"Educated" and "highbrow" +"Job" and "position" +"Told a lie" and "fell into verbal inexactitude" +"A drunkard" (a stranger) and "a drunkard" (your father). + +2. Make a list of your own similar to that in Exercise 1. + +3. Read the sentences listed in EXERCISE - Slovenliness III and IV. What +do these sentences suggest to you as to the social and mental +qualifications of the person who employs them? + +4. Read the second paragraph of Appendix 2. What does it suggest to you as +to Burke's social and mental qualifications? + +5. Suppose you were told that a passage of twenty-eight lines contains the +following expressions: "mewling and puking," "whining schoolboy," +"satchel," "sighing like furnace," "round belly," "spectacles on nose," +"shrunk shank," "sans [without] teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans +everything." Would you believe the passage is poetry?--that its total +effect is one of poetic elevation? Read the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix +4). _Is_ it poetry? How does Shakespeare reconcile the general poetic +tone with such expressions as those quoted? + +6. What is wrong with the connotation of the following? + +The servant told us that the young ladies were all in. +All my poor success is due to you. +He insisted on carrying a revolver, and so the college authorities fired +him. +The carpenter too had his castles in Spain. +He rested his old bones by the wayside, and his gaunt dog stood sniffing +at them. +On the other hand, he had a white elephant to dispose of. +When he came to the forks of the road, he showed he was not on the square. +Body, for funeral purposes, must be sold at once. City Automobile Agency. + +7. Can you express the following ideas in other words without sacrifice of +emotional suggestion? Try. + + The music, yearning like a god in pain. + Alone, alone, all, all alone, + Alone on a wide, wide sea! + + But O for the touch of a vanished hand, + And the sound of a voice that is still! + Old, unhappy, far-off things, + And battles long ago. + + It was night in the lonesome October. + How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, + In the icy air of night! + While the stars, that oversprinkle + All the heavens, seem to twinkle + With a crystalline delight. + + The moan of doves in immemorial elms, + And murmuring of innumerable bees. + + Ay, but to die, and go we know not where; + To lie in cold obstruction and to rot. + + Merrily, merrily, shall I live now, + Under the blossom that hangs on the bough. + + 'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true + As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,-- + 'Tis the natural way of living. + + We are such stuff + As dreams are made of, and our little life + Is rounded with a sleep. + +8. With the most connotative words at your command describe the following: + +Your first sweetheart +A solemn experience +A ludicrous experience +A terrifying experience +A mysterious experience +The circus parade you saw in your boyhood +A servant girl +A dude +An odd character you have known +The old homestead +Your boarding house +A scene suggesting the intense heat of a midsummer day +Night on the river +The rush for the subway car +The traffic policeman +Your boss +Anything listed in the first part of Activity 9 of EXERCISE - Discourse. + + + +III + + WORDS IN COMBINATION: HOW MASTERED + + +The more dangerous pitfalls for those who use words in combination--as all +of us do--have been pointed out. The best ways of avoiding these pitfalls +have also been indicated. But our work together has thus far been chiefly +negative. To be sure, many tasks assigned for your performance have been +constructive as well as precautionary; but _the end_ held ever before +you has been the avoidance of feeble or ridiculous diction. In the present +chapter we must take up those aspects of the mastery of words in +combination which are primarily positive. + + +<Preliminaries: General Purposes and Methods> + +Before coming to specific aspects and assignments, however, we shall do +well to consider certain large general purposes and methods. + + +<I. A Ready, an Accurate, or a Wide Vocabulary?> + +First, what kind of vocabulary do we wish to acquire? A facile, readily +used one? An accurate one? Or one as nearly as may be comprehensive? The +three kinds do not necessarily coexist. The possession of one may even +hinder and retard the acquisition of another. Thus if we seek a ready +vocabulary, an accurate vocabulary may cause us to halt and hesitate for +words which shall correspond with the shadings of our thought and emotion, +and a wide vocabulary may embarrass us with the plenitude of our verbal +riches. + +But _may_ is not _must_. Though the three kinds of vocabulary +may interfere with each other, there is no reason, except superficially, +why they should. Our purpose should be, therefore, to acquire not a single +kind but all three. We should be like the boy who, when asked whether he +would have a small slice of apple pie or a small slice of pumpkin pie, +replied resolutely, "Thank you, I will take a large piece of both." + +That the assignments in this chapter may help you develop a vocabulary +which shall be promptly responsive to your needs, you should perform some +of them rapidly. Your thoughts and feelings regarding a topic may be +anything but clear, but you must not pause to clarify them. The words best +suited to the matter may not be instantly available, but you must not +tarry for accessions of language. Stumble, flounder if you must, yea, +rearrange your ideas even as you present them, but press resolutely ahead, +comforting yourself with the assurance that in the heat and stress of +circumstances a man rarely does his work precisely as he wishes. When you +have finished the discussion, repeat it immediately--and with no more +loitering than before. You will find that your ideas have shifted and +enlarged, and that more appropriate words have become available. Further +repetitions will assist you the more. But the goal you should set +yourself, as you proceed from topic to topic, is the attainment of the +power to be at your best in the first discussion. You may never reach this +goal, but at least you may approach it. + +That the assignments in this chapter may assist you in making your +vocabulary accurate, you should perform some of them in another way. When +you have selected a topic, you should first of all think it through. In +doing this, arrange your ideas as consistently and logically as you can, +and test them with your reason. Then set them forth in language which +shall be lucid and exact. Tolerate no slipshod diction, no vaguely +rendered general meanings. Send every sentence, every word like a skilful +drop-kick--straight above the crossbar. When you have done your best with +the topic, lay it by for a space. Time is a great revealer of hidden +defects, and you must not regard your labors as ended until your +achievement is the maturest possible for you. If the quantity of what you +accomplish is meager, suffer no distress on that account. The desideratum +now is not quantity, but quality. + +The assignments in this chapter will do less toward making your vocabulary +wide than toward making it facile and precise. To be sure, they will now +and then set you to hunting for words that are new. Better still, they +will give you a mastery over some of your outlying words--words known to +your eyes or ears but not to your tongue. But these advantages will be +somewhat incidental. Means for the systematic extension of your verbal +domain into regions as yet unexplored by you, are reserved for the later +chapters of this book. + + +<2. A Vocabulary for Speech or for Writing?> + +In the second place, are we to develop a vocabulary for oral discourse or +a vocabulary for writing? It may be that our chief impediment or our chief +ambition lies in one field rather than in the other. Nevertheless we +should strive for a double mastery; we ought to speak well _and_ +write well. Indeed the two powers so react upon each other that we ought +to cultivate both for the sake of either. True, some men, though inexpert +as writers, have made themselves proficient as speakers; or though +shambling and ineffective as speakers, have made themselves proficient as +writers. But this is not natural or normal. Moreover these men might have +gleaned more abundantly from their chosen field had they not shut it off +from the acres adjacent. Fences waste space and curtail harvests. + +The assignments in this chapter are of such a nature that you may perform +them either orally or in writing. You should speak and write alternately, +sometimes on the same topic, sometimes on topics taken in rotation. + +In your oral discussions you should perhaps absent yourself at first from +human auditors. A bedstead or a dresser will not make you self-conscious +or in any way distract your attention, and it will permit you to sit down +afterward and think out the degree of your failure or success. Ultimately, +of course, you must speak to human beings--in informal conversations at +the outset, in more ambitious ways later as occasion permits. + +In your writing you may find it advantageous to make preliminary outlines +of what you wish to say. But above all, you must be willing to blot, to +revise, to take infinite pains. You should remember the old admonition +that easy reading is devilish hard writing. + + +<The Mastery of Words in Combination> + +These purposes and methods are general. We now come to the specific fields +in which we may with profit cultivate words in combination. Of these +fields there are four. + + +<I. Mastery through Translation> + +If you read a foreign language, whether laboriously or with ease, you +should make this power assist you to amass a good English vocabulary. +Take compositions or parts of compositions written in the foreign tongue, +and turn them into idiomatic English. How much you should translate +at a given time depends upon your leisure and your adeptness. Employ all +the methods--the spontaneous, the carefully perfected, the oral, the +written--heretofore explained in this chapter. In your final work on a +passage you should aim at a faultless rendition, and should spend time and +ransack the lexicons rather than come short of this ideal. + +The habit of translation is an excellent habit to keep up. For the study +of an alien tongue not only improves your English, but has compensations +in itself. + +EXERCISE - Translation + +1. Translate from any accessible book in the foreign language you can +read. + +2. Subscribe for a period of at least two or three months for a newspaper +or magazine in that language, if it is a modern one. Translate as before, +but give most of your time to rapid oral translation for a real or +imaginary American hearer. + +3. When you have completed your final written translation of a passage +from the foreign language, make yourself master of all the English words +you have not previously (1) known or (2) used, but have encountered in +your work of translation. + + + +<2. Mastery through Paraphrasing> + +It may be that you are not familiar with a foreign language. At any rate +you have some knowledge of English. Put this knowledge to use in +paraphrasing; for thus you will enrich your vocabulary and make it surer +and more flexible. The process of paraphrasing is simple, though the +actual work is not easy. You take passages written in English--the more of +them the better, and the more diversified the better--and both reproduce +their substance and incarnate their mood in words you yourself shall +choose. + +You may have a passage before you and paraphrase it unit by unit. More +often, however, you should follow the plan adopted by Franklin when he +emulated Addison by rewriting the _Spectator Papers_. That is, you +should steep yourself in the thought and emotion of a piece of writing, +and then lay the piece aside until its wording has faded from your memory, +when you should reëmbody the substance in language that seems to you +natural and fitting. Much of the benefit will come from your comparing +your version, as Franklin did his, with the original. When you perceive +that you have fallen short, you should consider the respects wherein your +inferiority lies--and should make another attempt, and yet another, and +another. When you perceive that in any way you have surpassed the +original, you should feel a just pride in your achievement--and should +resolve that next time your cause for pride shall be greater still. Even +after you have desisted from formal paraphrasing, you should cling to the +habit, formed at this time, of observing any notable felicities in +whatever you read and of comparing them with the expression you yourself +would likely have employed. + +EXERCISE - Paraphrasing + +1. Paraphrase the editorial in Appendix 1. You should improve upon the +original. Keep trying until you do. + +2. Paraphrase the second paragraph in Burke's speech (Appendix 2). Burke +lacked the cheap tricks of the ordinary orator, but his discussions were +based upon a comprehensive knowledge of facts, a sympathetic understanding +of human nature, a vast depth and range of thought, and a well-meditated +political philosophy. In short, he is a model for _elaborated_ +discussions. Set forth the leading thought of this paragraph; you can give +it in fewer words than he employs. But try setting it forth with his full +accompaniments of reflection and information; you will be bewildered at +his crowding so much into such small compass. + +3. Try to rival the pregnant conciseness of the Parable of the Sower +(Appendix 3). + +4. Paraphrase in prose the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). Catch if +possible the mood, the "atmosphere," of each of the pictures painted by +Shakespeare. Condense your paraphrase as much as you can. + +5. In each of the preceding exercises compare your vocabulary with that of +the original as to size, precision, and the grace and ease with which +words are put together. Does the original employ terms unfamiliar to you? +If so, look up their meaning and make them yours; then observe, when you +next paraphrase the passage, whether your mastery of these terms has +improved your expression. + + +<3. Mastery through Discourse at First Hand> + +Models have their use, but you can also work without models. It is +imperative that you should. You must learn to discuss, explain, analyze, +argue, narrate, and describe for yourself. Here again you should diversify +your materials to the utmost, not only that you may become well-rounded +and versatile in your ability to set forth ideas and feelings in words, +but also that your knowledge and your sensibility may receive stimulation. + +It is feasible to begin by discussing or explaining. Most of the +intercourse conducted through language consists in either discussion or +explanation. Analysis, ordinarily, is almost ignored. Argument is indulged +in, and so is description (though less freely), but they are of the +bluntest and broadest. Narration--the recounting of incidents of everyday +existence--is, however, widely employed. + +In your work of discussion or explanation you may seize upon any current +topic--industrial, social, political, or what not--that comes into your +mind. Or you may make a list of such topics, writing each on a separate +piece of paper; may jumble the slips in a hat; and may thus have always at +your elbow a collection of satisfactory themes from which you may take one +at random. Or you may invest in language of your own selection the +substance of an address or sermon you have heard, or give the burden of +some important conversation in which you have participated, or explain the +tenor of an article you have read. You should of course try to interest +your hearers, and above all, you should impart to what you say complete +clarity. + +In analyzing you should select as your topic a process fairly obscure, the +implications of a certain statement or argument, the results to be +expected from some action or policy that has been advocated, or the exact +matter at issue between two disputants. Any topic for discussion, +explanation, or argument may be treated analytically. Your analysis in its +final form should be so carefully considered that its soundness cannot be +impeached. + +In arguing you may take any subject under the sun, from baseball to +Bolshevism, for all of them are debated with vehemence. Any topic for +discussion or explanation becomes, when approached from some particular +angle, material for argument. Thus the initial topic in the exercise that +follows is "The aeroplane's future as a carrier of mail." You may convert +it into a question for debate by making it read: "The aeroplane is +destined to supplant the railroad as a carrier of mail," or "The aeroplane +is destined to be used increasingly as a carrier of transcontinental +mail." In arguing you may propose for yourself either of two objectives: +(1) to silence your opponent, (2) to refute, persuade, and win him over +fairly. The achievement of the first end calls for bluster and perhaps a +grim, barbaric strength; you must do as Johnson did according to +Goldsmith's famous dictum--if your pistol misses fire, you must knock your +adversary down with the butt end of it. This procedure, though inartistic +to be sure, is in some contingencies the only kind that will serve. But +you should cultivate procedure of a type more urbane. Let your very +reasonableness be the most potent weapon you wield. To this end you should +form the habit of looking for good points on both sides of a question. As +a still further precaution against contentiousness you should uphold the +two sides successively. + +In narrating you should, as a rule, stick to simple occurrences, though +you may occasionally vary your work by summarizing the plot of a novel or +giving the gist and drift of big historical events. You should confine +yourself, in large part, to incidents in which you have been personally +involved, or which you yourself have witnessed, as mishaps, unexpected +encounters, bickerings, even rescues or riots. You should omit +non-essentials and make the happening itself live for your hearer; if you +can so interest him in it that he will not notice your manner of telling +it, your success is but the greater. + +Finally, in describing you should deal for the most part with beings, +objects, and appearances familiar to you. Description is usually hard to +make vivid. This is because the objects and scenes are likely to be +immobile and (at least when told about) to lack distinctiveness. Try, +therefore, to lay hold of the peculiar quality of the thing described, and +use words suggestive of color and motion. Moreover be brief. Long +descriptions are sure to be wearisome. + + +EXERCISE - Discourse + +1. Select topics from the following list for discussion or explanation: + +The aeroplane's future as a carrier of mail +The commercial future of the aeroplane +A recent scientific (or mechanical or electrical) invention +A better type of newspaper--its contents and makeup +A better type of newspaper--how it can be secured +The connection between the advertising and news departments + of a newspaper--the actual condition +The connection between the advertising and news departments + of a newspaper--the ideal +Special features in a newspaper that are popular +A single standard for the sexes--is it possible? +A single standard for the sexes--how it can be attained (or approximated) +Should the divorce laws be made more stringent? +Should a divorced person be prohibited from remarrying? +What further marriage restrictions should be placed upon the + physically or mentally unfit? +What further measures should be taken by the cities (states, nation) for + the protection of motherhood? +Is the division of men into strongly contrasted groups as to wealth + one of nature's necessities, or is it the result of a social and + economic system? +Some shortcomings of the labor unions +Are the shortcomings of the labor unions accidental or inherent? +Some ways of bettering the condition of the working classes +How municipal (state, national) bureaus for finding employment + for the laborer may become more serviceable +Wrongs committed by big business (or some branch of it) +Should a man's income above a stipulated amount be confiscated + by the government? +Income taxes--what exemptions should be granted? +The right basis for business--competition or coöperation? +Are the courts equally just to labor and capital? +How can legal procedure be changed to enable individuals to secure just + treatment from corporations without resorting to prolonged and expensive + lawsuits? +Where our interests clash with those of Great Britain +How our relations with Great Britain may be further improved +How our relations with Japan may be further improved +How may closer commercial relations with other countries be promoted? +What to do about the railroads and railroad rates +A natural resource that should be conserved or restored +Do high tariffs breed international ill-will? +Should we have a high tariff at this juncture? +To what extent should osteopathy (chiropractic) be permitted + (or protected) by law? +What is wrong with municipal government in my city +How woman suffrage affects local government +How to make rural life more attractive +The importance of the rotation of crops +The race problem as it affects my community +The class problem as it affects my community +The school-house as a social center +How to Americanize the alien elements in our population +To what extent, if at all, should foreign-born citizens of our + country be encouraged to preserve their native traditions and culture? +Censorship of the moving picture +Educational possibilities of the moving picture +How to bring about improvement in the quality of the moving picture +The effect of the moving picture upon legitimate drama +A church that men will attend +How young men may be attracted to the churches +How far shall doctrine be insisted upon by the churches? +To what extent shall the church concern itself with social + and economic problems? +To what extent, if at all, shall Sunday diversions be restricted? +The advantages of using the free public library +Can the cities give children in the slums better opportunities for + physical (mental, moral) development? +Should all cities be required to establish zoölogical gardens, + as well as schools, for the children? +How my city might improve its system of public parks +The most interesting thing about the work I am in +Opportunities in the work I am in +The qualities called for in the work I am in +The ideals of my associates +Something I have learned about life +Something I have learned about human nature +A book that has influenced me, and why +A person who has influenced me, and how +My favorite sport or recreation +Why baseball is so popular +What I could do for the people around me +What I should like for the people around me to do for me. + +2. Discuss or explain the ideas listed in Exercise 3 for 'Abstract vs. +Concrete' in "Words in Combination: Some Pitfalls" above. + +3. Analyze the debatable questions included in the two preceding exercises +or suggested by them. That is, find the issues in each question, and show +what each disputant must prove and what he must refute. + +4. Analyze the results to be expected from the adoption of some policy or +course of action by: + +A newspaper +A business firm +The city +The farmers +The producers in some business or industry +The consumers +The retail merchants of your city +Some group of reformers +Some social group +Those interested in a social activity, as dancing +Your neighbors +Yourself. + +5. Analyze or explain: + +The testing of seed grain +How to raise potatoes (any other vegetable) +How to utilize and apportion the space in your garden +How to keep an automobile in good shape +How to run an automobile (motor boat) +How to make a rabbit trap +How to lay out a camp +How to catch trout (bass, codfish, tuna fish, lobsters) +How to conduct a public meeting +How a bill is introduced and passed in a legislative body +How food is digested +How to extract oxygen from water +How a fish breathes +How gold is mined +How wireless messages are sent +How your favorite game is played +How to survey a tract of land +How stocks are bought and sold on margins +How public opinion is formed +How a man ought to form his opinions +The responsibility of individuals to society +The responsibility of society to the individual. + +6. Argue one side or the other, or the two successively, of +queries contained or implied in Exercises 1 and 2. + +7. Argue one side or the other, or the two successively, of queries listed +in Exercise 1 in EXERCISE - Abstract. + +8. Give a narrative of: + +The earning of your first dollar +How somebody met his match +An amusing incident +An anxious moment +A surprise +The touchdown +That fatal seventh inning +How you got the position +Why you missed the train +When you were lost +Your first trip on the railroad (a motor boat, a merry-go-round, + snowshoes, a burro) +A mishap +How Jenkins skated +Your life until the present (a summary) +Something you have heard your father tell +What happened to your uncle +Your partner's (chum's) escapade +Meeting an old friend +Meeting a bore +A conversation you have overheard +When Myrtle eavesdropped +When the girls didn't know Algy was in the parlor +A public happening that interests you +An incident you have read in the papers +An incident from your favorite novel +Backward Ben at the party +Something that happened to you today. + +9. Describe ... + +For the mood or general "atmosphere": + +Anything you deem suitable in Activity 8 in EXERCISE - Connotation. +An old, deserted house +Your birthplace as you saw it in manhood +The view from an eminence +A city as seen from a roof garden by night +Your mother's Bible +A barnyard scene +The lonely old negro at the supper table +A new immigrant gazing out upon the ocean he has crossed +The downtown section at closing hour +A scene of quietude +A scene of bustle and confusion +A richly colored scene +A scene of dejection +A scene of wild enthusiasm +A scene of dulness or stagnation. + +With attention to homely detail: + +The old living-room +My aunt's dresses +Barker's riding-horse +The business street of the village +A cabin in the mountains +The office of a man approaching bankruptcy +The Potters' backyard +The second-hand store +The ugliest man. + +For general accuracy and vividness: + +The organ-grinder +The signs of an approaching storm +The arrival of the train +Mail-time at the village post office +The crowd at the auction +The old fishing-boat +A country fair (or a circus) +The inside of a theater (or a church) +The funeral procession +The political rally +The choir. + + +<4. Mastery through Adapting Discourse to Audience> + +For convenience, we have heretofore assumed that ideas and emotions, +together with such expression of them as shall be in itself adequate and +faithful, comprise the sole elements that have to be reckoned with in the +use of words in combination. But as you go out into life you will find +that these things, however complete they may seem, are not in practice +sufficient. Another factor--the human--must have its place in our +equation. You do not speak or write in a vacuum. Your object, your +ultimate object at least, in building up your vocabulary is to address men +and women; and among men and women the varieties of training, of stations, +of outlooks, of sentiments, of prejudices, of caprices are infinite. To +gain an unbiased hearing you must take persistent cognizance of flesh and +blood. + +In adapting discourse to audience you must have a supple and attentive +mind and an impressionable and swiftly responsive temperament as well as a +wide, accurate, and flexible vocabulary. Unless you are a fool, a zealot, +or an incorrigible adventurer, you will not broach a subject at all to +which your hearers feel absolute indifference or hostility. Normally you +should pick a subject capable of interesting them. In presenting it you +should pay heed to both your matter and your manner. You should emphasize +for your listeners those aspects of the subject which they will most +respond to or most need to hear, whether or not the phases be such as you +would emphasize with other auditors. You should also speak in the fashion +you deem most effective with them, whether or not it be one to which your +own natural instincts prompt you. + +Let us say you are discussing conditions in Europe. You must speak in one +way to the man who has traveled and in an entirely different way to the +man who has never gone abroad--in one way to the well-read man, in an +entirely different way to the ignoramus. Let us say you are discussing +urban life, urban problems. You must speak in one way to the man who lives +in the city, in another to the man who lives in the country. Let us say +you are discussing the labor problem. You must speak in one way to +employers, in another to employees, possibly in a third to men thrown out +of jobs, possibly in a fourth to the general public. Let us say you are +discussing education, or literature, or social tendencies, or mechanical +principles or processes, or some great enterprise or movement. You must +speak in one way to cultivated hearers and in another to men in the +street, and if you are a specialist addressing specialists, you will cut +the garment of your discourse to their particular measure. + +The same principle holds regardless of whether you expound, analyze, +argue, recount, or describe. You must always keep a finger on the mental +or emotional pulse of those whom you address. But your problem varies +slightly with the form of discourse you adopt. In explanation, analysis, +and argument the chief barriers you encounter are likely to be those of +the mind; you must make due allowance for the intellectual limitations of +your auditors, though many who have capacity enough may for some cause or +other be unreceptive to ideas. In description you must reckon with the +imaginative faculty, with the possibility that your hearers cannot +visualize what you tell them--and you must make your words brief. In +narration you must vivify emotional torpor; but lest in your efforts to +inveigle boredom you yourself should induce it, you must have a wary eye +for signals of distress. + + +EXERCISE - Adapting + +1. Explain to (a) a rich man, (b) a poor man the blessings of poverty. + +2. Discuss before (a) farmers, (b) merchants the idea that farmers +(merchants) make a great deal of money. + +3. Explain to (a) the initiate, (b) the uninitiate some piece of +mechanism, or some phase of a human activity or interest, which you know +at first hand and regarding which technical (or at least not generally +understood) terms are employed. (The exact subject depends, of course, +upon your own observation or experience; you are sure to be familiar +with something that most people know hazily, if at all. Bank clerk, +chess player, bridge player, stenographer, journalist, truck driver, +backwoods-man, mechanic--all have special knowledge of one kind or another +and can use the particular terms it calls for.) + +4. Explain to (a) a supporter of the winning team, (b) a supporter of the +losing team why the baseball game came out as it did. + +5. Discuss before (a) a Democratic, (b) a Republican audience your reasons +for voting the Democratic (Republican) ticket in the coming election. + +6. Explain to (a) your own family, (b) the man who can lend you the money, +why you wish to mortgage your house (any piece of property). + +7. Explain to the owner of an ill-conducted business why he should sell +it, and to a shrewd business man why he should buy it. + +8. Discuss before (a) old men, (b) young men, (c) women the desirability +of men's giving up their seats in street cars to women. (Also modify the +question by requiring only young men to give up their seats, and then only +to old people of either sex, to sick people, or to people with children in +their arms.) + +9. Explain the necessity of restricting immigration to (a) prospective +immigrants, (b) immigrants just granted admission to the country, (c) +persons just refused admission, (d) exploiters of cheap labor, (e) +ordinary citizens. + +10. Discuss the taking out of a life insurance policy with (a) a man not +interested, (b) a man interested but uncertain what a policy is like, (c) +a man interested and informed but doubtful whether he can spare the money, +(d) the man's wife (his prospective beneficiary), whose desires will have +weight with him. + +11. Discuss the necessity of a reduction in wages with (a) unscrupulous +employers, (b) kind-hearted employers, (c) the employees. + +12. Advocate higher public school taxes before (a) men with children, (b) +men without children. + +13. Advocate a further regulation of the speed of automobiles before (a) +automobile-owners, (b) non-owners. + +14. Urge advocacy of some reform upon (a) a clergyman, (b) a candidate for +office. + +15. Combat before (a) advertisers, (b) a public audience, (c) a lawmaking +body, the defacement of landscapes by advertising billboards. + +16. Describe life in the slums before (a) a rural audience, (b) charitable +persons, (c) rich people in the cities who know little of conditions among +the poor. + +17. Describe the typical evening of a spendthrift in a city to (a) a poor +man, (b) a miser, (c) the spendthrift's mother, (d) his employer, (e) a +detective who suspects him of theft. + +18. Describe the city of Washington (any other city) to (a) a countryman, +(b) a traveler who has not visited this particular city. (If it is +Washington you describe, describe it also for children in whom you wish to +inculcate patriotism.) + +19. Give (a) a youngster, (b) an experienced angler an account of your +fishing trip. + +20. Recount for (a) a baseball fan, (b) a girl who has never seen a game, +the occurrences of the second half of the ninth inning. + +21. Describe a fight for (a) your friends, (b) a jury. + +22. Narrate for (a) children, (b) an audience of adults some historical +event. + +23. Give (a) your partner, (b) a reporter an account of a business +transaction you have just completed. + +24. Narrate an escapade for (a) your father, (b) your cronies in response +to a toast at a banquet with them. + + + +IV + + INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS VERBAL CELIBATES + + +Thus far we have studied words as grouped together into phrases, +sentences, paragraphs, whole compositions. We must now enter upon a new +phase of our efforts to extend our vocabulary. We must study words as +individual entities. + +You may think the order of our study should be reversed. No great harm +would result if it were. The learning of individual words and the +combining of them into sentences are parallel rather than successive +processes. In our babyhood we do not accumulate a large stock of terms +before we frame phrases and clauses. And our attainment of the power of +continuous iteration does not check our inroads among individual words. We +do the two things simultaneously, each contributing to our success with +the other. There are plenty of analogies for this procedure. A good +baseball player, for instance, tirelessly studies both the minutiae of his +technique (as how to hold a bat, how to stand at the plate) and the big +combinations and possibilities of the game. A good musician keeps +unremitting command over every possible touch of each key and at the same +time seeks sweeping mastery over vast and complex harmonies. So we, if we +would have the obedience of our vocabularies, dare not lag into desultory +attention to either words when disjoined or words as potentially combined +into the larger units of thought and feeling. + +We might therefore consider either the individuals first or the groups +first. But the majority of speakers and writers pay more heed to rough +general substance than to separate instruments and items. Hence we have +thought best to begin where most work is going on already--with words in +combination. + +As you turn from the groups to the individuals, you must understand that +your labors will be onerous and detailed. You must not assume that by +nature all words are much alike, any more than you assume that all men are +much alike. Of course the similarities are many and striking, and the +fundamental fact is that a word is a word as a man is a man. But you will +be no adept in handling either the one or the other until your knowledge +goes much farther than this. Let us glance first at the human variations. +Each man has his own business, and conducts it in his own way--a way never +absolutely matched with that of any other mortal being. All this you may +see. But besides the man's visible employment, he may be connected in +devious fashions with a score of enterprises the public knows nothing +about. Furthermore he leads a private life (again not precisely +corresponding to that of any other), has his hobbies and aversions, is +stamped with a character, a temperament of his own. In short, though in +thousands of respects he is like his fellows, he has after all no human +counterpart; he is a distinct, individual self. To know him, to use him, +to count upon his service in whatsoever contingency it might bestead you, +you must deem him something more than a member of the great human family. +You must cultivate him personally, cultivate him without weariness or +stint, and undergo inconvenience in so doing. + +Even so with a word. Commonplace enough it may seem. But it has its +peculiar characteristics, its activities undisclosed except to the +curious, its subtle inclinations, its repugnances, its latent +potentialities. There is no precise duplicate for it in all the wide +domain of language. To know it intimately and thoroughly, to be on +entirely free terms with it, to depend upon it just so far as dependence +is safe, to have a sure understanding of what it can do and what it +cannot, you must arduously cultivate it. Words, like people, yield +themselves to the worthy. They hunger for friendship--and lack the last +barrier of reserve which hedges all human communion. Thus, linguistically +speaking, you must search out the individuals. You must step aside from +your way for the sake of a new acquaintance; in conversations, in sermons, +in addresses, in letters, in journalistic columns, in standard literature +you must grasp the stranger by the hand and look him straight in the eye. +Nor must you treat cavalierly the words you know already. You must study +them afresh; you must learn them over and learn them better; you must come +to understand them, not only for what they are, but for what they will do. + + +<What Words to Learn First> + +What, then, is your first task? Somebody has laid down the injunction-- +and, as always when anything is enjoined, others have given it currency-- +that each day you should learn two new words. So be it,--but which two? +The first two in the dictionary, or hitherto left untouched in your +systematic conquest of the dictionary? The first two you hear spoken? The +first two that stare at you from casual, everyday print? The first two you +can ferret from some technical jargon, some special department of human +interest or endeavor? In any of these ways you may obey the behest of +these mentors. But are not such ways arbitrary, haphazard? And suppose, +after doing your daily stint, you should encounter a word it behooves you +to know. What then? Are you to sulk, to withhold yourself from further +exertion on the plea of a vocabulary-builder's eight-hour day? + +To adopt any of the methods designated would be like resolving to invest +in city lots and then buying properties as you encountered them, with no +regard for expenditure, for value in general, or for special +serviceability to you. Surely such procedure would be unbusinesslike. If +you pay out good money, you meditate well whether that which you receive +for it shall compensate you. Likewise if you devote time and effort to +gaining ownership of words, you should exercise foresight in determining +whether they will yield you commensurate returns. + +What, then, is the principle upon which, at the outset, you should +proceed? What better than to insure the possession of the words regarding +which you know this already, that you need them and should make them +yours? + + +<The Analysis of Your Own Vocabulary> + +The natural way, and the best, to begin is with an analysis of your own +vocabulary. You are of course aware that of the enormous number of words +contained in the dictionary relatively few are at your beck and bidding. +But probably you have made no attempt to ascertain the nature and extent +of your actual linguistic resources. You should make an inventory of the +stock on hand before sending in your order for additional goods. + +You will speedily discover that your vocabulary embraces several distinct +classes of words. Of these the first consists of those words which you +have at your tongue's end--which you can summon without effort and use in +your daily speech. They are old verbal friends. Numbered with them, to be +sure, there may be a few with senses and connotations you are ignorant of-- +friends of yours, let us say, with a reservation. Even these you may woo +with a little care into uncurbed fraternal abandon. With the exception of +these few, you know the words of the first class so well that without +thinking about it at all you may rely upon their giving you, the moment +you need them, their untempered, uttermost service. You need be at no +further pains about them. They are yours already. + +A second class of words is made up of those you speak on occasions either +special or formal--occasions when you are trying, perhaps not to show off, +but at least to put your best linguistic foot foremost. Some of them have +a meaning you are not quite sure of; some of them seem too ostentatious +for workaday purposes; some of them you might have been using but somehow +have not. Words of this class are not your bosom friends. They are your +speaking acquaintance, or perhaps a little better than that. You must +convert them into friends, into prompt and staunch supporters in time of +need. That is to say, you must put them into class one. In bringing about +this change of footing, you yourself must make the advances. You must say, +Go to, I will bear them in mind as I would a person I wished to cultivate. +When occasion rises, you must introduce them into your talk. You will feel +a bit shy about it, for introductions are difficult to accomplish +gracefully; you will steal a furtive glance at your hearer perchance, and +another at the word itself, as you would when first labeling a man "my +friend Mr. Blank." But the embarrassment is momentary, and there is no +other way. Assume a friendship if you have it not, and presently the +friendship will be real. You must be steadfast in intention; for the words +that have held aloof from you are many, and to unloose all at once on a +single victim would well-nigh brand you criminal. But you will make sure +headway, and will be conscious besides that no other class of words in the +language will so well repay the mastering. For these are words you +_do_ use, and need to use more, and more freely--words your own +experience stamps as valuable, if not indeed vital, to you. + +The third class of words is made up of those you do not speak at all, but +sometimes write. They are acquaintance one degree farther removed than +those of the second class. Your task is to bring them into class two and +thence into class one--that is, to introduce them into your more formal +speech, and from this gradually into your everyday speech. + +The fourth class of words is made up of those you recognize when you hear +or read them, but yourself never employ. They are acquaintance of a very +distant kind. You nod to them, let us say, and they to you; but there the +intercourse ends. Obviously, they are not to be brought without +considerable effort into a position of tried and trusted friendship. And +shall we be absolutely honest?--some of them may not justify such +assiduous care as their complete subjugation would call for. But even +these you should make your feudal retainers. You should constrain them to +membership in class three, and at your discretion in class two. + +Apart from the words in class four, you will not to this point have made +actual additions to your vocabulary. But you will have made your +vocabulary infinitely more serviceable. You will be like a man with a host +of friends where before, when his necessities were sorest, he found (along +with some friends) many distant and timid acquaintance. + +Outside the bounds of your present vocabulary altogether are the words you +encounter but do not recognize, except (it may be) dimly and uncertainly. +Some counselors would have you look up all such words in a dictionary. But +the task would be irksome. Moreover those who prescribe it are loath to +perform it themselves. Your own candid judgment in the matter is the +safest guide. If the word is incidental rather than vital to the meaning +of the passage that contains it, and if it gives promise of but rarely +crossing your vision again, you should deign it no more than a civil +glance. Plenty of ways will be left you to expend time wisely in the +service of your vocabulary. + + +EXERCISE - Analysis + +1. Make a list of the words in class two of your own vocabulary, and +similar lists for classes three and four. (To make a list for class one +would be but a waste of time.) Procure if you can for this purpose a +loose-leaf notebook, and in the several lists reserve a full page for each +letter of the alphabet as used initially. Do not scamp the lists, though +their proper preparation consume many days, many weeks. Try to make them +really exhaustive. Their value will be in proportion to their accuracy and +fulness. + +2. Con the words in each list carefully and repeatedly. Your task is to +transfer these words into a more intimate list--those in class four into +class three, those in three into two, those in two into one. You are then +to promote again the words in the lower classes, except that (if your +judgment so dictates) you may leave the new class three wholly or +partially intact. To carry out this exercise properly you must keep these +words in mind, make them part and parcel of your daily life. (For a +special device for bringing them under subjection, see the next exercise.) + +3. To write a word down helps you to remember it. That is why the normal +way to transfer a word from class four into class two is to put it +temporarily into the intermediary class, three; you first _see_ or +_hear_ the word, next _write_ it, afterwards _speak_ it. +The mere writing down of your lists has probably done much to bring the +words written into the circuit of your memory, where you can more readily +lay hold of them. Also it has fortified your confidence in using them; for +to write a word out, letter by letter, makes you surer that you have its +right form. With many of your words you will likely have no more trouble; +they will be at hand, anxious for employment, and you may use them +according to your need. But some of your words will still stubbornly +withhold themselves from memory. Weed these out from your lists, make a +special list of them, copy it frequently, construct short sentences into +which the troublesome words fit. By dint of writing the words so often you +will soon make them more tractable. + +4. Make a fifth list of words--those you hear or see printed, do not +understand the meaning of, but yet feel you should know. Obtain and +confirm a grasp of them by the successive processes used with words in the +preceding lists. + + +<The Definition of Words> + +Another means of buttressing your command of your present vocabulary is to +define words you use or are familiar with. + +Do not bewilder yourself with words (like _and, the_) which call for +ingenuity in handling somewhat technical terms, or with words (like +_thing, affair, condition_) which loosely cover a multitude of +meanings. (You may, however, concentrate your efforts upon some one +meaning of words in the latter group.) Select words with a fairly definite +signification, and express this as precisely as you can. You may +afterwards consult a dictionary for means of checking up on what you have +done. But in consulting it think only of idea, not of form. You are not +training yourself in dictionary definitions, but in the sharpness and +clarity of your understanding of meanings. + +About the only rule to be laid down regarding the definition of verbs, +adjectives, and adverbs is that you must not define a word in terms of +itself. Thus if you define _grudgingly_ as "in a grudging manner," +you do not dissipate your hearer's uncertainty as to what the word means. +If you define it as "unwillingly" or "in a manner that shows reluctance to +yield possession," you give your hearer a clear-cut idea in no wise +dependent upon his ability to understand the word that puzzled him in the +first place. + +Normally, in defining a noun you should assign the thing named to a +general class, and to its special limits within that class; in other +words, you should designate its genus and species. You must take care to +differentiate the species from all others comprised within the genus. +You will, in most instances, first indicate the genus and then the +species, but at your convenience you may indicate the species first. Thus +if you affirm, "A cigar is smoking-tobacco in the form of a roll of +tobacco-leaves," you name the genus first and later the characteristics of +the species. You have given a satisfactory definition. If on the other +hand you affirm, "A cigar is a roll of tobacco-leaves meant for smoking," +you first designate the species and then merely imply the genus. Again you +have given a satisfactory definition; for you have permitted no doubt that +the genus is smoking-tobacco, and have prescribed such limits for the +species as exclude tobacco intended for a pipe or a cigarette. + +In defining nouns by the genus-and-species method, restrict the genus to +the narrowest possible bounds. You will thus save the need for exclusions +later. Had you in your first definition of a cigar begun by saying that it +is tobacco, rather than smoking-tobacco, you would have violated this +principle; and you would have had to amplify the rest of your definition +in order to exclude chewing-tobacco, snuff, and the like. + +EXERCISE - Definition + +1. Define words of your own choosing in accordance with the principles +laid down in the preceding section of the text. + +2. Define the following adjectives, adverbs, and verbs: + +Miserable Rebuke Wise +Angrily Rapidly Boundless +Swim Paint Whiten +Haughtily Surly Causelessly + +3. So define the following nouns as to prevent any possible confusion with +the nouns following them in parentheses: + +Wages (salary) Ride (drive) +Planet (star) Truck (automobile) +Watch (clock) Reins (lines) +Jail (penitentiary) Iron (steel) +Vegetable (fruit) Timber (lumber) +Flower (weed) Rope (string) +Hail (sleet, snow) Stock (bond) +Newspaper (magazine) Street car (railway coach) +Cloud (fog) Revolver (rifle, pistol, etc.) +Mountain (hill) Creek (river) +Letter (postal card) + +4. While remembering that the following words are of broad signification +and mean different things to different people, define them according to +their meaning to you: + +Gentleman Courage +Honesty Beauty +Honor Good manners +Generosity A good while +Charity A little distance +Modesty Long ago + + +<How to Look Up a Word in the Dictionary> + +So much for the words which are already yours, or which you can make yours +through your own unaided efforts. For convenience we have grouped with +them some words of a nature more baffling--words of which you know perhaps +but a single aspect rather than the totality, or upon which you can obtain +but a feeble and precarious grip. These slightly known words belong more +to the class now to be considered than to that just disposed of. For we +have now to deal with words over which you can establish no genuine +rulership unless you have outside help. + +You must own a dictionary, have it by you, consult it carefully and often. +Do not select one for purchasing upon the basis of either mere bigness or +cheapness. If you do, you may make yourself the owner of an out-of-date +reprint from stereotyped plates. What to choose depends partly upon +personal preference, partly upon whether your need is for +comprehensiveness or compression. + +If you are a scholar, _Murray's_ many-volumed _New English +Dictionary_ may be the publication for you; but if you are an ordinary +person, you will probably content yourself with something less expensive +and exhaustive. You will find the _Century Dictionary and +Cyclopedia_, in twelve volumes, or _Webster's New International +Dictionary_ an admirable compilation. The _New Standard +Dictionary_ will also prove useful. All in all, if you can afford it, +you should provide yourself with one or the other of these three large and +authoritative, but not too inclusive, works. Of the smaller lexicons +_Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Webster's Secondary School +Dictionary_, the _Practical Standard Dictionary_, and the _Desk +Standard Dictionary_ answer most purposes well. + +A dictionary is not for show. You must learn to use it. What ordinarily +passes for use is in fact abuse. Wherein? Let us say that you turn to your +lexicon for the meaning of a word. Of the various definitions given, you +disregard all save the one which enables the word to make sense in its +present context, or which fits your preconception of what the word should +stand for. Having engaged in this solemn mummery, you mentally record the +fact that you have been squandering your time, and enter into a compact +with yourself that no more will you so do. At best you have tided over a +transitory need, or have verified a surmise. You have not truly +_learned_ the word, brought it into a vassal's relationship with you, +so fixed it in memory that henceforth, night or day, you can take it up +like a familiar tool. + +This procedure is blundering, farcical, futile, incorrect. To suppose you +have learned a word by so cursory a glance at its resources is like +supposing you have learned a man through having had him render you some +temporary and trivial service, as lending you a match or telling you the +time of day. To acquaint yourself thoroughly with a word--or a man-- +involves effort, application. You must go about the work seriously, +intelligently. + +One secret of consulting a dictionary properly lies in finding the +primary, the original meaning of the word. You must go to the source. If +the word is of recent formation, and is native rather than naturalized +English, you have only to look through the definitions given. Such a word +will not cause you much trouble. But if the word is derived from primitive +English or from a foreign language, you must seek its origin, not in one +of the numbered subheads of the definition, but in an etymological record +you will perceive within brackets or parentheses. Here you will find the +Anglo-Saxon (Old English), Latin, Greek, French, German, Italian, +Scandinavian, or other word from which sprang the word you are studying, +and along with this authentic original you may find cognate words in other +languages. These you may examine if you care to observe their resemblance +to your word, but the examination is not necessary. It could teach you +only the earlier or other _forms_ of your word, whereas what you are +after is the original _meaning_. This too is set down within the +brackets; if your search is in earnest, you cannot possible miss it. And +having discovered this original meaning, you must get it in mind; it is +one of the really significant things about the word. Your next step is to +find the present import of the word. Look, therefore, through the modern +definitions. Of these there may be too many, with too delicate shadings in +thought between them, for you to keep all clearly in mind. In fact you +need not try. Consider them of course, but out of them seek mainly the +drift, the central meaning. After a little practice you will be able to +disengage it from the others. + +You now know the original sense of the word and its central signification +today. The two may be identical; they may be widely different; but through +reflection or study of the entire definition you will establish some sort +of connection between them. When you have done this, you have mastered the +word. From the two meanings you can surmise the others, wherever and +whenever encountered; for the others are but outgrowths and applications +of them. + +One warning will not be amiss. You must not suppose that the terms used in +defining a word are its absolute synonyms, or may be substituted for it +indiscriminately. You must develop a feeling for _the limits_ of the +word, so that you may perceive where its likeness to the other terms +leaves off and its unlikeness begins. Thus if one of the terms employed in +defining _command_ is _control_, you must not assume that the +two words are interchangeable; you must not say, for instance, that the +captain controlled his men to present arms. + +Such, abstractly stated, is the way to look up a word in the dictionary. +Let us now take a concrete illustration. Starting with the word +_tension_, let us ascertain what we can about it in the _Century +Dictionary and Cyclopedia_. Our first quest is the original meaning. +For this we consult the bracketed matter. There we meet the French, +Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian kinsmen of the word, and learn that they +are traceable to a common ancestor, the Latin _tensio(n)_, which +comes from the Latin verb _tendere_. The meaning of _tensio(n)_ +is given as "stretching," that of _tendere_ as "stretch," "extend." +Thus we know of the original word that in form it closely resembles the +modern word, and that in meaning it involves the idea of stretching. + +What is the central meaning of the word today? To acquaint ourselves with +this we must run through the definitions listed. Here (in condensed form) +they are. (1) The act of stretching. (2) In _mechanics_, stress or +the force by which something is pulled. (3) In _physics_, a +constrained condition of the particles of bodies. (4) In _statical +electricity_, surface-density. (5) Mental strain, stress, or +application. (6) A strained state of any kind, as political or social. (7) +An attachment to a sewing-machine for regulating the strain of the thread. +Now of these definitions (2), (3), (4), and (7) are too highly specialized +to conduct us, of themselves, into the highway of the word's meaning. They +bear out, however, the evidence of (1), (5), and (6), which have as their +core the idea of stretching, or of the strain which stretching produces. + +We must now lay the original meaning alongside the central meaning today, +in order to draw our conclusions. We perceive that the two meanings +correspond. Yet by prying into them we make out one marked difference +between them. The original meaning is literal, the modern largely +figurative. To be sure, the figure has been so long used that it is now +scarcely felt as a figure; its force and definiteness have departed. +Consequently we may speak of being on a tension without having in mind at +all a comparison of our nervous system with a stretched garment, or with +an outreaching arm, or with a tightly strung musical instrument, or with a +taut rope. + +What, then, is the net result of our investigation? Simply this, that +_tension_ means stretching, and that the stretching may be conceived +either literally or figuratively. With these two facts in mind, we need +not (unless we are experts in mechanics, physics, statical electricity, or +the sewing-machine) go to the trouble of committing the special senses of +_tension_; for should occasion bid, we can--from our position at the +heart of the word--easily grasp their rough purport. And from other +persons than specialists no more would be required. + + +EXERCISE - Dictionary + +For each of the following words find (a) the original meaning, (b) the +central meaning today. (Other words are given in the exercises at the end +of this chapter.) + +Bias Supersede Sly +Aversion Capital Meerschaum +Extravagant Travel Alley +Concur Travail Fee +Attention Apprehend Superb +Magnanimity Lewd Adroit +Altruism Instigation Quite +Benevolence Complexion Urchin +Charity Bishop Thoroughfare +Unction Starve Naughty +Speed Cunning Moral +Success Decent Antic +Crafty Handsome Savage +Usury Solemn Uncouth +Costume Parlor Window +Presumption Bombastic Colleague +Petty Vixen Alderman +Queen Doctor Engage + + +<Prying Into a Word's Past> + +To thread with minute fidelity the mazes of a word's former history is the +task of the linguistic scholar; our province is the practical and the +present-day. But words, like men, are largely what they are because of +what they have been; and to turn a gossip's eye upon their past is to +procure for ourselves, often, not only enlightenment but also +entertainment. This fact, though brought out in some part already, +deserves separate and fuller discussion. + +In the first place, curiosity as to words' past experience enables us to +read with keener understanding the literature of preceding ages. Of course +we should not, even so, go farther back than about three centuries. To +read anything earlier than Shakespeare would require us to delve too +deeply into linguistic bygones. And to read Shakespeare himself requires +effort--but rewards it. Let us see how an insight into words will help us +to interpret the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). + +In line 2 of this passage appears the word _merely_. In Shakespeare's +time it frequently meant "altogether" or "that and nothing else." As here +used, it may be taken to mean this, or to have its modern meaning, or to +stand in meaning midway between the two and to be suggestive of both; +there is no way of determining precisely. In line 12 the word _pard_ +means leopard. In line 18 _saws_ means "sayings" (compare the phrase +"an old saw"); _modern_ means "moderate," "commonplace"; +_instances_ means what we mean by it today, "examples," +"illustrations." (Line 18 as a whole gives us a vivid sense of the +justice's readiness to speak sapiently, after the manner of justices, and +to trot out his trite illustrations on the slightest provocation.) The +word _pantaloon_ in line 20 is interesting. The patron saint of +Venice was St. Pantaleon (the term is from Greek, means "all-lion," and +possibly refers to the lion of St. Mark's Cathedral). _Pantaloon_ +came therefore to signify (1) a Venetian, (2) a garment worn by Venetians +and consisting of breeches and stockings in one. The second sense is +preserved, substantially, in our term _pantaloons_. The first sense +led to the use of the word (in the mouths of the Venetians' enemies) for +"buffoon" and then (in early Italian comedy) for "a lean and foolish old +man." It is this stock figure of the stage that Shakespeare evokes. In +line 22 _hose_ means the covering for a man's body from his waist to +his nether-stock. (Compare the present meaning: a covering for the feet +and the _lower_ part of the legs.) In line 27 _mere_ means +"absolute." In line 28 _sans_ means "without." + +Of the words we have examined, only _sans_ is obsolete, though +_pard_, _saws_, and _pantaloon_ are perhaps not entirely +familiar. That is, only one word in the passage, so far as its outward +form goes, is completely alien to our knowledge. But how different the +matter stands when we consider meanings! The words are words of today, but +the meanings are the meanings of Shakespeare. We should be baffled and +misled as to the dramatist's thought if we had made no inquiries into the +vehicle therefor. + +In the second place, to look beyond the present into the more remote +signification of words will put us on our guard against the reappearance +of submerged or half-forgotten meanings. We have seen that the word +_tension_ may be used without conscious connection with the idea of +stretching. But if we incautiously place the word in the wrong +environment, the idea will be resurrected to our undoing. We associate +_ardor_ with strong and eager desire. For ordinary purposes this +conception of the word suffices. But _ardor_ is one of the children +of fire; its primary sense is "burning" (compare _arson_). Therefore +to pronounce the three vocables "overflowing with ardor" is to mix figures +of speech absurdly. We should fall into a similar mistake if we said +"brilliant fluency," and into a mistake of another kind (that of tautology +or repetition of an idea) if we said "heart-felt cordiality," for +_cordiality_ means "feelings of the heart." _Appreciate_ means +"set a (due) value on." We may perhaps say "really appreciate," but +scrupulous writers and speakers do not say "appreciate very much." A +_humor_ (compare humid) was once a "moisture"; then one of the four +moistures or liquids that entered into the human constitution and by the +proportions of their admixture determined human temperament; next a man's +outstanding temperamental quality (the thing itself rather than the cause +of it); then oddity which people may laugh at; then the spirit of laughter +and good nature in general. Normally we do not connect the idea of +moisture with the word. We may even speak of "a dry humor." But we should +not say "now and then a dry humor crops out," for then too many buried +meanings lie in the same grave for the very dead to rest peacefully +together. + +Even apart from reading old literature and from having, when you use +words, no ghosts of their pristine selves rise up to damn you, you may +profit from a knowledge of how the meaning of a term has evolved. For +example, you will meet many tokens and reminders of the customs and +beliefs of our ancestors. Thus _coxcomb_ carries you back to the days +when every court was amused by a "fool" whose head was decked with a +cock's comb; _crestfallen_ takes you back to cockfighting; and +_lunatic_ ("moonstruck"), _disaster_ ("evil star"), and "thank +your lucky stars" plant you in the era of superstition when human fate was +governed by heavenly bodies. + +Further, you will perceive the poetry of words. Thus to _wheedle is_ +to wag the tail and to _patter_ is to hurry through one's prayers +(paternoster). What a picture of the frailty of men even in their holiness +flashes on us from that word _patter! Breakfast is_ the breaking of +the fast of the night. _Routine_ (the most humdrum of words) is +travel along a way already broken. _Goodby_ is an abridged form of +"God be with you." _Dilapidated_ is fallen stone from stone. +_Daisy_ is "the day's eye," _nasturtium_ (from its spicy smell) +"the nose-twister," _dandelion_ "the tooth of the lion." _A +lord_ is a bread-guard. + +You will perceive, moreover, that many a dignified word once involved the +same idea as some unassuming or even semi-disreputable word or expression +involves now. Thus there is little or no difference in figure between +understanding a thing and getting on to it; between averting something +(turning it aside) and sidetracking it; between excluding (shutting out) +and closing the door to; between degrading (putting down a step) and +taking down a notch; between accumulating (heaping up) and making one's +pile; between taking umbrage (the shadow) and being thrown in the shade; +between ejaculating and throwing out a remark; between being on a tension +and being highstrung; between being vapid and having lost steam; between +insinuating (winding in) and worming in; between investigating and +tracking; between instigating (goading on or into) and prodding up; +between being incensed (compare _incendiary_) and burning with +indignation; between recanting (unsinging) and singing another tune; +between ruminating (chewing) and smoking in one's pipe. Nor is there much +difference in figure between sarcasm (a tearing of the flesh) and taking +the hide off; between sinister (left-handed) and backhanded; between +preposterous (rear end foremost) and cart before the horse; between salary +(salt-money, an allowance for soldiers) and pin-money; between pedigree +(crane's foot, from the appearance of genealogical diagrams) and crowsfeet +(about the eyes); between either precocious (early cooked), apricot (early +cooked), crude (raw), or recrudescence (raw again) and half-baked. To +ponder is literally to weigh; to apprehend an idea is to take hold of it; +to deviate is to go out of one's way; to congregate is to flock together; +to assail or insult a man is to jump on him; to be precipitate is to go +head foremost; to be recalcitrant is to kick. + +Again, you will perceive that many words once had more literal or more +definitely concrete meanings than they have now. To corrode is to gnaw +along with others, to differ is to carry apart, to refuse is to pour back. +Polite is polished, absurd is very deaf, egregious is taken from the +common herd, capricious is leaping about like a goat, cross (disagreeable) +is shaped like a cross, wrong is wrung (or twisted). Crisscross is +Christ's cross, attention is stretching toward, expression is pressed out, +dexterity is right-handedness, circumstances are things standing around, +an innuendo is nodding, a parlor is a room to talk in, a nostril is that +which pierces the nose (thrill means pierce), vinegar is sharp wine, a +stirrup is a rope to mount by, a pastor is a shepherd, a marshal is a +caretaker of horses, a constable is a stable attendant, a companion is a +sharer of one's bread. + +On the other hand, you will find that many words were once more general in +import than they have since become. _Fond_ originally meant foolish, +then foolishly devoted, then (becoming more general again) devoted. +_Nostrum_ meant our own, then a medicine not known by other +physicians, then a quack remedy. _Shamefast_ meant confirmed in +modesty (shame); then through a confusion of _fast_ with +_faced_, a betrayal through the countenance of self-consciousness or +guilt. _Counterfeit_ meant a copy or a picture, then an unlawful +duplication, especially of a coin. _Lust_ meant pleasure of any sort, +then inordinate sexual pleasure or desire. _Virtue_ (to trace only a +few of its varied activities) meant manliness, then the quality or +attribute peculiar to true manhood (with the Romans this was valor), then +any admirable quality, then female chastity. _Pen_ meant a feather, +then a quill to write with, then an instrument for writing used in the +same way as a quill. A _groom_ meant a man, then a stableman (in +_bridegroom_, however, it preserves the old signification). +_Heathen_ (heath-dweller), _pagan_ (peasant), and _demon_ +(a divinity) had in themselves no iniquitous savor until early Christians +formed their opinion of the people inaccessible to them and the spirits +incompatible with the unity of the Godhead. Words betokening future +happenings or involving judgment tend to take a special cast from the +fears and anxieties men feel when their fortune is affected or their +destiny controlled by external forces. Thus _omen_ (a prophetic +utterance or sign) and _portent_ (a stretching forward, a foreseeing, +a foretelling) might originally be either benign or baleful; but nowadays, +especially in the adjectival forms _ominous_ and _portentous_, +they wear a menacing hue. Similarly _criticism_, _censure_, and +_doom_, all of them signifying at first mere judgment, have come--the +first in popular, the other two in universal, usage--to stand for adverse +judgment. The old sense of _doom_ is perpetuated, however, in +_Doomsday_, which means the day on which we are all to be, not +necessarily sent to hell, but judged. + +You will furthermore perceive that the exaggerated affirmations people are +always indulging in have led to the weakening of many a word. _Fret_ +meant eat; formerly to say that a man was fretting was to use a vigorous +comparison--to have the man devoured with care. _Mortify_ meant to +kill, then killed with embarrassment, then embarrassed. _Qualm_ meant +death, but our qualms of conscience have degenerated into mere twinges. +Oaths are shorn of their might by overuse; _confound_, once a +tremendous malinvocation, may now fall from the lips of respectable young +ladies, and _fie_, in its time not a whit less dire, would be +scarcely out of place in even a cloister. Words designating immediacy come +to have no more strength than soup-meat seven times boiled. +_Presently_ meant in the present, _soon_ and _by and by_ +meant forthwith. How they have lost their fundamental meaning will be +intelligible to you if you have in ordering something been told that it +would be delivered "right away," or in calling for a girl have been told +that she would be down "in a minute." + +You will detect in words of another class a deterioration, not in force, +but in character; they have fallen into contemptuous or sinister usage. +Many words for skill or wisdom have been thus debased. _Cunning_ +meant knowing, _artful_ meant well acquainted with one's art, +_crafty_ meant proficient in one's craft or calling, _wizard_ +meant wise man. The present import of these words shows how men have +assumed that mental superiority must be yoked with moral dereliction or +diabolical aid. Words indicating the generality--indicating ordinary rank +or popular affiliations--have in many instances suffered the same decline. +_Trivial_ meant three ways; it was what might be heard at the +crossroads or on any route you chanced to be traveling, and its value was +accordingly slight. _Lewd_ meant belonging to the laity; it came to +mean ignorant, and then morally reprehensible. _Common_ may be used +to signify ill-bred; _vulgar_ may be and frequently is used to +signify indecent. _Sabotage_, from a French term meaning wooden shoe, +has come to be applied to the deliberate and systematic scamping of one's +work in order to injure one's employer. _Idiot_ (common soldier) +crystallizes the exasperated ill opinion of officers for privates. +(_Infantry_--an organization of military infants--has on the contrary +sloughed its reproach and now enshrines the dignity of lowliness.) +Somewhat akin to words of this type is _knave_, which first meant +boy, then servant, then rogue. Terms for agricultural classes seldom +remain flattering. Besides such epithets as _hayseed_ and +_clodhopper_, contemptuous in their very origin, _villain_ (farm +servant), _churl_ (farm laborer), and _boor_ (peasant) have all +gathered unto themselves opprobrium; _villain_ now involves a +scoundrelly spirit, _churl_ a contumelious manner, _boor_ a +bumptious ill-breeding; not one of these words is any longer confined in +its application to a particular social rank. Terms for womankind are soon +tainted. _Wench_ meant at first nothing worse than girl or daughter, +_quean_ than woman, _hussy_ than housewife; even _woman_ is +generally felt to be half-slighting. Terms affirming unacquaintance with +sin, or abstention from it, tend to be quickly reft of what praise they +are fraught with; none of us likes to be saluted as _innocent_, +_guileless_, or _unsophisticated_, and to be dubbed _silly_ no +longer makes us feel blessed. Besides these and similar classes of words, +there are innumerable individual terms that have sadly lost caste. An +_imp_ was erstwhile a scion; it then became a boy, and then a +mischievous spirit. A _noise_ might once be music; it has ceased to +enjoy such possibilities. To live near a piano that is constantly banged +is to know how _noise_ as a synonym for music was outlawed. + +A backward glance over the history of words repays you in showing you the +words for what they are, and in having them live out their lives before +you. Do you know what an _umpire_ is? He is a non (or num) peer, a +not equal man, an odd man--one therefore who can decide disputes. Do you +know what a _nickname_ is? It is an eke (also) name, a title bestowed +upon one in addition to his proper designation. Do you know what a +_fellow_, etymologically speaking, is? He is a fee-layer, a partner, +a man who lays his fee (property) alongside yours. Do you know that +_matinée_, though awarded to the afternoon, meant primarily a morning +entertainment and has traveled so far from its original sense that we call +an actual before-noon performance a morning matinée? Do you know the past +of such words as _bedlam_, _rival_, _parson_, +_sandwich_, _pocket handkerchief?_ _Bedlam_, a corruption +of _Bethlehem_, was a hospital for the insane in London; it came to +be a general term for great confusion or discord. _Rivals_ were +formerly dwellers--that is, neighboring dwellers--on the bank of a stream; +disputes over water-rights gave the word its present meaning. A +_person_ or _parson_, for the two were the same, was a mask +(literally, that through which the sound came); then an actor representing +a character in a play; then a representative of any sort; then the +representative of the church in a parish. A _sandwich_ was a +stratification of bread and meat by the Earl of Sandwich, who was so loath +to leave the gaming table that he saved time by having food brought him in +this form. A _kerchief_ was originally a cover for the head, and +indeed sundry amiable, old-fashioned grandmothers still use it for this +purpose. Afterward people carried it in their hands and called it a +_handkerchief_; and when they transferred it to the pocket, they +called it a _pocket handkerchief_ or pocket hand head-cover. A +scrutiny of such words should convince you that the reading of the +dictionary, instead of being the dull occupation it is almost proverbially +reputed to be, may become an occupation truly fascinating. For clustered +about the words recorded in the dictionary are inexhaustible riches of +knowledge and of interest for those who have eyes to see. + + +EXERCISE - Past + +1. For each of the following words look up (a) the present meaning if you +do not know it, (b) the original meaning, (c) any other past meanings you +can find. + +Exposition Corn Cattle +Influence Sanguine Turmoil +Sinecure Waist Shrew +Potential Spaniel Crazy +Character Candidate Indomitable +Infringe Rascal Amorphous +Expend Thermometer Charm +Rather Tall Stepchild +Wedlock Ghostly Haggard +Bridal Pioneer Pluck +Noon Neighbor Jimson weed +Courteous Wanton Rosemary +Cynical Street Plausible +Grocer Husband Allow +Worship Gipsy Insane +Encourage Clerk Disease +Astonish Clergyman Boulevard +Realize Hectoring Canary +Bombast Primrose Diamond +Benedict Walnut Abominate +Piazza Holiday Barbarous +Disgust Heavy Kind +Virtu Nightmare Devil +Gospel Comfort Whist +Mermaid Pearl Onion +Enthusiasm Domino Book +Fanatic Grotesque Cheat +Auction Economy Illegible +Quell Cheap Illegitimate +Sheriff Excelsior Emasculate +Danger Dunce Champion +Shibboleth Calico Adieu +Essay Pontiff Macadamize +Wages Copy Stentorian +Quarantine Puny Saturnine +Buxom Caper Derrick +Indifferent Boycott Mercurial +Gaudy Countenance Poniard +Majority Camera Chattel. + +2. The following words are often used loosely today, some because their +original meaning is lost sight of, some because they are confused with +other words. Find for each word (a) what the meaning has been and (b) what +the correct meaning is now. + +Nice Awful Atrocious +Grand Horrible Pitiful +Beastly Transpire Claim +Weird Aggravate Uncanny +Demean Gorgeous Elegant +Fine Noisome Mutual (in "a mutual friend") +Lovely Cute Stunning +Liable Immense. + +3. The following sentences from standard English literature illustrate the +use of words still extant and even familiar, in senses now largely or +wholly forgotten. The quotations from the Bible and Shakespeare (all the +Biblical quotations are from the King James Version) date back a little +more than three hundred years, those from Milton a little less than three +hundred years, and those from Gray and Coleridge, respectively, about a +hundred and seventy-five and a hundred and twenty-five years. Go carefully +enough into the past meanings of the italicized words to make sure you +grasp the author's thought. + +And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of +these is _charity_.(1 _Corinthians_ 13:13) + +I _prevented_ the dawning of the morning. (_Psalms_ 119:147) + +Our eyes _wait_ upon the Lord our God. (_Psalms_ 123:2) + +The times of this ignorance God _winked_ at. (_Acts_ 17:30) + +And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me; for I perceive that +_virtue_ is gone out of me. (_Luke_ 8:46) + +To judge the _quick_ and the dead. (1 _Peter_ 4:5) + +Be not wise in your own _conceits_. (_Romans_ 12:16) + +In maiden meditation, _fancy_-free. (Shakespeare: _A Midsummer +Night's Dream_) + +Is it so _nominated_ in the bond? (Shakespeare: _The Merchant +of Venice_) + +Would I had met my _dearest_ foe in heaven. (Shakespeare: +_Hamlet_) + +The _extravagant_ and _erring_ spirit. (Said of a spirit +wandering from the bounds of purgatory. Shakespeare: _Hamlet_) + +The _modesty_ of nature. (Shakespeare: _Hamlet_) + +It is a nipping and an _eager_ air. (Shakespeare: _Hamlet_) + +_Security_ +Is mortals' chiefest enemy. (Shakespeare: _Macbeth_) + +Most _admired_ disorder. (Shakespeare: _Macbeth_) + +Upon this _hint_ I spake. (From the account of the wooing of +Desdemona. Shakespeare: _Othello_) + +This Lodovico is a _proper_ man. A very handsome man. +(Shakespeare: _Othello_) + +Mice and rats and such small _deer_. (Shakespeare: _King Lear_) + +This is no sound +That the earth _owes_. (Shakespeare: _The Tempest_) + +Every shepherd _tells_ his _tale_. (Milton: _L'Allegro_) +Bring the _rathe_ primrose that forsaken dies. (_Rathe_ survives +only in the comparative form _rather_. Milton: _Lycidas_) + +Can honor's voice _provoke_ the silent dust? (Gray: _Elegy_) + +The _silly_ buckets on the deck. (Coleridge: _The Ancient +Mariner_) + +4. In technical usage or particular phrases a former sense of a word may +be embedded like a fossil. The italicized words in the following list +retain special senses of this kind. What do these words as thus used mean? +Can you add to the list? +To _wit_ +Might and _main_ +Time and _tide_ +Christmas_tide_ +_Sad_ bread +A bank _teller_ +To _tell_ one's _beads_ +Aid and _abet_ +_Meat_ and drink +Shop_lifter_ +Fishing-_tackle_ +Getting off _scot_-free +An _earnest_ of future favors +A _brave_ old hearthstone +_Confusion_ to the enemy! +Giving aid and _comfort_ to the enemy +Without _let_ or hindrance +A _let_ in tennis +_Quick_lime +Cut to _the quick_ +_Neat_-foot oil +To _sound in_ tort (Legal phrase) +To bid one God_speed_ +I had as _lief_ as not +The child _favors_ its parents +On _pain_ of death +Widow's _weeds_ +I am _bound_ for the Promised Land +To _carry_ a girl to a party (Used only in the South) +To give a person so much _to boot_ + +5. Each of the subjoined phrases contradicts itself or repeats its idea +clumsily. The key to the difficulty lies in the italicized words. What is +their true meaning? + +A weekly _journal_ +_Ultimate_ end +Final _ultimatum_ +_Final_ completion +Previous _preconceptions_ +_Nauseating_ seasickness +_Join_ together +_Descend_ down +_Prefer_ better +_Argent_ silver +Completely _annihilate_ +_Unanimously_ by all +Most _unique_ of all +The other _alternative_ +_Endorse_ on the back +_Incredible_ to believe +A _criterion_ to go by +An _appetite_ to eat +_A panacea_ for all ills +_Popular_ with the people +_Biography_ of his life +_Autobiography_ of his own life +_Vitally_ alive +A new, _novel_, and ingenious explanation +_Mutual_ dislike for each other +_Omniscient_ knowledge of all subjects +A _material_ growth in mental power +_Peculiar_ faults of his own +Fly into an _ebullient_ passion +To _saturate_ oneself with gold and silver +Elected by _acclamation on_ a secret ballot. + + + +V. + + INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS MEMBERS OF VERBAL FAMILIES + + +Our investigation into the nature, qualities, and fortunes of single words +must now merge into a study of their family connections. We do not go far +into this new phase of our researches before we perceive that the career +of a word may be very complicated. Most people, if you asked them, would +tell you that an individual word is a causeless entity--a thing that was +never begotten and lacks power to propagate. They would deny the +possibility that its course through the world could be other than +colorless, humdrum. Now words thus immaculately conceived and fatefully +impotent, words that shamble thus listlessly through life, there are. But +many words are born in an entirely normal way; have a grubby boyhood, a +vigorous youth, and a sober maturity; marry, beget sons and daughters, +become old, enfeebled, even senile; and suffer neglect, if not death. In +their advanced age they are exempted by the discerning from enterprises +that call for a lusty agility, but are drafted into service by those to +whom all levies are alike. Indeed in their very prime of manhood their +vicissitudes are such as to make them seem human. Some rise in the world +some sink; some start along the road of grandeur or obliquity, and then +backslide or reform. Some are social climbers, and mingle in company where +verbal dress coats are worn; some are social degenerates, and consort with +the ragamuffins and guttersnipes of language. Some marry at their own +social level, some above them, some beneath; some go down in childless +bachelorhood or leave an unkempt and illegitimate progeny. And if you +trace their own lineage, you will find for some that it is but decent and +middle-class, for some that it is mongrelized and miscegenetic, for some +that it is proud, ancient, yea perhaps patriarchal. + +It is contrary to nature for a word, as for a man, to live the life of a +hermit. Through external compulsion or internal characteristics a word has +contacts with its fellows. And its most intimate, most spontaneous +associations are normally with its own kindred. + +In our work hitherto we have had nothing to say of verbal consanguinity. +But we have not wholly ignored its existence, for the very good reason +that we could not. For example, in the latter portions of Chapter IV we +proceeded on the hypothesis that at least some words have ancestors. Also +in the analysis of the dictionary definition of _tension_ we learned +that the word has, not only a Latin forebear, but French, Spanish, +Portuguese, and Italian kinsmen as well. One thing omitted from that +analysis would have revealed something further--namely, that the word has +its English kinfolks too. For the bracketed part of the dictionary +definition mentions two other English words, _tend_ and _tense_, +which from their origin involve the same idea as that of _tension_-- +the idea of stretching. + +Now words may be akin in either of two ways. They may be related in blood. +Or they may be related by marriage. Let us consider these two kinds of +connection more fully. + + +<Words Related in Blood> + +As an illustration of blood kinships enjoyed by a native English word take +the adjective _good_. We can easily call to mind other members of its +family: goodly, goodish, goody-goody, good-hearted, good-natured, good- +humored, good-tempered, goods, goodness, goodliness, gospel (good story), +goodby, goodwill, goodman, goodwife, good-for-nothing, good den (good +evening), the Good Book. The connection between these words is obvious. + +Next consider a group of words that have been naturalized: scribe, +prescribe, ascribe, proscribe, transcribe, circumscribe, subscriber, +indescribable, scribble, script, scripture, postscript, conscript, +rescript, manuscript, nondescript, inscription, superscription, +description. It is clear that these words are each other's kith and kin in +blood, and that the strain or stock common to all is _scribe_ or (as +sometimes modified) _script_. What does this strain signify? The idea +of writing. The _scribes_ are a writing clan. Some of them, to be +sure, have strayed somewhat from the ancestral calling, for words are as +wilful--or as independent--as men. _Ascribe_, for example, does not +act like a member of the household of writers, whatever it may look like. +We should have to scrutinize it carefully or consult the record for it in +that verbal Who's Who, the dictionary, before we could understand how it +came by its scribal affiliations honestly. But once we begin to reflect or +to probe, we find we have not mistaken its identity. _Ascribe_ is the +offspring of _ad_ (to) and _scribo_ (write), both Latin terms. +It originally meant writing to a person's name or after it (that is, +imputing to the person by means of written words) some quality or +happening of which he was regarded as the embodiment, source, or cause. +Nowadays we may saddle the matter on him through oral rather than written +speech. That is, _ascribe_ has largely lost the writing traits. But +all the same it is manifestly of the writing blood. + +The _scribes_ are of undivided racial stock, Latin. Consider now the +_manu_, or _man_, words which sprang from the Latin +_manus_, meaning "hand." Here are some of them: manual, manoeuver, +mandate, manacle, manicure, manciple, emancipate, manage, manner, +manipulate, manufacture, manumission, manuscript, amanuensis. These too +are children of the same father; they are brothers and sisters to each +other. But what shall we say of legerdemain (light, or sleight, of hand), +maintain, coup de main, and the like? They bear a resemblance to the +_man's_ and _manu's_, yet one that casual observers would not +notice. Is there kinship between the two sets of words? There is. But not +the full fraternal or sororal relation. The _mains_ are children of +_manus_ by a French marriage he contracted. With this French blood in +their veins, they are only half-brothers, half-sisters of the +_manu's_ and the _man's_. + +Your examination of the family trees of words will be practical, rather +than highly scholastic, in nature. You need not track every word in the +dictionary to the den of its remote parentage. Nor need you bother your +head with the name of the distant ancestor. But in the case of the large +number of words that have a numerous kindred you should learn to detect +the inherited strain. You will then know that the word is the brother or +cousin of certain other words of your acquaintance, and this knowledge +will apprise you of qualities in it with which you should reckon. To this +extent only must you make yourself a student of verbal genealogy. + + +EXERCISE - Blood + +(Simple exercises in tracing blood relationships among words are given at +the end of the chapter. Therefore the exercises assigned here are of a +special character.) + +1. Each of the following groups is made up of related words, but the +relationship is somewhat disguised. Consult the dictionary for each word, +and learn all you can as to (a) its source, (b) the influence (as passing +through an intermediate language) that gave it its present form, (c) the +course of its development into its present meaning. + +Captain Cathedral Governor +Capital Chaise Gubernatorial +Decapitate Chair +Chef Shay Guardian +Chieftain Ward + Camp +Cavalry Campaign Guarantee +Chivalry Champion Warrant + +Camera Inept Incipient +Chamber Apt Receive + +Serrated Inimical Poor +Sierra Enemy Pauper + +Influence Espionage Work +Influenza Spy Wrought + Playwright +Isolate +Insular + +2. The variety of sources for modern English is indicated by the following +list. Do not seek for blood kinsmen of these particular words, but think +of all the additional words you can that have come into English from +Indian, Spanish, French, any other language spoken today. + +Alphabet (Greek) Piano (Italian) +Folio (Latin) Car (Norman) +Boudoir (French) Rush (German) +Binnacle (Portuguese) Sky (Icelandic) +Anger (Old Norse) Yacht (Dutch) +Isinglass (Low German) Hussar (Hungarian) +Slogan (Celtic) Samovar (Russian) +Polka (Polish) Chess (Persian) +Shekel (Hebrew) Tea (Chinese) +Algebra (Arabic) Kimono (Japanese) +Puttee (Hindoo) Tattoo (Tahitian) +Boomerang (Australian) Voodoo (African) +Potato (Haytian) Skunk (American Indian) +Guano (Peruvian) Buncombe (American) +Renegade (Spanish) + + +<Words Related by Marriage> + +That words marry and are given in marriage, is too generally overlooked. +Any student of a foreign language, German for instance, can recall the +thrill of discovery and the lift of reawakened hope that came to him when +first he suspected, aye perceived, the existence of verbal matrimony. For +weeks he had struggled with words that apparently were made up of +fortuitous collocations of letters. Then in some beatific moment these +huddles of letters took meaning; in instance after instance they +represented, not a word, but words--a linguistic household. Let them be +what they might--a harem, the domestic establishment of a Mormon, the +dwelling-place of verbal polygamists,--he could at last see order in their +relationships. To their morals he was indifferent, absorbed as he was in +his joy of understanding. + +In English likewise are thousands of these verbal marriages. We may not be +aware of them; from our very familiarity with words we may overlook the +fact that in instances uncounted their oneness has been welded by a +linguistic minister or justice of the peace. But to read a single page or +harken for thirty seconds to oral discourse with our minds intent on such +states of wedlock is to convince ourselves that they abound. Consider this +list of everyday words: somebody, already, disease, vineyard, unskilled, +outlet, nevertheless, holiday, insane, resell, schoolboy, helpmate, +uphold, withstand, rainfall, deadlock, typewrite, football, motorman, +thoroughfare, snowflake, buttercup, landlord, overturn. Every term except +one yokes a verbal husband with his wife, and the one exception +(_nevertheless_) joins a uxorious man with two wives. + +These marriages are of a simple kind. But the nuptial interlinkings +between families of words may be many and complicated. Thus there is a +family of _graph_ (or write) words: graphic, lithograph, cerograph, +cinematograph, stylograph, telegraph, multigraph, seismograph, dictograph, +monograph, holograph, logograph, digraph, autograph, paragraph, +stenographer, photographer, biographer, lexicographer, bibliography, +typography, pyrography, orthography, chirography, calligraphy, +cosmography, geography. There is also a family of _phone_ (or sound) +words: telephone, dictaphone, megaphone, audiphone, phonology, symphony, +antiphony, euphonious, cacophonous, phonetic spelling. It chances that +both families are of Greek extraction. Related to the _graphs_--their +cousins in fact--are the _grams_: telegram, radiogram, cryptogram, +anagram, monogram, diagram, logogram, program, epigram, kilogram, +ungrammatical. Now a representative of the _graphs_ married into the +_phone_ family, and we have graphophone. A representative of the +_phones_ married into the _graph_ family, and we have +phonograph. A representative of the _grams_ married into the +_phone_ family, and we have gramophone. A representative of the +_phones_ married into the _gram_ family, and we have phonogram. +Of such unions children may be born. For example, from the marriage of Mr. +Phone with Miss Graph were born phonography, phonographer, phonographist +(a rather frail child), phonographic, phonographical, and +phonographically. + +Intermarriage between the _phones_ and the _graphs_ or +_grams_ is a wedding of equals. Some families of words, however, are +of inferior social standing to other families, and may seek but not hope +to be sought in marriage. Compare the _ex's_ with the _ports_. +An _ex_, as a preposition, belongs to a prolific family but not one +of established and unimpeachable dignity. Hence the _ex's_, though +they marry right and left, lead the other words to the altar and are never +led thither themselves. Witness exclude, excommunicate, excrescence, +excursion, exhale, exit, expel, expunge, expense, extirpate, extract; in +no instance does _ex_ fellow its connubial mate--it invariably +precedes. The _ports_, on the other hand, are the peers of anybody. +Some of them choose to remain single: port, porch, portal, portly, porter, +portage. Here and there one marries into another family: portfolio, +portmanteau, portable, port arms. More often, however, they are wooed than +themselves do the pleading: comport, purport, report, disport, transport, +passport, deportment, importance, opportunity, importunate, inopportune, +insupportable. From our knowledge of the two families, therefore, we +should surmise that if any marriage is to take place between them; an +_ex_ must be the suitor. The surmise would be sound. There is such a +term as _export_, but not as _portex_. + +Now it is oftentimes possible to do business with a man without knowing +whether he is a man or a bridal couple. And so with a word. But the +knowledge of his domestic state and circumstances will not come amiss, and +it may prove invaluable. You may find that you can handle him to best +advantage through a sagacious use of the influence of his wife. + + +EXERCISE - Marriage + +1. For each word in the lists of EXERCISE - Dictionary and Activity 1 for +EXERCISE - Past, determine (a) whether it is single or married; (b) if it +is married, whether the wedding is one between equals. + +2. Make a list of the married words in the first three paragraphs of the +selection from Burke (Appendix 2). For each of these words determine the +exact nature and extent of the dowry brought by each of the contracting +parties to the wedding. + + +<Prying Into a Word's Relationships> + +Hitherto in our study of verbal relationships we have usually started with +the family. Having strayed (as by good luck) into an assembly of kinsmen, +we have observed the common strain and the general characteristics, and +have then "placed" the individual with reference to these. But we do not +normally meet words, any more than we meet men, in the domestic circle. We +meet them and greet them hastily as they hurry through the tasks of the +day, with no other associates about them than such as chance or momentary +need may dictate. If we are to see anything of their family life, it must +be through effort we ourselves put forth. We must be inquisitive about +their conjugal and blood relationships. + +How, then, starting with the individual word, can you come into a +knowledge of it, not in its public capacity, but in what is even more +important, its personal connections? You must form the habit of asking two +questions about it: (1) Is it married? (2) Of what family or families was +it born? If you can get an understanding answer to these two questions, an +answer that will tell you what its relations stand for as well as what +their name is, your inquiries will be anything but bootless. + +Let us illustrate your procedure concretely. Suppose you read or hear the +word _conchology_. It is a somewhat unusual word, but see what you +can do with it yourself before calling on the dictionary to help you. +Observe the word closely, and you will obtain the answer to your first +question. _Conchology_ is no bachelor, no verbal old maid; it is a +married pair. + +Your second and more difficult task awaits you; you must ascertain the +meaning of the family connections. With Mr. Conch you are on speaking +terms; you know him as one of the shells. But the utmost you can recall +about his wife is that she is one of a whole flock of _ologies_. What +significance does this relationship possess? You are uncertain. But do not +thumb the dictionary yet. Pass in mental review all the _ologies_ you +can assemble. Wait also for the others that through the unconscious +operations of memory will tardily straggle in. Be on the lookout for +_ologies_ as you read, as you listen. In time you will muster a +sizable company of them. And you will draw a conclusion as to the meaning +of the blood that flows through their veins. _Ology_ implies speech +or study. _Conchology_, then, must be the study of conches. + +Your investigations thus far have done more than teach you the meaning of +the word you began with. They have brought you some of the by-products of +the study of verbal kinships. For you no longer pass the _ologies_ by +with face averted or bow timidly ventured. You have become so well +acquainted with them that even a new one, wherever encountered, would +flash upon you the face of a friend. But now your desires are whetted. You +wish to find out how much you _can_ learn. You at last consult the +dictionary. + +Here a huge obstacle confronts you. The _ologies_, like the +_ports_ (above), are a haughty clan; they are the wooed, rather +than the wooing, members of most marital households that contain them. Now +the marriage licenses recorded in the dictionary are entered under the +name of the suitor, not of the person sought. Hence you labor under a +severe handicap as you take the census of the _ologies_. Let us +imagine the handicap the most severe possible. Let us suppose that no +_ology_ had ever been the suitor. Even so, you would not be entirely +baffled. For you could look up in the dictionary the _ologies_ you +your self had been able to recall. To what profit? First, you could verify +or correct your surmise as to what the _ological_ blood betokens. +Secondly, you could perhaps obtain cross-references to yet other +_ologies_ than those you remembered. + +But you are not reduced to these extremities. The _ologies_, arrogant +as they are, sometimes are the applicants for matrimony, and the marriage +registry of the dictionary so indicates. To be sure, they do not, when +thus appearing at the beginning of words, take the form _ology_. They +take the form _log_. But you must be resourceful enough to keep after +your quarry in spite of the omission of a vowel or two. Also from some +lexicons you may obtain still further help. You may find _ology, logy, +logo_, or _log_ listed as a combining form, its meaning given, and +examples of its use in compounds cited. + +By your zeal and persistence you have now brought together a goodly array +of the _ologies_--all or most, let us say, of the following: +conchology, biology, morphology, phrenology, physiology, osteology, +histology, zoology, entomology, bacteriology, ornithology, pathology, +psychology, cosmology, eschatology, demonology, mythology, theology, +astrology, archeology, geology, meteorology, mineralogy, chronology, +genealogy, ethnology, anthropology, criminology, technology, doxology, +anthology, trilogy, philology, etymology, terminology, neologism, +phraseology, tautology, analogy, eulogy, apology, apologue, eclogue, +monologue, dialogue, prologue, epilogue, decalogue, catalogue, travelogue, +logogram, logograph, logo-type, logarithms, logic, illogical. (Moreover +you may have perceived in some of these words the kinship which exists in +all for the _loquy_ group--see (1) Soliloquy below.) Of course you +will discard some items from this list as being too learned for your +purposes. But you will observe of the others that once you know the +meaning of _ology_, you are likely to know the whole word. Thus from +your study of _conchology_ you have mastered, not an individual term, +but a tribe. + +In _conchology_ only one element, _ology_, was really dubious at +the outset. Let us take a word of which both elements give you pause. +Suppose your thought is arrested by the word _eugenics_. You perhaps +know the word as a whole, but not its components. For by looking at it and +thinking about it you decide that its state is married, that it comprises +the household of Mr. Eu and his wife, formerly Miss Gen. But you cannot +say offhand just what kind of person either Mr. Eu or the erstwhile Miss +Gen is likely to prove. + +Have you met any of the _Eu's_ elsewhere? You think vaguely that you +have, but cannot lay claim to any real acquaintance. To the dictionary you +accordingly betake yourself. There you find that Mr. Eu is of a family +quite respectable but not prone to marriage. _Euphony, eupepsia, +euphemism, euthanasia_ are of his retiring kindred. The meaning of the +_eu_ blood, so the dictionary informs you, is well. The _gen_ +blood, as you see exemplified in gentle, general, genital, engender, +carries with it the idea of begetting, of producing, of birth, or (by +extension) of kinship. _Eugenics_, then, is an alliance of well and +begotten (or born). + +Your immediate purpose is fulfilled; but you resolve, let us say, to make +the acquaintance of more of the _gens_, whose number you have +perceived to be legion. You are duly introduced to the following: genus, +generic, genre, gender, genitive, genius, general, Gentile, gentle, +gentry, gentleman, genteel, generous, genuine, genial, congeniality, +congener, genital, congenital, engender, generation, progeny, progenitor, +genesis, genetics, eugenics, pathogenesis, biogenesis, ethnogeny, +palingenesis, unregenerate, degenerate, monogeny, indigenous, exogenous, +homogeneous, heterogeneous, genealogy, ingenuous, ingenious, ingenue, +engine, engineer, hygiene, hydrogen, oxygen, endogen, primogeniture, +philoprogeniture, miscegenation. Some of these are professional rather +than social; you decide not to leave your card at their doors. Others have +assumed a significance somewhat un_gen_-like, though the relationship +may be traced if you are not averse to trouble, Thus _engine_ in its +superficial aspects seems alien to the idea of born. But it is the child +of _ingenious_ (innate, inborn); _ingenious_ is the inborn power +to accomplish, and _engine_ is the result of the application of that +power. Whether you care to bother with such subtleties or not, enough +_gens_ are left to make the family one well worth your cultivation. + +Thus by studying two words, _conchology_ and _eugenics_, you +have for the first time placed yourself on an intimate footing with three +verbal families--the _ologies_, the _eu's,_ and the _gens_. +Observe that though you studied the _ologies_ apart from the +_eu's_ and the _gens_, your knowledge--once you have acquired +it--cannot be kept pigeonholed, for the _ologies_ have intermarried +with both the other families. Hence you on meeting _eulogy_ can +exclaim: "How do you do, Mr. Eu? I am honored in making your acquaintance, +Mrs. Eu--I was about to call you by your maiden name; for I am a friend of +your sister, the Miss Ology who married Mr. Conch. And you too, Mr. Eu--I +cannot regard you as a stranger. I have looked in so often on the family +of your brother--the Euphony family, I mean. What a beautiful literary +household it is! Yet it has been neglected by the world-yea, even by the +people who write. Well, the loss is theirs who do the neglecting." And +_genealogy_ you can greet with an equal parade of family lore: "Don't +trouble to tell me who you are. I am hob and nob with your folks on both +sides of the family, and my word for it, the relationship is written all +over you. Mr. Gen, I envy you the pride you must feel in the prominence +given nowadays to the _eugenics_ household. And it must delight you, +Miss Ology-that-was, that connoisseurs are so keenly interested in +_conchology_. How are Grandfather Gen and Grandmother Ology? They +were keeping up remarkably the last time I saw them." Do you think words +will not respond to cordiality like this? They will work their flattered +heads off for you! + + +EXERCISE - Relationships + +1. For each of the following words (a) determine what families are +intermarried, (b) ascertain the exact contribution to the household by +each family represented, and (c) make as complete a list as possible of +cognate words. + +Reject Oppose Convent Defer Omit Produce Expel + +2. Test the extent of the intermarriages among these words by successively +attaching each of the prefixes to each of the main (or key) syllables. +(Thus re-ject, re-fer, re-pel, etc.) + + +<Two Admonitions> + +In tracing verbal kinships you must be prepared for slight variations in +the form of the same key-syllable. Consider these words: wise, wiseacre, +wisdom, wizard, witch, wit, unwitting, to wit, outwit, twit, witticism, +witness, evidence, providence, invidious, advice, vision, visit, vista, +visage, visualize, envisage, invisible, vis-à -vis, visor, revise, +supervise, improvise, proviso, provision, view, review, survey, vie, envy, +clairvoyance. Perhaps the last six should be disregarded as too +exceptional in form to be clearly recognized. And certainly some words, as +_prudence_ from _providentia_, are so metamorphosed that they +should be excluded from practical lists of this kind. But even in the +words left to us there are fairly marked divergences in appearance. Why? +Because the key-syllable has descended to us, not through one language, +but through several. As good verbal detectives we should be able to +penetrate the consequent disguises; for _wis, wiz, wit, vid, vic_, +and _vis_ all embody the idea of seeing or knowing. + +On the other hand, you must take care not to be misled by a superficial +resemblance into thinking two unrelated key-syllables identical. Let us +consider two sets of words. The first, which is related to the _tain_ +group (see <Tain> below), has a key-syllable that means holding: +tenant, tenement, tenure, tenet, tenor, tenable, tenacious, contents, +contentment, lieutenant, maintenance, sustenance, countenance, +appurtenance, detention, retentive, pertinacity, pertinent, continent, +abstinence, continuous, retinue. The second has a key-syllable that means +stretching: tend, tender, tendon, tendril, tendency, extend, subtend, +distend, pretend, contend, attendant, tense, tension, pretence, intense, +intensive, ostensible, tent, tenterhook, portent, attention, intention, +tenuous, attenuate, extenuate, antenna, tone, tonic, standard. The form of +the key-syllable for the first set of words is usually _ten, tent_, +or _tin_; that for the second _tend, tens, tent_, or _ten_. +You may therefore easily confuse the two groups until you have learned to +look past appearances into meanings. Thenceforth the holdings and the +stretchings will be distinct in your mind--will constitute two great +families, not one. Of course individual words may still puzzle you. You +will not perceive that _tender_, for example, belongs with the +stretchings until you go back to its primary idea of something stretched +thin, or that _tone_ has membership in that family until you connect +it with the sound which a stretched chord emits. + + +FIRST GENERAL EXERCISE FOR THE CHAPTER + +Each of the key-syllables given below is followed by (1) a list of fairly +familiar words that embody it, (2) a list of less familiar words that +embody it, (3) several sentences containing blank spaces, into each of +which you are ultimately to fit the appropriate word from the first list. +(The existence of the two lists will show you that learned words may have +commonplace kinfolks.) + +First, however, you are to study each word in both lists for (1) its exact +meaning, (2) the influence of the key-syllable upon that meaning, (3) any +variation of the key-syllable from its ordinary form. (A few words have +been introduced to show how varied the forms may be and yet remain +recognizable.) + +Also, as an aid to your memory, you are to copy each list, underscoring +the key-syllable each time you encounter it. + +(The lists are practical, not meticulously academic. In many instances +they contain words derived, not from a single original, but from cognates. +No list is exhaustive.) + + +<Ag, act, ig> (carry on, do, drive): (1) agent, agitate, agile, act, +actor, actuate, exact, enact, reaction, counteract, transact, mitigate, +navigate, prodigal, assay, essay; (2) agenda, pedagogue, synagogue, +actuary, redact, castigate, litigation, exigency, ambiguous, variegated, +cogent, cogitate. + +_Sentences_ (inflect forms if necessary; for example, use the past +tense, participle, or infinitive of a verb instead of its present tense): +It was ____ into law. The legislators had been ____ by honest motives, but +the popular ____ was immediate. The ____ of the mining company refused to +let us proceed with the ____. Nothing could ____ the offense. The father +was ____, the son ____. The student handed in his ____ at the ____ time +designated. Though ____ enough on land, he could not ____ a ship. +The ____ by missing his cue so ____ the manager that his good work +thereafter could not ____ the ill impression. + + +<Burn, brun, brand> (burn): (1 and 2 combined) burn, burnish, +brunette, brunt, bruin, brand, brandish, brandy, brown. + +_Sentences_: He plucked a ____ from the ____. The ____ hair of +the ____ was so glossy it seemed ____. He ____ his sword and bore +the ____ of the conflict. After drinking so much ____ he saw snakes in his +imagination, he staggered off into the woods and met Old ____ in reality. + + +<Cad, cas, cid> (fall): (1) cadence, decadent, case, casual, +casualty, occasion, accident, incident, mischance, cheat; (2) casuistry, +coincide, occidental, deciduous. + +_Sentences_: The period was a ____ one. He gave but ____ attention +to the ____ of the music. On this ____ an ____ befell him. To the general +it was a mere ____ that his ____ were heavy. As a result of this ____ he +was accused of trying to ____ them. + + +<Cede, ceed, cess> (go): (1) cede, recede, secede, concede, +intercede, procedure, precedent, succeed, exceed, success, recess, +concession, procession, intercession, abscess, ancestor, cease, decease; +(2) antecedent, precedence, cessation, accessory, predecessor. + +_Sentences_: He ____ the existence of a ____ that justified +such ____. The delegate ____ his authority when he consented to ____ the +territory. He would not ____ from his position or ____ for mercy. +At ____ the pupils ____ in forming a ____. His ____ was suffering from +an ____ at the time the Southern states ____. His agony ____ only with +his ____. + + +<Ceive, ceit, cept, cip, cap(t)> (take): (1) receive, deceive, +perceive, deceit, conceit, receipt, reception, perception, inception, +conception, interception, accept, except, precept, municipal, participate, +anticipate, capable, capture, captivate, case (chest, covering), casement, +incase, cash, cashier, chase, catch, prince, forceps, occupy; +(2) receptacle, recipient, incipient, precipitate, accipiter, capacious, +incapacitate. + +_Sentences_: Though she ____ the officers, she did not prevent +the ____ of the fugitive. He ____ that the man was very ____. The mayor +skilfully ____ the alderman and proposed that ____ bonds be issued. The +sight of the money ____ him and he quickly gave me a ____. He uttered +musty ____, which were not always given a friendly ____. From the ____ of +the movement he plotted to ____ the leadership in it. The ____ took part +in the ____, but failed to ____ any of the game. + + +<Cide, cis(e)> (cut, kill): (1) decide, suicide, homicide, concise, +precise, decisive, incision, scissors, chisel, cement; (2) patricide, +fratricide, infanticide, regicide, germicide, excision, circumcision, +incisors, cesura. + +_Sentences_: He could not ____ whether to make the ____ with +a ____ or a pair of ____. There was ____ evidence that he was the ____. +In a few ____ sentences he explained why his friend could never have been +a ____. The prim old lady had very ____ manners of speech. + + +<Cur, course> (run): (1) current, currency, incur, concur, +occurrence, cursory, excursion, course, discourse, intercourse, recourse; +(2) curriculum, precursor, discursive, recurrent, concourse, courier, +succor, corridor. + +_Sentences_: He ____ in the request that payment be made in ____. +The ____ was so strong that the ____ by steamer had to be abandoned. In +the ____ of his remarks he had ____ to various shifts and evasions. By his +____ with one faction, though it was but ____, he ____ the enmity of the +other. It was a disgraceful ____. + + +<Dic, dict> (speak, say): (1) dedicate, vindicate, indication, +predicament, predict, addict, verdict, indict, dictionary, dictation, +jurisdiction, vindictive, contradiction, benediction, ditto, condition; +(2) abdicate, adjudicate, juridical, diction, dictum, dictator, +dictaphone, dictograph, edict, interdict, valedictory, malediction, ditty, +indite, ipse dixit, on dit. + +_Sentences_: The man ____ to drugs was ____ for ____ treatment of his +wife, and the ____ were that the ____ would be against him. He said, on +the contrary, that his character would be ____. The attorney for the +defense ____ that the judge would rule that the matter did not lie within +his ____. This would leave the prosecution in a ____. But the prosecution +issued a strong ____ of this theory, and said ____ were favorable for +proving the man guilty. + + +<Duce, duct> (lead): (1) induce, reduce, traduce, seduce, introduce, +reproduce, education, deduct, product, production, reduction, conduct, +conductor, abduct, subdue; (2) educe, adduce, superinduce, conducive, +ducat, duct, ductile, induction, aqueduct, viaduct, conduit, duke, duchy. + +_Sentences_: We ____ the company to ____ the fare. They ____ ten +cents from the wages of each man, an average ____ of four per cent. +They ____ us when they say we have wilfully lessened ____. The highwaymen +____ the ____. If you have an ____, you can ____ an idea in other words. + + +<Error> (wander): (1) error, erroneous, erratic, errand; +(2) errata, knight errant, arrant knave, aberration. + +_Sentences_: That ____ fellow came on a special ____ to tell us we +had made an ____. And his statement was ____ at that! + + +<Fact, fic(e), fy, fect, feat, feit> (make, do): (1) fact, factory, +faction, manufacture, satisfaction, suffice, sacrifice, office, difficult, +pacific, terrific, significant, fortification, magnificent, artificial, +beneficial, verify, simplify, stupefy, certify, dignify, glorify, falsify, +beautify, justify, infect, perfect, effect, affection, defective, feat, +defeat, feature, feasible, forfeit, surfeit, counterfeit, affair, fashion; +(2) factor, factotum, malefaction, benefaction, putrefaction, facile, +facsimile, faculty, certificate, edifice, efficacy, prolific, deficient, +proficient, artifice, artificer, beneficiary, versification, unification, +exemplification, deify, petrify, rectify, amplify, fructify, liquefy, +disaffect, refection, comfit, pontiff, ipso facto, de facto, ex post +facto, au fait, fait accompli. + +_Sentences_: The opposing ____ by incredible ____ had found +it ____ to take over the ____ of the goods. By this ____ it ____ what +goodwill the owner of the ____ had for it, but it won the ____ of the +public. The owner, though seemingly ____ at first, soon ____ a scheme to +make the success of the enterprise more ____. By an ____ lowering of the +price of his own goods and by ____ that those of his rivals were ____, +he hoped to ____ the public mind with unjust suspicions. But all this did +not ____. In truth the ____ of it was the hastening of his own ____ and a +____ heightening of the public ____ toward his rivals. His directors, +seeing that his policy had failed to ____ itself, met in his ____ and +urged him to take a more ____ attitude. + + +<Fer> (bear, carry): (1) transfer, prefer, proffer, suffer, confer, +offer, referee, deference, inference, indifferent, ferry, fertile; (2) +referendum, Lucifer, circumference, vociferate, auriferous, coniferous, +pestiferous. + +_Sentences_: With real ____ to their wishes he ____ to ____ the +goods by ____. The ____ of the sporting writers was that the ____ +was ____ to his duties. After ____ apart, the farmers ____ the use of +their most ____ acres for this experiment. To be mortal is to ____. + + +<Fide> (trust, believe, have faith): (1) fidelity, confide, +confident, diffident, infidel, perfidious, bona fide, defiance, affiance; +(2) fiduciary, affidavit, fiancé, auto da fé, Santa Fé. + +_Sentences_: He was ____ that the man was an ____. He had ____ in +a ____ rascal. He had been ____ for years and had proved his ____. Though +we are somewhat ____ in making it, you may be sure it is a ____ offer. His +attitude toward his father is one of gross ____. + + +<Grade, gress> (walk, go): (1) grade, gradual, graduate, degrade, +digress, Congress, aggressive, progressive, degree; (2) gradation, +Centigrade, ingress, egress, transgression, retrogression, ingredient. + +_Sentences_: His failure to ____ from college made him feel ____ +especially as his cronies all received their ____. The engine lost +speed ____ as it climbed the long ____. I ____ to remark that some members +of ____ are more ____ than ____. + + +<Hab, hib> (have, hold): (1) habit, habitation, inhabitant, exhibit, +prohibition, ability, debit, debt; (2) habituate, habiliment, habeas +corpus, cohabit, dishabille, inhibit. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of the island ____ an ____ to live without +permanent ____. It was his ____ to glance first at the ____ side of his +ledger, as he was much worried about his ____. Most women favor ____. + + +<Hale, heal, hol, whole> (sound): (1) hale, hallow, Hallowe'en, heal, +health, unhealthy, healthful, holy, holiday, hollyhock, whole, wholesome; +(2) halibut, halidom. + +_Sentences_: Though he lived in a ____ climate, he was ____. The food +was ____, the man ____ and hearty. He did not think of a ____ as ____. We +had ____ in our garden almost until ____. He wept at hearing the ____ name +of his mother. For a ____ month the wound refused to ____. + + +<It> (go): (1) exit, transit, transition, initial, initiative, +ambition, circuit, perishable; (2) itinerant, transitory, obituary, +sedition, circumambient. + +_Sentences_: The ____ was broken. It was his ____ shipment of ____ +goods, and they suffered a good deal in ____. His ____ was to be regarded +as a man of great ____. His ____ was less effective than his entrance. + + +<Ject> (throw): (1) eject, reject, subject, project, objection, +injection, dejected, conjecture, jet, jetty; (2) abject, traject, +adjective, projectile, interjection, ejaculate, jetsam, jettison. + +_Sentences_: With ____ mien he watched the waves lash the ____. +His scheme was ____ to much ridicule and then ____, and he himself +was ____ from the room. From a pipe that ____ from the corner of the +building came a ____ of dirty water. He could only ____ what their ____ +was. The ____ brought immediate relief. + + +<Jud, jur, just> (law, right): (1) judge, judicious, judicial, +prejudice, jurist, jurisdiction, just, justice, justify; (2) judicature, +adjudicate, juridical, jurisprudence, justiciary, de jure. + +_Sentences_: The eminent ____ said the matter did not lie within +his ____. Though ____ in most matters, he admitted to ____ in this. +The ____ said he would comment in an unofficial rather than a ____ way. +She could not ____ her suspicions. He was not only ____ himself, but +devoted to ____. + + +<Junct> (join): (1) junction, juncture, injunction, disjunctive, +conjugal, adjust; (2) adjunct, conjunction, subjunctive, conjugate. + +_Sentences_: A ____ force had entered their ____ relationships. +At this ____ he gave the ____ that disturbances should cease. The tramp +halted at the ____ to eat his lunch and ____ his knapsack. + + +<Jure> (swear): (1 and 2 combined) juror, jury, abjure, adjure, +conjurer, perjury. + +_Sentences_: They ____ their loyalty. He ____ them to remember their +duty as ____. The ____ held the ____ guilty of ____. + + +<Leg, lig, lect> (read, choose, pick up): (1) elegant, illegible, +college, negligent, diligent, eligible, elect, select, intellect, +recollect, neglect, lecturer, collection, coil, cull; (2) legend, legion, +legacy, legate, delegate, sacrilegious, dialect, lectern, colleague, +lexicon. + +_Sentences_: In ____ he listened to the ____ and took an occasional +note in an ____ hand. She ____ an ____ costume. They ____ the only man +who was ____. He did not ____ to take up the ____. He was ____ rather +than ____. Her mind was too ____ to ____ all the circumstances. + + +<Lig> (bind): (1 and 2 combined) ligament, ligature, obligation, +ally, alliance, allegiance, league, lien, liable, liaison, alloy. + +_Sentences_: It was a pleasure that knew no ____. To belong to +the ____ carries ____. In studying anatomy you learn all about ____ and +____. The two nations were in ____. We may be sure of their ____. We will +take a ____ upon your property. As a ____ officer he was ____ for the +equipment which our ____ reported lost. + + +<Luc, lum, lus> (light): (1) lucid, translucent, luminous, +illuminate, luminary, luster, illustrate, illustrious; (2) lucent, +Lucifer, lucubration, elucidate, pellucid, relume, limn. + +_Sentences_: The ____ author spoke very ____. He gave us a ____ +explanation of a very abstruse subject. The material was ____ even to the +rays of the feeblest of the heavenly ____. He ____ his theory by the +following anecdote. This deed added ____ to his fame. + + +<Mand> (order): (1 and 2 combined) mandate, mandamus, mandatory, +demand, remand, countermand, commandment. + +_Sentences_: The superior court issued a writ of ____. The case +was ____ to the lower court. His instructions were not discretionary, +but ____. At your ____ the ____ has been issued. The ____ promptly +____ the orders of the offending officer. + + +<Mit, mis, mise> (send): (1) permit, submit, commit, remit, transmit, +mission, missile, missionary, remiss, omission, commission, admission, +dismissal, promise, surmise, compromise, mass, message; (2) emit, +intermittent, missive, commissary, emissary, manumission, inadmissible, +premise, demise. + +_Sentences_: The ____ could only ____ why so many of his people had +not attended ____. The ____ contained a ____ that no one would be held +____. The request was ____ that he would please ____. He ____ to his ____ +without a protest. A ____ was appointed to investigate whether the +territory should be granted ____ as a state. His ____ was such as to ____ +him to tarry if he chose. + + +<Move, mote, mob> (move): (1) move, movement, removal, remote, +promote, promotion, motion, motive, emotion, commotion, motor, locomotive, +mob, mobilize, automobile, moment; (2) immovable, motivate, locomotor +ataxia, mobility, immobile, momentum. + +_Sentences_: The next ____ was his, and his ____ was profound. +The ____ of the ____ from across the alley enabled the ____ to surge in a +threatening ____ toward the rear of the building. At this ____ the ____ +was great. The officer whose ____ had seemed so ____ was now enabled +to ____ strong forces for the campaign. The ____ began a slow ____ +forward. His exact ____ was not known. + + +<Pass, path> (suffer): (1) passion, passive, impassive, impassioned, +compassion, pathos, pathetic, impatient, apathy, sympathy, antipathy; (2) +passible, impassible, dispassionate, pathology, telepathy, hydropathy, +homeopathy, allopathy, osteopathy, neuropathic, pathogenesis. + +_Sentences_: With an ____ countenance he spoke of the ____ of our +Lord. The ____ of the story moved her to ____. He allowed his ____ no +further expression than through that one ____ shrug. With a ____ smile he +settled back into dull ____. His plea was ____. + + +<Ped, pod> (foot): (1) pedal, pedestrian, pedestal, expedite, +expediency, expedition, quadruped, impediment, biped, tripod, chiropodist, +octopus, pew; (2) centiped, pedicle, pedometer, velocipede, +sesquipedalian, antipodes, podium, polypod, polyp, Piedmont. + +_Sentences_: A ____ suggested that we could ____ matters by each +mounting a ____. The loss of the ____ was a serious ____ to the rider of +the bicycle. The ____ had me place my foot on an artist's ____. The +purpose of this nautical ____ was to capture a live ____. The ____ of +having so large a ____ for the statue had not occurred to us. A ____ +scarcely recognizable as human occupied my ____. + + +<Pell, pulse> (drive): (1) dispel, compel, propeller, repellent, +repulse, repulsive, impulse, compulsory, expulsion, appeal; (2) appellate, +interpellate. + +_Sentences_: After the ____ of the attack the mists along the +lowlands were ____. His manner was ____, even ____. The revolutions of the +____ soon ____ the boatmen to shove farther off. After his ____ he ____ +for a rehearing of his case. The act was ____, but he felt an ____ toward +it anyhow. + + +<Pend, pense, pond> (hang, weigh): (1) pending, impending, +independent, pendulum, perpendicular, expenditure, pension, suspense, +expense, pensive, compensate, ponder, ponderous, preponderant, pansy, +poise, pound; (2) pendant, stipend, appendix, compendium, propensity, +recompense, indispensable, dispensation, dispensary, avoirdupois. + +_Sentences_: The veterans felt great ____ while action regarding +their ____ was ____. We shall ____ you. An arm of it stood in a +position ____ to the ____ mass. He knew that fate was ____, and he watched +the ____ swing back and forth slowly. He gave a ____ argument in favor of +the ____ of the money. There is ____, that's for thoughts. Let us ____ the +question whether the ____ is needful. She was a woman of rare social ____. +Penny-wise, ____ foolish. + + +<Pet> (seek): (1 and 2 combined) petition, petulant, impetus, +impetuous, perpetuate, repeat, compete, competent, appetite, centripetal. + +_Sentences_: A great ____ force keeps the planets circling about +the sun. The complaints of a ____ woman led him to ____ for the prize. The +sexual ____ leads men to ____ the race. The ____ was pronounced upon ____ +authority to be ill drawn up. With ____ wrath he ____ the assertion. The +____ became noticeably weaker. + + +<Ply, plic, plicate> (fold): (1) ply, reply, imply, plight, +suppliant, explicit, implicit, implicate, supplicate, duplicate, +duplicity, complicate, complicity, accomplice, application, plait, +display, plot, employee, exploit, simple, supple; (2) pliant, pliable, +replica, explication, inexplicable, multiplication, deploy, triple, +quadruple, plexus, duplex. + +_Sentences_: We ____ the thief's ____ with questions. He ____ that +others were ____ with him. The king ____ to the ____ that such ____ must +never be ____ in the realm thereafter. It would be a ____ matter to ____ +the order. The manager had ____ confidence in his ____. She admired his +courage in this ____, perceived his ____ in the crime, and deplored his +participation in the ____. They ____ him for an ____ promise that mercy +would be shown. She was in a ____, for she had not had time to arrange her +hair in its usual broad ____. He was ____ of body. The ____ was refused. + + +<Pose, pone> (place): (1) expose, compose, purpose, posture, +position, composure, impostor, postpone, post office, positive, deposit, +disposition, imposition, deponent, opponent, exponent, component; +(2) depose, impost, composite, apposite, repository, preposition, +interposition, juxtaposition, decomposition. + +_Sentences_: The ____ said he would ____ the manner in which the +cashier had made away with the ____. The true ____ of the ____ was now +known, yet he retained his ____. For you to make yourself an ____ of these +wild theories is an ____ on your friends. The closing hour at the ____ is +____ thirty minutes on account of the rush of Christmas mail. He +was ____ that his ____ had ____ the letter. One of the ____ elements in +his ____ was gloom. + + +<Prise, prehend> (seize): (1) prize, apprise, surprise, comprise, +enterprise, imprison, comprehend, apprehension; (a) reprisal, misprision, +reprehend, prehensile, apprentice, impregnable, reprieve. + +_Sentences_: He had no ____ as to what the ____ would ____. +His ____ was so great that he could scarcely ____ the fact that the ____ +was his. The judge ____ them of the likelihood that they would be ____. + + +<Prob> (prove): (1 and 2 combined) probe, probation, probate, +probity, approbation, reprobate, improbable. + +_Sentences_: The young ____ was placed on ____. The will was brought +into the ____ court. It is ____ that such ____ as his will win the ____ of +evil-doers. + + +<Rupt> (break): (1 and 2 combined) rupture, abrupt, interrupt, +disrupt, eruption, incorruptible, irruption, bankrupt, rout, route, +routine. + +_Sentences_: The volcano was in ____. Though ____, he remained + ____. The ____ of the barbarians ____ these reforms. The organization was +____ after having already been put to ____. The ____ he had chosen led to +a ____ in their relationships. It was ____ work. + + +<Sed, sid(e), sess> (seat): (1) sedulous, sedentary, supersede, +subside, preside, reside, residue, possess, assessment, session, siege; +(2) sediment, insidious, assiduous, subsidy, obsession, see (noun), +assize. + +_Sentences_: The ____ was so small that he scarcely noticed he ____ +it. The officer was ____ in making the ____ upon every tax-payer fair. +During the ____ Congress remained in ____. He ____ in the city and has a +____ occupation. When the officer who ____ is firm, such commotions will +quickly ____. He ____ the disgraced commander. + + +<Sequ, secu, sue> (follow): (1) sequel, sequence, consequence, +subsequent, consecutive, execute, prosecute, persecute, sue, ensue, +suitor, suitable, pursuit, rescue, second; (2) obsequies, obsequious, +sequester, inconsequential, non sequitur, executor, suite. + +_Sentences_: On the ____ day they continued the ____. In the ____ +chapter of the ____ the heroine is ____. The ____ of events is hard to +follow. The ____ was that her brother began to ____ her ____. The district +attorney ____ six ____ offenders, but thought it useless to bring any ____ +offender to trial. It was a ____ occasion. + + +<Shear, share, shore> (cut, separate): (1 and 2 combined) shear, +sheer, shred, share, shard, scar, score, (sea)shore, shorn, shroud, shire, +sheriff. + +_Sentences_: The ____ had on his face a ____ made by a ____ thrown at +him. In that ____ an old custom for every one to ____ in the ____ the +sheep. There was, instead of the usual ____, a cliff that rose from the +sea. All ____ as the freshman was, he had hardly a ____ of his former +dignity. The ____ was very one-sided. A ____ of mist was about him. + + +<Sign> (sign): (1) sign, signal, signify, signature, consign, design, +assign, designate, resignation, insignificant; (2) ensign, signatory, +insignia. + +_Sentences_: He ____ his approval of the ____. The disturbance +caused by his ____ was ____. He ____ no reason for ____ those particular +men. As he could not write his own ____, I ____ the document for him. It +was a ____ defeat. + + +<Solve, solu> (loosen): (r) solve, resolve, dissolve, solution, +dissolute, resolute, absolute; (2) solvent, absolution, indissoluble, +assoil. + +_Sentences_: On account of his ____ course he had given his parents +many a problem to ____. He ____ the powder in a cupful of water and ____ +to give it to the patient. This ____ of the difficulty did not win the +____ approval of his employer. The obstacles were many, but he was ____. + + +<Spec(t), spic(e)</b/> (look): (1) spectator, spectacle, suspect, +aspect, prospect, expect, respectable, disrespect, inspection, speculate, +special, especial, species, specify, specimen, spice, suspicion, +conspicuous, despise, despite, spite; (2) specter, spectrum, spectroscope, +prospector, prospectus, introspection, retrospect, circumspectly, +conspectus, perspective, specie, specification, specious, despicable, +auspices, perspicacity, frontispiece, respite. + +_Sentences_: His ____ was conducted in such a manner as to show the +utmost ____. In ____ she noticed an odor of ____. From his ____ you would +have taken him to be a ____ of wild animal. The ____ was better than we +had ____ it to be. Though you have no ____ fondness for children, you will +enjoy the ____ of them playing together. The ____ did not ____ what +underhand tactics some of the players were resorting to. In ____ of all +this, we made a ____ showing. The ____ is one you cannot ____. ____ this +____ of matters, she did not ____ the cause of her ____, but let him ____ +what it might be. + + +<Spire, spirit> (breathe, breath): (1 and 2 combined) spirit, +spiritual, perspire, transpire, respire, aspire, conspiracy, inspiration, +expiration, esprit de corps. + +_Sentences_: At the ____ of a few days it ____ that a ____ had +actually been formed. The ____ of the division was such that every man +____ to meet the enemy forthwith. He was a man of much ____ and marked +powers of ____. As he lay there, he merely ____ and ____; he had no +thought whatsoever of things ____. + + +<Sta, sti(t), sist> (stand): (1) stand, stage, statue, stall, +stationary, state, reinstate, station, forestall, instant, instance, +distance, constant, withstand, understand, circumstance, estate, +establish, substance, obstacle, obstinate, destiny, destination, +destitute, substitute, superstition, desist, persist, resist, insist, +assist, exist, consistent, stead, rest, restore, restaurant, contrast; (2) +stature, statute, stadium, stability, instable, static, statistics, +ecstasy, stamen, stamina, standard, stanza, stanchion, capstan, extant, +constabulary, apostate, transubstantiation, status quo, armistice, +solstice, interstice, institute, restitution, constituent, subsistence, +pre-existence, presto. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of the motion was that the student who had been +expelled should be ____. He ____ in his ____ resolution to go on the ____. +She could not ____ the pleas of ____ people. He ____ her to alight at the +____. In an ____ you shall ____ what the ____ was that drove me to +tempt ____ thus. We had gone but a little ____ when I perceived by the +hungry working of his jaws that his ____ was the ____ in the next block. +No ____ could cause him to ____. She was ____ in a ____ at the bazaar. + + +<Stead> (place): (1 and 2 combined) stead, steadfast, instead, +homestead, farmstead, roadstead, bestead. + +_Sentences_: ____ of resting in a harbor, the ships were tossed about +in an open ____. Little did it ____ him to cling to the old ____. A ____ +nestled by the highway. To be known as ____ now stood him in good ____. + + +<Strict, string, strain> (bind): (1) district, restrict, strictly, +stringent, strain, restrain, constrain; (2) stricture, constriction, boa +constrictor, astringent, strait, stress. + +_Sentences_: We ____ them by means of ____ regulations. He ____ them +to this course by his mere example. He attended ____ to his duties. You +should not ____ your pleasures in this way. The ____ of long effort was +telling on him. + + +<Tact, tang, tain, ting, teg> (touch): (1) tact, contact, intact, +intangible, attain, taint, stain, tinge, contingent, integrity, entire, +tint; (2) tactile, tactual, tangent, distain, attaint, attainder, integer, +disintegrate, contagion, contaminate, contiguous. + +_Sentences_: His appointment is ____ upon his removing this ____ from +his name. His ____ is such that no ____ with evil could leave any ____ +upon him. The contents were ____. With ____ he hopes to ____ the ____ +approval of his auditors. It was a dark ____. The reason is ____. + + +<Tail> (cut): (1 and 2 combined) detail, curtail, entail, retail, +tailor, tally. + +_Sentences_: He held the property in ____. He kept the reckoning +straight by means of ____ cut in a shingle. He resolved to ____ expenses +by visiting the ____ less often. We need not go into ____. The profit lies +in the difference between wholesale and ____ prices. + + +<Tain> (hold--for related _ten_ group see above under Two +Admonitions): (1 and 2 combined) detain, abstain, contain, obtain, +maintain, entertain, pertain, appertain, sustain, retain. + +_Sentences_: Village life and things ____ thereto I shall willingly +____ from. I ____ that precepts of this kind in no sense ____ to public +morals. If the gentleman can ____ the consent of his second, the chair +will ____ the motion as he restates it. Though your forces may ____ heavy +losses, they must ____ their position and ____ the enemy. + + +<Term, termin> (end, bound): (1 and 2 combined) term, terminus, +terminal, terminate, determine, indeterminate, interminable, exterminate. + +_Sentences_: At the ____ of the railroad stands a beautiful ____ +station. The manner in which we may ____ the agreement remains ____. +He ____ that rather than yield he would make the negotiations ____. During +the second ____ they ____ all the rodents about the school. + + +<Tort> (twist): (1) torture, tortoise, retort, contort, distortion, +extortionate, torch, (apple) tart, truss, nasturtium; (2) tort, tortuous, +torsion, Dry Tortugas. + +_Sentences_: By the light of the ____ he saw a ____ fowl by the +fireside and a ____ in the cupboard. The ____ of his countenance was due +to the ____ he was undergoing. ____ his face into a very knowing look, he +____ that a man with a ____ in his buttonhole and ____ shell glasses on +his nose had leered at the girls as he passed. + + +<Tract, tra(i)> (draw): (1) tract, tractor, intractable, abstracted, +retract, protract, detract, distract, attractive, contractor, trace, +trail, train, trait, portray, retreat; (2) traction, tractate, distraught, +extraction, subtraction. + +_Sentences_: In an ____ manner he drove the ____ across a large ____ +of ground. He ____ his gaze at the ____ girl. The ____ was now willing to +____ his statement that in the house as it stood there was no ____ of +departure from the specifications. Down the weary ____ of the pioneer +dashes the palatial modern ____. To be ____ was one of his ____. The +artist ____ her as in a ____ state. The ____ of his forces ____ but little +from his fame. + + +<Vene, vent> (come): (1) convene, convenient, avenue, revenue, +prevent, event, inventor, adventure, convention, circumvent; (2) venire, +venue, parvenu, advent, adventitious, convent, preventive, eventuate, +intervention. + +_Sentences_: The legislature ____ in order to pass a measure +regarding the public ____. At the ____ the wily old politician was able to +____ his enemies. The ____ saw no means of ____ this infringement of his +patent right. In that ____ we are likely to have an ____. Through the +long, shaded ____ they strolled together. + + +<Vert, vers(e)> (turn): (1) avert, divert, convert, invert, pervert, +advertize, inadvertent, verse, aversion, adverse, adversity, adversary, +version, anniversary, versatile, divers, diversity, conversation, +perverse, universe, university, traverse, subversive, divorce; +(2) vertebra, vertigo, controvert, revert, averse, versus, versification, +animadversion, vice versa, controversy, tergiversation, obverse, +transverse, reversion, vortex. + +_Sentences_: Though he carried a large ____ of goods, he was ____ to +____ them. He had ____ forgotten that it was his wedding ____. The ____ +was on ____ subjects. They ____ a broad area where nothing had been done +to ____ the danger that threatened them. With ____ stubbornness he held to +his ____ of the story. He held that the reading of ____ is ____ of +masculine qualities. His professors at the ____ soon ____ him to new +social and economic theories. Her husband was such a ____ creature that +she resolved to secure a ____. Americans are the most ____ people in the +____. The anecdote ____ his ____ himself. Her answer not only was ____, +it revealed her ____. He had undergone grave ____ in his time. + + +<Vince, vict> (conquer): (1 and 2 combined) evince, convince, +province, invincible, evict, convict, conviction, victorious. + +_Sentences_: He was ____ that the campaign against the rebels in +the ____ could not be ____. He ____ a lively interest in my theory that +the fugitive could not be ____. He felt an ____ repugnance to ____ the +man, and this in spite of his ____ that the man was guilty. + + +<Voc, voke> (call, voice): (1) vocal, vocation, advocate, +irrevocable, vociferous, provoke, revoke, evoke, convoke; +(2) vocable, vocabulary, avocation, equivocal, invoke, avouch, vouchsafe. + +_Sentences_: He was a ____ ____ of the measure, but no sooner was +the order issued than he wished it ____. In ____ the assembly he ____ the +enthusiasm of his followers. That he should give ____ utterance to this +thought ____ me; but the words, once spoken, were ____. + + +<Volve, volute> (roll, turn): (1) involve, devolve, revolver, +evolution, revolutionary, revolt, voluble, volume, vault; (2) circumvolve, +convolution, convolvulus. + +_Sentences_: It ____ upon me to put down the ____. In this ____ the +heroine is ____ and the hero handy with a ____. He was ____ in a ____ +uprising. He had laid the papers away in a ____. The ____ of civilization +is a tedious story. + + +SECOND GENERAL EXERCISE + +Copy both sections (the first consists of fairly familiar terms, the +second of less familiar terms) of each of the following word-groups. +Find the key-syllable, underscore it in each word, observe any +modifications in its form. Decide for yourself what its meaning is; then +verify or correct your conclusion by reference to the dictionary. Study +the influence of the key-syllable upon the meaning of each separate word; +find the word's original signification, its present signification. Add to +each word-group as many cognate words as you can (1) think of for +yourself, (2) find in the dictionary by looking under the key-syllable. +Fill the blanks in the sentences after each word-group with terms chosen +from the first section of words in that group. + + +(1) Animosity, unanimous, magnanimity; +(2) animate, animadvert, equanimity. + +_Sentences_: It was the ____ opinion that to so noble a foe ____ +should be shown. The spiteful man continued to display his ____. + + +(1) Annual, annuity, anniversary, perennial, centennial, solemn; +(2) superannuate, biennial, millennium. + +_Sentences_: The amateur gardener made the ____ discovery that the +plant was a ____. The ____ celebration of the great man's birth took a +____ and imposing form in our city. By a happy coincidence the increase in +his ____ came on his wedding ____. + + +(1) Audit, auditor, auditorium, audience, inaudible, obey; +(2) aurist, auricular, auscultation. + +_Sentences_: His voice may not have been ____, but it certainly did +not fill the ____. Not one ____ in all that vast ____ but was willing to +____ his slightest suggestion. He was not willing that they should ____ +his accounts. + + +(1) Automatic, automobile, autocrat, autobiography; +(2) autograph, autonomy. + +_Sentences_: The ____ dictated to his secretary the third chapter +of his ____. The habit of changing gear properly in an ____ becomes +almost ____. + + +(1) Cant, descant, incantation, chant, enchant, chanticleer, accent, +incentive; +(2) canto, canticle, cantata, recant, chantry, chanson, precentor. + +_Sentences_: He ____ upon this topic in a queer, foreign ____. +Such utterances are mere sanctimonious ____; I had rather listen to the +____ of a voodoo conjurer. The little girl from the city was ____ with the +crowing of ____. The ____ of the choir somehow gave him the ____ to try +again. + + +(1) Cent, per cent, century, centennial; +(2) centenary, centime, centurion, centimeter, centigrade. + +_Sentences_: For nearly a ____ this family has been living on a small +____ of its income. I wouldn't give a ____ for ____ honors; I want my +reward now. + + +(1) Chronic, chronological, chronicle; +(2) chronometer, synchronize, anachronism. + +_Sentences_: It is a ____ record of changing activities and ____ +ills. This page is a ____ of athletic news. + + +(1) Corps, corpse, corporal, corpulent, corporation, incorporate; +(2) corpus, habeas corpus, corporeal, corpuscle, Corpus Christi. + +_Sentences_: The ____ gentleman said he did not believe in ____ +punishment. The hospital ____ carried the ____ into the office of a great +____. He resolved to ____ this idea into the reforms he was introducing. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Creed, credulous, credential, credit, accredit, +discredit, incredible. + +_Sentences_: He was not so ____ as to suppose that his ____ would be +accepted and his statements ____ without some investigation. It is to his +____ that he refused to be bound by his former religious ____. That such +____ has been heaped upon him is ____. + + +(1) Crescent, increase, decrease, concrete, recruit, accrue, crew; +(2) crescendo, excrescence, accretion, increment. + +_Sentences_: The ____ now had ____ evidence that military life was +not altogether pleasant. In the olden days on the sea deaths from scurvy +might bring about a dangerous ____ in the size of the ____. His courage +____ with the profits that ____ to him. The ____ moon rode in the sky. + + +(1) Cure, secure, procure, sinecure, curious, inaccurate; +(2) curate, curator. + +_Sentences_: Occupying the position for a while will ____ you of the +notion that it is a ____. He was ____ to know so a bookkeeper had managed +to ____ so high a salary. He ____ the equipment required. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Indignity, indignation, undignified, condign, deign, +dainty. + +_Sentences_: We must not be too ____ about visiting ____ punishment +upon those responsible for this ____. He did not ____ to express his ____. +It was an ____ act. + + +(1) Durable, endure, during, duration, obdurate; +(2) durance, duress, indurate, perdurable. + +_Sentences_: ____ the whole interview she remained ____. It is a +____ cloth; it will ____ all sorts of weather. The session was one of +prolonged ____. + + +(1) Finite, infinite, define, definite, confine, final, in fine, +unfinished; +(2) definitive, infinitesimal. + +_Sentences_: One cannot ____ the ____. He ____ himself to purely ____ +topics. ____ it was a ____ offer and the ____ one he expected to make. +The bridge is still ____. + + +(1) Flexibility, inflexible, deflect, inflection, reflection, reflex; +(2) circumflex, genuflection. + +_Sentences_: The ____ influence of this act was great. I did not like +the ____ of his voice. After some ____ he decided to remain ____. He was +not to be ____ from his purpose. I could but admire the ____ of her tones. + + +(1) Fluent, affluent, influence, influenza, superfluous, fluid, influx, +flush (rush of water), fluctuate; +(2) confluent, mellifluous, flux, reflux, effluvium, flume. + +_Sentences_: When you ____ the basin, an ____ of water fills it +again. He is an ____ man and a ____ writer. When I had ____, the doctor +gave me a disgusting ____ to drink. The wind must have an ____ in making +the waves ____ as they do. Any more would be ____. + + +(1) Fort, forte, effort, comfort, fortitude, fortify, fortress; +(2) aqua fortis, pianoforte. + +_Sentences_: The defenders of the ____ held out with great ____. +Though a ____ or two stood at important passes, the border was not really +____. His ____ was not public speaking. It was the only by an ____ that he +could ____ them. + + +(1) Fraction, infraction, fracture, fragility, fragment, suffrage, frail, +infringe; +(2) diffract, refractory, frangible. + +_Sentences_: It was in the course of his ____ of the rules that he +suffered the ____ of his collar-bone. He told the committee of ladies that +he was as fond of ____ as of ____. It is hardly a proof of ____ that he is +so willing to ____ upon the rights of others. The ____ scaffolding bent +and swung as he trod it. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Fugitive, fugue, refuge, subterfuge, centrifugal. + +_Sentences_: Closing his eyes as if to listen better to the ____ was +a little ____ of his. The upward movement of the missile was arrested by +the ____ attraction of the earth. The ____ took ____ in an abandoned barn. + + +(1) Refund, confound, foundry, confuse, suffuse, profuse, refuse, diffuse; +(2) fusion, effusion, transfuse. + +_Sentences_: With ____ cheeks and ____ utterance he made a ____ +apology. The amount we lost through the defective work at your ____ should +be ____ to us. Such a blow might ____ but not ____ him. He ____ the +appointment. + + +(1) Belligerent, gesture, suggest, congested, digestion, register, jest; +(2) gerund, congeries. + +_Sentences_: As he stopped before the cash ____ he gave a ____ which +showed that his ____ was none too good. His look was ____, but he lightly +made a ____. Amid the ____ traffic she stopped to ____ that pink would be +more becoming than lavender. + + +(1) Relate, translate, legislate, elation, dilated, dilatory; +(2) collate, correlate, prelate, oblation, superlative, ablative. + +_Sentences_: With ____ eyes he ____ the passage for me. The ____ was +very ____ in agreeing upon the measure to be passed. He ____ the story +with pride and ____. + + +(1) Locate, locality, locomotive, dislocate; +(2) locale, allocate, collocation. + +_Sentences_: In trying to ____ the mine as near the fissure as +possible he fell and ____ his hip. It was only ____ in that entire ____. + + +(1) Soliloquy, loquacious, loquacity, colloquial, eloquent, obloquy, +circumlocution, elocution; +(2) magniloquent, grandiloquent, ventriloquism, interlocutor, locutory, +allocution. (For related _log_ and _ology_ words see above under +Prying Into a Word's Relationships.) + +_Sentences_: ____ always, he indulged at this time in a great deal +of ____. Though it was mere ____, yet there was something ____ about it. +Amid all this ____ he managed to rid himself of a good deal of ____ +regarding Standish. Hamlet's ____ on suicide is a famous passage. + +(1) Allude, elude, delude, ludicrous, illusory, collusion; +(2) prelude, postlude, interlude. + +_Sentences_: Such evidence is ____, and belief in it is ____. +He ____ to a possible ____ between them. The more credulous ones he ____, +and the skeptical he manages to ____. + + +(1) Metrical, thermometer, barometer, pedometer, diametrically, geometry; +(2) millimeter, chronometer, hydrometer, trigonometry, pentameter. + +_Sentences_: He was careful to consult both the ____ and the ____. +He always wore a ____ on these trips. The two were ____ opposed to each +other. The poet has great ____ skill. ____ is an exact science. + +(1) Monotone, monotonous, monoplane, monopoly, monocle, monarchy, +monogram, monomania; +(2) monosyllable, monochrome, monogamy, monorail, monograph, monolith, +monody, monologue, monad, monastery, monk. + +_Sentences_: His eye held a ____, his gold ring bore a ____ seal, +and his voice was a stilted ____. One thing I hate about a ____ is the +____ reference to everything as his majesty's. He had a ____ of the trade +in his town. He is suffering, not from madness, but from ____. + +(1) Mortal, immortality, mortify, postmortem, mortgage, morgue; +(2) mortmain, moribund, À la mort. + +_Sentences_: After a hasty ____ examination, the body was taken to +the ____. She was ____ at this reminder of the ____ on her father's +property. The ____ shall put on ____. + +(1 and 2 combined) Mutual, mutation, permutation, commute, transmute, +immutable, moult. + +_Sentences_: As he ____ that morning he reflected upon the ____ and +combinations of fortune. We suffer the ____ of this worldly life, but +ourselves are not ____. God's love is ____, and our love for each other +should be ____. Birds when they ____ are weakened in body and depressed in +spirit. + +(1) Native, prenatal, innate, nature, unnatural, naturalize, nation, +pregnant, puny; +(2) denatured, nativity, cognate, agnate, nascent, renascence, née. + +_Sentences_: It was some ____ influence, he thought, that gave him +his ____ physique. It was a ____ reply, but its heartlessness was ____. +He was not ____ to the country, but ____. ____ in his ____ was the love +of his own ____. + + +(1) Note, notion, notable, notice, notorious, cognizant, incognito, +recognize, noble, ignoble, ennoble, ignore, ignorance, ignoramus, +reconnoiter, quaint, acquaintance; +(2) notary, notation, connotation, cognition, prognosticate, +reconnaissance, connoisseur. + +_Sentences_: In complete ____ of the enemy's position, he decided +that he would ____ it. ____ himself, he was ____ of what was going on +about him. You must ____ the conduct of such an ____. His ____ with this +____ gentleman ____ him. He ____ but would not ____ this ____ fellow. +The ____ is a ____ one. He could but ____ how ____ his brother had become. + + +(1) Panacea, panoply, panorama, pantomime, pan-American, pandemonium; +(2) pantheist, pantheon. + +_Sentences_: Arrayed in all the ____ of savages, they acted the scene +out in ____. From this point the ____ of the country-side unrolled itself +before him. It is no ____ for human ills; any supposition that it is will +lead to ____. It is a ____ movement. + + +(1) Peter, petrify, petrol, stormy petrel, petroleum, saltpeter, pier; +(2) petrology, parsley, samphire. + +_Sentences_: As he walked along the ____, he observed the flight of +the ____. The English name for gasoline is ____. ____ is used in the +manufacture of gunpowder. He was almost ____ at hearing of this enormous +stock of ____. The crowing of the cock caused ____ to weep bitterly. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Petty, petite, petit jury, petit larceny, petticoat, +pettifogger. + +_Sentences_: Charged with ____, he was tried by the ____. The +contemptible ____ hid behind the ____ of his wife. She was a winsome +maiden, dainty and ____. It is a ____ fault. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Philosophy, philanthropy, Philadelphia, bibliophile, +Anglophile. + +_Sentences_: His ____ was generous, but his ____ was not profound. +That queer old ____ hangs to the library like a caterpillar. It was the +love of humankind that caused Penn to name the city ____. Most Americans +are not ____. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Cosmopolitan, metropolitan, politics, policy, police. + +_Sentences_: Those who engage in ____ lack, as a rule, a ____ +outlook. It is merely ____ intolerance of towns and villages. The ____ of +the mayor was to increase the ____ force. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Potential, potency, potentate, impotent, omnipotent, +plenipotentiary. + +_Sentences_: So far from being ____, we possess a ____ difficult to +estimate. The ____ sent an ambassador ____. A ____ solution of the problem +is this. ____ God. + + +(1) Impute, compute, dispute, ill repute, reputation, disreputable; +(2) putative, indisputable. + +_Sentences_: She could not ____ the cost. There was some ____ as to +the cause of his ____. Let them ____ to me what motives they will. Though +somewhat ____, he was extremely solicitous about his ____. + + +(1) Abrogate, arrogate, interrogate, arrogant, derogatory, prerogative; +(2) surrogate, rogation, prorogue. + +_Sentences_: In an ____ manner he ____ these ____ to himself. To ____ +authority is to give opportunity for remarks ____ to one's reputation. He +skilfully ____ the witness. + + +(1) Salmon, sally, assail, assault, insult, consult, result, exultation, +desultory; +(2) salient, salacious, resilient. + +_Sentences_: After the ____ the firing was ____. The defenders ____ +out and ____ us, but the ____ of this effort only added to our ____. We +sat there watching the ____ leap over the waterfall and ____ about our +arrangements for taking them. To accept the remark as an ____ is to +acknowledge the speaker as an equal. + + +(1) Science, conscience, unconscious, prescience, omniscience, nice; +(2) sciolist, adscititious, plebiscite. + +_Sentences_: By his ____ understanding of the issues he was able to +gain a reputation for ____. We thought he possessed ____, but he seemed +____ of his erudition. Except under the sharp necessities of ____, he was +ruled by a ____ thoroughly tender. + + +(1) Sect, section, non-sectarian, dissect, insect, intersection, sickle, +vivisection, segment; +(2) bisect, trisect, insection, sector, secant. + +_Sentences_: He stood at the ____ of the roads, leaning on the shank +of a sharp ____. The foreman of the ____ gang is a member of our ____. The +boy was ____ an ____ with a butcher knife he had previously used to cut +for himself a large ____ of the Sunday cake. It is a ____ movement. He +defended the ____ of animals. + + +(1) Sense, consent, assent, resent, sentimental, dissension, sensation, +sensibility, sentence, scent, nonsense; +(2) sentient, consensus, presentiment. + +_Sentences_: A woman of her ____ would shrink from a ____ of this +sort. He ____ in a single, crisp ____. To be ____ is to be guilty of ____. +He had the good ____ to ____ to this course. He ____ such ____ and the +causes that produced them. A hound hunts by ____. + + +(1) Despond, respond, correspond, corespondent, sponsor; +(2) sponsion, spouse, espouse. + +_Sentences_: She ____ that her husband had been ____ with the ____. +The ____ of the movement could as yet see no reason to ____. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Structure, instructor, construct, obstruct, instrument, +destructive, misconstrue. + +_Sentences_: The student ____ the intentions of his ____. He resolved +to ____ every effort to complete the ____. The ____ was one that might +easily be turned to ____ work. They ____ a grandstand overlooking the +racetrack. + + +(1) Terrace, territory, subterranean, inter, terrier; +(2) terrene, tureen, terrestrial, terra cotta, Mediterranean, terra firma, +parterre. + +_Sentences_: The ____ was tearing a great hole in the ____ in order +to ____ a bone. He found rich ____ deposits. The discoverers laid claim to +the entire ____. + + +(1) Thesis, parenthesis, antithesis, anathema, theme, epithet, treasure; +(2) hypothesis, synthesis, metathesis. + +_Sentences_: To set two ideas in ____ to each other makes both more +vivid. By way of ____ he informed me that the subject was ____ to his +father. On this ____ he can summon a host of picturesque ____. The ____ is +one you will find it hard to establish. He was seeking Captain Kidd's +buried ____. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Tumor, tumidity, tumult, tumulus, contumacy. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of his joints was due to rheumatism. His ____ +led to a ____ of opposition. So excited was he at the discovery of the +____ that he did not permit the ____ on his hand to restrain him from +beginning the excavation. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Turbid, disturb, perturbation, turbulence, trouble, +imperturbable. + +_Sentences_: His ____ manner gave no hint of the ____ within him. The +____ sweep of the stream caused her not the slightest ____. Do not ____ +yourself with the thought that you are putting me to any ____. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Pervade, invade, evasion, vade mecum. + +_Sentences_: He promised that there would be no ____ of payments. +Byron's _Childe Harold_ was my ____ during my travels in Switzerland +and Italy. The fragrance of heliotrope ____ the room. You must not ____ my +privacy like this. + + +(1) Avail, prevail, prevalent, equivalent, valiant, validity, invalid, +invalidate; (2) valetudinarian, valediction, valence. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of the agreement has been thoroughly +established. Our cause is just, and must ____. It is ____ to admitting +that the terms are now ____. It was a ____ act and ____ the concessions +previously wrested from us. The ____ impression is that mere ingenuity +will not ____. + + +(1) Virtue, virile, virgin, virtually; (2) virago, virtuoso, triumvir. + +_Sentences_: It was ____ a new arrangement. It is ____ soil. To +be ____ and daring is every boy's dream. ____ is its own reward. + + +(1) Revive, survival, convivial, vivid, vivify, vivacious, vivisection; +(2) vive (le roi), qui vive, bon vivant, tableau vivant. + +_Sentences_: He has a ____ manner, a ____ spirit. The ____ of the +opposition to the ____ of animals is very marked. You cannot ____ a dead +cause or scarcely ____ memories of it. The ____ coloring of her cheeks was +a sure sign of health, or of skill. + + +THIRD GENERAL EXERCISE + +Find the key-syllable (in a few instances the key-syllables) of each of +the following words. How does it affect the meaning of the word? Does it +appear, perhaps in disguised form, in any of the words immediately +preceding or following? Can you bring to mind other words that embody it? + +Innovation Commonwealth Welfare Wayfarer +Adjournment Rival Derivation Arrive +Denunciation Denomination Ignominy Synonym +Patronymic Parliament Dormitory Demented +Presumptuous Indent Dandelion Trident +Indenture Contemporary Disseminate Annoy +Odium Desolate Impugn Efflorescent +Arbor vitae Consider Constellation Disaster +Suburb Address Dirigible Dirge +Indirectly Desperate Inoperative Benevolent +Voluntary Offend Enumerate Dilapidate +Request Exquisite Exonerate Approximate +Insinuate Resurgence Insurrection Rapture +Exasperate Complacent Dimension Commensurate +Preclude Cloister Turnpike Travesty +Atone Incarnate Charnal Etiquette +Rejuvenate Eradicate Quiet Requiem +Acquiesce Ambidextrous Inoculate Divulge +Proper Appropriate Omnivorous Voracious +Devour Escritoire Mordant Remorse +Miser Hilarious Exhilarate Rudiment +Erudite Mark Marquis Libel +Libretto Vague Vagabond Extravagant +Souse Saucer Oyster Ostracize + + +FOURTH GENERAL EXERCISE + +With a few exceptions like the Hale-heal group above under Verbal +Families, most verbal families of straight English or of Germanic- +Scandinavian-English descent are easily recognizable as families. Witness +the _Good_ family and the _Stead_ family. The families in which +kinship may be overlooked are likely to be of Latin or Greek ancestry, +though perhaps with a subsequent infusion of blood from some other foreign +language, as French. Hitherto our approach to verbal families has been +through the descendants, or through that quality in their blood which +holds them together. But we shall also profit from knowing something of +the founders of these families--from having some acquaintance with them as +individuals. Below (in separate lists) the more prominent of Latin and of +Greek progenitors are named, their meaning is given, and two or three of +their living representatives (not always direct descendants) are +designated. Starred [*] words are those whose progeny has not been in good +part assembled in the preceding pages; for these words you should assemble +all the living representatives you can. (Inflectional forms are given only +where they are needed for tracing English derivatives.) + + +<Latin Ancestors of English Words> + +_Latin word Meaning English representatives_ + + Ago, actum do, rouse agile, transact +*Alius other alias, inalienable +*Alter other alteration, adultery +*Altus high altitude, exalt +*Ambulo walk perambulator, preamble +*Amicus friend amicable, enemy +*Amo, amatum love inamorata, amateur, inimical +*Anima life animal, inanimate + Animus mind animosity, unanimous + Annus year annuity, biennial +*Aqua water aquarium, aqueduct + Audio, auditum hear audience, audit +*Bellum war rebel, belligerent +*Bene well benefit, benevolence +*Bonus good bonanza, bona fide +*Brevis short abbreviate, unabridged + Cado, casum fall cadence, casual + Caedo, cecidi, caesum cut, kill suicide, incision + Cano, cantum sing recant, chanticleer + Capio, captum take, hold capacious, incipient +*Caput, capitis head cape (Cape Cod), decapitate, + chapter, biceps + Cedo, cessum go concede, accessory + Centum hundred per cent, centigrade +*Civis citizen civic, uncivilized +*Clamo shout acclaim, declamation +*Claudo, clausum close, shut conclude, recluse, cloister, sluice + Cognosco (see _Nosco_) +*Coquo, coxi, coctum cook decoction, precocious +*Cor, cordis heart core, discord, courage + Corpus body corpse, incorporate + Credo, credituin believe creed, discreditable + Cresco, cretum grow crescendo, concrete, accrue +*Crux, crucis cross crucifix, excruciating + Cura care curate, sinecure + Curro, cursum run occur, concourse +*Derigo, directum direct dirge, dirigible, address +*Dexter right, right hand ambidextrous, dexterity + Dico speak, say abdicate, verdict +*Dies day diary, quotidian + Dignus worthy, fitting dignity, condign + Do, datum give condone, data +*Doceo, doctum teach document, doctor +*Dominus lord dominion, danger +*Domus house domicile, majordomo +*Dormio sleep dormant, dormouse + Duco lead traduce, deduction +*Duo two dubious, duet + Durus hard durable, obdurate + Eo, itum go exit, initial + Error, erratum wander erroneous, aberration + Facio, feci, factum make, do manufacture, affect, sufficient, + verify + Fero, latum carry transfer, relate + Fido trust, believe confide, perfidious + Finis end confine, infinity + Flecto, flexum bend reflection, inflexible + Fluo, fluxum flow influence, reflux + Fortis strong fortress, comfort + Frango, fractum break infringe, refraction +*Frater brother fraternity, fratricide + Fugio, fugitum flee centrifugal, fugitive + Fundo, fusum pour refund, profuse, fusion + Gero, gestum carry belligerent, gesture, digestion + Gradior, gressus walk degrade, progress +*Gratia favor, pleasure, ingratiate, congratulate, + good-will disgrace +*Grex, gregis flock segregate, egregious + Habeo, habitum have, hold habituate, prohibit + Itum (see Eo) + Jacio, jeci, jactum throw, hurl reject, interjection + Jungo, junctum join conjugal, enjoin, juncture + Juro swear abjure, perjury + Jus, juris law, right justice, jurisprudence + Judex (from jusdico) judge judgment, prejudice +*Juvenis young rejuvenate, juvenilia + Latum (see Fero) +*Laudo, laudatum praise allow, laudatory + Lego, lectum read, choose elegant, lecture, dialect +*Lex, legis law privilege, illegitimate, + legislature +*Liber book libel, library +*Liber free liberty, deliberate + Ligo bind obligation, allegiance, alliance +*Linquo, lictum leave delinquent, relict, derelict +*Litera letter illiterate, obliterate + Locus place collocation, dislocate + Loquor, locutus speak soliloquy, elocution + Ludo, lusum play prelude, illusory +/Lux, lucis light\ lucid, luminary +\Lumen, luminis / +*Magnus great magnate, magnificent +*Malus bad, evil malaria, malnutrition + Mando order mandatory, commandment + Manus hand manual, manufacture +*Mare sea maritime, submarine +*Mater mother maternal, alma mater +*Medius middle mediocre, intermediate +*Mens mind mental, demented +*Miror wonder mirror, admirable + Mitto, missum send commit, emissary +*Mordeo, morsum bite mordant, morsel, remorse + Mors, mortis death mortal, mortify + Moveo, motum move remove, locomotive +*Multus many multiform, multiplex + Muto, mutatum change transmute, immutable, moult + Nascor, natus be born renascence, cognate +*Nihil nothing nihilism, annihilate +*Nomen, nominis name denomination, renown +*Norma rule abnormal, enormous +/Nosco, notum cognosco \ +\ cognitum know / notation, incognito +*Novus new novelty, renovate +*Nuntio announce denounce, renunciation +*Opus, operis work magnum opus, inoperative +*Pater father patrician, patrimony + Patior, passus suffer impatient, passion + Pello, pulsum drive propeller, repulse + Pendeo, pensum hang pendulum, appendix + Pendo, pensum weigh compendium, expense + Pes, pedis foot expedite, biped + Peto seek impetus, compete +*Plaudo, plausum clap, applaud explode, plausible +*Plecto, plexum braid perplex, complexion +*Pleo, pletum fill complement, expletive +*Plus, pluris more surplus, plural + Plico, plicatum fold reply, implicate + Pono, positum place opponent, deposit + Porto carry report, porter + Potens, potentis powerful impotent, potential + Prendo, prehensum seize comprehend, apprise +*Primus, primatis first primary, primate + Probo, probatum prove improbable, reprobate +*Pugno fight impugn, repugnant + Puto think impute, disreputable +*Quaero, quaesitum seek require, inquest, exquisite +*Rapio, raptum seize enraptured, surreptitious +*Rego, rectum rule, lead region, erect +*Rideo, risum laugh deride, risible + Rogo, rogatum ask prorogue, abrogate + Rumpo, ruptum break disrupt, eruption + Salio, saltum leap salient, insult +*Sanguis blood sang froid, ensanguined + Scio, scitum know prescience, plebiscite + Scribo, scriptum write prescribe, manuscript, escritoire + Seco, sectum cut secant, dissect + Sedeo, sessum sit supersede, obsession + Sentio, sensum feel presentiment, consensus + Sequor, secutus follow sequence, persecute, ensue + Signum sign insignia, designate +*Solus alone solitude, desolate + Solvo, solutum loosen solvent, dissolute +*Somnus sleep somnambulist, insomnia +*Sono sound consonant, resonance +*Sors, sortis lot sort, assortment + Specio, spectum look despicable, suspect + Spiro, spiratum breathe perspire, conspiracy +*Spondeo, sponsum promise respond, espouse + Sto, steti, statum stand constant, establish + Sisto, stiti, statum cause to stand consistent, superstition + Stringo, strictum bind stringent, restrict + Struo, structum build construe, destruction + Tango, tactum touch intangible, tact + Tempus, temporis time temporize, contemporary + Tendo, tensum stretch distend, intense + Teneo, tentuin hold tenure, detention +*Tendo try tentative, attempt + Terminus end, boundary terminal, exterminate + Terra earth territory, inter + Torqueo, tortum twist distort, tortuous + Traho, tractum draw extract, subtraction + Tumeo, tumidum swell tumor, contumacy + Turba tumult, crowd turbulent, disturb +*Unus one unify, triune, onion +*Urbs city urbane, suburban + Vado, vasum go pervade, invasion + Valeo, validum be strong prevail, invalid + Venio, ventum come intervene, adventure + Verto, versum turn divert, adverse +*Verus true verdict, veracity +*Via way obviate, impervious, trivial + Video, visum see provide, revise + Vinco, victum conquer province, convict + Vir man triumvir, virtue + Vivo, victum live vivacious, vivisect + Voco, vocatum call revoke, avocation +*Volo wish malevolent, voluntary + Volvo, volutum turn revolver, evolution + Vox voice equivocal, vociferate + + + <Latin Prefixes> + +_Prefix Meaning English embodiments_ + +*A, ab from, away avert, abnegation, abstract +*Ad to adduce, adjacent, affect, accede +*Ante before antediluvian, anteroom +*Bi two biped, bicycle +*Circum around circumambient, circumference +*Cum, com, with, together combine, consort, coadjutor + con, co +*Contra against contradict, contrast +*De from, negative deplete, decry, demerit, declaim + down, intensive +*Di, dis asunder, away from, divert, disbelief + negative +*E, ex from, out of evict, excavate +*Extra beyond extraordinary, extravagant +*In in, into, not innate, instil, insignificant +*Inter among, between intercollegiate, interchange +*Intro, into, within introduce, intramural + intra +*Non negative nonage, nondescript +*Ob against, before + (facing), toward obloquy, obstacle, offer +*Per through, extremely persecute, perfervid, pursue, + pilgrim, pellucid +*Post after postpone, postscript +*Pre before prepay, preoccupy +*Pro before proceed, proffer +*Re back, again return, resound +*Retro back, backward retroactive, retrospective +*Se apart, aside seclude, secession +*Semi half semiannual, semicivilized +*Sub under, less than, subscribe, suffer, subnormal, + inferior subcommittee +*Super above, extremely superfluous, supercritical, soprano +*Trans across, through transfer, transparent +*Ultra beyond, extremely ultramundane, ultraconservative + + + <Greek Ancestors of English Words> + (Scientific terms in English are largely derived from the Greek) + +_Greek word Meaning English representatives_ + +*Aner, andros, man, stamen androgynous, philander, + anthropos philanthropy +*Archos chief, primitive archaic, architect +*Astron star asterisk, disaster + Autos self autograph, automatic, authentic +*Barvs heavy baritone, barites +*Biblos book Bible, bibliomania +*Bios life biology, autobiography, amphibious +*Cheir hand chiropody, chirurgical, surgeon +*Chilioi a thousand kilogram, kilowatt +*Chroma color chromo, achromatic + Chronos time chronic, anachronism +*Cosmos world, order cosmopolitan, microcosm +*Crypto hide cryptogam, cryptology +*Cyclos wheel, circle encyclopedia, cyclone +*Deca ten decasyllable, decalogue +*Demos people democracy, epidemic +*Derma skin epidermis, taxidermist +*Dis, di twice, doubly dichromatic, digraph +*Didonai, dosis give dose, apodosis, anecdote +*Dynamis power dynamite, dynasty +*Eidos form, thing seen idol, kaleidoscope, anthropoid +*Ethnos race, nation ethnic, ethnology + Eu well euphemism, eulogy +*Gamos marriage cryptogam, bigamy +*Ge earth geography, geometry + Genos family, race gentle, engender + Gramma writing monogram, grammar + Grapho write telegraph, lithograph +*Haima blood hematite, hemorrhage, anemia +*Heteros other heterodox, heterogeneous +*Homos same homonym, homeopathy +*Hydor water hydraulics, hydrophobia, hydrant +*Isos equal isosceles, isotherm +*Lithos stone monolith, chrysolite + Logos word, study theology, dialogue + Metron measure barometer, diameter +*Micros small microscope, microbe + Monos one, alone monoplane, monotone +*Morphe form metamorphosis, amorphous +*Neos new, young neolithic, neophyte +*Neuron nerve neuralgia, neurotic + Nomos law, science, astronomy, gastronomy, economy + management +*Onoma name anonymous, patronymic +*Opsis view, sight synopsis, thanatopsis, optician +*Orthos right orthopedic, orthodox +*Osteon bone osteopathy, periosteum +*Pais, paidos child paideutics, pedagogue, + encyclopedia + Pas, pan all diapason, panacea, pantheism + Pathos suffering allopathy, pathology + Petros rock petroleum, saltpeter +*Phaino show, be visible diaphanous, phenomenon, + epiphany, fantastic + Philos loving bibliophile, Philadelphia +*Phobos fear hydrophobia, Anglophobe + Phone sound telephone, symphony +*Phos light phosphorous, photograph +*Physis nature physiognomy, physiology +*Plasma form cataplasm, protoplasm +*Pneuma air, breath pneumatic, pneumonia + Polis city policy, metropolitan +*Polys many polyandry, polychrome, + polysyllable + Pous, pados foot octopus, chiropodist +*Protos first protoplasm, prototype +*Pseudes false pseudonym, pseudo-classic +*Psyche breath, soul, psychology, psychopathy + mind +*Pyr fire pyrography, pyrotechnics +*Scopos watcher scope, microscope +*Sophia wisdom philosophy, sophomore +*Techne art technicality, architect +*Tele far, far off telepathy, telescope +{*Temno cut } +{*Tomos that which is } epitome, anatomy, tome +{ cut off } +*Theos god theosophy, pantheism +*Therme heat isotherm, thermodynamics +{Tithenai place } epithet, hypothesis, +{Thesis a placing, } anathema +{ arrangement } +*Treis three trichord, trigonometry +*Zoon animal zoology, protozoa, zodiac + + + <Greek Prefixes> + +_Prefix Meaning English embodiments_ + +*A, an no, not aseptic, anarchy +*Amphi about, around, ambidextrous, amphitheater + (Latin ambi) both +*Ana up, again anatomy, Anabaptist +*Anti against, opposite antidote, antiphonal, antagonist +*Cata down catalepsy, cataclysm +*Dia through, across diameter, dialogue +*Epi upon epidemic, epithet, epode, ephemeral +*Hyper over, extremely hypercritical, hyperbola +*Hypo under, in smaller hypodermic, hypophosphate + measure +*Meta after, over metaphysics, metaphor +*Para beside paraphrase, paraphernalia +*Peri around, about periscope, peristyle +*Pro before proboscis, prophet +*Syn together, with synthesis, synopsis, sympathy + + + +VI + + WORDS IN PAIRS + + +Our first task in this volume was the study of words in combination. Our +second was the study of individual words in two of their aspects--first, +as they are seen in isolation, next as they are seen in verbal families. +Now our third task confronts us. It is the study of words as they are +associated, not in actual blood kinship, but in meaning. + +Such an association in meaning may involve only two words (pairs) or +larger groups. In this chapter we shall confine ourselves to the study of +pairs. + +Of the relationship between pairs there are three types. In the first the +words are hostile to each other. In the second they may easily be confused +with each other. In the third they are parallel with each other. We shall +examine the three types successively. + +But we must make an explanation first. Although we shall, in this and the +following chapters, have frequent occasion to give the meanings of +individual words, we shall give them without regard to dictionary methods. +We shall not attempt formal, water-tight, or exhaustive definitions; our +purpose is to convey, in the simplest and most human manner possible, +brief general explanations of what the words stand for. + + +<Opposites> + +Pairs of the first type are made up of words by nature opposite to each +other, or else thought of as opposite because they are so often +contrasted. Here is a familiar, everyday list: + +east, west straight, crooked myself, others +large, small pretty, ugly major, minor +laugh, cry walk, ride light, darkness +top, bottom hard, soft friend, enemy +sweet, sour clean, dirty temporal, spiritual +meat, drink merry, sad means, extremes +land, water private, public Jew, Gentile +man, woman noisy, quiet independent, dependent +old, new general, particular sublime, ridiculous +age, youth wholesale, retail give, receive +sick, well savage, civilized pride, humility +brain, brawn wealth, poverty constructive, destructive +soul, body positive, negative + +None of these words needs explaining. If you think of one of them, you +will think of its opposite; at least its opposite will be lurking in the +back of your mind. As proof of this fact you have only to glance at the +following list, from which the second member of each pair is omitted: + +hot -- black -- boy -- in -- +off -- over -- love -- wrong -- +strong -- wet -- first -- day -- +long -- fast -- good -- hope -- +least -- asleep -- buy -- left -- +alive -- winter -- war -- succeed -- +creditor -- fat -- internal -- wise -- +drunk -- + +Many words of a more difficult kind are thus pitted against each other, +and we learn them, not singly, but in pairs. At least we should. As good +verbal hunters we should be alert to the chance of killing two birds with +one stone. + +_Allopath_ and _homeopath_, for example, are difficult +opposites. We know of the existence of the two classes of medical +practitioners; we know that they use different methods; but beyond this +our knowledge is likely to be hazy. Let us set out, then, to _learn_ +the two words. The best way is to learn them together. _Allopathy_ +means other suffering, _homeopathy_ like suffering. An allopath uses +remedies which create within the patient a condition that squarely +conflicts with the further progress of the disease. A homeopath prescribes +medicines (in small doses) which produce within the patient the same +condition that the disease would produce; he "beats the disease to it," so +to speak--takes the job himself and leaves the disease nothing to do. The +allopath travels around a race-track in the opposite direction from the +disease, and thwarts it through a head-on collision. The homeopath travels +around the race-track in the same direction as the disease, and thwarts it +by pulling at the reins. If we consider the two words together and get +these ideas in mind, we shall have no further trouble with allopaths and +homeopaths--except, perhaps, when they have rendered their services and +presented their bills. + +_Objective_ and _subjective_ are also a troublesome pair. A +thing is objective if it is an actual object or being, if it exists in +itself rather than in our surmises. A thing is subjective if it is the +creature of a state of mind, if it has its existence in the thought or +imagination of some person or other. Thus if I meet a bear in the wilds, +that bear is objective; whatever may be the state of my thoughts, _he is +there_--and it would be to my advantage to reckon with this fact. But +if a child who is sent off to bed alone says there is a bear in the room, +the bear is subjective; it is not a living monster that will devour +anybody, but a creature called into the mind of the child through dread. + + +EXERCISE - Opposites + +Study the following words in pairs. Consult the dictionary for actual +meanings. Then test your knowledge by embodying each word of each pair in +a sentence, or in an illustration like those of the race-track and the +bear in the preceding paragraphs. + +superior, inferior concord, discord +export, import domestic, foreign +fact, fiction prose, poetry +verbal, oral literal, figurative +predecessor, successor genuine, artificial +positive, negative practical, theoretical +optimism, pessimism finite, infinite +longitude, latitude evolution, revolution +oriental, occidental pathos, bathos +sacred, profane military, civil +clergy, laity capital, labor +ingress, egress element, compound +horizontal, perpendicular competition, coöperation +predestination, freewill universal, particular +extrinsic, intrinsic inflation, deflation +dorsal, ventral acid, alkali +synonym, antonym prologue, epilogue +nadir, zenith amateur, connoisseur +anterior, posterior stoic, epicure +ordinal, cardinal centripetal, centrifugal +stalagmite, stalactite orthodox, heterodox +homogeneous, heterogeneous monogamy, polygamy +induction, deduction egoism, altruism +Unitarian, Trinitarian concentric, eccentric +herbivorous, carnivorous deciduous, perennial +esoteric, exoteric endogen, exogen +vertebrate, invertebrate catalectic, acatalectic + + +<Words Often Confused> + +Pairs of the second type are made up of words which are often confused by +careless writers and speakers, and which should be accurately +discriminated. + +Sometimes the words are actually akin to each other. _Continuous- +continual_ and _enormity-enormousness_ are examples. Sometimes +they merely look or sound much alike. _Mean-demean_ and _affect- +effect_ are examples. Sometimes the things they designate are more or +less related, so that the ideas behind the words rather than the words +themselves are responsible for the confusion. _Contagious-infectious_ +and _knowledge-wisdom_ are examples. Let us distinguish between the +two members of each of the pairs named. + +A thing is _continuous_ if it suffers no interruption whatever, +_continual_ if it is broken at regular intervals but as regularly +renewed. Thus "a continuous stretch of forest"; "the continual drip of +water from the eaves." + +_Enormity_ pertains to the moral and sometimes the social, +_enormousness_ to the physical. Thus "the enormity of the crime," +"the enormity of this social offense"; "the enormousness of prehistoric +animals." + +_Demean_ is often used reproachfully because of its supposed relation +to _mean_. But it has nothing to do with _mean_. The word with +which to connect it is _demeanor_ (conduct). Thus "We observed how he +demeaned himself" implies no adverse criticism of either the man or his +deportment. Both may be debased to be sure, but they may be exemplary. + +To _affect_ means to feign or to have an influence upon, to +_effect_ to bring to pass. Thus "He affects a fondness for classical +music," "The little orphan's story affected those who heard it"; "We +effected a compromise." _Affect_ is never properly used as a noun. +_Effect_ as a noun means result, consequence, or practical operation. +Thus "The shot took instant effect"; "He put this idea into effect." + +A disease is _contagious_ when the only way to catch it is through +direct contact with a person already having it, or through contact with +articles such a person has used. A disease is _infectious_ when it is +presumably caused, not by contact with a person, but through widespread +general conditions, as of climate or sanitation. + +Our _knowledge_ is our acquaintance with a fact, or the sum total of +our information. Our _wisdom_ is our intellectual and spiritual +discernment, to which our knowledge is one of the contributors. +_Knowledge_ comprises the materials; _wisdom_ the ability to use +them to practical advantage and to worthy or noble purpose. +_Knowledge_ is mental possession; _wisdom_ is mental and moral +power. + + +EXERCISE - Confused + +1. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each +of the following pairs. In each blank of the illustrative sentences insert +the word appropriate in meaning. + +<Ability, capacity.> ____ to receive knowledge. ____ to impart +knowledge. + +<Abstain, refrain.> He ____ from laughter. He steadfastly ____ from +evil courses. + +<Abstinence, temperance.> Though he always displayed ____, he did not +carry it to the point of ____. + +<Accept, except.> I shall ____ most of the suggestions, but must ____ +the one made by Mr. Wheeler. + +<Accept, receive>. When the package was ____ at the local post +office, Bayard refused to ____ it. + +<Ache, pain>. The dull ____ of his head. A sharp ____ below +shoulder-blade. I have known the ____ of cold hands. "My heart ____, and +a drowsy numbness ____ My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk." + +<Address, tact>. With firmness and ____ he set about reconciling the +factions. Her ____ enabled her to perceive that something was amiss. + +<Adhere, cohere>. The magnetized iron filings ____. The cold iron +____ to the boy's tongue. + +<Adherence, adhesion>. The ____ of the heated particles to each other +was instantaneous. Amid these trials their ____ to the cause was unshaken. + +<Admission, admittance>. His ____ to the room was forced. He obtained +____ into a fraternal order. + +<Admit, confess>. When he ____ that he had a weapon, he practically +____ that he had slain the man. + +<Adverse, averse>. He was ____ to going. Their answer was ____. + +<Advice, counsel>. In this emergency he sought ____. He asked my ____ +as to the best place to hang the picture. + +<Aggravate, irritate>. To let these mishaps ____ you is to ____ your +suffering. + +<Allusion, illusion>. It is an ____ to suppose that I made any ____ +to you. + +<Allusion, reference>. It was more than a possible ____; it was an +unmistakable ____. + +<Amateur, novice>. Though we call him a(n) ____, he is in skill by no +means the ____ you might think him. + +<Ambiguous, equivocal>. You are unintentionally ____. These words are +deliberately ____. + +<Anticipate, expect>. Since we ____ the enemy to advance, would it +not be wise to ____ him? + +<Appearance, aspect>. He was handsome in ____. The ____ of the sky +was ominous. + +<Apprehend, comprehend>. "Lovers and madmen have such seething +brains, Such shaping fantasies, that ____ More than cool reason ever +____." + +<Ardor, fervor>. The ____ of the worshipers. The ____ of the +soldiers. + +<Artist, artisan>. The ____ who was decorating the walls called to an +____ who was mixing mortar. + +<Ascent, ascension>. We easily made the ____ of the slope, and from +the summit witnessed the balloon ____. + +<Ascent, assent.> He gave his ____ when I proposed that we wait for +the others to complete the ____ to this point. + +<Ascribe, impute.> I ____ it to you as a fault rather than ____ it to +you as an honor. + +<Assembly, assemblage.> It was an informal ____. The ____ considered +the matters it had been called to discuss. + +<Assent, consent.> When told that the measure would advance his +interests, he ____; but he would not ____ to it. + +<Avenge, revenge.> The injury was slight, but he ____ it with +unsparing malice. "____, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints." + +<Avocation, vocation.> The lawyer, besides his regular ____, had the +collecting of birds' eggs as his ____. + +<Aware, conscious.> Though not ____ of the seriousness of his malady, +he was ____ of the pain it caused him. + +<Balance, remainder.> Darrell added the ____ of the coins, but not +even they brought about the ____ he sought between assets and obligations. + +<Bashful, modest.> Though ____ socially, he was not what you would +term a ____ man. + +<Behavior, conduct.> His ____ in this time of trial was exemplary. +She praised the ____ of the children at the party. + +<Belief, faith.> He possibly had ____, but not an active ____. + +<Benignant, benign.> Her social manner was ____. The ____ influence +of sunlight. + +<Beside, besides.> ____ his personal friends, many people he had not +even met stood ____ his sickbed. + +<Blanch, whiten.> At this threat the face of the heroine ____. With a +pail of cheap paint he ____ the dingy wall. + +<Blessing, benediction.> After telling his parishioners to be mindful +of their ____, the clergyman pronounced the ____. + +<Blockade, siege.> Daily attacks on exposed redoubts marked the +progress of the ____. The fleet lay there in silent ____ of the port. + +<Bravery, bravado.> The incident proved that his ____ was not founded +in real ____. + +<Bring, fetch.> When you come, ____ the official documents with you. +____ me the scales you will find in the granary yonder. + +<Broad, wide.> A man with ____ shoulders stood in the ____, open +doorway. + +<Bury, inter.> After they had solemnly ____ their comrade, they ____ +the treasure. They also ____ their comrade's dog. + + +2. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each +of the following pairs. Determine whether the words are correctly used in +the illustrative sentences. (Some are; some are not.) + +<Can, may.> Can I stay at home this afternoon, papa? Because of the +floods, the train beyond doubt may not get through. + +<Character, reputation.> His character among them was very good. A +man's reputation can never be taken from him. + +<Childish, childlike.> Your conduct is peevish; it is childishly so. +Her innocence was childlike. + +<Cite, quote.> He was always citing snatches of Tennyson. We might +quote Hamlet's soliloquy on suicide as an example of Shakespeare's ability +to go to the heart of deep questions. + +<Claim, assert.> He claimed that Jefferson was our third President. +He asserted that bears sleep through the winter. + +<Clothing, costume.> At the masquerade ball we each wore special +clothing. The mariner who had swum from the wreck to the desert shore had +not a shred of costume. + +<Comfort, ease.> Comfort after labor. The ease of owning a home. + +<Commercial, mercantile.> Petty commercial transactions. A mercantile +treaty. + +<Common, mutual.> This pavilion was the common play-house for the +children of the neighborhood. Ward and Aker held this property as their +mutual possession. + +<Complement, compliment.> This addition is the complement of our +quota. He paid his dancing partner a compliment. + +<Complement, supplement.> His downrightness is the complement of his +uprightness. As a supplement to his wages he received an occasional bonus. + +<Complete, finish.> He put in the completing touches. He had finished +the task. + +<Composure, equanimity.> His composure was not to be shaken. After +this inner tumult came equanimity. + +<Comprehensible, comprehensive.> Numbers of such magnitude are +scarcely comprehensible. That men by the million should die for a cause is +a thing not really comprehensive. + +<Compulsion, obligation.> Who does not feel within him a compulsion +to help the weak? It was through obligation, through having slave-drivers +stand over them, that these wretched folk built the pyramids. + +<Congratulate, felicitate.> I congratulated my friend on his +appointment to the commission. I also felicitated the stranger on his +appointment. + +<Consecutive, successive.> Three consecutive convictions proved the +ability of the prosecuting attorney. The quiet passing of successive +summer days. + +<Contemptible, contemptuous.> Its size was insignificant, even +contemptible. He won the prize by a contemptuous trick. + +<Continuation, continuance.> The investigator was surprised to find +the tradition of such long continuation. We waited impatiently for the +continuance of the story in the next issue. + +<Corporal, corporeal.> I am more and more amazed at the perfection of +man's corporal frame. His corporeal vigor was unusual. + +<Correct, rectify.> A man may correct many of his false judgments on +current affairs by studying history. The mistake is ours; it shall be +rectified. + +<Cozy, snug.> The cozy fit of a garment. A snug place by the fire. + +<Crawl, creep.> We crawled forward at dawn to surprise their +outposts. In his humility he fairly crept on the earth. + +<Credible, creditable.> I do not doubt it; it is entirely credible. +The success of the antidote seemed scarcely creditable. + +<Credit, accredit.> Though he is the official and credited +ambassador, his assertions are not accredited. + +<Cure, heal.> I cured the dog's wounds. The physician declared he +could heal leprosy. + +<Custom, habit.> "A custom more honor'd in the breach than the +observance." Is it your custom to watch the clock while you eat? The habit +in that region was to rise at cockcrow. + +<Decided, decisive.> A decided battle. A decisive fault in manners. + +<Definite, definitive.> We still await a definite edition of this +author's works. His answer was so definitive that we no longer doubted +what he meant. + +<Demesne, domain.> Clive added India to the British demesne. +The king went riding through his personal domain. + +<Deprecate, depreciate.> The German mark has deprecated in value. He +depreciated the praise they were lavishing upon him. + +<Descent, dissent.> They tied themselves together with a rope in +order to make their dissent safer. The dissent to a lower plane of +conversation was what he most desired. + +<Discovery, invention.> The discovery of the wireless telegraph is +Marconi's chief claim to remembrance. The invention of a water passage +between Tierra del Fuego and the mainland was the work of Magellan. + +<Discriminate, distinguish.> He could not discriminate individuals at +that distance. Any man can distinguish right from wrong. + +<Disinterested, uninterested.> His course was entirely generous and +disinterested. Most visitors to art galleries have an uninterested manner. + +<Disposal, disposition.> This disposal of the matter is +authoritative, final. His disposition of his forces was well-considered. + +<Dissatisfied, discontented.> Though the colonists were dissatisfied +for the moment, they could hardly be called discontented. + +<Distinct, distinctive.> The distinct quality of his character was +aggressiveness. There were four separate and distinctive calls. + +<Dramatic, theatrical.> An affected, dramatic manner. A truly +theatrical situation. + +<Dry, arid.> A dry plain. An arid place to sleep in. + +<Dumb, mute.> The man stood dumb with surprise. Always be kind to +mute animals. + +<Durable, lasting.> Our joy is durable. Oak is a lasting wood. + +3. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members +of each of the following pairs. Frame sentences to illustrate +the correct use of the words. (Some of the words in this list, +as well as some in other parts of the chapter, are considered in +larger groups in the chapters following.) + +earth, world efficiency, efficacy +egoism, egotism eldest, oldest +elemental, elementary elude, evade +emigrate, immigrate enough, sufficient +envy, jealousy equable, equitable +equal, equivalent essential, necessary +esteem, respect euphemism, euphuism +evidence, proof exact, precise +exchange, interchange excuse, pardon +exempt, immune expect, suppose +expedite, facilitate + +facsimile, copy familiar, intimate +fancy, imagination farther, further +feeling, sentiment feminine, effeminate +fervent, fervid fewer, less +fluid, liquid first (or last) two, two first (or last) +food, feed foreign, alien +force, strength forgive, pardon + +gayety, cheerfulness genius, talent +gentle, tame genuine, authentic +glance, glimpse grateful, thankful +grieve, mourn + +hanged, hung happen, transpire +happiness, pleasure healthy, healthful +hear, listen heathen, pagan +honorable, honorary horrible, horrid +human, humane + +illegible, unreadable image, effigy +imaginary, imaginative impending, approaching +imperious, imperial imply, infer +in, into inability, disability +ingenious, ingenuous intelligent, intellectual +insinuation, innuendo instinct, intuition +involve, implicate irony, sarcasm +irretrievable, irreparable + +judicious, judicial just, equitable +justify, warrant + +lack, want languor, lassitude +later, latter lawful, legal +lax, slack leave, let +lend, loan liable, likely +libel, slander lie, lay +like, love linger, loiter +look, see loose, lose +luxurious, luxuriant + +majority, plurality marine, maritime +martial, military moderate, temperate +mood, humor moral, ethical +moral, religious mutual, reciprocal +myth, legend + +natal, native nautical, naval +near, close necessaries, necessities +needy, needful noted, notorious +novice, tyro + +observance, observation observe, perceive +obsolete, archaic omnipresent, ubiquitous +on, upon oppose, resist +opposite, contrary oppress, depress + +palliate, extenuate passionate, impassioned +pathos, pity patron, customer +peculiar, unusual perspicuity, perspicacity +permeate, pervade permit, allow +perseverance, persistence pertain, appertain +pictorial, picturesque pitiable, pitiful +pity, sympathy pleasant, pleasing +politician, statesman practicable, practical +precipitous, precipitate precision, preciseness +prejudice, bias prelude, overture +pride, vanity principal, principle +process, procedure procure, secure +professor, teacher progress, progression +propitious, auspicious proposal, proposition +tradition, legend truth, veracity + +quiet, quiescent + +raise, rear raise, rise +ransom, redeem rare, scarce +reason, understanding reasonable, rational +recollect, remember regal, royal +reliable, trustworthy requirement, requisite +restive, restless reverse, inverse +ride, drive rime (or rhyme), rhythm + +sacred, holy salutation, salute +scanty, sparse scholar, student +science, art scrupulous, conscientious +serf, slave shift, expedient +sick, ill silent, taciturn +sit, set skilled, skilful +slender, slim smart, clever +sociable, social solicitude, anxiety +stay, stop stimulus, stimulation +strut, swagger suppress, repress + +termination, terminus theory, hypothesis +tolerate, permit torment, torture +tradition, legend truth, veracity + +unbelief, disbelief unique, unusual + +varied, various variety, diversity +venal, venial vengeance, revenge +verse, stanza vindictive, revengeful +visit, visitation visitant, visitor + +wander, stray warn, caution +will, volition wit, humor +witness, see womanish, womanlike +worth, value + + + <Parallels> + +Pairs of the third type are made up of words parallel in meaning. This +class somewhat overlaps the second; many terms that are frequently +confused are parallels, and parallelism is of course a cause of confusion. + +Parallels are words that show likeness in meaning. Likeness, not sameness. +Yet at one time actual sameness may have existed, and in many instances +did. Nowadays this sameness has been lost, and the words have become +differentiated. As a rule they still are closely related in thought; +sometimes, however, the divergence between them is wide. + +Why did words having the same meaning find lodgment in the language in the +first place? The law of linguistic economy forbids any such happening, and +only through sheer good fortune did English come to possess duplications. +The original Anglo-Saxon did not contain them. But the Roman Catholic +clergy brought to England the language of religion and of scholarship, +Latin. Later the Normans, whose speech as a branch of French was an +offshoot of Latin, came to the island as conquerors. For a time, +therefore, three languages existed side by side in the country--Anglo- +Saxon among the common folk, Latin among the clergy, and Norman-French at +the court and among the nobility. The coalescing of the three (or of the +two if we count Latin in its direct and indirect contributions as one) was +inevitable. But other (mostly cognate) languages also had a part in the +speech that was ultimately evolved. The Anglo-Saxon element was +augmented by words from Dutch, Scandinavian, and the Germanic tongues in +general; and Latin was reinforced by Greek. Thus to imply, as is +sometimes done, that modern English is simply a blend of Anglo-Saxon and +Latin elements is misleading. _Native_ and _classic_ are the better +terms to use, provided both are used broadly. _Native_ must include not +only Anglo-Saxon but the other Germanic elements as well, and _classic_ +must include French and Greek as well as Latin. + +The welding of these languages made available two--in some instances more +than two--words for a single object or idea. What became of these +duplicates? Sometimes one of the words was dropped as needless. +Oftentimes, however, both were retained--with such modifications in +meaning that thereafter they designated, not the same object or idea, but +different forms or aspects of it. Thus they became parallels, and the new +language waxed rich with discriminations which neither of the component +tongues had possessed. + +Scott in _Ivanhoe_ gives the basis upon which the unification of the +languages proceeded. The jester Wamba in conversation with the swineherd +Gurth explains how the Anglo-Saxon term took on the homelier, rougher, +more workaday uses and left the more refined and fastidious uses for the +Norman-French. A domestic animal, says Wamba, was cared for by the +conquered people, and in consequence bore while living a "good Saxon" +name--swine, ox, or calf; but it was served at the tables of the +conquerors, and therefore when ready for consumption bore a "good +Norman-French" name--pork, beef, or veal. "When the brute [a sow] lives, +and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes +Norman and is called pork, when she is carried into the castle hall to +feast among the nobles.... He [a calf] is Saxon when he requires tendance, +and takes a Norman name [Monsieur de Veau] when he becomes matter of +enjoyment." + +Let us see how Scott's contention fares if we extend his list of terms +relative to animal life. As throughout the rest of this chapter, with the +single and necessary exception of List B, the first word in each pair is +native, the second classic: + + +<LIST A> + +sheep, mutton deer, venison horse, equine +cow, bovine bull, taurine sheep, ovine +wolf, lupine hog, porcine bear, ursine +fox, vulpine cat, feline dog, canine +fish, piscatorial mouse, vermin rat, rodent +mankind, humanity man, masculine woman, feminine +childish, infantile boyish, puerile + +A glance at this list will show that, at least as regards animal life, the +native word is likely to be the more familiar and unpretentious. But we +must not leap to the conclusion that, taking the language as a whole, the +simple, easy word is sure to be native, the abstruse word classic. In the +following list one word in each pair is simpler, oftentimes much simpler, +than the other; yet both are of classic origin. (In some instances the two +are doublets; that is, they spring from the same stem.) + + +<LIST B> + +boil, effervesce plenty, abundance force, coerce +clear, transparent sound, reverberate echo, reverberate +toil, labor false, perfidious prove, verify +join, unite join, annex try, endeavor +carry, convey save, preserve save, rescue +safe, secure poor, pauper poor, penurious +poor, impecunious native, indigenous strange, extraneous +excuse, palliate excusable, venial cannon, ordnance +corpse, cadaverous parish, parochial fool, stultify +fool, idiot rule, govern governor, gubernatorial +wages, salary nice, exquisite haughty, arrogant +letter, epistle pursue, prosecute use, utility +use, utilize rival, competitor male, masculine +female, feminine beauty, esthetics beauty, pulchritude +beautify, embellish poison, venom vote, franchise +vote, suffrage taste, gust tasteful, gustatory +tasteless, insipid flower, floral count, compute +cowardly, pusillanimous tent, pavilion money, finance +monetary, pecuniary trace, vestige face, countenance +turn, revolve bottle, vial grease, lubricant +oily, unctuous revive, resuscitate faultless, impeccable +scourge, flagellate power, puissance barber, tonsorial +bishop, episcopal carry, portable fruitful, prolific +punish, punitive scar, cicatrix hostile, inimical +choice, option cry, vociferate ease, facility +peaceful, pacific beast, animal chasten, castigate +round, rotunda imprison, incarcerate bowels, viscera +boil, ebullient city, municipal color, chromatics +nervous, neurotic pleasing, delectable accidental, fortuitous +change, mutation lazy, indolent fragrance, aroma +pay, compensate face, physiognomy joy, rapture +charitable, eleemosynary blame, blaspheme priest, presbyter +coy, quiet prudent, provident pupil, disciple +story, narrative pause, interval despise, abhor +doctor, physician fate, destiny country, rustic +aged, senile increase, increment gentle, genteel +clear, apparent eagle, aquiline motion, momentum +nourishment, nutrition pure, unadulterated closeness, proximity +number, notation ancestors, progenitors confirm, corroborate +convert, proselyte benediction, benison treasury, thesaurus +egotism, megalomania + +Sometimes the native word is less familiar than the classic: + + +<LIST C> + +seethe, boil loam, soil fare, travel +abide, remain bestow, present bestow, deposit +din, noise quern, mill learner, scholar +shamefaced, modest hue, color tarnish, stain +ween, expect leech, physician shield, protect +steadfast, firm withstand, resist straightway, immediately +dwelling, residence heft, gravity delve, excavate +forthright, direct tidings, report bower, chamber +rune, letter borough, city baleful, destructive +gainsay, contradict cleave, divide hearten, encourage +hoard, treasure + + +Again, the native word is sometimes less emphatic than the classic: + +<LIST D> + +fly, soar old, venerable flood, cataclysm +steep, precipitous wonder, astonishment speed, velocity +sparkle, scintillate stir, commotion stir, agitate +strike, collide learned, erudite small, diminutive +scare, terrify burn, combustion fire, conflagration +fall, collapse uproot, eradicate skin, excoriate +hate, abominate work, labor bright, brilliant +hungry, famished eat, devour twisted, contorted +thin, emaciated sad, lugubrious mirth, hilarity + +Despite these exceptions, the native word is in general better known +and more crudely powerful than the classic. Thus of the pair +_sweat-perspiration_, _sweat_ is the plain-spoken, everyday member, +_perspiration_ the polite, even learned member. The man of limited +vocabulary says _sweat_; even the sophisticated person, unless there +is occasion to soften effects, finds _sweat_ the more natural term. +No one would say that a horse perspires. No one would say that human +beings must eat their bread in the perspiration of their faces. But +_sweat_ is a word of connotation too vigorous (though honest withal) +for us to use the term in the drawing room. A questionable woman in _The +Vicar of Wakefield_ betrays her lack of breeding by the remark that she +is in a muck of sweat. + +The native word, besides being in itself simpler and starker than the +classic, makes stronger appeal to our feelings and affections. In nearly +every instance the objects and relationships that have woven themselves +into the very texture of our lives are designated by native terms. Even if +they are not so designated solely, they are so designated in their more +cherished aspects. We warm more to the native _fatherly_ than to the +classic _paternal_. We have a deeper sentiment for the native +_home_ than for the classic _residence_. + +That the native is the more downright term may be seen from the following +words. (These pairs are of course merely illustrative. With them might be +grouped a few special pairs, like _devilish-diabolical_ and +_church_-_ecclesiastical_, of which the first members are +classic in origin but of such early naturalization into English that they +may be regarded as native.) + + +<LIST E> + +belly, stomach belly, abdomen navel, umbilicus +suck, nurse naked, nude murder, homicide +dead, deceased dead, defunct dying, moribund +lust, salacity lewd, libidinous read, peruse +lie, prevaricate hearty, cordial following, subsequent +crowd, multitude chew, masticate food, pabulum +eat, regale meal, repast meal, refection +thrift, economy sleepy, soporific slumberous, somnolent +live, reside rot, putrefy swelling, protuberant +soak, saturate soak, absorb stinking, malodorous +spit, saliva spit, expectorate thievishness, kleptomania +belch, eructate sticky, adhesive house, domicile +eye, optic walker, pedestrian talkative, loquacious +talkative, garrulous wisdom, sapience bodily, corporeal +name, appellation finger, digit show, ostentation +nearness, propinquity wash, lave handwriting, chirography +waves, undulations shady, umbrageous fat, corpulent +muddy, turbid widow, relict horseback, equestrian +weight, avoirdupois blush, erubescence + +The word of classic origin in many instances survives only or mainly in +the form of an adjective; as a noun (or other part of speech) it has +completely or largely disappeared. This fact may be observed in lists +already given, particularly List A. It may also be observed in the +following words: + + +<LIST F> + +moon, lunar star, stellar star, sidereal +sun, solar earth, terrestrial world, mundane +heaven, celestial hell, infernal earthquake, seismic +ear, aural head, capital hand, manual +foot, pedal breast, pectoral heart, cardial +hip, sciatic tail, caudal throat, guttural +lung, pulmonary bone, osseous hair, hirsute +tearful, lachrymose early, primitive sweet, dulcet, +sweet, saccharine young, juvenile bloody, sanguinary +deadly, mortal red, florid bank, riparian +hard, arduous wound, vulnerable written, graphic +spotless, immaculate sell, mercenary son, filial +salt, saline meal, farinaceous wood, ligneous +wood, sylvan cloud, nebulous glass, vitreous +milk, lacteal water, aquatic stone, lapidary +gold, aureous silver, argent iron, ferric +honey, mellifluous loving, amatory loving, erotic +loving, amiable wedded, hymeneal plow, arable +priestly, sacerdotal arrow, sagittal wholesome, salubrious +warlike, bellicose timely, temporary fiery, igneous +ring, annular soap, saponaceous nestling, nidulant +snore, stertorous window, fenestral twilight, crepuscular +soot, fuliginous hunter, venatorial + +The fact that English is a double-barreled language, and that of parallel +terms one is likely to be native and the other classic, is interesting in +itself. Our lists of parallels, however, though (with the exception of +List B) they are arranged to bring out this duality of origin, have other +and more vital uses as material for exercises. For after all it matters +little whether we know where a word comes from, provided we know +thoroughly the meaning and implications of the word itself. The lists +already given and those to follow show the more important words actually +yoked as parallels. Your task must be to ascertain the differences in +import between the words thus joined. + + +EXERCISE - Parallels + +<LIST G> + +Study the discriminations between the members of the following pairs. At +each blank in the illustrative sentences insert the appropriate word. + +<Brotherly, fraternal.> _Brotherly_ is used of actual blood +kinship, or indicates close feeling, deep affection, or religious love. +_Fraternal_ is used less personally and intimately; it normally +betokens that the relations are at least in part formal (as relations +within societies). "The sight of the button on the stranger's lapel caused +Wilkes to give him the cabalistic sign and ask his ____ assistance." +"Though the children of different parents, we bear for each other a true +____ devotion." "Because we both are newspaper men I feel a ____ interest +in him." + +<Daily, diurnal.> _Daily_, the popular word, is often used +loosely. We may say that we eat three meals daily without implying that we +have never gone dinnerless. _Diurnal_, the scientific term, is used +exactly, whether applying to the period of daylight or to the whole +twenty-four hours. A diurnal flower closes at night; a diurnal motion is +precisely coincident with the astronomical day. In poetry, however, +_diurnal_ is often used for _daily_. "Give us this day our ____ +bread." "The ____ rotation of the earth on its axis is the cause of our +day and night." "Fred and I went for our ____ ramble through the hills." + +<Cold, frigid.> Which is the more popular word? Let us see. Would the +man in the street be more likely to use one than the other? Which one? +Does this answer our question? Another question: Which word is the more +inclusive in meaning? Again, let us see. A blacksmith is beating iron; +does the iron grow cold or frigid? Which term, then, approaches the closer +in meaning to the idea of mere coolness? On the other hand, may that same +term represent a temperature far beyond mere coolness? Would you speak of +a morning as bitterly cold or bitterly frigid? Now think of the term you +have not been using. _Can_ it convey as wide meanings, or is it +limited in range? Does the word _frigid_ carry for you a geographical +suggestion (to the frigid zone)? Do you yourself use the term? If so, do +you use it chiefly (perhaps entirely) in connection with human temperament +or demeanor? Is _cold_ used thus figuratively also? Which is the more +often thus used? "I suffer from ____ hands and feet." "The slopes of Mont +Blanc are ____ with eternal snow." "He did not warm to the idea at all. +His inclinations are absolutely ____." + +<Manly, virile>. _Manly_ implies possession of traits or +qualities a man should possess; it may be used of immature persons. +_Virile_ implies maturity and robust masculinity; it is also used of +the power to procreate. "A ____ lad." "A ____ reply." "____ energy." +"____ and aggressive." "____ forbearance." + +<Inner, internal>. _Inner_ is somewhat within, or more within +than something else is; it is also used in figurative and spiritual +senses. _Internal_ is entirely within. "The ____ organs of the human +body." "The ____ layer of the rind." "The injury was ____." +"The ____ nature of man." "The ____ meaning of the occurrence." + +<Height, altitude>. "He was five feet, eleven inches in height." +Can you substitute _altitude_? Is _altitude_ used of persons? +"At an altitude of eleven feet from the ground." Would _height_ be +more natural? Does _altitude_ betoken great height? If so, does +Hamlet speak jestingly when he greets the player, "Your ladyship is nearer +heaven than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine?" What of +the sentence: "The altitude of Galveston was not sufficient to protect it +from the tidal wave"? Does the magnitude or importance of the object +(Galveston) compensate for its lack of elevation and thus justify +_altitude_? Could _height_ be substituted? If so, would the +words _above sea-level_ have to follow it? Does this fact give you a +further clue as to the distinction between the two words? You are +comparing the elevation of two peaks, both plainly visible; you measure +them merely by your eye. Do you say "This exceeds the other in height" or +"This exceeds the other in altitude"? Suppose the peaks are so distant +from each other that the two are not visible simultaneously, and suppose +you are speaking from a knowledge of the scientific measurements. Do you +say "This exceeds the other in height" or "This exceeds the other in +altitude"? + +<Talk, conversation>. _Talk_ may be one-sided and empty. +_Conversation_ requires that at least two shall participate, and it +is not spoken of as empty, though it may be trivial. "Our ____ was +somewhat desultory." "Thought is less general than ____." +"His ____ was so lively that I had no chance to interrupt" +"That is meaningless ____." + +<Homesickness, nostalgia>. All of us have heard physicians call +commonplace ailments by extraordinary names. When homesickness reaches the +stage where a physician is or might be called in, it becomes nostalgia. +The latter term suggests morbid or chronic suffering. A healthy boy away +from home for the first time is homesick. An exile who has wasted himself +with pining for his native land is nostalgic. "His ____ was more than +____; it had so preyed upon his thoughts that it had grown into ____." + +Rise, ascend. _Rise_ is the more general term, but it expresses less +than _ascend_ in degree or stateliness. "He had foretold to them that +he would ____ into heaven." "Do not ____ from your seat." "The diver +slowly ____ to the surface." "The travelers ____ the mountain." + +<Sell, vend>. _Sell_ is the more dignified word socially, but +may express greater moral degradation. _Vend_ is used of the petty +(as that which can be carried about in a wagon), and may suggest the +pettily dishonest. "That man would ____ his country." "We shall ____ a +million dollars' worth of goods." "The hucksters ____ their wares." + + +<LIST H> + +Study the discriminations between the members of the following pairs. +Determine whether the words are correctly used in the illustrative +sentences. (Some are; some are not.) + +<Friendly, amicable>. _Friendly_ denotes goodwill positive in +quality though perhaps limited in degree; we may be friendly to friends, +enemies, or strangers. _Amicable_ is negative, denoting absence of +open discord: it is used of those persons between whom some connection +already exists. "The newcomer has an amicable manner." "Both sides were +cautious, but at last they reached a friendly settlement." "I have only +amicable feelings for an enemy who is thus merciful." "The two met, if not +in a friendly, at least in an amicable way." + +<Willing, voluntary>. Both words imply an act of the will; but +_willing_ adds positive good-nature, desire, or enthusiasm, whereas +_voluntary_ conveys little or nothing of the emotional attitude. +_Voluntary_ is often thought of in contrast with _mechanical_. +"They made willing submission." "They rendered whole-hearted and voluntary +service." "Though torn by desire to return to his mother, he willingly +continued his journey away from her." "The sneeze was unwilling." + +<Greedy, voracious.> _Greedy_ denotes excessiveness (usually +habitual) of appetite or, in its figurative uses, of desire; it nearly +always carries the idea of selfishness. _Voracious_ denotes intense +hunger or the hasty and prolonged consumption of great quantities of food; +it may indicate, not habitual selfishness, but the stress of +circumstances. "Nobody else I know is so greedy as he." "The young poet +was voracious of praise." "Trench, though a capital fellow, was so hungry +that he ate voraciously." + +<Offspring, progeny.> _Offspring_ is likely to be used when our +thought is chiefly on the children, _progeny_ when our thought is +chiefly on the parents. _Offspring_ may be used of one or many; +_progeny_ is used in collective reference to many. "He was third +among the progeny who won distinction." "They are the progeny of very rich +parents." "Clayton left his offspring well provided for." + +<Ghost, spirit.> _Ghost_ is the narrower term. It never +expresses, as _spirit_ does, the idea of soul or of animating mood or +purpose. With reference to incorporeal beings, it denotes (except in the +phrase "the Holy Ghost") the reappearance of the dead in disembodied form. +_Spirit_ may denote a variety of incorporeal beings--among them +angels, fairies (devoid of moral nature), and personalities returned from +the grave and manifested--seldom visibly--through spiritualistic tappings +and the like. "The superstitious natives thought the spirit of their chief +walked in the graveyard." "The ghost of the ancestors survives in the +descendants." "I can call spirits from the vasty deep." + +<Foe, enemy.> Nowadays the chief difference between the two terms is +that _foe_ is the more used in poetry, _enemy_ in prose. +But _foe_ tends to express the more personal and implacable +hostility. We do not think of foes as bearing any friendship for each +other; enemies may, or they may be enemies in public affairs but downright +friends in their private relations. A man is hardly spoken of as being his +own foe, but he may be his own enemy. "For the moment we found ourselves +foes." "Suspicion is an enemy to content." "I paid a tribute to my friend, +who was the dominant personality among the enemy." + +<Truth, veracity.> _Truth_ has to do with the accuracy of the +statement, of the facts; _veracity_ with the intention of the person +to say nothing false. "I cannot vouch for the veracity of the story, but I +can for the truth of the teller." "Though he is not a man of veracity, I +believe he is now speaking the truth." "Veracity, crushed to earth, will +rise again." + +<Break, fracture>. _Break_ is the broader term. It need not +refer clearly to the operation or result of external force, nor need it +embody the idea that this force is brought against a hard substance. In +these respects it differs from _fracture_, as also in the fact that +it may designate a mere interruption. Furthermore it has figurative uses, +whereas _fracture_ is narrowly literal. "There was a fracture in the +chain of mountains." "The break in his voice was distinct." "The fracture +of the bones of his wrist incapacitated him." "The fracture of the rope." + +<Hug, embrace>. To _hug_ is to clasp violently or +enthusiastically, and perhaps ludicrously. To _embrace_ is to clasp +in a more dignified, perhaps even in a formal, way; the term also means to +include, to comprise. "This topic embraces the other." "Did you see that +ardent bumpkin embracing his sweetheart?" "Her sister gave her a graceful +but none too cordial hug." "The wounded bear hugged the hunter +ferociously." + +<Shorten, abridge>. The two terms overlap; but there is a fairly +strong tendency to use _shorten_ for reduction in length, and +_abridge_ for reduction in quantity or mass. Both words are used +figuratively as well as literally. "The tyrant shortened the privileges of +his subjects." "We shortened the rope." "The teacher abridged the +recitation." "The report of the committee appears in abridged form in +Volume 2 of our records." + + +<LIST I> + +With the help of the dictionary discriminate between the members of the +following pairs. Determine whether the words are correctly used in the +illustrative sentences. (Some are; some are not.) + +<Fiery, inflammable>. "He delivered a fiery address." "The +underbrush was dry and fiery." "Your disposition is too inflammable." + +<Lean, attenuated>. "The fat man had grown attenuated." +"Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look." "The hot metal was then drawn +into an attenuated wire." "Only a lean line of our soldiers faced the +dense masses of the enemy." + +<Home-like, domestic>. "The scene was quiet and domestic." "It is +home-like, inexpressibly dear." "To Waltham, heartsick from his +wanderings, the room in all its arrangements was thoroughly domestic." + +<Vigilant, watchful>. "We must be vigilant if we would maintain our +liberty." "He was wakeful, even watchful, though not from set purpose." +"He was vigilant for evidences of friendship." + +<Building, edifice>. "It is a big, barn-like building." "Spare yonder +sacred edifice." "This is the most imposing building I ever saw." + +<Hole, aperture>. "I poked a stick into the aperture which the +crawfish had made." "Through the aperture of the partly open door I gazed +out on the street." "The hole of the hornet's nest was black with the +emerging and angry insects." + +<Farming, agriculture>. "Two hundred students graduated this year +from the college of farming." "For long years he had devoted himself to +the homely, grinding tasks of agriculture." "I have looked rather +carefully into the theories of farming." + +<Rest, repose>. "He obtained some repose even while standing." "We +wished for a moment's rest from our exertions." "Worn out, he was +compelled to seek repose." "Lincoln's face in repose was very melancholy." + +<Help, aid>. "The man was so injured he could do nothing for himself; +I had to aid him." "Help, help!" "Aid us, O God, in our sore distress." +"The little fellow could not quite get the bundle to his shoulder; a +passerby helped him." + +<Hide, conceal>. "By refraining from comment he hid his connection +with the affair." "Wild creatures hide themselves by means of their +protective coloring." "The frost on the panes conceals the landscape from +you." "Do not hide your misdeeds from your mother." + + +<LIST J> + +In the following list only the native member of each pair is given. +Determine what the classic member is, and frame sentences to illustrate +the correct use of the two words. (Make a conscientious effort to find the +classic member by means of its parallelism with the native. If, and after, +you definitely fail in any instance to find it, obtain a clue to it +through study of the words in List G. Every pair in that list is clearly +suggestive of one or more pairs in this list.) + +nightly,-- motherly,-- +breadth,-- buy,-- +hot,-- fall,-- +thought,-- sleeplessness,-- +fatherly,-- yearly,-- +outer,-- depth,-- +womanly,-- speech,-- + + +<LIST K> + +Discriminate between the members of each of the following pairs, and frame +sentences to illustrate the correct use of the two words. + +freedom, liberty well, cistern +freedom, independence give, donate +free, acquit happen, occur +door, portal lessen, abate +begin, commence lessen, diminish +behead, decapitate forefathers, ancestors +belief, credence friend, acquaintance +belief, credulity lead, conduct +swear, vow end, finish +curse, imprecate end, complete +curse, anathema end, terminate +die, expire warn, admonish +die, perish warn, caution +die, succumb rich, affluent +lively, vivacious wealthy, opulent +walk, ambulate help, assistance +leave, depart help, succor +leave, abandon answer, reply +go with, accompany find out, ascertain +go before, precede take, appropriate +hasten, accelerate shrewd, astute +quicken, accelerate breathe, respire +speed, celerity busy, industrious +hatred, animadversion growing, crescent +fearful, timorous grow, increase + + +<LIST L> + +Cover with a piece of paper the classic (right-hand) members of the +following pairs, and if possible ascertain what they are by studying the +native members. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of both +words in each pair. + +neighborhood, vicinity hang, impend +hang, suspend rash, impetuous +flood, inundation drunk, intoxicated +harmful, injurious tool, instrument +mind, intellect mad, insane +birth, nativity sail, navigate +sailor, mariner ship, vessel +lying, mendacious upright, erect +early, premature upright, vertical +first, primary shake, vibrate +raise, elevate swing, oscillate +lift, elevate leaves, foliage +greet, salute beg, importune +choose, select beggar, mendicant +choose, elect smell, odor +same, identical sink, submerge +name, nominate dip, immerse +follow, pursue room, apartment +follow, succeed see, perceive +teach, instruct see, inspect +teach, inculcate sight, visibility +teacher, pedagogue sight, vision +tiresome, tedious sight, spectacle +empty, vacant glasses, spectacles +farewell, valediction + + +<LIST M> + +Cover with a piece of paper the native (left-hand) members of the +following pairs, and if possible ascertain what they are by studying the +classic members. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of both +words in each pair. + +skin, cuticle thunder, fulminate +skin, integument sleep-walking, somnambulism +hide, epidermis bird, ornithology +fleshly, carnal bird, aviary +hearer, auditor bee, apiary +snake, serpent bending, flexible +heap, aggregation wrinkle, corrugation +laugh, cachinnation slow, dilatory +laughable, risible lime, calcimine +fear, trepidation coal, lignite +live, exist man, anthropology +bridal, nuptial winter, hibernate +wed, marry gap, hiatus +husband/wife, spouse right, ethical +shore, littoral showy, ostentatious +forswear, perjure spelling, orthography +steal, peculate time, chronology +steal, embezzle handbook, manual +lockjaw, tetanus hole, cavity +mistake, error dig, excavate +mistake, erratum boil, tumor +wink, nictation tickle, titillate +blessing, benediction dry, desiccated +wet, humid warm, tepid +flirt, coquet forgetfulness, oblivion +fiddle, violin sky, firmament +sky, empyrean flatter, compliment +flee, abscond flight, fugitive +forbid, prohibit hinder, impede +hold, contain + + +<LIST N> + +For each of the following pairs frame a sentence which shall contain one +of the members. Can the other member be substituted without affecting the +meaning of the sentence? Read the discrimination of _Height-altitude_ +in EXERCISE - Parallels. Ask yourself similar questions to bring out the +distinction between the two words you are considering. + +threat, menace call, summon +talk, commune cleanse, purify +short, terse short, concise +better, ameliorate lie, recline +new, novel straight, parallel +lawful, legitimate law, litigation +law, jurisprudence flash, coruscate +late, tardy watch, chronometer +foretell, prognosticate king, emperor +winding, sinuous hint, insinuate +burn, incinerate fire, incendiarism +bind, constrict crab, crustacean +fowls, poultry lean, incline +flat, level flat, vapid +sharpness, acerbity sharpness, acrimony +shepherd, pastor word, vocable +choke, suffocate stifle, suffocate +clothes, raiment witness, spectator +beat, pulsate mournful, melancholy +beginning, incipient drink, imbibe +light, illuminate hall, corridor +stair, escalator anger, indignation +fight, combat sleight-of-hand, prestidigitation +build, construct tree, arbor +ask, interrogate wench, virgin +frisk, caper fill, replenish +water, irrigate silly, foolish +coming, advent feeling, sentiment +old, antiquated forerunner, precursor +sew, embroider unload, exonerate +grave, sepulcher readable, legible +tell, narrate kiss, osculate +nose, proboscis striking, percussion +green, verdant stroke, concussion +grass, verdure bowman, archer +drive, propel greed, avarice +book, volume stingy, parsimonious +warrior, belligerent bath, ablution +owner, proprietor wrong, incorrect +bow, obeisance top, summit +kneel, genuflection food, nutrition +work, occupation seize, apprehend +shut, close field, agrarian + +Turn back to Lists A, B, C, D, E, and F. Discriminate between the members +of each pair contained in these lists. Frame sentences to illustrate the +correct use of the words. + + + +VII + + SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (1) + + +In considering pairs we have, without using the word, been studying +synonyms. For most pairs are synonyms (or in some instances antonyms) that +hunt in couples. We must now deal with synonyms, and incidentally +antonyms, as they associate themselves in larger groups. + +A vocabulary is impoverished. Why? Nine times in ten, because of a +disregard of synonyms. Listen to the talk of the average person. Whatever +is pleasing is _fine_ or _nice_ or _all to the good_; +whatever is displeasing is _bum_ or _awful_ or _a fright_. +Life is reflected, not as noble and complex, but as mean and meager. Out +of such stereotyped utterance only the general idea emerges. The precise +meaning is lazily or incompetently left to the hearer to imagine. The +precise meaning? There is none. A person who does not take the trouble to +speak clearly has not taken the trouble to think clearly. + +But the master of synonyms expresses, instead of general, hazy, +commonplace conceptions, the subtlest shadings of thought and feeling. He +has so trained himself that he selects, it may be unconsciously, from a +throng of possible words. One word may be strong, another weak. One may be +broad, another narrow. One may present an alternative in meanings, another +permit no liberty of choice. One may be suggestive, another literal or +colorless. One may penetrate to the core of the idea, another strike only +in the environs. With these possibilities the master of synonyms reckons. +He must have the right word. He chooses it, not at haphazard, but in +conformity with a definite purpose. + +For synonyms are not words that have the same meaning. They are words that +have similar meanings. They may be compared to circles that overlap but do +not coincide. Each embraces a common area, but each embraces also an area +peculiar to itself. Though many words cluster about a given idea, rarely +if ever are even two of these words entirely equivalent to each other. In +scope, in suggestion, in emotional nuance, in special usage, or what not, +is sure to lurk some denial of perfect correspondence. And of synonyms, so +of antonyms. Antonyms are words opposite in meaning; but the opposition, +for the same reasons as the likeness, is seldom or never absolute. + +In your study of synonyms you will find most of the dictionaries +previously named of great help. You may also profitably consult the +following books of synonyms (heavy, scholastic works not suited for +ordinary use are omitted): + + +<Books of Plain Synonyms and Antonyms> + +Edith B. Ordway: _Synonyms and Antonyms_. A compact, practical +volume, with antonyms (in italics for contrast) immediately following +synonyms. + +Louis A. Flemming: _Putnam's Word Book_. A book of the ordinarily +used synonyms of words, with antonyms after some of them, and with lists +of associated words wherever these are likely to be useful. + +Samuel Fallows: _100,000 Synonyms and Antonyms_. A handy little +volume, with useful lists of various kinds in appendices. + +Richard Soule: _Dictionary of English Synonyms_ [revised and enlarged +by George H. Howison]. A much larger and more expensive book than the +others, and less practical for ordinary use, but fuller in treatment of +material, with words of more than one meaning carefully divided into their +various senses. + + +<Synonyms with Word Discriminations> + +George Crabb: _English Synonyms_. A standard volume for over 100 +years. Has close distinctions, but is somewhat scholarly for ordinary use. +Revised edition of 1917, omitting illustrative quotations from literature, +not so good as editions before that date. + +James C. Fernald: _English Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions_. +A pleasing book to read, with much information about the use of words and +their shades of meaning (with exercises), also with proper prepositions to +follow words. Material taken from the _Standard Dictionary_. + +Peter Mark Roget: _Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases_. Issued in +many editions and revisions. Words grouped under general ideas. An +excellent book for serious and laborious study, but not for quick use. + + +<How to Acquire Synonyms> + +The best principle for the extension of one's mastery of synonyms is the +principle already used over and over in this book--that of proceeding from +the known to the unknown. It is the fundamental principle, indeed, of any +kind of successful learning. We should build on what we have, fit each new +piece of material into the structure already erected. But normally it is +our ill fortune to learn through chance rather than through system. We +perceive elucidation here, draw an inference there. These isolated +fragments of knowledge may mislead rather than inform us. + +The principle of proceeding from the known to the unknown may be applied +to synonyms in various ways. Two of these--the two of most importance--we +must consider here. + +First, you should reckon with your personal, demonstrated needs. Just as +you have already analyzed your working vocabulary for its general limits +and shortcomings, so should you analyze it with particular reference to +your poverty in synonyms. Watch your actual speech; make a list of the +words--nouns, verbs, and adjectives particularly--that you employ again +and again. Make each of these words the starting-point for a linguistic +exploring expedition. First, write the word down. Then under it write all +the synonyms that come forthwith to your mind. These constitute your +present available stock; in speaking or writing you could, if you kept +yourself mentally alert, summon them on the moment. But the list, as you +know, is not exhaustive. Draw a line under it and subjoin such synonyms as +come to you after reflection. These constitute a second stock, not +instantaneously available, yet to be tagged as among your resources. Next +add a list of the synonyms you find through research, through a ransacking +of dictionaries and books of synonyms. This third stock, but dimly +familiar if familiar at all, is in no practical sense yours. And indeed +some of the words are too abstruse, learned, or technical for you to +burden your memory with them. But many--most--are worth acquiring. By +writing down the words of these three classes you have done something to +stamp them upon your memory as associates. You must now make it your +business to bring them into use. Never call upon them for volunteers, but +like a wise commander summon the individual that can rightly perform a +particular service. Thus will your speech, perhaps vague and indolent now, +become exact, discriminating, competent, vital. + +In the second place, you should obtain specific and detailed command of +general ideas. Not of out-of-the-way ideas. But of the great basic ideas +that are the common possession of all mankind. For through these basic +ideas is the most natural and profitable approach to the study of +synonyms. Each of them is represented by a generic word. So elementary are +idea and word alike that a person cannot have the one in mind without +having the other ready and a-quiver on his tongue. Every person is master +of both. But it is unsafe to predicate the person's acquaintance with the +shades and phases of the idea, or with the corresponding discriminations +in language. He may not know them at all, he may know them partially, he +may know them through and through. Let us suppose him ignorant of them but +determined to learn. His progress, both in the thought and in the +language, will be from the general to the specific. His acquaintance with +the idea in the large he will gradually extend to an acquaintance with it +in detail, and his command of the broad term for it he will little by +little supplement with definite terms for its phases. An illustration will +make this clear. + +We are aware that the world is made up of various classes and conditions +of men. How did we learn this? Let us go back to the time when our minds +were a blank, when we were babes and sucklings, when we had not perceived +that men exist, much less that mankind is infinitely complex. A baby comes +slowly to understand that all objects in the universe are divisible into +two classes, human and non-human, and that a member of the former may be +separated from the others and regarded as an individual. It has reached +the initial stage of its knowledge on the subject; it has the basic idea, +that of the individual human being. As soon as it can speak, it acquires a +designating term--not of course the sophisticated _human being_, but +the simpler _man_. It uses this word in the generic sense, to +indicate _any_ member of the human race; for as yet it knows nothing +and cares nothing about differences in species. With increasing +enlightenment, however, it discerns five species, and distinguishes among +them by swelling this branch of its vocabulary to five words: man (in the +sense of adult male), woman, boy, girl, baby. (To be sure, it may chance +to have acquired a specific term, as _boy_ or _baby_, before the +generic term _man_; but if so, it has attached this term to some +particular individual, as the grocer's boy or itself, rather than to the +individuals of a species. Its understanding of the species as a species +comes after its understanding of the genus.) As time passes, it divides +mankind into yet further species by sundry other methods: according to +occupation, for example, as doctors, chauffeurs, gardeners; to race or +color, as white men; negroes, Malays, Chinese; to disposition, as heroes, +gift-givers, teasers, talkers; and so on. It perceives moreover that +species are made up of sub-species. Thus instead of lumping all boys +together it begins to distinguish them as big boys, little boys, +middle-sized boys, boys in long trousers, boys in short trousers, barefoot +boys, schoolboys, poor boys, rich boys, sick boys, well boys, friends, +enemies, bullies, and what not. It even divides the sub-species. Thus it +classifies schoolboys as bright boys, dullards, workers, shirkers, +teachers' favorites, scapegoats, athletes, note-throwers, truant-players, +and the like. And of these classes it may make yet further sub-divisions, +or at least it may separate them into the individuals that compose them. +In fine, with its growing powers and experience, it abandons its old +conception that all persons are practically alike, and follows human +nature through the countless ramifications of man's status, temperament, +activities, or fate. And it augments its vocabulary to keep pace, roughly +at least, with its expanding ideas. In thought and terminology alike its +growth is from genus to species. + +So it is with all our ideas and with all our words to cap them. We radiate +from an ascertained center into new areas of knowledge; we proceed from +the broad, fundamental, generic to the precise, discriminatory, specific. +Upon this natural law are based the exercises in this chapter and the two +to follow. The starting-point is always a word representative of an +elementary idea--a word and an idea which everybody knows; the advance is +into the unknown or the unused, at any rate into the particular. Now +fundamental ideas are not very numerous, and these exercises include the +commoner ones. Such a method of studying synonyms must therefore yield +large and tangible results. + +One matter, however, should be explained. Most books of synonyms start +with a word and list all the terms in any way related to it. The idea of +the compilers is that the more they give the student the more they help +him. But oftentimes by giving more than is strictly pertinent they +actually hinder and confuse him. They may do this in various ways, of +which two must be mentioned. First, they follow an idea too far afield. +Thus in listing the synonyms of _love_ they include such terms as +_kindness_ and _lenity_, words only through stretched usage +connected with _love_. Secondly, they trace, not one meaning of a +word, but two or more unrelated meanings when the word chances to possess +them. Thus in listing the synonyms of _cry_ they include both the +idea of weeping and the idea of calling or screaming. What are the results +of these methods? The student finds a clutter where he expects +rationalized order; he finds he must exclude many words which lie in the +borders and fringes of the meaning. Moreover he finds mere chance +associations mingled with marked kinships. In both cases he finds dulled +distinctions. + +This book offers synonyms that are apropos and definite rather than +comprehensive. Starting with a basic idea, it finds the generic term; it +then disregards dim and distant relationships, confines itself rigorously +to one of perhaps two or three legitimate senses, and refuses to consider +the peculiar twists and devious ways of subsidiary words when they wander +from the idea it is tracing. It thus deliberately blinds itself to much +that is interesting. But this partial blindness enables it to concentrate +attention upon the matter actually under study, to give sharper +distinctions and surer guidance. + + +EXERCISE A + +After three introductory groups (dealing with thoroughly concrete ideas +and words) the synonyms in this exercise are arranged alphabetically +according to the first word in each group. + +This first word is generic. It is immediately followed by a list of its +synonyms. These are then informally discriminated or else (in a few +instances) questions are asked about them. Perhaps a few less closely +related synonyms are then listed for you to discriminate in a similar way. +Finally, illustrative sentences are given. Each blank in these you are to +fill with the word that conveys the meaning exactly. (To prevent monotony +and inattention, the number of illustrative sentences varies. You may have +to use a particular word more than once, and another word not at all.) + + +<Walk, plod, trudge, tread, stride, stalk, strut, tramp, march, pace, +toddle, waddle, shuffle, mince, stroll, saunter, ramble, meander, +promenade, prowl, hobble, limp, perambulate.> + +Any one may be said to _walk_ who moves along on foot with moderate +speed. He _plods_ if he walks slowly and heavily, and perhaps +monotonously or spiritlessly as well. He _trudges_ if he walks +toilsomely and wearily, as though his feet were heavy. He _treads_ if +his walk is suggestive of a certain lightness and caution--if, for +instance, he seems half-uncertain whether to proceed and sets one foot +down carefully before the other. He _strides_ if he takes long steps, +especially in a firm, pompous, or lofty manner. He _stalks_ if there +is a certain stiffness or haughtiness in his walking. He _struts_ if +he walks with a proud or affectedly dignified gait, especially if he also +raises his feet high. He _tramps_ if he goes for a long walk, as for +pleasure or enjoyment out-of-doors. He _marches_ if he walks in a +measured, ordered way, especially in company with others. He _paces_ +if he engages in a measured, continuous walk, as from nervousness, +impatience, or anger. He _toddles_ if his steps are short, uneven, +and unsteady, like those of a child. He _waddles_ if his movement is +ungainly, with a duck-like swaying from side to side. He _shuffles_ +if he drags his feet with a scraping noise. He _minces_ if he takes +short steps in a prim, precise, or affectedly nice manner. He +_strolls_ or _saunters_ if he goes along in an easy, aimless, or +idle fashion. He _rambles_ if he wanders about, with no definite aim +or toward no definite goal. He _meanders_ if he proceeds slowly and +perhaps listlessly in an ever-changing course, as if he were following the +windings of the crooked Phrygian river, Meander. He _promenades_ if +he walks in a public place, as for pleasure or display. He _prowls_ +if he moves about softly and stealthily, as in search of prey or booty. He +_hobbles_ if he jerks along unevenly, as from a stiff or crippled +condition of body. He _limps_ if he walks lamely. He +_perambulates_ when he walks through, perhaps for observation or +inspection. _(Perambulates_ is of course a learned word.) + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <sneak, shamble, amble, +wander, stamp, slouch, gad, gallivant, glide, hike>. + +_Sentences_: They ____ down the lane in the moonlight. Rip Van +Winkle loved to ____ about the mountains. "The plowman homeward ____ his +weary way." The old man ____ down the street with his cane. The excavators +____ about the ruins in search of relics. He ____ about the room, almost +bursting with importance. The nervous man ____ up and down the station +platform. They ____ along the beach at the sea resort. The baby learned to +____ when it was eleven months old. The two of them ____ about the field +all day hunting rabbits. A ghost, so they tell me, ____ about the +haunted house at midnight. He carefully ____ the plank that spans the +abyss. The baby ____ toward us with outstretched arms. The Chinaman ____ +out of the back room of the laundry in his carpet slippers. They caught +glimpses of gaunt wolves ____ about their campfire. He was terrified when +the giant ____ into the room. The fat lady ____ down the aisle of the +street car. The sick man will ____ a few steps each day until he is +stronger. A turkey cock ____ about the barnyard. A boy with a rag tied +around his toe ____ painfully down the street. They reported to the police +that a man had been ____ about the place. She held her skirts daintily and +____ along as if she were walking on eggs. The lovers ____ along the banks +of the stream. He ____ through the hall like a conqueror. The children +wore themselves out by ____ through the snow to school. We ____ through +the meadows, often stooping to pick flowers as we went. The soldiers ____ +into camp at nightfall. + + +<Laugh, giggle, snicker, titter, chuckle, guffaw, cachinnate.> + +What differences in human nature, conditions, and disposition are revealed +by laughter! If a person gives audible expression to mirth, gayety, or +good-humor, the simplest word to apply to what he does is _laugh_. +But suppose a girl, with slight or insufficient provocation, engages in +silly or foolish though perhaps involuntary laughter. We should say she +_giggles_. Suppose a youngster is amused at an inappropriate moment +and but partly suppresses his laughter; or suppose he wilfully permits the +breaking forth of just enough laughter to indicate disrespect. He +_snickers_. Suppose a person gives a little, light laugh; or more +especially, suppose a crowd gives such an one as the result of slight, +simultaneous amusement. Our word now is _titters_. Suppose we laugh +low or gently or to ourselves. We _chuckle_. Suppose some one laughs +loudly, boisterously, even coarsely, in a manner befitting a lumber camp +rather than a drawing room. That person _guffaws_. Suppose a man +engages in explosive and immoderate laughter. He _cachinnates_. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <chortle, roar>. + +_Second assignment_: Name all the words you can that designate +inaudible laughter (for example, <smile, smirk, grin>). + +_Sentences_: The rough fellow ____ in the lecturer's face. "If you +prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not ____?" He kept ____ +at the thought of the surprise he would give them. "The swain mistrustless +of his smutted face, While secret laughter ____ round the place." The +ill-bred fellow was ____ with strident, violent, irritating sounds. "The +little dog ____ to see such sport." The audience ____ when the speaker's +glasses began to slip from his nose. The girl kept ____ in a way that +embarrassed us both. The small boy ____ when the preacher's notes +fluttered out of the Bible to the floor. The rude fellows ____ at this +evidence of my discomfiture. He ____ very kindly and told me not to feel +any regrets. The little maids tried to be polite, but ____ irrepressibly. + + +<Look, glance, gaze, stare, peer, scan, scrutinize, gloat, glare, +glower, lower, peek, peep, gape, con, pore, ogle.> + +A person simply directs his eyes to see. He _looks_. But eyes may +speak, we are told, and since this person undergoes many changes of mood +and purpose, we shall let his eyes tell us all they will about his +different manners of looking. At first he but looks momentarily (as from +lack of time) or casually (as from lack of interest). He _glances_. +Soon he makes a business of looking, and fastens his eyes for a long time +on something he admires or wonders at. He _gazes_. Presently he looks +with a blank, perhaps a rude, expression and with eyes opened widely; he +may be for the moment overcome with incomprehension, surprise, or fright, +or perhaps he wishes to be insolent. He _stares_. Now he is looking +narrowly or closely at something that he sees with difficulty. He +_peers_. The next moment he looks over something with care or with an +encompassing sweep of vision. He _scans_ it. His interest thoroughly +enlisted, he looks at it carefully point by point to see that it is right +in each detail. He _scrutinizes_ it. He then alters his mood, and +looks with scornful or malignant satisfaction upon something he has +conquered or has power over. He _gloats_. Anger, perhaps fierceness, +takes possession of him, and he looks with piercing eyes. He +_glares_. Threat mingles with anger, and in all likelihood he looks +scowlingly or frowningly. He _glowers_. An added expression of +sullenness or gloom comes into his look. He _lowers_. He throws off +his dark spirit and looks slyly and playfully, let us say through a small +opening. He _peeks_. Playfulness gives place to curiosity; he looks +quickly and furtively, perhaps through some tiny aperture, and probably at +something he has no business to see. He _peeps_. The while he looks +his mouth falls open, as from stupidity or wonder. He _gapes_. He +looks at something a long time to study it. He _cons_ or +_pores_. His study is not of the thing itself; it is meditation or +reverie. He _pores_. A member of the opposite sex is present; he +looks at her with the effort of a flirt to attract attention to himself, +or less scrupulous, he directs toward her amorous or inviting glances. He +_ogles_. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <leer, view, survey, +inspect, regard, watch, contemplate>. + +_Sentences_: The inspecting officer ____ the men's equipment. The +student ____ his lessons carefully. At this unexpected proposal Dobbett +merely ____. Jimmie ____ at the fellow who had kicked the pup. The +inquisitive maid ____ into all the the closets. He ____ over his fallen +adversary. The bookkeeper ____ over his ledger. In the darkened hallway he +____ at the notices on the bulletin board. "The poet's eye, in a fine +frenzy rolling, Doth ____ from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven." +From the way her father ____ the foolish, young man should have known it +was time to go. He ____ long and lovingly upon the scenes he was leaving. +The newcomer ____ insolently at his host and ____ the young ladies. + + +<Abandon, desert, forsake.> + +_Abandon_ denotes absolute giving up, as from force of circumstances +or shirking of responsibility. _Desert_ refers to leaving or quitting +in violation of obligation, duty, or oath. _Forsake_, which may +involve no culpability, usually implies a breaking off of intimate +association or attachment. + +_Sentences_: The sailor ____ his ship. Necessity compelled him to +____ his friends in a time of sore trouble. They hated to ____ their old +haunts. A brave man never ____ hope. An unscrupulous man will ____ his +principles when it is to his advantage. "When my father and my mother ____ +me, then the Lord will take me up." We ____ our attempt to save the ship. + + +<Abase, debase, degrade, humble, humiliate, disgrace.> + +To _abase_ is to bring down so that the victim feels himself lowered +in estate or external condition. To _debase_ is to produce a marked +decline in actual worth or in moral quality. To _degrade_ is to lower +in rank or status. To _humble_ is to lower in dignity or self-esteem, +or as used reflexively, to restrain one's own pride; the word often +implies that the person has been over-proud or arrogant. To +_humiliate_ is to deprive of self-esteem or to bring into ignominy. +To _disgrace_ is to bring actual shame upon. + +_Sentences_: They ____ the guilty officer from captain to lieutenant. +A man should ____ himself before God. He had so ____ himself that I no +longer expected good of him. His detection at cheating had ____ him before +the students. By successive overlords they had been ____ into a condition +of serfdom. The aristocratic old lady was ____ by her loss of social +position. The conversion of so much bullion into money had ____ the +coinage. + + +<Answer, reply, response, rejoinder, retort, repartee.> + +An interesting thing about the _answer_ group is that the generic +term has a somewhat strong rival in _reply_, itself fairly inclusive. +We must therefore discriminate rather fully between _answer_ and +_reply_. The former is a return in words to a question, a +communication, or an argument. The latter suggests a more or less formal +answer, as one carefully prepared or intelligently thought out. We might +give an _answer_ offhand, but are less likely to give a _reply_ +so. We may give any kind of _answer_ to a question, but if we give a +_reply_, the implication is that we have answered it definitely, +perhaps satisfactorily. On the other hand, in controversial matters we +may, though we by no means always do, imply a more conclusive meeting of +objections through _answer_ than through _reply_. A +_response_ is an expected answer, one in harmony with the question or +assertion, or in some way carrying the thought farther. A _rejoinder_ +is a quick reply to something controversial or calling forth opposition. +A _retort_ is a short, sharp reply, such as turns back censure or +derision, or as springs from anger. A _repartee_ is an immediate and +witty reply, perhaps to a remark of similar character which it is intended +to surpass in cleverness. + +_Sentences_: The detailed ____ to our letter should reach us within a +week. The plays of Oscar Wilde abound in brilliant ____. The speaker's +____ to the heckler was incisive and scathing. My ____ to that third +question in the examination in history was incorrect. The congregation +read the ____ in unison. You have enumerated objections to my course; here +is their ____. "This is no ____, thou unfeeling man, to excuse the current +of thy cruelty." There was silence throughout the chamber as the old +statesman rose to make his ____. To the tenderfoot's remark the guide +mumbled an indifferent ____. Our appeal for the sufferers elicited but a +poor ____. + + +<Ask, inquire, question, interrogate, interpellate, query, quiz, +catechize, request, beg, solicit, entreat, beseech, crave, implore, +supplicate, importune, petition.> + +From the general tree of asking grow many branches, different in size, in +the direction they take, in the shades of meaning they cast. What can we +learn from a rapid scrutiny of each? That to _inquire_ is to ask for +specific information. That to _question_ is to keep asking in order +to obtain detailed or reluctantly given information. That to +_interrogate_ is to question formally, systematically, or thoroughly. +That to _interpellate_ is to question as of unchallenged right, as in +a deliberative body. That to _query_ is to bring a thing into +question because of doubt as to its correctness or truth. That to +_quiz_ is to question closely and persistently, as from +meddlesomeness, opposition, or curiosity. That to _catechize_ is to +question in a minute, perhaps impertinent, manner in order to ascertain +one's secrets or the amount of his knowledge or information. That to +_request_ is to ask formally and politely. That to _beg_ is to +ask for deferentially or humbly, especially on the ground of pity. That to +_solicit_ is to ask with urgency. That to _entreat_ is to ask +with strong desire and moving appeal. That to _beseech_ is to ask +earnestly as a boon or favor. That to _crave_ is to ask humbly and +abjectly, as though unworthy of receiving. That to _implore_ is to +ask with fervor and intense earnestness. That to _supplicate_ is to +ask with urgent or even desperate appeal. (Both _implore_ and +_supplicate_ imply humility, as of a prayer to a superior being.) +That to _importune_ is to ask for persistently, even wearyingly. That +to _petition_ is to ask a superior, usually in writing, for some +favor, grant, or right. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <plead, pray>. + +_Sentences_: The leader of the minority ____ the upholders of the +measure sharply as to a secret understanding. I ____ you to keep your +promise. I shall ____ that solution for the present. The colonists ____ +Great Britain for a redress of grievances. She ____ the governor to grant +her husband a pardon. A child is naturally inquisitive and ____ many +questions. I ____ you to show mercy. On bended knees he ____ God's +forgiveness. "I'm stopp'd by all the fools I meet And ____ in every +street." The policeman ____ the suspect closely. The prosecuting attorney +____ the witness. We are ____ funds to aid the famine-stricken people of +India. He ____ me about your health. You should ____ at the office about +the lost package. She ____ your presence at the party. Every one resents +being ____. I ____ you to care for the child after I am gone. A fool +can ____ questions a wise man can't answer. She annoyed them by constantly +____ them for favors. The reporter ____ into the causes of the riot. "____ +and it shall be given you." I ____ your pardon, though I well know I do +not deserve it. The man ____ me to give him some money for food. + + +<Burn, scorch, singe, sear, parch, char, incinerate, cremate, +cauterize.> + +If you consume or injure something by bringing it in contact with fire or +heat, you _burn_ it. If you do not consume it but burn it +superficially so as to change the texture or color of its surface, you +_scorch_ it. If you burn off ends or projections of it, you +_singe_ it. If you burn its surface to dryness or hardness, you +_sear_ it. If you dry or shrivel it with heat, you _parch_ it. +If through heat you reduce it to a state of charcoal, or cinders, you +_char_ it. If you burn it to ashes, you _incinerate_ it. (This +word is learned and but little used in ordinary discourse.) If you burn a +dead body to ashes, you _cremate_ it. If you burn or sear anything +with a hot iron or a corrosive substance, you _cauterize_ it. + +_Sentences_: The hired girl ____ the cloth in ironing it. By getting +too close to the fire he ____ the nap of his flannels. The doctor at once +____ the wound. The cook had picked the chicken and now ____ its down over +the coals. I used to ____ grains of field corn on the cookstove, while my +mother prepared dinner. Shelley's body was ____ on a funeral pyre. The +lecturer spoke of the time when the whole earth might be ____. The earth +was ____ and all growing things were ____ by the intense summer heat. + + +<Busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous.> + +From much of the talk that we hear nowadays it might be supposed that the +earnest devotion of one's self to a task is a thing that has disappeared +from the earth. But a good many people are exhibiting this very devotion. +Let us see in what different degrees. The man who actively applies himself +to something, whether temporarily or habitually, is _busy_. The man +who makes continued application to work a principle or habit of life, is +_industrious_. The man who applies himself aggressively to the +accomplishment of some specific undertaking or pursuit, is +_diligent_. The man who quietly and determinedly sticks to a task +until it is accomplished, no matter what its difficulties or length, is +_assiduous_. The man who makes steady and painstaking application to +whatever he is about, is _sedulous_. + +_Sentences_: Early in life he acquired ____ habits. By patient and +____ study you may overcome those defects of your early education. "How +doth the ____ little bee improve each shining hour." The manager gave such +____ attention to details that he made few mistakes. He is ____ at +present. Oh, yes, he is always ____. "Nowher so ____ a man has he ther +has, And yet he seemed ____ than he was." + + +<Concise, terse, succinct, compendious, compact, sententious, pithy, +laconic, curt.> + +Words descriptive of brief utterance are, in nearly every instance, in +their origin figurative. The brevity is brought out by comparison with +something that is noticeably short or small. Let us examine the words of +our list for their figurative qualities. A _concise_ statement is one +that is _cut down_ until a great deal is said in a few words. A +_terse_ statement is _rubbed off_, rid of unessentials. +A _succinct_ statement has its important thoughts _bound_ into +small compass, as by a girdle. A _compendious_ statement _weighs +together_ the various thoughts and aspects of a subject; it shows by +means of a few effective words just what these amount to, gives a summary +of them. A _compact_ statement has its units of thought _fastened +together_ into firmness of structure; its brevity is well-knit. A +_sententious_ statement gives _feelings_ or _opinions_ in a +strikingly pointed or axiomatic way, so that they can be easily grasped +and remembered; if _sententious_ is unfavorably used, the statement +may be filled with paraded platitudes. A _pithy_ statement gives the +very _pith_, the heart of a matter; it is sometimes slightly quaint, +always effective and arresting. A _laconic_ statement is made in the +manner of _the Spartans_, who hated talk and used as few words as +possible. A _curt_ statement is _made short_; its abruptness is +oftentimes more or less rude. + +_Sentences_: "A tale should be judicious, clear, ____, the language +plain, and incidents well link'd." "Charles Lamb made the most ____ +criticism of Spenser when he called him the poet's poet." With a ____, +disdainful answer she turned away. The sermon was filled with ____ +sayings. By omitting all irrelevant details, he made his statement of the +case ____. It requires great skill to give a ____ statement of what such a +treatise contains. A proverb is a ____ statement of a truth. + + +<Death, decease, demise.> + +Men are as mindful of rank and pretension in their terms for the cessation +of life as in their choice of tombstones for the departed. _Death_ is +the great, democratic, unspoilable word. It is not too good for a clown or +too poor for an emperor. _Decease_ is a more formal word. Its +employment is often legal--the death proves to be of sufficient importance +for the law (and the lawyers) to take notice. _Demise_, however, is +outwardly the most resplendent term of all. It implies that the victim cut +a wide swath even in death. It is used of an illustrious person, as a +king, who transmits his title to an heir. Ordinary people cannot afford a +_demise_. If the term is applied to their shuffling off of this +mortal coil, the use is euphemistic and likely to be stilted. + +_Sentences_: "The crown at the moment of ____ must descend to the +next heir." "____ is a fearful thing." "In their ____ they were not +divided." At the ____ of his father he inherited the estate. "Each shall +take His chamber in the silent halls of ____." "Many a time I have been +half in love with easeful ____." + + +<Early, primitive, primeval, primordial, primal, pristine.> + +_Early_ is the simple word for that which was in, or toward, the +beginning. That is _primitive_ which has the old-fashioned or simple +qualities characteristic of the beginning. That is _primeval_ which +is of the first or earliest ages. That is _primordial_ which is first +in origin, formation, or development. That is _primal_ which is first +or original. (The word is poetic.) That is _pristine_ which has not +been corrupted from its original state. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <aboriginal, +prehistoric.> + +_Sentences_: It was a hardy mountain folk that preserved the ____ +virtues. The ____ history of mankind is shrouded in uncertainty. "This is +the forest ____." "It hath the ____ eldest curse upon 't, A brother's +murder." "A ____ leaf is that which is immediately developed from the +cotyledon." As the explorers penetrated farther into the country, they +beheld all the ____ beauties of nature. Some countries still use the ____ +method of plowing with a stick. + + +<Face, countenance, features, visage, physiognomy.> + +We hear some one say that he reads faces. How? Through long study of them +and what they indicate. The human race as a whole has been reading faces +through the centuries. It has felt such need to label certain recurring +aspects of them that it has invented the designating terms. Of these terms +the simple, inclusive one is of course _face_ itself. If, however, we +are thinking of the face as its look or expression reveals thoughts, +emotions, or state of mind, our term is _countenance_. If we are +thinking of it as distinguished or individualized by the contour, lines, +etc., we speak of the _features_. If we are thinking of its external +appearance or aspect, we call it the _visage_. If, finally, we are +thinking of it as indicative of mind, disposition, or fundamental +character, we say _physiognomy._ + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <lineaments>. + +_Sentences_: His grotesque ____ reminded one of a gargoyle. It is +said that the ____ of persons living constantly together tend to become +alike. "Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling ____." The teacher +told the students to wash their ____ every morning. "A ____ more in sorrow +than in anger." The firm but kind ____ of the old statesman shone happily +at this ovation. "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then ____ to +____." She turned an eager ____ up to me as she spoke. One's ____ is +moulded by one's thoughts. Cosmetics injure the ____. His clear-cut ____ +impressed his employer. + + +<Financial, monetary, pecuniary, fiscal.> + +_Financial_ is usually applied to money matters of considerable size +or moment. _Monetary_ applies to money, coin, or currency as such. +_Pecuniary_ refers to practical matters in which money is involved, +though not usually in large amounts. _Fiscal_ refers especially to +the time when money, receipts, and accounts are balanced or reckoned. + +_Sentences_: A ____ reward has been offered. We gave the unfortunate +man ____ assistance. The ____ system of the country was sound. It was +Hamilton who more than any one else shaped the ____ policies of the new +government. Experts audit the company's accounts at the end of the ____ +year. The ____ interests of the country were behind the bill. + + +<Flee, abscond, decamp.> + +To _flee_ is to run away from what one would avoid, as danger, +arrest, or the like. To _abscond_ is to steal off secretly and hide +one's self, as from some disgraceful reason or to avoid arrest. To +_decamp_ is to leave suddenly in great haste to get away; the word is +often used humorously. + +_Sentences_: They went to have their money refunded, but the swindler +had ____. The bank teller ____ after having squandered most of the +deposits. Yes, we were in proximity to a polecat, and without further +parley we ____. "Resist the devil, and he will ____ from you." William +Wallace, when pursued by the English, ____ into the Highlands. + + +<Foretell, predict, prophesy, forecast, presage, forebode, portend, +augur, prognosticate.> + +_Foretell_ is the general word for stating or perceiving beforehand +that which will happen. _Predict_ implies foretelling based on +well-founded or precise knowledge. _Prophesy_ often implies +supernatural inspiration to foretell correctly. The word is especially so +used in connection with the Scriptures; but in the Scriptures themselves +it frequently expresses insight and admonition without the element of +foretelling. _Forecast_ involves a marked degree of conjecture. +_Presage_ usually means to give as a presentiment or warning. +_Forebode_ expresses an uncertain foreknowledge of vague impending +evil. _Portend_ indicates the likelihood that something will befall +which is threatening or evil in its consequences. _Augur_ means +foretelling from omens. _Prognosticate_ means foretelling through the +study of signs or symptoms. + +_Sentences_: "For we know in part, and we ____ in part." (Insert +in the blank, successively, the terms just distinguished. In each instance +how is the meaning affected? Do any of the terms fail to make sense at +all? Which term do you think the right one? Bearing in mind the +distinctions we have made, frame sentences of your own to embody the +terms.) + + +<Get, acquire, obtain, procure, attain, gain, win, earn.> + +_Get_, the general term, may be used of whatever one comes by +whatsoever means to possess, experience, or realize. To _acquire_ is +to get into more or less permanent possession, either by some gradual +process or by one's determined efforts. To _obtain_ is to get +something desired by means of deliberate effort or request. To +_procure_ is to get by definitely planned effort something which, in +most instances, is of a temporary nature or the possession of which is +temporary. To _attain_ is to get through striving that which one has +set as a goal or end of his desire or ambition. To _gain_ is to get +that which is advantageous. To _win_ is to get as the result of +successful competition or the overcoming of opposition. To _earn_ is +to get as a deserved reward for one's efforts or exertions. + +_Sentences_: With such wages as those, he can barely ____ a living. +He ____ a pardon by appealing to the governor. The speaker ____ his point +by forcing his opponent to admit that the figures were misleading. By +buying in June I can ____ a good overcoat at half price. Did you ____ only +seven thousand dollars for your house? Walpole believed in ____ one's +ends in the surest and easiest way possible. It is illegal to ____ money +through false pretences. A junior ____ the prize in the oratorical +contest. Kirk ____ his advancement by taking a personal interest in the +firm's welfare. The painter ____ a foreign accent while he was studying in +Paris. He ____ their gratitude by loyally serving them. It was through +sacrifices that he ____ an education. + + +<Give, bestow, grant, confer, present>. + +We _give_ that which we transfer from our own to another's possession +or ownership, usually without compensation. We _bestow_ that which we +give gratuitously, or of which the recipient stands in especial need. We +_grant_ that which has been requested by one dependent upon us or +inferior to us, and which we give with some formality. From a position of +superiority we _confer_ as a favor or honor that which we might +withhold or deny. We _present_ that which is of importance or value +and which we give ceremoniously. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <furnish, supply, +impart>. + +_Sentences_: William the Conqueror ____ English estates upon his +followers. The rich man ____ his wonderful art collection to the museum. +My application for a leave of absence has been ____. The ticket agent ____ +us complete information. Every year he ____ alms upon the poor in that +neighborhood. The school board may ____ an increase in the salaries of +teachers. Many merchants ____ premiums with the articles they sell. The +college ____ an honorary degree upon the distinguished visitor. The +Pilgrims ____ thanks to God for their preservation. "Not what we ____, but +what we share." + + +<Haste, celerity, speed, hurry, expedition, despatch>. + +What did John Wesley mean by saying, "Though I am always in _haste_, +I am never in a _hurry_"? Does Lord Chesterfield's saying "Whoever is +in a _hurry_ shows that the thing he is about is too big for him" +help explain the distinction? Explain the distinction (taking _speed_ +in the modern sense) in the saying "The more _haste_, ever the worse +_speed_." "The tidings were borne with the usual _celerity_ of +evil news." Give the well-known saying in four simple words that express +the same idea. Which of the two statements is the more forceful? Which is +the more literary? Why did Prescott use the former in his _Ferdinand and +Isabella_? "_Despatch_," says Lord Chesterfield, "is the soul of +business." What does _despatch_ suggest about getting work done that +_haste_ or _speed_ does not? In which way would you prefer for +your employee to go about his task--with _haste_, with _speed_, +or with _despatch_? "With wingéd _expedition_, Swift as the +lightning glance, he executes His errand on the wicked." Why is it that +this use of _expedition_ in Milton's lines is apt? Would +_despatch_ have served as well? If not, why not? + + +<Hate, detest, abhor, loathe, abominate, despise>. + +To _hate_ involves deep or passionate dislike, sometimes bred of +ill-will. To _detest_ involves an intense, vehement, or deep-seated +antipathy. To _abhor_ involves utter repugnance or aversion, with an +impulse to recoil. To _loathe_ involves disgust because of physical +or moral offensiveness. To _abominate_ involves strong moral +aversion, as of that which is odious or wicked. To _despise_ is to +dislike and look down upon as inferior. + +_Sentences_: When he had explained his fell purpose, I could only +____ him. Who would not ____ a slimy creature like Uriah Heep? It is +natural for us to ____ our enemies. She ____ greasy food. There suddenly +in my pathway was the venomous reptile, darting out its tongue; oh, I ____ +snakes! A wholesome nature must ____ such principles as these. A child +____ to kiss and make up. The pampered young millionaire ____ those who +are simply honest and kind. These daily practices of her associates she +____. + + +<Healthful, wholesome, salutary, salubrious, sanitary, hygienic>. +(With this group contrast the _Disease_ group below.) + +The words of this group are assuredly blessed. Every one of them has to do +with the giving, promotion, or preservation of health. But health is of +various kinds, and therefore the words apply differently. _Healthful_ +is the most inclusive of them; it means that the thing it refers to is +full of health for us. _Wholesome_ also is a very broad term; what is +wholesome is good for us physically, mentally, or morally. _Salutary_ +is confined to that which affects for good our moral (including civic and +social) welfare, especially if it counteracts evil influences or +propensities. _Salubrious_ is confined to the physical; it is used +almost solely of healthful air or climate. _Sanitary_ and +_hygienic_ apply to physical well-being as promoted by the +eradication of the causes for sickness, disease, or the like; +_sanitary_, however, is used of measures and conditions affecting +people in general, whereas _hygienic_ connects itself with personal +habits. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: The word _healthy_ is +often confused with _healthful_. You have already discriminated +between these two terms, but you should renew your knowledge of the +distinction between them. + +_Sentences_: Colorado is noted for its ____ air. He offered the young +people some ____ advice. A person should brush his teeth every day for +____ reasons. In spite of its horrors, the French Revolution has had a +____ effect upon civilization. Damp, low places do not have a ____ +climate. Cities in the middle ages were not ____. His is a very ____ way +of life. My doctor recommends buttermilk as ____. + + +<Heavy, weighty, burdensome, onerous>. + +He knew that it was a ____ responsibility. (Insert the four words in the +blank space in turn, and analyze the differences in meaning thus +produced.) + + +<Liberal, generous, bountiful, munificent>. + +He made a ____ donation to the endowment fund. (Insert the four words in +the blank space in turn, and analyze the differences in meaning.) + + +<Masculine, male, manly, manlike, manful, mannish, virile>. + +"A man's a man for a' that," sang the poet. So he is, but not all the +adjectives allusive to his state are equally complimentary. +_Masculine_ betokens the qualities and characteristics belonging to +men. _Male_ designates sex and is used of animals as well as human +beings. _Manly_ (used of boys as well as men) implies the possession +of qualities worthy of a man, as strength, courage, sincerity, honesty, +independence, or even tenderness. _Manlike_ refers to qualities, +attributes, or foibles characteristically masculine. _Manful_ +suggests the valor, prowess, or resolution properly belonging to men. +_Mannish_ (a derogatory word) indicates superficial or affected +qualities of manhood, especially when inappropriately possessed by a +woman. _Virile_ applies to the sturdy and intrepid qualities of +mature manhood. + +_Sentences_: The Chinese especially prize ____ children. He was a +____ little fellow. She walked with a ____ stride. With ____ courage he +faced the crisis. It was a ____ defense of an unpopular cause. ____ +strength is the complement of female grace. The old sailor still retained +the rugged and ____ strength of a man much younger. With ____ bluntness +he told her what he thought. Such gentleness is not weak; it is ____. He +made a ____ struggle against odds. "His ____ brow Consents to death, but +conquers agony." Now isn't that assumption of omniscience ____? + + +<Name, appellation, designation, denomination, title, alias>. + +A _name_ is the word or words by which a person or thing is called or +known. If the name be descriptive or characterizing, even though in a +fanciful way, it is an _appellation_. If it particularizes an +individual through reference to distinctive quality or nature, perhaps +without employing any word the individual is usually known by, it is a +_designation_. If it specifies a class, especially a religious sect +or a kind of coin, it is a _denomination_. If it is an official or +honorary description of rank, office, place within a profession, or the +like, it is a _title_. If it is assumed, as to conceal identity, it +is an _alias_. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <cognomen, patronymic, nom +de plume, pseudonym>. + +_Sentences_: Yes, it is a five-dollar gold piece, though one doesn't +often see a coin of that ____ nowadays. The Little Corporal is the ____ +applied to Napoleon by his soldiers. The eldest son of the king of England +bears the ____ of the Prince of Wales. The government issues stamps in +various ____. "That loafer" was his contemptuous ____ of the man who could +not find work. "Duke" is the highest ____ of nobility in England. The +crook was known to the police under many ____. At the battle of Bull Run +Jackson received the ____ "Stonewall." "What's in a[n] ____? that which we +call a rose By any other ____ would smell as sweet." The head of the +American government bears the ____ of President. The Mist of Spring was +the little Indian maiden's ____. His ____ was Thornberg. + + +<Old, ancient, olden, antique, antiquated, archaic, obsolete, venerable, +immemorial, elderly, aged, hoary, decrepit, senile, superannuated>. + +We reserve the right to judge for ourselves when told that something-- +especially a joke--is "the very latest." So may we likewise discriminate +among degrees of age. _Old_ is applied to a person or thing that has +existed for a long time or that existed in the distant past. The word may +suggest a familiarity or sentiment not found in _ancient_, which is +used of that which lived or happened in the remote past, or has come down +from it. _Olden_ applies almost wholly to time long past. +_Antique_ is the term for that which has come down from ancient times +or is made in imitation of the style of ancient times, whereas +_antiquated_ is the term for that which has gone out of style or +fashion. _Archaic_ and _obsolete_ refer to words, customs, or +the like, the former to such as savor of an earlier period though they are +not yet completely out of use, the latter to such as have passed out of +use altogether. _Immemorial_ implies that a thing is so old that it +is beyond the time of memory or record. _Elderly_ is applied to +persons who are between middle age and old age. _Aged_ is used of one +who has lived for an unusually long time. _Hoary_ refers to age as +revealed by white hair. _Venerable_ suggests the reverence to be paid +to the dignity, goodness, or wisdom of old age. _Decrepit_ conveys a +sense of the physical infirmities and weakness which attend old age; +_senile_ of the lessening powers of both body and mind that result +from old age. _Superannuated_ is applied to a person who on account +of old age has been declared incapable of continuing his activities. + +_Sentences_: He liked to read romances of the ____ days. Dana records +that he once saw a man so ____ that he had to raise his eyelids with his +fingers. Many writers use ____ words to give quaintness to their work. He +liked to sit around in his ____ clothes. "The moping owl does to the moon +complain Of such as, wandering near her secret bower, Molest her ____ +solitary reign." Some of these ____ sequoia trees were old before the +white man discovered this continent. They are building the church in the +____ Roman style of architecture. "Be not ... the last to lay the ____ +aside." Many of Chaucer's words, being ____, cannot possibly be understood +without a glossary. Most churches now have funds for ____ ministers. A man +is as ____ as he feels; a woman is as ____ as she looks. The ____ old man +could scarcely hobble across the room. What better proof that he is ____ +do you ask than that he babbles constantly about what happened when he was +young? "I am a very foolish fond ____ man, Fourscore and upward." They +revered the ____ locks of the old hero. At sixty a man is considered a[n] +____ person. That the earth is flat is a[n] ____ idea. The young warriors +listened respectfully to the ____ chief's advice. They unearthed a[n] ____ +vase. "____ wood best to burn, ____ wine to drink, ____ friends to trust, +and ____ authors to read." His favorite study was ____ history. "Grow ____ +along with me." "The most ____ heavens, through thee, are fresh and +strong." + + +<Pay, compensate, recompense, remunerate, requite, reimburse, +indemnify>. + +Most men are willing to receive what is due them. They might even be +persuaded to receive a bit more. Why should they not be as scrupulous to +receive what they are entitled to in the medium of language as of money? +Sometimes they are. Offering to _pay_ some people instead of to +_compensate_ them is like offering a tip to the wrong person. Why? +Because there is a social implication in _compensate_ which is not +contained in _pay_. To _pay_ is simply to give what is due, as +in wages (or even salary), price, or the like. To _compensate_ is to +make suitable return for service rendered. Does _compensate_ not +sound the more soothing? But save in exceptional circumstances the +downrightness of _pay_ has no hint of vulgarity. To _recompense_ +is to make a return, especially if it is not monetary, for work, pains, +trouble, losses, or suffering; or some quality or blessing (as affection +or happiness) may be said to recompense one. To _remunerate_ is to +disburse a large amount to a person, or to give it to him as a reward, or +otherwise to make him a return in a matter of importance. To +_requite_ is to put a just value upon one's work, deeds, or merit and +to make payment strictly in accordance with his deserts. To +_reimburse_ is to make good what some one has spent for you. To +_indemnify_ is to secure some one against loss or to make restitution +for damages he has sustained. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <disburse, reward>. + +_Sentences_: Let us ____ him for his efforts in our behalf. +Let us ____ their kindness with kindness, their cruelty with cruelty. +To ____ them adequately for such patriotic sacrifices is of course +impossible. The government demanded that it be ____ for the injury to its +citizens. I shall ____ you for all sums expended. He ____ the bill by a +check. The success of her children ____ a mother for her sacrifices for +them. Wages are ____ to laborers; salaries are ____ to judges. + + +<Proud, arrogant, presumptuous, haughty, supercilious, insolent, +insulting>. + +Most persons feel in their hearts that their claims and merits are +superior to those of other people. But they do not like for you, in +describing them, to imply that their self-appraisal is too high. +"Comparisons are odious," and therefore in comparing their fancied with +their real selves you must choose your terms carefully. Of the words that +suggest an exaggerated estimate of one's merits or privileges the +broadest, as well as the least offensive, is _proud_. In fact this +word need not carry the idea of exaggeration. A proud man may but hold +himself in justifiable esteem, or wish to measure up to the demands of his +station or to the expectations of others. On the other hand, he may +overvalue his attainments, possessions, connections, etc. To say that the +man is _arrogant_ means that he combines with pride a contempt for +others, that he claims for himself greater attention, consideration, or +respect than he is entitled to. To say that he is _presumptuous_ +makes him an inferior (or at least not a superior) who claims privileges +or takes liberties improperly. To say that he is _haughty_ means that +he assumes a disdainful superiority to others, especially through fancied +or actual advantage over them in birth or social position. To say that he +is _supercilious_ means that he maintains toward others an attitude +of lofty indifference or sneering contempt. To say that he is +_insolent_ means that he is purposely and perhaps coarsely +disrespectful toward others, especially toward his superiors. To say that +he is _insulting_ means that he gives or offers personal affront, +probably in scornful or disdainful speech. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <scornful, imperious, +contumelious, impudent, impertinent>. + +_Sentences_: He was ____ in replying to the questions. She paid no +attention to his words, but kept looking at him with a[n] ____ smile. He +was ____ in acting as if he were their equal. The hot-tempered fellow +answered this ____ remark with a blow. She resented his presuming to speak +to her, and turned away in a[n] ____ manner. The servant was ____ to her +mistress. Are you not very ____ of your family connections? The old man +was so ____ that he expected people to raise their hats to him and not to +sit down till he gave permission. + + +<Punish, chastise, chasten>. + +To _punish_ a person is to inflict pain or penalty upon him as a +retribution for wrong-doing. There may be, usually is, no intention to +improve the offender. To _chastise_ him is to inflict deserved +corporal punishment upon him for corrective purposes. To _chasten_ +him is to afflict him with trouble for his reformation or spiritual +betterment. The word is normally employed in connection with such +affliction from God. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <castigate, scourge>. + +_Sentences_: "Hearing oftentimes The still, sad music of humanity, +Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To ____ and subdue." Ichabod +Crane freely used his ferule in ____ his pupils. "Whom the Lord loveth he +____." A naughty child should be ____. + + +<Rich, wealthy, affluent, opulent>. + +"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a +rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Substitute _wealthy_ for +_rich_. Is the meaning exactly the same? Is Goldsmith's description +of the village preacher--"passing rich with forty pounds a year"--as +effective if _wealthy_ is substituted? What is the difference between +_riches_ and _wealth_? Which implies the greater degree of +possession, which the more permanence and stability? Which word suggests +the more personal relationship with money? Which word the more definitely +denotes money or its immediate equivalent? Why do we say "get-rich-quick +schemes" rather than "get-wealthy-quick schemes"? What besides the +possession of wealth does _affluent_ suggest? Could we say that a +rich miser lives in affluence? If not, why not? A poor clerk who has ten +dollars to spend as he pleases may feel affluent. A rich banker may be a +man of affluence in his town. What power does this suggest that he has +besides the possession of a great deal of money? Explain all that Swift +implies by the word _opulence_ in the quotation "There in full +opulence a banker dwelt, Who all the joys and pangs of riches felt." If +you substitute _affluence_, what different impression do you get? + + +<Rural, rustic, pastoral, bucolic>. + +"The _rural_ inhabitants of a country." Are the people being spoken +of favorably, unfavorably, or neutrally? How would the meaning be affected +if they were called _rustic_ inhabitants? Would you ordinarily speak +of the _rural_ or the _rustic_ population to distinguish it from +the urban? Would you speak of _rural_ or _rustic_ activities? +_rural_ or _rustic_ manners? When the two adjectives may be +employed, is one of them unflattering? Is a _rustic_ bridge something +to be ashamed of? a _rustic_ chair? a _rustic_ gate? What, then, +is the degree of reproach that attaches to each of the two adjectives? the +degree of commendation? Wherein do _pastoral_ scenes differ from +_rural_? _pastoral_ amusements from _rustic_? Can you trace +a connection between the _pastor_ of a church and a _pastoral_ +life? Do you often hear the word _bucolic_? In what mood is it +oftenest uttered? Which of the four adjectives best fits into Goldsmith's +dignified lament: "And ____ mirth and manners are no more"? + + +<Silent, reserved, uncommunicative, reticent, taciturn>. +(This group may be contrasted with the _Talkative_ group, below.) + +We pass through a crowded room and notice that some of its occupants are +not adding their voices to the chatter. We resolve to study these +unspeaking persons. Some of them merely have nothing to say, or are timid +or preoccupied; or it may be they deliberately have set themselves not to +talk. These are _silent_. Some plainly desire not to talk, it may be +in general or it may be upon some particular topic; they may (but need +not) regard themselves as superior to their associates, or for some other +reason let aloofness or coldness creep into their manner. These are +_reserved_. Others withhold information that persons about them are, +or would be, interested in. These are _uncommunicative_. Others +maintain their own counsel; they neglect opportunities to reveal their +thoughts, plans, and the like. These are _reticent_. Others are +disinclined--and habitually, we perceive--to talking. These are +_taciturn_. + +_Sentences_: The ____ prisoner evaded all questions. He was as ____ +as nature itself; he never gave his views upon any subject. He was ____ +about the firm's affairs, especially toward persons who seemed +inquisitive. We knew there had been a love affair in his life, but he was +____ on the subject. She sat ____ throughout the discussion. If to be ____ +is golden, Lucas should have been a billionaire. + + +<Sing, chant, carol, warble, troll, yodel, croon, hum, chirp, +chirrup>. + +You hear a "concord of sweet sounds," not instrumental but vocal, and wish +to tell me so. You say that some person _sings_. Then you recall that +I am something of an expert in music, and you cast about for the word that +shall state specifically the kind of singing that is being done. Does the +person sing solemnly in a more or less uniform tone? You tell me that he +_chants_. Does he sing gladly, spontaneously, high-spiritedly, as if +his heart were pouring over with joy? You say that he _carols_. Does +he sing with vibratory notes and little runs, as in bird-music? You say +that he _warbles_. Does he sing loudly and freely? You say that he +_trolls_. Does he sing with peculiar modulations from the regular +into a falsetto voice? You say that he _yodels_. Does he sing a +simple, perhaps tender, song in a low tone (as a lullaby to an infant)? +You say that he _croons_. Does he sing with his lips closed? You say +that he _hums_. Does he utter the short, perhaps sharp, notes of +certain birds and insects? You say that he _chirps_ or +_chirrups_. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <trill, pipe, quaver, +peep, cheep, twitter>. + +_Sentences_: A cricket ____ in the grass outside the door. He +abstractedly gazed out of the window and ____ a few strains of an old +song. Listen, they are ____ the Te Deum. "And ____ still dost soar, and +soaring ever ____." A strange, uncanny blending of false and true notes it +is when the Swiss mountaineers are ____. Negroes, as a race, love to +____. As she soothes the child to sleep she ____ a "rock-a-bye-baby." + + +<Suave, bland, unctuous, fulsome, smug>. + +_Suave_ implies agreeable persuasiveness or smooth urbanity. +_Bland_ suggests a soothing or coaxing kindness of manner, one that +is sometimes lacking in sincerity. _Unctuous_ implies excessive +smoothness, as though one's manner were oiled. The word carries a decided +suggestion of hypocrisy. _Fulsome_ suggests such gross flattery as to +be annoying or cloying. _Smug_ suggests an effeminate +self-satisfaction, usually not justified by merit or achievement. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <complaisant, elegant, +trim, dapper, spruce, genteel, urbane, well-bred, gracious, affable, +benign>. + +_Sentences_: He thought his answer exceedingly brilliant and settled +back into his chair with ____ complacency. "____ the smile that like a +wrinkling wind On glassy water drove his cheek in lines." They were +irritated by his ____ praise. Although he disliked them, he greeted them +with ____ cordiality. "A bankrupt, a prodigal, ... that used to come so +____ upon the mart; let him look to his bond." ____ as a diplomat. + + +<Talkative, loquacious, garrulous, fluent, voluble, glib>. +(This group may be contrasted with the _Silent_ group, above.) + +A little while ago you were in a crowded room and made a study of the +persons disposed to silence. But your study was carried on under +difficulties, for many of those about you showed a tendency to copious or +excessive speech. One woman entered readily into conversation with you and +convinced you that her natural disposition was to converse a great deal. +She was _talkative_. From her you escaped to a man who soon proved +that he talked too much and could run on with an incessant flow of words, +perhaps employing many of them where a few would have sufficed. He was +_loquacious_. The two of you were joined by an old gentleman who +forthwith began to talk wordily, tediously, continuously, with needless +repetitions and in tiresome detail; you suspected that he had suffered a +mental decline from age, and that he might be excessively fond, in season +and out of season, of talking about himself and his opinions. He was +_garrulous_. You broke away from these two and fell into the hands of +a much more agreeable interlocutor. He talked with a ready, easy command +of words, so that his discourse _flowed_ smoothly. He was +_fluent_. He introduced you to a lady whose speech possessed +smoothness and ease in too great degree; it fairly _rolled_ along, as +a hoop does downhill. The lady was _voluble_. Into your triangular +group broke a newcomer whose speech had in it a flippant, or at least a +superficially clever, fluency. He was _glib_. Leaving these three to +fight (or talk) it out as best they might, you grabbed your hat and +hurried outside for a fresh whiff of air. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <chattering, long-winded, +prolix, wordy, verbose>. + +_Sentences_: The insurance agent was so ____ a talker that I was +soothed into sleepiness by his voice. The ____ old man could talk forever +about the happenings of his boyhood. Through ____ descriptions of life in +the city the dapper summer boarder entranced the simple country girl. I +met a ____ fellow on the train, and we had a long conversation. She was so +____ that I spent half the afternoon with her and learned nothing. + + +<Weak, debilitated, feeble, infirm, decrepit, impotent>. + +_Weak_ is the general word for that which is deficient in strength. +_Debilitated_ is used of physical weakness, in most instances brought +on by excesses and abuses. _Feeble_ denotes decided or extreme +weakness, which may excite pity or contempt. _Infirm_ is applied to a +person whose weakness or feebleness is due to age. _Decrepit_ is used +in reference to a person broken down or worn out by infirmities, age, or +sickness. _Impotent_ implies such loss or lack of strength or +vitality as to render ineffective or helpless. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <enervated, languid, +frail>. + +_Sentences_: "Here I stand, your slave, A poor, ____, weak, and +despis'd old man." A[n] ____ old man shuffled along with the aid of a +cane. Though still in his youth, he was ____ from intemperance and fast +living. A fellow who does that has a[n] ____ mind. He staggered about +trying to strike his opponent, but rage and his wound rendered him for the +time ____. The grasp of the old man was so ____ that the cup trembled in +his hand. "Like rich hangings in a homely house, So was his will in his +old ____ body." After his long illness he was as ____ as a child. He made +but a[n] ____ attempt to defend himself. + + +<Wise, learned, erudite, sagacious, sapient, sage, judicious, prudent, +provident, discreet>. (Compare the distinction between _knowledge_ +and _wisdom_ under Words Often Confused above.) + +_Wise_ implies sound and discriminating judgment, resulting from +either learning or experience. _Learned_ denotes the past acquisition +of much information through study. _Erudite_ means characterized by +extensive or profound knowledge. _Sagacious_ implies far-sighted +judgment and intuitive discernment, especially in practical matters. +_Sapient_ is now of infrequent use except as applied ironically or +playfully to one having or professing wisdom. _Sage_ implies deep +wisdom that comes from age or experience. _Judicious_ denotes sound +judgment or careful discretion in weighing a matter with reference to its +merits or its consequences. _Prudent_ conveys a sense of cautious +foresight in judging the future and planning for it upon the basis of the +circumstances at hand. _Provident_ suggests practical foresight and +careful economy in preparing for future needs. _Discreet_ denotes +care or painstakingness in doing or saying the right thing at the right +time, and the avoidance thereby of errors or unpleasant results. + +_Sentences_: Against the time when his children would be going to +college he had been ____. "Most ____ judge!" The ____ old warrior could +not be deceived by any such ruse. "Be ye therefore as ____ as serpents, +and harmless as doves." The ____ advice of his elders was wasted on him. +The course was ____, not rash. He was ____ in avoiding all reference to +the subject. "Type of the ____, who soar but never roam, True to the +kindred points of heaven and home." Even by those scholars, those +specialists, he was deemed ____. How ____ the young man is! "Where +ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be ____." Is it ____ to spend money thus +lavishly? He considered the matter well and gave a most ____ answer. To +spend every cent of one's income is surely not to be ____. + + +<Work, labor, toil, drudgery>. + +All of us, at times anyhow, get out of as much work as we can. We even use +the word _work_ and its synonyms loosely and indolently. Perhaps this +is a literary aspect of the labor problem. If, however, we can shake off +our sluggishness and exert ourselves in discriminating our terms, we shall +use _work_ as a general word for effort, physical or mental, to some +purposive end; _labor_ for hard, physical work; _toil_ for +wearying or exhaustive work; and _drudgery_ for tedious, monotonous, +or distasteful work, especially of a low or menial kind. + +_Sentences_: It required the ____ of thousands of men to complete the +tunnel. To be condemned to the galleys meant a life of unending ____. The +man who enjoys his ____ will succeed. Twenty years of incessant ____ had +extinguished in him every spark of ambition. He was weary after the +____ of the day. All ____ and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Through the +heart-breaking ____ of thousands the pyramids were built to commemorate a +few. He was sentenced to hard ____. + + + +VIII + + SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (2) + + +You have now seen enough of the method of discriminating synonyms to take +more of the responsibility for such work upon yourself. In this chapter, +therefore, the plan followed in Exercise A is abandoned and no +discriminations are supplied you. + + +EXERCISE B + +For some of the generic words in Exercise A you will find antonyms in +Exercise C. Here is a list: + +In Exercise A: walk, laugh, busy, hate, masculine, old + +In Exercise C: run, cry, idle, love, feminine, young. + +Now each of the generic terms in C is followed by a list of its synonyms. +But for the six generic terms just given let us see how many synonyms you +can find for yourself. Simply study each word in turn, think of all the +synonyms for it you can summon, strike out those you consider far-fetched. +Then compare your list with the list under the antonym in Exercise A; if +possible, improve your list by means of this comparison. Finally, compare +your revised list with the list in Exercise C. + +In Exercise C are two generic terms that carry the same idea (but not in +the same part of speech) as generic terms in Exercise A. They are as +follows: + +In Exercise A: sing, death + +In Exercise C: song, die. + +Take _song_ and _die_. First, find all the satisfactory synonyms +you can for yourself. Then if possible improve your list by studying the +list under the corresponding word in Exercise A. Finally, compare your +revised list with the one in Exercise C. + + +EXERCISE C + +After three introductory groups (dealing with thoroughly concrete ideas +and words) the synonyms in this exercise are arranged alphabetically +according to the first word in each group. + +Discriminate the words in each group, and fill each blank in the +illustrative sentences with the word that conveys the meaning exactly. + + +<See, perceive, descry, distinguish, espy, discern, note, notice, watch, +observe, witness, behold, view>. + +_Sentences_: The intruder he ____ in the early dawn-light might have +been man or beast; he could not have ____ one from the other. After a long +search I ____ on the map the name of the town. The teacher ____ the +throwing of the paper wad, but thought best not to ____ it. "He that hath +eyes to ____, let him ____." I ____ the encounter. "I hope to ____ my +Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar." "When my eyes turn to +____ for the last time the sun in heaven." I sat by the flower and ____ +the bee plunder it. The scrawl on the paper was meaningless, but at length +by close attention he ____ secret writing. "Your young men shall ____ +visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." He had ____ human nature +manifesting itself under various conditions. + + +<Kill, slay, slaughter, massacre, butcher, murder, assassinate, execute, +hang, electrocute, guillotine, lynch, despatch, decimate, crucify>. + +_Sentences_: With the jawbone of an ass Samson ____ a thousand of his +enemies. It was his duty as sheriff to ____ the criminal, and the method +decreed by the state was that he should ____ him. Previously the method of +carrying out a sentence of death had been to ____ the criminal. On our +left wing we lost one man in ten: thus our lines were literally ____ On +our right wing, where we advanced to the attack in the open, our men were +simply ____. After the garrison had laid down its arms the Indians ____ +men, women, and children. "I would not ____ thy soul." During the French +Revolution many of the nobility were ____. In the country late fall is the +time to ____ hogs. Thinking that his accomplice was no longer of use, he +quietly ____ him. The anarchist who had ____ the governor was taken by a +mob and ____. + + +<Sleep, slumber, repose, nap, doze, drowze, lethargy, dormancy, coma, +trance, siesta>. + +_Sentences_: Since he had not exerted himself beforehand, his state +was one of ____ rather than one of ____. The sultry heat of the day put +him into a ____. "Not poppy, nor mandragora, Nor all the ____ syrops of +the world, Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet ____ Which thou +ow[n]edst yesterday." Light and pleasant be thy ____. "And still she slept +an azure-lidded ____." From the ____ induced by his injury the physicians +were unable to arouse him. "Oh ____! it is a gentle thing, Beloved from +pole to pole!" "The poppied warmth of ____ oppress'd Her soothéd limbs, +and soul fatigued away." In Spanish-speaking South American countries +every one expects to take his ____. He lay down under the tree for a short +____ and had just fallen into a preliminary ____ when the picnic party +arrived. "Macbeth does murder ____, the innocent ____, ____ that knits up +the ravel'd sleave of care." + + +<Abolish, repeal, rescind, revoke, abrogate, annul, nullify, cancel, +reverse>. + +_Sentences_: A declaration of war would of course ____ the treaty. +The legislature has the right to ____ old laws as well as to enact new +ones. Because they left his grounds littered with paper, he ____ their +privilege of holding picnics there. The king ____ the decree that the +conspirators should be exiled. Slavery was ____ by the Emancipation +Proclamation. The emperor ____ many of the ancient rights of the people. +They ____ the mortgage when he paid the money. The violation of these +provisions has ____ the contract. It was an ill day for France when the +Edict of Nantes was ____ by Louis XIV. The Supreme Court ____ the decision +of the lower tribunal. The Mormons have officially ____ polygamy. The +codicil ____ some of the earlier provisions in his will. + + +<Acquit, exculpate, exonerate, absolve>. + +_Sentences_: He ____ himself from all blame. The king ____ them from +their allegiance. The teacher ____ the student who had been suspected of +theft. The father confessor ____ the penitent. The jury ____ the man on +the first ballot. + + +<Afraid, fearful, frightened, alarmed, scared, aghast, terrified, timid, +timorous.> (This group may be compared with the _Fear group_, +below.) + +_Sentences_: One child was too ____ to speak to the strangers; the +other too ____ to do anything but squall. "If Caesar hide himself, shall +they not whisper 'Lo, Caesar is ____'?" Any one might have been ____ by +this noise in a room said to be haunted; and for my part, I stood ____. + + +<Allay, alleviate, mitigate, assuage, mollify, relieve.> + +_Sentences_: The judge ____ the severity of the punishment. They +collected funds to ____ the sufferings of the poor. He could not ____ the +wrath of the angry man. Shall we try to ____ their fears by telling them +the accident may have been less calamitous than they have heard? A mustard +plaster ____ the pain. The grief of the mother was ____ by the presence of +her child. This experience had by no means ____ his temper. + + +<Allow, permit, suffer, tolerate.> + +_Sentences_: Visitors are not ____ to see the king. The over-running +of my yard by the neighbors' chickens is a nuisance I shall not ____. "____ +little children to come unto me." The use of bicycles and velocipedes +on the pavement, though not ____ by the city, is good-naturedly ____ by +most of the citizens. She ____ her children to play in the street. + + +<Ascribe, attribute, impute.> + +_Sentences_: I ____ my failure to poor judgment. He ____ sinister +motives for their actions. So many ideal characteristics have been ____ to +Washington that it is difficult to think of him as a man. + + +<Awkward, clumsy, ungainly, gawky, lanky.> + +_Sentences_: An elephant is ____ in its movements. Some ____ +countrymen hung around the circus entrance. He was tall and ____; he +seemed to be a mere prop on which clothes were hung. Isn't that man ____ +in his carriage? The fingers of the ball-players might as well have been +thumbs, so ____ were they from the cold. Girls throw a ball in a[n] ____ +manner. + + +<Bite, nibble, gnaw, chew, masticate, champ>. + +_Sentences_: Fletcher taught people to ____ their food well. The +mouse ____ the cheese, but the trap did not spring. A horse ____ his bits. +When I ____ into the apple, I found that it was sour. The rat ____ a hole +through the board. + + +<Break, crack, fracture, sever, rend, burst, smash, shatter, shiver, +splinter, sunder, rive, crush, batter, demolish, rupture>. (After +discriminating these terms for yourself, see the treatment of _break, +fracture_ under <Break, fracture> above under Parallels.) + +_Sentences_: "____ my timbers!" the old salt exclaimed. The anaconda +is an immense serpent that wraps itself about its victim and ____ it. +The child blew the soap bubble wider and wider till it ____. "You +may ____, you may ____ the vase if you will." Looking closely at the eggs, +she perceived that one of them was ____. With a board the thoughtless +child ____ the anthill. During a violent fit of coughing he ____ a blood +vessel. The thick cloud was ____ and the sunshine streamed through. + + +<Careful, cautious, wary, circumspect, canny>. + +_Sentences_: A mouse must be ____ lest it be caught in a trap. He had +learned to be ____ in advancing his radical opinions. The man was a Scot +and therefore ____. With a ____ movement I opened the door to investigate +the strange noise. He was ____ in checking up the accounts. Be extremely +____ in your behavior, for they are watching to criticize you. + + +<Condescend, deign, vouchsafe>. + +_Sentences_: The king ____ them safe conduct through the country. He +would not ____ to touch the money that had been gained dishonestly. His +____ manner irritated them. The master ____ to hear the complaints of the +servants. + + +<Confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify_. + +_Sentences_: He ____ the charge with positive proof. The finding of +Desdemona's handkerchief ____ Othello's belief that she was guilty. The +other witnesses ____ his testimony. The doctor ____ the appointment his +assistant had made for him. He ____ his results by repeating the +experiment a number of times. + + +<Courage, bravery, resolution, dauntlessness, gallantry, boldness, +intrepidity, daring, valor, prowess, fortitude, heroism>. (With this +group contrast the _Fear_ group, below.) + +_Sentences_: It seemed they must be driven from their works but they +held to them with the utmost ____. He had the ____ to fight an aggressive +battle, but not the ____ to stand for long days upon the defensive; less +still did he have the ____ to disregard unjust criticism. The silent ____ +of the women who bide at home surpasses the ____ the warriors who engage +in battle. He had the dashing ____ of a cavalry officer. + + +<Cruel, brutal, ferocious, fierce, savage, barbarous, truculent, +merciless, unmerciful, pitiless, ruthless, fell>. (With this group +contrast the _Kind_ group, below.) + +_Sentences_: "But with the whiff and wind of his ____ sword +The unnerved father falls." "Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, +That bide the pelting of this ____ storm." The ____ fellow could cause +suffering to a child without the least tinge of remorse. Such conduct is +unheard of in civilized communities; it is ____, it is ____. "I must be +____ only to be kind." + + +<Cry, weep, sob, snivel, whimper, blubber, bawl, squall, howl, wail>. + +_Sentences_: "____ no more, woeful shepherds; ____ no more." +The woman covered her face with her hands and ____, while the children +____. He ____ a forced regret at the death of his uncle, and asked that +the will be read, "Rachel ____ for her children." "Rejoice with them that +do rejoice, and ____ with them that ____." "I could lie down like a tired +child And ____ away this life of care Which I have borne and yet must +bear." "An infant ____ in the night." "What's Hecuba to him or he +to Hecuba That he should ____ for her?" I was disgusted at the sight of +that overgrown boy standing in the corner ____. "You think I'll ____; No, +I'll not ____: I have full cause of ____, but this heart Shall break into +a hundred thousand flaws Or ere I'll ____." + + +<Cut, cleave, hack, haggle, notch, slash, gash, split, chop, hew, lop, +prune, reap, mow, clip, shear, trim, dock, crop, shave, whittle, slice, +slit, score, lance, carve, bisect, dissect, amputate, detruncate, +syncopate.> + +_Sentences_: "I'll ____ around your heart with my razor, And shoot +you with my shotgun too." "O Hamlet! thou hast ____ my heart in twain." By +the pressure of his hands he could ____ an apple. With his new hatchet +George began ____ at the cherry tree. He carelessly ____ off a branch or +two. The horses were ____ the rank grass. An old form of punishment was to +____ the nose of the offender. The nobleman ordered the groom to ____ the +tails of the carriage horses. You should ____ your meadows in the summer +and ____ your grapevines in the late fall or early winter. "Do you," asked +the barber, "wish your hair ____ or ____?" ____ to the line. It is painful +to see Dodwell trying to ____ a turkey. In geometry we learned to ____ +angles, in biology to ____ cats. The bad man in the West ____ his gunstock +each time he shot a tenderfoot. Betty, will you ____ this cucumber? +"'Mark's way,' said Mark, and ____ him thro' the brain." + + +<Deadly, mortal, fatal, lethal>. + +_Sentences_: He has a ____ disease. The spirit of Virgil guided Dante +through the ____ shades. Cyanide of potassium is a ____ poison. He struck +a ____ blow. + + +<Defeat, subdue, conquer, overcome, vanquish, subjugate, suppress>. + +_Sentences_: Napoleon ____ his enemies in many battles, but he was +not able to ____ them. The new governor general ____ the uprising. He was +____ in the election. Caesar ____ many countries and made them swear +allegiance to Rome. "Who ____ by force Hath ____ but half his foe." The +militia ____ the rioters. + + +<Deny, contravene, controvert, refute, confute>. + +_Sentences_: He produced evidence to ____ the charge. They could not +____ the facts we presented. It is difficult to ____ those who are +spreading these rumors, yet all right-minded people think the rumors +false. "I put thee now to thy book-oath; ____ it if thou canst." Either +admit or ____ the truth of this allegation. Such a law ____ the first +principles of justice. + + +<Destroy, demolish, raze, annihilate, exterminate, eradicate, extirpate, +obliterate.> + +_Sentences_: All the ferocious wild animals are gradually being +____. As weeds from a field, so is it difficult to ____ all the faults +from man's nature. But how shall we ____ the cause of this disease? Fire +____ the bank. The wrecking crew ____ the building. She tried to ____ the +terrible scene from her memory. "____ all that's made To a green thought +in a green shade." The cyclone ____ the church. The Spanish Inquisition +tried to ____ heresy. "____ out the written troubles of the brain." +The army was not only defeated; it was ____. "A bold peasantry, their +country's pride, When once ____, can never be supplied." + + +<Die, expire, perish, decease, succumb.> + +_Sentences_: All men are mortal and must ____. "As wax melteth before +the fire, so let the wicked ____ at the presence of God." "I still had +hopes, my long vexations past, Here to return, and ____ at home at last." +The late ____ Mr. Brown left all his property to his family. "Cowards ____ +many times before their deaths." "The poor beetle, that we tread upon, In +corporal sufferance finds a pang as great As when a giant giant ____." +"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not ____ +from the earth." "Thus on Maeander's flowery margin lies Th' ____ swan, +and as he sings he dies." Over a thousand people ____ in the fire at the +theater. "To ____, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream." He ____ to a +lingering disease. "Aye, but to ____, and go we know not where; To lie in +cold obstruction and to rot." "Wind my thread of life up higher, Up, +through angels' hands of fire! I aspire while I ____." + + +<Dip, douse, duck, plunge, immerge, immerse, submerge, sink, dive.> + +_Sentences_: He ____ his head under the hydrant. The Baptists ____ at +baptism. She ____ the cloth into the dye. The sophomores ____ the freshmen +into the icy water of the lake. Paul Jones could not ____ the enemy's +ship; he therefore resolved to board it. The wreck lay ____ in forty +fathoms of water. Uncle Tom ____ overboard to rescue the child. When the +gun is discharged, the loon does not rise from the water; it ____. Lewis +became badly strangled when the other boys ____ him. + + +<Disease, sickness, illness, indisposition, ailment, affection, +complaint, disorder, distemper, infirmity, malady.> (With this group +contrast the _healthful_ group.) + +_Sentences_: He was suffering the ____ of age. Cancer is still in +many instances an incurable ____ The ____ of the lady ended as soon as the +maid told her the callers had gone away. It was an old ____ of the +tonsils, but this time the child's ____ was slight. "To help me through +this long ____, my life." + + +<Disloyal, false, unfaithful, faithless, traitorous, treasonable, +treacherous, perfidious.> + +_Sentences_: The king discovered many ____ schemes among those who +pretended to be his loyal supporters. England's enemies have long called +her "____ Albion." They were afraid the Indian guide would betray them by +some ____ action. "O you beast! O ____ coward! O dishonest wretch!" He was +____ to his adopted country. "Bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, ____, +lecherous, kindless villain! O! vengeance!" + + +<Do, perform, execute, accomplish, achieve, effect.> + +_Sentences_: An officer ____ the orders with despatch. He ____ a +mighty name for himself. "If it were ____ when 'tis ____ then 'twere well +It were ____ quickly." Constant efforts will ____ miracles. The student +____ the problems quickly. The doctor hopes his new treatment will ____ a +cure. "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to ____." He persevered +till he ____ his purpose. He always ____ more than was expected of him. + + +<Dress, clothes, clothing, garments, apparel, raiment, habiliments, +vestments, attire, garb, habit, costume, uniform.> + +_Sentences_: The spy concealed his identity by wearing the ____ of a +monk. The soldiers wore blue ____. She was an excellent horsewoman, and +rode in a fashionable ____. "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an +old ____." Millions of men left farms and factories and shops to don the +____ of war. The invitation specified that the men should wear evening +____. The store specialized in women's wearing ____. A person should wear +warm ____ in winter. The king appeared in his royal ____. He always wore +expensive ____. The bishop entered in his clerical ____. "The ____ oft +proclaims the man." The theatrical ____ was full of spangles. One's ____ +should never be conspicuous. + + +<Drink, imbibe, sip, sup, swallow, quaff, tipple, tope, guzzle, +swig.> + +_Sentences_: "She who, as they voyaged, ____ With Tristram that +spiced magic draught." Plants ____ moisture through their roots. "A little +learning is a dang'rous thing; ____ deep, or taste not the Pierian +spring." He ____ down the liquor in a couple of huge draughts. On the fan +was a picture of Japanese maidens daintily ____ tea. "____ to me only with +thine eyes." His red nose betrayed the fact that he constantly ____. + + +<Elicit, extract, exact, extort.> + +_Sentences_: They ____ payment to the last cent. The police ____ a +confession from the prisoner by intimidating him. This terrible suffering +____ our sympathy. His resolve to begin again after his failure ____ their +admiration. "But lend it rather to thine enemy; Who if he break, thou +mayst with better face ____ the penalty." They ____ all the information +they could by questioning the child. + + +<Embarrass, disconcert, discompose, discomfit, confuse, confound, +agitate, abash, mortify, chagrin, humiliate.> + +_Sentences_: The annoying little raids ____ the enemy. Such +conclusive proof of his lies completely ____ him. His sudden proposal ____ +her. He stood ____ in the presence of the king. The traveler was ____ by +the many turns in the road. She was ____ by the delay in having dinner +ready. She was ____ by her husband's ill manners. The possibility that her +daughter might have been in the accident ____ her. I was ____ at being so +cleverly outwitted. + + +<Excuse, pardon, forgive, condone.> + +_Sentences_: We should ____ even those who do us wrong. "Father, ____ +them; for they know not what they do." I trust you will ____ my being +late. Ignorance ____ no one before the law. The governor ____ the convict. +He thought it better to ____ the offense than to try to punish it. + + +<Explain, expound, interpret, elucidate.> + +_Sentences_: The minister ____ the doctrine of predestination. +The tribesman ____ his chief's words for us. He ____ his meaning by giving +clear examples. Joseph was called upon to ____ Pharaoh's dream. Can you +____ the reason for your absence? Various scholars have ____ the passage +differently. + + +<Fat, fleshy, stout, plump, buxom, corpulent, obese, portly, pursy, +burly, pudgy, chubby.> + +_Sentences_: "There live not three good men unhanged in England, and +one of them is ____ and grows old." A[n] ____ rosy-faced child walking +beside a girl just pleasantly ____ came past the garden. The ____ lady was +talking with a[n] ____, ill-conditioned man. "So ____, blithe, and +debonair." "He's ____ and scant of breath." The ruffian was a[n] ____ +fellow. They were ____ in varying degrees: one was ____, one ____, and one +downright ____. + + +<Fear, dread, fright, apprehension, affright, alarm, dismay, timidity, +consternation, panic, terror, horror, misgiving, anxiety, scare, tremor, +trepidation.> (With this group compare the _Afraid_ group, above, +and contrast the _Courage_ group, also above.) + +_Sentences_: "Like one, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in ____ and +____." "His scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to +awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the ____ and ____ of kings." ____ +changed to ____ when we perceived the corpse. Washington felt some ____ as +to the loyalty of Charles Lee, but was amazed to find his force retreating +in ____, indeed almost in a[n] ____. + + +<Feminine, female, womanly, womanlike, womanish, effeminate, +ladylike.> + +_Sentences_: She possessed every ____ charm. He gave a[n] ____ start +of curiosity. The pistil is considered the ____ organ of a flower. It was +once not thought ____ for a woman to ride astride a horse. He inherited +the throne through the ____ line. Patience is one of the greatest of ____ +virtues. The hired girl in her finery minced along with a[n] ____ step. +Some people consider it ____ to wear a wrist watch. Her ____ heart was +touched at the sight. It is ____ to jump at the sight of a mouse. + + +<Fight, combat, struggle, scuffle, fray, affray, attack, engagement, +assault, onslaught, brawl, melee, tournament, battle, conflict, strife, +clash, collision, contest, skirmish, encounter, brush, bout, set-to.> + +_Sentences_: "A darkling plain Swept with confused alarms of ____ and +flight." The ____ upon Fort Sumter was the direct cause of the Civil War. +The ____ between our forces and theirs was brief and trivial; it was only +a cavalry ____. There is an excellent account of a knightly ____ in +_Ivanhoe_. We repelled their general ____; then ourselves advanced; +the ____ of our lines with theirs soon resulted in an inextricable ____. +A chance ____ of small forces at Gettysburg brought on a terrible ____. +There had long been ____ between the two factions within the party. +Angered by what had begun as a playful ____, one of the men challenged the +other to ____. + + +<Fleeting, transient, transitory, ephemeral, evanescent.> + +_Sentences_: It is the lot of every one to endure many sorrows in +this ____ life. They saw for a short while a[n] ____ comet. The ____ +glories of dawn had merged into the sordid realities of daytime. The +remark made but a[n] ____ impression upon him. The ____ moments sped away. +"Art is long, and time is ____." Joy is ____. Much of the popular +literature of the day is ____ in character. + + +<Frank, candid, open, artless, guileless, ingenuous, unsophisticated, +naive.> + +_Sentences_: It was a[n] ____ excuse. It was a pleasure to meet a +person so simple and ____. He was ____ to say that he did not like the +arrangement. "Who, mindful of the unhonored dead, Dost in these lines +their ____ tale relate." "The Moor is of a free and ____ nature." He gave +them his ____ opinion. + + +<Frustrate, foil, thwart, counteract, circumvent, balk, baffle, +outwit.> + +_Sentences_: The schemers were themselves ____. He was ____ by the +many contradictory clues. Circumstances ____ all his plans to get rich. +The parents ____ the attempt of the couple to elope. The guard ____ the +prisoner's attempt to escape. He was ____ at every turn. They put forth a +statement to ____ the influence of their opponents' propaganda. By +slipping away during the night, Washington ____ the enemy. The politician +by his shrewdness ____ the attempt to discredit him. + + +<Glad, happy, cheerful, mirthful, joyful, joyous, blithe, gay, +frolicsome, merry, jolly, sportive, jovial, jocular, jocose, jocund.> + +_Sentences_: "The milkmaid singeth ____." "And all went ____ as a +marriage bell." "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel +of peace, and bring ____ tidings of good things." A ____ Lothario. "So +buxom, ____, and debonair." As ____ as a fawn. He kept smiling, for he was +in ____ mood. "You are sad Because you are not ____; and 'twere as easy +For you to laugh and leap, and say you are ____, Because you are not sad." +He longed for the ____ life of a ____ English squire. + + +<Habit, custom, usage, practice, wont.> + +_Sentences_: ____ makes perfect. The immigrants kept up many of the +____ of their native land. "God fulfils himself in many ways, Lest one +good ____ should corrupt the world." It was his ____ to walk among the +ruins. An old ____ permits a man to kiss a girl who is standing under +mistletoe. ____ establishes many peculiar idioms in a language. He +acquired the ____ of smoking. "It is a ____ more honor'd in the breach +than the observance." De Quincey was a victim of the opium ____. "Age +cannot wither her, nor ____ stale Her infinite variety." "'Tis not his +____ to be the hindmost man." + + +<Harass, annoy, irritate, vex, fret, worry, plague, torment, molest, +tease, tantalize.> + +_Sentences_: The merchant ____ about his financial losses. "Life's +but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and ____ his hour upon +the stage, And then is heard no more." The children never lost an +opportunity to ____ the teacher. The other pupils ____ him because he was +the teacher's favorite. The newcomer was ____ by their frequent questions. +Don't ____ the child by holding the grapes beyond its reach. "He was met +even now As mad as the ____ sea." Ah, but I am ____ by doubts and fears. +"The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wand'ring near her +secret bower, ____ her ancient, solitary reign." The child ____ because +the rain kept it indoors. When the joke was discovered, they almost ____ +the life out of him. I was ____ at their discovering my predicament. "You +may as well forbid the mountain pines To wag their high tops, and to make +no noise When they are ____ with the gusts of heaven." + + +<Hinder, restrain, obstruct, impede, hamper, retard, check, curb, clog, +encumber, forestall, suppress, repress, prevent.> + +_Sentences_: Baggage ____ the progress of an army. It is the purpose +of modern medicine to ____ disease. The accumulations of dust and grease +____ the machine. "My tears must stop, for every drop ____ needle and +thread." By acknowledging his fault he hoped to ____ criticism. Though +before she had been unable to ____ her tears, she could now scarcely ____ +a yawn. A fallen tree ____ his further progress. The horse was ____ with a +heavy burden, and the unsure footing of the trail further ____ the +ascent. His jealous colleagues ____ his plans in every way they could. + + +<Hole, cavity, excavation, pit, cache, cave, cavern, hollow, depression, +perforation, puncture, rent, slit, crack, chink, crevice, cranny, breach, +cleft, chasm, fissure, gap, opening, interstice, burrow, crater, eyelet, +pore, bore, aperture, orifice, vent, concavity, dent, indentation. > + +_Sentences_: The explorers, having eaten all the provisions they had +carried with them, hurried back to their ____. The battering-ram at last +made a[n] ____ in the walls. The ____ in the log had been caused by the +intense heat. He tore off the check along the line of the ____. The ____ +in the earth gradually deepened and narrowed into a[n] ____. Pyramus and +Thisbe made love to each other through a[n] ____ in a wall. "Once more +unto the ____, dear friends, once more." The ____ in the mountain ranges +of Virginia influenced strategy during the Civil War. Several ____ in the +toe of one of his shoes apprised me that he had a sore foot. The supposed +____ in the rock turned out to be a[n] ____ that led into a dark but +spacious ____. He suffered a[n] ____ of one of his tires near the place +where the laborers were making the ____. It was a gun of very large ____. +The ____ in the percolator was made by a flatiron aimed at Mr. Wiggins' +head. + + +<Idle, inert, lazy, indolent, sluggish, slothful.> + +_Sentences_: "He also that is ____ in his work is brother to him +that is a great waster." "The ____ singer of an empty day." Mighty, ____ +forces lie locked up in nature, waiting for man to release them. He was +a[n] ____, good-for-nothing fellow whose whole business in life was to +keep out of work. "For Satan finds some mischief still For ____ hands to +do." He was too ____ to do his work well. "The ____ yawning drone." His +steps were so ____ one would almost think he was not moving. "As ____ as a +painted ship Upon a painted ocean." "I talk of dreams, Which are the +children of an ____ brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy." + + +<Ignorant, illiterate, uninformed, uneducated, untutored, unlettered, +unenlightened.> + +_Sentences_: Without public schools most children would be ____; +without missionaries many barbarous tribes would remain ____. Andrew +Jackson was ____ that peace had been declared when he fought the battle of +New Orleans. Even the wisest men are ____ upon some subjects. "Lo, the +poor Indian, whose ____ mind Sees God in clouds or hears Him in the wind!" +The mountain whites, though often totally ____, are nevertheless a shrewd +folk. "Their name, their years, spelt by th' ____ muse, The place of fame +and elegy supply." The percentage of ____ persons is constantly decreasing +in America. + + +<Incline, tip, lean, cant, slant, slope, tilt, list, careen, dip.> + +_Sentences_: He ____ the bucket of water over. The vessel ____ to the +stern and began to sink. The ship ____ to larboard. He ____ the top of the +picture away from the wall. The sprinter ____ forward and touched the tips +of his fingers against the ground. The gable ____ sharply. The hill ____ +gently. The cowboy had ____ his hat fetchingly. + + +<Journey, voyage, tour, pilgrimage, trip, jaunt, excursion, junket, +outing, expedition.> + +_Sentences_: The people protested the expenditure of money for a +Congressional ____ to investigate the Philippine Islands. Each Sunday +there is a[n] ____ at half fare between the two cities. He conducted a +party on a summer ____ through Europe. Last summer I took a[n] ____ to the +Yellowstone National Park. It was a long ____ from Philadelphia to Boston +by stage coach. They hurriedly arranged for a[n] ____ to the woods. +Magellan was the first man to make a[n] ____ around the globe. The +scientific body organized a[n] ____ to explore the polar regions. +Thousands of Mohammedans make an annual ____ to Mecca. + + +<Kind, compassionate, merciful, lenient, benignant, benign, clement, +benevolent, charitable, gracious, humane, sympathetic.> (With this +group compare the _Cruel_ group, above.) + +_Sentences_: The weather was ____. She was as ____ as a queen. "Thou +dost wear The Godhead's most ____ grace." Cowper was too ____ to tread +upon a worm needlessly. A judge in sentencing a convicted man may be as +____ as circumstances and the law allow. ____ neutrality. "Blessed are the +____." "She was so ____ and so pitous She wolde wepe if that she sawe a +mous Caught in a trappe." "____ hearts are more than coronets." + + +<Love, affection, attachment, fondness, infatuation, devotion, +predilection, liking.> + +_Sentences_: Between the two young people had grown a[n] ____ which +now ripened into ____. "The course of true ____ never did run smooth." The +mad ____ of Mark Antony for Cleopatra was the cause of his downfall. She +had only a[n] ____ for him, but he an unqualified ____ for her. "Man's +____ is of his life a thing apart; 'Tis woman's whole existence." He shows +a marked ____ for the companionship of women. My ____ for the tart was +enhanced by my ____ for the girl who baked it. That boy shows a[n] ____ +for horses, and a positive ____ for dogs. + + +<Margin, edge, limit, border, boundary, bound, bourn, brim, rim, brink, +verge, skirt, confine.> + +_Sentences_: He had reached the ____ of endurance. In writing, leave +a wide ____ on the left side of the page. "Borrowing dulls the ____ of +husbandry." "The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his ____." Within +the ____ of reason. He stood on the ____ of ruin. The rock at the ____ of +the cañon is called the ____ rock. I was on the ____ of doing a very +indiscreet thing. "The undiscover'd country from whose ____ No traveler +returns." Fill your glasses to the ____. + + +<Matrimonial, conjugal, connubial, nuptial, marital.> + +_Sentences_: "However old a ____ union, it still garners some +sweetness." A court of ____ relations. "Contented toil, and hospitable +care, And kind ____ tenderness are there." "To the ____ bower I led her, +blushing like the morn." She finally decided that he had no ____ +intentions. "And hears the unexpressive ____ song In the blest kingdoms +meek of joy and love." + + +<Occupation, employment, calling, pursuit, vocation, avocation, +profession, business, trade, craft.> + +_Sentences_: He gave his life to literary ____. My brother found ____ +as a tutor in a rich family. Colleges are trying to direct their students +into the ____ they are best fitted for. Andrew Johnson was a tailor by +____. Medicine is a very ancient ____. The shoemaker was very skilled at +his ____. After losing his hand he could no longer engage in his ____ as +telegrapher. The grocer carries on only a wholesale ____. He considered +his ____ to the ministry a sacred duty. "Sir, 'tis my ____ to be plain." +Do you find collecting coins a pleasant ____? + + +<Pacify, appease, placate, propitiate, conciliate, mollify>. + +_Sentences_: We ____ our hunger when we reached the inn. In olden +times men tried to ____ the offended gods by offering human sacrifices. +They ____ the angry man by promising to hear his grievances immediately. +The premier thought he could ____ this particular faction by offering its +leader a seat in the cabinet. "Chiron ____ his cruel mind With art, and +taught his warlike hands to wind The silver strings of his melodious +lyre." A friendly word will usually ____ one's enemies. + + +<Part, piece, portion, section, subdivision, fraction, instalment +element, component, constituent, ingredient, share, lot, allotment>. + +_Sentences_: One ____ in his success was his courage. She was +studying the ____ of the pie; he the chances of getting another ____. Is +it ____ and ____ alike? "I live not in myself, but I become ____ of that +around me." "Act well your ____; there all the honor lies." He owned a[n] +____ of land near the city limits; a speculator bought a[n] ____ of this +and divided it into city lots. "I am a[n] ____ of all that I have met." +The purchaser, having only a[n] ____ of this sum in ready money, offered +to pay in ____. + + +<Pay, hire, salary, wages, fee, stipend, honorarium>. + +_Sentences_: Give the manager his ____, the workmen their ____. "The +laborer is worthy of his ____." He received his weekly ____ from the +parsimonious old man. The ____ for enrolment is ten dollars. "This is ____ +and ____, not revenge." + + +<Polite, civil, obliging, courteous, courtly, urbane, affable, +complaisant, gracious>. + +_Sentences_: He was ____ enough, but not definitely ____. "So ____ +that he ne'er ____." Though he had never lived in a city, much less in the +circle of royalty, his manners were ____, even ____. Your desire to please +is shown in your ____ greeting. "Damn with faint praise, assent with ____ +leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer." + + +<Quarrel, altercation, disagreement, contention, controversy, breach, +rupture, dispute, dissension, bickering, wrangle, broil, squabble, row, +rumpus, ruction, spat, tiff, fuss, jar, feud.> + +_Sentences_: It was only a little ____ between lovers. The ____ +between the partners was over the right of the senior to make contracts +for the firm; it grew into an angry ____. It was a long-drawn political +____. At the meeting of our committee the chairman and one of the members +had a sharp ____ over a point of order. A[n] ____ in some minor matters +led to a[n] ____ in their friendship. "Thrice is he armed that hath his +____ just." Those chattering, choleric fellows are always engaged in ____; +last night they on meeting had a[n] ____ which brought on a long-drawn +____, and when their friends joined in, there was a noisy ____. I have +seen all sorts of ____, from a trivial childish ____ to a grim ____ of +mountaineers. + + +<Raise, lift, heave, hoist, erect, rear, elevate, exalt, enhance.> + +_Sentences_: Let the Lord be ____. "As some tall cliff that ____ its +awful form." Because of this success his reputation was ____. The horse +____ when the machine began to ____ the huge block of stone by means of a +crane. "I will ____ up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my +help." The load was too heavy for him to carry; in fact he just managed to +____ it into the wagon. + + +<Relinquish, waive, renounce, surrender, forego, resign, abdicate.> + +_Sentences_: The defense ____ objection to the first of these points. +The refugee was willing to ____ his right to resist extradition. The +teacher ____ her position at the end of the year. The king ____ when the +people rose in revolt. He ____ his command of the army. Do you ____ your +claim in this mine? The bankrupt ____ his property to the receiver to help +pay his debts. + + +<Renounce, abjure, forswear, recant, retract, repudiate>. + +_Sentences_: He ____ the statement. Thereupon Henry Esmond ____ his +allegiance to the House of Stuart. It is a serious matter for a government +to ____ its debts. Did the heretic ____? Do you ____ the devil and all his +works? "The wounded gladiator ____ all fighting, but soon forgetting his +former wounds resumes his arms." He had broken his solemn oath; he was +____. + + +<Reprove, rebuke, reprimand, admonish, chide, upbraid, reproach, scold, +rate, berate>. + +_Sentences_: "He ____ their wanderings but relieved their pain." +"Many a time and oft In the Rialto you have ____ me About my moneys and my +usances." They ____ the man who had taken the savings of the poor, and +____ him against such schemes thereafter. The general ____ his +subordinate. + + +<Robber, bandit, brigand, ladrone, desperado, buccaneer, freebooter, +pirate, corsair, raider, burglar, footpad, highwayman, depredator, +spoiler, despoiler, forager, pillager, plunderer, marauder, myrmidon>. +(With this group compare the _Steal_ group, below.) + +_Sentences_: Every boy has his period of wanting to be a ____. +_Treasure Island_ is one of the best ____ stories ever written. +The ____ lurks in dark passageways and steals upon his victim. The fierce +followers of Achilles were called ____. The men sent out by the army as +____ seemed to the people of the countryside more like ____. The fearless +____ had soon gathered about him a band of ____. Robin Hood was no ____ of +poor folk. The outcast became a ____ among the mountaineers of northern +Italy. Every, boy likes to read of the bold ____ who sailed the Spanish +Main. Union plans were often upset by daring Confederate ____, such as +Stuart, Morgan, and Forrest. + + +<Run, scamper, scurry, scuttle, scud, scour, pace, gallop, trot, lope, +sprint, sweep>. + +_Sentences_: Swift horsemen ____ the country in search of the +fugitive. Wherever they came, the inhabitants ____ for shelter. "The dish +____ away with the spoon." For his horse to ____ made difficult riding, to +____ made comfortable riding, to ____ made exhilarating riding. "He may +____ that readeth it." The old sailing-boat ____ before the wind. "Haste +me to know't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of +love, May ____ to my revenge." The rats ____ across the floor. "He who +fights and ____ away May live to fight another day." + + +<Say, utter, pronounce, announce, state, declare, affirm, aver, +asseverate, allege, assert, avouch, avow, maintain, claim, depose, +predicate, swear, suggest, insinuate, testify>. (With this group +compare the _Speak_ and _Talk_ groups, below.) + +_Sentences_: It was something I merely ____ in passing; I would not +____ to it. I could not ____ in court, and therefore had to ____ before a +notary. The scientist ____ that a seismograph will infallibly record +earthquakes. He solemnly ____ that he would not ____ exemption from the +draft. + + +<Shine, beam, gleam, glisten, glister, glitter, glare, flare, flash, +sparkle, twinkle, dazzle, glimmer, glow, radiate, scintillate, +coruscate>. + +_Sentences_: The gorgeous parade ____ the boy. "____, ____, little +star." He was witty that night; he fairly ____. At this compliment the old +lady ____. "Now fades the ____ landscape on the sight." A rocket ____ in +the darkness. She ____ her elderly wooer a look of defiance; then her eyes +softened and ____ with amusement. "All that ____ is not gold." "How far +that little candle throws his beams! So ____ a good deed in a naughty +world." The old man ____ into sudden anger. + + +<Slander, defame, asperse, calumniate, traduce, vilify, malign, libel, +backbite>. + +_Sentences_: A newspaper must be careful not to ____ any one. Too +many supposedly religious people ____ their fellow believers. I do not +____ your motives. He ____ the character of everybody who chances to +possess one. + + +<Smell, odor, savor, scent, fragrance, aroma, perfume, redolence, tang, +stench>. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of the flowers in the vase mingled with the +____ of boiling cabbage in the kitchen. The ____ of spring is on the +meadows. So keen was the hound's sense of ____ that he quickly picked up +the ____ again. Any smoker likes the ____ of a good cigar. The ____ of +the handkerchief was delicate. Though it was a disagreeable ____, I should +hardly call it a[n] ____. The ____ of spices told him that his mother was +baking his favorite cake, and he also detected the ____ of coffee. The +____ of the ocean was in the air. He sniffed the ____ of frying bacon. + + +<Song, ballad, ditty, lullaby, hymn, anthem, dirge, chant, paean, lay, +carol, lilt>. + +_Sentences_: "They learn in suffering what they teach in ____." +The mother crooned a[n] ____ to her babe. The Highland girl sang a moving +old ____. The worshipers sang a[n] ____ of praise. Charles Wesley wrote many +____. As I approached the cathedral, I could hear the ____ of larks +outside and the ____ of the choir within. "Our sweetest ____ are those +that tell of saddest thought." "A[n] ____ for her the doubly dead in that +she died so young." + + +<Speak, discourse, expatiate, descant, comment, argue, persuade, plead, +lecture, preach, harangue, rant, roar, spout, thunder, declaim, harp>. +(With this group compare the _Say_ group, above, and the _Talk_ +group, below.) + +_Sentences_: "His virtues Will ____ like angels trumpet-tongu'd +against The deep damnation of his taking-off." "Here, under leave of +Brutus and the rest, ... Come I to ____ in Caesar's funeral." "Ay me! what +act, That ____ so loud and ____ in the index?" "Hadst thou thy wits and +didst ____ revenge, It could not move thus." "Thou canst not ____ of that +thou dost not feel." "Nay, if thou'lt mouth, I'll ____ as well as thou." +While the politician ____ in the senate chamber upon theoretical ills, the +agitator outside ____ the mob about actual ones. "For murder, though it +have no tongue, will ____ With most miraculous organ." + + +<Spend, expend, disburse, squander, waste, lavish>. + +_Sentences_: Large sums were ____ in rebuilding the devastated +regions of France. ____ your money, but do not ____ it. One should not +____ more than one earns. The king ____ great sums upon his favorites. The +political boss ____ the money among his henchmen. "The younger son ... +____ his substance with riotous living." + + +<Spot, blotch, speckle, fleck, dapple, smear, smutch, brand, defacement, +blemish, stain, discoloration, speck, mark, smudge, flaw, defect, +blot>. + +_Sentences_: A ____ in the crystal. The ____ of Cain. A life free +from ____. "Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul; And there I see such +black and grained ____ As will not leave their tinct." From the standpoint +of theatrical effectiveness _A ____ in the 'Scutcheon_ is one of the +best of Browning's plays. An eruption of the skin made a yellow ____ on +his right hand. Dragging my sleeve across the fresh ink had made a ____ +upon the page. The ____ of foam by the roadside proved that his horse had +been going fast. The ____ at the end of his fingers told me he was a +cigarette-smoker. On the left foreleg of the horse was a slight ____. + + +<Stay, tarry, linger, stop, sojourn, remain, abide, live, reside, dwell, +lodge.> + +_Sentences_: The Israelites ____ in Egypt. He ____ to chat with us, +but could not ____ overnight. I ____ in a wretched tavern. "I can ____, I +can ____ but a night." "I did love the Moor to ____ with him." "He that +shall come will come, and will not ____." "I will ____ in the house of the +Lord forever." "If ye ____ in me, and my words ____ in you, ye shall ask +what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." "I would rather be a +doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to ____ in the tents of +wickedness." The guests ____ in the cheerful drawing-room. + + +<Steal, abstract, pilfer, filch, purloin, peculate, swindle, plagiarize, +poach>. (With this group, which excludes the idea of violence, compare +the _Robber_ group, above.) + +_Sentences_: I am afraid that our son ____ the purse from the +gentleman. No one knows how long the cashier has been ____ the funds of +the bank. To take our money on such unsound security is to ____ us. He +slyly ____ a handkerchief or two. This paragraph is clearly ____. "Thou +shalt not ____." Many government employees seem to think that to ____ is +their privilege and prerogative. The crown jewels have been ____. She ____ +a number of petty articles. A well-known detective story by Poe is called +_The ____ Letter._ "Who ____ my purse ____ trash.... But he that ____ +from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me +poor indeed." "A cut-purse of the empire and the rule, That from a shelf +the precious diadem ____, And put it in his pocket!" + + +<Strike, hit, smite, thump, beat, cuff, buffet, knock, whack, belabor, +pommel, pound, cudgel, slap, rap, tap, box.> + +_Sentences_: ____ him into the middle of next week. He ____ and ____ +the poor beast unmercifully. "As of some one gently ____, ____ at my +chamber door." "Unto him that ____ thee on the one cheek offer also the +other." "Bid them come forth and hear me, Or at their chamber door I'll +____ the drum Till it cry sleep to death." "One whom I will ____ into +clamorous whining." "____ for your altars and your fires!" By means of +heavy stones the squaws ____ the corn into meal. + + +<Sullen, surly, sulky, crabbed, cross, gruff, grum, glum, morose, dour, +crusty, cynical, misanthropic, saturnine, splenetic.> + +_Sentences_: "Between us and our hame [home], Where sits our ____, +____ dame, Gathering her brows like gathering storm, Nursing her wrath to +keep it warm." A ____ old bachelor. A ____ Scotchman. He hated all men; he +was truly ____. He sat ____ and silent all day; by nightfall he was truly +____. + + +<Talk, chat, chatter, prate, prattle, babble, gabble, jabber, tattle, +twaddle, blab, gossip, palaver, parley, converse, mumble, mutter, stammer, +stutter.> (With this group compare the _Say_ and _Speak_ +groups, above.) + +_Sentences_: It was a queer assembly, and from it arose a queer +medley of sounds: the baby was ____, the old crone ____, the gossip ____, +the embarrassed young man ____, the child ____ the tale-bearer ____, the +hostess ____ with the most distinguished guest, and the trickster ____ +with his intended victim. "Blest with each talent and each art to please, +And born to write, ____, and live with ease." "I wonder that you will +still be ____, Signor Benedick; nobody marks you." + + +<Tear, rend, rip, lacerate, mangle.> + +_Sentences_: The explosion of the shell ____ his flesh. The tailor +____ the garment along the seam. I'll ____ this paper into bits. Those +savages would ____ you limb from limb. She ____ her dress on a nail. The +cogs caught his hand and ____ it. How could such reproaches fail to ____ +my feelings? + + +<Throw, pitch, hurl, dash, fling, cast, toss, flip, chuck, sling, heave, +launch, dart, propel, project.> + +_Sentences_: Suddenly he ____ the glittering coins away. Goliath +learned to his cost that David could ____ a stone. The explosion of the +gunpowder ____ the bullet from the gun. "____ down your cups of Samian +wine!" The children amused themselves by ____ the ball back and forth. He +____ himself dejectedly into a seat. The thief ____ a glance beside him. +The mischievous boy ____ a stone through the window. They ____ some of the +cargo overboard to lighten the boat. The eager fisherman ____ the fly for +the trout. The untidy fellow ____ the towel in a corner. + + +<Whip, chastise, castigate, flagellate, scourge, lash, trounce, thrash, +flog, maul, drub, switch, spank, bastinado.> (This group limits the +field of the _Punish_ group in Exercise A, and extends the list of +synonyms.) + +_Sentences_: The drunken driver ____ the excited horses. The zealot +was accustomed to ____ himself. The ruler bade that the Christians be +____. The teacher ____ the small children gently, but he unsparingly ____ +the big ones. "My father hath ____ you with whips, but I will ____ you +with scorpions." The bully was always ____ men smaller than himself till +one of them turned on him and ____ him thoroughly. + + +<Wicked, sinful, felonious, illegal, immoral, heinous, flagitious, +iniquitous, criminal, vicious, vile.> + +_Sentences_: "I am fled From this ____ world, with ____ worms to +dwell." A[n] ____ assault. "The ____ prize itself Buys out the law." It +was, though not a[n] ____ act, a most ____ one. "There the ____ cease from +troubling; and there the weary be at rest." + + +<Young, youthful, boyish, girlish, juvenile, puerile, immature, callow, +adolescent.> + +_Sentences_: The plan had all the faults of ____ judgment. Many great +authors have written books of ____ fiction. The bird, which was still +____, was of course unable to fly. "Such sights as ____ poets dream On +summer eves by haunted stream." He was in that ____ stage of development +when one is neither a boy nor a man. "I was so ____, I loved him so, I had +No mother, God forgot me, and I fell." He made a[n] ____ attempt to +impress them with his importance. "Bacchus ever fair, and ever ____." +A red necktie gave him a more ____ appearance. The self-satisfied air of +a[n] ____ youth is often trying to his elders. + + +EXERCISE D + +In this exercise each group of synonyms is followed by quotations from +authoritative writers in which the words are discriminatingly employed. +Find the meaning of each italicized word in these quotations, and +differentiate the word accurately from the others in that group. +Substitute for it other words from the group, and observe precisely how +the meaning is affected. + +(So many of the quotations are from poetry that these will be printed as +verse rather than, as in the preceding exercises, in continuous lines like +prose.) + + +<Affront, insult, indignity.> + + A moral, sensible, and well-bred man + Will not _affront_ me,--and no other can. + An old _affront_ will stir the heart + Through years of rankling pain. + +The way to procure _insults_ is to submit to them. A man meets +with no more respect than he exacts. + +It is often better not to see an _insult_ than to avenge it. + +Even a hare, the weakest of animals, may _insult_ a dead lion. + +To a native of rank, arrest was not merely a restraint, but a foul +personal _indignity_. + + +<Dishonor, disgrace, ignominy, infamy, obloquy, opprobrium>. + + His honor rooted in _dishonor_ stood, + And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. + +It is hard to say which of the two we ought most to lament,--the unhappy +man who sinks under the sense of his _dishonor_, or him who survives +it. + + Could he with reason murmur at his case + Himself sole author of his own _disgrace_? + +Whatever _disgrace_ we may have deserved, it is almost always in our +power to re-establish our character. + + When in _disgrace_ with fortune and men's eyes + I all alone beweep my outcast state. + +Their generals have been received with honor after their defeat; yours +with _ignominy_ after conquest. + +Wilful perpetuations of unworthy actions brand with most indelible +characters of _infamy_ the name and memory to posterity. + +And when his long public life, so singularly chequered with good and evil, +with glory and _obloquy_, had at length closed forever, it was to +Daylesford that he retired to die. + +Great _opprobrium_ has been thrown on her name. + + +<Fame, honor, renown, glory, distinction, reputation, repute, celebrity, +eminence, notoriety>. + + Let _fame_, that all hunt after in their lives, + Live register'd upon our brazen tombs. + +Men have a solicitude about _fame_; and the greater share +they have of it, the more afraid they are of losing it. + + _Fame_ is no plant that grows on mortal soil, + . . . . . . . . + But lives and spreads aloft by those pure eyes + And perfect witness of all-judging Jove; + As he pronounces lastly on each deed, + Of so much _fame_ in heaven expect thy meed. + + When faith is lost, when _honor_ dies, + The man is dead. + + Act well your part; there all the _honor_ lies. + +The Athenians erected a large statue of Aesop, and placed him, though a +slave, on a lasting pedestal, to show that the way to _honor_ lies +open indifferently to all. + + I could not love thee, dear, so much, + Loved I not _honor_ more. + +That nation is worthless which does not joyfully stake everything on her +_honor_. + + By heaven methinks it were an easy leap + To pluck bright _honor_ from the pale-fac'd moon. + +That merit which gives greatness and _renown_ diffuses its influence +to a wide compass, but acts weakly on every single breast. + + Speak no more of his _renown_, + Lay your earthly fancies down, + And in the vast cathedral leave him, + God accept him, Christ receive him. + +The young warrior did not fly; but met death as he went forward in his +strength. Happy are they who dies in youth, when their _renown_ is +heard! + + The paths of _glory_ lead but to the grave. + +_Glory_ long has made the sages smile; 'tis something, nothing, +words, illusion, wind. + + Not once or twice in our rough island-story + The path of duty was the way to _glory_. + +He was a charming fellow, clever, urbane, free-handed, with all that +fortunate quality in his appearance which is known as _distinction._ + +Never get a _reputation_ for a small perfection if you are trying for +_fame_ in a loftier area. + +One may be better than his _reputation_ or his conduct, but never +better than his principles. + + I see my _reputation_ is at stake + My _fame_ is shrewdly gor'd. + +CASSIO. _Reputation, reputation, reputation!_ O! I have lost my +reputation. I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is +bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation! +IAGO. As I am an honest man, I thought you had received some bodily wound. + +You have a good _repute_ for gentleness and wisdom. +_Celebrity_ sells dearly what we think she gives. + + Kings climb to _eminence_ + Over men's graves. + +_Notoriety_ is short-lived; _fame_ is lasting. + + +<Hatred, hate, animosity, ill-will, enmity, hostility, bitterness, +malice, malevolence, malignity, rancor, resentment, dudgeon, grudge, +spite>. + +The _hatred_ we bear our enemies injures their happiness less than +our own. + +_Hate_ is like fire; it makes even light rubbish deadly. + +He generously forgot all feeling of _animosity_, and determined to go +in person to his succor. + + That thereby he may gather + The ground of your _ill-will_, and so remove it. + +No place is so propitious to the formation either of close friendships or +of deadly _enmities_ as an Indiaman. + +There need be no _hostility_ between evolutionist and theologian. + + Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks, + His fits, his frenzy, and his _bitterness?_ + + Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, + Nor set down aught in _malice_. + +Every obstacle which partisan _malevolence_ could create he has had +to encounter. + +His flight is occasioned rather by the _malignity_ of his countrymen +than by the enmity of the Egyptians. + + Where the soul sours, and gradual _rancor_ grows, + Imbitter'd more from peevish day to day. + +Peace in their mouthes, and all _rancor_ and vengeance in their +hartes [hearts]. + + For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd; + Put _rancors_ in the vessel of my peace + Only for them. + +Her _resentment_ against the king seems not to have abated. + +Mrs. W. was in high _dudgeon_; her heels clattered on the red-tiled +floor, and she whisked about the house like a parched pea upon a +drum-head. + + If I can catch him once upon the hip, + I will feed fat the ancient _grudge_ I bear him. + +Men of this character pursue a _grudge_ unceasingly, and never forget +or forgive. + + And since you ne'er provoked their _spite_, + Depend upon't their judgment's right. + + +<Marriage, matrimony, wedlock>. (With this group compare the +_matrimonial_ group in Exercise C, above.) + +_Marriages_ are made in heaven. + +Hasty _marriage_ seldom proveth well. + +A man finds himself seven years older the day after his _marriage_. + + Let me not to the _marriage_ of true minds + Admit impediments. + +_Marriage_ is the best state for man in general; and every man is a +worse man in proportion as he is unfit for the married state. + +_Matrimony_--the high sea for which no compass has yet been invented. + +_Wedlock's_ a lane where there is no turning. + + What is _wedlock_ forced, but a hell, + An age of discord and continual strife? + + +<Mercy, clemency, lenity, leniency, lenience, forbearance>. + + Teach me to feel another's woe, + To hide the fault I see; + That _mercy_ I to others show, + That _mercy_ show to me. + + The quality of _mercy_ is not strain'd, + It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven + Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd; + It blesseth him that gives and him that takes; + * * * * * + And earthly power doth then show likest God's + When _mercy_ seasons justice. + +_Clemency_ is the surest proof of a true monarch. + +_Lenity_ will operate with greater force, in some instances, than +vigor. + +All the fellows tried to persuade the Master to greater _leniency_, +but in vain. + +It will be necessary that this acceptance should be followed up by +measures of the utmost _lenience_. + +There is however a limit at which _forbearance_ ceases to be a +virtue. + + +<Pity, sympathy, compassion, commiseration, condolence>. + + Careless their merits or their faults to scan, + His _pity_ gave ere charity began. + +For _pity_ melts the mind to love. + +For _pitee_ renneth [runneth] soon in gentle herte [heart]. + +Our _sympathy_ is cold to the relation of distant misery. + +Man may dismiss _compassion_ from his heart, but God will never. + +It is unworthy a religious man to view an irreligious one either with +alarm or aversion; or with any other feeling than regret, and hope, and +brotherly _commiseration_. + +Their congratulations and their _condolences_ are equally words of +course. + + +<Poverty, want, need, destitution, indigence, penury>. + + Is there for honest _poverty_ + That hings [hangs] his head, and a' that? + +Not to be able to bear _poverty_ is a shameful thing, but not to know +how to chase it away by work is a more shameful thing yet. + + Stitch! stitch! stitch! + In _poverty_, hunger, and dirt, + And still with a voice of dolorous pitch, + Would that its tone could reach the Rich, + She sang this "Song of the Shirt!" + +_Poverty_ is dishonorable, not in itself, but when it is a proof of +laziness, intemperance, luxury, and carelessness; whereas in a person that +is temperate, industrious, just and valiant, and who uses all his virtues +for the public good, it shows a great and lofty mind. + + _Want_ is a bitter and hateful good, + Because its virtues are not understood; + Yet many things, impossible to thought, + Have been by _need_ to full perfection brought. + +Hundreds would never have known _want_ if they had not first known +waste. + + O! reason not the _need_; our basest beggars + Are in the poorest thing superfluous: + Allow not nature more than nature needs, + Man's life is cheap as beast's. + +The Christian inhabitants of Thessaly would be reduced to +_destitution_. + +It is the care of a very great part of mankind to conceal their +_indigence_ from the rest. + + Chill _penury_ repress'd their noble rage, + And froze the genial current of the soul. + +Chill _penury_ weighs down the heart itself; and though it sometimes +be endured with calmness, it is but the calmness of despair. + + Where _penury_ is felt the thought is chain'd, + And sweet colloquial pleasures are but few. + + +<Regret, compunction, remorse, contrition, penitence, repentance>. + +_Regrets_ over the past should chasten the future. + +He acknowledged his disloyalty to the king with expressions of great +_compunction_. + + Through no disturbance of my soul, + Or strong _compunction_ in me wrought, + I supplicate for thy control. + +God speaks to our hearts through the voice of _remorse_. + +To err is human; but _contrition_ felt for the crime distinguishes +the virtuous from the wicked. + +Christian _penitence_ is something more than a thought or an emotion +or a tear; it is action. + +_Repentance_ must be something more than mere _remorse_ for +sins; it comprehends a change of nature befitting heaven. + + +<Stubborn, obstinate, pertinacious, intractable, refractory, +contumacious>. + + For fools are _stubborn_ in their way, + As coins are harden'd by th' allay; + And _obstinacy's_ ne'er so stiff + As when 'tis in a wrong belief. + +They may also laugh at their _pertinacious_ and incurable obstinacy. + +He who is _intractable_, he whom nothing can persuade, may boast +himself invincible. + + There is a law in each well-order'd nation + To curb those raging appetites that are + Most disobedient and _refractory_. + +He then dissolved Parliament, and sent its most _refractory_ members +to the Tower. + +If he were _contumacious_, he might be excommunicated, or, in other +words, be deprived of all civil rights and imprisoned for life. + + +EXERCISE E + +The following list of synonyms is given for the convenience of those who +wish additional material with which to work. This is a selected list and +makes no pretense to completeness. It is suggested that you discriminate +the words within each of the following groups, and use each word +accurately in a sentence of your own making. + +Abettor, accessory, accomplice, confederate, conspirator. +Acknowledge, admit, confess, own, avow. +Active, agile, nimble, brisk, sprightly, spry, bustling. +Advise, counsel, admonish, caution, warn. +Affecting, moving, touching, pathetic. +Agnostic, skeptic, infidel, unbeliever, disbeliever. +Amuse, entertain, divert. +Announce, proclaim, promulgate, report, advertise, publish, bruit, blazon, +trumpet, herald. +Antipathy, aversion, repugnance, disgust, loathing. +Artifice, ruse, trick, dodge, manoeuver, wile, stratagem, subterfuge, +finesse. +Ascend, mount, climb, scale. +Associate, colleague, partner, helper, collaborator, coadjutor, companion, +helpmate, mate, team-mate, comrade, chum, crony, consort, accomplice, +confederate. +Attach, affix, annex, append, subjoin. +Attack, assail, assault, invade, beset, besiege, bombard, cannonade, +storm. + +Begin, commence, inaugurate, initiate, institute, originate, start, found. +Belief, faith, persuasion, conviction, tenet, creed. +Belittle, decry, depreciate, disparage. +Bind, secure, fetter, shackle, gyve. +Bit, jot, mite, particle, grain, atom, speck, mote, whit, iota, tittle, +scintilla. +Bluff, blunt, outspoken, downright, brusk, curt, crusty. +Boast, brag, vaunt, vapor, gasconade. +Body, corpse, remains, relics, carcass, cadaver, corpus. +Bombastic, sophomoric, turgid, tumid, grandiose, grandiloquent, +magniloquent. +Boorish, churlish, loutish, clownish, rustic, ill-bred. +Booty, plunder, loot, spoil. +Brittle, frangible, friable, fragile, crisp. +Building, edifice, structure, house. + +Call, clamor, roar, scream, shout, shriek, vociferate, yell, halloo, +whoop. +Calm, still, motionless, tranquil, serene, placid. +Care, concern, solicitude, anxiety. +Celebrate, commemorate, observe. +Charm, amulet, talisman. +Charm, enchant, fascinate, captivate, enrapture, bewitch, infatuate, +enamor. +Cheat, defraud, swindle, dupe. +Choke, strangle, suffocate, stifle, throttle. +Choose, pick, select, cull, elect. +Coax, wheedle, cajole, tweedle, persuade, inveigle. +Color, hue, shade, tint, tinge, tincture. +Combine, unite, consolidate, merge, amalgamate, weld, incorporate, +confederate. +Comfort, console, solace. +Complain, grumble, growl, murmur, repine, whine, croak. +Confirmed, habitual, inveterate, chronic. +Connect, join, link, couple, attach, unite. +Continual, continuous, unceasing, incessant, endless, uninterrupted, +unremitting, constant, perpetual, perennial. +Contract, agreement, bargain, compact, covenant, stipulation. +Copy, duplicate, counterpart, likeness, reproduction, replica, facsimile. +Corrupt, depraved, perverted, vitiated. +Costly, expensive, dear. +Coterie, clique, cabal, circle, set, faction, party. +Critical, judicial, impartial, carping, caviling, captious, censorious. +Crooked, awry, askew. +Cross, fretful, peevish, petulant, pettish, irritable, irascible, angry. +Crowd, throng, horde, host, mass, multitude, press, jam, concourse. +Curious, inquisitive, prying, meddlesome. + +Dainty, delicate, exquisite, choice, rare. +Danger, peril, jeopardy, hazard, risk. +Darken, obscure, bedim, obfuscate. +Dead, lifeless, inanimate, deceased, defunct, extinct. +Decay, decompose, putrefy, rot, spoil. +Deceit, deception, double-dealing, duplicity, chicanery, guile, treachery. +Deceptive, deceitful, misleading, fallacious, fraudulent. +Decorate, adorn, ornament, embellish, deck, bedeck, garnish, bedizen, +beautify. +Decorous, demure, sedate, sober, staid, prim, proper. +Deface, disfigure, mar, mutilate. +Defect, fault, imperfection, disfigurement, blemish, flaw. +Delay, defer, postpone, procrastinate. +Demoralize, deprave, debase, corrupt, vitiate. +Deportment, demeanor, bearing, port, mien. +Deprive, divest, dispossess, strip, despoil. +Despise, contemn, scorn, disdain. +Despondency, despair, desperation. +Detach, separate, sunder, sever, disconnect, disjoin, disunite. +Determined, persistent, dogged. +Devout, religious, pious, godly, saintly. +Difficulty, hindrance, obstacle, impediment, encumbrance, handicap. +Difficulty, predicament, perplexity, plight, quandary, dilemma, strait. +Dirty, filthy, foul, nasty, squalid. +Discernment, perception, penetration, insight, acumen. +Disgraceful, dishonorable, shameful, disreputable, ignominious, +opprobrious, scandalous, infamous. +Disgusting, sickening, repulsive, revolting, loathsome, repugnant, +abhorrent, noisome, fulsome. +Dispel, disperse, dissipate, scatter. +Dissatisfied, discontented, displeased, malcontent, disgruntled. +Divide, distribute, apportion, allot, allocate, partition. +Doctrine, dogma, tenet, precept. +Dream, reverie, vision, fantasy. +Drip, dribble, trickle. +Drunk, drunken, intoxicated, inebriated. +Dry, arid, parched, desiccated. + +Eat, bolt, gulp, gorge, devour. +Encroach, infringe, intrench, trench, intrude, invade, trespass. +End, conclude, terminate, finish, discontinue, close. +Enemy, foe, adversary, opponent, antagonist, rival. +Enough, adequate, sufficient. +Entice, inveigle, allure, lure, decoy, seduce. +Erase, expunge, cancel, efface, obliterate. +Error, mistake, blunder, slip. +Estimate, value, appreciate. +Eternal, everlasting, endless, deathless, imperishable, immortal. +Examination, inquiry, inquisition, investigation, inspection, +scrutiny, research, review, audit, inquest, autopsy. +Example, sample, specimen, instance. +Exceed, excel, surpass, transcend, outdo. +Expand, dilate, distend, inflate. +Expel, banish, exile, proscribe, ostracize. +Experiment, trial, test. +Explicit, exact, precise, definite. + +Faculty, gift, endowment, aptitude, attribute, talent, predilection, bent. +Failing, shortcoming, defect, fault, foible, infirmity. +Famous, renowned, celebrated, noted, distinguished, eminent, illustrious. +Fashion, mode, style, vogue, rage, fad. +Fast, rapid, swift, quick, fleet, speedy, hasty, celeritous, expeditious, +instantaneous. +Fasten, tie, hitch, moor, tether. +Fate, destiny, lot, doom. +Fawn, truckle, cringe, crouch. +Feign, pretend, dissemble, simulate, counterfeit, affect, assume. +Fiendish, devilish, diabolical, demoniacal, demonic, satanic. +Fertile, fecund, fruitful, prolific. +Fit, suitable, appropriate, proper. +Flame, blaze, flare, glare, glow. +Flat, level, even, plane, smooth, horizontal. +Flatter, blandish, beguile, compliment, praise. +Flexible, pliable, pliant, supple, limber, lithe, lissom. +Flit, flutter, flicker, hover. +Flock, herd, bevy, covey, drove, pack, brood, litter, school. +Flow, pour, stream, gush, spout. +Follow, pursue, chase. +Follower, adherent, disciple, partisan, henchman. +Fond, loving, doting, devoted, amorous, enamored. +Force, strength, power, energy, vigor, might, potency, cogency, efficacy. +Force, compulsion, coercion, constraint, restraint. +Free, liberate, emancipate, manumit, release, disengage, disentangle, +disembarrass, disencumber, extricate. +Freshen, refresh, revive, renovate, renew. +Friendly, amicable, companionable, hearty, cordial, neighborly, sociable, +genial, complaisant, affable. +Frighten, affright, alarm, terrify, terrorize, dismay, appal, daunt, +scare. +Frown, scowl, glower, lower. +Frugal, sparing, saving, economical, chary, thrifty, provident, +prudent. + +Game, play, amusement, pastime, diversion, fun, sport, entertainment. +Gather, accumulate, amass, collect, levy, muster, hoard. +Ghost, spirit, specter, phantom, apparition, shade, phantasm. +Gift, present, donation, grant, gratuity, bequest, boon, bounty, largess, +fee, bribe. +Grand, magnificent, gorgeous, splendid, superb, sublime. +Greet, hail, salute, address, accost. +Grief, sorrow, distress, affliction, trouble, tribulation, woe. +Grieve, lament, mourn, bemoan, bewail, deplore, rue. +Guard, defend, protect, shield, shelter, screen, preserve. + +Habitation, abode, dwelling, residence, domicile, home. +Harmful, injurious, detrimental, pernicious, deleterious, baneful, +noxious. +Have, possess, own, hold. +Headstrong, wayward, wilful, perverse, froward. +Help (noun), aid, assistance, succor. +Help (verb), assist, aid, succor, abet, second, support, befriend. +Hesitate, falter, vacillate, waver. +Hide, conceal, secrete. +High, tall, lofty, elevated, towering. +Hint, intimate, insinuate. +Hopeful, expectant, sanguine, optimistic, confident. +Hopeless, despairing, disconsolate, desperate. +Holy, sacred, hallowed, sanctified, consecrated, godly, pious, saintly, +blessed. + +Impolite, discourteous, inurbane, uncivil, rude, disrespectful, pert, +saucy, impertinent, impudent, insolent. +Importance, consequence, moment. +Impostor, pretender, charlatan, masquerader, mountebank, deceiver, +humbug, cheat, quack, shyster, empiric. +Imprison, incarcerate, immure. +Improper, indecent, indecorous, unseemly, unbecoming, indelicate. +Impure, tainted, contaminated, polluted, defiled, vitiated. +Inborn, innate, inbred, congenital. +Incite, instigate, stimulate, impel, arouse, goad, spur, promote. +Inclose, surround, encircle, circumscribe, encompass. +Increase, grow, enlarge, magnify, amplify, swell, augment. +Indecent, indelicate, immodest, shameless, ribald, lewd, lustful, +lascivious, libidinous, obscene. +Insane, demented, deranged, crazy, mad. +Insanity, dementia, derangement, craziness, madness, lunacy, mania, +frenzy, hallucination. +Insipid, tasteless, flat, vapid. +Intention, intent, purpose, plan, design, aim, object, end. +Interpose, intervene, intercede, interfere, mediate. +Irreligious, ungodly, impious, godless, sacrilegious, blasphemous, +profane. +Irritate, exasperate, nettle, incense. + +Join, connect, unite, couple, combine, link, annex, append. + +Kindle, ignite, inflame, rouse. + +Lack, want, need, deficiency, dearth, paucity, scarcity, deficit. +Lame, crippled, halt, deformed, maimed, disabled. +Large, great, big, huge, immense, colossal, gigantic, extensive, vast, +massive, unwieldy, bulky. +Laughable, comical, comic, farcical, ludicrous, ridiculous, funny, droll. +Lead, guide, conduct, escort, convoy. +Lengthen, prolong, protract, extend. +Lessen, decrease, diminish, reduce, abate, curtail, moderate, mitigate, +palliate. +Lie (noun), untruth, falsehood, falsity, fiction, fabrication, mendacity, +canard, fib, story. +Lie (verb), prevaricate, falsify, equivocate, quibble, shuffle, dodge, +fence, fib. +Likeness, resemblance, similitude, similarity, semblance, analogy. +Limp, flaccid, flabby, flimsy. +List, roll, catalogue, register, roster, schedule, inventory. +Loud, resonant, clarion, stentorian, sonorous. +Low, base, abject, servile, slavish, menial. +Loyal, faithful, true, constant, staunch, unwavering, steadfast. +Lurk, skulk, slink, sneak, prowl. + +Make, create, frame, fashion, mold, shape, form, forge, fabricate, invent, +construct, manufacture, concoct. +Manifest, plain, obvious, clear, apparent, patent, evident, perceptible, +noticeable, open, overt, palpable, tangible, indubitable, unmistakable. +Many, various, numerous, divers, manifold, multitudinous, myriad, +countless, innumerable. +Meaning, significance, signification, import, purport. +Meet, encounter, collide, confront, converge. +Meeting, assembly, assemblage, congregation, convention, conference, +concourse, gathering, mustering. +Melt, thaw, fuse, dissolve, liquefy. +Memory, remembrance, recollection, reminiscence, retrospection. +Misrepresent, misinterpret, falsify, distort, warp. +Mix, compound, amalgamate, weld, combine, blend, concoct. +Model, pattern, prototype, criterion, standard, exemplar, paragon, +archetype, ideal. +Motive, incentive, inducement, desire, purpose. +Move, actuate, impel, prompt, incite. + +Near, nigh, close, neighboring, adjacent, contiguous. +Neat, tidy, orderly, spruce, trim, prim. +Needful, necessary, requisite, essential, indispensable. +Negligence, neglect, inattention, inattentiveness, inadvertence, +remissness, oversight. +New, novel, fresh, recent, modern, late, innovative, unprecedented. +Nice, fastidious, dainty, finical, squeamish. +Noisy, clamorous, boisterous, hilarious, turbulent, riotous, obstreperous, +uproarious, vociferous, blatant, brawling. +Noticeable, prominent, conspicuous, salient, signal. + +Order (noun), command, mandate, behest, injunction, decree. +Order (verb), command, enjoin, direct, instruct. +Oversight, supervision, direction, superintendence, surveillance. + +Pale, pallid, wan, colorless, blanched, ghastly, ashen, cadaverous. +Patience, forbearance, resignation, longsuffering. +Penetrate, pierce, perforate. +Place, office, post, position, situation, appointment. +Plan, design, project, scheme, plot. +Playful, mischievous, roguish, prankish, sportive, arch. +Plentiful, plenteous, abundant, bounteous, copious, profuse, exuberant, +luxuriant. +Plunder, rifle, loot, sack, pillage, devastate, despoil. +Pretty, beautiful, comely, handsome, fair. +Profitable, remunerative, lucrative, gainful. +Prompt, punctual, ready, expeditious. +Pull, draw, drag, haul, tug, tow. +Push, shove, thrust. +Puzzle, perplex, mystify, bewilder. + +Queer, odd, curious, quaint, ridiculous, singular, unique, bizarre, +fantastic, grotesque. + +Rash, incautious, reckless, foolhardy, adventurous, venturous, +venturesome. +Rebellion, insurrection, revolt, mutiny, riot, revolution, sedition. +Recover, regain, retrieve, recoup, rally, recuperate. +Reflect, deliberate, ponder, muse, meditate, ruminate. +Relate, recount, recite, narrate, tell. +Replace, supersede, supplant, succeed. +Repulsive, unsightly, loathsome, hideous, grewsome. +Requital, retaliation, reprisal, revenge, vengeance, retribution. +Responsible, answerable, accountable, amenable, liable. +Reveal, disclose, divulge, manifest, show, betray. +Reverence, veneration, awe, adoration, worship. +Ridicule, deride, mock, taunt, flout, twit, tease. +Ripe, mature, mellow. +Rise, arise, mount, ascend. +Rogue, knave, rascal, miscreant, scamp, sharper, villain. +Round, circular, rotund, spherical, globular, orbicular. +Rub, polish, burnish, furbish, scour. + +Sad, grave, sober, moody, doleful, downcast, dreary, woeful, somber, +unhappy, woebegone, mournful, depressed, despondent, gloomy, melancholy, +heavy-spirited, sorrowful, dismal, dejected, disconsolate, miserable, +lugubrious. +Satiate, sate, surfeit, cloy, glut, gorge. +Scoff, jeer, gibe, fleer, sneer, mock, taunt. +Secret, covert, surreptitious, furtive, clandestine, underhand, stealthy. +Seep, ooze, infiltrate, percolate, transude, exude. +Sell, barter, vend, trade. +Shape, form, figure, outline, conformation, configuration, contour, +profile. +Share, partake, participate, divide. +Sharp, keen, acute, cutting, trenchant, incisive. +Shore, coast, littoral, beach, strand, bank. +Shorten, abridge, abbreviate, curtail, truncate, syncopate. +Show (noun), display, ostentation, parade, pomp, splurge. +Show, exhibit, display, expose, manifest, evince. +Shrink, flinch, wince, blench, quail. +Shun, avoid, eschew. +Shy, bashful, diffident, modest, coy, timid, shrinking. +Sign, omen, auspice, portent, prognostic, augury, foretoken, adumbration, +presage, indication. +Simple, innocent, artless, unsophisticated, naive. +Skilful, skilled, expert, adept, apt, proficient, adroit, dexterous, deft, +clever, ingenious. +Skin, hide, pelt, fell. +Sleepy, drowsy, slumberous, somnolent, sluggish, torpid, dull, lethargic. +Slovenly, slatternly, dowdy, frowsy, blowzy. +Sly, crafty, cunning, subtle, wily, artful, politic, designing. +Smile, smirk, grin. +Solitary, lonely, lone, lonesome, desolate, deserted, uninhabited. +Sour, acid, tart, acrid, acidulous, acetose, acerbitous, astringent. +Speech, discourse, oration, address, sermon, declamation, dissertation, +exhortation, disquisition, harangue, diatribe, tirade, screed, philippic, +invective, rhapsody, plea. +Spruce, natty, dapper, smart, chic. +Stale, musty, frowzy, mildewed, fetid, rancid, rank. +Steep, precipitous, abrupt. +Stingy, close, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, sordid, +Storm, tempest, whirlwind, hurricane, tornado, cyclone, typhoon +Straight, perpendicular, vertical, plumb, erect, upright. +Strange, singular, peculiar, odd, queer, quaint, outlandish. +Strong, stout, robust, sturdy, stalwart, powerful. +Stupid, dull, obtuse, stolid, doltish, sluggish, brainless, bovine. +Succeed, prosper, thrive, flourish, triumph. +Succession, sequence, series. +Supernatural, preternatural, superhuman, miraculous. +Suppose, surmise, conjecture, presume, imagine, fancy, guess, think, +believe. +Surprise, astonish, amaze, astound. +Swearing, cursing, profanity, blasphemy, execration, imprecation. + +Teach, instruct, educate, train, discipline, drill, inculcate, instil, +indoctrinate. +Thoughtful, contemplative, meditative, reflective, pensive, wistful. +Tire, weary, fatigue, exhaust, jade, fag. +Tool, implement, instrument, utensil. +Trifle, dally, dawdle, potter. +Try, endeavor, essay, attempt. +Trust, confidence, reliance, assurance, faith. +Turn, revolve, rotate, spin, whirl, gyrate. + +Ugly, homely, uncomely, hideous. +Unwilling, reluctant, disinclined, loath, averse. + +Watchful, vigilant, alert. +Wave (noun), billow, breaker, swell, ripple, undulation. +Wave (verb), brandish, flourish, flaunt, wigwag. +Weariness, languor, lassitude, enervation, exhaustion. +Wearisome, tiresome, irksome, tedious, humdrum. +Wet (adjective), humid, moist, damp, dank, sodden, soggy. +Wet (verb), moisten, dampen, soak, imbrue, saturate, drench +Whim, caprice, vagary, fancy, freak, whimsey, crotchet. +Wind, breeze, gust, blast, flaw, gale, squall, flurry. +Wind, coil, twist, twine, wreathe. +Winding, tortuous, serpentine, sinuous, meandering. +Wonderful, marvelous, phenomenal, miraculous. +Workman, laborer, artisan, artificer, mechanic, craftsman. +Write, inscribe, scribble, scrawl, scratch. + +Yearn, long, hanker, pine, crave. + + +EXERCISE F + +Write three synonyms for each of the following words. Discriminate the +three, and embody each of them in a sentence. + +Accomplish Conduct (noun) Humble Scream +Agree Conspicuous Indifferent Shrewd +Anger Cringe Misfortune Shudder +Attempt Difficult Obey Skill +Big Disconnect Object (noun) Soft +Brute Erratic Object (verb) Splash +Business Flash Obligation Success +Careless Fragrant Occupied Sweet +Climb Gain Oppose Trick +Collect Generous Persist Wash +Commanding Grim Revise Worship +Compel Groan Room + + +EXERCISE G + +Supply eight or ten intervening words between each of the following pairs. +Arrange the intervening words in an ascending scale. + +Dark, bright Wet, dry +Savage, civilized Beautiful, ugly +Friend, enemy Hope, despair +Wise, foolish Love, hate +Enormous, minute Admirable, abominable +Curse, bless Pride, humility + + + +IX + + MANY-SIDED WORDS + + +In Chapter VII you made a study of printed distinctions between synonyms. +In Chapter VIII you were given lists of synonyms and made the distinctions +yourself. Near the close of Chapter VIII you were given words and +discovered for yourself what their synonyms are. This third stage might +seem to reveal to you the full joys and benefits of your researches in +this subject. Certainly to find a new word for an old one is an +exhilarating sort of mental travel. And to find a new word which expresses +exactly what an old one expressed but approximately is a real acquisition +in living. But you are not yet a perfectly trained hunter of synonyms. +Some miscellaneous tasks remain; they will involve hard work and call your +utmost powers into play. + +Of these tasks the most important is connected with the hint already given +that many words, especially if they be generic words, have two or more +entirely different meanings. Let us first establish this fact, and +afterwards see what bearing it has on our study of synonyms. + +My friend says, "I hope you will have a good day." Does he mean an +enjoyable one in general? a profitable or lucrative one, in case I have +business in hand? a successful one, if I am selling stocks or buying a +house? Possibly he means a sunshiny day if I intend to play golf, a snowy +day if I plan to go hunting, a rainy day if my crops are drying up. The +ideas here are varied, even contradictory, enough; yet _good_ may be +used of every one of them. _Good_ is in truth so general a term that +we must know the attendant circumstances if we are to attach to it a +signification even approximately accurate. This does not at all imply that +_good_ is a term we may brand as useless. It implies merely that when +our meaning is specific we must set _good_ aside (unless +circumstances make its sense unmistakable) in favor of a specific word. + +_Things_ is another very general term. In "Let us wash up the things" +it likely means dishes or clothes. In "Hang your things in the closet" it +likely means clothes. In "Put the things in the tool-box" it likely means +tools. In "Put the things in the sewing-basket" it likely means thread, +needles, and scissors. In "The trenches are swarming with these things" it +likely means cooties. A more accurate word is usually desirable. Yet we +may see the value of the generality in the saying "A place for everything, +and everything in its place." + +_Good_ and _things_ are not alone in having multitudinous +meanings. There are in the language numerous many-sided words. These words +should be studied carefully. True, they are not always employed in +ambiguous ways. For example, _right_ in the sense of correct is +seldom likely to be mistaken for _right_ in the sense of not-left, +but a reader or hearer may frequently mistake it for _right_ in the +sense of just or of honorable. In the use of such words, therefore, we +cannot become too discriminating. + + +EXERCISE H + +This exercise concerns itself with common words that have more than one +meaning. Make your procedure as follows. First, look up the word itself. +Under it you will find a number of defining words. Then look up each of +these in turn, until you have the requisite number and kind of synonyms. +(The word is sure to have more synonyms than are called for.) You will +have to use your dictionary tirelessly. + +<Bare.> Find three synonyms for _bare_ as applied to the body; +three for it as applied to a room. + +<Bear.> Give three other words that might be used instead of +_bear_ in the sentence "The pillar bears a heavy weight"; three in +the sentence "He bore a heavy load on his back"; three in the sentence "He +bore the punishment that was unjustly meted out to him"; three in the +sentence "He bore a grudge against his neighbor"; two in the sentence "The +field did not bear a crop last year." + +<Bold.> Give ten synonyms for _bold_ as applied to a warrior; +ten as applied to a young girl. Observe that the synonyms in the first +list are favorable in import and suggest the idea of bravery, whereas +those in the second list are unfavorable and suggest the idea of +brazenness. How do you account for this fact? Can you think of +circumstances in which a young girl might be so placed that the favorable +synonyms might be applied to her? + +<Bright.> Give as many words as you can, at least twelve, that can be +used instead of _bright_ as applied to a light, a diamond, a wet +pavement, or a live coal. Give three words for _bright_ as applied to +a child of unusual intelligence; two as applied to an occasion that +promises to turn out well; two as applied to a career that has been +signally successful. + +<Clear.> Give five synonyms for clear as applied to water; ten as +applied to a fact or a statement; three as applied to the sky or +atmosphere; three as applied to the voice; two as applied to a passageway +or a view; three as applied to one's judgment or thinking. + +<Close.> Give three words that could be substituted for _close_ +as applied to the atmosphere in a room; four as applied to a person who is +uninclined to talk about a matter; three as applied to something not far +off; four as applied to a friend; five as applied to a person who is +reluctant to spend money; five as applied to a translation; five as +applied to attention or endeavor. + +<Discharge.> Substitute in turn four words for _discharge_ in +the sentence "The judge discharged the prisoner"; two in the sentence "The +foreman discharged the workman"; two in the sentence "The hunter +discharged the gun"; three in the sentence "The sore discharged pus"; two +in the sentence "My neighbor discharged the debt"; two in the sentence "He +discharged his duty." + +<Dull>. Name three words besides _dull_ that could be applied to +a blade or a point; five to a person with slow intellect; three to +indifference toward others; two to a color; three to a day that is not +cheerful; five to talk or discourse that is not interesting. + +<Fair>. Substitute five words for _fair_ in the sentence "He +gave a fair judgment in the case"; three in the sentence "The son made a +fair showing in his studies"; four in the sentence "She had a fair face"; +two in the sentence "Her complexion was fair"; three in the sentence "Let +no shame ever fall upon your fair name." + +<False>. Find two words that you can substitute for _false_ as +applied to a signature, to a report or a piece of news, to jewels or +money, to a friend. + +<Fast>. Name two words I might substitute for _fast_ in the +sentence "Drive the stake until it is fast in the ground"; three in the +sentence "He made a fast trip for the doctor"; six in the sentence "By +leading a fast life he soon squandered his inheritance." + +<Firm>. Substitute four words for _firm_ in the sentence "I made +the board firm by nailing it to the wall"; three in the sentence "The +water froze into a firm mass"; five in the sentence "He was firm in his +determination to proceed." + +<Flat>. Instead of _flat_ use in turn four other words in the +sentence "This is a flat piece of ground"; five in the sentence "It was as +flat a story as ever wearied company"; three in the sentence "The cook +having forgotten the salt, the soup was flat"; four in the sentence "I am +surprised by your flat refusal." + +<Free>. _Free_ may be applied to a person not subject to a tax +or a disease, to a person who has been released from confinement or +restraint, to a person who is not reserved or formal in his relations to +others, to a person who is willing to give. Out of your own resources +substitute as many words as you can for _free_ in each of these +sentences. Now look up _free_ in a dictionary or book of synonyms. +What proportion of its synonyms were you able to think up unaided? + +<Great>. Give three synonyms for _great_ as applied to size, to +number, to a man widely known for notable achievement, to an error or +crime, to price. + +<Hard>. Give six synonyms for _hard_ as applied to a rock; six +as applied to a task or burden; six as applied to a problem or situation; +ten as applied to one's treatment of others. + +<Harsh>. Give three words that can be applied instead of _harsh_ +to a sound; three that can be applied instead of _harsh_ to the +voice; five that can be applied to one's treatment of others; five that +can be applied to one's disposition or nature. + +<Just>. Substitute five words for _just_ in the sentence "You +are just in your dealings with others"; three in the sentence "A just +punishment was meted out to him"; three in the sentence "They made a just +division of the property"; two in the sentence "He had a just claim to the +title." + +<Plain>. Give six words that can be substituted for _plain_, as +applied to a fact or statement; four as applied to the decorations of a +room; two as applied to the countenance; four as applied to a surface; +three as applied to a statement or reply. + +<Poor>. Give five words that can be used instead of _poor_ as +applied to a person who is without money or resources; ten as applied to a +person lacking in flesh; three as applied to clothing that is worn out; +five as applied to land that will bear only small crops or no crops at +all; two as applied to an occasion that does not promise to turn out well. + +<Quick>. Give six words that could be used instead of _quick_ +as applied to a train or a horse in travel; six as applied to the +movements of a person about a room or to his actions in the performance of +his work; four to a disposition or temper that is easily irritated. + +<Serious>. Give five synonyms for _serious_ as applied to one's +countenance or expression; three as applied to a problem or undertaking; +two as applied to a disease or to sickness. + +<Sharp>. Give two synonyms for _sharp_ as applied to a blade or +a point; six as applied to a pain or to grief; four as applied to a remark +or reply; ten as applied to one's mind or intellect; three as applied to +temper or disposition; three as applied to an embankment; three as applied +to the seasoning of food; three as applied to a cry or scream. + +<Stiff>. Give six synonyms for _stiff_ as applied to an iron +rod; three as applied to an adversary; six as applied to one's manner or +bearing; two as applied to one's style of writing or speaking. + +<Strong>. Give three synonyms for _strong_ as applied to a +person in regard to his health; ten as applied to him in regard to his +muscularity of physique; four as applied to a fortress; three as applied +to a plea or assertion; three as applied to an argument or reason; three +as applied to determination; two as applied to liquor; three as applied to +a light; two as applied to corrective measures; two as applied to an odor. + +<Vain>. Give five synonyms for vain as applied to a man who +overvalues himself or his accomplishments; six as applied to an attempt +that comes to nothing; three as applied to hopes that have little chance +of fulfilment. + +<Weak>. Substitute five synonyms for _weak_ in the sentence "I +was very weak after my illness"; four in the sentence "The fortress was +especially weak on the side toward the plain"; three in the sentence "He +made a weak attempt to defend his actions"; three in the sentence "Many of +these arguments are weak"; three in the sentence "Hamlet is usually +interpreted as being weak of will"; three in the sentence "The liquor was +so weak it had no taste"; three in the sentence "The lace was weak and +soon tore." + +<Wild>. Give two words instead of _wild_ as applied to animals; +two as applied to land; three as applied to people who have not been +civilized; three as applied to a storm, an uncontrolled temper, or a mob; +three as applied to a scheme that has no basis in reason or practicality. + + +EXERCISE I + +In Exercise H you started with ideas and objects, and had to find words of +a given meaning that could be applied to them. In this exercise you start +with the words, and must find the ideas and objects. + +<Base>. To what is _base_ applied when inferior, cheap, +worthless could be used as its synonyms? To what is it applied when +debased, impure, spurious, alloyed, counterfeit could be used? When mean, +despicable, contemptible, shameful, disgraceful, dishonorable, +discreditable, scandalous, infamous, villainous, low-minded could be used? +When ignoble, servile, slavish, groveling, menial could be used? When +plebeian, obscure, untitled, vulgar, lowly, nameless, humble, unknown +could be used? + +<Mortal>. Can you properly contrast mortal with immortal existence? +mortal with porcine existence? Is porcine existence also mortal? Is mortal +existence also porcine? What adjective pertaining to mankind forms a true +contrast to _porcine_? What is a synonym for _mortal_ in its +broad sense? in its narrow sense? + +<Severe>. To what is _severe_ applied when harsh, stern, +rigorous, drastic, austere, hard could be substituted for it? When plain, +unembellished, unadorned, chaste could be substituted? When acute, +violent, extreme, intense, sharp, distressing, afflictive could be +substituted? When keen, cutting, biting, stinging, caustic, critical, +trenchant could be substituted? + + +EXERCISE J + +Reread the discussion of _good_ and _things_ in Many-sided +Words. Then for each of the words listed below collect or compose twenty +or more sentences in which the word is used. As largely as possible, take +them from actual experience. In doing this you must listen to the use of +the word in everyday talk. After you have made your list of sentences as +varied and extensive as you can, try to substitute synonyms that will +express the idea more accurately. Note whether a knowledge of the +attendant circumstances is necessary to an understanding of the original +word, to an understanding of the word substituted for it. + +Bad Fine Matter Affair +Nice Common Case Boost + + +EXERCISE K + +Analyze each of the words given below into its various uses or +applications. Then for it in each of these applications assemble as many +synonyms as you can unaided. Finally, have recourse to a dictionary or +book of synonyms for the further extension of your lists. + +(By way of illustration, let us take the word _quiet_. Through +meditation and analysis we discover that it may be applied (a) to water or +any liquid not in motion, (b) to a place that is without sound, (c) to a +place shut off from activity or bustle, (d) to a person who is not +demonstrative or forward in manner. We then think of all the words we can +that can be substituted for it in each of these uses. No matter how +incompletely or unsatisfactorily we feel we are performing this task, we +must not give it over until we have found every word we can summon. Then +we turn to a dictionary or book of synonyms. Thus for _quiet_ we +shall assemble such synonyms as (a) calm, still, motionless, placid, +tranquil, serene, smooth, unruffled, undisturbed, pacific, stagnant; +(b) silent, still, noiseless, mute, hushed, voiceless; (c) secluded, +sequestered, solitary, isolated, unfrequented, unvisited, peaceful, +untrodden, retired; (d) demure, sedate, staid, reserved, meek, gentle, +retiring, unobtrusive, modest, unassuming, timid, shrinking, shy.) + +Barren Keep Pure Solid +Certain Liberal Rare Sorry +Cold Light (adjective) Rich Spread +Cool Light (noun) Right Straight +Deep Long Rude Still +Dry Low Short Sure +Easy Mean Simple Thick +Foul Narrow Slow Thin +Full New Small Tender +Gentle Obscure Smooth True +Grand Odd Sober Warm +Heavy Particular Soft Yield +Keen + + +<Literal vs. Figurative Applications> + +One of the most interesting things to watch in the study of words is their +development from a literal to a figurative application. The first man who +broke away from the confines of the literal meaning of a word and applied +the word to something that only in a figurative sense had qualities +analogous to the original meaning, was creating poetry. He was making an +imaginative flight comparable in daring to the Wright brothers' first +aeronautic flight. But as the word was used over and over in this +figurative way the imaginative flight became more and more commonplace. At +last it ceased to be imaginative at all; through frequent repetition it +had settled into the matter of course. A glance back at the _Concise_ +group above will show you that with time the comparison which was once the +basis and the life of the figurative use of words is dulled, obscured, +even lost. + +As a further enforcement of this fact, let us analyze the word +_rough_. In its literal application, it may designate any surface +that has ridges, projections, or inequalities and is therefore uneven, +jagged, rugged, scraggy, or scabrous. Now frequently a man's face or head +is rough because unshaved or uncombed; also the fur of an animal is rough. +Hence the term could be used for unkempt, disheveled, shaggy, hairy, +coarse, bristly. "The child ran its hand over its father's rough cheek" +and "The bear had a rough coat" are sentences that even the most +unimaginative mind can understand. We speak of rough timber because its +surface has not been planed or made smooth. We speak of a rough diamond +because it is unpolished, uncut. Note that all these uses are literal, +that in each instance some unevenness of surface is referred to. + +But man, urged on by the desire to say what he means with more novelty, +strikingness, or force, applied the word to ideas that have no surfaces to +be uneven. He imagined what these ideas would be like if they had +surfaces. Of course in putting these conceptions into language he was +creating figures of speech, some of them startlingly apt, some of them +merely far-fetched. He said a man had a _rough_ voice, as though the +voice were like a cactus in its prickly irregularities. By _rough_ he +meant what his fellows meant when they spoke of the voice as harsh, +grating, jarring, discordant, inharmonious, strident, raucous, or +unmusical. Going farther, that early poet said the weather was +_rough_. He thought of clement weather as being smooth and even, but +of inclement, severe, stormy, tempestuous, or violent weather as being +full of projections to rend and harass one. Thus an everyday use of the +term today was once wrenched and immoderate speech. Possibly the first man +who heard of rough weather was puzzled for a moment, then amused or +delighted as he caught the figure. It did not require great originality to +think of a crowd as _rough_ in its movements. But our poet applied +the idea to an individual. To him a rude, uncivil, impolite, ungracious, +uncourteous, unpolished, uncouth, boorish, blunt, bluff, gruff, brusk, or +burly person was as the unplaned lumber or the unpolished gem; and we +imitative moderns still call such a man _rough_. But we do not think +of the man as covered with projections that need to be taken off, unless +forsooth we receive _rough_ treatment at his hands. And note how far +we have journeyed from the original idea of the word when we say "I gave +the report a _rough_ glance," meaning cursory, hasty, superficial, or +incomplete consideration. + +Many very simple words, including several of those already treated in this +chapter, are two-sided in that they are both literal and figurative. + + +EXERCISE L + +Trace each of the following words from its literal to its figurative +applications, giving synonyms for each of its uses. + +Open Bright Stiff Hard +Low Cool Sharp Flat +Keen Strong Dull Raw +Small Odd Warm Deep +Eccentric + + +<Imperfectly Understood Facts and Ideas> + +Thus far in this chapter we have been considering many-sided words. We +must now turn to a certain class of facts and ideas that deserve better +understanding and closer analysis than we usually accord them. + +These facts and ideas are supposed to be matters of common knowledge. And +in their broad scope and purport they are. Because acquaintance with them +is taken for granted it behooves us to know them. Yet they are in reality +complicated, and when we attempt to deal with them in detail, our +assurance forsakes us. All of us have our "blind sides" intellectually-- +quake to have certain areas of discussion entered, because we foresee that +we must sit idly by without power to make sensible comment. Unto as many +as possible of these blind sides of ourselves we should pronounce the +blessed words, "Let there be light." We have therefore to consider certain +matters and topics which are supposed to belong to the common currency of +social information, but with which our familiarity is less thoroughgoing +than it should be. + +What are these facts and topics? Take for illustration the subject of +aeronautics. Suppose we have but the vaguest conception of the part played +or likely to be played by aircraft in war, commerce, and pleasure. Suppose +we are not aware that some craft are made to float and others to be driven +by propellers. Suppose such terms as Zeppelin, blimp, monoplane, biplane, +hydroplane, dirigible have no definite import for us. Does not our +knowledge fall short of that expected of well-informed men in this present +age? + +Or take military terms. Everybody uses them--clergymen, pacifists, +clubmen, social reformers, novelists, tramps, brick-layers, Big-Stickers. +We cannot escape them if we would. We ourselves use them. But do we use +them with precise and masterly understanding? You call one civilian +colonel and another major; which have you paid the higher compliment? You +are uncertain whether a given officer is a colonel or a major, and you +wish to address him in such fashion as will least offend his sensitiveness +as to rank and nomenclature; which title--colonel or major--is the less +perilous? You are told that a major has command of a battalion; does that +tell you anything about him? You are told that he has command of a +squadron, of a brigade, of a platoon; do these changes in circumstances +have any import for you? If not, you have too faltering a grasp upon +military facts and terminology. + +The best remedy for such shortcomings is to be insatiably curious on all +subjects. This of course is the ideal; nobody ever fully attains it. +Nevertheless Exercise M will set you to groping into certain broad matters +relevant to ordinary needs. Thereafter, if your purpose be strong enough, +you will carry the same methods there acquired into other fields of +knowledge. + +You may object that all this is as much mental as linguistic--that what is +proposed will result in as large accessions of general information as of +vocabulary. Let this be admitted. Deficiencies of language are often, +perhaps almost invariably, linked with deficiencies of knowledge. +To repair the one we must at the same time repair the other. This may seem +a hard saying to those who seek, or would impart, mere glibness of phrase +without regard for the substance--who worship "words, words, words" +without thought of "the matter." There is such a thing as froth of +utterance, but who has respect therefor or is deceived thereby? Speech +that is not informed is like a house without a foundation. You should not +desire to possess it. Abroad in this world of ours already are too many +people who darken counsel by words without knowledge. + + +EXERCISE M + +A second lieutenant is the commissioned officer of lowest grade in the +United States army. Name all the grades from second lieutenant to the +grade that is highest. + +An admiral is the officer of highest grade in the United States navy. Name +all the grades down to that which is lowest. + +Name as many as possible of the different ranks of the clergy in the Roman +Catholic Church, in the Church of England. + +Give ascendingly the five titles in the British nobility. + +Name the different kinds of vehicles. + +Name the different kinds of schools. + +Name all the different kinds of boats and ships (both ancient and modern) +you can think of. + +Give the nautical term for the right side of a ship, for the left side of +a ship, for the front, for the rear, for the forward portion, for the rear +portion. + +Name the various kinds of bodies of water (oceans, rivers, lagoons, etc.) + +Give all the terms of relationship of persons, both by blood and by +marriage. What relation to you is your grandfather's brother? your +cousin's daughter? + +Name all the bones of the human head. + +Give the names of the different parts of a typical flower. + +Name as many elements as you can. What is the number usually given? What +was the last element discovered, and by whom? + +Name the elements of which water is composed. Name the principal elements +in the composition of the air. + +Make as long a list as possible (up to thirty) of words that appeal to the +sense of sight (especially color words and motion words), to the sense of +hearing, of smell, of taste, of touch. + +Find words descriptive of various expressions in the human face. + +Name all the terms you can associated with law, with medicine, with +geology. + +Name the planets, the signs of the zodiac, as many constellations as you +can. + +Name the seven colors of the spectrum, and for each name give all the +synonyms you can. What are the primary colors? the secondary colors? + +Give the various races into which mankind has been divided, and the color +of each. + +Name every kind of tree you can think of, every kind of flower, every kind +of animal, every kind of bird. + + + +X + + SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF WORDS + + +You have already mastered many words, but a glance at any page of the +dictionary will convince you that you have not mastered all. Nor will you, +ever. Their number is too great, and too many of them are abstrusely +technical. + +Nevertheless there remain many words that you should bring into your +vocabulary. Most of them are not extremely usual; on the other hand they +are not so unusual that you would encounter them but once in a lifetime. +The majority of them are familiar to you, perhaps; that is, you will have +a general feeling that you have seen them before. But this is not enough. +Do you know exactly what they mean? Can you, when the occasion comes, use +them?-use them promptly and well? This is the test. + +Many of the words are absolutely new so far as this book is concerned. +They have not been discussed or attached to any list. Many are not +entirely new. They have appeared, but not received such emphasis that they +are sure to stand fast in your memory. Or some cognate form of them may +have been mastered, yet they themselves may remain unknown. Thus you may +know _commendation_ but not _commendatory_, _credulous_ but not +_incredulity_, _invalid_ but not _invalidate_ or +_invalidity_. One of the best of all ways to extend your vocabulary +is to make each word of your acquaintance introduce you to its immediate +kinsmen, those grouped with it on the same page of the dictionary. + +This chapter puts you on your mettle. Hitherto you have been given +instructions as to the way to proceed, Now you must shift for yourself. +The words, to be sure, are corraled for you. But you must tame them and +break them, in order that on them you may ride the ranges of human +intercourse. If you have not yet learned how to subdue them to your will +and use, it would be futile to tell you how. You have been put in the way +of mastering words. The task that henceforth confronts you is your own. +You must have at it unaided. + +It is true that, in the exercise that follows, specific help is given you +on a limited number of the words. But this help is only toward discovering +the words for yourself before you have seen them in a list. And for most +of the words not even this meager assistance is given. + + +EXERCISE - Supplementary + +Each of the following groups of words is preceded by sentences in which +blanks should be filled by words from that group. But do your best to fill +these blanks properly before you consult the group at all. You must learn +to think of, or think up, the right word instead of having it pointed out +to you. + +These benefits were not inherent in the course he had taken; they were +purely ____. Anything which existed before Noah's flood is called ____. +His left hand, which had ceased to grow during his childhood, was now +withered from its long ____. Certain books once belonging to the Bible +have been discarded by the Protestants as ____. When Shakespeare makes +Hector quote Aristotle, who lived long after the siege of Troy, he is +guilty of an ____. Whatever causes the lips to pucker, as alum or a green +persimmon, is spoken of as ____. + +Abash, abbreviate, abduct, aberrant, aberration, abeyance, abhorrent, +abject, abjure, aboriginal, abortive, abrade, abrasion, abrogate, +absolution, abstemious, abstention, abstruse, accelerate, accentuate, +acceptation, accessary, accession, accessory, acclamation, acclivity, +accolade, accomplice, accost, acerbity, acetic, achromatic, acidulous, +acme, acolyte, acoustics, acquiescence, acquisitive, acrimonious, acumen, +adage, adamantine, addict, adduce, adhesive, adipose, adjudicate, +adolescence, adulation, adulterate, advent, adventitious, aerial, +affability, affidavit, affiliate, affinity, agglomerate, agglutinate, +aggrandizement, agnostic, alignment, aliment, allegorical, alleviate, +altercation, altruistic, amalgamate, amatory, ambiguity, ambrosial, +ameliorate, amenable, amenity, amity, amnesty, amulet, anachronism, +analytical, anathema, anatomy, animadversion, annotate, anomalous, +anonymous, antediluvian, anterior, anthology, anthropology, antinomy, +antiquarianism, antiseptic, aphorism, apocryphal, aplomb, apostasy, +apparatus, apparition, appellate, appertain, appetency, apposite, +approbation, appurtenance, aquatic, aqueous, aquiline, arbitrary, archaic, +arduous, aromatic, arrear, articulate, ascetic, asperity, asphyxiate, +asseverate, assiduity, assimilate, astringent, astute, atrophy, attenuate, +auditory, augury, auscultation, austerity, authenticate, authenticity, +auxiliary, avidity. + +The man wished to fight; he was in ____ mood. There is only a handful of +these things; yes, a mere ____. Slight mishaps like these lead to quips +and mutual ____. His conduct is odd, grotesque, ____. + +Baccalaureate, badinage, bagatelle, baleful, ballast, banality, baneful, +beatitude, bellicose, belligerent, benefaction, beneficent, benison, +betide, bibulous, bigotry, bizarre, bombastic, burlesque. + +This effect was not obtained all at once; it was ____. These subjects +belong to the same general field of knowledge as those; the two sets +are ____. He is a skilled judge of art, a ____. The Southern states were +unwilling to remain in the Union; they could be kept only by ____. Monks +take upon themselves the vow of ____. No, this animal does not live on +vegetation; it is a ____ animal. + +Cacophonous, cadaverous, cadence, callow, calumny, capillary, captious, +cardinal, carnal, carnivorous, castigate, cataclysm, catastrophe, +category, causality, cavernous, celebrity, celibacy, censorious, ceramics, +cerebration, certitude, cessation, charlatan, chimerical, chronology, +circuitous, circumlocution, citation, clandestine, clarify, clemency, +coadjutor, coagulate, coalesce, coercion, cogency, cognizant, cohesion, +coincidence, collusion, colossal, comatose, combustible, commendatory, +commensurate, commiserate, communal, compatibility, compendium, +complaisant, comport, composite, compulsive, compulsory, computation, +concatenate, concentric, concessive, concomitant, condign, condiment, +condolence, confiscatory, confute, congeal, congenital, conglomerate, +congruity, connivance, connoisseur, connubial, consensus, consistence, +consort, constriction, construe, contentious, context, contiguity, +contiguous, contingent, contortion, contravene, contumacious, contumacy, +contumelious, convergent, conversant, convivial, correlate, corrigible, +corroborate, corrosive, cosmic, covenant, crass, credence, crescent, +criterion, critique, crucial, crucible, cryptic, crystalline, culmination, +culpable, cumulative, cupidity, cursive, cursory, cutaneous, cynosure. + +His course was not prescribed for him by superiors; his powers were ____. +The suppression of these anarchistic tendencies has required ____ +measures. She was just entering society, and was proving herself a popular +____. Yes, this tree loses its leaves every year; it is a ____ tree. He +pretends that his ____ are sound, because he can read the stars. + +Debilitate, debonair, debutante, decadence, decapitate, deciduous, +declivity, decompose, decorous, dedicatory, deduction, deferential, +deficiency, deglutition, dehiscence, delectable, delete, deleterious, +delineate, deliquescent, demarcation, demimonde, demoniac, denizen, +denouement, deprecate, depreciate, derelict, derogatory, despicable, +desuetude, desultory, deteriorate, diacritical, diagnosis, diaphanous, +diatribe, didactic, diffusive, dilatory, dilettante, dipsomania, +dirigible, discommode, discretionary, discursive, disintegrate, disparity, +dispensable, disseminate, dissimulation, dissonant, distain, divagation, +divination, divulge, dolor, dorsal, drastic, dubiety, duress, dynamic. + +These facts do not circulate except among a limited group of people; they +are therefore ____. The departure of the children of Israel from Egypt was +a general ____. His philosophy, instead of conforming to a single system, +was ____. Lamb wrote admirable letters; he has a delightful ____ style. +The period at which our days and nights are of equal length is the ____ +period. + +Ebullient, ecclesiastical, echelon, eclectic, ecstatic, edict, eerie, +effervescent, efficacious, effrontery, effulgence, effusion, egregious, +eleemosynary, elicit, elite, elucidate, embellish, embryonic, emendation, +emissary, emission, emollient, empiric, empyreal, emulous, encomium, +endue, enervate, enfilade, enigmatic, ennui, enunciate, environ, epicure, +epigram, episode, epistolary, epitome, equestrian, equilibrium, +equinoctial, equity, equivocate, eradicate, erosion, erotic, erudition, +eruptive, eschew, esoteric, espousal, estrange, ethereal, eulogistic, +euphonious, evanescent, evangelical, evict, exacerbate, excerpt, +excommunicate, excoriate, excruciate, execrable, exegesis, exemplary, +exhalation, exhilarate, exigency, exodus, exonerate, exorbitant, exotic, +expectorate, expeditious, explicable, explicit, expunge, extant, +extemporaneous, extrinsic. + +He deceives himself by this argument, for the argument is utterly ____. +No complicated action can be planned in absolute detail; much must depend +on ____ circumstance. + +Fabricate, fabulous, facetious, factitious, fallacious, fallible, +fastidious, fatuous, feasible, feculence, fecundity, felicitous, +felonious, fetid, feudal, fiducial, filament, filtrate, finesse, flaccid, +flagitious, floriculture, florid, fluctuate, foible, forfeiture, +fortuitous, fractious, franchise, frangible, frontal, froward, furtive. + +The advice was both unasked and unwelcome; it was purely ____. Throughout +the World War the ____ of Germany over the other Central European powers +was unquestioned. Buffaloes naturally go together in herds; they are ____. + +Galaxy, galleon, garrulity, gesticulate, gormand, granivorous, +grandiloquent, gravamen, gratuitous, gregarious, habitue, hallucination, +harbinger, hardihood, heckle, hectic, hedonist, hegemony, heinous, +herbivorous, heretic, hermaphrodite, heterodox, heterogeneous, hibernate. +histrionic, hoidenism, homiletics, homogeneous, hydraulic, hypothesis. + +We cannot understand God's ways; they are ____. Nor need we expect to +change them; they are ____. If an animal has no backbone, it is ____. A +boy so confirmed in his faults that we cannot correct them is ____. + +Idiosyncrasy, illicit, immaculate, immanent, imminent, immobile, immure, +immutable, impalpable, impeccable, impecunious, imperturbable, impervious, +implacable, implicit, impolitic, imponderable, importunate, imprecation, +impromptu, improvise, imputation, inadvertent, inamorata, inanity, +incarcerate, inchoate, incidence, incision, incongruent, inconsequential, +incontinent, incorporeal, incorrigible, incredulity, incumbent, +indecorous, indigenous, indigent, indite, indomitable, ineluctable, +inexorable, inexplicable, inferential, infinitesimal, infinitude, +infraction, infusion, inhibit, innocuous, innuendo, inopportune, +insatiable, inscrutable, insidious, inspissated, insulate, intangible, +integral, integument, interdict, internecine, intractable, intransigent, +intrinsic, inure, invalidate, inveigh, inveigle, invertebrate, invidious, +irrefragable, irrefutable, irrelevant, irreparable, irrevocable, iterate. + +He overpraised people; he was always engaged in extravagant ____ of +somebody or other. The small man who has written a book becomes +pretentious at once and regards himself as one of the ____. Thatcher is +always engaged in lawsuits; he is the most ____ man I ever saw. + +Jocose, jocund, jurisprudence, juxtaposition, kaleidoscopic, labyrinth, +lacerate, lackadaisical, lacrimal, laity, lambent, lampoon, largess, +lascivious, laudable, laudation, lavation, legionary, lethargic, +licentious, lineal, lingual, literati, litigious, loquacity, lubricity, +lucent, lucre, lucubration, lugubrious. + +Those soldiers are fighting, not for principle, but for pay; they are +____. Iron that is not heated cannot be hammered into shape; it is not +____. + +Machination, macrocosm, magisterial, magniloquent, maladroit, malfeasance, +malignity, malleable, mandate, matutinal, medieval, mephitic, mercenary, +mercurial, meretricious, metamorphose, meticulous, microcosm, +misanthropic, misogyny, misprision, mitigate, monitor, mortuary, +mundane, mutable. + +It is a government by the few; therefore an ____. All the men of influence +in the state give offices to their kinsmen; the system is one of ____. +Yes, grandfather is eighty years old today; he has become an ____. + +Nebulous, nefarious, negation, neophyte, nepotism, neurotic, noisome, +nomenclature, nonchalant, non sequitur, nucleus, nugatory, obdurate, +objurgation, obligatory, obloquy, obsequious, obsession, obsolete, +obstreperous, obtrusive, obtuse, obverse, obviate, occult, octogenarian, +officious, olfactory, oleaginous, oligarchy, ominous, onomatopceia, +opacity, opaque, opprobrious, oracular, orthodox, oscillate, osculate, +ostensible, ostentation, ostracize, outré, ovation, overture. + +In England the eldest son inherits the title and the estate, but Americans +do not take to a system of ____. You are always putting off until tomorrow +what you could do today; do you think it pays to ____ thus? An ambassador +whose powers are unlimited is called an ambassador ____. Beasts or men +that are given to plundering are ____. + +Pabulum, pageantry, paginate, palatial, palliate, palpable, panacea, +panegyric, panorama, paradoxical, paramount, parasite, parochial, +paroxysm, parsimonious, parturition, patois, patriarchal, patrician, +patrimony, peccadillo, pecuniary, pedantic, pellucid, pendulous, +penultimate, penurious, peregrination, perfunctory, peripatetic, +periphery, persiflage, perspicacious, perspicuity, pertinacious, +pharmaceutic, phenomenal, phlegmatic, phraseology, pictorial, piquant, +pique, plagiarize, platitudinous, platonic, plebeian, plenipotentiary, +plethora, pneumatic, poignant, polity, poltroon, polyglot, pontifical, +portentous, posterior, posthumous, potent, potential, pragmatic, preamble, +precarious, precocious, precursor, predatory, predestination, predicament, +preemptory, prelate, preliminary, preposterous, prerequisite, prerogative, +presentiment, primogeniture, probation, probity, proclivity, +procrastinate, prodigal, prodigious, prodigy, profligate, progenitor, +proletarian, prolific, prolix, promiscuous, promissory, propaganda, +propensity, prophylactic, propinquity, propitiatory, propitious, +proprietary, prorogue, proselyte, prototype, protuberant, provender, +proximity, prurient, psychical, psychological, puerile, pugnacious, +puissant, punctilious, pungent, punitive, pusillanimous, putrescent, +pyrotechnics. + +The coil of wire, being ____, instantly resumed its original shape. Some +one must arrange these papers for publication; will you be their ____? +Poe's mind had a bent toward ____: it could reason out a whole chain of +circumstances from one or two known facts. He showed a disposition not to +comply with these instructions; yes, he was ____. + +Rabbinical, rancorous, rapacious, ratiocination, rational, raucous, +recalcitrant, recant, recapitulate, recession, reciprocal, reciprocate, +recluse, recondite, recreant, recrudescence, rectilinear, rectitude, +recumbent, redactor, redress, redound, refractory, refulgent, rejuvenate, +relevant, rendezvous, rendition, reparation, repercussion, repertory, +replenish, replete, replevin, reprehend, reprobate, repulsive, requisite, +rescind, residue, residuum, resilient, resplendent, resurgence, +resuscitate, reticulate, retribution, retrograde, retrospect, rigorous, +risible, rodomontade, rudimentary, ruminate. + +His position carries no responsibility; it is a ____. The moon revolves +about the earth, and is therefore the earth's ____. His work keeps him at +his desk all day; it is ____ work. Your words incite men to disorder and +rebellion; they are ____. + +Saccharine, sacerdotal, sacrament, sacrilege, salient, salubrious, +sardonic, satellite, saturnine, schism, scurrilous, sectarian, secular, +sedative, sedentary, seditious, sedulous, segregate, seismograph, +senescent, sententious, septuagenarian, sequester, sibilant, similitude, +sinecure, sinuous, solicitous, solstice, somnolent, sophisticated, +sophistry, sorcery, spasmodic, specious, spirituelle, splenetic, +spontaneity, sporadic, spurious, stipend, stipulate, stoical, stricture, +stringency, stultify, stupendous, sublimity, suborn, subpoena, subsidiary, +subsidy, substratum, subtend, subterfuge, subterranean, subvention, +subvert, sudorific, supercilious, supernal, supervene, supine, +supposititious, surreptitious, surrogate, surveillance, susceptible, +sustenance, sycophantic, syllogism, sylvan, symmetrical, symposium, +synchronize, synonymous, synopsis, synthesis. + +The small stream flows into the larger one and is its ____. The thick +glass roof lets through sufficient light for us to see by; it is ____. You +will not find him hard to manage; he has spirit enough, yet is ____. + +Tactile, tangible, tantamount, temerity, tenable, tenacious, tentative, +tenuous, termagant, terrestrial, testimentary, thaumaturgic, therapeutic, +titular, torso, tortuous, tractable, traduce, transcendent, +transfiguration, transient, transitory, translucent, transverse, travesty, +tribulation, tributary, truculent, truncate, turbid, turpitude, tyro. + +He is so extravagantly fond of his wife that I should call him ____. +Christ died for others; it was a ____ death. The most notable quality in +Defoe's narrative is its likeness to actual facts, or in a word, its ____. + +Ubiquity, ulterior, ululation, umbrage, unanimous, undulate, urbanity, +usurious, uxorious, vacillate, vacuous, vandalism, variegate, velocity, +venal, venereal, venial, venous, veracious, verdant, verisimilitude, +vernacular, versatile, vestal, vibratory, vicarious, vicissitude, +virulence, viscid, viscous, vitiate, vitreous, vituperate, vivacious, +volatile, volition, voluminous, voluptuary, voluptuous, voracious, votive, +vulnerable, whimsical, zealot. + + + +XI + + RETROSPECT + + +DO you never, while occupying a dental chair and deploring the necessity +that drives you to that uncomfortable seat, admire the skill of the +dentist in the use of his instruments? A great many of these instruments +lie at his hand. To you they appear bewildering, so slightly different are +they from each other. Yet with unerring readiness the dentist lays hold of +the one he needs. Now this facility of his is not a blessing with which a +gracious heaven endowed him. It is the consequence and reward of hard +study, and above all of work, hard work. + +You have been ambitious of like skill in the manipulation of words. Had +you not been, you would never have undertaken this study. You have +perceived that when you speak or write, words are your instruments. You +have wished to learn how to use them. Now for every idea you shall ever +have occasion to express await throngs of vocables, each presenting its +claims as a fit medium. These you must pass in instantaneous review, these +you must expertly appraise, out of these you must choose the words that +will best serve your purpose. With practice, you will make your selections +unconsciously. You will never, of course, quite attain the infallibility +of the dentist; for linguistic instruments are more numerous than dental, +and far more complex. But you will more and more nearly approximate the +ideal, will more and more nearly find that right expression has become +second nature with you. + +All this is conditioned upon labor faithful and steadfast. Without labor +you will never be adept. At the outset of our study together we warned you +that, though we should gather the material and point the way, you yourself +must do the work. This book is not one to glance through. It is one to +dwell with, to toil with. It exacts much of you--makes you, for each page +you turn, pay with the sweat of your brain. + +But, assuming that you have done your part, what have you gained? Without +answering this question at all fully, we may at this juncture engage in a +brief retrospect. + +First of all, you have rid yourself of the notion that words are dead +things, unrealities worthy of no more than wooden and mechanical +employment. As much as anything else in the world, words are alive and +responsive, are fraught with unmeasured possibilities of good or ill. +You have taken due cognizance of the fact that words must be considered in +the aggregate as well as individually, and have reckoned with the pitfalls +and dangers as well as with the advantages of their use in combination. +But the basis of everything is a keener knowledge of words severally. You +have therefore come to study words with the zest and insight you exhibit +(or should exhibit) in studying men. Incidentally, you have acquired the +habit of looking up dictionary definitions, not merely to satisfy a +present need, but also to add permanently to your linguistic resources. + +You have carried the study of individuals farther. You have come to know +words inside and out. Such knowledge not only assists you in your dealings +with your contemporaries; it illuminates for you great literature of the +past that otherwise would remain obscure. How much keener, for example, is +your understanding of Shakespeare's passage on the Seven Ages of Man +because of your thorough acquaintance with the single word +_pantaloon_! How quickly does the awe for big words slip from you +when you perceive that _precocious_ is in origin the equivalent of +_half-baked_! What intimacy of insight into words you feel when you +find that a _companion_ is a _sharer of one's bread_! What a +linking of language with life you discover when you learn the original +signification of _presently_, of _idiot_, of _rival_, of +_sandwich_, of _pocket handkerchief_! And what revelations as +into a mystic fraternalism with words do you obtain when you confront +such a phrase as "the bank _teller_" or "cut to the _quick_"! + +Not only have words become more like living beings to you; you have +learned to think of them in relations analogous to the human. You can +detect the blood kinship, for example, between _prescribe_ and +_manuscript_, and know that the strain of _fact_ or _fie_ or _fy_ in +a word is pretty sure to betoken making or doing. You know that there are +elaborate intermarriages among words. You recognize _phonograph_, for +example, as a married couple; you even have confidential word as to the +dowry brought by each of the contracting parties to the new verbal +household. + +You have discovered, further, that the language actually swarms with +"pairs"--words joined with each other not in blood or by marriage but +through meaning. You have so familiarized yourself with hundreds of these +pairs that to think of one word is to call the other to mind. + +Finally, and in many respects most important of all, you have acquired a +vast stock of synonyms. You have had it brought to your attention that the +number of basic ideas in the world is surprisingly small; that for each of +these ideas there is in our language one generic word; that most people +use this one word constantly instead of seeking the subsidiary term that +expresses a particular phase of the idea; and that you as a builder of +your vocabulary must, while holding fast to the basic idea with one hand, +reach out with the other for the fit, sure material of specific words. Nor +have you rested in the mere perception of theory. You have had abundant +practice, have yourself covered the ground foot by foot. You can therefore +proceed with reasonable freedom from the commoner ideas of the human mind +to that expression of definite aspects of them which is anything but +common. + +You have not, of course, achieved perfection. There still is much for you +to do. There always will be. Nevertheless in the ways just reviewed, and +in various other ways not mentioned in this chapter, you have made +yourself verbally rich. You are one of the millionaires of language. When +you speak, it is not with stammering incompetence, but with confident +readiness. When you write, it is with energy and assurance in the very +flow of the ink. Where you had long been a slave, you have become a +freeman and can look your fellows in the eye. You have the best badge of +culture a human being can possess. You have power at your tongue's end. +You have the proud satisfaction of having wrought well, and the +inspiration of knowing that whatever verbal need may arise, you are +trained and equipped to grapple with it triumphantly. + + + +APPENDICES + + +_Appendix I_ + + THE DRIFT OF OUR RURAL POPULATION CITYWARD + (An editorial) + +To an individual who from whatever motives of personal advantage or mere +curiosity has made himself an observer of current tendencies, the drift of +our rural population cityward gives food for serious reflection. This +drift is one of the most pronounced of the social and economic phenomena +of the day. Its consequences upon the life, welfare, and future of the +great nation to which we are proud to acknowledge our whole-hearted +allegiance are matters of such paramount importance to all concerned that +we should turn aside more often than we do from the distracting exactions +of our ordinary activities to give them prolonged and earnest +consideration. + +A generation or so ago human beings were content to spend the full term of +their earthly existence amid rural surroundings, or if in their declining +days they longed for more of the comforts and associations which are among +the cravings of mortality, it was an easy proposition to move to the +nearest village or, if they were too high and mighty for this simple +measure to satisfy them, they could indulge in the more grandiose +performance of residing in the county seat. But nowadays our people want +more. Rich or poor, tall or dumpy, tottering grandmothers or babies in +swaddling-clothes, they long for ampler pastures. Their brawny arms or +hoary heads must bedeck nothing less than the metropolis itself, and +perchance put shoulders to the wheel in the incessant grind of the urban +treadmill. Can you beat it? Unquestioned profit does not attend the +migration. It stands to reason that some of the very advantages sought +have been sacrificed on the altar of the drift cityward. Let us say you +have your individual domicile or the cramped and sunless apartment you dub +your habitation within corporate limits. Does that mean that the +privileges of the city are at your disposal, so that you have merely to +reach forth your hand and pluck them? Well, hardly! You certainly do not +reside in the downtown section, or if you do, you wish to heaven you +didn't. And you can reach this section only with delay and inconvenience, +whether in the hours of business or in the subsequent period devoted to +the glitter of nocturnal revelry and amusement. + +But whatever the disadvantages of the city, the people who endure them are +convinced that to go back to the vines and figtrees of their native heath +would be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Why? Well, for one +thing, there is no such thing as leisure in the areas that lie beyond +those vast aggregations of humanity which constitute our cities. Not only +are there innumerable and seemingly interminable chores that must follow +the regular occupations of the day, but a thousand emergencies due to +chance, weather, or the natural cussedness of things must be disposed of +as they arise, regardless of what plans the rustic swain cherishes for the +use of his spare time. Urban laborers have contrived by one means or +another to bring about a limitation of the number of hours per diem they +are forced to toil. To the farmers such an alleviation of their hardships +is not within the realm of practicability. They kick about it of course. +They say it's a blooming nuisance. But neither their heartburnings nor +their struggles can efface it as a fact. + +Again, the means of entertainment are more limited, and that by a big lot, +with the farmer than with those who dwell in the cities. It is all very +well to talk about the blessings of the rural telephone, rural free +delivery, and the automobile. These things do make communication easier +than it used to be, but after all they're only a drop in the bucket and do +little to stop the drift cityward. We may remark just here that if you +live a thousand miles from nowhere and are willing to drive your Tin +Lizzie into town for "the advantages," you aren't likely to get much even +along the line of the movies, and you'll get less still if what you're +after is an A-1 school for your progeny. + +Finally, the widespread impression that the farmer is a bloated and +unscrupulous profiteer has done much to disgust him with his station and +employment in life. We don't say he's the one and only when it comes to +the virtues. Maybe he hasn't sprouted any wings yet. What if he hasn't? +The cities, with their brothels, their big business, and their municipal +governments--you wouldn't have the face to say that there's anything wrong +with them, now would you? Oh, no! Of course not! The farmer pays high for +his machinery and goes clear to the bottom of his pocketbook when he has +to buy shoes or a sack of flour, but let him have a steer's hide or a +wagon load of wheat to sell, and it's somebody else's ox that's gored. +Consumers pay big prices for farm products, goodness knows, but they don't +pay them to the farmer. Not on your tintype. The middleman gets his, you +needn't question that. We beg pardon a thousand times. We mean the +middle_men_. There's no end to those human parasites. + +And so farmer after farmer breaks up the old homestead and contributes his +mite to the drift cityward. What will be the result that comes out of it +all? The effect upon the farmer deserves an editorial all to itself. Here +we must limit ourselves to the effects on the future of our beloved +American nation. And even these we can now do no more than mention; we +lack space to elaborate them. One effect, if the tendency continues, will +be such a reduction in home-produced foodstuffs that we shall have to +import from other countries lying abroad a good portion of the means of +our physical sustenance, and shall face such an increase in the cost of +the same that thousands and thousands of our people will find it +increasingly harder as the years pass by to maintain their relative +economic position. Another effect will be that our civilization, which to +this point has sprawled over broad acres, will become an urban +civilization, penned in amid conditions, restraints, privations, and +perhaps also opportunities unprecedented in our past history and unknown +to the experience we have had hitherto. A final effect will be that our +most conservative class, the rural populace, will no longer present +resistance that is formidable to the innovations which those who hold +extreme views are forever exhorting us to embrace; and the result may well +be that the disintegration of this staying and stabilizing element in our +citizenship--one that retards and mollifies if it does not inhibit +change--will produce consequences in its train which may be as dire as +they are difficult to foretell. + + +_Appendix_ 2 + + CAUSES FOR THE AMERICAN SPIRIT OF LIBERTY + (From the _Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies_) + By EDMUND BURKE + +In this character of the Americans, a love of freedom is the predominating +feature which marks and distinguishes the whole; and as an ardent is +always a jealous affection, your Colonies become suspicious, restive, and +untractable whenever they see the least attempt to wrest from them by +force, or shuffle from them by chicane, what they think the only advantage +worth living for. This fierce spirit of liberty is stronger in the English +Colonies probably than in any other people of the earth, and this from a +great variety of powerful causes; which, to understand the true temper of +their minds and the direction which this spirit takes, it will not be +amiss to lay open somewhat more largely. + +First, the people of the Colonies are descendants of Englishmen. England, +Sir, is a nation which still, I hope, respects, and formerly adored, her +freedom. The Colonists emigrated from you when this part of your character +was most predominant; and they took this bias and direction the moment +they parted from your hands. They are therefore not only devoted to +liherty, but to liberty according to English ideas, and on English +principles. Abstract liberty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be +found. Liberty inheres in some sensible object; and every nation has +formed to itself some favorite point, which by way of eminence becomes the +criterion of their happiness. It happened, you know, Sir, that the great +contests for freedom in this country were from the earliest times chiefly +upon the question of taxing. Most of the contests in the ancient +commonwealths turned primarily on the right of election of magistrates; or +on the balance among the several orders of the state. The question of +money was not with them so immediate. But in England it was otherwise. On +this point of taxes the ablest pens, and most eloquent tongues, have been +exercised; the greatest spirits have acted and suffered. In order to give +the fullest satisfaction concerning the importance of this point, it was +not only necessary for those who in argument defended the excellence of +the English Constitution to insist on this privilege of granting money as +a dry point of fact, and to prove that the right had been acknowledged in +ancient parchments and blind usages to reside in a certain body called a +House of Commons. They went much farther; they attempted to prove, and +they succeeded, that in theory it ought to be so, from the particular +nature of a House of Commons as an immediate representative of the people, +whether the old records had delivered this oracle or not. They took +infinite pains to inculcate, as a fundamental principle, that in all +monarchies the people must in effect themselves, mediately or immediately, +possess the power of granting their own money, or no shadow of liberty can +subsist. The Colonies draw from you, as with their life-blood, these ideas +and principles. Their love of liberty, as with you, fixed and attached on +this specific point of taxing. Liberty might be safe, or might be +endangered, in twenty other particulars, without their being much pleased +or alarmed. Here they felt its pulse; and as they found that beat, they +thought themselves sick or sound. I do not say whether they were right or +wrong in applying your general arguments to their own case. It is not +easy, indeed, to make a monopoly of theorems and corollaries. The fact is, +that they did thus apply those general arguments; and your mode of +governing them, whether through lenity or indolence, through wisdom or +mistake, confirmed them in the imagination that they, as well as you, had +an interest in these common principles. + +They were further confirmed in this pleasing error by the form of their +provincial legislative assemblies. Their governments are popular in an +high degree; some are merely popular; in all, the popular representative +is the most weighty; and this share of the people in their ordinary +government never fails to inspire them with lofty sentiments, and with a +strong aversion from whatever tends to deprive them of their chief +importance. + +If anything were wanting to this necessary operation of the form of +government, religion would have given it a complete effect. Religion, +always a principle of energy, in this new people is no way worn out or +impaired; and their mode of professing it is also one main cause of this +free spirit. The people are Protestants; and of that kind which is the +most adverse to all implicit submission of mind and opinion. This is a +persuasion not only favorable to liberty, but built upon it. I do not +think, Sir, that the reason of this averseness in the dissenting churches +from all that looks like absolute government is so much to be sought in +their religious tenets, as in their history. Every one knows that the +Roman Catholic religion is at least coeval with most of the governments +where it prevails; that it has generally gone hand in hand with them, and +received great favor and every kind of support from authority. The Church +of England too was formed from her cradle under the nursing care of +regular government. But the dissenting interests have sprung up in direct +opposition to all the ordinary powers of the world, and could justify that +opposition only on a strong claim to natural liberty. Their very existence +depended on the powerful and unremitted assertion of that claim. All +Protestantism, even the most cold and passive, is a sort of dissent. But +the religion most prevalent in our Northern Colonies is a refinement on +the principle of resistance; it is the dissidence of dissent, and the +protestantism of the Protestant religion. This religion, under a variety +of denominations agreeing in nothing but in the communion of the spirit of +liberty, is predominant in most of the Northern Provinces, where the +Church of England, notwithstanding its legal rights, is in reality no more +than a sort of private sect, not composing most probably the tenth of the +people. The Colonists left England when this spirit was high, and in the +emigrants was the highest of all; and even that stream of foreigners which +has been constantly flowing into these Colonies has, for the greatest +part, been composed of dissenters from the establishments of their several +countries, who have brought with them a temper and character far from +alien to that of the people with whom they mixed. + +Sir, I can perceive by their manner that some gentlemen object to the +latitude of this description, because in the Southern Colonies the Church +of England forms a large body, and has a regular establishment. It is +certainly true. There is, however, a circumstance attending these Colonies +which, in my opinion, fully counterbalances this difference, and makes the +spirit of liberty still more high and haughty than in those to the +northward. It is that in Virginia and the Carolinas they have a vast +multitude of slaves. Where this is the case in any part of the world, +those who are free are by far the most proud and jealous of their freedom. +Freedom is to them not only an enjoyment, but a kind of rank and +privilege. Not seeing there, that freedom, as in countries where it is a +common blessing and as broad and general as the air, may be united with +much abject toil, with great misery, with all the exterior of servitude; +liberty looks, amongst them, like something that is more noble and +liberal. I do not mean, Sir, to commend the superior morality of this +sentiment, which has at least as much pride as virtue in it; but I cannot +alter the nature of man. The fact is so; and these people of the Southern +Colonies are much more strongly, and with an higher and more stubborn +spirit, attached to liberty than those to the northward. Such were all the +ancient commonwealths; such were our Gothic ancestors; such in our days +were the Poles; and such will be all masters of slaves, who are not slaves +themselves. In such a people the haughtiness of domination combines with +the spirit of freedom, fortifies it, and renders it invincible. + +Permit me, Sir, to add another circumstance in our Colonies which +contributes no mean part towards the growth and effect of this untractable +spirit. I mean their education. In no country perhaps in the world is the +law so general a study. The profession itself is numerous and powerful; +and in most provinces it takes the lead. The greater number of the +deputies sent to the Congress were lawyers. But all who read, and most do +read, endeavor to obtain some smattering in that science. I have been told +by an eminent bookseller, that in no branch of his business, after tracts +of popular devotion, were so many books as those on the law exported to +the Plantations. The Colonists have now fallen into the way of printing +them for their own use. I hear that they have sold nearly as many of +Blackstone's Commentaries in America as in England. General Gage marks out +this disposition very particularly in a letter on your table. He states +that all the people in his government are lawyers, or smatterers in law; +and that in Boston they have been enabled, by successful chicane, wholly +to evade many parts of one of your capital penal constitutions. The +smartness of debate will say that this knowledge ought to teach them more +clearly the rights of legislature, their obligations to obedience, and the +penalties of rebellion. All this is mighty well. But my honorable and +learned friend on the floor, who condescends to mark what I say for +animadversion, will disdain that ground. He has heard, as well as I, that +when great honors and great emoluments do not win over this knowledge to +the service of the state, it is a formidable adversary to government. If +the spirit be not tamed and broken by these happy methods, it is stubborn +and litigious. _Abeunt studia in mores_. This study renders men +acute, inquisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defence, full of +resources. In other countries, the people, more simple, and of a less +mercurial cast, judge of an ill principle in government only by an actual +grievance; here they anticipate the evil, and judge of the pressure of the +grievance by the badness of the principle. They augur misgovernment at a +distance, and snuff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze. + +The last cause of this disobedient spirit in the Colonies is hardly less +powerful than the rest, as it is not merely moral, but laid deep in the +natural constitution of things. Three thousand miles of ocean lie between +you and them. No contrivance can prevent the effect of this distance in +weakening government. Seas roll, and months pass, between the order and +the execution; and the want of a speedy explanation of a single point is +enough to defeat a whole system. You have, indeed, winged ministers of +vengeance, who carry your bolts in their pounces to the remotest verge of +the sea. But there a power steps in that limits the arrogance of raging +passions and furious elements, and says, _So far shalt thou go, and no +farther_. Who are you, that you should fret and rage, and bite the +chains of nature? Nothing worse happens to you than does to all nations +who have extensive empire; and it happens in all the forms into which +empire can be thrown. In large bodies the circulation of power must be +less vigorous at the extremities. Nature has said it. The Turk cannot +govern Egypt and Arabia and Kurdistan as he governs Thrace; nor has he the +same dominion in Crimea and Algiers which he has at Brusa and Smyrna. +Despotism itself is obliged to truck and huckster. The Sultan gets such +obedience as he can. He governs with a loose rein, that he may govern at +all; and the whole of the force and vigor of his authority in his center +is derived from a prudent relaxation in all his borders. Spain, in her +provinces, is, perhaps, not so well obeyed as you are in yours. She +complies, too; she submits; she watches times. This is the immutable +condition, the eternal law of extensive and detached empire. + +Then, Sir, from these six capital sources--of descent, of form of +government, of religion in the Northern Provinces, of manners in the +Southern, of education, of the remoteness of situation from the first +mover of government-from all these causes a fierce spirit of liberty has +grown up. It has grown with the growth of the people in your Colonies, and +increased with the increase of their wealth; a spirit that unhappily +meeting with an exercise of power in England which, however lawful, is not +reconcilable to any ideas of liberty, much less with theirs, has kindled +this flame that is ready to consume us. + + +_Appendix 3_ + + PARABLE OF THE SOWER + (Matthew 13:3,8 and 18-23) + +And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, +Behold, a sower went forth to sow; + +And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, +and the fowls came and devoured them up: + +Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: +and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: + +And when the sun was up, they were scorched; +and because they had no root, they withered away. + +And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: + +But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, +some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. + +Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. + +When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, +then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his +heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. + +But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he +that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. + +Yet he hath not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when +tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is +offended. + +He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; +and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the +word, and he becometh unfruitful. + +But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the +word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, +some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. + + +_Appendix 4_ + + THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN + _(As You Like It, II, vii, 139-166)_ + By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE + + +All the world's a stage, +And all the men and women merely players: +They have their exits and their entrances; +And one man in his time plays many parts, +His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, +Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. +And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel, +And shining morning face, creeping like snail +Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, +Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad +Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier, +Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard +Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, +Seeking the bubble reputation +Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice, +In fair round belly with good capon lin'd, +With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, +Full of wise saws and modern instances; +And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts +Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon, +With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, +His youthful hose well say'd, a world too wide +For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, +Turning again toward childish treble, pipes +And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, +That ends this strange eventful history, +Is second childishness and mere oblivion, +Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. + + +_Appendix 5_ + + THE CASTAWAY + (From _Robinson Crusoe_) + By Daniel Defoe + +And now our case was very dismal indeed; for we all saw plainly that the +sea went so high that the boat could not escape, and that we should be +inevitably drowned. As to making sail, we had none, nor, if we had, could +we have done anything with it; so we worked at the oar towards the land, +though with heavy hearts, like men going to execution; for we all knew +that when the boat came near the shore, she would be dashed in a thousand +pieces by the beach of the sea. However, we committed our souls to God in +the most earnest manner; and the wind driving us towards the shore, we +hastened our destruction with our own hands, pulling as well as we could +towards land. + +What the shore was, whether rock or sand, whether steep or shoal, we knew +not; the only hope that could rationally give us the least shadow of +expectation, was if we might happen into some bay or gulf, or the mouth of +some river, where by great chance we might have run our boat in, or got +under the lee of the land, and perhaps made smooth water. But there was +nothing of this appeared; but as we made nearer and nearer the shore, the +land looked more frightful than the sea. + +After we had rowed, or rather driven, about a league and a half, as we +reckoned it, a raging wave, mountain-like, came rolling astern of us, and +plainly bade us expect the _coup de grâce_. In a word, it took us +with such a fury that it overset the boat at once; and separating us as +well from the boat as from one another, gave us not time hardly to say, +"O God!" for we were all swallowed up in a moment. + +Nothing can describe the confusion of thought which I felt, when I sank +into the water; for though I swam very well, yet I could not deliver +myself from the waves so as to draw breath, till that wave having driven +me, or rather carried me, a vast way on towards the shore, and having +spent itself, went back, and left me upon the land almost dry, but half +dead with the water I took in. I had so much presence of mind, as well as +breath left, that seeing myself nearer the mainland than I expected, I got +upon my feet, and endeavored to make on towards the land as fast as I +could, before another wave should return and take me up again; but I soon +found it was impossible to avoid it; for I saw the sea come after me as +high as a great hill, and as furious as an enemy, which I had no means or +strength to contend with: my business was to hold my breath, and raise +myself upon the water, if I could; and so by swimming to preserve my +breathing, and pilot myself towards the shore if possible; my greatest +concern now being that the wave, as it would carry me a great way toward +the shore when it came on, might not carry me back again with it when it +gave back towards the sea. + +The wave that came upon me again buried me at once twenty or thirty feet +deep in its own body, and I could feel myself I carried with a mighty +force and swiftness towards the shore a very great way; but I held my +breath, and assisted myself to swim still forward with all my might. I was +ready to burst with holding my breath, when as I felt myself rising up, +so, to my immediate relief, I found my head and hands shoot out above the +surface of the water; and though it was not two seconds of time that I +could keep myself so, yet it relieved me greatly, gave me breath and new +courage. I was covered again with water a good while, but not so long but +I held it out; and finding the water had spent itself, and began to +return, I struck forward against the return of the waves, and felt ground +again with my feet. I stood still a few moments to recover breath, and +till the waters went from me, and then took to my heels, and ran with what +strength I had, farther towards the shore. But neither would this deliver +me from the fury of the sea, which came pouring in after me again; and +twice more I was lifted up by the waves and carried forwards as before, +the shore being very flat. + +The last time of these two had well-nigh been fatal to me; for the sea +having hurried me along, as before, landed me, or rather dashed me, +against a piece of a rock, and that with such force as it left me +senseless, and indeed helpless, as to my own deliverance; for the blow, +taking my side and breast, beat the breath as it were quite out of my +body; and had it returned again immediately, I must have been strangled in +the water; but I recovered a little before the return of the waves, and +seeing I should be covered again with the water, I resolved to hold fast +by a piece of the rock, and so to hold my breath, if possible, till the +wave went back. Now, as the waves were not so high as at first, being +nearer land, I held my hold till the wave abated, and then fetched another +run, which brought me so near the shore that the next wave, though it went +over me, yet did not so swallow me up as to carry me away; and the next +run I took I got to the mainland; where, to my great comfort, I clambered +up the cliffs of the shore, and sat me down upon the grass, free from +danger and quite out of the reach of the water. I was now landed, and safe +on shore, and began to look up and thank God that my life was saved, in a +case wherein there was some minutes before scarce any room to hope. I +believe it is impossible to express, to the life, what the ecstasies and +transports of the soul are when it is so saved, as I may say, out of the +very grave: and I do not wonder now at that custom, when a malefactor, who +has the halter about his neck, is tied up, and just going to be turned +off, and has a reprieve brought to him--I say, I do not wonder that they +bring a surgeon with it, to let him blood that very moment they tell him +of it, that the surprise may not drive the animal spirits from the heart, +and overwhelm him. + + "For sudden joys, like griefs, confound at first." + +I walked about on the shore, lifting up my hands, and my whole being, as I +may say, wrapt up in a contemplation of my deliverance; making a thousand +gestures and motions, which I cannot describe; reflecting upon all my +comrades that were drowned, and that there should not be one soul saved +but myself; for, as for them, I never saw them afterwards, or any sign of +them, except three of their hats, one cap, and two shoes that were not +fellows. + +I cast my eyes to the stranded vessel, when, the breach and froth of the +sea being so big, I could hardly see it, it lay so far off; and +considered, Lord! how was it possible I could get on shore? + +After I had solaced my mind with the comfortable part of my condition, I +began to look round me, to see what kind of place I was in, and what was +next to be done: and I soon found my comforts abate, and that, in a word, +I had a dreadful deliverance: for I was wet, had no clothes to shift me, +nor anything either to eat or drink, to comfort me; neither did I see any +prospect before me but that of perishing with hunger, or being devoured by +wild beasts: and that which was particularly afflicting to me was, that I +had no weapon, either to hunt and kill any creature for my sustenance, or +to defend myself against any other creature that might desire to kill me +for theirs. In a word, I had nothing about me but a knife, a tobacco-pipe, +and a little tobacco in a box. This was all my provision; and this threw +me into terrible agonies of mind, that for awhile I ran about like a +madman. Night coming upon me, I began with a heavy heart, to consider what +would be my lot if there were any ravenous beasts in that country, seeing +at night they always come abroad for their prey. + +All the remedy that offered to my thoughts, at that time, was to get up +into a thick busby tree, like a fir, but thorny, which grew near me, and +where I resolved to sit all night, and consider the next day what death I +should die, for as yet I saw no prospect of life. I walked about a furlong +from the shore, to see if I could find any fresh water to drink, which I +did to my great joy; and having drunk, and put a little tobacco in my +mouth to prevent hunger, I went to the tree, and getting up into it, +endeavored to place myself so that if I should sleep I might not fall. And +having cut me a short stick, like a truncheon, for my defense, I took up +my lodging; and being excessively fatigued, I fell fast asleep, and slept +as comfortably as, I believe, few could have done in my condition, and +found myself more refreshed with it than I think I ever was on such an +occasion. + +When I waked it was broad day, the weather clear, and the storm abated, so +that the sea did not rage and swell as before; but that which surprised me +most was, that the ship was lifted off in the night from the sand where +she lay, by the swelling of the tide, and was driven up almost as far as +the rock which I at first mentioned, where I had been so bruised by the +wave dashing me against it. This being within about a mile from the shore +where I was, and the ship seeming to stand upright still, I wished myself +on board, that at least I might save some necessary things for my use. + +When I came down from my apartment in the tree, I looked about me again, +and the first thing I found was the boat, which lay, as the wind and sea +had tossed her up, upon the land, about two miles on my right hand. I +walked as far as I could upon the shore to have got to her; but found a +neck, or inlet, of water between me and the boat, which was about half a +mile broad; so I came back for the present, being more intent upon getting +at the ship, where I hoped to find something for my present subsistence. + +A little after noon I found the sea very calm and the tide ebbed so far +out, that I could come within a quarter of a mile of the ship. And here I +found a fresh renewing of my grief; for I saw evidently that if we had +kept on board, we had been all safe: that is to say, we had all got safe +on shore, and I had not been so miserable as to be left entirely destitute +of all comfort and company, as I now was. This forced tears to my eyes +again; but as there was little relief in that, I resolved, if possible, to +get to the ship-, so I pulled off my clothes, for the weather was hot to +extremity, and took the water. But when I came to the ship, my difficulty +was still greater to know how to get on board; for, as she lay aground, +and high out of the water, there was nothing within my reach to lay hold +of. I swam round her twice, and the second time I espied a small piece of +rope, which I wondered I did not see at first, hanging down by the +fore-chains so low that, with great difficulty, I got hold of it, and by +the help of that rope got up into the forecastle of the ship. Here I found +that the ship was bulged, and had a great deal of water in her hold; but +that she lay so on the side of a bank of hard sand, or rather earth, that +her stern lay lifted up upon the bank, and her head low, almost to the +water. By this means all her quarter was free, and all that was in that +part was dry; for you may be sure my first work was to search, and to see +what was spoiled and what was free. And, first, I found that all the +ship's provisions were dry and untouched by the water, and being very well +disposed to eat, I went to the bread-room, and filled my pockets with +biscuit, and ate it as I went about other things, for I had no time to +lose. I also found some rum in the great cabin, of which I took a large +dram, and which I had, indeed, need enough of to spirit me for what was +before me. Now I wanted nothing but a boat, to furnish myself with many +things which I foresaw would be very necessary to me. + +It was in vain to sit still and wish for what was not to be had; and this +extremity roused my application. We had several spare yards, and two or +three large spars of wood, and a spare topmast or two in the ship: I +resolved to fall tp work with these, and I flung as many of them overboard +as I could manage for their weight, tying every one with a rope, that they +might not drive away. When this was done I went down the ship's side, and +pulling them to me I tied four of them together at both ends, as well as I +could, in the form of a raft, and laying two or three short pieces of +plank upon them, crossways, I found I could walk upon it very well, but +that it was not able to bear any great weight, the pieces being too light. +So I went to work, and with the carpenter's saw I cut a spare topmast into +three lengths, and added them to my raft, with a great deal of labor and +pains. But the hope of furnishing myself with necessaries encouraged me to +go beyond what I should have been able to have done upon another occasion. + +My raft was now strong enough to bear any reasonable weight. My next care +was what to load it with, and how to preserve what I laid upon it from the +surf of the sea: but I was not long considering this. I first laid all the +planks or boards upon it that I could get, and having considered well what +I most wanted, I first got three of the seamen's chests, which I had +broken open and emptied, and lowered them down upon my raft; the first of +these I filled with provisions--viz., bread, rice, three Dutch cheeses, +five pieces of dried goat's flesh (which we lived much upon), and a little +remainder of European corn, which had been laid by for some fowls which we +brought to sea with us, but the fowls were killed. There had been some +barley and wheat together; but, to my great disappointment, I found +afterwards that the rats had eaten or spoiled it all. As for liquors, I +found several cases of bottles belonging to our skipper, in which were +some cordial waters; and, in all, about five or six gallons of arrack. +These I stowed by themselves, there being no need to put them into the +chest, nor any room for them. While I was doing this, I found the tide +began to flow, though very calm; and I had the mortification to see my +coat, shirt, and waistcoat, which I had left on shore upon the sand, swim +away. As for my breeches, which were only linen, and open-kneed, I swam on +board in them and my stockings. However, this put me upon rummaging for +clothes, of which I found enough, but took no more than I wanted for +present use, for I had other things which my eye was more upon; as, first, +tools to work with on shore: and it was after long searching that I found +out the carpenter's chest, which was indeed a very useful prize to me, and +much more valuable than a ship-lading of gold would have been at that +time. I got it down to my raft, whole as it was, without losing time to +look into it, for I knew in general what it contained. + +My next care was for some ammunition and arms. There were two very good +fowling-pieces in the great cabin, and two pistols. These I secured first, +with some powder-horns, a small bag of shot, and two old rusty swords. I +knew there were three barrels of powder in the ship, but knew not where +our gunner had stowed them; but with much search I found them, two of them +dry and good, the third had taken water. Those two I got to my raft, with +the arms. And now I thought myself pretty well freighted, and began to +think how I should get to shore with them, having neither sail, oar, nor +rudder; and the least capful of wind would have overset all my navigation. + +I had three encouragements: first, a smooth, calm sea; secondly, the tide +rising, and setting in to the shore; thirdly, what little wind there was +blew me towards the land. And thus, having found two or three broken oars, +belonging to the boat, and besides the tools which were in the chest, two +saws, an axe, and a hammer, with this cargo I put to sea. For a mile, or +thereabouts, my raft went very well, only that I found it drive a little +distant from the place where I had landed before: by which I perceived +that there was some indraught of the water, and consequently, I hoped to +find some creek or river there, which I might malze use of as a port to +get to land with my cargo. + +As I imagined, so it was. There appeared before me a little opening of the +land. I found a strong current of the tide set into it; so I guided my +raft as well as I could, to keep in the middle of the stream. + +But here I had like to have suffered a second shipwreck, which, if I had, +I think verily would have broken my heart; for, knowing nothing of the +coast, my raft ran aground at one end of it upon a shoal, and not being +aground at the other end, it wanted but a little that all my cargo had +slipped off towards the end that was afloat, and so fallen into the water. +I did my utmost, by setting my back against the chests, to keep them in +their places, but could not thrust off the raft with all my strength; +neither durst I stir from the posture I was in; but holding up the chests +with all my might, I stood in that manner near half an hour, in which time +the rising of the water brought me a little more upon a level; and a +little after, the water still rising, my raft floated again, and I thrust +her off with the oar I had into the channel, and then driving up higher, I +at length found myself in the mouth of a little river, with land on both +sides, and a strong current or tide running up. I looked on both sides for +a proper place to get to shore, for I was not willing to be driven too +high up the river; hoping in time to see some ship at sea, and therefore +resolved to place myself as near the coast as I could. + +At length I spied a little cove on the right shore of the creek, to which, +with great pain and difficulty, I guided my raft, and at last got so near, +that reaching ground with my oar, I could thrust her directly in. But here +I had like to have dipped all my cargo into the sea again; for that shore +lying pretty steep-that is to say, sloping--there was no place to land but +where one end of my float, if it ran on shore, would lie so high, and the +other sink lower, as before, that it would endanger my cargo again. All +that I could do was to wait till the tide was at the highest, keeping the +raft with my oar like an anchor, to hold the side of it fast to the shore, +near a flat piece of ground, which I expected the water would flow over; +and so it did. As soon as I found water enough, for my raft drew about a +foot of water, I thrust her upon that flat piece of ground, and there +fastened or moored her, by sticking my two broken oars into the ground-one +on one side, near one end, and one on the other side, near the other end; +and thus I lay till the water ebbed away, and left my raft and all my +cargo safe on shore. + + + +_Appendix 6_ + + READING LISTS + +One of the best ways to _know_ words is through seeing them used by +the masters. For this reason, as well as for many others, you should read +extensively in good literature. The following lists of prose works may +prove useful for your guidance. They are not intended to be exclusive, not +intended to designate "the hundred best books." Rather do they name some +good books of fairly varied types. These are not all of equal merit, even +in their use of words. Some use words with nice discrimination, some with +splendid vividness and force. For each author only one or two books are +named, but in many instances you will wish to read further in the author, +perhaps indeed his entire works. + +<Biography and Autobiography> + +Boswell, James: _Life of Samuel Johnson_ +Bradford, Gamaliel: _Lee the American; American Portraits, 1875-1900_ +Franklin, Benjamin: _Autobiography_ +Grant, U. S.: _Personal Memoirs_ +Irving, Washington: _Life of Goldsmith_ +Paine, A. B.: _Life of Mark Twain_ +Walton, Izaak: _Lives_ + +<Essays, Adventure, etc.> + +Addison, Joseph: _Spectator Papers_ +Bryce, Sir James: _The American Commonwealth_ +Burke, Edmund: _Speech on Conciliation_ +Burroughs, John: _Wake Robin_ +Chesterton, G. K.: _Heretics_ +Crothers, S. M.: _The Gentle Reader_ +Dana, R. H., Jr.: Two _Years Before the Mast_ +Darwin, Charles: _Origin of Species_ +Emerson, R. W.: _Essays_ +Irving, Washington: _Sketch Book_ +Lincoln, Abraham: _Speeches and Addresses_ +Lucas, E. V.: _Old Lamps for New_ +Macaulay, T. B.: _Essays_ +Muir, John: _The Mountains of California_ +Thoreau, H. D.: _Walden_ +Twain, Mark: _Life on the Mississippi_ + +<Fiction> + +Allen, James Lane: _The Choir Invisible_ +Austen, Jane: _Pride and Prejudice_ +Barrie, Sir James M.: _Sentimental Tommie_ +Bennett, Arnold: _The Old Wives' Tale_ +Blackmore, R. D.: _Lorna Doone_ +Bunyan, John: _Pilgrim's Progress_ +Cable, G. W.: _Old Creole Days_ +Conrad, Joseph: _The Nigger of the Narcissus_ +Defoe, Daniel: _Robinson Crusoe_ +Dickens, Charles: _David Copperfield_ +Eliot, George: _Adam Bede_ +Galsworthy, John: _The Patrician_ +Goldsmith, Oliver: _The Vicar of Wakefield_ +Hardy, Thomas: _The Return of the Native_ +Harte, Bret: _The Luck of Roaring Camp_ (short story) +Hawthorne, Nathaniel: _The Scarlet Letter_ +Hergesheimer, Joseph: _Java Head_ +Hudson, W. H.: _Green Mansions_ +Kingsley, Charles: _Westward Ho_! +Kipling, Rudyard: _Plain Tales from the Hills_ (short stories) +London, Jack: _The Call of the Wild_ +Merrick, Leonard: _The Man Who Understood Women (volume of short +stories); _The Actor Manager_ +Mitchell, S. Weir: _Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker_ +Norris, Frank: _The Octopus_ +Poe, Edgar Allan: _The Fall of the House of Usher_ (short story) +Poole, Ernest: _The Harbor_ +Scott, Sir Walter: _Ivanhoe_ +Smith, F. Hopkinson: _Colonel Carter of Cartersville_ +Stevenson, R. L.: _Treasure Island_ +Tarkington, Booth: _Monsieur Beaucaire_ +Thackeray, W. M.: _Vanity Fair_ +Twain, Mark: _Huckleberry Finn_ +Wells, H. G.: _Tono Bungay_ +Wharton, Edith: _Ethan Frome_ +Wister, Owen: _The Virginian_ + + + INDEX. + +The index comprises, besides miscellaneous items, four large classes of +matter: (1) topics, including many minor ones not given separate textual +captions; (2) all individual words and members of pairs explained or +commented on in the text; (3) the key syllables, but not the separate +words, of family groups; (4) the first or generic term, but not the other +terms, in all assemblies of synonyms; hence, this book can be used as a +handbook of ordinarily used synonyms. + +_Abandon_, Synonyms of, +_Abase_, Synonyms of, +_Abettor_, Synonyms of, +_Abolish_, Synonyms of, +_Abridge_ +Abstract vs. concrete terms. Also see _Words_ +_Absurd_ +_Accumulate_ +_Acknowledge_, Synonyms of, +_Acquit_, Synonyms of, +_Act_ family +_Active_, Synonyms of, +_Advise_, Synonyms of, +Aeronautics, Familiar terms in, +_Affair_ +_Affect_ +_Affecting_, Synonyms of, +_Affront_, Synonyms of, +_Afraid_, Synonyms of, +_Ag_ family +_Agnostic_, Synonyms of, +_Allay_, Synonyms of, +_Allopath_ +_Allow_, Synonyms of, +_Altitude_ +_Amicable_ +_Amuse_, Synonyms of, +Analysis. See _Vocabulary_ and _Synonyms_ +Analysis, Rhetorical, +Anglo-Saxon words in modern English. See _Native words_ +_Anim_ family +_Anni, annu_ family +_Announce_, Synonyms of, +_Answer_, Synonyms of, +_Antipathy_, Synonyms of, +Antonyms +_Appreciate_ +_Apprehend_ +_Apricot_ +_Ardor_ +_Argument_ +_Artful_ +_Artifice_, Synonyms of, +_Ascend_ +_Ascend_, Synonyms of, +_Ascribe_ +_Ascribe_, Synonyms of, +_Ask_, Synonyms of, +_Assail_ +_Associate_, Synonyms of, +_Attach_, Synonyms of, +_Attack_; Synonyms of, +_Attention_ +_Audi, auri_ family +Audience, Adapting discourse to, +_Auto_ family +_Avert_ +_Awkward_, Synonyms of, + +_Backhanded_ +_Bald heads_ +_Bare_ +_Base_ +_Bear_ +_Bedlam_ +_Beef_ +_Begin_, Synonyms of, +_Belief_, Synonyms of, +_Belittle_, Synonyms of, +_Bind_, Synonyms of, +_Bit_, Synonyms of, +_Bite_, Synonyms of, +Blood relationships between words. + Small groups of words so related. Also see _Words_ +_Bluff_, Synonyms of, +_Boast_, Synonyms of, +_Body_, Synonyms of, +_Bold_ +_Bombastic_, Synonyms of, Books of synonyms, List of, +_Boor_ +_Boorish_, Synonyms of, +_Booty_, Synonyms of, +Boys, Kinds of, +_Brand, brun_ family +_Break_ +_Break_, Synonyms of, +_Breakfast_ +_Bridegroom_ +_Bright_ +_Brittle_, Synonyms of, +_Brotherly_ +_Building_, Synonyms of, +Burke, Edmund. See _Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty_ +_Burn_ family +_Burn_, Synonyms of, +_Burn with indignation_ +_Busy_, Synonyms of, +_By and by_ + +_Cad_ family +_Calf_ +_Call_, Synonyms of, +_Calm_, Synonyms of, +_Cant_ family +_Cap(t)_ family +_Capricious_ +_Care_, Synonyms of, +_Careful_, Synonyms of, +_Cart before the horse_, +_Cas_ family +"Castaway, The" (Defoe). Comments and assignments on, +"Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty" (Burke). + Comments and assignments on, +_Cede, ceed, cess_ family +_Ceive, ceit, cept_ family +_Celebrate_, Synonyms of, Celibates, Verbal, +_Censure_ +_Cent_ family +_Cent_ family +_Charm_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Charm_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Chant_ family +_Cheat_, Synonyms of, +Child. See _How a child becomes acquainted_, etc. +_Choke_, Synonyms of, +_Choose_, Synonyms of, +_Chron_ family +_Church_ +_Churl_ +_Cid_ family +_Cide_ family +_Cigar_ +_Cip_ family +_Circumstances_ +_Cis(e)_ family +Classes of words, in general, (also see _Words_); + in your own vocabulary, +Classic words, distinguished from native; in modern English, +_Clear_ +_Clodhopper_ +_Close_ +_Close the door to_, +_Coax_, Synonyms of, +_Cold_ +Coleridge, S. T., Quotation from, +_Color_, Synonyms of, +_Combine_, Synonyms of, +_Comfort_, Synonyms of, +_Common_ +_Companion_ +_Complain_, Synonyms of, +_Conchology_ +_Concise_, Synonyms of, +_Condescend_, Synonyms of, +_Condition_ +_Confirm_, Synonyms of, +_Confirmed_, Synonyms of, +_Confound_ +_Congregate_ +_Connect_, Synonyms of, +Connotation +_Constable_ +_Contagious_ +_Continual_, Synonyms of, +_Continuous, continual_ +_Contract_, Synonyms of, +_Conversation_ +_Copy_, Synonyms of, +_Cordiality_ +_Corp(s)_ family +_Corrode_ +_Corrupt_, Synonyms of, +_Costly_, Synonyms of, +_Coterie_, Synonyms of, +_Counterfeit_ +_Courage_, Synonyms of, +_Course_ family +_Coxcomb_ +_Crafty_ +_Crease, cresce, cret, crue_ family +_Cred, creed_ family +_Crestfallen_ +_Crisscross_ +_Critical_, Synonyms of, +_Criticism_ +_Crooked_, Synonyms of, +_Cross_ +_Cross_, Synonyms of, +_Crowd_, Synonyms of, +_Crowsfeet_ +_Crude_ +_Cruel_, Synonyms of, +_Cry_ +_Cry_, Synonyms of, +_Cunning_ +_Cur_ family +_Cure_ family +_Curious_, Synonyms of, +_Cut_, Synonyms of, + +_Daily_ +_Dainty_, Synonyms of, +_Daisy_ +_Dandelion_ +_Danger_, Synonyms of, +_Darken_, Synonyms of, +_Dead_, Synonyms of, +_Deadly_, Synonyms of, +_Death_, Synonyms of, +_Decay_, Synonyms of, +_Deceit_, Synonyms of, +_Deceptive_, Synonyms of, +_Decorate_, Synonyms of, +_Decorous_, Synonyms of, +_Deface_, Synonyms of, +_Defeat_, Synonyms of, +_Defect_, Synonyms of, +Definitions, of words; Dictionary vs. informal; + How to look up in a dictionary, +Defoe, Daniel. See _The Castaway_ +_Degrade_ +_Delay_, Synonyms of, +_Demean_ +_Democrat_ +_Demon_ +_Demoralize_, Synonyms of, +_Deny_, Synonyms of, +_Deportment_, Synonyms of, +_Deprive_, Synonyms of, +Description +_Despise_, Synonyms of, +_Despondency_, Synonyms of, +_Destroy_, Synonyms of, +_Detach_, Synonyms of, +_Determined_, Synonyms of, +_Deviate_ +_Devilish_ +_Devout_, Synonyms of, +_Dexterity_ +_Dic, dict_ family +Dictionaries, List of; How to use, +_Die_, Synonyms of, +_Differ_ +_Difficulty_, Synonyms of, +_Dign_ family +_Dilapidated_ +_Dip_, Synonyms of, +_Dirty_, Synonyms of, +_Disaster_ +_Discernment_, Synonyms of, +_Discharge_ +Discords, Verbal +Discourse, at first hand; adapted to audience, +_Disease_, Synonyms of, +_Disgraceful_, Synonyms of, +_Disgusting_, Synonyms of, +_Dishonor_, Synonyms of, +_Disloyal_, Synonyms of, +_Dispel_, Synonyms of, +_Dissatisfied_, Synonyms of, +_Diurnal_ +_Divide_, Synonyms of, +_Do_, Synonyms of, +_Doctrine_, Synonyms of, +_Doom, Doomsday_ +_Dream_, Synonyms of, +_Dress_, Synonyms of, +"Drift of Our Rural Population Cityward, The" (Editorial), + Comments and assignments, +_Drink_, Synonyms of, +_Drip_, Synonyms of, +_Drunk_, Synonyms of, +_Dry_, Synonyms of, +_Duc, duct_ family +_Dull_ +_Dur(e)_ family + +_Early_, Synonyms of, +_Eat_, Synonyms of, +Editorial. See _The Drift of Our Rural Population Cityward_ +_Effect_ +_Egregious_ +_Ejaculate_ +_Elicit_, Synonyms of, +_Embarrass_, Synonyms of, +_Embrace_ +_Encroach_, Synonyms of, +_End_, Synonyms of, +_Enemy_ +_Enemy_, Synonyms of, +_Engine_ +_Enni_ family +_Enormity, enormousness_ +_Enough_, Synonyms of, +_Entice_, Synonyms of, +_Erase_, Synonyms of, +_Error_ family +_Error_, Synonyms of, +_Estimate_, Synonyms of, +_Eternal_, Synonyms of, +_Eu_ family +_Eugenics_ +_Ex_ family +_Examination_ +_Example_, Synonyms of, +_Exceed_, Synonyms of, +_Exclude_ +_Excuse_, Synonyms of, +_Expand_, Synonyms of, +_Expel_, Synonyms of, +_Experiment_, Synonyms of, +_Explain_, Synonyms of, +Explanation (Exposition) +_Explicit_, Synonyms of, +_Expression_ + +_Face_, Synonyms of, +_Fact_ family +_Faculty_, Synonyms of, +_Failing_, Synonyms of, +_Fair_ +_False_ +_Fame_, Synonyms of, +Families, Verbal, +_Famous_, Synonyms of, +_Fashion_, Synonyms of, +_Fast_ +_Fast_, Synonyms of, +_Fasten_ Synonyms of, +_Fat_, Synonyms of, +_Fate_, Synonyms of, +_Fatherly_ +_Fawn_, Synonyms of, +_Fear_, Synonyms of, +_Feat, fect, feit_ family +_Feign_, Synonyms of, +_Fellow_ +_Feminine_, Synonyms of, +_Fer_ family +_Fertile_, Synonyms of, +_Fic(e)_ family +_Fiddle_ +_Fiendish_, Synonyms of, +_Fight_, Synonyms of, +_Financial_, Synonyms of, +_Fin(e)_ family +_Firm_ +_Fit_, Synonyms of, +_Flag, The_ +_Flame_, Synonyms of, +_Flat_ +_Flat_, Synonyms of, +_Flatter_, Synonyms of, +_Flect, flex_ family +_Flee_, Synonyms of, +_Fleeting_, Synonyms of, +_Flexible_, Synonyms of, +_Flit_, Synonyms of, +_Flock_, Synonyms of, +_Flock together_ +_Flow_, Synonyms of, +_Flu, fluence, flux_ family +_Foe_ +_Follow_, Synonyms of, +_Follower_, Synonyms of, +_Fond_ +_Fond_, Synonyms of, +_Force_, Synonyms of, +_Foretell_, Synonyms of, +_Fort_ family +Fossils in modern English, List of, +_Found_ family +_Fract, frag_ family +_Fracture_ +_Frank_, Synonyms of, +Franklin, Benjamin, and _Spectator Papers_, +_Fraternal_ +_Free_ +_Free_, Synonyms of +French and Norman-French words occurring in modern English +_Freshen_, Synonyms of, +_Fret_ +_Friendly_ +_Friendly_, Synonyms of, +_Frighten_, Synonyms of, +_Frigid_ +_Frown_, Synonyms of, +_Frugal_, Synonyms of, +_Frustrate_, Synonyms of, +_Fug(e)_ family +_Fuse_ family +_Fy_ family + +_Game_, Synonyms of, +_Gather_, Synonyms of, +_Gen_ family +General facts and ideas with which acquaintance assumed, +General ideas, as best basis for study of synonyms, +General vs. specific terms. Also see _Words_ +Genus and species +_Ger, gest_ family +Germanic words in modern English +_Get_, Synonyms of, +_Get on to_ +"Gettysburg Address" (Lincoln); Comments on, +_Ghost_ +_Ghost_, Synonyms of, +_Gift_, Synonyms of, +_Give_, Synonyms of, +_Glad_, Synonyms of, +_Go out of one's way_ +_Good_ +_Good_ family +_Goodby_ +_Grade_ family +_Gram_ family +_Grand_, Synonyms of, +_Graph_ family +_Gray hair_ +_Great_ +_Greedy_ +Greek prefixes List of, +Greek stems, List of, +Greek words in modern English +_Greet_, Synonyms of, +_Gress_ family +_Grief_, Synonyms of, +_Grieve_, Synonyms of, +_Groom_ +_Grudgingly_ +_Guard_, Synonyms of, +_Guileless_ + +_Hab_ family +_Habit_, Synonyms of, +_Habitation_, Synonyms of, +_Hale_ family +_Half-baked_ +_Harass_, Synonyms of, +_Hard_ +_Harmful_, Synonyms of, +_Harsh_ +_Haste_, Synonyms of, +_Hate_, Synonyms of, +_Hatred_, Synonyms of, +_Have_, Synonyms of, +_Hayseed_ +_Head foremost_ +_Headstrong_, Synonyms of, +_Heal_ family +_Healthful_, Synonyms of, +_Heathen_ +_Heavy_, Synonyms of, +_Height_ +_Help_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Help_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Hesitate_, Synonyms of, +_Hib_ family +_Hide_, Synonyms of, +_High_, Synonyms of, +_Highstrung_ +_Hinder_ Synonyms of, +_Hint_, Synonyms of, +_Hot_ family +_Hole_, Synonyms of, +_Holy_, Synonyms of, +_Home_ +_Homeopath_ +_Homesickness_ +_Hopeful,_ Synonyms of, +_Hopeless_, Synonyms of, +_Hose_ +_House_ +How a child becomes acquainted with the complexity of life and language +_Hug_, +_Humor_ +_Hussy_ +_Idiot_ +_Idle_ +_Ig_ family +_Ignorant_, Synonyms of, +_Imp_ +Imperfectly understood facts and ideas +_Impolite_, Synonyms of, +_Importance_, Synonyms of, +_Imposter_, Synonyms of, +_Imprison_, Synonyms of, +_Improper_, Synonyms of, +_Impure_, Synonyms of, +_In a minute_ +_Inborn_, Synonyms of, +_Incense_ +_Incite_, Synonyms of, +_Incline_, Synonyms of, +_Inclose_, Synonyms of, +_Increase_, Synonyms of, +_Indecent_, Synonyms of, +_Infantry_ +_Infectious_ +_Ingenious_ +_Inner_ +_Innocent_ +_Innuendo_ +_Insane_, Synonyms of, +_Insanity_, Synonyms of, +_Insinuate_ +_Insipid_, Synonyms of, +_Instances_ +_Instigate_ +_Insult_ +_Intention_, Synonyms of, +_Internal_ +_Interpose_, Synonyms of, +_Investigate_ +_Irreligious_, Synonyms of, +_Irritate_, Synonyms of, +_It_ family +"Ivanhoe" (Scott), Quotation from, +_Ject_ family +_Join_, Synonyms of, +_Journey_, Synonyms of, +_Jud_ family +_Jump on_ +_Junct_ family +_Jur, jus_ family +_Jure_ family +_Just_ + +Key-syllables, Variations in form of; Misleading resemblance between; + Lists of, +_Kick_ +_Kill_, Synonyms of, +_Kind_, Synonyms of, +_Kindle_, Synonyms of, +Kinships between words. See _Blood relationships between words; + Marriages between words; Words_ +_Knave_ +_Knowledge_ + +_Lack_, Synonyms of, +_Lame_, Synonyms of, +_Large_, Synonyms of, +_Late_ family +Latin prefixes, List of, +Latin stems, List of, +Latin words in modern English. See _Classic words_ +_Laugh_, Synonyms of, +_Laughable_, Synonyms of, +_Lead_, Synonyms of, +_Lect, leg_ family +_Lengthen_, Synonyms of, +_Lessen,_ Synonyms of, +_Lewd_ +_Liberal_, Synonyms of, +_Lie_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Lie_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Lig_ family +_Likeness_, Synonyms of, +_Limp_, Synonyms of, +_List_, Synonyms of, +Literal vs. figurative terms and applications. Also see _Words_ +_Loc, loco, local, locate_ family +_Locu_ family +_Log_ family +_Look_, Synonyms of, +Loose use of words +_Loquy_ family +_Lord_ +_Lose steam_ +_Loud_, Synonyms of, +_Love_ +_Love_, Synonyms of, +_Low,_ Synonyms of, +_Loyal_, Synonyms of, +_Luc, lum, lus_ family +_Lude, lus_ family +_Lunatic_ +_Lurk_, Synonyms of, +_Lust_ + +_Make_, Synonyms of, +_Make one's pile_ +_Man_, as a generic term, +_Man, manu_ family +_Mand_ family +_Manifest_, Synonyms of, +_Manly_ +_Many_, Synonyms of, +Many-sided words +_Margin_, Synonyms of, +_Marriage_, Synonyms of, +Marriages between words. Also see _Words_ +_Marshal_ +_Masculine_, Synonyms of, +_Matinée_ +_Matrimonial_, Synonyms of, +_Meaning_, Synonyms of, +_Meet_, Synonyms of, +_Meeting_, Synonyms of, +_Melt_, Synonyms of, +_Memory_, Synonyms of, +_Mercy_, Synonyms of, +_Mere, merely_ +_Meter, metri_ family +Military terms, Familiar +_Mis(e), mit_ family +_Misrepresent_, Synonyms of, +_Mix_, Synonyms of, +_Mob_ family +_Model_, Synonyms of, +_Modern_ +_Mono_ family +_Mort_ family +_Mortal_ +_Mortify_ +_Mot(e)_ family +_Mother_ +_Motive_, Synonyms of, +_Move_ family +_Move_, Synonyms of, +_Mot(e)_ family + +_Name_, Synonyms of, +Narration +_Nasturtium_ +_Nat(e)_ family +Native words, distinguished from classic; in modern English, +_Near_, Synonyms of, +_Neat_, Synonyms of, +_Needful_, Synonyms of, +_Negligence_, Synonyms of, +_New_, Synonyms of, +_Nice_, Synonyms of, +_Nickname_ +_Noble_ family +_Noise_ +_Noisy_, Synonyms of, +_Nostalgia_ +_Nostril_ +_Nostrum_ +_Not(e), nor(e)_ family +_Noticeable_, Synonyms of, + +_Objective_ +_Occupation_, Synonyms of, +_Offspring_ +_Old_, Synonyms of, +_Ology_ family +_Omen, ominous_ +Opposites +_Order_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Order_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Oversight_, Synonyms of, +_Ox_ + +_Pacify_, Synonyms of, +_Pagan_ +Pairs, Three types of; Lists of or assignments in; as Synonyms, +_Pale_, Synonyms of, +_Pan_ family +_Pantaloon_ +"Parable of the Sower"; Comments and assignments on, +"Parable of the Prodigal Son"; Comments on, +Parallels +Paraphrasing +_Pard_ +_Parlor_ +_Parson_ +_Part_, Synonyms of, +Parts of Speech, Wrong, +_Pass, path_ family +_Pastor_ +_Paternal_ +_Patience_, Synonyms of, +_Patter_ +_Pay_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Pay_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Ped_ family +_Pen_ +_Pend, pense_ family +_Penetrate_, Synonyms of, +_Perspiration_ +_Pet_ family +_Petit, petty_ family +_Petr, peter_ family +_Phil(e)_ family +_Phone_ family +_Pin-money_ +_Pity_, Synonyms of, +_Place_, Synonyms of, +_Plain_ +_Plan_, Synonyms of, +_Playful_, Synonyms of, +_Plentiful_, Synonyms of, +_Plic(ate), ply_ family +_Plunder_, Synonyms of, +_Pocket handkerchief_ +_Pod_ family +_Poli_ family +_Polite_ +_Polite_, Synonyms of, +_Pond_ family +_Ponder_ +_Pone, pose_ family +_Poor_ +_Porcine_ +_Pork_ +_Port_ family +_Portent, portentous_ +_Poten(t)_ family +_Poverty_, Synonyms of, +_Precocious_ +_Prehend_ family +_Preposterous_ +_Presbyterian_ +_Presently_ +_Pretty_, Synonyms of, +_Prise_ family +_Prob_ family +_Prod up_ +_Profitable_, Synonyms of, +_Progeny_ +_Prompt_, Synonyms of, +_Proud_, Synonyms of, +_Pull_, Synonyms of, +_Pulse_ family +_Punish_, Synonyms of, +_Push_, Synonyms of, +_Put(e)_ family +_Puzzle_, Synonyms of, + +_Qualm_ +_Quarrel_, Synonyms of, +_Quean_ +_Queer_, Synonyms of, +_Quick_ +Quickly, Dame +_Quiet_ +Quotations from literature, embodying old senses of words + +_Raise_, Synonyms of, +_Rash_, Synonyms of, +Reading Lists +_Rebellion_, Synonyms of, +_Recant_ +_Recover_, Synonyms of, +_Recrudescence_ +_Reflect_, Synonyms of, +_Refuse_ +_Regret_, Synonyms of, +_Relate_, Synonyms of, +_Relinquish_, Synonyms of, +_Renounce_, Synonyms of, +_Replace_, Synonyms of, +_Reprove_, Synonyms of, +_Republican_ +_Repulsive_, Synonyms of, +_Requital_, Synonyms of, +_Residence_ +_Responsible_, Synonyms of, +_Reveal_, Synonyms of, +_Reverence_, Synonyms of, +_Rich_, Synonyms of, +_Ridicule_, Synonyms of, +_Right_ +_Ripe_, Synonyms of, +_Rise_ +_Rise_, Synonyms of, +_Rival_ +_Robber_, Synonyms of, +_Rog, rogate_ family +_Rogue_, Synonyms of, +_Rough_ +_Round_, Synonyms of, +_Routine_ +_Rub_, Synonyms of, +_Ruminate_ +_Run_, Synonyms of, +_Rapt_ family +_Rural_, Synonyms of, + +_Sabotage_ +_Sad_, Synonyms of, +_Sal, sail_ family +_Salary_ +_Sandwich_ +_Sans_ +_Sarcasm_ +_Satiate_, Synonyms of, +_Saws_ +_Say_, Synonyms of, +Scandinavian words in modern English +_Science, scit(e)_ family +_Scoff_, Synonyms of, +Scott, Sir Walter, Quotation from, +_Scribe, script_ family +_Secret_, Synonyms of, +_Sect_ family +_Secu, sequ_ family +_Sed_ family +_See_, Synonyms of, +_Seep_, Synonyms of, +_Sell_ +_Sell_, Synonyms of, +_Sens(e), sent_ family +_Serious_ +"Seven Ages of Man, The" (Shakespeare); Comments and assignments on, +_Severe_ +Shakespeare, William. See _The Seven Ages of Man_ +_Shamefaced_ +_Shape_, Synonyms of, +_Share_, Synonyms of, +_Sharp_ +_Sharp_, Synonyms of, +_Shear_ family +_Shine_, Synonyms of, +_Shore_ family +_Shore_, Synonyms of, +_Shorten_ +_Shorten_, Synonyms of, +_Show_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Show_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Shrink_, Synonyms of, +_Shun_, Synonyms of, +_Shy_, Synonyms of, +_Side_ +_Sid(e)_ family +_Sidetrack_ +_Sign_ family +_Sign_, Synonyms of, +_Silent_, Synonyms of, +_Silly_ +_Simple_, Synonyms of, +_Sing_, Synonyms of, +_Sing another tune_ +_Sinister_ +_Sist_ family +_Skilful_, Synonyms of, +_Skin_, Synonyms of, +_Slander_, Synonyms of, +Slang +_Sleep_, Synonyms of, +_Sleepy_, Synonyms of, +Slovenliness +_Slovenly_, Synonyms of, +_Sly_, Synonyms of, +_Smell_, Synonyms of, +_Smile_, Synonyms of, +_Smoke in one's pipe_ +_Solitary_, Synonyms of, +_Solve, solu_ family +_Song_, Synonyms of, +_Soon_ +Sources for modern English, Variety of, +_Sour_, Synonyms of, +_Sow_ +_Speak_, Synonyms of, +_Spect, spic(e)_ family +"Spectator Papers, The" (Addison) +_Speech_, Synonyms of, +_Spend_, Synonyms of, +_Spire, spirit_ family +_Spirit_ +_Spond, spons(e)_ family +_Spot_, Synonyms of, +_Spruce_, Synonyms of, +_Sta, sti_ family +_Stale_, Synonyms of, +_Stay_, Synonyms of, +_Stead_ family +_Steal_, Synonyms of, +_Steep_, Synonyms of, +_Stiff_ +_Stingy_, Synonyms of, +_Stirrup_ +_Storm_, Synonyms of, +_Straight_, Synonyms of, +_Strain, string, strict_ family +_Strange_, Synonyms of, +_Strike_, Synonyms of, +_Strong_ +_Strong_, Synonyms of, +_Struct, stru(e)_ family +_Stubborn_, Synonyms of, +_Stupid_, Synonyms of, +_Suave_, Synonyms of, +_Subjective_ +_Succeed_, Synonyms of, +_Succession_, Synonyms of, +_Sue_ family +_Sullen_, Synonyms of, +_Sult_ family; Superfluous details, +_Supernatural_, Synonyms of, +_Suppose_, Synonyms of, +_Surprise_, Synonyms of, +_Swearing_, Synonyms of, +_Sweat_ +_Swine_ +Synonyms, Necessity for; Similar not identical in meaning; + List of books of; How to acquire; Analysis of your use of; + Progress from the general to the specific; + Pertinent rather than comprehensive; Lists of, or assignments in, + (also see _Pairs_) + +_Tact_ family +_Tail_ family +_Tain_ family +_Take down a notch_ +_Take hold of_ +_Take the hide off_ +_Take umbrage_ +_Talk_ (noun) +_Talk_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Talkative_, Synonyms of; Tameness, +_Tang_ family +_Teach_, Synonyms of, +_Tear_, Synonyms of, +Telegrams and night letters +_Ten, tent_ family +_Tend, tens, tent, ten_ family +_Tender_ +Tennyson, Alfred, Quotation from, +_Tension_ +_Term, termin_ family +_Ter(re), terra_ family +_Thank your lucky stars_ +_Thesis, theme_ family +Thing(s) +_Thoughtful_, Synonyms of, +_Throw_, Synonyms of, +_Throw in the shade_ +_Throw out a remark_ +_Tin_ family +_Tire_, Synonyms of, +_Tool_, Synonyms of, +_Tone_ +Tone, Unity of. See _Discords, Verbal_ +_Tort_ family +_Track_ +_Tract, tra(i)_ family +Translation +_Trifle_, Synonyms of, +Triteness +_Trivial_ +_Trust_, Synonyms of, +_Truth_ +_Try_, Synonyms of, +_Tum_ family +_Turb_ family +_Turn_, Synonyms of, + +_Ugly_, Synonyms of, +_Umpire_ +_Understood_ +_Unsophisticated_ +_Unwilling_, Synonyms of, + +_Vade, vasion_ family +_Vail, vol(e)_ family +_Vain_ +_Vapid_ +_Veal, veau_ +_Vend_ +_Vene, vent_ family +_Veracity_ +_Vers(e), vert_ family +_Vid_ family +_Villain_ +_Vince, vict_ family +_Vinegar_ +_Violin_ +_Vir_ family +_Virile_ +_Virtue_ +_Vis_ family +_Viv(e)_ family +_Voc, voke_ family +Vocabulary, Ready, wide, or accurate; Speaking or writing; + Analysis of your own +_Volve, volute_ family +_Voluntary_ +_Voracious_ +Vulgar + +_Walk_. Synonyms of, +_Watchful_, Synonyms of, +Wave (noun), Synonyms of, +Wave (verb), Synonyms of, +_Weak_ +_Weak_, Synonyms of, +_Weariness_, Synonyms of, +_Wearisome_, Synonyms of, +_Classes of words, Abstract vs. +_Wench_ +_Wet_ (adjective), Synonyms of, +_Wet_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Wheedle_ +Whim,_ Synonyms of, +Whip, Synonyms of, +Whole_ family +_Wicked_, Synonyms of, +_Wild_ +_Willing_ +_Wind_, Synonyms of, +_Wind_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Winding_, Synonyms of, +_Wis, wit_ family +Wisdom +_Wise_, Synonyms of, +_Wizard_ +_Wonderful_, Synonyms of, +Wordiness +Words, as realities; as instruments; to be learned in various ways; + like people; in combination; Individual; to learn first; The past of; + Buried meanings of; Poetry of; Dignified and unassuming; + Literal, concrete, and specifc; General; Exaggerative; Debased; + as celibates; related in blood or by marriage; + examined for relationships; related in meaning; often confused; + Native and classic; Many-sided; Supplementary list of. + Also see _concrete terms, Literal vs. figurative terms, + General vs. specific terms, Slang, Vocabulary, Synonyms, Fossils, + Loose use of words +_Work_, synonyms of, +_Workman_, Synonyms of, +_Worm in_ +_Write_, Synonyms of, +Writing as an aid to memory +_Wrong_ + +_Yearn_, Synonyms of, +Young, Synonyms of, + + +THE END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Century Vocabulary Builder +by Creever & Bachelor + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10073 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..649adba --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10073 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10073) diff --git a/old/10073-8.txt b/old/10073-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6f099ed --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10073-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12783 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Century Vocabulary Builder, by Creever & Bachelor + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Century Vocabulary Builder + +Author: Creever & Bachelor + +Release Date: November 13, 2003 [EBook #10073] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY VOCABULARY BUILDER *** + + + + +Produced by Stan Goodman, Charles M. Bidwell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +Note: Italics indicated by _ + Bold print by <...> + + THE CENTURY HANDBOOK SERIES + +THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING. +By Garland Greever and Easley S. Jones. + +THE CENTURY VOCABULARY BUILDER. +By Garland Greever and Joseph M. Bachelor. + +THE CENTURY DESK BOOK OF GOOD ENGLISH. +By Garland Greever and Joseph M. Bachelor. + +A BUSINESS MAN'S DESK BOOK. +By Garland Greever and Joseph M. Bachelor. + +THE FACTS AND BACKGROUNDS OF LITERATURE, English and American. +By George F. Reynolds, University of Colorado, and Garland Greever. + +PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. +By General Henry M. Robert. + +_Other Volumes To Be Arranged_ + + + + + + THE CENTURY VOCABULARY BUILDER. + + By GARLAND GREEVER + + and + + JOSEPH M. BACHELOR + + + + +TO + +DANA H. FERRIN + +WHOM THIS BOOK OWES MORE +THAN A MERE DEDICATION CAN ACKNOWLEDGE + + + + +PREFACE + +You should know at the outset what this book does _not_ attempt to +do. It does not, save to the extent that its own special purpose requires, +concern itself with the many and intricate problems of grammar, rhetoric, +spelling, punctuation, and the like; or clarify the thousands of +individual difficulties regarding correct usage. All these matters are +important. Concise treatment of them may be found in THE CENTURY HANDBOOK +OF WRITING and THE CENTURY DESK BOOK OF GOOD ENGLISH, both of which +manuals are issued by the present publishers. But this volume confines +itself to the one task of placing at your disposal the means of adding to +your stock of words, of increasing your vocabulary. + +It does not assume that you are a scholar, or try to make you one. To be +sure, it recognizes the ends of scholarship as worthy. It levies at every +turn upon the facts which scholarship has accumulated. But it demands of +you no technical equipment, nor leads you into any of those bypaths of +knowledge, alluring indeed, of which the benefits are not immediate. For +example, in Chapter V it forms into groups words etymologically akin to +each other. It does this for an end entirely practical--namely, that the +words you know may help you to understand the words you do not know. Did +it go farther--did it account for minor differences in these words by +showing that they sprang from related rather than identical originals, did +it explain how and how variously their forms have been modified in the +long process of their descent--it would pass beyond its strict utilitarian +bounds. This it refrains from doing. And thus everything it contains it +rigorously subjects to the test of serviceability. It helps you to bring +more and more words into workaday harness--to gain such mastery over them +that you can speak and write them with fluency, flexibility, precision, +and power. It enables you, in your use of words, to attain the readiness +and efficiency expected of a capable and cultivated man. + +There are many ways of building a vocabulary, as there are many ways of +attaining and preserving health. Fanatics may insist that one should be +cultivated to the exclusion of the others, just as health-cranks may +declare that diet should be watched in complete disregard of recreation, +sanitation, exercise, the need for medicines, and one's mental attitude to +life. But the sum of human experience, rather than fanaticism, must +determine our procedure. Moreover experience has shown that the various +successful methods of bringing words under man's sway are not mutually +antagonistic but may be practiced simultaneously, just as health is +promoted, not by attending to diet one year, to exercise the next, and to +mental attitude the third, but by bestowing wise and fairly constant +attention on all. Yet it would be absurd to state that all methods of +increasing one's vocabulary, or of attaining vigor of physique, are +equally valuable. This volume offers everything that helps, and it yields +space in proportion to helpfulness. + +Aside from a brief introductory chapter, a chapter (number X) given over +to a list of words, and a brief concluding chapter, the subject matter of +the volume falls into three main divisions. Chapters II and III are based +on the fact that we must all use words in combination--must fling the +words out by the handfuls, even as the accomplished pianist must strike +his notes. Chapters IV and V are based on the fact that we must become +thoroughly acquainted with individual words--that no one who scorns to +study the separate elements of speech can command powerful and +discriminating utterance. Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and IX are based on the +fact that we need synonyms as our constant lackeys--that we should be able +to summon, not a word that will do, but a word that will express the idea +with precision. Exercises scattered throughout the book, together with +five of the six appendices, provide well-nigh inexhaustible materials for +practice. + +For be it understood, once for all, that this volume is not a machine +which you can set going and then sit idly beside, the while your +vocabulary broadens. Mastery over words, like worthy mastery of any kind +whatsoever, involves effort for yourself. You can of course contemplate +the nature and activities of the mechanism, and learn something thereby; +but also you must work--work hard, work intelligently. As you cannot +acquire health by watching a gymnast take exercise or a doctor swallow +medicine or a dietician select food, so you cannot become an overlord of +words without first fighting battles to subjugate them. Hence this volume +is for you less a labor-saving machine than a collection and arrangement +of materials which you must put together by hand. It assembles everything +you need. It tags everything plainly. It tells you just what you must do. +In these ways it makes your task far easier. _But the task is yours_. +Industry, persistence, a fair amount of common sense--these three you must +have. Without them you will accomplish nothing. + +Even with them--let the forewarning be candid--you will not accomplish +everything. You cannot learn all there is to be learned about words, any +more than about human nature. And what you do achieve will be, not a +sudden attainment, but a growth. This is not the dark side of the picture. +It is an honest avowal that the picture is not composed altogether of +light. But as the result of your efforts an adequate vocabulary will some +day be yours. Nor will you have to wait long for an earnest of ultimate +success. Just as system will speedily transform a haphazard business into +one which seizes opportunities and stops the leakage of profits, so will +sincere and well-directed effort bring you promptly and surely into an +ever-growing mastery of words. + + + + CONTENTS + + +CHAPTERS + +I. REASONS FOR INCREASING YOUR VOCABULARY. + + +II. WORDS IN COMBINATION: SOME PITFALLS. +Tameness +Exercise +Sovenliness +Exercises +Wordiness +Exercises +Verbal Discords +Exercise + 1. Abstract vs. Concrete Terms; General vs. Specific Terms + Exercise + 2. Literal vs. Figurative Terms + Exercise + 3. Connotation + Exercise + + +III. WORDS IN COMBINATION: HOW MASTERED +Preliminaries: General Purposes and Methods +1. A Ready, an Accurate, or a Wide Vocabulary? +2. A Vocabulary for Speech or for Writing? +The Mastery of Words in Combination + 1. Mastery through Translation + Exercise + 2. Mastery through Paraphrasing + Exercise + 3. Mastery through Discourse at First Hand + Exercise + 4. Mastery through Adapting Discourse to Audience + Exercise + + +IV. INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS VERBAL CELIBATES +What Words to Learn First +The Analysis of Your Own Vocabulary +Exercise +The Definition of Words +Exercise +How to Look up a Word in the Dictionary +Exercise +Prying into a Word's Past +Exercise + + +V. INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS MEMBERS OF VERBAL FAMILIES +Words Related in Blood +Exercise +Words Related by Marriage +Exercise +Prying into a Word's Relationships +Exercise +Two Admonitions +General Exercise for the Chapter (with Lists of +Words Containing the Same Key-Syllables) +Second General Exercise (with Additional Lists) +Third General Exercise +Fourth General Exercise +Latin Ancestors of English Words +Latin Prefixes +Greek Ancestors of English Words +Greek Prefixes + + +VI. WORDS IN PAIRS. +Opposites +Exercise +Words Often Confused +Exercise +Parallels (with Lists) +Exercise + + +VII. SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (1) +How to Acquire Synonyms +Exercise (with Lists) + + +VIII. SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (2) +Exercise (with Lists) + + +IX. MANY-SIDED WORDS +Exercise +Literal vs. Figurative Applications +Exercise +Imperfectly Understood Facts and Ideas +Exercise + + +X. SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF WORDS +Exercise + + +XI. RETROSPECT + + +APPENDICES + +1. The Drift of Our Rural Population Cityward (an Editorial) +2. Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty (by Edmund Burke) +3. Parable of the Sower (Gospel of St. Matthew) +4. The Seven Ages of Man (by William Shakespeare) +5. The Castaway (by Daniel Defoe) +6. Reading Lists + +INDEX + + + + +CENTURY VOCABULARY BUILDER + + +I + + REASONS FOR INCREASING YOUR VOCABULARY + + +Sometimes a dexterous use of words appears to us to be only a kind of +parlor trick. And sometimes it _is_ just that. The command of a wide +vocabulary is in truth an accomplishment, and like any other +accomplishment it may be used for show. But not necessarily. Just as a man +may have money without "flashing" it, or an extensive wardrobe without +sporting gaudy neckties or wearing a dress suit in the morning, so may he +possess linguistic resources without making a caddish exhibition of them. +Indeed the more distant he stands from verbal bankruptcy, the less likely +he is to indulge in needless display. + +Again, glibness of speech sometimes awakens our distrust. We like actions +rather than words; we prefer that character, personality, and kindly +feelings should be their own mouthpiece. So be it. But there are thoughts +and emotions properly to be shared with other people, yet incapable of +being revealed except through language. It is only when language is +insincere--when it expresses lofty sentiments or generous sympathies, yet +springs from designing selfishness--that it justly arouses misgivings. +Power over words, like power of any other sort, is for use, not abuse. +That it sometimes is abused must not mislead us into thinking that it +should in itself be scorned or neglected. + +Our contempt and distrust do not mean that our fundamental ideas about +language are unsound. Beneath our wholesome dislike for shallow facility +and insincerity of speech, we have a conviction that the mastery of words +is a good thing, not a bad. We are therefore unwilling to take the vow of +linguistic poverty. If we lack the ability to bend words to our use, it is +from laziness, not from scruple. We desire to speak competently, but +without affectation. We know that if our diction rises to this dual +standard, it silently distinguishes us from the sluggard, the weakling, +and the upstart. For such diction is not to be had on sudden notice, like +a tailor-made suit. Nor can it, like such a suit, deceive anybody as to +our true status. A man's utterance reveals what he is. It is the measure +of his inward attainment. The assertion has been made that for a man to +express himself freely and well in his native language is the surest proof +of his culture. Meditate the saying. Can you think of a proof that is +surer? + +But a man's speech does more than lend him distinction. It does more than +reveal to others what manner of man he is. It is an instrument as well as +an index. It is an agent--oftentimes indeed it is _the_ agent--of his +influence upon others. How silly are those persons who oppose words to +things, as if words were not things at all but air-born unrealities! Words +are among the most powerful realities in the world. You vote the +Republican ticket. Why? Because you have studied the issues of the +campaign and reached a well-reasoned conclusion how the general interests +may be served? Possibly. But nine times in ten it will be because of that +_word_ Republican. You may believe that in a given instance the +Republican cause or candidate is inferior; you may have nothing personally +to lose through Republican defeat; yet you squirm and twist and seek +excuses for casting a Republican ballot. Such is the power--aye, sometimes +the tyranny--of a word. The word _Republican_ has not been selected +invidiously. _Democrat_ would have served as well. Or take religious +words--_Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist, +Lutheran,_ or what not. A man who belongs, in person or by proxy, to +one of the sects designated may be more indifferent to the institution +itself than to the word that represents it. Thus you may attack in his +presence the tenets of Presbyterianism, for example, but you must be wary +about calling the Presbyterian name. _Mother, the flag_--what sooner +than an insult coupled with these terms will rouse a man to fight? But +does that man kiss his mother, or salute the flag, or pay much heed to +either? Probably not. Words not realities? With what realities must we +more carefully reckon? Words are as dangerous as dynamite, as beneficent +as brotherhood. An unfortunate word may mean a plea rejected, an +enterprise baffled, half the world plunged into war. A fortunate word may +open a triple-barred door, avert a disaster, bring thousands of people +from jealousy and hatred into coöperation and goodwill. + +Nor is it solely on their emotional side that men may be affected by +words. Their thinking and their esthetic nature also--their hard sense and +their personal likes and dislikes--are subject to the same influence. You +interview a potential investor; does he accept your proposition or not? A +prospective customer walks into your store; does he buy the goods you show +him? You enter the drawing room of one of the elite; are you invited again +and again? Your words will largely decide--your words, or your verbal +abstinence. For be it remembered that words no more than dollars are to be +scattered broadcast for the sole reason that you have them. The right word +should be used at the right time--and at that time only. Silence is +oftentimes golden. Nevertheless there are occasions for us to speak. +Frequent occasions. To be inarticulate _then_ may mean only +embarrassment. It may--some day it will--mean suffering and failure. That +we may make the most of the important occasions sure to come, we must have +our instruments ready. Those instruments are words. He who commands words +commands events--commands men. + + + +II + + WORDS IN COMBINATION: SOME PITFALLS + + +You wish, then, to increase your vocabulary. Of course you must become +observant of words and inquisitive about them. For words are like people: +they have their own particular characteristics, they do their work well or +ill, they are in good odor or bad, and they yield best service to him who +loves them and tries to understand them. Your curiosity about them must be +burning and insatiable. You must study them when they have withdrawn from +the throng of their fellows into the quiescence of their natural selves. +You must also see them and study them in action, not only as they are +employed in good books and by careful speakers, but likewise as they fall +from the lips of unconventional speakers who through them secure vivid and +telling effects. In brief, you must learn word nature, as you learn human +nature, from a variety of sources. + +Now in ordinary speech most of us use words, not as individual things, but +as parts of a whole--as cogs in the machine of utterance by which we +convey our thoughts and feelings. We do not think of them separately at +all. And this instinct is sound. In our expression we are like large-scale +manufacturing plants rather than one-man establishments. We have at our +disposal, not one worker, but a multitude. Hence we are concerned with our +employees collectively and with the total production of which they are +capable. To be sure, our understanding of them as individuals will +increase the worth and magnitude of our output. But clearly we must have +large dealings with them in the aggregate. + +This chapter and the following, therefore, are given over to the study of +words in combination. As in all matters, there is a negative as well as a +positive side to be reckoned with. Let us consider the negative side +first. + + +<Tameness> + +Correct diction is too often insipid. There is nothing wrong with it, but +it does not interest us--it lacks character, lacks color, lacks power. It +too closely resembles what we conceive of the angels as having-- +impeccability without the warmth of camaraderie. Speech, like a man, +should be alive. It need not, of course, be boisterous. It may be intense +in a quiet, modest way. But if it too sedulously observes all the _Thou +shalt not's_ of the rhetoricians, it will refine the vitality out of +itself and leave its hearers unmoved. + +That is why you should become a disciple of the pithy, everyday +conversationalist and of the rough-and-ready master of harangue as well as +of the practitioner of precise and scrupulous discourse. Many a speaker or +writer has thwarted himself by trying to be "literary." Even Burns when he +wrote classic English was somewhat conscious of himself and made, in most +instances, no extraordinary impression. But the pieces he impetuously +dashed off in his native Scotch dialect can never be forgotten. The man +who begins by writing naturally, but as his importance in the publishing +world grows, pays more and more attention to felicities--to "style"--and +so spoils himself, is known to the editor of every magazine. Any editorial +office force can insert missing commas and semicolons, and iron out +blunders in the English; but it has not the time, if indeed the ability, +to instil life into a lifeless manuscript. A living style is rarer than an +inoffensive one, and the road of literary ambition is strewn with failures +due to "correctness." + +Cultivate readiness, even daring, of utterance. A single turn of +expression may be so audacious that it plucks an idea from its shroud or +places within us an emotion still quivering and warm. Sustained discourse +may unflaggingly clarify or animate. But such triumphs are beyond the +reach of those, whether speakers or writers, who are constantly pausing to +grope for words. This does not mean that scrutiny of individual words is +wasted effort. Such scrutiny becomes the basis indeed of the more +venturesome and inspired achievement. We must serve our apprenticeship to +language. We must know words as a general knows the men under him--all +their ranks, their capabilities, their shortcomings, the details and +routine of their daily existence. But the end for which we gain our +understanding must be to hurl these words upon the enemy, not as +disconnected units, but as battalions, as brigades, as corps, as armies. +Dr. Johnson, one of the most effective talkers in all history, resolved +early in life that, always, and whatever topic might be broached, he +would on the moment express his thoughts and feelings with as much vigor +and felicity as if he had unlimited leisure to draw on. And Patrick Henry, +one of the few really irresistible orators, was wont to plunge headlong +into a sentence and trust to God Almighty to get him out. + + +EXERCISE - Tameness + +1. Study Appendix I (The Drift of Our Rural Population Cityward). +Do you regard it as written simply, with force and natural feeling? Or +does it show lack of spontaneity?--suffer from an unnatural and self- +conscious manner of writing? Is the style one you would like to cultivate +for your own use? + +2. Express, if you can, in more vigorous language of your own, the thought +of the editorial. + +3. Think of some one you have known who has the gift of racy colloquial +utterance. Make a list of offhand, homely, or picturesque expressions you +have heard him employ, and ask yourself what it is in these expressions +that has made them linger in your memory. With them in mind, and with your +knowledge of the man's methods of imparting his ideas vividly, try to make +your version of the editorial more forceful still. + +4. Study Appendix 2 (Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty) as an +example of stately and elaborate, yet energetic, discourse. The speech +from which this extract is taken was delivered in Parliament in a vain +effort to stay England from driving her colonies to revolt. Some of +Burke's turns of phrase are extremely bold and original, as "The religion +most prevalent in our northern colonies is a refinement on the principle +of resistance; it is the dissidence of dissent and the Protestantism of +the Protestant religion." Moreover, with all his fulness of diction, Burke +could cleave to the heart of an idea in a few words, as "Freedom is to +them [the southern slave-holders] not only an enjoyment, but a kind of +rank and privilege." Find other examples of bold or concise and +illuminating utterance. + +5. Read Appendix 3 (Parable of the Sower). It has no special audacities of +phrase, but escapes tameness in various ways--largely through its simple +earnestness. + +6. Make a list of the descriptive phrases in Appendix 4 (The Seven Ages of +Man) through which Shakespeare gives life and distinctness to his +pictures. + +7. Study Appendix 5 (The Castaway) as a piece of homely, effective +narrative. (Defoe wrote for the man in the street. He was a literary +jack-of-all-trades whom dignified authors of his day would not +countenance, but who possessed genius.) It relies upon directness and +plausibility of substance and style rather than temerity of phrase. Yet it +never sags into tameness. Notice how everyday expressions ("My business +was to hold my breath," "I took to my heels") add subtly to our belief +that what Defoe is telling us is true. Notice also that such expressions +("the least capful of wind," "half dead with the water I took in," "ready +to burst with holding my breath") without being pretentious may yet be +forceful. Notice finally the naturalness and lift of the sinewy idioms ("I +fetched another run," "I had no clothes to shift me," "I had like to have +suffered a second shipwreck," "It wanted but a little that all my cargo +had slipped off"). + +8. Once or twice at least, make a mental note of halting or listless +expressions in a sermon, a public address, or a conversation. Find more +emphatic wording for the ideas thus marred. + +9. To train yourself in readiness and daring of utterance, practice +impromptu discussion of any of the topics in Activity 1 for EXERCISE - +Discourse. + + +<Slovenliness> + +Though we are to recognize the advantage of working in the undress of +speech rather than in stiffly-laundered literary linens, though we are not +to despise the accessions of strength and of charm which we may obtain +from the homely and familiar, we must never be careless. The man whose +speech is slovenly is like the man who chews gum--unblushingly +commonplace. + +We must struggle to maintain our individuality. We must not be a mere copy +of everybody else. We must put into our words the cordiality we put into +our daily demeanor. If we greeted friend or stranger carelessly, +conventionally, we should soon be regarded as persons of no force or +distinction. So of our speech and our writing. Nothing, to be sure, is +more difficult than to give them freshness without robbing them of +naturalness and ease. Yet that is what we must learn to do. We shall not +acquire the power in a day. We shall acquire it as a chess or a baseball +player acquires his skill--by long effort, hard practice. + +One thing to avoid is the use of words in loose, or fast-and-loose, +senses. Do not say that owning a watch is a fine proposition if you mean +that it is advantageous. Do not say that you trembled on the brink of +disaster if you were threatened with no more than inconvenience or +comparatively slight injury. Do not say you were literally scared to death +if you are yet alive to tell the story. + + +EXERCISE - Slovenliness I + +Give moderate or accurate utterance to the following ideas: + +The burning of the hen-coop was a mighty conflagration. +The fact that the point of the pencil was broken profoundly surprised me. +We had a perfectly gorgeous time. +It's a beastly shame that I missed my car. +It is awfully funny that he should die. +The saleslady pulled the washlady's hair. +A cold bath is pretty nice of mornings. +To go a little late is just the article. + +Another thing to avoid is the use of words in the wrong parts of speech, +as a noun for a verb, or an adjective for an adverb. Sometimes newspapers +are guilty of such faults; for journalistic English, though pithy, shows +here and there traces of its rapid composition. You must look to more +leisurely authorities. The speakers and writers on whom you may rely will +not say "to burglarize," "to suspicion," "to enthuse," "plenty rich," +"real tired," "considerable discouraged," "a combine," or "humans." An +exhaustive list of such errors cannot be inserted here. If you feel +yourself uncertain in these details of usage, you should have access to +such a volume as _The Century Desk Book of Good English_. + + +EXERCISE - Slovenliness II + +1. For each quoted expression in the preceding paragraph compose a +sentence which shall contain the correct form, or the grammatical +equivalent, of the expression. + +2. Correct the following sentences: + +The tramp suicided. +She was real excited. +He gestured angry. +He was some anxious to get to the eats. +All of us had an invite. +Them boys have sure been teasing the canine. + +Another thing to avoid is triteness. The English language teems with +phrases once strikingly original but now smooth-worn and vulgarized by +incessant repetition. It can scarcely be said that you are to shun these +altogether. Now and then you will find one of them coming happily as well +as handily into your speech. But you must not use them too often. Above +all, you must rid yourself of any dependence upon them. The scope of this +book permits only a few illustrations of the kinds of words and phrases +meant. But the person who speaks of "lurid flames," or "untiring efforts," +or "specimens of humanity"--who "views with alarm," or has a "native +heath," or is "to the manner born"--does more than advertise the +scantness of his verbal resources. He brands himself mentally indolent; he +deprives his thought itself of all sharpness, exactness, and power. + + +EXERCISE - Slovenliness III + +Replace with more original expressions the trite phrases (italicized) +in the following sentences: + +_Last but not least_, we have _in our midst_ one who began life +_poor but honest_. + +After we had _done justice to a dinner_ and gathered in the drawing +room, we listened _with bated breath_ while she _favored us with a +selection_. + +_A goodly number_ of _the fair sex_, perceiving that _the +psychological moment_ had come, _applauded him to the echo_. + +We were _doomed to disappointment; the grim reaper_ had already +gathered unto himself _all that was mortal_ of our comrade. + +_No sooner said than done_. I soon found myself _the proud +possessor_ of that for which I had acknowledged _a long-felt +want_. + +After _the last sad rites_ were over and her body was _consigned to +earth_, we began talking _along these lines_. + +With _a few well-chosen words_ he _brought order out of chaos_. + +The way my efforts were _nipped in the bud_ simply _beggars +description_. I am somewhat _the worse for wear. Hoping you are the +same_, I remain Yours sincerely, Ned Burke. + +Finally, to the extent that you use slang at all, be its master instead of +its slave. You have many times been told that the overuse of slang +disfigures one's speech and hampers his standing with cultivated people. +You have also been told that slang constantly changes, so that one's +accumulations of it today will be a profitless clutter tomorrow. These +things are true, but an even more cogent objection remains. Slang is +detrimental to the formation of good intellectual habits. From its very +nature it cannot be precise, cannot discriminate closely. It is a vehicle +for loose-thinking people, it is fraught with unconsidered general +meanings, it moves in a region of mental mists. It could not flourish as +it does were fewer of us content to express vague thoughts and feelings +instead of those which are sharply and specifically ours. Unless, +therefore, you wish your intellectual processes to be as hazy and +haphazard as those of mental shirkers and loafers, you must eschew, not +necessarily all slang, but all heedless, all habitual use of it. Now and +then a touch of slang, judiciously chosen, is effective; now and then it +fulfils a legitimate purpose of language. But normally you should express +yourself as befits one who has at his disposal the rich treasuries of the +dictionary instead of a mere stock of greasy counterfeit phrases. + +EXERCISE - Slovenliness IV + +Replace the following slang with acceptable English: + +We pulled a new wrinkle. +He's an easy mark. +Oh, you're nutty. +Beat it. +I have all the inside dope. +You can't bamboozle me. +What a phiz the bloke has! +You're talking through your hat. +We had a long confab with the gink. +He's loony over that chicken. +The prof. told us to vamoose. +Take a squint at the girl with the specs. +Ain't it fierce the way they swipe umbrellas? +Goodnight, how she claws the ivory! +Nix on the rough stuff. +And there I got pinched by a cop for parking my Tin Lizzie. + + +<Wordiness> + +As a precaution against tameness you should cultivate spontaneity and +daring. As a precaution against slovenliness you should cultivate +freshness and accuracy. But to display spontaneity, daring, freshness, +accuracy you must have or acquire a large stock, a wide range, of words. +Now this possession, like any other, brings with it temptation. If we have +words, we like to use them. Nor do we wait for an indulgence in this +luxury until we have consciously set to work to amass a vocabulary. + +Verbosity is, in truth, the besetting linguistic sin. Most people are +lavish with words, as most people are lavish with money. This is not to +say that in the currency of language they are rich. But even if they lack +the means--and the desire--to be extravagant, they yet make their +purchases heedlessly or fail to count their linguistic change. The degree +of our thrift, not the amount of our income or resources, is what marks us +as being or not being verbal spendthrifts. The frugal manager buys his +ideas at exactly the purchase price. He does not expend a twenty-dollar +bill for a box of matches. + +Have words by all means, the more of them the better, but use them +temperately, sparingly. Do not think that a passage to be admirable must +be studded with ostentatious terms. Consider the Gettysburg Address or the +Parable of the Prodigal Son. These convey their thought and feeling +perfectly, yet both are simple--exquisitely simple. They strike us indeed +as being inevitable--as if their phrasing could not have been other than +it is. They have, they are, finality. What could glittering phraseology +add to them? Nothing; it could only mar them. Yet Lincoln and the +Scriptural writers were not afraid to use big words when occasion +required. What they sought was to make their speech adequate without +carrying a superfluous syllable. + +"The sun set" is more natural and effective than "The celestial orb that +blesses our terrestrial globe with its warm and luminous rays sank to its +nocturnal repose behind the western horizon." Great writers--the true +masters--have often held "fine writing" and pretentious speaking up to +ridicule. Thus Shakespeare has Kent, who has been rebuked for his +bluntness, indulge in a grandiloquent outburst: + + "Sir, in good sooth, in sincere verity, + Under the allowance of your grand aspect, + Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire + On flickering Phoebus' front,--" + +No wonder Kent is interrupted with a "What meanest by this?" Sometimes +great writers use ornate utterance for humorous effects. Thus Dickens +again and again has Mr. Micawber express a commonplace idea in sounding +terms which at length fail him, so that he must interject an "in short" +and summarize his meaning in a phrase amusing through its homely contrast. +But humor based on ponderous diction is too often wearisome. Better say +simply "He died," or colloquially "He kicked the bucket," than "He +propelled his pedal extremities with violence against the wooden pail +which is customarily employed in the transportation of the aquatic fluid." + + +EXERCISE - Wordiness I + +Express these ideas in simpler language: + +The temperature was excessive. +The most youthful of his offspring was not remarkable for personal +pulchritude. +Henry Clay expressed a preference for being on the right side of public +questions to occupying the position of President of the United States of +America. +He who passes at an accelerated pace may nevertheless be capable of +perusing. +A masculine member of the human race was mounted on an equine quadruped. + +But the number of the terms we employ, as well as their ostentatiousness, +must be considered. Most of us blunder around in the neighborhood of our +meaning instead of expressing it briefly and clearly. We throw a handful +of words at an idea when one word would suffice; we try to bring the idea +down with a shotgun instead of a rifle. Of course one means of correction +is that we should acquire accuracy, a quality already discussed. Another +is that we should practice condensation. + +First, let us learn to omit the words which add nothing to the meaning. +Thus in the sentence "An important essential in cashing a check is that +you should indorse it on the back," several words or groups of words +needlessly repeat ideas which are expressed elsewhere. The sentence is as +complete in substance, and far terser in form, when it reads "An essential +in cashing a check is that you should indorse it." + +Next, let us, when we may, reduce phrases and even clauses to a word. Thus +the clause at the beginning and the phrase at the close of the following +sentence constitute sheer verbiage: "Men who have let their temper get the +better of them are often in a mood to do harm to somebody." The sentence +tells us nothing that may not be told in five words: "Angry men are often +dangerous." + +Finally, let us substitute phrases or clauses for unnecessary sentences. +The following series of independent assertions contains avoidable +repetitions: "One morning I was riding on the subway to my work. It was +always my custom to ride to my work on the subway. This morning I met +Harry Blake." The full thought may better be embodied in a single +sentence: "One morning, while I was, as usual, riding on the subway to my +work, I met Harry Blake." + +By applying these instructions to any page at hand--one from your own +writing, one from a letter some friend has sent you, one from a book or +magazine--you will often be able to strike out many of the words without +at all impairing the meaning. Another means of acquiring succinct +expression is to practice the composition of telegrams and cable messages. +You will of course lessen the cost by eliminating every word that can +possibly be spared. On the other hand, you must bear it in mind that your +punctuation will not be transmitted, and that the recipient must be +absolutely safeguarded against reading together words meant to be +separated or separating words meant to be read together. That is, your +message must be both concise and unmistakably clear. + + +EXERCISE - Wordiness II + +1. Condense the editorial (Appendix 1) by eliminating unnecessary words +and finding briefer equivalents for roundabout expressions. + +2. Try to condense similarly the Parable of the Sower (Appendix 3) and the +Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). (The task will largely or altogether +baffle you, but will involve minute study of tersely written passages.) + +3. Condense the following: + +A man whose success in life was due solely to his own efforts rose in his +place and addressed the man who presided over the meeting. + +A girl who sat in the seat behind me giggled in an irritating manner. + +We heard the wild shriek of the locomotive. Any sound in that savage +region seemed more terrible than it would in civilized surroundings. So as +we listened to the shriek of the locomotive, it sounded terrible too. + +I heard what kind of chauffeur he was. A former employer of his told me. +He was a chauffeur who speeded in reckless fashion because he was fond of +having all the excitement possible. + +4. Condense the following into telegrams of ten words or less: + +Arrived here in Toledo yesterday morning talked with the directors found +them not hostile to us but friendly. + +Detectives report they think evidence now points to innocence of man +arrested and to former employee as the burglar. + +5. The following telegrams are ambiguous. Clarify them. + +Jane escaped illness I feared Charley better. + +Buy oil if market falls sell cotton. + +6. Base a telegraphic night letter of not more than fifty words +upon these circumstances: + +(a) You have been sent to buy, if possible and as cheaply as possible, a +majority of the stock in a given company. You find that many of the +stockholders distrust or dislike the president and are willing to sell. +Some of these ask only $50 a share for their holdings; the owners of 100 +shares want as much as $92; the average price asked is $76. By buying out +all the president's enemies, which you can now do beyond question, you +would secure a bare majority of the stock. But $92 a share seems to you +excessive; that is, you think that by working quietly among the +president's friends you can get 100 shares at $77 or thereabouts and thus +save approximately $1500. On the other hand, should your dealings with the +friends of the president give him premature warning, he might stop the +sales by these friends and himself begin buying from his enemies, and thus +make your purchase of a majority of the stock impossible. Is the $1500 you +would save worth the risk you would be obliged to take? You call for +instructions. + +(b) You are telegraphing a metropolitan paper the results of a +Congressional election. Philput, the Republican candidate, leads in the +cities, from which returns are now complete. Wilkins, the Democratic +candidate, leads in the country, from only certain districts of which-- +those nearest the cities--returns have been heard. If the present +proportionate division of the rural vote is maintained for the total, +Philput will be elected by a plurality of three hundred votes. Philput +asserts that the proportions will hold. Wilkins points out, however, that +he is relatively stronger in the more remote districts and predicts that +he will have a plurality of seven hundred votes. Smallbridge, an +independent candidate, is apparently making a better race in the country +than in the city, but he is so weak in both places that the ballots cast +for him can scarcely affect the outcome unless the margin of victory is +infinitesimal. + +7. Compress 6a and 6b each into a telegram of not more than ten words. + +8. (Do not read this assignment until you have composed the night letters +and telegrams called for in 6 and 7.) Compare your first night letter in 6 +and your first telegram in 7 with the versions given below. Decide where +you have surpassed these versions, where you have fallen short of them. + +_Night letter_: Two factions in company I can buy from enemies +president bare majority stock at average seventy-six but hundred of these +shares held at ninety-two I could probably get hundred quietly from +friends president about seventy-seven but president might detect move and +buy majority stock himself wire instructions. (Fifty words.) + +_Telegram_: Wire whether buy safe or risk control saving fifteen +hundred. (Ten words.) + +A final device for escaping wordiness you will have discovered for +yourself while composing telegrams and telegraphic night letters. It is to +pass over details not vital to your purpose. Of course you must have due +regard for circumstances; details needed for one purpose may be +superfluous for another. But all of us are familiar with the person who +loses her ideas in a rigmarole of prosaic and irrelevant facts. Such a +person is Shakespeare's scatter-brained Dame Quickly. On one occasion this +voluble woman is shrilly reproaching Sir John Falstaff for his +indebtedness to her. "What is the gross sum that I owe thee?" he inquires. +She might answer simply: "If thou wert an honest man, thyself and the +money too. Thou didst promise to marry me. Deny it if thou canst." +Instead, she plunges into a prolix recital of the circumstances of the +engagement, so that the all-important fact that the engagement exists has +no special emphasis in her welter of words. "If thou wert an honest man," +she cries, "thyself and the money too. Thou didst swear to me upon a +parcel-gilt goblet, sitting in my Dolphin-chamber, at the round table, by +a sea-coal fire, upon Wednesday in Wheeson week, when the prince broke thy +head for liking his father to a singing-man of Windsor, thou didst swear +to me then, as I was washing thy wound, to marry me and make me my lady +thy wife. Canst thou deny it? Did not goodwife Keech, the butcher's wife, +come in then and call me gossip Quickly? coming in to borrow a mess of +vinegar; telling us she had a good dish of prawns; whereby thou didst +desire to eat some, whereby I told thee they were ill for a green wound? +And didst thou not, when she was gone down stairs, desire me to be no more +so familiarity with such poor people; saying that ere long they should +call me madam? And didst thou not kiss me and bid me fetch thee thirty +shillings? I put thee now to thy book-oath; deny it if thou canst." + + +EXERCISE - Wordiness III + +1. Study the following paragraph, decide which ideas are important, +and strike out the details that merely clog the thought: + +As I stepped into the room, I heard the clock ticking and that caused me +to look at it. It sits on the mantelpiece with some layers of paper under +one corner where the mantel is warped. When the papers slip out or we move +the clock a little as we're dusting, the ticking stops right away. Of +course the clock's not a new one at all, but it's an old one. It has been +in the family for many a long year, yes, from even before my father's +time. Let me see, it was bought by my grandfather. No, it couldn't have +been grandfather that bought it; it was his brother. Oh, yes, I remember +now; my mother told me all about it, and I'd forgotten what she said till +this minute. But really my grandfather's brother didn't exactly buy it. He +just traded for it. He gave two pigs and a saddle, that's what my mother +said. You see, he was afraid his hogs might take cholera and so he wanted +to get rid of them; and as for the saddle, he had sold his riding-horse +and he didn't have any more use for that. Well, it isn't a valuable clock, +like a grandfather clock or anything of that sort, though it is antique. +As I was saying, when I glanced at it, it read seven minutes to six. I +remember the time very well, for just then the factory whistle blew and I +remember saying to myself: "It's seven minutes slow today." You see, it's +old and we don't keep it oiled, and so it's always losing time. Hardly a +day passes but I set it up--sometimes twice a day, as for the matter of +that--and I usually go by the factory whistle too, though now and then I +go by Dwight's gold watch. Well, anyhow, that tells me what time it was. +I'm certain I can't be wrong. + +2. Study, on the other hand, The Castaway (Appendix 5) for its judicious +use of details. Defoe in his stories is a supreme master of verisimilitude +(likeness to truth). As we read him, we cannot help believing that these +things actually happened. More than in anything else the secret of his +lifelikeness lies in his constant faithfulness to reality. He puts in the +little mishaps that would have befallen a man so situated, the things he +would have done, the difficulties he might have avoided had he exercised +forethought. Though Defoe had little insight into the complexities of +man's inner life, he has not been surpassed in his accumulations of +naturalistic outer details. These do not cumber his narrative; they +contribute to its purpose and add to its effectiveness. In this selection +(Appendix 5) observe how plausible are such homely details as Crusoe's +seeing no sign of his comrades "except three of their hats, one cap, and +two shoes that were not fellows"; as his difficulty in getting aboard the +ship again; and as his having his clothes washed away by the rising of the +tide. Find half a dozen other such incidents that You consider especially +effective. + + +<Verbal Discords> + +We may pitch our talk or our writing in almost any key we choose. Our +mood may be dreamy or eager or hilarious or grim or blustering or somber +or bantering or scornful or satirical or whatever we will. But once we +have established the tone, we should not--except sometimes for broadly +humorous effects--change it needlessly or without clear forewarning. If we +do, we create one or the other of two obstacles, or both of them, for +whoever is trying to follow what we say. In the first place, we obscure +our meaning. For example, we have been speaking ironically and suddenly +swerve into serious utterance; or we have been speaking seriously and then +incongruously adopt an ironic tone. How are our listeners, our readers to +take us? They are puzzled; they do not know. In the second place, we +offend--perhaps in insidious, indefinable fashion--the esthetic +proprieties; we violate the natural fitness of things. For example, we +have been speaking with colloquial freedom, sprinkling our discourse with +_shouldn't_ and _won't;_ suddenly we become formal and say +_should not_ and _will not_. Our meaning is as obvious as +before, but the verbal harmony has been interrupted; our hearers or +readers are uneasily aware of a break in the unity of tone. + +A speaker or writer is a host to verbal guests. When he invites them to +his assembly, he gives each the tacit assurance that it will not be +brought into fellowship with those which in one or another of a dozen +subtle ways will be uncongenial company for it. He must never be forgetful +of this unspoken promise. If he is to avoid a linguistic breach, he must +constantly have his wits about him; must study out his combinations +carefully, and use all his knowledge, all his tact. He will make due use +of spontaneous impulse; but that this may be wise and disciplined, he will +form the habit of curiosity about words, their stations, their savor, +their aptitudes, their limitations, their outspokenness, their reticences, +their affinities and antipathies. Thus when he has need of a phrase to +fill out a verbal dinner party, he will know which one to select. + +Certain broad classifications of words are manifest even to the most +obtuse user of English. _Shady_, _behead_, and _lying_ are +"popular" words, while their synonyms _umbrageous,_ decapitate,_ +and _mendacious_ are "learned" words. _Flabbergasted_ and +_higgledy-piggledy_ are "colloquial," while _roseate_ and +_whilom_ are "literary." _Affidavit_, _allegro_, _lee shore_, +and _pinch hit_ are "technical," while _vamp_, _savvy_, _bum +hunch_, and _skiddoo_ are "slang." It would be disenchanting +indeed were extremes of this sort brought together. But offenses of a less +glaring kind are as hard to shut out as February cold from a heated house. +Unusual are the speeches or compositions, even the short ones, in which +every word is in keeping, is in perfect tune with the rest. + +For the attainment of this ultimate verbal decorum we should have to +possess knowledge almost unbounded, together with unerring artistic +instinct. But diction of a kind only measurably inferior to this is +possible to us if we are in earnest. To attain it we must study the +difference between abstract and concrete terms, and let neither intrude +unadvisedly upon the presence or functions of the other; do the same by +literal and figurative terms and instruct ourselves in the nature and +significance of connotation. + +Before considering these more detailed matters, however, we may pause for +a general exercise on verbal harmony. + + +EXERCISE - Discords + +1. Study the editorial in Appendix 1 for unforewarned changes in mood and +assemblages of mutually uncongenial words. Rewrite the worst two +paragraphs to remove all blemishes of these kinds. + +2. Compare Burke's speech (Appendix 2) with Defoe's narrative (Appendix 5) +for the difference in tone between them. Does each keep the tone it adopts +(that is, except for desirable changes)? + +3. Note the changes in tone in the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). Do the +changes in substance make these changes in tone desirable? + +4. In the following passages, make such changes and omissions as are +necessary to unify the tone: + +How I loved to stroll, on those long Indian summer afternoons, into the +quiet meadows where the mild-breathed kine were grazing! An old cow that +switches her tail at flies and puts her foot in the bucket when you milk +her, I absolutely loathe. How I loved to hear the birds sing, to listen to +the fall of ripe autumnal apples! + +It wasn't the girl yclept Sally. This girl was not so vivacious as Sally, +but she had a mug on her that was a lot less ugly to look at. Gee, when +she stood there in front of me with those mute, ineffable, sympathetic +eyes of hers, I was ready to throw a duck-fit. + + Old Grimes is dead, that dear old soul; + We'll never see him more; + He wore a great long overcoat, + All buttoned down before. + + +<I. Abstract vs. Concrete Terms; General vs. Specific Terms> + +Abstract terms convey ideas; concrete terms call up pictures. If we say +"Honesty is the best policy," we speak abstractly. Nobody can see or hear +or touch the thing _honesty_ or the thing _policy_; the +apprehension of them must be purely intellectual. But if we say "The +rat began to gnaw the rope," we speak concretely. _Rat_, _gnaw_, +and _rope_ are tangible, perceptible things; the words bring to us +visions of particular objects and actions. + +Now when we engage in explanations and discussions of principles, +theories, broad social topics, and the like--when we expound, moralize, or +philosophize,--our subject matter is general. We approach our readers or +hearers on the thinking, the rational side of their natures. Our +phraseology is therefore normally abstract. But when, on the other hand, +we narrate an event or depict an appearance, our subject matter is +specific. We approach our readers or hearers on the sensory or emotional +side of their natures. Our phraseology is therefore normally concrete. + +You should be able to express yourself according to either method. You +should be able to choose the words best suited to make people understand; +also to choose the words best suited to make people realize vividly and +feel. Now to some extent you will adopt the right method by intuition. But +if you do not reinforce your intuition with a careful study of words, you +will vacillate from one method to the other and strike crude discords of +phrasing. Of course if you switch methods intelligently and of purpose, +that is quite another matter. An abstract discussion may be enlivened by a +concrete illustration. A concrete narrative or portrayal may be given +weight and rationalized by generalization. Moreover many things lie on the +borderland between the two domains and may properly be attached to either. +Thus the abstraction is legitimate when you say or write: "A man wishes to +acquire the comforts and luxuries, as well as the necessaries, of life." +The concreteness is likewise legitimate when you say or write: "John Smith +wishes to earn cake as well as bread and butter." + +In most instances general terms are the same as abstract, and specific the +same as concrete. Some subtle discriminations may, however, be made. Of +these the only one that need concern us here is that the wording of a +passage may not be abstract and yet be general. Suppose, for example, you +were telling the story of the prodigal son and should say: "He was very +hungry, and could not obtain food anywhere. When he had come to his +senses, he thought, 'I should be better off at home.'" This language is +not abstract, but it is general rather than specific. When Jesus told the +story, he wished to put the situation as poignantly as possible and +therefore avoided both abstract and general terms: "And he would fain have +filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave +unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of +my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" +Many a person who shuns abstractions and talks altogether of the concrete +things of life, yet traps out circumstance in general rather than specific +terms. To do this is always to sacrifice force. + + +EXERCISE - Abstract + +1. Discuss as abstractly as possible such topics as those listed in +Activity 1 for EXERCISE - Discourse, or as the following: + +Is there any such thing as luck? +Is the Golden Rule practicable in the modern business world? +Is modesty rather than self-assertion regarding his own merits and +abilities the better policy for an employee? +Are substantial, home-keeping girls or girls rather fast and frivolous the +more likely to obtain good husbands? +Is it desirable for a young man to take out life insurance? +Is self-education better than collegiate training? +Should one always tell the truth? + +2. Discuss as concretely as possible the topics you have selected from 1. +Use illustrations drawn from life. + +3. Restate in concrete terms such generalizations as the following: + +Experience is the best teacher. +Self-preservation is the first law of nature. +To him who in the love of nature holds +Communion with her visible forms, she speaks +A various language. +Necessity is the mother of invention. +The bravest are the tenderest. +Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. +Pride goeth before destruction. +The evil that men do lives after them. + +4. Compare the abstract statement "Truths and high ethical principles are +received by various men in various ways" with the concrete presentation of +the same idea in Appendix 3. Which expression of the thought would be the +more easily understood by the average person? Why? Which would you +yourself remember the longer? Why? + +5. Compare the statement "The second period of a human being's life is +that of his reluctant attendance at school" with Shakespeare's picture of +the schoolboy in Appendix 4. + +6. Burke, near the close of his speech (Appendix 2), presents an idea, +first in general terms, and then in specific terms, thus: "No contrivance +can prevent the effect of...distance in weakening government. Seas roll, +and months pass, between the order and the execution, and the want of a +speedy explanation of a single point is enough to defeat a whole system." +Find elsewhere in Burke's speech and in the editorial (Appendix I) general +assertions which may be made more forceful by restatement in specific +terms, and supply these specific restatements. + +7. State in your own words the general thought or teaching of the Parable +of the Prodigal Son. (_Luke_ 15: 11-24.) + +8. Make the following statements more concrete: + +In front of our house was a tree that at a certain season of the year +displayed highly colored foliage. + +A celebrated orator said: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" + +On the table were some viands that assailed my nostrils agreeably and +others that put into my mouth sensations of anticipated enjoyment. + +From this window above the street I can hear a variety of noises by day +and a variety of different noises by night. + +As he groped through the pitch-dark room he could feel many articles of +furniture. + +9. State in general terms the thought of the following sentences: + +A burnt child dreads the fire. +A stitch in time saves nine. +A cat may look at a king. +A barking dog never bites. +If his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? +If two men ride a horse, one must ride behind. +Stone walls do not a prison make. +A merry heart goes all the day. +Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just. +As the twig is bent, so the tree is inclined. + +10. Describe a town as seen from a particular point of view, or at a +particular time of day, or under particular atmospheric conditions. Make +your description as concrete as possible. + +11. Compare your description with this from Stevenson: "The town came down +the hill in a cascade of brown gables, bestridden by smooth white roofs, +and spangled here and there with lighted windows." Stevenson's sentence +contains twenty-five words. How many of them are "color" words? How many +"motion" words? How many of the first twenty-five words in your +description appeal to one or another of the five senses? + +12. Narrate as vividly as possible an experience in your own life. Compare +what you have written with the account of Crusoe's escape to the island +(Appendix 5). Which narrative is the more concrete? How much? + + +<2. Literal vs. Figurative Terms> + +Phraseology is literal when it says exactly what it means; is figurative +when it says one thing, but really means another. Thus "He fought bravely" +is literal; "He was a lion in the fight" is figurative. Literal +phraseology as a rule appeals to our scientific or understanding +faculties; figurative to our emotional faculties. Here again, as with +abstraction and concreteness, you should learn to express yourself by +either method. + +Both have their advantages and their drawbacks. We all admire the man who +has observed, and can state, accurately. It is upon this belief of ours in +the literal that Defoe shrewdly traffics. (See Appendix 5.) He does not +stir us as some writers do, but he gains our implicit confidence. Dame +Quickly, on the contrary, makes egregious use of the literal. (See +paragraph above EXERCISE - Wordiness III above.) Her facts are accurate, +yes; but how strictly, how unsparingly accurate! And how many of them are +beside the point! She quite convinces us that the devotee of the literal +may be dull. + +An advantage of the figurative also is that it may make meanings lucid. +Thus when Burke near the close of his discussion (Appendix 2) wishes to +make it clear that by a law of nature the authority of extensive empires +is slighter in its more remote territories, he has recourse to a figure of +speech: "In large bodies, the circulation of power must be less vigorous +at the extremities. Nature has said it." More often, however, the function +of the figurative is to drive home a thought or a mood of which a mere +statement would leave us unmoved--to make us _feel_ it. Thus Burke +said of the Americans "Their love of liberty, as with you, fixed and +attached on this specific point of taxing." He added: "Here they felt its +pulse, and as they found that beat they thought themselves sick or sound." +Had you been one of his Parliamentary hearers, would not that second +sentence have made more real and more important the colonial attitude to +taxation? The poets of course make frequent and noble use of the +figurative. This is how Coleridge tells us that the descent of a tropical +night is sudden: + + "The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out; + At one stride comes the dark." + +The words _rush out_ and _at one stride comes_ convert the stars +and the darkness into vast beings or at least vast personal forces; the +comparisons are so natural as to seem inevitable; we are transported to +the very scene and feel the overwhelming abruptness of the nightfall. But +if a figure of speech seems artificial, if it is strained or far-fetched +or merely decorative, it subtracts from the effectiveness of the passage. +Thus when Tennyson says: + + "When the breeze of a joyful dawn blew free + In the silken sail of infancy." + +we must stop and ponder before we perceive that what he means is "When I +was a happy child." The figure is like an exotic plant rather than a +natural outgrowth of the soil; it appears to us something thought up and +stuck on; it is a parasite rather than a helper. + +Of course, as with abstraction and concreteness, you should develop +facility in gliding from literalness to figurativeness and back again. But +you are always to remember that your gymnastics are not to militate +against verbal concord. You must never set words scowling and growling at +each other through injudicious combinations like this: "She was five feet, +four and three-quarter inches high, had a small, round scar between her +nose and her left cheek-bone, and moved with the lissom and radiant grace +of a queen." + + +EXERCISE - Literal + +1. Give the specifications for a house you intend to build. + +2. Make a list of comparisons (as to a nest, a haven, a goal) to show what +such a house might mean in the life of a man. Expand as many of these +comparisons as you can, but do not carry the process to absurd lengths. +(In the figure of the nest you may mention the parent birds, their +activities, the nestlings; in the figure of the haven you may mention the +quiet, sheltered waters in contrast to the turbulent billows outside; in +the figure of the goal you may mention the struggle necessary to reach +it.) + +3. Describe the looks of the house. Use as many figures of speech as you +can. If you can find no appropriate figures, at least make your words +specific. + +4. Give a surveyor's or a tax assessor's or a conveyancer's description of +a piece of land. Then describe the land through figures of speech which +will vivify its outward appearance or its emotional significance to the +owner. + +5. Observe that the Parable of the Sower (Appendix 3) is an extended +figure of speech. Is the main figure effective? Are its detailed +applications effective? + +6. The Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4) is also an extended figure of +speech. Does it, as Shakespeare intends, bring vividly to your +consciousness the course, motives, stages, evolution of a human being's +life? There are several subsidiary figures. Do these add force, +definiteness to the picture Shakespeare is drawing at that moment? + +7. Observe from Appendix 3, Appendix 4, and the sentences listed in +Activity 9 for EXERCISE - Abstract above, that a thing meant to be +concrete is likely to be stated figuratively. + +8. Examine The Castaway (Appendix 5) for its proportionate use of literal +and figurative elements. See Activity 2 of EXERCISE - Wordiness III above +for a statement of Defoe's purpose. Could he have effected this purpose so +well had he employed more figures of speech? + +9. Examine Appendix 2 for its use of figures. Are the figures appropriate +to the subject matter? Are there enough of them? + +10. Galvanize the thought of any sentence or paragraph in editorial +(Appendix 1) by the use of a figure of speech. + +11. Summarize or illustrate your opinion on any of the topics listed in +Activity 1 for EXERCISE - Discourse, through the employment of figure of +speech. + +12. Are these figures effective? + +Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. +The flower of our young manhood is scaling the ladder of success. + + Fair as a star, when only one + Is shining in the sky. + Silence, like a poultice, comes + To heal the blows of sound. + In my head + Many thoughts of trouble come, + Like to flies upon a plum! + +Let me tell you first about those barnacles that clog the wheels of +society by poisoning the springs of rectitude with their upas-like eye. + + The day is done, and the darkness + Falls from the wings of night, + As a feather is wafted downward + From an eagle in his flight. + +Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, +I will fear no evil. + + Life, like a dome of many-colored glass, + Stains the white radiance of eternity. + +Mountains stood out like pimples or lay like broken welts +across the habitable ground. + + Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player + That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, + And then is heard no more; it is a tale + Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, + Signifying nothing. + +I saw him in Russia, where the infantry of the snow and the cavalry of the +wild blast scattered his legions like winter's withered leaves. + +13. Recast the following sentences to eliminate the clashing of literal +and figurative elements: + +Life is like a rich treasure entrusted to us, and to sustain it we must +have three square meals a day. + +She glanced at the mirror, but did not really see herself. She was trying +to puzzle out the right course, and could only see as through a glass +darkly. + +Arming himself with the sword of zeal and the buckler of integrity, he +wrote the letter. + +He swept the floor every morning, and was a ray of sunshine in the office. +He also emptied the waste baskets and cleaned the cuspidors. + + +<3. Connotation> + +The connotation of a word is the subtle implication, the emotional +association it carries--often quite apart from its dictionary definition. +Thus the words _house_ and _home_ in large measure overlap in +meaning, but emotionally they are not equivalents at all. You can say +_house_ without experiencing any sensation whatever, but if you utter +the word _home_ it will call back, however slightly, tender and +cherished recollections. _Bald heads_ and _gray hair_ are both +indicative of age; but you would pronounce the former in disparaging +allusion to elderly persons, and the latter with sentiments of veneration. +You would say, of a clodpole that he plays the _fiddle_, but of Fritz +Kreisler that he plays the _violin_. And just as you unconsciously +adapt words to feelings in these obvious instances, you must learn, on +peril of striking false notes verbally, to do so when distinctions are +less gross. + +Moreover circumstance as well as sentiment may control the connotation of +a word. A word or phrase may have a double or triple connotation, and +depend upon vocal inflection, upon gesture, upon the words with which it +is linked, upon the experience of speaker or hearer, upon time, place, and +external fact, or upon other forces outside it for the sense in which it +is to be taken. You may be called "old dog" in an insulting manner, or +(especially if a slap on the shoulder accompanies the phrase) in an +affectionate manner. You may properly say, "Calhoun had logic on his +side"; add, however, the words "but his face was to the past," and you +spoil the sentence,--for _face_ gives a reflex connotation to +_side_, slight perhaps and momentary, but disconcerting. Think over +the funny stories you have heard. Many of them turn, you will find, on the +outcropping of new significance in a phrase because of its environment. +Thus the anecdote of the servant who had been instructed to summon the +visiting English nobleman by tapping on his bedroom door and inquiring, +"My lord, have you yet risen?" and who could only stammer, "My God! ain't +you up yet?" Or the anecdote of the minister who in a sermon on the +Parable of the Prodigal Son told how a young man living dissolutely in a +city had been compelled to send to the pawnbroker first his overcoat, next +his suit, next his silk shirt, and finally his very underclothing--"and +then," added the minister, "he came to himself." Only by unresting +vigilance can you evade verbal discords, if not of this magnitude, at +least of much frequency and stylistic harm. + +EXERCISE - Connotation + +1. Note the contrast in emotional suggestion that comes to you from +hearing the words: + +"Sodium chloride" and "salt" +"A test-tube of H2O" and "a cup of cold water" +"A pair of brogans" and "a little empty shoe" +"Bump" and "collide" +"A brilliant fellow" and "a flashy fellow" +"Bungled it" and "did not succeed" +"Tumble" and "fall" +"Dawn" and "6 A.M." +"Licked" and "worsted" +"Fat" and "plump" +"Wept" and "blubbered" +"Cheek" and "self-assurance" +"Stinks" and "disagreeable odors" +"Steal" and "embezzle" +"Thievishness" and "kleptomania" +"Educated" and "highbrow" +"Job" and "position" +"Told a lie" and "fell into verbal inexactitude" +"A drunkard" (a stranger) and "a drunkard" (your father). + +2. Make a list of your own similar to that in Exercise 1. + +3. Read the sentences listed in EXERCISE - Slovenliness III and IV. What +do these sentences suggest to you as to the social and mental +qualifications of the person who employs them? + +4. Read the second paragraph of Appendix 2. What does it suggest to you as +to Burke's social and mental qualifications? + +5. Suppose you were told that a passage of twenty-eight lines contains the +following expressions: "mewling and puking," "whining schoolboy," +"satchel," "sighing like furnace," "round belly," "spectacles on nose," +"shrunk shank," "sans [without] teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans +everything." Would you believe the passage is poetry?--that its total +effect is one of poetic elevation? Read the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix +4). _Is_ it poetry? How does Shakespeare reconcile the general poetic +tone with such expressions as those quoted? + +6. What is wrong with the connotation of the following? + +The servant told us that the young ladies were all in. +All my poor success is due to you. +He insisted on carrying a revolver, and so the college authorities fired +him. +The carpenter too had his castles in Spain. +He rested his old bones by the wayside, and his gaunt dog stood sniffing +at them. +On the other hand, he had a white elephant to dispose of. +When he came to the forks of the road, he showed he was not on the square. +Body, for funeral purposes, must be sold at once. City Automobile Agency. + +7. Can you express the following ideas in other words without sacrifice of +emotional suggestion? Try. + + The music, yearning like a god in pain. + Alone, alone, all, all alone, + Alone on a wide, wide sea! + + But O for the touch of a vanished hand, + And the sound of a voice that is still! + Old, unhappy, far-off things, + And battles long ago. + + It was night in the lonesome October. + How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, + In the icy air of night! + While the stars, that oversprinkle + All the heavens, seem to twinkle + With a crystalline delight. + + The moan of doves in immemorial elms, + And murmuring of innumerable bees. + + Ay, but to die, and go we know not where; + To lie in cold obstruction and to rot. + + Merrily, merrily, shall I live now, + Under the blossom that hangs on the bough. + + 'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true + As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,-- + 'Tis the natural way of living. + + We are such stuff + As dreams are made of, and our little life + Is rounded with a sleep. + +8. With the most connotative words at your command describe the following: + +Your first sweetheart +A solemn experience +A ludicrous experience +A terrifying experience +A mysterious experience +The circus parade you saw in your boyhood +A servant girl +A dude +An odd character you have known +The old homestead +Your boarding house +A scene suggesting the intense heat of a midsummer day +Night on the river +The rush for the subway car +The traffic policeman +Your boss +Anything listed in the first part of Activity 9 of EXERCISE - Discourse. + + + +III + + WORDS IN COMBINATION: HOW MASTERED + + +The more dangerous pitfalls for those who use words in combination--as all +of us do--have been pointed out. The best ways of avoiding these pitfalls +have also been indicated. But our work together has thus far been chiefly +negative. To be sure, many tasks assigned for your performance have been +constructive as well as precautionary; but _the end_ held ever before +you has been the avoidance of feeble or ridiculous diction. In the present +chapter we must take up those aspects of the mastery of words in +combination which are primarily positive. + + +<Preliminaries: General Purposes and Methods> + +Before coming to specific aspects and assignments, however, we shall do +well to consider certain large general purposes and methods. + + +<I. A Ready, an Accurate, or a Wide Vocabulary?> + +First, what kind of vocabulary do we wish to acquire? A facile, readily +used one? An accurate one? Or one as nearly as may be comprehensive? The +three kinds do not necessarily coexist. The possession of one may even +hinder and retard the acquisition of another. Thus if we seek a ready +vocabulary, an accurate vocabulary may cause us to halt and hesitate for +words which shall correspond with the shadings of our thought and emotion, +and a wide vocabulary may embarrass us with the plenitude of our verbal +riches. + +But _may_ is not _must_. Though the three kinds of vocabulary +may interfere with each other, there is no reason, except superficially, +why they should. Our purpose should be, therefore, to acquire not a single +kind but all three. We should be like the boy who, when asked whether he +would have a small slice of apple pie or a small slice of pumpkin pie, +replied resolutely, "Thank you, I will take a large piece of both." + +That the assignments in this chapter may help you develop a vocabulary +which shall be promptly responsive to your needs, you should perform some +of them rapidly. Your thoughts and feelings regarding a topic may be +anything but clear, but you must not pause to clarify them. The words best +suited to the matter may not be instantly available, but you must not +tarry for accessions of language. Stumble, flounder if you must, yea, +rearrange your ideas even as you present them, but press resolutely ahead, +comforting yourself with the assurance that in the heat and stress of +circumstances a man rarely does his work precisely as he wishes. When you +have finished the discussion, repeat it immediately--and with no more +loitering than before. You will find that your ideas have shifted and +enlarged, and that more appropriate words have become available. Further +repetitions will assist you the more. But the goal you should set +yourself, as you proceed from topic to topic, is the attainment of the +power to be at your best in the first discussion. You may never reach this +goal, but at least you may approach it. + +That the assignments in this chapter may assist you in making your +vocabulary accurate, you should perform some of them in another way. When +you have selected a topic, you should first of all think it through. In +doing this, arrange your ideas as consistently and logically as you can, +and test them with your reason. Then set them forth in language which +shall be lucid and exact. Tolerate no slipshod diction, no vaguely +rendered general meanings. Send every sentence, every word like a skilful +drop-kick--straight above the crossbar. When you have done your best with +the topic, lay it by for a space. Time is a great revealer of hidden +defects, and you must not regard your labors as ended until your +achievement is the maturest possible for you. If the quantity of what you +accomplish is meager, suffer no distress on that account. The desideratum +now is not quantity, but quality. + +The assignments in this chapter will do less toward making your vocabulary +wide than toward making it facile and precise. To be sure, they will now +and then set you to hunting for words that are new. Better still, they +will give you a mastery over some of your outlying words--words known to +your eyes or ears but not to your tongue. But these advantages will be +somewhat incidental. Means for the systematic extension of your verbal +domain into regions as yet unexplored by you, are reserved for the later +chapters of this book. + + +<2. A Vocabulary for Speech or for Writing?> + +In the second place, are we to develop a vocabulary for oral discourse or +a vocabulary for writing? It may be that our chief impediment or our chief +ambition lies in one field rather than in the other. Nevertheless we +should strive for a double mastery; we ought to speak well _and_ +write well. Indeed the two powers so react upon each other that we ought +to cultivate both for the sake of either. True, some men, though inexpert +as writers, have made themselves proficient as speakers; or though +shambling and ineffective as speakers, have made themselves proficient as +writers. But this is not natural or normal. Moreover these men might have +gleaned more abundantly from their chosen field had they not shut it off +from the acres adjacent. Fences waste space and curtail harvests. + +The assignments in this chapter are of such a nature that you may perform +them either orally or in writing. You should speak and write alternately, +sometimes on the same topic, sometimes on topics taken in rotation. + +In your oral discussions you should perhaps absent yourself at first from +human auditors. A bedstead or a dresser will not make you self-conscious +or in any way distract your attention, and it will permit you to sit down +afterward and think out the degree of your failure or success. Ultimately, +of course, you must speak to human beings--in informal conversations at +the outset, in more ambitious ways later as occasion permits. + +In your writing you may find it advantageous to make preliminary outlines +of what you wish to say. But above all, you must be willing to blot, to +revise, to take infinite pains. You should remember the old admonition +that easy reading is devilish hard writing. + + +<The Mastery of Words in Combination> + +These purposes and methods are general. We now come to the specific fields +in which we may with profit cultivate words in combination. Of these +fields there are four. + + +<I. Mastery through Translation> + +If you read a foreign language, whether laboriously or with ease, you +should make this power assist you to amass a good English vocabulary. +Take compositions or parts of compositions written in the foreign tongue, +and turn them into idiomatic English. How much you should translate +at a given time depends upon your leisure and your adeptness. Employ all +the methods--the spontaneous, the carefully perfected, the oral, the +written--heretofore explained in this chapter. In your final work on a +passage you should aim at a faultless rendition, and should spend time and +ransack the lexicons rather than come short of this ideal. + +The habit of translation is an excellent habit to keep up. For the study +of an alien tongue not only improves your English, but has compensations +in itself. + +EXERCISE - Translation + +1. Translate from any accessible book in the foreign language you can +read. + +2. Subscribe for a period of at least two or three months for a newspaper +or magazine in that language, if it is a modern one. Translate as before, +but give most of your time to rapid oral translation for a real or +imaginary American hearer. + +3. When you have completed your final written translation of a passage +from the foreign language, make yourself master of all the English words +you have not previously (1) known or (2) used, but have encountered in +your work of translation. + + + +<2. Mastery through Paraphrasing> + +It may be that you are not familiar with a foreign language. At any rate +you have some knowledge of English. Put this knowledge to use in +paraphrasing; for thus you will enrich your vocabulary and make it surer +and more flexible. The process of paraphrasing is simple, though the +actual work is not easy. You take passages written in English--the more of +them the better, and the more diversified the better--and both reproduce +their substance and incarnate their mood in words you yourself shall +choose. + +You may have a passage before you and paraphrase it unit by unit. More +often, however, you should follow the plan adopted by Franklin when he +emulated Addison by rewriting the _Spectator Papers_. That is, you +should steep yourself in the thought and emotion of a piece of writing, +and then lay the piece aside until its wording has faded from your memory, +when you should reëmbody the substance in language that seems to you +natural and fitting. Much of the benefit will come from your comparing +your version, as Franklin did his, with the original. When you perceive +that you have fallen short, you should consider the respects wherein your +inferiority lies--and should make another attempt, and yet another, and +another. When you perceive that in any way you have surpassed the +original, you should feel a just pride in your achievement--and should +resolve that next time your cause for pride shall be greater still. Even +after you have desisted from formal paraphrasing, you should cling to the +habit, formed at this time, of observing any notable felicities in +whatever you read and of comparing them with the expression you yourself +would likely have employed. + +EXERCISE - Paraphrasing + +1. Paraphrase the editorial in Appendix 1. You should improve upon the +original. Keep trying until you do. + +2. Paraphrase the second paragraph in Burke's speech (Appendix 2). Burke +lacked the cheap tricks of the ordinary orator, but his discussions were +based upon a comprehensive knowledge of facts, a sympathetic understanding +of human nature, a vast depth and range of thought, and a well-meditated +political philosophy. In short, he is a model for _elaborated_ +discussions. Set forth the leading thought of this paragraph; you can give +it in fewer words than he employs. But try setting it forth with his full +accompaniments of reflection and information; you will be bewildered at +his crowding so much into such small compass. + +3. Try to rival the pregnant conciseness of the Parable of the Sower +(Appendix 3). + +4. Paraphrase in prose the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). Catch if +possible the mood, the "atmosphere," of each of the pictures painted by +Shakespeare. Condense your paraphrase as much as you can. + +5. In each of the preceding exercises compare your vocabulary with that of +the original as to size, precision, and the grace and ease with which +words are put together. Does the original employ terms unfamiliar to you? +If so, look up their meaning and make them yours; then observe, when you +next paraphrase the passage, whether your mastery of these terms has +improved your expression. + + +<3. Mastery through Discourse at First Hand> + +Models have their use, but you can also work without models. It is +imperative that you should. You must learn to discuss, explain, analyze, +argue, narrate, and describe for yourself. Here again you should diversify +your materials to the utmost, not only that you may become well-rounded +and versatile in your ability to set forth ideas and feelings in words, +but also that your knowledge and your sensibility may receive stimulation. + +It is feasible to begin by discussing or explaining. Most of the +intercourse conducted through language consists in either discussion or +explanation. Analysis, ordinarily, is almost ignored. Argument is indulged +in, and so is description (though less freely), but they are of the +bluntest and broadest. Narration--the recounting of incidents of everyday +existence--is, however, widely employed. + +In your work of discussion or explanation you may seize upon any current +topic--industrial, social, political, or what not--that comes into your +mind. Or you may make a list of such topics, writing each on a separate +piece of paper; may jumble the slips in a hat; and may thus have always at +your elbow a collection of satisfactory themes from which you may take one +at random. Or you may invest in language of your own selection the +substance of an address or sermon you have heard, or give the burden of +some important conversation in which you have participated, or explain the +tenor of an article you have read. You should of course try to interest +your hearers, and above all, you should impart to what you say complete +clarity. + +In analyzing you should select as your topic a process fairly obscure, the +implications of a certain statement or argument, the results to be +expected from some action or policy that has been advocated, or the exact +matter at issue between two disputants. Any topic for discussion, +explanation, or argument may be treated analytically. Your analysis in its +final form should be so carefully considered that its soundness cannot be +impeached. + +In arguing you may take any subject under the sun, from baseball to +Bolshevism, for all of them are debated with vehemence. Any topic for +discussion or explanation becomes, when approached from some particular +angle, material for argument. Thus the initial topic in the exercise that +follows is "The aeroplane's future as a carrier of mail." You may convert +it into a question for debate by making it read: "The aeroplane is +destined to supplant the railroad as a carrier of mail," or "The aeroplane +is destined to be used increasingly as a carrier of transcontinental +mail." In arguing you may propose for yourself either of two objectives: +(1) to silence your opponent, (2) to refute, persuade, and win him over +fairly. The achievement of the first end calls for bluster and perhaps a +grim, barbaric strength; you must do as Johnson did according to +Goldsmith's famous dictum--if your pistol misses fire, you must knock your +adversary down with the butt end of it. This procedure, though inartistic +to be sure, is in some contingencies the only kind that will serve. But +you should cultivate procedure of a type more urbane. Let your very +reasonableness be the most potent weapon you wield. To this end you should +form the habit of looking for good points on both sides of a question. As +a still further precaution against contentiousness you should uphold the +two sides successively. + +In narrating you should, as a rule, stick to simple occurrences, though +you may occasionally vary your work by summarizing the plot of a novel or +giving the gist and drift of big historical events. You should confine +yourself, in large part, to incidents in which you have been personally +involved, or which you yourself have witnessed, as mishaps, unexpected +encounters, bickerings, even rescues or riots. You should omit +non-essentials and make the happening itself live for your hearer; if you +can so interest him in it that he will not notice your manner of telling +it, your success is but the greater. + +Finally, in describing you should deal for the most part with beings, +objects, and appearances familiar to you. Description is usually hard to +make vivid. This is because the objects and scenes are likely to be +immobile and (at least when told about) to lack distinctiveness. Try, +therefore, to lay hold of the peculiar quality of the thing described, and +use words suggestive of color and motion. Moreover be brief. Long +descriptions are sure to be wearisome. + + +EXERCISE - Discourse + +1. Select topics from the following list for discussion or explanation: + +The aeroplane's future as a carrier of mail +The commercial future of the aeroplane +A recent scientific (or mechanical or electrical) invention +A better type of newspaper--its contents and makeup +A better type of newspaper--how it can be secured +The connection between the advertising and news departments + of a newspaper--the actual condition +The connection between the advertising and news departments + of a newspaper--the ideal +Special features in a newspaper that are popular +A single standard for the sexes--is it possible? +A single standard for the sexes--how it can be attained (or approximated) +Should the divorce laws be made more stringent? +Should a divorced person be prohibited from remarrying? +What further marriage restrictions should be placed upon the + physically or mentally unfit? +What further measures should be taken by the cities (states, nation) for + the protection of motherhood? +Is the division of men into strongly contrasted groups as to wealth + one of nature's necessities, or is it the result of a social and + economic system? +Some shortcomings of the labor unions +Are the shortcomings of the labor unions accidental or inherent? +Some ways of bettering the condition of the working classes +How municipal (state, national) bureaus for finding employment + for the laborer may become more serviceable +Wrongs committed by big business (or some branch of it) +Should a man's income above a stipulated amount be confiscated + by the government? +Income taxes--what exemptions should be granted? +The right basis for business--competition or coöperation? +Are the courts equally just to labor and capital? +How can legal procedure be changed to enable individuals to secure just + treatment from corporations without resorting to prolonged and expensive + lawsuits? +Where our interests clash with those of Great Britain +How our relations with Great Britain may be further improved +How our relations with Japan may be further improved +How may closer commercial relations with other countries be promoted? +What to do about the railroads and railroad rates +A natural resource that should be conserved or restored +Do high tariffs breed international ill-will? +Should we have a high tariff at this juncture? +To what extent should osteopathy (chiropractic) be permitted + (or protected) by law? +What is wrong with municipal government in my city +How woman suffrage affects local government +How to make rural life more attractive +The importance of the rotation of crops +The race problem as it affects my community +The class problem as it affects my community +The school-house as a social center +How to Americanize the alien elements in our population +To what extent, if at all, should foreign-born citizens of our + country be encouraged to preserve their native traditions and culture? +Censorship of the moving picture +Educational possibilities of the moving picture +How to bring about improvement in the quality of the moving picture +The effect of the moving picture upon legitimate drama +A church that men will attend +How young men may be attracted to the churches +How far shall doctrine be insisted upon by the churches? +To what extent shall the church concern itself with social + and economic problems? +To what extent, if at all, shall Sunday diversions be restricted? +The advantages of using the free public library +Can the cities give children in the slums better opportunities for + physical (mental, moral) development? +Should all cities be required to establish zoölogical gardens, + as well as schools, for the children? +How my city might improve its system of public parks +The most interesting thing about the work I am in +Opportunities in the work I am in +The qualities called for in the work I am in +The ideals of my associates +Something I have learned about life +Something I have learned about human nature +A book that has influenced me, and why +A person who has influenced me, and how +My favorite sport or recreation +Why baseball is so popular +What I could do for the people around me +What I should like for the people around me to do for me. + +2. Discuss or explain the ideas listed in Exercise 3 for 'Abstract vs. +Concrete' in "Words in Combination: Some Pitfalls" above. + +3. Analyze the debatable questions included in the two preceding exercises +or suggested by them. That is, find the issues in each question, and show +what each disputant must prove and what he must refute. + +4. Analyze the results to be expected from the adoption of some policy or +course of action by: + +A newspaper +A business firm +The city +The farmers +The producers in some business or industry +The consumers +The retail merchants of your city +Some group of reformers +Some social group +Those interested in a social activity, as dancing +Your neighbors +Yourself. + +5. Analyze or explain: + +The testing of seed grain +How to raise potatoes (any other vegetable) +How to utilize and apportion the space in your garden +How to keep an automobile in good shape +How to run an automobile (motor boat) +How to make a rabbit trap +How to lay out a camp +How to catch trout (bass, codfish, tuna fish, lobsters) +How to conduct a public meeting +How a bill is introduced and passed in a legislative body +How food is digested +How to extract oxygen from water +How a fish breathes +How gold is mined +How wireless messages are sent +How your favorite game is played +How to survey a tract of land +How stocks are bought and sold on margins +How public opinion is formed +How a man ought to form his opinions +The responsibility of individuals to society +The responsibility of society to the individual. + +6. Argue one side or the other, or the two successively, of +queries contained or implied in Exercises 1 and 2. + +7. Argue one side or the other, or the two successively, of queries listed +in Exercise 1 in EXERCISE - Abstract. + +8. Give a narrative of: + +The earning of your first dollar +How somebody met his match +An amusing incident +An anxious moment +A surprise +The touchdown +That fatal seventh inning +How you got the position +Why you missed the train +When you were lost +Your first trip on the railroad (a motor boat, a merry-go-round, + snowshoes, a burro) +A mishap +How Jenkins skated +Your life until the present (a summary) +Something you have heard your father tell +What happened to your uncle +Your partner's (chum's) escapade +Meeting an old friend +Meeting a bore +A conversation you have overheard +When Myrtle eavesdropped +When the girls didn't know Algy was in the parlor +A public happening that interests you +An incident you have read in the papers +An incident from your favorite novel +Backward Ben at the party +Something that happened to you today. + +9. Describe ... + +For the mood or general "atmosphere": + +Anything you deem suitable in Activity 8 in EXERCISE - Connotation. +An old, deserted house +Your birthplace as you saw it in manhood +The view from an eminence +A city as seen from a roof garden by night +Your mother's Bible +A barnyard scene +The lonely old negro at the supper table +A new immigrant gazing out upon the ocean he has crossed +The downtown section at closing hour +A scene of quietude +A scene of bustle and confusion +A richly colored scene +A scene of dejection +A scene of wild enthusiasm +A scene of dulness or stagnation. + +With attention to homely detail: + +The old living-room +My aunt's dresses +Barker's riding-horse +The business street of the village +A cabin in the mountains +The office of a man approaching bankruptcy +The Potters' backyard +The second-hand store +The ugliest man. + +For general accuracy and vividness: + +The organ-grinder +The signs of an approaching storm +The arrival of the train +Mail-time at the village post office +The crowd at the auction +The old fishing-boat +A country fair (or a circus) +The inside of a theater (or a church) +The funeral procession +The political rally +The choir. + + +<4. Mastery through Adapting Discourse to Audience> + +For convenience, we have heretofore assumed that ideas and emotions, +together with such expression of them as shall be in itself adequate and +faithful, comprise the sole elements that have to be reckoned with in the +use of words in combination. But as you go out into life you will find +that these things, however complete they may seem, are not in practice +sufficient. Another factor--the human--must have its place in our +equation. You do not speak or write in a vacuum. Your object, your +ultimate object at least, in building up your vocabulary is to address men +and women; and among men and women the varieties of training, of stations, +of outlooks, of sentiments, of prejudices, of caprices are infinite. To +gain an unbiased hearing you must take persistent cognizance of flesh and +blood. + +In adapting discourse to audience you must have a supple and attentive +mind and an impressionable and swiftly responsive temperament as well as a +wide, accurate, and flexible vocabulary. Unless you are a fool, a zealot, +or an incorrigible adventurer, you will not broach a subject at all to +which your hearers feel absolute indifference or hostility. Normally you +should pick a subject capable of interesting them. In presenting it you +should pay heed to both your matter and your manner. You should emphasize +for your listeners those aspects of the subject which they will most +respond to or most need to hear, whether or not the phases be such as you +would emphasize with other auditors. You should also speak in the fashion +you deem most effective with them, whether or not it be one to which your +own natural instincts prompt you. + +Let us say you are discussing conditions in Europe. You must speak in one +way to the man who has traveled and in an entirely different way to the +man who has never gone abroad--in one way to the well-read man, in an +entirely different way to the ignoramus. Let us say you are discussing +urban life, urban problems. You must speak in one way to the man who lives +in the city, in another to the man who lives in the country. Let us say +you are discussing the labor problem. You must speak in one way to +employers, in another to employees, possibly in a third to men thrown out +of jobs, possibly in a fourth to the general public. Let us say you are +discussing education, or literature, or social tendencies, or mechanical +principles or processes, or some great enterprise or movement. You must +speak in one way to cultivated hearers and in another to men in the +street, and if you are a specialist addressing specialists, you will cut +the garment of your discourse to their particular measure. + +The same principle holds regardless of whether you expound, analyze, +argue, recount, or describe. You must always keep a finger on the mental +or emotional pulse of those whom you address. But your problem varies +slightly with the form of discourse you adopt. In explanation, analysis, +and argument the chief barriers you encounter are likely to be those of +the mind; you must make due allowance for the intellectual limitations of +your auditors, though many who have capacity enough may for some cause or +other be unreceptive to ideas. In description you must reckon with the +imaginative faculty, with the possibility that your hearers cannot +visualize what you tell them--and you must make your words brief. In +narration you must vivify emotional torpor; but lest in your efforts to +inveigle boredom you yourself should induce it, you must have a wary eye +for signals of distress. + + +EXERCISE - Adapting + +1. Explain to (a) a rich man, (b) a poor man the blessings of poverty. + +2. Discuss before (a) farmers, (b) merchants the idea that farmers +(merchants) make a great deal of money. + +3. Explain to (a) the initiate, (b) the uninitiate some piece of +mechanism, or some phase of a human activity or interest, which you know +at first hand and regarding which technical (or at least not generally +understood) terms are employed. (The exact subject depends, of course, +upon your own observation or experience; you are sure to be familiar +with something that most people know hazily, if at all. Bank clerk, +chess player, bridge player, stenographer, journalist, truck driver, +backwoods-man, mechanic--all have special knowledge of one kind or another +and can use the particular terms it calls for.) + +4. Explain to (a) a supporter of the winning team, (b) a supporter of the +losing team why the baseball game came out as it did. + +5. Discuss before (a) a Democratic, (b) a Republican audience your reasons +for voting the Democratic (Republican) ticket in the coming election. + +6. Explain to (a) your own family, (b) the man who can lend you the money, +why you wish to mortgage your house (any piece of property). + +7. Explain to the owner of an ill-conducted business why he should sell +it, and to a shrewd business man why he should buy it. + +8. Discuss before (a) old men, (b) young men, (c) women the desirability +of men's giving up their seats in street cars to women. (Also modify the +question by requiring only young men to give up their seats, and then only +to old people of either sex, to sick people, or to people with children in +their arms.) + +9. Explain the necessity of restricting immigration to (a) prospective +immigrants, (b) immigrants just granted admission to the country, (c) +persons just refused admission, (d) exploiters of cheap labor, (e) +ordinary citizens. + +10. Discuss the taking out of a life insurance policy with (a) a man not +interested, (b) a man interested but uncertain what a policy is like, (c) +a man interested and informed but doubtful whether he can spare the money, +(d) the man's wife (his prospective beneficiary), whose desires will have +weight with him. + +11. Discuss the necessity of a reduction in wages with (a) unscrupulous +employers, (b) kind-hearted employers, (c) the employees. + +12. Advocate higher public school taxes before (a) men with children, (b) +men without children. + +13. Advocate a further regulation of the speed of automobiles before (a) +automobile-owners, (b) non-owners. + +14. Urge advocacy of some reform upon (a) a clergyman, (b) a candidate for +office. + +15. Combat before (a) advertisers, (b) a public audience, (c) a lawmaking +body, the defacement of landscapes by advertising billboards. + +16. Describe life in the slums before (a) a rural audience, (b) charitable +persons, (c) rich people in the cities who know little of conditions among +the poor. + +17. Describe the typical evening of a spendthrift in a city to (a) a poor +man, (b) a miser, (c) the spendthrift's mother, (d) his employer, (e) a +detective who suspects him of theft. + +18. Describe the city of Washington (any other city) to (a) a countryman, +(b) a traveler who has not visited this particular city. (If it is +Washington you describe, describe it also for children in whom you wish to +inculcate patriotism.) + +19. Give (a) a youngster, (b) an experienced angler an account of your +fishing trip. + +20. Recount for (a) a baseball fan, (b) a girl who has never seen a game, +the occurrences of the second half of the ninth inning. + +21. Describe a fight for (a) your friends, (b) a jury. + +22. Narrate for (a) children, (b) an audience of adults some historical +event. + +23. Give (a) your partner, (b) a reporter an account of a business +transaction you have just completed. + +24. Narrate an escapade for (a) your father, (b) your cronies in response +to a toast at a banquet with them. + + + +IV + + INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS VERBAL CELIBATES + + +Thus far we have studied words as grouped together into phrases, +sentences, paragraphs, whole compositions. We must now enter upon a new +phase of our efforts to extend our vocabulary. We must study words as +individual entities. + +You may think the order of our study should be reversed. No great harm +would result if it were. The learning of individual words and the +combining of them into sentences are parallel rather than successive +processes. In our babyhood we do not accumulate a large stock of terms +before we frame phrases and clauses. And our attainment of the power of +continuous iteration does not check our inroads among individual words. We +do the two things simultaneously, each contributing to our success with +the other. There are plenty of analogies for this procedure. A good +baseball player, for instance, tirelessly studies both the minutiae of his +technique (as how to hold a bat, how to stand at the plate) and the big +combinations and possibilities of the game. A good musician keeps +unremitting command over every possible touch of each key and at the same +time seeks sweeping mastery over vast and complex harmonies. So we, if we +would have the obedience of our vocabularies, dare not lag into desultory +attention to either words when disjoined or words as potentially combined +into the larger units of thought and feeling. + +We might therefore consider either the individuals first or the groups +first. But the majority of speakers and writers pay more heed to rough +general substance than to separate instruments and items. Hence we have +thought best to begin where most work is going on already--with words in +combination. + +As you turn from the groups to the individuals, you must understand that +your labors will be onerous and detailed. You must not assume that by +nature all words are much alike, any more than you assume that all men are +much alike. Of course the similarities are many and striking, and the +fundamental fact is that a word is a word as a man is a man. But you will +be no adept in handling either the one or the other until your knowledge +goes much farther than this. Let us glance first at the human variations. +Each man has his own business, and conducts it in his own way--a way never +absolutely matched with that of any other mortal being. All this you may +see. But besides the man's visible employment, he may be connected in +devious fashions with a score of enterprises the public knows nothing +about. Furthermore he leads a private life (again not precisely +corresponding to that of any other), has his hobbies and aversions, is +stamped with a character, a temperament of his own. In short, though in +thousands of respects he is like his fellows, he has after all no human +counterpart; he is a distinct, individual self. To know him, to use him, +to count upon his service in whatsoever contingency it might bestead you, +you must deem him something more than a member of the great human family. +You must cultivate him personally, cultivate him without weariness or +stint, and undergo inconvenience in so doing. + +Even so with a word. Commonplace enough it may seem. But it has its +peculiar characteristics, its activities undisclosed except to the +curious, its subtle inclinations, its repugnances, its latent +potentialities. There is no precise duplicate for it in all the wide +domain of language. To know it intimately and thoroughly, to be on +entirely free terms with it, to depend upon it just so far as dependence +is safe, to have a sure understanding of what it can do and what it +cannot, you must arduously cultivate it. Words, like people, yield +themselves to the worthy. They hunger for friendship--and lack the last +barrier of reserve which hedges all human communion. Thus, linguistically +speaking, you must search out the individuals. You must step aside from +your way for the sake of a new acquaintance; in conversations, in sermons, +in addresses, in letters, in journalistic columns, in standard literature +you must grasp the stranger by the hand and look him straight in the eye. +Nor must you treat cavalierly the words you know already. You must study +them afresh; you must learn them over and learn them better; you must come +to understand them, not only for what they are, but for what they will do. + + +<What Words to Learn First> + +What, then, is your first task? Somebody has laid down the injunction-- +and, as always when anything is enjoined, others have given it currency-- +that each day you should learn two new words. So be it,--but which two? +The first two in the dictionary, or hitherto left untouched in your +systematic conquest of the dictionary? The first two you hear spoken? The +first two that stare at you from casual, everyday print? The first two you +can ferret from some technical jargon, some special department of human +interest or endeavor? In any of these ways you may obey the behest of +these mentors. But are not such ways arbitrary, haphazard? And suppose, +after doing your daily stint, you should encounter a word it behooves you +to know. What then? Are you to sulk, to withhold yourself from further +exertion on the plea of a vocabulary-builder's eight-hour day? + +To adopt any of the methods designated would be like resolving to invest +in city lots and then buying properties as you encountered them, with no +regard for expenditure, for value in general, or for special +serviceability to you. Surely such procedure would be unbusinesslike. If +you pay out good money, you meditate well whether that which you receive +for it shall compensate you. Likewise if you devote time and effort to +gaining ownership of words, you should exercise foresight in determining +whether they will yield you commensurate returns. + +What, then, is the principle upon which, at the outset, you should +proceed? What better than to insure the possession of the words regarding +which you know this already, that you need them and should make them +yours? + + +<The Analysis of Your Own Vocabulary> + +The natural way, and the best, to begin is with an analysis of your own +vocabulary. You are of course aware that of the enormous number of words +contained in the dictionary relatively few are at your beck and bidding. +But probably you have made no attempt to ascertain the nature and extent +of your actual linguistic resources. You should make an inventory of the +stock on hand before sending in your order for additional goods. + +You will speedily discover that your vocabulary embraces several distinct +classes of words. Of these the first consists of those words which you +have at your tongue's end--which you can summon without effort and use in +your daily speech. They are old verbal friends. Numbered with them, to be +sure, there may be a few with senses and connotations you are ignorant of-- +friends of yours, let us say, with a reservation. Even these you may woo +with a little care into uncurbed fraternal abandon. With the exception of +these few, you know the words of the first class so well that without +thinking about it at all you may rely upon their giving you, the moment +you need them, their untempered, uttermost service. You need be at no +further pains about them. They are yours already. + +A second class of words is made up of those you speak on occasions either +special or formal--occasions when you are trying, perhaps not to show off, +but at least to put your best linguistic foot foremost. Some of them have +a meaning you are not quite sure of; some of them seem too ostentatious +for workaday purposes; some of them you might have been using but somehow +have not. Words of this class are not your bosom friends. They are your +speaking acquaintance, or perhaps a little better than that. You must +convert them into friends, into prompt and staunch supporters in time of +need. That is to say, you must put them into class one. In bringing about +this change of footing, you yourself must make the advances. You must say, +Go to, I will bear them in mind as I would a person I wished to cultivate. +When occasion rises, you must introduce them into your talk. You will feel +a bit shy about it, for introductions are difficult to accomplish +gracefully; you will steal a furtive glance at your hearer perchance, and +another at the word itself, as you would when first labeling a man "my +friend Mr. Blank." But the embarrassment is momentary, and there is no +other way. Assume a friendship if you have it not, and presently the +friendship will be real. You must be steadfast in intention; for the words +that have held aloof from you are many, and to unloose all at once on a +single victim would well-nigh brand you criminal. But you will make sure +headway, and will be conscious besides that no other class of words in the +language will so well repay the mastering. For these are words you +_do_ use, and need to use more, and more freely--words your own +experience stamps as valuable, if not indeed vital, to you. + +The third class of words is made up of those you do not speak at all, but +sometimes write. They are acquaintance one degree farther removed than +those of the second class. Your task is to bring them into class two and +thence into class one--that is, to introduce them into your more formal +speech, and from this gradually into your everyday speech. + +The fourth class of words is made up of those you recognize when you hear +or read them, but yourself never employ. They are acquaintance of a very +distant kind. You nod to them, let us say, and they to you; but there the +intercourse ends. Obviously, they are not to be brought without +considerable effort into a position of tried and trusted friendship. And +shall we be absolutely honest?--some of them may not justify such +assiduous care as their complete subjugation would call for. But even +these you should make your feudal retainers. You should constrain them to +membership in class three, and at your discretion in class two. + +Apart from the words in class four, you will not to this point have made +actual additions to your vocabulary. But you will have made your +vocabulary infinitely more serviceable. You will be like a man with a host +of friends where before, when his necessities were sorest, he found (along +with some friends) many distant and timid acquaintance. + +Outside the bounds of your present vocabulary altogether are the words you +encounter but do not recognize, except (it may be) dimly and uncertainly. +Some counselors would have you look up all such words in a dictionary. But +the task would be irksome. Moreover those who prescribe it are loath to +perform it themselves. Your own candid judgment in the matter is the +safest guide. If the word is incidental rather than vital to the meaning +of the passage that contains it, and if it gives promise of but rarely +crossing your vision again, you should deign it no more than a civil +glance. Plenty of ways will be left you to expend time wisely in the +service of your vocabulary. + + +EXERCISE - Analysis + +1. Make a list of the words in class two of your own vocabulary, and +similar lists for classes three and four. (To make a list for class one +would be but a waste of time.) Procure if you can for this purpose a +loose-leaf notebook, and in the several lists reserve a full page for each +letter of the alphabet as used initially. Do not scamp the lists, though +their proper preparation consume many days, many weeks. Try to make them +really exhaustive. Their value will be in proportion to their accuracy and +fulness. + +2. Con the words in each list carefully and repeatedly. Your task is to +transfer these words into a more intimate list--those in class four into +class three, those in three into two, those in two into one. You are then +to promote again the words in the lower classes, except that (if your +judgment so dictates) you may leave the new class three wholly or +partially intact. To carry out this exercise properly you must keep these +words in mind, make them part and parcel of your daily life. (For a +special device for bringing them under subjection, see the next exercise.) + +3. To write a word down helps you to remember it. That is why the normal +way to transfer a word from class four into class two is to put it +temporarily into the intermediary class, three; you first _see_ or +_hear_ the word, next _write_ it, afterwards _speak_ it. +The mere writing down of your lists has probably done much to bring the +words written into the circuit of your memory, where you can more readily +lay hold of them. Also it has fortified your confidence in using them; for +to write a word out, letter by letter, makes you surer that you have its +right form. With many of your words you will likely have no more trouble; +they will be at hand, anxious for employment, and you may use them +according to your need. But some of your words will still stubbornly +withhold themselves from memory. Weed these out from your lists, make a +special list of them, copy it frequently, construct short sentences into +which the troublesome words fit. By dint of writing the words so often you +will soon make them more tractable. + +4. Make a fifth list of words--those you hear or see printed, do not +understand the meaning of, but yet feel you should know. Obtain and +confirm a grasp of them by the successive processes used with words in the +preceding lists. + + +<The Definition of Words> + +Another means of buttressing your command of your present vocabulary is to +define words you use or are familiar with. + +Do not bewilder yourself with words (like _and, the_) which call for +ingenuity in handling somewhat technical terms, or with words (like +_thing, affair, condition_) which loosely cover a multitude of +meanings. (You may, however, concentrate your efforts upon some one +meaning of words in the latter group.) Select words with a fairly definite +signification, and express this as precisely as you can. You may +afterwards consult a dictionary for means of checking up on what you have +done. But in consulting it think only of idea, not of form. You are not +training yourself in dictionary definitions, but in the sharpness and +clarity of your understanding of meanings. + +About the only rule to be laid down regarding the definition of verbs, +adjectives, and adverbs is that you must not define a word in terms of +itself. Thus if you define _grudgingly_ as "in a grudging manner," +you do not dissipate your hearer's uncertainty as to what the word means. +If you define it as "unwillingly" or "in a manner that shows reluctance to +yield possession," you give your hearer a clear-cut idea in no wise +dependent upon his ability to understand the word that puzzled him in the +first place. + +Normally, in defining a noun you should assign the thing named to a +general class, and to its special limits within that class; in other +words, you should designate its genus and species. You must take care to +differentiate the species from all others comprised within the genus. +You will, in most instances, first indicate the genus and then the +species, but at your convenience you may indicate the species first. Thus +if you affirm, "A cigar is smoking-tobacco in the form of a roll of +tobacco-leaves," you name the genus first and later the characteristics of +the species. You have given a satisfactory definition. If on the other +hand you affirm, "A cigar is a roll of tobacco-leaves meant for smoking," +you first designate the species and then merely imply the genus. Again you +have given a satisfactory definition; for you have permitted no doubt that +the genus is smoking-tobacco, and have prescribed such limits for the +species as exclude tobacco intended for a pipe or a cigarette. + +In defining nouns by the genus-and-species method, restrict the genus to +the narrowest possible bounds. You will thus save the need for exclusions +later. Had you in your first definition of a cigar begun by saying that it +is tobacco, rather than smoking-tobacco, you would have violated this +principle; and you would have had to amplify the rest of your definition +in order to exclude chewing-tobacco, snuff, and the like. + +EXERCISE - Definition + +1. Define words of your own choosing in accordance with the principles +laid down in the preceding section of the text. + +2. Define the following adjectives, adverbs, and verbs: + +Miserable Rebuke Wise +Angrily Rapidly Boundless +Swim Paint Whiten +Haughtily Surly Causelessly + +3. So define the following nouns as to prevent any possible confusion with +the nouns following them in parentheses: + +Wages (salary) Ride (drive) +Planet (star) Truck (automobile) +Watch (clock) Reins (lines) +Jail (penitentiary) Iron (steel) +Vegetable (fruit) Timber (lumber) +Flower (weed) Rope (string) +Hail (sleet, snow) Stock (bond) +Newspaper (magazine) Street car (railway coach) +Cloud (fog) Revolver (rifle, pistol, etc.) +Mountain (hill) Creek (river) +Letter (postal card) + +4. While remembering that the following words are of broad signification +and mean different things to different people, define them according to +their meaning to you: + +Gentleman Courage +Honesty Beauty +Honor Good manners +Generosity A good while +Charity A little distance +Modesty Long ago + + +<How to Look Up a Word in the Dictionary> + +So much for the words which are already yours, or which you can make yours +through your own unaided efforts. For convenience we have grouped with +them some words of a nature more baffling--words of which you know perhaps +but a single aspect rather than the totality, or upon which you can obtain +but a feeble and precarious grip. These slightly known words belong more +to the class now to be considered than to that just disposed of. For we +have now to deal with words over which you can establish no genuine +rulership unless you have outside help. + +You must own a dictionary, have it by you, consult it carefully and often. +Do not select one for purchasing upon the basis of either mere bigness or +cheapness. If you do, you may make yourself the owner of an out-of-date +reprint from stereotyped plates. What to choose depends partly upon +personal preference, partly upon whether your need is for +comprehensiveness or compression. + +If you are a scholar, _Murray's_ many-volumed _New English +Dictionary_ may be the publication for you; but if you are an ordinary +person, you will probably content yourself with something less expensive +and exhaustive. You will find the _Century Dictionary and +Cyclopedia_, in twelve volumes, or _Webster's New International +Dictionary_ an admirable compilation. The _New Standard +Dictionary_ will also prove useful. All in all, if you can afford it, +you should provide yourself with one or the other of these three large and +authoritative, but not too inclusive, works. Of the smaller lexicons +_Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Webster's Secondary School +Dictionary_, the _Practical Standard Dictionary_, and the _Desk +Standard Dictionary_ answer most purposes well. + +A dictionary is not for show. You must learn to use it. What ordinarily +passes for use is in fact abuse. Wherein? Let us say that you turn to your +lexicon for the meaning of a word. Of the various definitions given, you +disregard all save the one which enables the word to make sense in its +present context, or which fits your preconception of what the word should +stand for. Having engaged in this solemn mummery, you mentally record the +fact that you have been squandering your time, and enter into a compact +with yourself that no more will you so do. At best you have tided over a +transitory need, or have verified a surmise. You have not truly +_learned_ the word, brought it into a vassal's relationship with you, +so fixed it in memory that henceforth, night or day, you can take it up +like a familiar tool. + +This procedure is blundering, farcical, futile, incorrect. To suppose you +have learned a word by so cursory a glance at its resources is like +supposing you have learned a man through having had him render you some +temporary and trivial service, as lending you a match or telling you the +time of day. To acquaint yourself thoroughly with a word--or a man-- +involves effort, application. You must go about the work seriously, +intelligently. + +One secret of consulting a dictionary properly lies in finding the +primary, the original meaning of the word. You must go to the source. If +the word is of recent formation, and is native rather than naturalized +English, you have only to look through the definitions given. Such a word +will not cause you much trouble. But if the word is derived from primitive +English or from a foreign language, you must seek its origin, not in one +of the numbered subheads of the definition, but in an etymological record +you will perceive within brackets or parentheses. Here you will find the +Anglo-Saxon (Old English), Latin, Greek, French, German, Italian, +Scandinavian, or other word from which sprang the word you are studying, +and along with this authentic original you may find cognate words in other +languages. These you may examine if you care to observe their resemblance +to your word, but the examination is not necessary. It could teach you +only the earlier or other _forms_ of your word, whereas what you are +after is the original _meaning_. This too is set down within the +brackets; if your search is in earnest, you cannot possible miss it. And +having discovered this original meaning, you must get it in mind; it is +one of the really significant things about the word. Your next step is to +find the present import of the word. Look, therefore, through the modern +definitions. Of these there may be too many, with too delicate shadings in +thought between them, for you to keep all clearly in mind. In fact you +need not try. Consider them of course, but out of them seek mainly the +drift, the central meaning. After a little practice you will be able to +disengage it from the others. + +You now know the original sense of the word and its central signification +today. The two may be identical; they may be widely different; but through +reflection or study of the entire definition you will establish some sort +of connection between them. When you have done this, you have mastered the +word. From the two meanings you can surmise the others, wherever and +whenever encountered; for the others are but outgrowths and applications +of them. + +One warning will not be amiss. You must not suppose that the terms used in +defining a word are its absolute synonyms, or may be substituted for it +indiscriminately. You must develop a feeling for _the limits_ of the +word, so that you may perceive where its likeness to the other terms +leaves off and its unlikeness begins. Thus if one of the terms employed in +defining _command_ is _control_, you must not assume that the +two words are interchangeable; you must not say, for instance, that the +captain controlled his men to present arms. + +Such, abstractly stated, is the way to look up a word in the dictionary. +Let us now take a concrete illustration. Starting with the word +_tension_, let us ascertain what we can about it in the _Century +Dictionary and Cyclopedia_. Our first quest is the original meaning. +For this we consult the bracketed matter. There we meet the French, +Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian kinsmen of the word, and learn that they +are traceable to a common ancestor, the Latin _tensio(n)_, which +comes from the Latin verb _tendere_. The meaning of _tensio(n)_ +is given as "stretching," that of _tendere_ as "stretch," "extend." +Thus we know of the original word that in form it closely resembles the +modern word, and that in meaning it involves the idea of stretching. + +What is the central meaning of the word today? To acquaint ourselves with +this we must run through the definitions listed. Here (in condensed form) +they are. (1) The act of stretching. (2) In _mechanics_, stress or +the force by which something is pulled. (3) In _physics_, a +constrained condition of the particles of bodies. (4) In _statical +electricity_, surface-density. (5) Mental strain, stress, or +application. (6) A strained state of any kind, as political or social. (7) +An attachment to a sewing-machine for regulating the strain of the thread. +Now of these definitions (2), (3), (4), and (7) are too highly specialized +to conduct us, of themselves, into the highway of the word's meaning. They +bear out, however, the evidence of (1), (5), and (6), which have as their +core the idea of stretching, or of the strain which stretching produces. + +We must now lay the original meaning alongside the central meaning today, +in order to draw our conclusions. We perceive that the two meanings +correspond. Yet by prying into them we make out one marked difference +between them. The original meaning is literal, the modern largely +figurative. To be sure, the figure has been so long used that it is now +scarcely felt as a figure; its force and definiteness have departed. +Consequently we may speak of being on a tension without having in mind at +all a comparison of our nervous system with a stretched garment, or with +an outreaching arm, or with a tightly strung musical instrument, or with a +taut rope. + +What, then, is the net result of our investigation? Simply this, that +_tension_ means stretching, and that the stretching may be conceived +either literally or figuratively. With these two facts in mind, we need +not (unless we are experts in mechanics, physics, statical electricity, or +the sewing-machine) go to the trouble of committing the special senses of +_tension_; for should occasion bid, we can--from our position at the +heart of the word--easily grasp their rough purport. And from other +persons than specialists no more would be required. + + +EXERCISE - Dictionary + +For each of the following words find (a) the original meaning, (b) the +central meaning today. (Other words are given in the exercises at the end +of this chapter.) + +Bias Supersede Sly +Aversion Capital Meerschaum +Extravagant Travel Alley +Concur Travail Fee +Attention Apprehend Superb +Magnanimity Lewd Adroit +Altruism Instigation Quite +Benevolence Complexion Urchin +Charity Bishop Thoroughfare +Unction Starve Naughty +Speed Cunning Moral +Success Decent Antic +Crafty Handsome Savage +Usury Solemn Uncouth +Costume Parlor Window +Presumption Bombastic Colleague +Petty Vixen Alderman +Queen Doctor Engage + + +<Prying Into a Word's Past> + +To thread with minute fidelity the mazes of a word's former history is the +task of the linguistic scholar; our province is the practical and the +present-day. But words, like men, are largely what they are because of +what they have been; and to turn a gossip's eye upon their past is to +procure for ourselves, often, not only enlightenment but also +entertainment. This fact, though brought out in some part already, +deserves separate and fuller discussion. + +In the first place, curiosity as to words' past experience enables us to +read with keener understanding the literature of preceding ages. Of course +we should not, even so, go farther back than about three centuries. To +read anything earlier than Shakespeare would require us to delve too +deeply into linguistic bygones. And to read Shakespeare himself requires +effort--but rewards it. Let us see how an insight into words will help us +to interpret the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). + +In line 2 of this passage appears the word _merely_. In Shakespeare's +time it frequently meant "altogether" or "that and nothing else." As here +used, it may be taken to mean this, or to have its modern meaning, or to +stand in meaning midway between the two and to be suggestive of both; +there is no way of determining precisely. In line 12 the word _pard_ +means leopard. In line 18 _saws_ means "sayings" (compare the phrase +"an old saw"); _modern_ means "moderate," "commonplace"; +_instances_ means what we mean by it today, "examples," +"illustrations." (Line 18 as a whole gives us a vivid sense of the +justice's readiness to speak sapiently, after the manner of justices, and +to trot out his trite illustrations on the slightest provocation.) The +word _pantaloon_ in line 20 is interesting. The patron saint of +Venice was St. Pantaleon (the term is from Greek, means "all-lion," and +possibly refers to the lion of St. Mark's Cathedral). _Pantaloon_ +came therefore to signify (1) a Venetian, (2) a garment worn by Venetians +and consisting of breeches and stockings in one. The second sense is +preserved, substantially, in our term _pantaloons_. The first sense +led to the use of the word (in the mouths of the Venetians' enemies) for +"buffoon" and then (in early Italian comedy) for "a lean and foolish old +man." It is this stock figure of the stage that Shakespeare evokes. In +line 22 _hose_ means the covering for a man's body from his waist to +his nether-stock. (Compare the present meaning: a covering for the feet +and the _lower_ part of the legs.) In line 27 _mere_ means +"absolute." In line 28 _sans_ means "without." + +Of the words we have examined, only _sans_ is obsolete, though +_pard_, _saws_, and _pantaloon_ are perhaps not entirely +familiar. That is, only one word in the passage, so far as its outward +form goes, is completely alien to our knowledge. But how different the +matter stands when we consider meanings! The words are words of today, but +the meanings are the meanings of Shakespeare. We should be baffled and +misled as to the dramatist's thought if we had made no inquiries into the +vehicle therefor. + +In the second place, to look beyond the present into the more remote +signification of words will put us on our guard against the reappearance +of submerged or half-forgotten meanings. We have seen that the word +_tension_ may be used without conscious connection with the idea of +stretching. But if we incautiously place the word in the wrong +environment, the idea will be resurrected to our undoing. We associate +_ardor_ with strong and eager desire. For ordinary purposes this +conception of the word suffices. But _ardor_ is one of the children +of fire; its primary sense is "burning" (compare _arson_). Therefore +to pronounce the three vocables "overflowing with ardor" is to mix figures +of speech absurdly. We should fall into a similar mistake if we said +"brilliant fluency," and into a mistake of another kind (that of tautology +or repetition of an idea) if we said "heart-felt cordiality," for +_cordiality_ means "feelings of the heart." _Appreciate_ means +"set a (due) value on." We may perhaps say "really appreciate," but +scrupulous writers and speakers do not say "appreciate very much." A +_humor_ (compare humid) was once a "moisture"; then one of the four +moistures or liquids that entered into the human constitution and by the +proportions of their admixture determined human temperament; next a man's +outstanding temperamental quality (the thing itself rather than the cause +of it); then oddity which people may laugh at; then the spirit of laughter +and good nature in general. Normally we do not connect the idea of +moisture with the word. We may even speak of "a dry humor." But we should +not say "now and then a dry humor crops out," for then too many buried +meanings lie in the same grave for the very dead to rest peacefully +together. + +Even apart from reading old literature and from having, when you use +words, no ghosts of their pristine selves rise up to damn you, you may +profit from a knowledge of how the meaning of a term has evolved. For +example, you will meet many tokens and reminders of the customs and +beliefs of our ancestors. Thus _coxcomb_ carries you back to the days +when every court was amused by a "fool" whose head was decked with a +cock's comb; _crestfallen_ takes you back to cockfighting; and +_lunatic_ ("moonstruck"), _disaster_ ("evil star"), and "thank +your lucky stars" plant you in the era of superstition when human fate was +governed by heavenly bodies. + +Further, you will perceive the poetry of words. Thus to _wheedle is_ +to wag the tail and to _patter_ is to hurry through one's prayers +(paternoster). What a picture of the frailty of men even in their holiness +flashes on us from that word _patter! Breakfast is_ the breaking of +the fast of the night. _Routine_ (the most humdrum of words) is +travel along a way already broken. _Goodby_ is an abridged form of +"God be with you." _Dilapidated_ is fallen stone from stone. +_Daisy_ is "the day's eye," _nasturtium_ (from its spicy smell) +"the nose-twister," _dandelion_ "the tooth of the lion." _A +lord_ is a bread-guard. + +You will perceive, moreover, that many a dignified word once involved the +same idea as some unassuming or even semi-disreputable word or expression +involves now. Thus there is little or no difference in figure between +understanding a thing and getting on to it; between averting something +(turning it aside) and sidetracking it; between excluding (shutting out) +and closing the door to; between degrading (putting down a step) and +taking down a notch; between accumulating (heaping up) and making one's +pile; between taking umbrage (the shadow) and being thrown in the shade; +between ejaculating and throwing out a remark; between being on a tension +and being highstrung; between being vapid and having lost steam; between +insinuating (winding in) and worming in; between investigating and +tracking; between instigating (goading on or into) and prodding up; +between being incensed (compare _incendiary_) and burning with +indignation; between recanting (unsinging) and singing another tune; +between ruminating (chewing) and smoking in one's pipe. Nor is there much +difference in figure between sarcasm (a tearing of the flesh) and taking +the hide off; between sinister (left-handed) and backhanded; between +preposterous (rear end foremost) and cart before the horse; between salary +(salt-money, an allowance for soldiers) and pin-money; between pedigree +(crane's foot, from the appearance of genealogical diagrams) and crowsfeet +(about the eyes); between either precocious (early cooked), apricot (early +cooked), crude (raw), or recrudescence (raw again) and half-baked. To +ponder is literally to weigh; to apprehend an idea is to take hold of it; +to deviate is to go out of one's way; to congregate is to flock together; +to assail or insult a man is to jump on him; to be precipitate is to go +head foremost; to be recalcitrant is to kick. + +Again, you will perceive that many words once had more literal or more +definitely concrete meanings than they have now. To corrode is to gnaw +along with others, to differ is to carry apart, to refuse is to pour back. +Polite is polished, absurd is very deaf, egregious is taken from the +common herd, capricious is leaping about like a goat, cross (disagreeable) +is shaped like a cross, wrong is wrung (or twisted). Crisscross is +Christ's cross, attention is stretching toward, expression is pressed out, +dexterity is right-handedness, circumstances are things standing around, +an innuendo is nodding, a parlor is a room to talk in, a nostril is that +which pierces the nose (thrill means pierce), vinegar is sharp wine, a +stirrup is a rope to mount by, a pastor is a shepherd, a marshal is a +caretaker of horses, a constable is a stable attendant, a companion is a +sharer of one's bread. + +On the other hand, you will find that many words were once more general in +import than they have since become. _Fond_ originally meant foolish, +then foolishly devoted, then (becoming more general again) devoted. +_Nostrum_ meant our own, then a medicine not known by other +physicians, then a quack remedy. _Shamefast_ meant confirmed in +modesty (shame); then through a confusion of _fast_ with +_faced_, a betrayal through the countenance of self-consciousness or +guilt. _Counterfeit_ meant a copy or a picture, then an unlawful +duplication, especially of a coin. _Lust_ meant pleasure of any sort, +then inordinate sexual pleasure or desire. _Virtue_ (to trace only a +few of its varied activities) meant manliness, then the quality or +attribute peculiar to true manhood (with the Romans this was valor), then +any admirable quality, then female chastity. _Pen_ meant a feather, +then a quill to write with, then an instrument for writing used in the +same way as a quill. A _groom_ meant a man, then a stableman (in +_bridegroom_, however, it preserves the old signification). +_Heathen_ (heath-dweller), _pagan_ (peasant), and _demon_ +(a divinity) had in themselves no iniquitous savor until early Christians +formed their opinion of the people inaccessible to them and the spirits +incompatible with the unity of the Godhead. Words betokening future +happenings or involving judgment tend to take a special cast from the +fears and anxieties men feel when their fortune is affected or their +destiny controlled by external forces. Thus _omen_ (a prophetic +utterance or sign) and _portent_ (a stretching forward, a foreseeing, +a foretelling) might originally be either benign or baleful; but nowadays, +especially in the adjectival forms _ominous_ and _portentous_, +they wear a menacing hue. Similarly _criticism_, _censure_, and +_doom_, all of them signifying at first mere judgment, have come--the +first in popular, the other two in universal, usage--to stand for adverse +judgment. The old sense of _doom_ is perpetuated, however, in +_Doomsday_, which means the day on which we are all to be, not +necessarily sent to hell, but judged. + +You will furthermore perceive that the exaggerated affirmations people are +always indulging in have led to the weakening of many a word. _Fret_ +meant eat; formerly to say that a man was fretting was to use a vigorous +comparison--to have the man devoured with care. _Mortify_ meant to +kill, then killed with embarrassment, then embarrassed. _Qualm_ meant +death, but our qualms of conscience have degenerated into mere twinges. +Oaths are shorn of their might by overuse; _confound_, once a +tremendous malinvocation, may now fall from the lips of respectable young +ladies, and _fie_, in its time not a whit less dire, would be +scarcely out of place in even a cloister. Words designating immediacy come +to have no more strength than soup-meat seven times boiled. +_Presently_ meant in the present, _soon_ and _by and by_ +meant forthwith. How they have lost their fundamental meaning will be +intelligible to you if you have in ordering something been told that it +would be delivered "right away," or in calling for a girl have been told +that she would be down "in a minute." + +You will detect in words of another class a deterioration, not in force, +but in character; they have fallen into contemptuous or sinister usage. +Many words for skill or wisdom have been thus debased. _Cunning_ +meant knowing, _artful_ meant well acquainted with one's art, +_crafty_ meant proficient in one's craft or calling, _wizard_ +meant wise man. The present import of these words shows how men have +assumed that mental superiority must be yoked with moral dereliction or +diabolical aid. Words indicating the generality--indicating ordinary rank +or popular affiliations--have in many instances suffered the same decline. +_Trivial_ meant three ways; it was what might be heard at the +crossroads or on any route you chanced to be traveling, and its value was +accordingly slight. _Lewd_ meant belonging to the laity; it came to +mean ignorant, and then morally reprehensible. _Common_ may be used +to signify ill-bred; _vulgar_ may be and frequently is used to +signify indecent. _Sabotage_, from a French term meaning wooden shoe, +has come to be applied to the deliberate and systematic scamping of one's +work in order to injure one's employer. _Idiot_ (common soldier) +crystallizes the exasperated ill opinion of officers for privates. +(_Infantry_--an organization of military infants--has on the contrary +sloughed its reproach and now enshrines the dignity of lowliness.) +Somewhat akin to words of this type is _knave_, which first meant +boy, then servant, then rogue. Terms for agricultural classes seldom +remain flattering. Besides such epithets as _hayseed_ and +_clodhopper_, contemptuous in their very origin, _villain_ (farm +servant), _churl_ (farm laborer), and _boor_ (peasant) have all +gathered unto themselves opprobrium; _villain_ now involves a +scoundrelly spirit, _churl_ a contumelious manner, _boor_ a +bumptious ill-breeding; not one of these words is any longer confined in +its application to a particular social rank. Terms for womankind are soon +tainted. _Wench_ meant at first nothing worse than girl or daughter, +_quean_ than woman, _hussy_ than housewife; even _woman_ is +generally felt to be half-slighting. Terms affirming unacquaintance with +sin, or abstention from it, tend to be quickly reft of what praise they +are fraught with; none of us likes to be saluted as _innocent_, +_guileless_, or _unsophisticated_, and to be dubbed _silly_ no +longer makes us feel blessed. Besides these and similar classes of words, +there are innumerable individual terms that have sadly lost caste. An +_imp_ was erstwhile a scion; it then became a boy, and then a +mischievous spirit. A _noise_ might once be music; it has ceased to +enjoy such possibilities. To live near a piano that is constantly banged +is to know how _noise_ as a synonym for music was outlawed. + +A backward glance over the history of words repays you in showing you the +words for what they are, and in having them live out their lives before +you. Do you know what an _umpire_ is? He is a non (or num) peer, a +not equal man, an odd man--one therefore who can decide disputes. Do you +know what a _nickname_ is? It is an eke (also) name, a title bestowed +upon one in addition to his proper designation. Do you know what a +_fellow_, etymologically speaking, is? He is a fee-layer, a partner, +a man who lays his fee (property) alongside yours. Do you know that +_matinée_, though awarded to the afternoon, meant primarily a morning +entertainment and has traveled so far from its original sense that we call +an actual before-noon performance a morning matinée? Do you know the past +of such words as _bedlam_, _rival_, _parson_, +_sandwich_, _pocket handkerchief?_ _Bedlam_, a corruption +of _Bethlehem_, was a hospital for the insane in London; it came to +be a general term for great confusion or discord. _Rivals_ were +formerly dwellers--that is, neighboring dwellers--on the bank of a stream; +disputes over water-rights gave the word its present meaning. A +_person_ or _parson_, for the two were the same, was a mask +(literally, that through which the sound came); then an actor representing +a character in a play; then a representative of any sort; then the +representative of the church in a parish. A _sandwich_ was a +stratification of bread and meat by the Earl of Sandwich, who was so loath +to leave the gaming table that he saved time by having food brought him in +this form. A _kerchief_ was originally a cover for the head, and +indeed sundry amiable, old-fashioned grandmothers still use it for this +purpose. Afterward people carried it in their hands and called it a +_handkerchief_; and when they transferred it to the pocket, they +called it a _pocket handkerchief_ or pocket hand head-cover. A +scrutiny of such words should convince you that the reading of the +dictionary, instead of being the dull occupation it is almost proverbially +reputed to be, may become an occupation truly fascinating. For clustered +about the words recorded in the dictionary are inexhaustible riches of +knowledge and of interest for those who have eyes to see. + + +EXERCISE - Past + +1. For each of the following words look up (a) the present meaning if you +do not know it, (b) the original meaning, (c) any other past meanings you +can find. + +Exposition Corn Cattle +Influence Sanguine Turmoil +Sinecure Waist Shrew +Potential Spaniel Crazy +Character Candidate Indomitable +Infringe Rascal Amorphous +Expend Thermometer Charm +Rather Tall Stepchild +Wedlock Ghostly Haggard +Bridal Pioneer Pluck +Noon Neighbor Jimson weed +Courteous Wanton Rosemary +Cynical Street Plausible +Grocer Husband Allow +Worship Gipsy Insane +Encourage Clerk Disease +Astonish Clergyman Boulevard +Realize Hectoring Canary +Bombast Primrose Diamond +Benedict Walnut Abominate +Piazza Holiday Barbarous +Disgust Heavy Kind +Virtu Nightmare Devil +Gospel Comfort Whist +Mermaid Pearl Onion +Enthusiasm Domino Book +Fanatic Grotesque Cheat +Auction Economy Illegible +Quell Cheap Illegitimate +Sheriff Excelsior Emasculate +Danger Dunce Champion +Shibboleth Calico Adieu +Essay Pontiff Macadamize +Wages Copy Stentorian +Quarantine Puny Saturnine +Buxom Caper Derrick +Indifferent Boycott Mercurial +Gaudy Countenance Poniard +Majority Camera Chattel. + +2. The following words are often used loosely today, some because their +original meaning is lost sight of, some because they are confused with +other words. Find for each word (a) what the meaning has been and (b) what +the correct meaning is now. + +Nice Awful Atrocious +Grand Horrible Pitiful +Beastly Transpire Claim +Weird Aggravate Uncanny +Demean Gorgeous Elegant +Fine Noisome Mutual (in "a mutual friend") +Lovely Cute Stunning +Liable Immense. + +3. The following sentences from standard English literature illustrate the +use of words still extant and even familiar, in senses now largely or +wholly forgotten. The quotations from the Bible and Shakespeare (all the +Biblical quotations are from the King James Version) date back a little +more than three hundred years, those from Milton a little less than three +hundred years, and those from Gray and Coleridge, respectively, about a +hundred and seventy-five and a hundred and twenty-five years. Go carefully +enough into the past meanings of the italicized words to make sure you +grasp the author's thought. + +And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of +these is _charity_.(1 _Corinthians_ 13:13) + +I _prevented_ the dawning of the morning. (_Psalms_ 119:147) + +Our eyes _wait_ upon the Lord our God. (_Psalms_ 123:2) + +The times of this ignorance God _winked_ at. (_Acts_ 17:30) + +And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me; for I perceive that +_virtue_ is gone out of me. (_Luke_ 8:46) + +To judge the _quick_ and the dead. (1 _Peter_ 4:5) + +Be not wise in your own _conceits_. (_Romans_ 12:16) + +In maiden meditation, _fancy_-free. (Shakespeare: _A Midsummer +Night's Dream_) + +Is it so _nominated_ in the bond? (Shakespeare: _The Merchant +of Venice_) + +Would I had met my _dearest_ foe in heaven. (Shakespeare: +_Hamlet_) + +The _extravagant_ and _erring_ spirit. (Said of a spirit +wandering from the bounds of purgatory. Shakespeare: _Hamlet_) + +The _modesty_ of nature. (Shakespeare: _Hamlet_) + +It is a nipping and an _eager_ air. (Shakespeare: _Hamlet_) + +_Security_ +Is mortals' chiefest enemy. (Shakespeare: _Macbeth_) + +Most _admired_ disorder. (Shakespeare: _Macbeth_) + +Upon this _hint_ I spake. (From the account of the wooing of +Desdemona. Shakespeare: _Othello_) + +This Lodovico is a _proper_ man. A very handsome man. +(Shakespeare: _Othello_) + +Mice and rats and such small _deer_. (Shakespeare: _King Lear_) + +This is no sound +That the earth _owes_. (Shakespeare: _The Tempest_) + +Every shepherd _tells_ his _tale_. (Milton: _L'Allegro_) +Bring the _rathe_ primrose that forsaken dies. (_Rathe_ survives +only in the comparative form _rather_. Milton: _Lycidas_) + +Can honor's voice _provoke_ the silent dust? (Gray: _Elegy_) + +The _silly_ buckets on the deck. (Coleridge: _The Ancient +Mariner_) + +4. In technical usage or particular phrases a former sense of a word may +be embedded like a fossil. The italicized words in the following list +retain special senses of this kind. What do these words as thus used mean? +Can you add to the list? +To _wit_ +Might and _main_ +Time and _tide_ +Christmas_tide_ +_Sad_ bread +A bank _teller_ +To _tell_ one's _beads_ +Aid and _abet_ +_Meat_ and drink +Shop_lifter_ +Fishing-_tackle_ +Getting off _scot_-free +An _earnest_ of future favors +A _brave_ old hearthstone +_Confusion_ to the enemy! +Giving aid and _comfort_ to the enemy +Without _let_ or hindrance +A _let_ in tennis +_Quick_lime +Cut to _the quick_ +_Neat_-foot oil +To _sound in_ tort (Legal phrase) +To bid one God_speed_ +I had as _lief_ as not +The child _favors_ its parents +On _pain_ of death +Widow's _weeds_ +I am _bound_ for the Promised Land +To _carry_ a girl to a party (Used only in the South) +To give a person so much _to boot_ + +5. Each of the subjoined phrases contradicts itself or repeats its idea +clumsily. The key to the difficulty lies in the italicized words. What is +their true meaning? + +A weekly _journal_ +_Ultimate_ end +Final _ultimatum_ +_Final_ completion +Previous _preconceptions_ +_Nauseating_ seasickness +_Join_ together +_Descend_ down +_Prefer_ better +_Argent_ silver +Completely _annihilate_ +_Unanimously_ by all +Most _unique_ of all +The other _alternative_ +_Endorse_ on the back +_Incredible_ to believe +A _criterion_ to go by +An _appetite_ to eat +_A panacea_ for all ills +_Popular_ with the people +_Biography_ of his life +_Autobiography_ of his own life +_Vitally_ alive +A new, _novel_, and ingenious explanation +_Mutual_ dislike for each other +_Omniscient_ knowledge of all subjects +A _material_ growth in mental power +_Peculiar_ faults of his own +Fly into an _ebullient_ passion +To _saturate_ oneself with gold and silver +Elected by _acclamation on_ a secret ballot. + + + +V. + + INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS MEMBERS OF VERBAL FAMILIES + + +Our investigation into the nature, qualities, and fortunes of single words +must now merge into a study of their family connections. We do not go far +into this new phase of our researches before we perceive that the career +of a word may be very complicated. Most people, if you asked them, would +tell you that an individual word is a causeless entity--a thing that was +never begotten and lacks power to propagate. They would deny the +possibility that its course through the world could be other than +colorless, humdrum. Now words thus immaculately conceived and fatefully +impotent, words that shamble thus listlessly through life, there are. But +many words are born in an entirely normal way; have a grubby boyhood, a +vigorous youth, and a sober maturity; marry, beget sons and daughters, +become old, enfeebled, even senile; and suffer neglect, if not death. In +their advanced age they are exempted by the discerning from enterprises +that call for a lusty agility, but are drafted into service by those to +whom all levies are alike. Indeed in their very prime of manhood their +vicissitudes are such as to make them seem human. Some rise in the world +some sink; some start along the road of grandeur or obliquity, and then +backslide or reform. Some are social climbers, and mingle in company where +verbal dress coats are worn; some are social degenerates, and consort with +the ragamuffins and guttersnipes of language. Some marry at their own +social level, some above them, some beneath; some go down in childless +bachelorhood or leave an unkempt and illegitimate progeny. And if you +trace their own lineage, you will find for some that it is but decent and +middle-class, for some that it is mongrelized and miscegenetic, for some +that it is proud, ancient, yea perhaps patriarchal. + +It is contrary to nature for a word, as for a man, to live the life of a +hermit. Through external compulsion or internal characteristics a word has +contacts with its fellows. And its most intimate, most spontaneous +associations are normally with its own kindred. + +In our work hitherto we have had nothing to say of verbal consanguinity. +But we have not wholly ignored its existence, for the very good reason +that we could not. For example, in the latter portions of Chapter IV we +proceeded on the hypothesis that at least some words have ancestors. Also +in the analysis of the dictionary definition of _tension_ we learned +that the word has, not only a Latin forebear, but French, Spanish, +Portuguese, and Italian kinsmen as well. One thing omitted from that +analysis would have revealed something further--namely, that the word has +its English kinfolks too. For the bracketed part of the dictionary +definition mentions two other English words, _tend_ and _tense_, +which from their origin involve the same idea as that of _tension_-- +the idea of stretching. + +Now words may be akin in either of two ways. They may be related in blood. +Or they may be related by marriage. Let us consider these two kinds of +connection more fully. + + +<Words Related in Blood> + +As an illustration of blood kinships enjoyed by a native English word take +the adjective _good_. We can easily call to mind other members of its +family: goodly, goodish, goody-goody, good-hearted, good-natured, good- +humored, good-tempered, goods, goodness, goodliness, gospel (good story), +goodby, goodwill, goodman, goodwife, good-for-nothing, good den (good +evening), the Good Book. The connection between these words is obvious. + +Next consider a group of words that have been naturalized: scribe, +prescribe, ascribe, proscribe, transcribe, circumscribe, subscriber, +indescribable, scribble, script, scripture, postscript, conscript, +rescript, manuscript, nondescript, inscription, superscription, +description. It is clear that these words are each other's kith and kin in +blood, and that the strain or stock common to all is _scribe_ or (as +sometimes modified) _script_. What does this strain signify? The idea +of writing. The _scribes_ are a writing clan. Some of them, to be +sure, have strayed somewhat from the ancestral calling, for words are as +wilful--or as independent--as men. _Ascribe_, for example, does not +act like a member of the household of writers, whatever it may look like. +We should have to scrutinize it carefully or consult the record for it in +that verbal Who's Who, the dictionary, before we could understand how it +came by its scribal affiliations honestly. But once we begin to reflect or +to probe, we find we have not mistaken its identity. _Ascribe_ is the +offspring of _ad_ (to) and _scribo_ (write), both Latin terms. +It originally meant writing to a person's name or after it (that is, +imputing to the person by means of written words) some quality or +happening of which he was regarded as the embodiment, source, or cause. +Nowadays we may saddle the matter on him through oral rather than written +speech. That is, _ascribe_ has largely lost the writing traits. But +all the same it is manifestly of the writing blood. + +The _scribes_ are of undivided racial stock, Latin. Consider now the +_manu_, or _man_, words which sprang from the Latin +_manus_, meaning "hand." Here are some of them: manual, manoeuver, +mandate, manacle, manicure, manciple, emancipate, manage, manner, +manipulate, manufacture, manumission, manuscript, amanuensis. These too +are children of the same father; they are brothers and sisters to each +other. But what shall we say of legerdemain (light, or sleight, of hand), +maintain, coup de main, and the like? They bear a resemblance to the +_man's_ and _manu's_, yet one that casual observers would not +notice. Is there kinship between the two sets of words? There is. But not +the full fraternal or sororal relation. The _mains_ are children of +_manus_ by a French marriage he contracted. With this French blood in +their veins, they are only half-brothers, half-sisters of the +_manu's_ and the _man's_. + +Your examination of the family trees of words will be practical, rather +than highly scholastic, in nature. You need not track every word in the +dictionary to the den of its remote parentage. Nor need you bother your +head with the name of the distant ancestor. But in the case of the large +number of words that have a numerous kindred you should learn to detect +the inherited strain. You will then know that the word is the brother or +cousin of certain other words of your acquaintance, and this knowledge +will apprise you of qualities in it with which you should reckon. To this +extent only must you make yourself a student of verbal genealogy. + + +EXERCISE - Blood + +(Simple exercises in tracing blood relationships among words are given at +the end of the chapter. Therefore the exercises assigned here are of a +special character.) + +1. Each of the following groups is made up of related words, but the +relationship is somewhat disguised. Consult the dictionary for each word, +and learn all you can as to (a) its source, (b) the influence (as passing +through an intermediate language) that gave it its present form, (c) the +course of its development into its present meaning. + +Captain Cathedral Governor +Capital Chaise Gubernatorial +Decapitate Chair +Chef Shay Guardian +Chieftain Ward + Camp +Cavalry Campaign Guarantee +Chivalry Champion Warrant + +Camera Inept Incipient +Chamber Apt Receive + +Serrated Inimical Poor +Sierra Enemy Pauper + +Influence Espionage Work +Influenza Spy Wrought + Playwright +Isolate +Insular + +2. The variety of sources for modern English is indicated by the following +list. Do not seek for blood kinsmen of these particular words, but think +of all the additional words you can that have come into English from +Indian, Spanish, French, any other language spoken today. + +Alphabet (Greek) Piano (Italian) +Folio (Latin) Car (Norman) +Boudoir (French) Rush (German) +Binnacle (Portuguese) Sky (Icelandic) +Anger (Old Norse) Yacht (Dutch) +Isinglass (Low German) Hussar (Hungarian) +Slogan (Celtic) Samovar (Russian) +Polka (Polish) Chess (Persian) +Shekel (Hebrew) Tea (Chinese) +Algebra (Arabic) Kimono (Japanese) +Puttee (Hindoo) Tattoo (Tahitian) +Boomerang (Australian) Voodoo (African) +Potato (Haytian) Skunk (American Indian) +Guano (Peruvian) Buncombe (American) +Renegade (Spanish) + + +<Words Related by Marriage> + +That words marry and are given in marriage, is too generally overlooked. +Any student of a foreign language, German for instance, can recall the +thrill of discovery and the lift of reawakened hope that came to him when +first he suspected, aye perceived, the existence of verbal matrimony. For +weeks he had struggled with words that apparently were made up of +fortuitous collocations of letters. Then in some beatific moment these +huddles of letters took meaning; in instance after instance they +represented, not a word, but words--a linguistic household. Let them be +what they might--a harem, the domestic establishment of a Mormon, the +dwelling-place of verbal polygamists,--he could at last see order in their +relationships. To their morals he was indifferent, absorbed as he was in +his joy of understanding. + +In English likewise are thousands of these verbal marriages. We may not be +aware of them; from our very familiarity with words we may overlook the +fact that in instances uncounted their oneness has been welded by a +linguistic minister or justice of the peace. But to read a single page or +harken for thirty seconds to oral discourse with our minds intent on such +states of wedlock is to convince ourselves that they abound. Consider this +list of everyday words: somebody, already, disease, vineyard, unskilled, +outlet, nevertheless, holiday, insane, resell, schoolboy, helpmate, +uphold, withstand, rainfall, deadlock, typewrite, football, motorman, +thoroughfare, snowflake, buttercup, landlord, overturn. Every term except +one yokes a verbal husband with his wife, and the one exception +(_nevertheless_) joins a uxorious man with two wives. + +These marriages are of a simple kind. But the nuptial interlinkings +between families of words may be many and complicated. Thus there is a +family of _graph_ (or write) words: graphic, lithograph, cerograph, +cinematograph, stylograph, telegraph, multigraph, seismograph, dictograph, +monograph, holograph, logograph, digraph, autograph, paragraph, +stenographer, photographer, biographer, lexicographer, bibliography, +typography, pyrography, orthography, chirography, calligraphy, +cosmography, geography. There is also a family of _phone_ (or sound) +words: telephone, dictaphone, megaphone, audiphone, phonology, symphony, +antiphony, euphonious, cacophonous, phonetic spelling. It chances that +both families are of Greek extraction. Related to the _graphs_--their +cousins in fact--are the _grams_: telegram, radiogram, cryptogram, +anagram, monogram, diagram, logogram, program, epigram, kilogram, +ungrammatical. Now a representative of the _graphs_ married into the +_phone_ family, and we have graphophone. A representative of the +_phones_ married into the _graph_ family, and we have +phonograph. A representative of the _grams_ married into the +_phone_ family, and we have gramophone. A representative of the +_phones_ married into the _gram_ family, and we have phonogram. +Of such unions children may be born. For example, from the marriage of Mr. +Phone with Miss Graph were born phonography, phonographer, phonographist +(a rather frail child), phonographic, phonographical, and +phonographically. + +Intermarriage between the _phones_ and the _graphs_ or +_grams_ is a wedding of equals. Some families of words, however, are +of inferior social standing to other families, and may seek but not hope +to be sought in marriage. Compare the _ex's_ with the _ports_. +An _ex_, as a preposition, belongs to a prolific family but not one +of established and unimpeachable dignity. Hence the _ex's_, though +they marry right and left, lead the other words to the altar and are never +led thither themselves. Witness exclude, excommunicate, excrescence, +excursion, exhale, exit, expel, expunge, expense, extirpate, extract; in +no instance does _ex_ fellow its connubial mate--it invariably +precedes. The _ports_, on the other hand, are the peers of anybody. +Some of them choose to remain single: port, porch, portal, portly, porter, +portage. Here and there one marries into another family: portfolio, +portmanteau, portable, port arms. More often, however, they are wooed than +themselves do the pleading: comport, purport, report, disport, transport, +passport, deportment, importance, opportunity, importunate, inopportune, +insupportable. From our knowledge of the two families, therefore, we +should surmise that if any marriage is to take place between them; an +_ex_ must be the suitor. The surmise would be sound. There is such a +term as _export_, but not as _portex_. + +Now it is oftentimes possible to do business with a man without knowing +whether he is a man or a bridal couple. And so with a word. But the +knowledge of his domestic state and circumstances will not come amiss, and +it may prove invaluable. You may find that you can handle him to best +advantage through a sagacious use of the influence of his wife. + + +EXERCISE - Marriage + +1. For each word in the lists of EXERCISE - Dictionary and Activity 1 for +EXERCISE - Past, determine (a) whether it is single or married; (b) if it +is married, whether the wedding is one between equals. + +2. Make a list of the married words in the first three paragraphs of the +selection from Burke (Appendix 2). For each of these words determine the +exact nature and extent of the dowry brought by each of the contracting +parties to the wedding. + + +<Prying Into a Word's Relationships> + +Hitherto in our study of verbal relationships we have usually started with +the family. Having strayed (as by good luck) into an assembly of kinsmen, +we have observed the common strain and the general characteristics, and +have then "placed" the individual with reference to these. But we do not +normally meet words, any more than we meet men, in the domestic circle. We +meet them and greet them hastily as they hurry through the tasks of the +day, with no other associates about them than such as chance or momentary +need may dictate. If we are to see anything of their family life, it must +be through effort we ourselves put forth. We must be inquisitive about +their conjugal and blood relationships. + +How, then, starting with the individual word, can you come into a +knowledge of it, not in its public capacity, but in what is even more +important, its personal connections? You must form the habit of asking two +questions about it: (1) Is it married? (2) Of what family or families was +it born? If you can get an understanding answer to these two questions, an +answer that will tell you what its relations stand for as well as what +their name is, your inquiries will be anything but bootless. + +Let us illustrate your procedure concretely. Suppose you read or hear the +word _conchology_. It is a somewhat unusual word, but see what you +can do with it yourself before calling on the dictionary to help you. +Observe the word closely, and you will obtain the answer to your first +question. _Conchology_ is no bachelor, no verbal old maid; it is a +married pair. + +Your second and more difficult task awaits you; you must ascertain the +meaning of the family connections. With Mr. Conch you are on speaking +terms; you know him as one of the shells. But the utmost you can recall +about his wife is that she is one of a whole flock of _ologies_. What +significance does this relationship possess? You are uncertain. But do not +thumb the dictionary yet. Pass in mental review all the _ologies_ you +can assemble. Wait also for the others that through the unconscious +operations of memory will tardily straggle in. Be on the lookout for +_ologies_ as you read, as you listen. In time you will muster a +sizable company of them. And you will draw a conclusion as to the meaning +of the blood that flows through their veins. _Ology_ implies speech +or study. _Conchology_, then, must be the study of conches. + +Your investigations thus far have done more than teach you the meaning of +the word you began with. They have brought you some of the by-products of +the study of verbal kinships. For you no longer pass the _ologies_ by +with face averted or bow timidly ventured. You have become so well +acquainted with them that even a new one, wherever encountered, would +flash upon you the face of a friend. But now your desires are whetted. You +wish to find out how much you _can_ learn. You at last consult the +dictionary. + +Here a huge obstacle confronts you. The _ologies_, like the +_ports_ (above), are a haughty clan; they are the wooed, rather +than the wooing, members of most marital households that contain them. Now +the marriage licenses recorded in the dictionary are entered under the +name of the suitor, not of the person sought. Hence you labor under a +severe handicap as you take the census of the _ologies_. Let us +imagine the handicap the most severe possible. Let us suppose that no +_ology_ had ever been the suitor. Even so, you would not be entirely +baffled. For you could look up in the dictionary the _ologies_ you +your self had been able to recall. To what profit? First, you could verify +or correct your surmise as to what the _ological_ blood betokens. +Secondly, you could perhaps obtain cross-references to yet other +_ologies_ than those you remembered. + +But you are not reduced to these extremities. The _ologies_, arrogant +as they are, sometimes are the applicants for matrimony, and the marriage +registry of the dictionary so indicates. To be sure, they do not, when +thus appearing at the beginning of words, take the form _ology_. They +take the form _log_. But you must be resourceful enough to keep after +your quarry in spite of the omission of a vowel or two. Also from some +lexicons you may obtain still further help. You may find _ology, logy, +logo_, or _log_ listed as a combining form, its meaning given, and +examples of its use in compounds cited. + +By your zeal and persistence you have now brought together a goodly array +of the _ologies_--all or most, let us say, of the following: +conchology, biology, morphology, phrenology, physiology, osteology, +histology, zoology, entomology, bacteriology, ornithology, pathology, +psychology, cosmology, eschatology, demonology, mythology, theology, +astrology, archeology, geology, meteorology, mineralogy, chronology, +genealogy, ethnology, anthropology, criminology, technology, doxology, +anthology, trilogy, philology, etymology, terminology, neologism, +phraseology, tautology, analogy, eulogy, apology, apologue, eclogue, +monologue, dialogue, prologue, epilogue, decalogue, catalogue, travelogue, +logogram, logograph, logo-type, logarithms, logic, illogical. (Moreover +you may have perceived in some of these words the kinship which exists in +all for the _loquy_ group--see (1) Soliloquy below.) Of course you +will discard some items from this list as being too learned for your +purposes. But you will observe of the others that once you know the +meaning of _ology_, you are likely to know the whole word. Thus from +your study of _conchology_ you have mastered, not an individual term, +but a tribe. + +In _conchology_ only one element, _ology_, was really dubious at +the outset. Let us take a word of which both elements give you pause. +Suppose your thought is arrested by the word _eugenics_. You perhaps +know the word as a whole, but not its components. For by looking at it and +thinking about it you decide that its state is married, that it comprises +the household of Mr. Eu and his wife, formerly Miss Gen. But you cannot +say offhand just what kind of person either Mr. Eu or the erstwhile Miss +Gen is likely to prove. + +Have you met any of the _Eu's_ elsewhere? You think vaguely that you +have, but cannot lay claim to any real acquaintance. To the dictionary you +accordingly betake yourself. There you find that Mr. Eu is of a family +quite respectable but not prone to marriage. _Euphony, eupepsia, +euphemism, euthanasia_ are of his retiring kindred. The meaning of the +_eu_ blood, so the dictionary informs you, is well. The _gen_ +blood, as you see exemplified in gentle, general, genital, engender, +carries with it the idea of begetting, of producing, of birth, or (by +extension) of kinship. _Eugenics_, then, is an alliance of well and +begotten (or born). + +Your immediate purpose is fulfilled; but you resolve, let us say, to make +the acquaintance of more of the _gens_, whose number you have +perceived to be legion. You are duly introduced to the following: genus, +generic, genre, gender, genitive, genius, general, Gentile, gentle, +gentry, gentleman, genteel, generous, genuine, genial, congeniality, +congener, genital, congenital, engender, generation, progeny, progenitor, +genesis, genetics, eugenics, pathogenesis, biogenesis, ethnogeny, +palingenesis, unregenerate, degenerate, monogeny, indigenous, exogenous, +homogeneous, heterogeneous, genealogy, ingenuous, ingenious, ingenue, +engine, engineer, hygiene, hydrogen, oxygen, endogen, primogeniture, +philoprogeniture, miscegenation. Some of these are professional rather +than social; you decide not to leave your card at their doors. Others have +assumed a significance somewhat un_gen_-like, though the relationship +may be traced if you are not averse to trouble, Thus _engine_ in its +superficial aspects seems alien to the idea of born. But it is the child +of _ingenious_ (innate, inborn); _ingenious_ is the inborn power +to accomplish, and _engine_ is the result of the application of that +power. Whether you care to bother with such subtleties or not, enough +_gens_ are left to make the family one well worth your cultivation. + +Thus by studying two words, _conchology_ and _eugenics_, you +have for the first time placed yourself on an intimate footing with three +verbal families--the _ologies_, the _eu's,_ and the _gens_. +Observe that though you studied the _ologies_ apart from the +_eu's_ and the _gens_, your knowledge--once you have acquired +it--cannot be kept pigeonholed, for the _ologies_ have intermarried +with both the other families. Hence you on meeting _eulogy_ can +exclaim: "How do you do, Mr. Eu? I am honored in making your acquaintance, +Mrs. Eu--I was about to call you by your maiden name; for I am a friend of +your sister, the Miss Ology who married Mr. Conch. And you too, Mr. Eu--I +cannot regard you as a stranger. I have looked in so often on the family +of your brother--the Euphony family, I mean. What a beautiful literary +household it is! Yet it has been neglected by the world-yea, even by the +people who write. Well, the loss is theirs who do the neglecting." And +_genealogy_ you can greet with an equal parade of family lore: "Don't +trouble to tell me who you are. I am hob and nob with your folks on both +sides of the family, and my word for it, the relationship is written all +over you. Mr. Gen, I envy you the pride you must feel in the prominence +given nowadays to the _eugenics_ household. And it must delight you, +Miss Ology-that-was, that connoisseurs are so keenly interested in +_conchology_. How are Grandfather Gen and Grandmother Ology? They +were keeping up remarkably the last time I saw them." Do you think words +will not respond to cordiality like this? They will work their flattered +heads off for you! + + +EXERCISE - Relationships + +1. For each of the following words (a) determine what families are +intermarried, (b) ascertain the exact contribution to the household by +each family represented, and (c) make as complete a list as possible of +cognate words. + +Reject Oppose Convent Defer Omit Produce Expel + +2. Test the extent of the intermarriages among these words by successively +attaching each of the prefixes to each of the main (or key) syllables. +(Thus re-ject, re-fer, re-pel, etc.) + + +<Two Admonitions> + +In tracing verbal kinships you must be prepared for slight variations in +the form of the same key-syllable. Consider these words: wise, wiseacre, +wisdom, wizard, witch, wit, unwitting, to wit, outwit, twit, witticism, +witness, evidence, providence, invidious, advice, vision, visit, vista, +visage, visualize, envisage, invisible, vis-à-vis, visor, revise, +supervise, improvise, proviso, provision, view, review, survey, vie, envy, +clairvoyance. Perhaps the last six should be disregarded as too +exceptional in form to be clearly recognized. And certainly some words, as +_prudence_ from _providentia_, are so metamorphosed that they +should be excluded from practical lists of this kind. But even in the +words left to us there are fairly marked divergences in appearance. Why? +Because the key-syllable has descended to us, not through one language, +but through several. As good verbal detectives we should be able to +penetrate the consequent disguises; for _wis, wiz, wit, vid, vic_, +and _vis_ all embody the idea of seeing or knowing. + +On the other hand, you must take care not to be misled by a superficial +resemblance into thinking two unrelated key-syllables identical. Let us +consider two sets of words. The first, which is related to the _tain_ +group (see <Tain> below), has a key-syllable that means holding: +tenant, tenement, tenure, tenet, tenor, tenable, tenacious, contents, +contentment, lieutenant, maintenance, sustenance, countenance, +appurtenance, detention, retentive, pertinacity, pertinent, continent, +abstinence, continuous, retinue. The second has a key-syllable that means +stretching: tend, tender, tendon, tendril, tendency, extend, subtend, +distend, pretend, contend, attendant, tense, tension, pretence, intense, +intensive, ostensible, tent, tenterhook, portent, attention, intention, +tenuous, attenuate, extenuate, antenna, tone, tonic, standard. The form of +the key-syllable for the first set of words is usually _ten, tent_, +or _tin_; that for the second _tend, tens, tent_, or _ten_. +You may therefore easily confuse the two groups until you have learned to +look past appearances into meanings. Thenceforth the holdings and the +stretchings will be distinct in your mind--will constitute two great +families, not one. Of course individual words may still puzzle you. You +will not perceive that _tender_, for example, belongs with the +stretchings until you go back to its primary idea of something stretched +thin, or that _tone_ has membership in that family until you connect +it with the sound which a stretched chord emits. + + +FIRST GENERAL EXERCISE FOR THE CHAPTER + +Each of the key-syllables given below is followed by (1) a list of fairly +familiar words that embody it, (2) a list of less familiar words that +embody it, (3) several sentences containing blank spaces, into each of +which you are ultimately to fit the appropriate word from the first list. +(The existence of the two lists will show you that learned words may have +commonplace kinfolks.) + +First, however, you are to study each word in both lists for (1) its exact +meaning, (2) the influence of the key-syllable upon that meaning, (3) any +variation of the key-syllable from its ordinary form. (A few words have +been introduced to show how varied the forms may be and yet remain +recognizable.) + +Also, as an aid to your memory, you are to copy each list, underscoring +the key-syllable each time you encounter it. + +(The lists are practical, not meticulously academic. In many instances +they contain words derived, not from a single original, but from cognates. +No list is exhaustive.) + + +<Ag, act, ig> (carry on, do, drive): (1) agent, agitate, agile, act, +actor, actuate, exact, enact, reaction, counteract, transact, mitigate, +navigate, prodigal, assay, essay; (2) agenda, pedagogue, synagogue, +actuary, redact, castigate, litigation, exigency, ambiguous, variegated, +cogent, cogitate. + +_Sentences_ (inflect forms if necessary; for example, use the past +tense, participle, or infinitive of a verb instead of its present tense): +It was ____ into law. The legislators had been ____ by honest motives, but +the popular ____ was immediate. The ____ of the mining company refused to +let us proceed with the ____. Nothing could ____ the offense. The father +was ____, the son ____. The student handed in his ____ at the ____ time +designated. Though ____ enough on land, he could not ____ a ship. +The ____ by missing his cue so ____ the manager that his good work +thereafter could not ____ the ill impression. + + +<Burn, brun, brand> (burn): (1 and 2 combined) burn, burnish, +brunette, brunt, bruin, brand, brandish, brandy, brown. + +_Sentences_: He plucked a ____ from the ____. The ____ hair of +the ____ was so glossy it seemed ____. He ____ his sword and bore +the ____ of the conflict. After drinking so much ____ he saw snakes in his +imagination, he staggered off into the woods and met Old ____ in reality. + + +<Cad, cas, cid> (fall): (1) cadence, decadent, case, casual, +casualty, occasion, accident, incident, mischance, cheat; (2) casuistry, +coincide, occidental, deciduous. + +_Sentences_: The period was a ____ one. He gave but ____ attention +to the ____ of the music. On this ____ an ____ befell him. To the general +it was a mere ____ that his ____ were heavy. As a result of this ____ he +was accused of trying to ____ them. + + +<Cede, ceed, cess> (go): (1) cede, recede, secede, concede, +intercede, procedure, precedent, succeed, exceed, success, recess, +concession, procession, intercession, abscess, ancestor, cease, decease; +(2) antecedent, precedence, cessation, accessory, predecessor. + +_Sentences_: He ____ the existence of a ____ that justified +such ____. The delegate ____ his authority when he consented to ____ the +territory. He would not ____ from his position or ____ for mercy. +At ____ the pupils ____ in forming a ____. His ____ was suffering from +an ____ at the time the Southern states ____. His agony ____ only with +his ____. + + +<Ceive, ceit, cept, cip, cap(t)> (take): (1) receive, deceive, +perceive, deceit, conceit, receipt, reception, perception, inception, +conception, interception, accept, except, precept, municipal, participate, +anticipate, capable, capture, captivate, case (chest, covering), casement, +incase, cash, cashier, chase, catch, prince, forceps, occupy; +(2) receptacle, recipient, incipient, precipitate, accipiter, capacious, +incapacitate. + +_Sentences_: Though she ____ the officers, she did not prevent +the ____ of the fugitive. He ____ that the man was very ____. The mayor +skilfully ____ the alderman and proposed that ____ bonds be issued. The +sight of the money ____ him and he quickly gave me a ____. He uttered +musty ____, which were not always given a friendly ____. From the ____ of +the movement he plotted to ____ the leadership in it. The ____ took part +in the ____, but failed to ____ any of the game. + + +<Cide, cis(e)> (cut, kill): (1) decide, suicide, homicide, concise, +precise, decisive, incision, scissors, chisel, cement; (2) patricide, +fratricide, infanticide, regicide, germicide, excision, circumcision, +incisors, cesura. + +_Sentences_: He could not ____ whether to make the ____ with +a ____ or a pair of ____. There was ____ evidence that he was the ____. +In a few ____ sentences he explained why his friend could never have been +a ____. The prim old lady had very ____ manners of speech. + + +<Cur, course> (run): (1) current, currency, incur, concur, +occurrence, cursory, excursion, course, discourse, intercourse, recourse; +(2) curriculum, precursor, discursive, recurrent, concourse, courier, +succor, corridor. + +_Sentences_: He ____ in the request that payment be made in ____. +The ____ was so strong that the ____ by steamer had to be abandoned. In +the ____ of his remarks he had ____ to various shifts and evasions. By his +____ with one faction, though it was but ____, he ____ the enmity of the +other. It was a disgraceful ____. + + +<Dic, dict> (speak, say): (1) dedicate, vindicate, indication, +predicament, predict, addict, verdict, indict, dictionary, dictation, +jurisdiction, vindictive, contradiction, benediction, ditto, condition; +(2) abdicate, adjudicate, juridical, diction, dictum, dictator, +dictaphone, dictograph, edict, interdict, valedictory, malediction, ditty, +indite, ipse dixit, on dit. + +_Sentences_: The man ____ to drugs was ____ for ____ treatment of his +wife, and the ____ were that the ____ would be against him. He said, on +the contrary, that his character would be ____. The attorney for the +defense ____ that the judge would rule that the matter did not lie within +his ____. This would leave the prosecution in a ____. But the prosecution +issued a strong ____ of this theory, and said ____ were favorable for +proving the man guilty. + + +<Duce, duct> (lead): (1) induce, reduce, traduce, seduce, introduce, +reproduce, education, deduct, product, production, reduction, conduct, +conductor, abduct, subdue; (2) educe, adduce, superinduce, conducive, +ducat, duct, ductile, induction, aqueduct, viaduct, conduit, duke, duchy. + +_Sentences_: We ____ the company to ____ the fare. They ____ ten +cents from the wages of each man, an average ____ of four per cent. +They ____ us when they say we have wilfully lessened ____. The highwaymen +____ the ____. If you have an ____, you can ____ an idea in other words. + + +<Error> (wander): (1) error, erroneous, erratic, errand; +(2) errata, knight errant, arrant knave, aberration. + +_Sentences_: That ____ fellow came on a special ____ to tell us we +had made an ____. And his statement was ____ at that! + + +<Fact, fic(e), fy, fect, feat, feit> (make, do): (1) fact, factory, +faction, manufacture, satisfaction, suffice, sacrifice, office, difficult, +pacific, terrific, significant, fortification, magnificent, artificial, +beneficial, verify, simplify, stupefy, certify, dignify, glorify, falsify, +beautify, justify, infect, perfect, effect, affection, defective, feat, +defeat, feature, feasible, forfeit, surfeit, counterfeit, affair, fashion; +(2) factor, factotum, malefaction, benefaction, putrefaction, facile, +facsimile, faculty, certificate, edifice, efficacy, prolific, deficient, +proficient, artifice, artificer, beneficiary, versification, unification, +exemplification, deify, petrify, rectify, amplify, fructify, liquefy, +disaffect, refection, comfit, pontiff, ipso facto, de facto, ex post +facto, au fait, fait accompli. + +_Sentences_: The opposing ____ by incredible ____ had found +it ____ to take over the ____ of the goods. By this ____ it ____ what +goodwill the owner of the ____ had for it, but it won the ____ of the +public. The owner, though seemingly ____ at first, soon ____ a scheme to +make the success of the enterprise more ____. By an ____ lowering of the +price of his own goods and by ____ that those of his rivals were ____, +he hoped to ____ the public mind with unjust suspicions. But all this did +not ____. In truth the ____ of it was the hastening of his own ____ and a +____ heightening of the public ____ toward his rivals. His directors, +seeing that his policy had failed to ____ itself, met in his ____ and +urged him to take a more ____ attitude. + + +<Fer> (bear, carry): (1) transfer, prefer, proffer, suffer, confer, +offer, referee, deference, inference, indifferent, ferry, fertile; (2) +referendum, Lucifer, circumference, vociferate, auriferous, coniferous, +pestiferous. + +_Sentences_: With real ____ to their wishes he ____ to ____ the +goods by ____. The ____ of the sporting writers was that the ____ +was ____ to his duties. After ____ apart, the farmers ____ the use of +their most ____ acres for this experiment. To be mortal is to ____. + + +<Fide> (trust, believe, have faith): (1) fidelity, confide, +confident, diffident, infidel, perfidious, bona fide, defiance, affiance; +(2) fiduciary, affidavit, fiancé, auto da fé, Santa Fé. + +_Sentences_: He was ____ that the man was an ____. He had ____ in +a ____ rascal. He had been ____ for years and had proved his ____. Though +we are somewhat ____ in making it, you may be sure it is a ____ offer. His +attitude toward his father is one of gross ____. + + +<Grade, gress> (walk, go): (1) grade, gradual, graduate, degrade, +digress, Congress, aggressive, progressive, degree; (2) gradation, +Centigrade, ingress, egress, transgression, retrogression, ingredient. + +_Sentences_: His failure to ____ from college made him feel ____ +especially as his cronies all received their ____. The engine lost +speed ____ as it climbed the long ____. I ____ to remark that some members +of ____ are more ____ than ____. + + +<Hab, hib> (have, hold): (1) habit, habitation, inhabitant, exhibit, +prohibition, ability, debit, debt; (2) habituate, habiliment, habeas +corpus, cohabit, dishabille, inhibit. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of the island ____ an ____ to live without +permanent ____. It was his ____ to glance first at the ____ side of his +ledger, as he was much worried about his ____. Most women favor ____. + + +<Hale, heal, hol, whole> (sound): (1) hale, hallow, Hallowe'en, heal, +health, unhealthy, healthful, holy, holiday, hollyhock, whole, wholesome; +(2) halibut, halidom. + +_Sentences_: Though he lived in a ____ climate, he was ____. The food +was ____, the man ____ and hearty. He did not think of a ____ as ____. We +had ____ in our garden almost until ____. He wept at hearing the ____ name +of his mother. For a ____ month the wound refused to ____. + + +<It> (go): (1) exit, transit, transition, initial, initiative, +ambition, circuit, perishable; (2) itinerant, transitory, obituary, +sedition, circumambient. + +_Sentences_: The ____ was broken. It was his ____ shipment of ____ +goods, and they suffered a good deal in ____. His ____ was to be regarded +as a man of great ____. His ____ was less effective than his entrance. + + +<Ject> (throw): (1) eject, reject, subject, project, objection, +injection, dejected, conjecture, jet, jetty; (2) abject, traject, +adjective, projectile, interjection, ejaculate, jetsam, jettison. + +_Sentences_: With ____ mien he watched the waves lash the ____. +His scheme was ____ to much ridicule and then ____, and he himself +was ____ from the room. From a pipe that ____ from the corner of the +building came a ____ of dirty water. He could only ____ what their ____ +was. The ____ brought immediate relief. + + +<Jud, jur, just> (law, right): (1) judge, judicious, judicial, +prejudice, jurist, jurisdiction, just, justice, justify; (2) judicature, +adjudicate, juridical, jurisprudence, justiciary, de jure. + +_Sentences_: The eminent ____ said the matter did not lie within +his ____. Though ____ in most matters, he admitted to ____ in this. +The ____ said he would comment in an unofficial rather than a ____ way. +She could not ____ her suspicions. He was not only ____ himself, but +devoted to ____. + + +<Junct> (join): (1) junction, juncture, injunction, disjunctive, +conjugal, adjust; (2) adjunct, conjunction, subjunctive, conjugate. + +_Sentences_: A ____ force had entered their ____ relationships. +At this ____ he gave the ____ that disturbances should cease. The tramp +halted at the ____ to eat his lunch and ____ his knapsack. + + +<Jure> (swear): (1 and 2 combined) juror, jury, abjure, adjure, +conjurer, perjury. + +_Sentences_: They ____ their loyalty. He ____ them to remember their +duty as ____. The ____ held the ____ guilty of ____. + + +<Leg, lig, lect> (read, choose, pick up): (1) elegant, illegible, +college, negligent, diligent, eligible, elect, select, intellect, +recollect, neglect, lecturer, collection, coil, cull; (2) legend, legion, +legacy, legate, delegate, sacrilegious, dialect, lectern, colleague, +lexicon. + +_Sentences_: In ____ he listened to the ____ and took an occasional +note in an ____ hand. She ____ an ____ costume. They ____ the only man +who was ____. He did not ____ to take up the ____. He was ____ rather +than ____. Her mind was too ____ to ____ all the circumstances. + + +<Lig> (bind): (1 and 2 combined) ligament, ligature, obligation, +ally, alliance, allegiance, league, lien, liable, liaison, alloy. + +_Sentences_: It was a pleasure that knew no ____. To belong to +the ____ carries ____. In studying anatomy you learn all about ____ and +____. The two nations were in ____. We may be sure of their ____. We will +take a ____ upon your property. As a ____ officer he was ____ for the +equipment which our ____ reported lost. + + +<Luc, lum, lus> (light): (1) lucid, translucent, luminous, +illuminate, luminary, luster, illustrate, illustrious; (2) lucent, +Lucifer, lucubration, elucidate, pellucid, relume, limn. + +_Sentences_: The ____ author spoke very ____. He gave us a ____ +explanation of a very abstruse subject. The material was ____ even to the +rays of the feeblest of the heavenly ____. He ____ his theory by the +following anecdote. This deed added ____ to his fame. + + +<Mand> (order): (1 and 2 combined) mandate, mandamus, mandatory, +demand, remand, countermand, commandment. + +_Sentences_: The superior court issued a writ of ____. The case +was ____ to the lower court. His instructions were not discretionary, +but ____. At your ____ the ____ has been issued. The ____ promptly +____ the orders of the offending officer. + + +<Mit, mis, mise> (send): (1) permit, submit, commit, remit, transmit, +mission, missile, missionary, remiss, omission, commission, admission, +dismissal, promise, surmise, compromise, mass, message; (2) emit, +intermittent, missive, commissary, emissary, manumission, inadmissible, +premise, demise. + +_Sentences_: The ____ could only ____ why so many of his people had +not attended ____. The ____ contained a ____ that no one would be held +____. The request was ____ that he would please ____. He ____ to his ____ +without a protest. A ____ was appointed to investigate whether the +territory should be granted ____ as a state. His ____ was such as to ____ +him to tarry if he chose. + + +<Move, mote, mob> (move): (1) move, movement, removal, remote, +promote, promotion, motion, motive, emotion, commotion, motor, locomotive, +mob, mobilize, automobile, moment; (2) immovable, motivate, locomotor +ataxia, mobility, immobile, momentum. + +_Sentences_: The next ____ was his, and his ____ was profound. +The ____ of the ____ from across the alley enabled the ____ to surge in a +threatening ____ toward the rear of the building. At this ____ the ____ +was great. The officer whose ____ had seemed so ____ was now enabled +to ____ strong forces for the campaign. The ____ began a slow ____ +forward. His exact ____ was not known. + + +<Pass, path> (suffer): (1) passion, passive, impassive, impassioned, +compassion, pathos, pathetic, impatient, apathy, sympathy, antipathy; (2) +passible, impassible, dispassionate, pathology, telepathy, hydropathy, +homeopathy, allopathy, osteopathy, neuropathic, pathogenesis. + +_Sentences_: With an ____ countenance he spoke of the ____ of our +Lord. The ____ of the story moved her to ____. He allowed his ____ no +further expression than through that one ____ shrug. With a ____ smile he +settled back into dull ____. His plea was ____. + + +<Ped, pod> (foot): (1) pedal, pedestrian, pedestal, expedite, +expediency, expedition, quadruped, impediment, biped, tripod, chiropodist, +octopus, pew; (2) centiped, pedicle, pedometer, velocipede, +sesquipedalian, antipodes, podium, polypod, polyp, Piedmont. + +_Sentences_: A ____ suggested that we could ____ matters by each +mounting a ____. The loss of the ____ was a serious ____ to the rider of +the bicycle. The ____ had me place my foot on an artist's ____. The +purpose of this nautical ____ was to capture a live ____. The ____ of +having so large a ____ for the statue had not occurred to us. A ____ +scarcely recognizable as human occupied my ____. + + +<Pell, pulse> (drive): (1) dispel, compel, propeller, repellent, +repulse, repulsive, impulse, compulsory, expulsion, appeal; (2) appellate, +interpellate. + +_Sentences_: After the ____ of the attack the mists along the +lowlands were ____. His manner was ____, even ____. The revolutions of the +____ soon ____ the boatmen to shove farther off. After his ____ he ____ +for a rehearing of his case. The act was ____, but he felt an ____ toward +it anyhow. + + +<Pend, pense, pond> (hang, weigh): (1) pending, impending, +independent, pendulum, perpendicular, expenditure, pension, suspense, +expense, pensive, compensate, ponder, ponderous, preponderant, pansy, +poise, pound; (2) pendant, stipend, appendix, compendium, propensity, +recompense, indispensable, dispensation, dispensary, avoirdupois. + +_Sentences_: The veterans felt great ____ while action regarding +their ____ was ____. We shall ____ you. An arm of it stood in a +position ____ to the ____ mass. He knew that fate was ____, and he watched +the ____ swing back and forth slowly. He gave a ____ argument in favor of +the ____ of the money. There is ____, that's for thoughts. Let us ____ the +question whether the ____ is needful. She was a woman of rare social ____. +Penny-wise, ____ foolish. + + +<Pet> (seek): (1 and 2 combined) petition, petulant, impetus, +impetuous, perpetuate, repeat, compete, competent, appetite, centripetal. + +_Sentences_: A great ____ force keeps the planets circling about +the sun. The complaints of a ____ woman led him to ____ for the prize. The +sexual ____ leads men to ____ the race. The ____ was pronounced upon ____ +authority to be ill drawn up. With ____ wrath he ____ the assertion. The +____ became noticeably weaker. + + +<Ply, plic, plicate> (fold): (1) ply, reply, imply, plight, +suppliant, explicit, implicit, implicate, supplicate, duplicate, +duplicity, complicate, complicity, accomplice, application, plait, +display, plot, employee, exploit, simple, supple; (2) pliant, pliable, +replica, explication, inexplicable, multiplication, deploy, triple, +quadruple, plexus, duplex. + +_Sentences_: We ____ the thief's ____ with questions. He ____ that +others were ____ with him. The king ____ to the ____ that such ____ must +never be ____ in the realm thereafter. It would be a ____ matter to ____ +the order. The manager had ____ confidence in his ____. She admired his +courage in this ____, perceived his ____ in the crime, and deplored his +participation in the ____. They ____ him for an ____ promise that mercy +would be shown. She was in a ____, for she had not had time to arrange her +hair in its usual broad ____. He was ____ of body. The ____ was refused. + + +<Pose, pone> (place): (1) expose, compose, purpose, posture, +position, composure, impostor, postpone, post office, positive, deposit, +disposition, imposition, deponent, opponent, exponent, component; +(2) depose, impost, composite, apposite, repository, preposition, +interposition, juxtaposition, decomposition. + +_Sentences_: The ____ said he would ____ the manner in which the +cashier had made away with the ____. The true ____ of the ____ was now +known, yet he retained his ____. For you to make yourself an ____ of these +wild theories is an ____ on your friends. The closing hour at the ____ is +____ thirty minutes on account of the rush of Christmas mail. He +was ____ that his ____ had ____ the letter. One of the ____ elements in +his ____ was gloom. + + +<Prise, prehend> (seize): (1) prize, apprise, surprise, comprise, +enterprise, imprison, comprehend, apprehension; (a) reprisal, misprision, +reprehend, prehensile, apprentice, impregnable, reprieve. + +_Sentences_: He had no ____ as to what the ____ would ____. +His ____ was so great that he could scarcely ____ the fact that the ____ +was his. The judge ____ them of the likelihood that they would be ____. + + +<Prob> (prove): (1 and 2 combined) probe, probation, probate, +probity, approbation, reprobate, improbable. + +_Sentences_: The young ____ was placed on ____. The will was brought +into the ____ court. It is ____ that such ____ as his will win the ____ of +evil-doers. + + +<Rupt> (break): (1 and 2 combined) rupture, abrupt, interrupt, +disrupt, eruption, incorruptible, irruption, bankrupt, rout, route, +routine. + +_Sentences_: The volcano was in ____. Though ____, he remained + ____. The ____ of the barbarians ____ these reforms. The organization was +____ after having already been put to ____. The ____ he had chosen led to +a ____ in their relationships. It was ____ work. + + +<Sed, sid(e), sess> (seat): (1) sedulous, sedentary, supersede, +subside, preside, reside, residue, possess, assessment, session, siege; +(2) sediment, insidious, assiduous, subsidy, obsession, see (noun), +assize. + +_Sentences_: The ____ was so small that he scarcely noticed he ____ +it. The officer was ____ in making the ____ upon every tax-payer fair. +During the ____ Congress remained in ____. He ____ in the city and has a +____ occupation. When the officer who ____ is firm, such commotions will +quickly ____. He ____ the disgraced commander. + + +<Sequ, secu, sue> (follow): (1) sequel, sequence, consequence, +subsequent, consecutive, execute, prosecute, persecute, sue, ensue, +suitor, suitable, pursuit, rescue, second; (2) obsequies, obsequious, +sequester, inconsequential, non sequitur, executor, suite. + +_Sentences_: On the ____ day they continued the ____. In the ____ +chapter of the ____ the heroine is ____. The ____ of events is hard to +follow. The ____ was that her brother began to ____ her ____. The district +attorney ____ six ____ offenders, but thought it useless to bring any ____ +offender to trial. It was a ____ occasion. + + +<Shear, share, shore> (cut, separate): (1 and 2 combined) shear, +sheer, shred, share, shard, scar, score, (sea)shore, shorn, shroud, shire, +sheriff. + +_Sentences_: The ____ had on his face a ____ made by a ____ thrown at +him. In that ____ an old custom for every one to ____ in the ____ the +sheep. There was, instead of the usual ____, a cliff that rose from the +sea. All ____ as the freshman was, he had hardly a ____ of his former +dignity. The ____ was very one-sided. A ____ of mist was about him. + + +<Sign> (sign): (1) sign, signal, signify, signature, consign, design, +assign, designate, resignation, insignificant; (2) ensign, signatory, +insignia. + +_Sentences_: He ____ his approval of the ____. The disturbance +caused by his ____ was ____. He ____ no reason for ____ those particular +men. As he could not write his own ____, I ____ the document for him. It +was a ____ defeat. + + +<Solve, solu> (loosen): (r) solve, resolve, dissolve, solution, +dissolute, resolute, absolute; (2) solvent, absolution, indissoluble, +assoil. + +_Sentences_: On account of his ____ course he had given his parents +many a problem to ____. He ____ the powder in a cupful of water and ____ +to give it to the patient. This ____ of the difficulty did not win the +____ approval of his employer. The obstacles were many, but he was ____. + + +<Spec(t), spic(e)</b/> (look): (1) spectator, spectacle, suspect, +aspect, prospect, expect, respectable, disrespect, inspection, speculate, +special, especial, species, specify, specimen, spice, suspicion, +conspicuous, despise, despite, spite; (2) specter, spectrum, spectroscope, +prospector, prospectus, introspection, retrospect, circumspectly, +conspectus, perspective, specie, specification, specious, despicable, +auspices, perspicacity, frontispiece, respite. + +_Sentences_: His ____ was conducted in such a manner as to show the +utmost ____. In ____ she noticed an odor of ____. From his ____ you would +have taken him to be a ____ of wild animal. The ____ was better than we +had ____ it to be. Though you have no ____ fondness for children, you will +enjoy the ____ of them playing together. The ____ did not ____ what +underhand tactics some of the players were resorting to. In ____ of all +this, we made a ____ showing. The ____ is one you cannot ____. ____ this +____ of matters, she did not ____ the cause of her ____, but let him ____ +what it might be. + + +<Spire, spirit> (breathe, breath): (1 and 2 combined) spirit, +spiritual, perspire, transpire, respire, aspire, conspiracy, inspiration, +expiration, esprit de corps. + +_Sentences_: At the ____ of a few days it ____ that a ____ had +actually been formed. The ____ of the division was such that every man +____ to meet the enemy forthwith. He was a man of much ____ and marked +powers of ____. As he lay there, he merely ____ and ____; he had no +thought whatsoever of things ____. + + +<Sta, sti(t), sist> (stand): (1) stand, stage, statue, stall, +stationary, state, reinstate, station, forestall, instant, instance, +distance, constant, withstand, understand, circumstance, estate, +establish, substance, obstacle, obstinate, destiny, destination, +destitute, substitute, superstition, desist, persist, resist, insist, +assist, exist, consistent, stead, rest, restore, restaurant, contrast; (2) +stature, statute, stadium, stability, instable, static, statistics, +ecstasy, stamen, stamina, standard, stanza, stanchion, capstan, extant, +constabulary, apostate, transubstantiation, status quo, armistice, +solstice, interstice, institute, restitution, constituent, subsistence, +pre-existence, presto. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of the motion was that the student who had been +expelled should be ____. He ____ in his ____ resolution to go on the ____. +She could not ____ the pleas of ____ people. He ____ her to alight at the +____. In an ____ you shall ____ what the ____ was that drove me to +tempt ____ thus. We had gone but a little ____ when I perceived by the +hungry working of his jaws that his ____ was the ____ in the next block. +No ____ could cause him to ____. She was ____ in a ____ at the bazaar. + + +<Stead> (place): (1 and 2 combined) stead, steadfast, instead, +homestead, farmstead, roadstead, bestead. + +_Sentences_: ____ of resting in a harbor, the ships were tossed about +in an open ____. Little did it ____ him to cling to the old ____. A ____ +nestled by the highway. To be known as ____ now stood him in good ____. + + +<Strict, string, strain> (bind): (1) district, restrict, strictly, +stringent, strain, restrain, constrain; (2) stricture, constriction, boa +constrictor, astringent, strait, stress. + +_Sentences_: We ____ them by means of ____ regulations. He ____ them +to this course by his mere example. He attended ____ to his duties. You +should not ____ your pleasures in this way. The ____ of long effort was +telling on him. + + +<Tact, tang, tain, ting, teg> (touch): (1) tact, contact, intact, +intangible, attain, taint, stain, tinge, contingent, integrity, entire, +tint; (2) tactile, tactual, tangent, distain, attaint, attainder, integer, +disintegrate, contagion, contaminate, contiguous. + +_Sentences_: His appointment is ____ upon his removing this ____ from +his name. His ____ is such that no ____ with evil could leave any ____ +upon him. The contents were ____. With ____ he hopes to ____ the ____ +approval of his auditors. It was a dark ____. The reason is ____. + + +<Tail> (cut): (1 and 2 combined) detail, curtail, entail, retail, +tailor, tally. + +_Sentences_: He held the property in ____. He kept the reckoning +straight by means of ____ cut in a shingle. He resolved to ____ expenses +by visiting the ____ less often. We need not go into ____. The profit lies +in the difference between wholesale and ____ prices. + + +<Tain> (hold--for related _ten_ group see above under Two +Admonitions): (1 and 2 combined) detain, abstain, contain, obtain, +maintain, entertain, pertain, appertain, sustain, retain. + +_Sentences_: Village life and things ____ thereto I shall willingly +____ from. I ____ that precepts of this kind in no sense ____ to public +morals. If the gentleman can ____ the consent of his second, the chair +will ____ the motion as he restates it. Though your forces may ____ heavy +losses, they must ____ their position and ____ the enemy. + + +<Term, termin> (end, bound): (1 and 2 combined) term, terminus, +terminal, terminate, determine, indeterminate, interminable, exterminate. + +_Sentences_: At the ____ of the railroad stands a beautiful ____ +station. The manner in which we may ____ the agreement remains ____. +He ____ that rather than yield he would make the negotiations ____. During +the second ____ they ____ all the rodents about the school. + + +<Tort> (twist): (1) torture, tortoise, retort, contort, distortion, +extortionate, torch, (apple) tart, truss, nasturtium; (2) tort, tortuous, +torsion, Dry Tortugas. + +_Sentences_: By the light of the ____ he saw a ____ fowl by the +fireside and a ____ in the cupboard. The ____ of his countenance was due +to the ____ he was undergoing. ____ his face into a very knowing look, he +____ that a man with a ____ in his buttonhole and ____ shell glasses on +his nose had leered at the girls as he passed. + + +<Tract, tra(i)> (draw): (1) tract, tractor, intractable, abstracted, +retract, protract, detract, distract, attractive, contractor, trace, +trail, train, trait, portray, retreat; (2) traction, tractate, distraught, +extraction, subtraction. + +_Sentences_: In an ____ manner he drove the ____ across a large ____ +of ground. He ____ his gaze at the ____ girl. The ____ was now willing to +____ his statement that in the house as it stood there was no ____ of +departure from the specifications. Down the weary ____ of the pioneer +dashes the palatial modern ____. To be ____ was one of his ____. The +artist ____ her as in a ____ state. The ____ of his forces ____ but little +from his fame. + + +<Vene, vent> (come): (1) convene, convenient, avenue, revenue, +prevent, event, inventor, adventure, convention, circumvent; (2) venire, +venue, parvenu, advent, adventitious, convent, preventive, eventuate, +intervention. + +_Sentences_: The legislature ____ in order to pass a measure +regarding the public ____. At the ____ the wily old politician was able to +____ his enemies. The ____ saw no means of ____ this infringement of his +patent right. In that ____ we are likely to have an ____. Through the +long, shaded ____ they strolled together. + + +<Vert, vers(e)> (turn): (1) avert, divert, convert, invert, pervert, +advertize, inadvertent, verse, aversion, adverse, adversity, adversary, +version, anniversary, versatile, divers, diversity, conversation, +perverse, universe, university, traverse, subversive, divorce; +(2) vertebra, vertigo, controvert, revert, averse, versus, versification, +animadversion, vice versa, controversy, tergiversation, obverse, +transverse, reversion, vortex. + +_Sentences_: Though he carried a large ____ of goods, he was ____ to +____ them. He had ____ forgotten that it was his wedding ____. The ____ +was on ____ subjects. They ____ a broad area where nothing had been done +to ____ the danger that threatened them. With ____ stubbornness he held to +his ____ of the story. He held that the reading of ____ is ____ of +masculine qualities. His professors at the ____ soon ____ him to new +social and economic theories. Her husband was such a ____ creature that +she resolved to secure a ____. Americans are the most ____ people in the +____. The anecdote ____ his ____ himself. Her answer not only was ____, +it revealed her ____. He had undergone grave ____ in his time. + + +<Vince, vict> (conquer): (1 and 2 combined) evince, convince, +province, invincible, evict, convict, conviction, victorious. + +_Sentences_: He was ____ that the campaign against the rebels in +the ____ could not be ____. He ____ a lively interest in my theory that +the fugitive could not be ____. He felt an ____ repugnance to ____ the +man, and this in spite of his ____ that the man was guilty. + + +<Voc, voke> (call, voice): (1) vocal, vocation, advocate, +irrevocable, vociferous, provoke, revoke, evoke, convoke; +(2) vocable, vocabulary, avocation, equivocal, invoke, avouch, vouchsafe. + +_Sentences_: He was a ____ ____ of the measure, but no sooner was +the order issued than he wished it ____. In ____ the assembly he ____ the +enthusiasm of his followers. That he should give ____ utterance to this +thought ____ me; but the words, once spoken, were ____. + + +<Volve, volute> (roll, turn): (1) involve, devolve, revolver, +evolution, revolutionary, revolt, voluble, volume, vault; (2) circumvolve, +convolution, convolvulus. + +_Sentences_: It ____ upon me to put down the ____. In this ____ the +heroine is ____ and the hero handy with a ____. He was ____ in a ____ +uprising. He had laid the papers away in a ____. The ____ of civilization +is a tedious story. + + +SECOND GENERAL EXERCISE + +Copy both sections (the first consists of fairly familiar terms, the +second of less familiar terms) of each of the following word-groups. +Find the key-syllable, underscore it in each word, observe any +modifications in its form. Decide for yourself what its meaning is; then +verify or correct your conclusion by reference to the dictionary. Study +the influence of the key-syllable upon the meaning of each separate word; +find the word's original signification, its present signification. Add to +each word-group as many cognate words as you can (1) think of for +yourself, (2) find in the dictionary by looking under the key-syllable. +Fill the blanks in the sentences after each word-group with terms chosen +from the first section of words in that group. + + +(1) Animosity, unanimous, magnanimity; +(2) animate, animadvert, equanimity. + +_Sentences_: It was the ____ opinion that to so noble a foe ____ +should be shown. The spiteful man continued to display his ____. + + +(1) Annual, annuity, anniversary, perennial, centennial, solemn; +(2) superannuate, biennial, millennium. + +_Sentences_: The amateur gardener made the ____ discovery that the +plant was a ____. The ____ celebration of the great man's birth took a +____ and imposing form in our city. By a happy coincidence the increase in +his ____ came on his wedding ____. + + +(1) Audit, auditor, auditorium, audience, inaudible, obey; +(2) aurist, auricular, auscultation. + +_Sentences_: His voice may not have been ____, but it certainly did +not fill the ____. Not one ____ in all that vast ____ but was willing to +____ his slightest suggestion. He was not willing that they should ____ +his accounts. + + +(1) Automatic, automobile, autocrat, autobiography; +(2) autograph, autonomy. + +_Sentences_: The ____ dictated to his secretary the third chapter +of his ____. The habit of changing gear properly in an ____ becomes +almost ____. + + +(1) Cant, descant, incantation, chant, enchant, chanticleer, accent, +incentive; +(2) canto, canticle, cantata, recant, chantry, chanson, precentor. + +_Sentences_: He ____ upon this topic in a queer, foreign ____. +Such utterances are mere sanctimonious ____; I had rather listen to the +____ of a voodoo conjurer. The little girl from the city was ____ with the +crowing of ____. The ____ of the choir somehow gave him the ____ to try +again. + + +(1) Cent, per cent, century, centennial; +(2) centenary, centime, centurion, centimeter, centigrade. + +_Sentences_: For nearly a ____ this family has been living on a small +____ of its income. I wouldn't give a ____ for ____ honors; I want my +reward now. + + +(1) Chronic, chronological, chronicle; +(2) chronometer, synchronize, anachronism. + +_Sentences_: It is a ____ record of changing activities and ____ +ills. This page is a ____ of athletic news. + + +(1) Corps, corpse, corporal, corpulent, corporation, incorporate; +(2) corpus, habeas corpus, corporeal, corpuscle, Corpus Christi. + +_Sentences_: The ____ gentleman said he did not believe in ____ +punishment. The hospital ____ carried the ____ into the office of a great +____. He resolved to ____ this idea into the reforms he was introducing. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Creed, credulous, credential, credit, accredit, +discredit, incredible. + +_Sentences_: He was not so ____ as to suppose that his ____ would be +accepted and his statements ____ without some investigation. It is to his +____ that he refused to be bound by his former religious ____. That such +____ has been heaped upon him is ____. + + +(1) Crescent, increase, decrease, concrete, recruit, accrue, crew; +(2) crescendo, excrescence, accretion, increment. + +_Sentences_: The ____ now had ____ evidence that military life was +not altogether pleasant. In the olden days on the sea deaths from scurvy +might bring about a dangerous ____ in the size of the ____. His courage +____ with the profits that ____ to him. The ____ moon rode in the sky. + + +(1) Cure, secure, procure, sinecure, curious, inaccurate; +(2) curate, curator. + +_Sentences_: Occupying the position for a while will ____ you of the +notion that it is a ____. He was ____ to know so a bookkeeper had managed +to ____ so high a salary. He ____ the equipment required. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Indignity, indignation, undignified, condign, deign, +dainty. + +_Sentences_: We must not be too ____ about visiting ____ punishment +upon those responsible for this ____. He did not ____ to express his ____. +It was an ____ act. + + +(1) Durable, endure, during, duration, obdurate; +(2) durance, duress, indurate, perdurable. + +_Sentences_: ____ the whole interview she remained ____. It is a +____ cloth; it will ____ all sorts of weather. The session was one of +prolonged ____. + + +(1) Finite, infinite, define, definite, confine, final, in fine, +unfinished; +(2) definitive, infinitesimal. + +_Sentences_: One cannot ____ the ____. He ____ himself to purely ____ +topics. ____ it was a ____ offer and the ____ one he expected to make. +The bridge is still ____. + + +(1) Flexibility, inflexible, deflect, inflection, reflection, reflex; +(2) circumflex, genuflection. + +_Sentences_: The ____ influence of this act was great. I did not like +the ____ of his voice. After some ____ he decided to remain ____. He was +not to be ____ from his purpose. I could but admire the ____ of her tones. + + +(1) Fluent, affluent, influence, influenza, superfluous, fluid, influx, +flush (rush of water), fluctuate; +(2) confluent, mellifluous, flux, reflux, effluvium, flume. + +_Sentences_: When you ____ the basin, an ____ of water fills it +again. He is an ____ man and a ____ writer. When I had ____, the doctor +gave me a disgusting ____ to drink. The wind must have an ____ in making +the waves ____ as they do. Any more would be ____. + + +(1) Fort, forte, effort, comfort, fortitude, fortify, fortress; +(2) aqua fortis, pianoforte. + +_Sentences_: The defenders of the ____ held out with great ____. +Though a ____ or two stood at important passes, the border was not really +____. His ____ was not public speaking. It was the only by an ____ that he +could ____ them. + + +(1) Fraction, infraction, fracture, fragility, fragment, suffrage, frail, +infringe; +(2) diffract, refractory, frangible. + +_Sentences_: It was in the course of his ____ of the rules that he +suffered the ____ of his collar-bone. He told the committee of ladies that +he was as fond of ____ as of ____. It is hardly a proof of ____ that he is +so willing to ____ upon the rights of others. The ____ scaffolding bent +and swung as he trod it. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Fugitive, fugue, refuge, subterfuge, centrifugal. + +_Sentences_: Closing his eyes as if to listen better to the ____ was +a little ____ of his. The upward movement of the missile was arrested by +the ____ attraction of the earth. The ____ took ____ in an abandoned barn. + + +(1) Refund, confound, foundry, confuse, suffuse, profuse, refuse, diffuse; +(2) fusion, effusion, transfuse. + +_Sentences_: With ____ cheeks and ____ utterance he made a ____ +apology. The amount we lost through the defective work at your ____ should +be ____ to us. Such a blow might ____ but not ____ him. He ____ the +appointment. + + +(1) Belligerent, gesture, suggest, congested, digestion, register, jest; +(2) gerund, congeries. + +_Sentences_: As he stopped before the cash ____ he gave a ____ which +showed that his ____ was none too good. His look was ____, but he lightly +made a ____. Amid the ____ traffic she stopped to ____ that pink would be +more becoming than lavender. + + +(1) Relate, translate, legislate, elation, dilated, dilatory; +(2) collate, correlate, prelate, oblation, superlative, ablative. + +_Sentences_: With ____ eyes he ____ the passage for me. The ____ was +very ____ in agreeing upon the measure to be passed. He ____ the story +with pride and ____. + + +(1) Locate, locality, locomotive, dislocate; +(2) locale, allocate, collocation. + +_Sentences_: In trying to ____ the mine as near the fissure as +possible he fell and ____ his hip. It was only ____ in that entire ____. + + +(1) Soliloquy, loquacious, loquacity, colloquial, eloquent, obloquy, +circumlocution, elocution; +(2) magniloquent, grandiloquent, ventriloquism, interlocutor, locutory, +allocution. (For related _log_ and _ology_ words see above under +Prying Into a Word's Relationships.) + +_Sentences_: ____ always, he indulged at this time in a great deal +of ____. Though it was mere ____, yet there was something ____ about it. +Amid all this ____ he managed to rid himself of a good deal of ____ +regarding Standish. Hamlet's ____ on suicide is a famous passage. + +(1) Allude, elude, delude, ludicrous, illusory, collusion; +(2) prelude, postlude, interlude. + +_Sentences_: Such evidence is ____, and belief in it is ____. +He ____ to a possible ____ between them. The more credulous ones he ____, +and the skeptical he manages to ____. + + +(1) Metrical, thermometer, barometer, pedometer, diametrically, geometry; +(2) millimeter, chronometer, hydrometer, trigonometry, pentameter. + +_Sentences_: He was careful to consult both the ____ and the ____. +He always wore a ____ on these trips. The two were ____ opposed to each +other. The poet has great ____ skill. ____ is an exact science. + +(1) Monotone, monotonous, monoplane, monopoly, monocle, monarchy, +monogram, monomania; +(2) monosyllable, monochrome, monogamy, monorail, monograph, monolith, +monody, monologue, monad, monastery, monk. + +_Sentences_: His eye held a ____, his gold ring bore a ____ seal, +and his voice was a stilted ____. One thing I hate about a ____ is the +____ reference to everything as his majesty's. He had a ____ of the trade +in his town. He is suffering, not from madness, but from ____. + +(1) Mortal, immortality, mortify, postmortem, mortgage, morgue; +(2) mortmain, moribund, À la mort. + +_Sentences_: After a hasty ____ examination, the body was taken to +the ____. She was ____ at this reminder of the ____ on her father's +property. The ____ shall put on ____. + +(1 and 2 combined) Mutual, mutation, permutation, commute, transmute, +immutable, moult. + +_Sentences_: As he ____ that morning he reflected upon the ____ and +combinations of fortune. We suffer the ____ of this worldly life, but +ourselves are not ____. God's love is ____, and our love for each other +should be ____. Birds when they ____ are weakened in body and depressed in +spirit. + +(1) Native, prenatal, innate, nature, unnatural, naturalize, nation, +pregnant, puny; +(2) denatured, nativity, cognate, agnate, nascent, renascence, née. + +_Sentences_: It was some ____ influence, he thought, that gave him +his ____ physique. It was a ____ reply, but its heartlessness was ____. +He was not ____ to the country, but ____. ____ in his ____ was the love +of his own ____. + + +(1) Note, notion, notable, notice, notorious, cognizant, incognito, +recognize, noble, ignoble, ennoble, ignore, ignorance, ignoramus, +reconnoiter, quaint, acquaintance; +(2) notary, notation, connotation, cognition, prognosticate, +reconnaissance, connoisseur. + +_Sentences_: In complete ____ of the enemy's position, he decided +that he would ____ it. ____ himself, he was ____ of what was going on +about him. You must ____ the conduct of such an ____. His ____ with this +____ gentleman ____ him. He ____ but would not ____ this ____ fellow. +The ____ is a ____ one. He could but ____ how ____ his brother had become. + + +(1) Panacea, panoply, panorama, pantomime, pan-American, pandemonium; +(2) pantheist, pantheon. + +_Sentences_: Arrayed in all the ____ of savages, they acted the scene +out in ____. From this point the ____ of the country-side unrolled itself +before him. It is no ____ for human ills; any supposition that it is will +lead to ____. It is a ____ movement. + + +(1) Peter, petrify, petrol, stormy petrel, petroleum, saltpeter, pier; +(2) petrology, parsley, samphire. + +_Sentences_: As he walked along the ____, he observed the flight of +the ____. The English name for gasoline is ____. ____ is used in the +manufacture of gunpowder. He was almost ____ at hearing of this enormous +stock of ____. The crowing of the cock caused ____ to weep bitterly. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Petty, petite, petit jury, petit larceny, petticoat, +pettifogger. + +_Sentences_: Charged with ____, he was tried by the ____. The +contemptible ____ hid behind the ____ of his wife. She was a winsome +maiden, dainty and ____. It is a ____ fault. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Philosophy, philanthropy, Philadelphia, bibliophile, +Anglophile. + +_Sentences_: His ____ was generous, but his ____ was not profound. +That queer old ____ hangs to the library like a caterpillar. It was the +love of humankind that caused Penn to name the city ____. Most Americans +are not ____. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Cosmopolitan, metropolitan, politics, policy, police. + +_Sentences_: Those who engage in ____ lack, as a rule, a ____ +outlook. It is merely ____ intolerance of towns and villages. The ____ of +the mayor was to increase the ____ force. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Potential, potency, potentate, impotent, omnipotent, +plenipotentiary. + +_Sentences_: So far from being ____, we possess a ____ difficult to +estimate. The ____ sent an ambassador ____. A ____ solution of the problem +is this. ____ God. + + +(1) Impute, compute, dispute, ill repute, reputation, disreputable; +(2) putative, indisputable. + +_Sentences_: She could not ____ the cost. There was some ____ as to +the cause of his ____. Let them ____ to me what motives they will. Though +somewhat ____, he was extremely solicitous about his ____. + + +(1) Abrogate, arrogate, interrogate, arrogant, derogatory, prerogative; +(2) surrogate, rogation, prorogue. + +_Sentences_: In an ____ manner he ____ these ____ to himself. To ____ +authority is to give opportunity for remarks ____ to one's reputation. He +skilfully ____ the witness. + + +(1) Salmon, sally, assail, assault, insult, consult, result, exultation, +desultory; +(2) salient, salacious, resilient. + +_Sentences_: After the ____ the firing was ____. The defenders ____ +out and ____ us, but the ____ of this effort only added to our ____. We +sat there watching the ____ leap over the waterfall and ____ about our +arrangements for taking them. To accept the remark as an ____ is to +acknowledge the speaker as an equal. + + +(1) Science, conscience, unconscious, prescience, omniscience, nice; +(2) sciolist, adscititious, plebiscite. + +_Sentences_: By his ____ understanding of the issues he was able to +gain a reputation for ____. We thought he possessed ____, but he seemed +____ of his erudition. Except under the sharp necessities of ____, he was +ruled by a ____ thoroughly tender. + + +(1) Sect, section, non-sectarian, dissect, insect, intersection, sickle, +vivisection, segment; +(2) bisect, trisect, insection, sector, secant. + +_Sentences_: He stood at the ____ of the roads, leaning on the shank +of a sharp ____. The foreman of the ____ gang is a member of our ____. The +boy was ____ an ____ with a butcher knife he had previously used to cut +for himself a large ____ of the Sunday cake. It is a ____ movement. He +defended the ____ of animals. + + +(1) Sense, consent, assent, resent, sentimental, dissension, sensation, +sensibility, sentence, scent, nonsense; +(2) sentient, consensus, presentiment. + +_Sentences_: A woman of her ____ would shrink from a ____ of this +sort. He ____ in a single, crisp ____. To be ____ is to be guilty of ____. +He had the good ____ to ____ to this course. He ____ such ____ and the +causes that produced them. A hound hunts by ____. + + +(1) Despond, respond, correspond, corespondent, sponsor; +(2) sponsion, spouse, espouse. + +_Sentences_: She ____ that her husband had been ____ with the ____. +The ____ of the movement could as yet see no reason to ____. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Structure, instructor, construct, obstruct, instrument, +destructive, misconstrue. + +_Sentences_: The student ____ the intentions of his ____. He resolved +to ____ every effort to complete the ____. The ____ was one that might +easily be turned to ____ work. They ____ a grandstand overlooking the +racetrack. + + +(1) Terrace, territory, subterranean, inter, terrier; +(2) terrene, tureen, terrestrial, terra cotta, Mediterranean, terra firma, +parterre. + +_Sentences_: The ____ was tearing a great hole in the ____ in order +to ____ a bone. He found rich ____ deposits. The discoverers laid claim to +the entire ____. + + +(1) Thesis, parenthesis, antithesis, anathema, theme, epithet, treasure; +(2) hypothesis, synthesis, metathesis. + +_Sentences_: To set two ideas in ____ to each other makes both more +vivid. By way of ____ he informed me that the subject was ____ to his +father. On this ____ he can summon a host of picturesque ____. The ____ is +one you will find it hard to establish. He was seeking Captain Kidd's +buried ____. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Tumor, tumidity, tumult, tumulus, contumacy. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of his joints was due to rheumatism. His ____ +led to a ____ of opposition. So excited was he at the discovery of the +____ that he did not permit the ____ on his hand to restrain him from +beginning the excavation. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Turbid, disturb, perturbation, turbulence, trouble, +imperturbable. + +_Sentences_: His ____ manner gave no hint of the ____ within him. The +____ sweep of the stream caused her not the slightest ____. Do not ____ +yourself with the thought that you are putting me to any ____. + + +(1 and 2 combined) Pervade, invade, evasion, vade mecum. + +_Sentences_: He promised that there would be no ____ of payments. +Byron's _Childe Harold_ was my ____ during my travels in Switzerland +and Italy. The fragrance of heliotrope ____ the room. You must not ____ my +privacy like this. + + +(1) Avail, prevail, prevalent, equivalent, valiant, validity, invalid, +invalidate; (2) valetudinarian, valediction, valence. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of the agreement has been thoroughly +established. Our cause is just, and must ____. It is ____ to admitting +that the terms are now ____. It was a ____ act and ____ the concessions +previously wrested from us. The ____ impression is that mere ingenuity +will not ____. + + +(1) Virtue, virile, virgin, virtually; (2) virago, virtuoso, triumvir. + +_Sentences_: It was ____ a new arrangement. It is ____ soil. To +be ____ and daring is every boy's dream. ____ is its own reward. + + +(1) Revive, survival, convivial, vivid, vivify, vivacious, vivisection; +(2) vive (le roi), qui vive, bon vivant, tableau vivant. + +_Sentences_: He has a ____ manner, a ____ spirit. The ____ of the +opposition to the ____ of animals is very marked. You cannot ____ a dead +cause or scarcely ____ memories of it. The ____ coloring of her cheeks was +a sure sign of health, or of skill. + + +THIRD GENERAL EXERCISE + +Find the key-syllable (in a few instances the key-syllables) of each of +the following words. How does it affect the meaning of the word? Does it +appear, perhaps in disguised form, in any of the words immediately +preceding or following? Can you bring to mind other words that embody it? + +Innovation Commonwealth Welfare Wayfarer +Adjournment Rival Derivation Arrive +Denunciation Denomination Ignominy Synonym +Patronymic Parliament Dormitory Demented +Presumptuous Indent Dandelion Trident +Indenture Contemporary Disseminate Annoy +Odium Desolate Impugn Efflorescent +Arbor vitae Consider Constellation Disaster +Suburb Address Dirigible Dirge +Indirectly Desperate Inoperative Benevolent +Voluntary Offend Enumerate Dilapidate +Request Exquisite Exonerate Approximate +Insinuate Resurgence Insurrection Rapture +Exasperate Complacent Dimension Commensurate +Preclude Cloister Turnpike Travesty +Atone Incarnate Charnal Etiquette +Rejuvenate Eradicate Quiet Requiem +Acquiesce Ambidextrous Inoculate Divulge +Proper Appropriate Omnivorous Voracious +Devour Escritoire Mordant Remorse +Miser Hilarious Exhilarate Rudiment +Erudite Mark Marquis Libel +Libretto Vague Vagabond Extravagant +Souse Saucer Oyster Ostracize + + +FOURTH GENERAL EXERCISE + +With a few exceptions like the Hale-heal group above under Verbal +Families, most verbal families of straight English or of Germanic- +Scandinavian-English descent are easily recognizable as families. Witness +the _Good_ family and the _Stead_ family. The families in which +kinship may be overlooked are likely to be of Latin or Greek ancestry, +though perhaps with a subsequent infusion of blood from some other foreign +language, as French. Hitherto our approach to verbal families has been +through the descendants, or through that quality in their blood which +holds them together. But we shall also profit from knowing something of +the founders of these families--from having some acquaintance with them as +individuals. Below (in separate lists) the more prominent of Latin and of +Greek progenitors are named, their meaning is given, and two or three of +their living representatives (not always direct descendants) are +designated. Starred [*] words are those whose progeny has not been in good +part assembled in the preceding pages; for these words you should assemble +all the living representatives you can. (Inflectional forms are given only +where they are needed for tracing English derivatives.) + + +<Latin Ancestors of English Words> + +_Latin word Meaning English representatives_ + + Ago, actum do, rouse agile, transact +*Alius other alias, inalienable +*Alter other alteration, adultery +*Altus high altitude, exalt +*Ambulo walk perambulator, preamble +*Amicus friend amicable, enemy +*Amo, amatum love inamorata, amateur, inimical +*Anima life animal, inanimate + Animus mind animosity, unanimous + Annus year annuity, biennial +*Aqua water aquarium, aqueduct + Audio, auditum hear audience, audit +*Bellum war rebel, belligerent +*Bene well benefit, benevolence +*Bonus good bonanza, bona fide +*Brevis short abbreviate, unabridged + Cado, casum fall cadence, casual + Caedo, cecidi, caesum cut, kill suicide, incision + Cano, cantum sing recant, chanticleer + Capio, captum take, hold capacious, incipient +*Caput, capitis head cape (Cape Cod), decapitate, + chapter, biceps + Cedo, cessum go concede, accessory + Centum hundred per cent, centigrade +*Civis citizen civic, uncivilized +*Clamo shout acclaim, declamation +*Claudo, clausum close, shut conclude, recluse, cloister, sluice + Cognosco (see _Nosco_) +*Coquo, coxi, coctum cook decoction, precocious +*Cor, cordis heart core, discord, courage + Corpus body corpse, incorporate + Credo, credituin believe creed, discreditable + Cresco, cretum grow crescendo, concrete, accrue +*Crux, crucis cross crucifix, excruciating + Cura care curate, sinecure + Curro, cursum run occur, concourse +*Derigo, directum direct dirge, dirigible, address +*Dexter right, right hand ambidextrous, dexterity + Dico speak, say abdicate, verdict +*Dies day diary, quotidian + Dignus worthy, fitting dignity, condign + Do, datum give condone, data +*Doceo, doctum teach document, doctor +*Dominus lord dominion, danger +*Domus house domicile, majordomo +*Dormio sleep dormant, dormouse + Duco lead traduce, deduction +*Duo two dubious, duet + Durus hard durable, obdurate + Eo, itum go exit, initial + Error, erratum wander erroneous, aberration + Facio, feci, factum make, do manufacture, affect, sufficient, + verify + Fero, latum carry transfer, relate + Fido trust, believe confide, perfidious + Finis end confine, infinity + Flecto, flexum bend reflection, inflexible + Fluo, fluxum flow influence, reflux + Fortis strong fortress, comfort + Frango, fractum break infringe, refraction +*Frater brother fraternity, fratricide + Fugio, fugitum flee centrifugal, fugitive + Fundo, fusum pour refund, profuse, fusion + Gero, gestum carry belligerent, gesture, digestion + Gradior, gressus walk degrade, progress +*Gratia favor, pleasure, ingratiate, congratulate, + good-will disgrace +*Grex, gregis flock segregate, egregious + Habeo, habitum have, hold habituate, prohibit + Itum (see Eo) + Jacio, jeci, jactum throw, hurl reject, interjection + Jungo, junctum join conjugal, enjoin, juncture + Juro swear abjure, perjury + Jus, juris law, right justice, jurisprudence + Judex (from jusdico) judge judgment, prejudice +*Juvenis young rejuvenate, juvenilia + Latum (see Fero) +*Laudo, laudatum praise allow, laudatory + Lego, lectum read, choose elegant, lecture, dialect +*Lex, legis law privilege, illegitimate, + legislature +*Liber book libel, library +*Liber free liberty, deliberate + Ligo bind obligation, allegiance, alliance +*Linquo, lictum leave delinquent, relict, derelict +*Litera letter illiterate, obliterate + Locus place collocation, dislocate + Loquor, locutus speak soliloquy, elocution + Ludo, lusum play prelude, illusory +/Lux, lucis light\ lucid, luminary +\Lumen, luminis / +*Magnus great magnate, magnificent +*Malus bad, evil malaria, malnutrition + Mando order mandatory, commandment + Manus hand manual, manufacture +*Mare sea maritime, submarine +*Mater mother maternal, alma mater +*Medius middle mediocre, intermediate +*Mens mind mental, demented +*Miror wonder mirror, admirable + Mitto, missum send commit, emissary +*Mordeo, morsum bite mordant, morsel, remorse + Mors, mortis death mortal, mortify + Moveo, motum move remove, locomotive +*Multus many multiform, multiplex + Muto, mutatum change transmute, immutable, moult + Nascor, natus be born renascence, cognate +*Nihil nothing nihilism, annihilate +*Nomen, nominis name denomination, renown +*Norma rule abnormal, enormous +/Nosco, notum cognosco \ +\ cognitum know / notation, incognito +*Novus new novelty, renovate +*Nuntio announce denounce, renunciation +*Opus, operis work magnum opus, inoperative +*Pater father patrician, patrimony + Patior, passus suffer impatient, passion + Pello, pulsum drive propeller, repulse + Pendeo, pensum hang pendulum, appendix + Pendo, pensum weigh compendium, expense + Pes, pedis foot expedite, biped + Peto seek impetus, compete +*Plaudo, plausum clap, applaud explode, plausible +*Plecto, plexum braid perplex, complexion +*Pleo, pletum fill complement, expletive +*Plus, pluris more surplus, plural + Plico, plicatum fold reply, implicate + Pono, positum place opponent, deposit + Porto carry report, porter + Potens, potentis powerful impotent, potential + Prendo, prehensum seize comprehend, apprise +*Primus, primatis first primary, primate + Probo, probatum prove improbable, reprobate +*Pugno fight impugn, repugnant + Puto think impute, disreputable +*Quaero, quaesitum seek require, inquest, exquisite +*Rapio, raptum seize enraptured, surreptitious +*Rego, rectum rule, lead region, erect +*Rideo, risum laugh deride, risible + Rogo, rogatum ask prorogue, abrogate + Rumpo, ruptum break disrupt, eruption + Salio, saltum leap salient, insult +*Sanguis blood sang froid, ensanguined + Scio, scitum know prescience, plebiscite + Scribo, scriptum write prescribe, manuscript, escritoire + Seco, sectum cut secant, dissect + Sedeo, sessum sit supersede, obsession + Sentio, sensum feel presentiment, consensus + Sequor, secutus follow sequence, persecute, ensue + Signum sign insignia, designate +*Solus alone solitude, desolate + Solvo, solutum loosen solvent, dissolute +*Somnus sleep somnambulist, insomnia +*Sono sound consonant, resonance +*Sors, sortis lot sort, assortment + Specio, spectum look despicable, suspect + Spiro, spiratum breathe perspire, conspiracy +*Spondeo, sponsum promise respond, espouse + Sto, steti, statum stand constant, establish + Sisto, stiti, statum cause to stand consistent, superstition + Stringo, strictum bind stringent, restrict + Struo, structum build construe, destruction + Tango, tactum touch intangible, tact + Tempus, temporis time temporize, contemporary + Tendo, tensum stretch distend, intense + Teneo, tentuin hold tenure, detention +*Tendo try tentative, attempt + Terminus end, boundary terminal, exterminate + Terra earth territory, inter + Torqueo, tortum twist distort, tortuous + Traho, tractum draw extract, subtraction + Tumeo, tumidum swell tumor, contumacy + Turba tumult, crowd turbulent, disturb +*Unus one unify, triune, onion +*Urbs city urbane, suburban + Vado, vasum go pervade, invasion + Valeo, validum be strong prevail, invalid + Venio, ventum come intervene, adventure + Verto, versum turn divert, adverse +*Verus true verdict, veracity +*Via way obviate, impervious, trivial + Video, visum see provide, revise + Vinco, victum conquer province, convict + Vir man triumvir, virtue + Vivo, victum live vivacious, vivisect + Voco, vocatum call revoke, avocation +*Volo wish malevolent, voluntary + Volvo, volutum turn revolver, evolution + Vox voice equivocal, vociferate + + + <Latin Prefixes> + +_Prefix Meaning English embodiments_ + +*A, ab from, away avert, abnegation, abstract +*Ad to adduce, adjacent, affect, accede +*Ante before antediluvian, anteroom +*Bi two biped, bicycle +*Circum around circumambient, circumference +*Cum, com, with, together combine, consort, coadjutor + con, co +*Contra against contradict, contrast +*De from, negative deplete, decry, demerit, declaim + down, intensive +*Di, dis asunder, away from, divert, disbelief + negative +*E, ex from, out of evict, excavate +*Extra beyond extraordinary, extravagant +*In in, into, not innate, instil, insignificant +*Inter among, between intercollegiate, interchange +*Intro, into, within introduce, intramural + intra +*Non negative nonage, nondescript +*Ob against, before + (facing), toward obloquy, obstacle, offer +*Per through, extremely persecute, perfervid, pursue, + pilgrim, pellucid +*Post after postpone, postscript +*Pre before prepay, preoccupy +*Pro before proceed, proffer +*Re back, again return, resound +*Retro back, backward retroactive, retrospective +*Se apart, aside seclude, secession +*Semi half semiannual, semicivilized +*Sub under, less than, subscribe, suffer, subnormal, + inferior subcommittee +*Super above, extremely superfluous, supercritical, soprano +*Trans across, through transfer, transparent +*Ultra beyond, extremely ultramundane, ultraconservative + + + <Greek Ancestors of English Words> + (Scientific terms in English are largely derived from the Greek) + +_Greek word Meaning English representatives_ + +*Aner, andros, man, stamen androgynous, philander, + anthropos philanthropy +*Archos chief, primitive archaic, architect +*Astron star asterisk, disaster + Autos self autograph, automatic, authentic +*Barvs heavy baritone, barites +*Biblos book Bible, bibliomania +*Bios life biology, autobiography, amphibious +*Cheir hand chiropody, chirurgical, surgeon +*Chilioi a thousand kilogram, kilowatt +*Chroma color chromo, achromatic + Chronos time chronic, anachronism +*Cosmos world, order cosmopolitan, microcosm +*Crypto hide cryptogam, cryptology +*Cyclos wheel, circle encyclopedia, cyclone +*Deca ten decasyllable, decalogue +*Demos people democracy, epidemic +*Derma skin epidermis, taxidermist +*Dis, di twice, doubly dichromatic, digraph +*Didonai, dosis give dose, apodosis, anecdote +*Dynamis power dynamite, dynasty +*Eidos form, thing seen idol, kaleidoscope, anthropoid +*Ethnos race, nation ethnic, ethnology + Eu well euphemism, eulogy +*Gamos marriage cryptogam, bigamy +*Ge earth geography, geometry + Genos family, race gentle, engender + Gramma writing monogram, grammar + Grapho write telegraph, lithograph +*Haima blood hematite, hemorrhage, anemia +*Heteros other heterodox, heterogeneous +*Homos same homonym, homeopathy +*Hydor water hydraulics, hydrophobia, hydrant +*Isos equal isosceles, isotherm +*Lithos stone monolith, chrysolite + Logos word, study theology, dialogue + Metron measure barometer, diameter +*Micros small microscope, microbe + Monos one, alone monoplane, monotone +*Morphe form metamorphosis, amorphous +*Neos new, young neolithic, neophyte +*Neuron nerve neuralgia, neurotic + Nomos law, science, astronomy, gastronomy, economy + management +*Onoma name anonymous, patronymic +*Opsis view, sight synopsis, thanatopsis, optician +*Orthos right orthopedic, orthodox +*Osteon bone osteopathy, periosteum +*Pais, paidos child paideutics, pedagogue, + encyclopedia + Pas, pan all diapason, panacea, pantheism + Pathos suffering allopathy, pathology + Petros rock petroleum, saltpeter +*Phaino show, be visible diaphanous, phenomenon, + epiphany, fantastic + Philos loving bibliophile, Philadelphia +*Phobos fear hydrophobia, Anglophobe + Phone sound telephone, symphony +*Phos light phosphorous, photograph +*Physis nature physiognomy, physiology +*Plasma form cataplasm, protoplasm +*Pneuma air, breath pneumatic, pneumonia + Polis city policy, metropolitan +*Polys many polyandry, polychrome, + polysyllable + Pous, pados foot octopus, chiropodist +*Protos first protoplasm, prototype +*Pseudes false pseudonym, pseudo-classic +*Psyche breath, soul, psychology, psychopathy + mind +*Pyr fire pyrography, pyrotechnics +*Scopos watcher scope, microscope +*Sophia wisdom philosophy, sophomore +*Techne art technicality, architect +*Tele far, far off telepathy, telescope +{*Temno cut } +{*Tomos that which is } epitome, anatomy, tome +{ cut off } +*Theos god theosophy, pantheism +*Therme heat isotherm, thermodynamics +{Tithenai place } epithet, hypothesis, +{Thesis a placing, } anathema +{ arrangement } +*Treis three trichord, trigonometry +*Zoon animal zoology, protozoa, zodiac + + + <Greek Prefixes> + +_Prefix Meaning English embodiments_ + +*A, an no, not aseptic, anarchy +*Amphi about, around, ambidextrous, amphitheater + (Latin ambi) both +*Ana up, again anatomy, Anabaptist +*Anti against, opposite antidote, antiphonal, antagonist +*Cata down catalepsy, cataclysm +*Dia through, across diameter, dialogue +*Epi upon epidemic, epithet, epode, ephemeral +*Hyper over, extremely hypercritical, hyperbola +*Hypo under, in smaller hypodermic, hypophosphate + measure +*Meta after, over metaphysics, metaphor +*Para beside paraphrase, paraphernalia +*Peri around, about periscope, peristyle +*Pro before proboscis, prophet +*Syn together, with synthesis, synopsis, sympathy + + + +VI + + WORDS IN PAIRS + + +Our first task in this volume was the study of words in combination. Our +second was the study of individual words in two of their aspects--first, +as they are seen in isolation, next as they are seen in verbal families. +Now our third task confronts us. It is the study of words as they are +associated, not in actual blood kinship, but in meaning. + +Such an association in meaning may involve only two words (pairs) or +larger groups. In this chapter we shall confine ourselves to the study of +pairs. + +Of the relationship between pairs there are three types. In the first the +words are hostile to each other. In the second they may easily be confused +with each other. In the third they are parallel with each other. We shall +examine the three types successively. + +But we must make an explanation first. Although we shall, in this and the +following chapters, have frequent occasion to give the meanings of +individual words, we shall give them without regard to dictionary methods. +We shall not attempt formal, water-tight, or exhaustive definitions; our +purpose is to convey, in the simplest and most human manner possible, +brief general explanations of what the words stand for. + + +<Opposites> + +Pairs of the first type are made up of words by nature opposite to each +other, or else thought of as opposite because they are so often +contrasted. Here is a familiar, everyday list: + +east, west straight, crooked myself, others +large, small pretty, ugly major, minor +laugh, cry walk, ride light, darkness +top, bottom hard, soft friend, enemy +sweet, sour clean, dirty temporal, spiritual +meat, drink merry, sad means, extremes +land, water private, public Jew, Gentile +man, woman noisy, quiet independent, dependent +old, new general, particular sublime, ridiculous +age, youth wholesale, retail give, receive +sick, well savage, civilized pride, humility +brain, brawn wealth, poverty constructive, destructive +soul, body positive, negative + +None of these words needs explaining. If you think of one of them, you +will think of its opposite; at least its opposite will be lurking in the +back of your mind. As proof of this fact you have only to glance at the +following list, from which the second member of each pair is omitted: + +hot -- black -- boy -- in -- +off -- over -- love -- wrong -- +strong -- wet -- first -- day -- +long -- fast -- good -- hope -- +least -- asleep -- buy -- left -- +alive -- winter -- war -- succeed -- +creditor -- fat -- internal -- wise -- +drunk -- + +Many words of a more difficult kind are thus pitted against each other, +and we learn them, not singly, but in pairs. At least we should. As good +verbal hunters we should be alert to the chance of killing two birds with +one stone. + +_Allopath_ and _homeopath_, for example, are difficult +opposites. We know of the existence of the two classes of medical +practitioners; we know that they use different methods; but beyond this +our knowledge is likely to be hazy. Let us set out, then, to _learn_ +the two words. The best way is to learn them together. _Allopathy_ +means other suffering, _homeopathy_ like suffering. An allopath uses +remedies which create within the patient a condition that squarely +conflicts with the further progress of the disease. A homeopath prescribes +medicines (in small doses) which produce within the patient the same +condition that the disease would produce; he "beats the disease to it," so +to speak--takes the job himself and leaves the disease nothing to do. The +allopath travels around a race-track in the opposite direction from the +disease, and thwarts it through a head-on collision. The homeopath travels +around the race-track in the same direction as the disease, and thwarts it +by pulling at the reins. If we consider the two words together and get +these ideas in mind, we shall have no further trouble with allopaths and +homeopaths--except, perhaps, when they have rendered their services and +presented their bills. + +_Objective_ and _subjective_ are also a troublesome pair. A +thing is objective if it is an actual object or being, if it exists in +itself rather than in our surmises. A thing is subjective if it is the +creature of a state of mind, if it has its existence in the thought or +imagination of some person or other. Thus if I meet a bear in the wilds, +that bear is objective; whatever may be the state of my thoughts, _he is +there_--and it would be to my advantage to reckon with this fact. But +if a child who is sent off to bed alone says there is a bear in the room, +the bear is subjective; it is not a living monster that will devour +anybody, but a creature called into the mind of the child through dread. + + +EXERCISE - Opposites + +Study the following words in pairs. Consult the dictionary for actual +meanings. Then test your knowledge by embodying each word of each pair in +a sentence, or in an illustration like those of the race-track and the +bear in the preceding paragraphs. + +superior, inferior concord, discord +export, import domestic, foreign +fact, fiction prose, poetry +verbal, oral literal, figurative +predecessor, successor genuine, artificial +positive, negative practical, theoretical +optimism, pessimism finite, infinite +longitude, latitude evolution, revolution +oriental, occidental pathos, bathos +sacred, profane military, civil +clergy, laity capital, labor +ingress, egress element, compound +horizontal, perpendicular competition, coöperation +predestination, freewill universal, particular +extrinsic, intrinsic inflation, deflation +dorsal, ventral acid, alkali +synonym, antonym prologue, epilogue +nadir, zenith amateur, connoisseur +anterior, posterior stoic, epicure +ordinal, cardinal centripetal, centrifugal +stalagmite, stalactite orthodox, heterodox +homogeneous, heterogeneous monogamy, polygamy +induction, deduction egoism, altruism +Unitarian, Trinitarian concentric, eccentric +herbivorous, carnivorous deciduous, perennial +esoteric, exoteric endogen, exogen +vertebrate, invertebrate catalectic, acatalectic + + +<Words Often Confused> + +Pairs of the second type are made up of words which are often confused by +careless writers and speakers, and which should be accurately +discriminated. + +Sometimes the words are actually akin to each other. _Continuous- +continual_ and _enormity-enormousness_ are examples. Sometimes +they merely look or sound much alike. _Mean-demean_ and _affect- +effect_ are examples. Sometimes the things they designate are more or +less related, so that the ideas behind the words rather than the words +themselves are responsible for the confusion. _Contagious-infectious_ +and _knowledge-wisdom_ are examples. Let us distinguish between the +two members of each of the pairs named. + +A thing is _continuous_ if it suffers no interruption whatever, +_continual_ if it is broken at regular intervals but as regularly +renewed. Thus "a continuous stretch of forest"; "the continual drip of +water from the eaves." + +_Enormity_ pertains to the moral and sometimes the social, +_enormousness_ to the physical. Thus "the enormity of the crime," +"the enormity of this social offense"; "the enormousness of prehistoric +animals." + +_Demean_ is often used reproachfully because of its supposed relation +to _mean_. But it has nothing to do with _mean_. The word with +which to connect it is _demeanor_ (conduct). Thus "We observed how he +demeaned himself" implies no adverse criticism of either the man or his +deportment. Both may be debased to be sure, but they may be exemplary. + +To _affect_ means to feign or to have an influence upon, to +_effect_ to bring to pass. Thus "He affects a fondness for classical +music," "The little orphan's story affected those who heard it"; "We +effected a compromise." _Affect_ is never properly used as a noun. +_Effect_ as a noun means result, consequence, or practical operation. +Thus "The shot took instant effect"; "He put this idea into effect." + +A disease is _contagious_ when the only way to catch it is through +direct contact with a person already having it, or through contact with +articles such a person has used. A disease is _infectious_ when it is +presumably caused, not by contact with a person, but through widespread +general conditions, as of climate or sanitation. + +Our _knowledge_ is our acquaintance with a fact, or the sum total of +our information. Our _wisdom_ is our intellectual and spiritual +discernment, to which our knowledge is one of the contributors. +_Knowledge_ comprises the materials; _wisdom_ the ability to use +them to practical advantage and to worthy or noble purpose. +_Knowledge_ is mental possession; _wisdom_ is mental and moral +power. + + +EXERCISE - Confused + +1. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each +of the following pairs. In each blank of the illustrative sentences insert +the word appropriate in meaning. + +<Ability, capacity.> ____ to receive knowledge. ____ to impart +knowledge. + +<Abstain, refrain.> He ____ from laughter. He steadfastly ____ from +evil courses. + +<Abstinence, temperance.> Though he always displayed ____, he did not +carry it to the point of ____. + +<Accept, except.> I shall ____ most of the suggestions, but must ____ +the one made by Mr. Wheeler. + +<Accept, receive>. When the package was ____ at the local post +office, Bayard refused to ____ it. + +<Ache, pain>. The dull ____ of his head. A sharp ____ below +shoulder-blade. I have known the ____ of cold hands. "My heart ____, and +a drowsy numbness ____ My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk." + +<Address, tact>. With firmness and ____ he set about reconciling the +factions. Her ____ enabled her to perceive that something was amiss. + +<Adhere, cohere>. The magnetized iron filings ____. The cold iron +____ to the boy's tongue. + +<Adherence, adhesion>. The ____ of the heated particles to each other +was instantaneous. Amid these trials their ____ to the cause was unshaken. + +<Admission, admittance>. His ____ to the room was forced. He obtained +____ into a fraternal order. + +<Admit, confess>. When he ____ that he had a weapon, he practically +____ that he had slain the man. + +<Adverse, averse>. He was ____ to going. Their answer was ____. + +<Advice, counsel>. In this emergency he sought ____. He asked my ____ +as to the best place to hang the picture. + +<Aggravate, irritate>. To let these mishaps ____ you is to ____ your +suffering. + +<Allusion, illusion>. It is an ____ to suppose that I made any ____ +to you. + +<Allusion, reference>. It was more than a possible ____; it was an +unmistakable ____. + +<Amateur, novice>. Though we call him a(n) ____, he is in skill by no +means the ____ you might think him. + +<Ambiguous, equivocal>. You are unintentionally ____. These words are +deliberately ____. + +<Anticipate, expect>. Since we ____ the enemy to advance, would it +not be wise to ____ him? + +<Appearance, aspect>. He was handsome in ____. The ____ of the sky +was ominous. + +<Apprehend, comprehend>. "Lovers and madmen have such seething +brains, Such shaping fantasies, that ____ More than cool reason ever +____." + +<Ardor, fervor>. The ____ of the worshipers. The ____ of the +soldiers. + +<Artist, artisan>. The ____ who was decorating the walls called to an +____ who was mixing mortar. + +<Ascent, ascension>. We easily made the ____ of the slope, and from +the summit witnessed the balloon ____. + +<Ascent, assent.> He gave his ____ when I proposed that we wait for +the others to complete the ____ to this point. + +<Ascribe, impute.> I ____ it to you as a fault rather than ____ it to +you as an honor. + +<Assembly, assemblage.> It was an informal ____. The ____ considered +the matters it had been called to discuss. + +<Assent, consent.> When told that the measure would advance his +interests, he ____; but he would not ____ to it. + +<Avenge, revenge.> The injury was slight, but he ____ it with +unsparing malice. "____, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints." + +<Avocation, vocation.> The lawyer, besides his regular ____, had the +collecting of birds' eggs as his ____. + +<Aware, conscious.> Though not ____ of the seriousness of his malady, +he was ____ of the pain it caused him. + +<Balance, remainder.> Darrell added the ____ of the coins, but not +even they brought about the ____ he sought between assets and obligations. + +<Bashful, modest.> Though ____ socially, he was not what you would +term a ____ man. + +<Behavior, conduct.> His ____ in this time of trial was exemplary. +She praised the ____ of the children at the party. + +<Belief, faith.> He possibly had ____, but not an active ____. + +<Benignant, benign.> Her social manner was ____. The ____ influence +of sunlight. + +<Beside, besides.> ____ his personal friends, many people he had not +even met stood ____ his sickbed. + +<Blanch, whiten.> At this threat the face of the heroine ____. With a +pail of cheap paint he ____ the dingy wall. + +<Blessing, benediction.> After telling his parishioners to be mindful +of their ____, the clergyman pronounced the ____. + +<Blockade, siege.> Daily attacks on exposed redoubts marked the +progress of the ____. The fleet lay there in silent ____ of the port. + +<Bravery, bravado.> The incident proved that his ____ was not founded +in real ____. + +<Bring, fetch.> When you come, ____ the official documents with you. +____ me the scales you will find in the granary yonder. + +<Broad, wide.> A man with ____ shoulders stood in the ____, open +doorway. + +<Bury, inter.> After they had solemnly ____ their comrade, they ____ +the treasure. They also ____ their comrade's dog. + + +2. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each +of the following pairs. Determine whether the words are correctly used in +the illustrative sentences. (Some are; some are not.) + +<Can, may.> Can I stay at home this afternoon, papa? Because of the +floods, the train beyond doubt may not get through. + +<Character, reputation.> His character among them was very good. A +man's reputation can never be taken from him. + +<Childish, childlike.> Your conduct is peevish; it is childishly so. +Her innocence was childlike. + +<Cite, quote.> He was always citing snatches of Tennyson. We might +quote Hamlet's soliloquy on suicide as an example of Shakespeare's ability +to go to the heart of deep questions. + +<Claim, assert.> He claimed that Jefferson was our third President. +He asserted that bears sleep through the winter. + +<Clothing, costume.> At the masquerade ball we each wore special +clothing. The mariner who had swum from the wreck to the desert shore had +not a shred of costume. + +<Comfort, ease.> Comfort after labor. The ease of owning a home. + +<Commercial, mercantile.> Petty commercial transactions. A mercantile +treaty. + +<Common, mutual.> This pavilion was the common play-house for the +children of the neighborhood. Ward and Aker held this property as their +mutual possession. + +<Complement, compliment.> This addition is the complement of our +quota. He paid his dancing partner a compliment. + +<Complement, supplement.> His downrightness is the complement of his +uprightness. As a supplement to his wages he received an occasional bonus. + +<Complete, finish.> He put in the completing touches. He had finished +the task. + +<Composure, equanimity.> His composure was not to be shaken. After +this inner tumult came equanimity. + +<Comprehensible, comprehensive.> Numbers of such magnitude are +scarcely comprehensible. That men by the million should die for a cause is +a thing not really comprehensive. + +<Compulsion, obligation.> Who does not feel within him a compulsion +to help the weak? It was through obligation, through having slave-drivers +stand over them, that these wretched folk built the pyramids. + +<Congratulate, felicitate.> I congratulated my friend on his +appointment to the commission. I also felicitated the stranger on his +appointment. + +<Consecutive, successive.> Three consecutive convictions proved the +ability of the prosecuting attorney. The quiet passing of successive +summer days. + +<Contemptible, contemptuous.> Its size was insignificant, even +contemptible. He won the prize by a contemptuous trick. + +<Continuation, continuance.> The investigator was surprised to find +the tradition of such long continuation. We waited impatiently for the +continuance of the story in the next issue. + +<Corporal, corporeal.> I am more and more amazed at the perfection of +man's corporal frame. His corporeal vigor was unusual. + +<Correct, rectify.> A man may correct many of his false judgments on +current affairs by studying history. The mistake is ours; it shall be +rectified. + +<Cozy, snug.> The cozy fit of a garment. A snug place by the fire. + +<Crawl, creep.> We crawled forward at dawn to surprise their +outposts. In his humility he fairly crept on the earth. + +<Credible, creditable.> I do not doubt it; it is entirely credible. +The success of the antidote seemed scarcely creditable. + +<Credit, accredit.> Though he is the official and credited +ambassador, his assertions are not accredited. + +<Cure, heal.> I cured the dog's wounds. The physician declared he +could heal leprosy. + +<Custom, habit.> "A custom more honor'd in the breach than the +observance." Is it your custom to watch the clock while you eat? The habit +in that region was to rise at cockcrow. + +<Decided, decisive.> A decided battle. A decisive fault in manners. + +<Definite, definitive.> We still await a definite edition of this +author's works. His answer was so definitive that we no longer doubted +what he meant. + +<Demesne, domain.> Clive added India to the British demesne. +The king went riding through his personal domain. + +<Deprecate, depreciate.> The German mark has deprecated in value. He +depreciated the praise they were lavishing upon him. + +<Descent, dissent.> They tied themselves together with a rope in +order to make their dissent safer. The dissent to a lower plane of +conversation was what he most desired. + +<Discovery, invention.> The discovery of the wireless telegraph is +Marconi's chief claim to remembrance. The invention of a water passage +between Tierra del Fuego and the mainland was the work of Magellan. + +<Discriminate, distinguish.> He could not discriminate individuals at +that distance. Any man can distinguish right from wrong. + +<Disinterested, uninterested.> His course was entirely generous and +disinterested. Most visitors to art galleries have an uninterested manner. + +<Disposal, disposition.> This disposal of the matter is +authoritative, final. His disposition of his forces was well-considered. + +<Dissatisfied, discontented.> Though the colonists were dissatisfied +for the moment, they could hardly be called discontented. + +<Distinct, distinctive.> The distinct quality of his character was +aggressiveness. There were four separate and distinctive calls. + +<Dramatic, theatrical.> An affected, dramatic manner. A truly +theatrical situation. + +<Dry, arid.> A dry plain. An arid place to sleep in. + +<Dumb, mute.> The man stood dumb with surprise. Always be kind to +mute animals. + +<Durable, lasting.> Our joy is durable. Oak is a lasting wood. + +3. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members +of each of the following pairs. Frame sentences to illustrate +the correct use of the words. (Some of the words in this list, +as well as some in other parts of the chapter, are considered in +larger groups in the chapters following.) + +earth, world efficiency, efficacy +egoism, egotism eldest, oldest +elemental, elementary elude, evade +emigrate, immigrate enough, sufficient +envy, jealousy equable, equitable +equal, equivalent essential, necessary +esteem, respect euphemism, euphuism +evidence, proof exact, precise +exchange, interchange excuse, pardon +exempt, immune expect, suppose +expedite, facilitate + +facsimile, copy familiar, intimate +fancy, imagination farther, further +feeling, sentiment feminine, effeminate +fervent, fervid fewer, less +fluid, liquid first (or last) two, two first (or last) +food, feed foreign, alien +force, strength forgive, pardon + +gayety, cheerfulness genius, talent +gentle, tame genuine, authentic +glance, glimpse grateful, thankful +grieve, mourn + +hanged, hung happen, transpire +happiness, pleasure healthy, healthful +hear, listen heathen, pagan +honorable, honorary horrible, horrid +human, humane + +illegible, unreadable image, effigy +imaginary, imaginative impending, approaching +imperious, imperial imply, infer +in, into inability, disability +ingenious, ingenuous intelligent, intellectual +insinuation, innuendo instinct, intuition +involve, implicate irony, sarcasm +irretrievable, irreparable + +judicious, judicial just, equitable +justify, warrant + +lack, want languor, lassitude +later, latter lawful, legal +lax, slack leave, let +lend, loan liable, likely +libel, slander lie, lay +like, love linger, loiter +look, see loose, lose +luxurious, luxuriant + +majority, plurality marine, maritime +martial, military moderate, temperate +mood, humor moral, ethical +moral, religious mutual, reciprocal +myth, legend + +natal, native nautical, naval +near, close necessaries, necessities +needy, needful noted, notorious +novice, tyro + +observance, observation observe, perceive +obsolete, archaic omnipresent, ubiquitous +on, upon oppose, resist +opposite, contrary oppress, depress + +palliate, extenuate passionate, impassioned +pathos, pity patron, customer +peculiar, unusual perspicuity, perspicacity +permeate, pervade permit, allow +perseverance, persistence pertain, appertain +pictorial, picturesque pitiable, pitiful +pity, sympathy pleasant, pleasing +politician, statesman practicable, practical +precipitous, precipitate precision, preciseness +prejudice, bias prelude, overture +pride, vanity principal, principle +process, procedure procure, secure +professor, teacher progress, progression +propitious, auspicious proposal, proposition +tradition, legend truth, veracity + +quiet, quiescent + +raise, rear raise, rise +ransom, redeem rare, scarce +reason, understanding reasonable, rational +recollect, remember regal, royal +reliable, trustworthy requirement, requisite +restive, restless reverse, inverse +ride, drive rime (or rhyme), rhythm + +sacred, holy salutation, salute +scanty, sparse scholar, student +science, art scrupulous, conscientious +serf, slave shift, expedient +sick, ill silent, taciturn +sit, set skilled, skilful +slender, slim smart, clever +sociable, social solicitude, anxiety +stay, stop stimulus, stimulation +strut, swagger suppress, repress + +termination, terminus theory, hypothesis +tolerate, permit torment, torture +tradition, legend truth, veracity + +unbelief, disbelief unique, unusual + +varied, various variety, diversity +venal, venial vengeance, revenge +verse, stanza vindictive, revengeful +visit, visitation visitant, visitor + +wander, stray warn, caution +will, volition wit, humor +witness, see womanish, womanlike +worth, value + + + <Parallels> + +Pairs of the third type are made up of words parallel in meaning. This +class somewhat overlaps the second; many terms that are frequently +confused are parallels, and parallelism is of course a cause of confusion. + +Parallels are words that show likeness in meaning. Likeness, not sameness. +Yet at one time actual sameness may have existed, and in many instances +did. Nowadays this sameness has been lost, and the words have become +differentiated. As a rule they still are closely related in thought; +sometimes, however, the divergence between them is wide. + +Why did words having the same meaning find lodgment in the language in the +first place? The law of linguistic economy forbids any such happening, and +only through sheer good fortune did English come to possess duplications. +The original Anglo-Saxon did not contain them. But the Roman Catholic +clergy brought to England the language of religion and of scholarship, +Latin. Later the Normans, whose speech as a branch of French was an +offshoot of Latin, came to the island as conquerors. For a time, +therefore, three languages existed side by side in the country--Anglo- +Saxon among the common folk, Latin among the clergy, and Norman-French at +the court and among the nobility. The coalescing of the three (or of the +two if we count Latin in its direct and indirect contributions as one) was +inevitable. But other (mostly cognate) languages also had a part in the +speech that was ultimately evolved. The Anglo-Saxon element was +augmented by words from Dutch, Scandinavian, and the Germanic tongues in +general; and Latin was reinforced by Greek. Thus to imply, as is +sometimes done, that modern English is simply a blend of Anglo-Saxon and +Latin elements is misleading. _Native_ and _classic_ are the better +terms to use, provided both are used broadly. _Native_ must include not +only Anglo-Saxon but the other Germanic elements as well, and _classic_ +must include French and Greek as well as Latin. + +The welding of these languages made available two--in some instances more +than two--words for a single object or idea. What became of these +duplicates? Sometimes one of the words was dropped as needless. +Oftentimes, however, both were retained--with such modifications in +meaning that thereafter they designated, not the same object or idea, but +different forms or aspects of it. Thus they became parallels, and the new +language waxed rich with discriminations which neither of the component +tongues had possessed. + +Scott in _Ivanhoe_ gives the basis upon which the unification of the +languages proceeded. The jester Wamba in conversation with the swineherd +Gurth explains how the Anglo-Saxon term took on the homelier, rougher, +more workaday uses and left the more refined and fastidious uses for the +Norman-French. A domestic animal, says Wamba, was cared for by the +conquered people, and in consequence bore while living a "good Saxon" +name--swine, ox, or calf; but it was served at the tables of the +conquerors, and therefore when ready for consumption bore a "good +Norman-French" name--pork, beef, or veal. "When the brute [a sow] lives, +and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes +Norman and is called pork, when she is carried into the castle hall to +feast among the nobles.... He [a calf] is Saxon when he requires tendance, +and takes a Norman name [Monsieur de Veau] when he becomes matter of +enjoyment." + +Let us see how Scott's contention fares if we extend his list of terms +relative to animal life. As throughout the rest of this chapter, with the +single and necessary exception of List B, the first word in each pair is +native, the second classic: + + +<LIST A> + +sheep, mutton deer, venison horse, equine +cow, bovine bull, taurine sheep, ovine +wolf, lupine hog, porcine bear, ursine +fox, vulpine cat, feline dog, canine +fish, piscatorial mouse, vermin rat, rodent +mankind, humanity man, masculine woman, feminine +childish, infantile boyish, puerile + +A glance at this list will show that, at least as regards animal life, the +native word is likely to be the more familiar and unpretentious. But we +must not leap to the conclusion that, taking the language as a whole, the +simple, easy word is sure to be native, the abstruse word classic. In the +following list one word in each pair is simpler, oftentimes much simpler, +than the other; yet both are of classic origin. (In some instances the two +are doublets; that is, they spring from the same stem.) + + +<LIST B> + +boil, effervesce plenty, abundance force, coerce +clear, transparent sound, reverberate echo, reverberate +toil, labor false, perfidious prove, verify +join, unite join, annex try, endeavor +carry, convey save, preserve save, rescue +safe, secure poor, pauper poor, penurious +poor, impecunious native, indigenous strange, extraneous +excuse, palliate excusable, venial cannon, ordnance +corpse, cadaverous parish, parochial fool, stultify +fool, idiot rule, govern governor, gubernatorial +wages, salary nice, exquisite haughty, arrogant +letter, epistle pursue, prosecute use, utility +use, utilize rival, competitor male, masculine +female, feminine beauty, esthetics beauty, pulchritude +beautify, embellish poison, venom vote, franchise +vote, suffrage taste, gust tasteful, gustatory +tasteless, insipid flower, floral count, compute +cowardly, pusillanimous tent, pavilion money, finance +monetary, pecuniary trace, vestige face, countenance +turn, revolve bottle, vial grease, lubricant +oily, unctuous revive, resuscitate faultless, impeccable +scourge, flagellate power, puissance barber, tonsorial +bishop, episcopal carry, portable fruitful, prolific +punish, punitive scar, cicatrix hostile, inimical +choice, option cry, vociferate ease, facility +peaceful, pacific beast, animal chasten, castigate +round, rotunda imprison, incarcerate bowels, viscera +boil, ebullient city, municipal color, chromatics +nervous, neurotic pleasing, delectable accidental, fortuitous +change, mutation lazy, indolent fragrance, aroma +pay, compensate face, physiognomy joy, rapture +charitable, eleemosynary blame, blaspheme priest, presbyter +coy, quiet prudent, provident pupil, disciple +story, narrative pause, interval despise, abhor +doctor, physician fate, destiny country, rustic +aged, senile increase, increment gentle, genteel +clear, apparent eagle, aquiline motion, momentum +nourishment, nutrition pure, unadulterated closeness, proximity +number, notation ancestors, progenitors confirm, corroborate +convert, proselyte benediction, benison treasury, thesaurus +egotism, megalomania + +Sometimes the native word is less familiar than the classic: + + +<LIST C> + +seethe, boil loam, soil fare, travel +abide, remain bestow, present bestow, deposit +din, noise quern, mill learner, scholar +shamefaced, modest hue, color tarnish, stain +ween, expect leech, physician shield, protect +steadfast, firm withstand, resist straightway, immediately +dwelling, residence heft, gravity delve, excavate +forthright, direct tidings, report bower, chamber +rune, letter borough, city baleful, destructive +gainsay, contradict cleave, divide hearten, encourage +hoard, treasure + + +Again, the native word is sometimes less emphatic than the classic: + +<LIST D> + +fly, soar old, venerable flood, cataclysm +steep, precipitous wonder, astonishment speed, velocity +sparkle, scintillate stir, commotion stir, agitate +strike, collide learned, erudite small, diminutive +scare, terrify burn, combustion fire, conflagration +fall, collapse uproot, eradicate skin, excoriate +hate, abominate work, labor bright, brilliant +hungry, famished eat, devour twisted, contorted +thin, emaciated sad, lugubrious mirth, hilarity + +Despite these exceptions, the native word is in general better known +and more crudely powerful than the classic. Thus of the pair +_sweat-perspiration_, _sweat_ is the plain-spoken, everyday member, +_perspiration_ the polite, even learned member. The man of limited +vocabulary says _sweat_; even the sophisticated person, unless there +is occasion to soften effects, finds _sweat_ the more natural term. +No one would say that a horse perspires. No one would say that human +beings must eat their bread in the perspiration of their faces. But +_sweat_ is a word of connotation too vigorous (though honest withal) +for us to use the term in the drawing room. A questionable woman in _The +Vicar of Wakefield_ betrays her lack of breeding by the remark that she +is in a muck of sweat. + +The native word, besides being in itself simpler and starker than the +classic, makes stronger appeal to our feelings and affections. In nearly +every instance the objects and relationships that have woven themselves +into the very texture of our lives are designated by native terms. Even if +they are not so designated solely, they are so designated in their more +cherished aspects. We warm more to the native _fatherly_ than to the +classic _paternal_. We have a deeper sentiment for the native +_home_ than for the classic _residence_. + +That the native is the more downright term may be seen from the following +words. (These pairs are of course merely illustrative. With them might be +grouped a few special pairs, like _devilish-diabolical_ and +_church_-_ecclesiastical_, of which the first members are +classic in origin but of such early naturalization into English that they +may be regarded as native.) + + +<LIST E> + +belly, stomach belly, abdomen navel, umbilicus +suck, nurse naked, nude murder, homicide +dead, deceased dead, defunct dying, moribund +lust, salacity lewd, libidinous read, peruse +lie, prevaricate hearty, cordial following, subsequent +crowd, multitude chew, masticate food, pabulum +eat, regale meal, repast meal, refection +thrift, economy sleepy, soporific slumberous, somnolent +live, reside rot, putrefy swelling, protuberant +soak, saturate soak, absorb stinking, malodorous +spit, saliva spit, expectorate thievishness, kleptomania +belch, eructate sticky, adhesive house, domicile +eye, optic walker, pedestrian talkative, loquacious +talkative, garrulous wisdom, sapience bodily, corporeal +name, appellation finger, digit show, ostentation +nearness, propinquity wash, lave handwriting, chirography +waves, undulations shady, umbrageous fat, corpulent +muddy, turbid widow, relict horseback, equestrian +weight, avoirdupois blush, erubescence + +The word of classic origin in many instances survives only or mainly in +the form of an adjective; as a noun (or other part of speech) it has +completely or largely disappeared. This fact may be observed in lists +already given, particularly List A. It may also be observed in the +following words: + + +<LIST F> + +moon, lunar star, stellar star, sidereal +sun, solar earth, terrestrial world, mundane +heaven, celestial hell, infernal earthquake, seismic +ear, aural head, capital hand, manual +foot, pedal breast, pectoral heart, cardial +hip, sciatic tail, caudal throat, guttural +lung, pulmonary bone, osseous hair, hirsute +tearful, lachrymose early, primitive sweet, dulcet, +sweet, saccharine young, juvenile bloody, sanguinary +deadly, mortal red, florid bank, riparian +hard, arduous wound, vulnerable written, graphic +spotless, immaculate sell, mercenary son, filial +salt, saline meal, farinaceous wood, ligneous +wood, sylvan cloud, nebulous glass, vitreous +milk, lacteal water, aquatic stone, lapidary +gold, aureous silver, argent iron, ferric +honey, mellifluous loving, amatory loving, erotic +loving, amiable wedded, hymeneal plow, arable +priestly, sacerdotal arrow, sagittal wholesome, salubrious +warlike, bellicose timely, temporary fiery, igneous +ring, annular soap, saponaceous nestling, nidulant +snore, stertorous window, fenestral twilight, crepuscular +soot, fuliginous hunter, venatorial + +The fact that English is a double-barreled language, and that of parallel +terms one is likely to be native and the other classic, is interesting in +itself. Our lists of parallels, however, though (with the exception of +List B) they are arranged to bring out this duality of origin, have other +and more vital uses as material for exercises. For after all it matters +little whether we know where a word comes from, provided we know +thoroughly the meaning and implications of the word itself. The lists +already given and those to follow show the more important words actually +yoked as parallels. Your task must be to ascertain the differences in +import between the words thus joined. + + +EXERCISE - Parallels + +<LIST G> + +Study the discriminations between the members of the following pairs. At +each blank in the illustrative sentences insert the appropriate word. + +<Brotherly, fraternal.> _Brotherly_ is used of actual blood +kinship, or indicates close feeling, deep affection, or religious love. +_Fraternal_ is used less personally and intimately; it normally +betokens that the relations are at least in part formal (as relations +within societies). "The sight of the button on the stranger's lapel caused +Wilkes to give him the cabalistic sign and ask his ____ assistance." +"Though the children of different parents, we bear for each other a true +____ devotion." "Because we both are newspaper men I feel a ____ interest +in him." + +<Daily, diurnal.> _Daily_, the popular word, is often used +loosely. We may say that we eat three meals daily without implying that we +have never gone dinnerless. _Diurnal_, the scientific term, is used +exactly, whether applying to the period of daylight or to the whole +twenty-four hours. A diurnal flower closes at night; a diurnal motion is +precisely coincident with the astronomical day. In poetry, however, +_diurnal_ is often used for _daily_. "Give us this day our ____ +bread." "The ____ rotation of the earth on its axis is the cause of our +day and night." "Fred and I went for our ____ ramble through the hills." + +<Cold, frigid.> Which is the more popular word? Let us see. Would the +man in the street be more likely to use one than the other? Which one? +Does this answer our question? Another question: Which word is the more +inclusive in meaning? Again, let us see. A blacksmith is beating iron; +does the iron grow cold or frigid? Which term, then, approaches the closer +in meaning to the idea of mere coolness? On the other hand, may that same +term represent a temperature far beyond mere coolness? Would you speak of +a morning as bitterly cold or bitterly frigid? Now think of the term you +have not been using. _Can_ it convey as wide meanings, or is it +limited in range? Does the word _frigid_ carry for you a geographical +suggestion (to the frigid zone)? Do you yourself use the term? If so, do +you use it chiefly (perhaps entirely) in connection with human temperament +or demeanor? Is _cold_ used thus figuratively also? Which is the more +often thus used? "I suffer from ____ hands and feet." "The slopes of Mont +Blanc are ____ with eternal snow." "He did not warm to the idea at all. +His inclinations are absolutely ____." + +<Manly, virile>. _Manly_ implies possession of traits or +qualities a man should possess; it may be used of immature persons. +_Virile_ implies maturity and robust masculinity; it is also used of +the power to procreate. "A ____ lad." "A ____ reply." "____ energy." +"____ and aggressive." "____ forbearance." + +<Inner, internal>. _Inner_ is somewhat within, or more within +than something else is; it is also used in figurative and spiritual +senses. _Internal_ is entirely within. "The ____ organs of the human +body." "The ____ layer of the rind." "The injury was ____." +"The ____ nature of man." "The ____ meaning of the occurrence." + +<Height, altitude>. "He was five feet, eleven inches in height." +Can you substitute _altitude_? Is _altitude_ used of persons? +"At an altitude of eleven feet from the ground." Would _height_ be +more natural? Does _altitude_ betoken great height? If so, does +Hamlet speak jestingly when he greets the player, "Your ladyship is nearer +heaven than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine?" What of +the sentence: "The altitude of Galveston was not sufficient to protect it +from the tidal wave"? Does the magnitude or importance of the object +(Galveston) compensate for its lack of elevation and thus justify +_altitude_? Could _height_ be substituted? If so, would the +words _above sea-level_ have to follow it? Does this fact give you a +further clue as to the distinction between the two words? You are +comparing the elevation of two peaks, both plainly visible; you measure +them merely by your eye. Do you say "This exceeds the other in height" or +"This exceeds the other in altitude"? Suppose the peaks are so distant +from each other that the two are not visible simultaneously, and suppose +you are speaking from a knowledge of the scientific measurements. Do you +say "This exceeds the other in height" or "This exceeds the other in +altitude"? + +<Talk, conversation>. _Talk_ may be one-sided and empty. +_Conversation_ requires that at least two shall participate, and it +is not spoken of as empty, though it may be trivial. "Our ____ was +somewhat desultory." "Thought is less general than ____." +"His ____ was so lively that I had no chance to interrupt" +"That is meaningless ____." + +<Homesickness, nostalgia>. All of us have heard physicians call +commonplace ailments by extraordinary names. When homesickness reaches the +stage where a physician is or might be called in, it becomes nostalgia. +The latter term suggests morbid or chronic suffering. A healthy boy away +from home for the first time is homesick. An exile who has wasted himself +with pining for his native land is nostalgic. "His ____ was more than +____; it had so preyed upon his thoughts that it had grown into ____." + +Rise, ascend. _Rise_ is the more general term, but it expresses less +than _ascend_ in degree or stateliness. "He had foretold to them that +he would ____ into heaven." "Do not ____ from your seat." "The diver +slowly ____ to the surface." "The travelers ____ the mountain." + +<Sell, vend>. _Sell_ is the more dignified word socially, but +may express greater moral degradation. _Vend_ is used of the petty +(as that which can be carried about in a wagon), and may suggest the +pettily dishonest. "That man would ____ his country." "We shall ____ a +million dollars' worth of goods." "The hucksters ____ their wares." + + +<LIST H> + +Study the discriminations between the members of the following pairs. +Determine whether the words are correctly used in the illustrative +sentences. (Some are; some are not.) + +<Friendly, amicable>. _Friendly_ denotes goodwill positive in +quality though perhaps limited in degree; we may be friendly to friends, +enemies, or strangers. _Amicable_ is negative, denoting absence of +open discord: it is used of those persons between whom some connection +already exists. "The newcomer has an amicable manner." "Both sides were +cautious, but at last they reached a friendly settlement." "I have only +amicable feelings for an enemy who is thus merciful." "The two met, if not +in a friendly, at least in an amicable way." + +<Willing, voluntary>. Both words imply an act of the will; but +_willing_ adds positive good-nature, desire, or enthusiasm, whereas +_voluntary_ conveys little or nothing of the emotional attitude. +_Voluntary_ is often thought of in contrast with _mechanical_. +"They made willing submission." "They rendered whole-hearted and voluntary +service." "Though torn by desire to return to his mother, he willingly +continued his journey away from her." "The sneeze was unwilling." + +<Greedy, voracious.> _Greedy_ denotes excessiveness (usually +habitual) of appetite or, in its figurative uses, of desire; it nearly +always carries the idea of selfishness. _Voracious_ denotes intense +hunger or the hasty and prolonged consumption of great quantities of food; +it may indicate, not habitual selfishness, but the stress of +circumstances. "Nobody else I know is so greedy as he." "The young poet +was voracious of praise." "Trench, though a capital fellow, was so hungry +that he ate voraciously." + +<Offspring, progeny.> _Offspring_ is likely to be used when our +thought is chiefly on the children, _progeny_ when our thought is +chiefly on the parents. _Offspring_ may be used of one or many; +_progeny_ is used in collective reference to many. "He was third +among the progeny who won distinction." "They are the progeny of very rich +parents." "Clayton left his offspring well provided for." + +<Ghost, spirit.> _Ghost_ is the narrower term. It never +expresses, as _spirit_ does, the idea of soul or of animating mood or +purpose. With reference to incorporeal beings, it denotes (except in the +phrase "the Holy Ghost") the reappearance of the dead in disembodied form. +_Spirit_ may denote a variety of incorporeal beings--among them +angels, fairies (devoid of moral nature), and personalities returned from +the grave and manifested--seldom visibly--through spiritualistic tappings +and the like. "The superstitious natives thought the spirit of their chief +walked in the graveyard." "The ghost of the ancestors survives in the +descendants." "I can call spirits from the vasty deep." + +<Foe, enemy.> Nowadays the chief difference between the two terms is +that _foe_ is the more used in poetry, _enemy_ in prose. +But _foe_ tends to express the more personal and implacable +hostility. We do not think of foes as bearing any friendship for each +other; enemies may, or they may be enemies in public affairs but downright +friends in their private relations. A man is hardly spoken of as being his +own foe, but he may be his own enemy. "For the moment we found ourselves +foes." "Suspicion is an enemy to content." "I paid a tribute to my friend, +who was the dominant personality among the enemy." + +<Truth, veracity.> _Truth_ has to do with the accuracy of the +statement, of the facts; _veracity_ with the intention of the person +to say nothing false. "I cannot vouch for the veracity of the story, but I +can for the truth of the teller." "Though he is not a man of veracity, I +believe he is now speaking the truth." "Veracity, crushed to earth, will +rise again." + +<Break, fracture>. _Break_ is the broader term. It need not +refer clearly to the operation or result of external force, nor need it +embody the idea that this force is brought against a hard substance. In +these respects it differs from _fracture_, as also in the fact that +it may designate a mere interruption. Furthermore it has figurative uses, +whereas _fracture_ is narrowly literal. "There was a fracture in the +chain of mountains." "The break in his voice was distinct." "The fracture +of the bones of his wrist incapacitated him." "The fracture of the rope." + +<Hug, embrace>. To _hug_ is to clasp violently or +enthusiastically, and perhaps ludicrously. To _embrace_ is to clasp +in a more dignified, perhaps even in a formal, way; the term also means to +include, to comprise. "This topic embraces the other." "Did you see that +ardent bumpkin embracing his sweetheart?" "Her sister gave her a graceful +but none too cordial hug." "The wounded bear hugged the hunter +ferociously." + +<Shorten, abridge>. The two terms overlap; but there is a fairly +strong tendency to use _shorten_ for reduction in length, and +_abridge_ for reduction in quantity or mass. Both words are used +figuratively as well as literally. "The tyrant shortened the privileges of +his subjects." "We shortened the rope." "The teacher abridged the +recitation." "The report of the committee appears in abridged form in +Volume 2 of our records." + + +<LIST I> + +With the help of the dictionary discriminate between the members of the +following pairs. Determine whether the words are correctly used in the +illustrative sentences. (Some are; some are not.) + +<Fiery, inflammable>. "He delivered a fiery address." "The +underbrush was dry and fiery." "Your disposition is too inflammable." + +<Lean, attenuated>. "The fat man had grown attenuated." +"Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look." "The hot metal was then drawn +into an attenuated wire." "Only a lean line of our soldiers faced the +dense masses of the enemy." + +<Home-like, domestic>. "The scene was quiet and domestic." "It is +home-like, inexpressibly dear." "To Waltham, heartsick from his +wanderings, the room in all its arrangements was thoroughly domestic." + +<Vigilant, watchful>. "We must be vigilant if we would maintain our +liberty." "He was wakeful, even watchful, though not from set purpose." +"He was vigilant for evidences of friendship." + +<Building, edifice>. "It is a big, barn-like building." "Spare yonder +sacred edifice." "This is the most imposing building I ever saw." + +<Hole, aperture>. "I poked a stick into the aperture which the +crawfish had made." "Through the aperture of the partly open door I gazed +out on the street." "The hole of the hornet's nest was black with the +emerging and angry insects." + +<Farming, agriculture>. "Two hundred students graduated this year +from the college of farming." "For long years he had devoted himself to +the homely, grinding tasks of agriculture." "I have looked rather +carefully into the theories of farming." + +<Rest, repose>. "He obtained some repose even while standing." "We +wished for a moment's rest from our exertions." "Worn out, he was +compelled to seek repose." "Lincoln's face in repose was very melancholy." + +<Help, aid>. "The man was so injured he could do nothing for himself; +I had to aid him." "Help, help!" "Aid us, O God, in our sore distress." +"The little fellow could not quite get the bundle to his shoulder; a +passerby helped him." + +<Hide, conceal>. "By refraining from comment he hid his connection +with the affair." "Wild creatures hide themselves by means of their +protective coloring." "The frost on the panes conceals the landscape from +you." "Do not hide your misdeeds from your mother." + + +<LIST J> + +In the following list only the native member of each pair is given. +Determine what the classic member is, and frame sentences to illustrate +the correct use of the two words. (Make a conscientious effort to find the +classic member by means of its parallelism with the native. If, and after, +you definitely fail in any instance to find it, obtain a clue to it +through study of the words in List G. Every pair in that list is clearly +suggestive of one or more pairs in this list.) + +nightly,-- motherly,-- +breadth,-- buy,-- +hot,-- fall,-- +thought,-- sleeplessness,-- +fatherly,-- yearly,-- +outer,-- depth,-- +womanly,-- speech,-- + + +<LIST K> + +Discriminate between the members of each of the following pairs, and frame +sentences to illustrate the correct use of the two words. + +freedom, liberty well, cistern +freedom, independence give, donate +free, acquit happen, occur +door, portal lessen, abate +begin, commence lessen, diminish +behead, decapitate forefathers, ancestors +belief, credence friend, acquaintance +belief, credulity lead, conduct +swear, vow end, finish +curse, imprecate end, complete +curse, anathema end, terminate +die, expire warn, admonish +die, perish warn, caution +die, succumb rich, affluent +lively, vivacious wealthy, opulent +walk, ambulate help, assistance +leave, depart help, succor +leave, abandon answer, reply +go with, accompany find out, ascertain +go before, precede take, appropriate +hasten, accelerate shrewd, astute +quicken, accelerate breathe, respire +speed, celerity busy, industrious +hatred, animadversion growing, crescent +fearful, timorous grow, increase + + +<LIST L> + +Cover with a piece of paper the classic (right-hand) members of the +following pairs, and if possible ascertain what they are by studying the +native members. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of both +words in each pair. + +neighborhood, vicinity hang, impend +hang, suspend rash, impetuous +flood, inundation drunk, intoxicated +harmful, injurious tool, instrument +mind, intellect mad, insane +birth, nativity sail, navigate +sailor, mariner ship, vessel +lying, mendacious upright, erect +early, premature upright, vertical +first, primary shake, vibrate +raise, elevate swing, oscillate +lift, elevate leaves, foliage +greet, salute beg, importune +choose, select beggar, mendicant +choose, elect smell, odor +same, identical sink, submerge +name, nominate dip, immerse +follow, pursue room, apartment +follow, succeed see, perceive +teach, instruct see, inspect +teach, inculcate sight, visibility +teacher, pedagogue sight, vision +tiresome, tedious sight, spectacle +empty, vacant glasses, spectacles +farewell, valediction + + +<LIST M> + +Cover with a piece of paper the native (left-hand) members of the +following pairs, and if possible ascertain what they are by studying the +classic members. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of both +words in each pair. + +skin, cuticle thunder, fulminate +skin, integument sleep-walking, somnambulism +hide, epidermis bird, ornithology +fleshly, carnal bird, aviary +hearer, auditor bee, apiary +snake, serpent bending, flexible +heap, aggregation wrinkle, corrugation +laugh, cachinnation slow, dilatory +laughable, risible lime, calcimine +fear, trepidation coal, lignite +live, exist man, anthropology +bridal, nuptial winter, hibernate +wed, marry gap, hiatus +husband/wife, spouse right, ethical +shore, littoral showy, ostentatious +forswear, perjure spelling, orthography +steal, peculate time, chronology +steal, embezzle handbook, manual +lockjaw, tetanus hole, cavity +mistake, error dig, excavate +mistake, erratum boil, tumor +wink, nictation tickle, titillate +blessing, benediction dry, desiccated +wet, humid warm, tepid +flirt, coquet forgetfulness, oblivion +fiddle, violin sky, firmament +sky, empyrean flatter, compliment +flee, abscond flight, fugitive +forbid, prohibit hinder, impede +hold, contain + + +<LIST N> + +For each of the following pairs frame a sentence which shall contain one +of the members. Can the other member be substituted without affecting the +meaning of the sentence? Read the discrimination of _Height-altitude_ +in EXERCISE - Parallels. Ask yourself similar questions to bring out the +distinction between the two words you are considering. + +threat, menace call, summon +talk, commune cleanse, purify +short, terse short, concise +better, ameliorate lie, recline +new, novel straight, parallel +lawful, legitimate law, litigation +law, jurisprudence flash, coruscate +late, tardy watch, chronometer +foretell, prognosticate king, emperor +winding, sinuous hint, insinuate +burn, incinerate fire, incendiarism +bind, constrict crab, crustacean +fowls, poultry lean, incline +flat, level flat, vapid +sharpness, acerbity sharpness, acrimony +shepherd, pastor word, vocable +choke, suffocate stifle, suffocate +clothes, raiment witness, spectator +beat, pulsate mournful, melancholy +beginning, incipient drink, imbibe +light, illuminate hall, corridor +stair, escalator anger, indignation +fight, combat sleight-of-hand, prestidigitation +build, construct tree, arbor +ask, interrogate wench, virgin +frisk, caper fill, replenish +water, irrigate silly, foolish +coming, advent feeling, sentiment +old, antiquated forerunner, precursor +sew, embroider unload, exonerate +grave, sepulcher readable, legible +tell, narrate kiss, osculate +nose, proboscis striking, percussion +green, verdant stroke, concussion +grass, verdure bowman, archer +drive, propel greed, avarice +book, volume stingy, parsimonious +warrior, belligerent bath, ablution +owner, proprietor wrong, incorrect +bow, obeisance top, summit +kneel, genuflection food, nutrition +work, occupation seize, apprehend +shut, close field, agrarian + +Turn back to Lists A, B, C, D, E, and F. Discriminate between the members +of each pair contained in these lists. Frame sentences to illustrate the +correct use of the words. + + + +VII + + SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (1) + + +In considering pairs we have, without using the word, been studying +synonyms. For most pairs are synonyms (or in some instances antonyms) that +hunt in couples. We must now deal with synonyms, and incidentally +antonyms, as they associate themselves in larger groups. + +A vocabulary is impoverished. Why? Nine times in ten, because of a +disregard of synonyms. Listen to the talk of the average person. Whatever +is pleasing is _fine_ or _nice_ or _all to the good_; +whatever is displeasing is _bum_ or _awful_ or _a fright_. +Life is reflected, not as noble and complex, but as mean and meager. Out +of such stereotyped utterance only the general idea emerges. The precise +meaning is lazily or incompetently left to the hearer to imagine. The +precise meaning? There is none. A person who does not take the trouble to +speak clearly has not taken the trouble to think clearly. + +But the master of synonyms expresses, instead of general, hazy, +commonplace conceptions, the subtlest shadings of thought and feeling. He +has so trained himself that he selects, it may be unconsciously, from a +throng of possible words. One word may be strong, another weak. One may be +broad, another narrow. One may present an alternative in meanings, another +permit no liberty of choice. One may be suggestive, another literal or +colorless. One may penetrate to the core of the idea, another strike only +in the environs. With these possibilities the master of synonyms reckons. +He must have the right word. He chooses it, not at haphazard, but in +conformity with a definite purpose. + +For synonyms are not words that have the same meaning. They are words that +have similar meanings. They may be compared to circles that overlap but do +not coincide. Each embraces a common area, but each embraces also an area +peculiar to itself. Though many words cluster about a given idea, rarely +if ever are even two of these words entirely equivalent to each other. In +scope, in suggestion, in emotional nuance, in special usage, or what not, +is sure to lurk some denial of perfect correspondence. And of synonyms, so +of antonyms. Antonyms are words opposite in meaning; but the opposition, +for the same reasons as the likeness, is seldom or never absolute. + +In your study of synonyms you will find most of the dictionaries +previously named of great help. You may also profitably consult the +following books of synonyms (heavy, scholastic works not suited for +ordinary use are omitted): + + +<Books of Plain Synonyms and Antonyms> + +Edith B. Ordway: _Synonyms and Antonyms_. A compact, practical +volume, with antonyms (in italics for contrast) immediately following +synonyms. + +Louis A. Flemming: _Putnam's Word Book_. A book of the ordinarily +used synonyms of words, with antonyms after some of them, and with lists +of associated words wherever these are likely to be useful. + +Samuel Fallows: _100,000 Synonyms and Antonyms_. A handy little +volume, with useful lists of various kinds in appendices. + +Richard Soule: _Dictionary of English Synonyms_ [revised and enlarged +by George H. Howison]. A much larger and more expensive book than the +others, and less practical for ordinary use, but fuller in treatment of +material, with words of more than one meaning carefully divided into their +various senses. + + +<Synonyms with Word Discriminations> + +George Crabb: _English Synonyms_. A standard volume for over 100 +years. Has close distinctions, but is somewhat scholarly for ordinary use. +Revised edition of 1917, omitting illustrative quotations from literature, +not so good as editions before that date. + +James C. Fernald: _English Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions_. +A pleasing book to read, with much information about the use of words and +their shades of meaning (with exercises), also with proper prepositions to +follow words. Material taken from the _Standard Dictionary_. + +Peter Mark Roget: _Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases_. Issued in +many editions and revisions. Words grouped under general ideas. An +excellent book for serious and laborious study, but not for quick use. + + +<How to Acquire Synonyms> + +The best principle for the extension of one's mastery of synonyms is the +principle already used over and over in this book--that of proceeding from +the known to the unknown. It is the fundamental principle, indeed, of any +kind of successful learning. We should build on what we have, fit each new +piece of material into the structure already erected. But normally it is +our ill fortune to learn through chance rather than through system. We +perceive elucidation here, draw an inference there. These isolated +fragments of knowledge may mislead rather than inform us. + +The principle of proceeding from the known to the unknown may be applied +to synonyms in various ways. Two of these--the two of most importance--we +must consider here. + +First, you should reckon with your personal, demonstrated needs. Just as +you have already analyzed your working vocabulary for its general limits +and shortcomings, so should you analyze it with particular reference to +your poverty in synonyms. Watch your actual speech; make a list of the +words--nouns, verbs, and adjectives particularly--that you employ again +and again. Make each of these words the starting-point for a linguistic +exploring expedition. First, write the word down. Then under it write all +the synonyms that come forthwith to your mind. These constitute your +present available stock; in speaking or writing you could, if you kept +yourself mentally alert, summon them on the moment. But the list, as you +know, is not exhaustive. Draw a line under it and subjoin such synonyms as +come to you after reflection. These constitute a second stock, not +instantaneously available, yet to be tagged as among your resources. Next +add a list of the synonyms you find through research, through a ransacking +of dictionaries and books of synonyms. This third stock, but dimly +familiar if familiar at all, is in no practical sense yours. And indeed +some of the words are too abstruse, learned, or technical for you to +burden your memory with them. But many--most--are worth acquiring. By +writing down the words of these three classes you have done something to +stamp them upon your memory as associates. You must now make it your +business to bring them into use. Never call upon them for volunteers, but +like a wise commander summon the individual that can rightly perform a +particular service. Thus will your speech, perhaps vague and indolent now, +become exact, discriminating, competent, vital. + +In the second place, you should obtain specific and detailed command of +general ideas. Not of out-of-the-way ideas. But of the great basic ideas +that are the common possession of all mankind. For through these basic +ideas is the most natural and profitable approach to the study of +synonyms. Each of them is represented by a generic word. So elementary are +idea and word alike that a person cannot have the one in mind without +having the other ready and a-quiver on his tongue. Every person is master +of both. But it is unsafe to predicate the person's acquaintance with the +shades and phases of the idea, or with the corresponding discriminations +in language. He may not know them at all, he may know them partially, he +may know them through and through. Let us suppose him ignorant of them but +determined to learn. His progress, both in the thought and in the +language, will be from the general to the specific. His acquaintance with +the idea in the large he will gradually extend to an acquaintance with it +in detail, and his command of the broad term for it he will little by +little supplement with definite terms for its phases. An illustration will +make this clear. + +We are aware that the world is made up of various classes and conditions +of men. How did we learn this? Let us go back to the time when our minds +were a blank, when we were babes and sucklings, when we had not perceived +that men exist, much less that mankind is infinitely complex. A baby comes +slowly to understand that all objects in the universe are divisible into +two classes, human and non-human, and that a member of the former may be +separated from the others and regarded as an individual. It has reached +the initial stage of its knowledge on the subject; it has the basic idea, +that of the individual human being. As soon as it can speak, it acquires a +designating term--not of course the sophisticated _human being_, but +the simpler _man_. It uses this word in the generic sense, to +indicate _any_ member of the human race; for as yet it knows nothing +and cares nothing about differences in species. With increasing +enlightenment, however, it discerns five species, and distinguishes among +them by swelling this branch of its vocabulary to five words: man (in the +sense of adult male), woman, boy, girl, baby. (To be sure, it may chance +to have acquired a specific term, as _boy_ or _baby_, before the +generic term _man_; but if so, it has attached this term to some +particular individual, as the grocer's boy or itself, rather than to the +individuals of a species. Its understanding of the species as a species +comes after its understanding of the genus.) As time passes, it divides +mankind into yet further species by sundry other methods: according to +occupation, for example, as doctors, chauffeurs, gardeners; to race or +color, as white men; negroes, Malays, Chinese; to disposition, as heroes, +gift-givers, teasers, talkers; and so on. It perceives moreover that +species are made up of sub-species. Thus instead of lumping all boys +together it begins to distinguish them as big boys, little boys, +middle-sized boys, boys in long trousers, boys in short trousers, barefoot +boys, schoolboys, poor boys, rich boys, sick boys, well boys, friends, +enemies, bullies, and what not. It even divides the sub-species. Thus it +classifies schoolboys as bright boys, dullards, workers, shirkers, +teachers' favorites, scapegoats, athletes, note-throwers, truant-players, +and the like. And of these classes it may make yet further sub-divisions, +or at least it may separate them into the individuals that compose them. +In fine, with its growing powers and experience, it abandons its old +conception that all persons are practically alike, and follows human +nature through the countless ramifications of man's status, temperament, +activities, or fate. And it augments its vocabulary to keep pace, roughly +at least, with its expanding ideas. In thought and terminology alike its +growth is from genus to species. + +So it is with all our ideas and with all our words to cap them. We radiate +from an ascertained center into new areas of knowledge; we proceed from +the broad, fundamental, generic to the precise, discriminatory, specific. +Upon this natural law are based the exercises in this chapter and the two +to follow. The starting-point is always a word representative of an +elementary idea--a word and an idea which everybody knows; the advance is +into the unknown or the unused, at any rate into the particular. Now +fundamental ideas are not very numerous, and these exercises include the +commoner ones. Such a method of studying synonyms must therefore yield +large and tangible results. + +One matter, however, should be explained. Most books of synonyms start +with a word and list all the terms in any way related to it. The idea of +the compilers is that the more they give the student the more they help +him. But oftentimes by giving more than is strictly pertinent they +actually hinder and confuse him. They may do this in various ways, of +which two must be mentioned. First, they follow an idea too far afield. +Thus in listing the synonyms of _love_ they include such terms as +_kindness_ and _lenity_, words only through stretched usage +connected with _love_. Secondly, they trace, not one meaning of a +word, but two or more unrelated meanings when the word chances to possess +them. Thus in listing the synonyms of _cry_ they include both the +idea of weeping and the idea of calling or screaming. What are the results +of these methods? The student finds a clutter where he expects +rationalized order; he finds he must exclude many words which lie in the +borders and fringes of the meaning. Moreover he finds mere chance +associations mingled with marked kinships. In both cases he finds dulled +distinctions. + +This book offers synonyms that are apropos and definite rather than +comprehensive. Starting with a basic idea, it finds the generic term; it +then disregards dim and distant relationships, confines itself rigorously +to one of perhaps two or three legitimate senses, and refuses to consider +the peculiar twists and devious ways of subsidiary words when they wander +from the idea it is tracing. It thus deliberately blinds itself to much +that is interesting. But this partial blindness enables it to concentrate +attention upon the matter actually under study, to give sharper +distinctions and surer guidance. + + +EXERCISE A + +After three introductory groups (dealing with thoroughly concrete ideas +and words) the synonyms in this exercise are arranged alphabetically +according to the first word in each group. + +This first word is generic. It is immediately followed by a list of its +synonyms. These are then informally discriminated or else (in a few +instances) questions are asked about them. Perhaps a few less closely +related synonyms are then listed for you to discriminate in a similar way. +Finally, illustrative sentences are given. Each blank in these you are to +fill with the word that conveys the meaning exactly. (To prevent monotony +and inattention, the number of illustrative sentences varies. You may have +to use a particular word more than once, and another word not at all.) + + +<Walk, plod, trudge, tread, stride, stalk, strut, tramp, march, pace, +toddle, waddle, shuffle, mince, stroll, saunter, ramble, meander, +promenade, prowl, hobble, limp, perambulate.> + +Any one may be said to _walk_ who moves along on foot with moderate +speed. He _plods_ if he walks slowly and heavily, and perhaps +monotonously or spiritlessly as well. He _trudges_ if he walks +toilsomely and wearily, as though his feet were heavy. He _treads_ if +his walk is suggestive of a certain lightness and caution--if, for +instance, he seems half-uncertain whether to proceed and sets one foot +down carefully before the other. He _strides_ if he takes long steps, +especially in a firm, pompous, or lofty manner. He _stalks_ if there +is a certain stiffness or haughtiness in his walking. He _struts_ if +he walks with a proud or affectedly dignified gait, especially if he also +raises his feet high. He _tramps_ if he goes for a long walk, as for +pleasure or enjoyment out-of-doors. He _marches_ if he walks in a +measured, ordered way, especially in company with others. He _paces_ +if he engages in a measured, continuous walk, as from nervousness, +impatience, or anger. He _toddles_ if his steps are short, uneven, +and unsteady, like those of a child. He _waddles_ if his movement is +ungainly, with a duck-like swaying from side to side. He _shuffles_ +if he drags his feet with a scraping noise. He _minces_ if he takes +short steps in a prim, precise, or affectedly nice manner. He +_strolls_ or _saunters_ if he goes along in an easy, aimless, or +idle fashion. He _rambles_ if he wanders about, with no definite aim +or toward no definite goal. He _meanders_ if he proceeds slowly and +perhaps listlessly in an ever-changing course, as if he were following the +windings of the crooked Phrygian river, Meander. He _promenades_ if +he walks in a public place, as for pleasure or display. He _prowls_ +if he moves about softly and stealthily, as in search of prey or booty. He +_hobbles_ if he jerks along unevenly, as from a stiff or crippled +condition of body. He _limps_ if he walks lamely. He +_perambulates_ when he walks through, perhaps for observation or +inspection. _(Perambulates_ is of course a learned word.) + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <sneak, shamble, amble, +wander, stamp, slouch, gad, gallivant, glide, hike>. + +_Sentences_: They ____ down the lane in the moonlight. Rip Van +Winkle loved to ____ about the mountains. "The plowman homeward ____ his +weary way." The old man ____ down the street with his cane. The excavators +____ about the ruins in search of relics. He ____ about the room, almost +bursting with importance. The nervous man ____ up and down the station +platform. They ____ along the beach at the sea resort. The baby learned to +____ when it was eleven months old. The two of them ____ about the field +all day hunting rabbits. A ghost, so they tell me, ____ about the +haunted house at midnight. He carefully ____ the plank that spans the +abyss. The baby ____ toward us with outstretched arms. The Chinaman ____ +out of the back room of the laundry in his carpet slippers. They caught +glimpses of gaunt wolves ____ about their campfire. He was terrified when +the giant ____ into the room. The fat lady ____ down the aisle of the +street car. The sick man will ____ a few steps each day until he is +stronger. A turkey cock ____ about the barnyard. A boy with a rag tied +around his toe ____ painfully down the street. They reported to the police +that a man had been ____ about the place. She held her skirts daintily and +____ along as if she were walking on eggs. The lovers ____ along the banks +of the stream. He ____ through the hall like a conqueror. The children +wore themselves out by ____ through the snow to school. We ____ through +the meadows, often stooping to pick flowers as we went. The soldiers ____ +into camp at nightfall. + + +<Laugh, giggle, snicker, titter, chuckle, guffaw, cachinnate.> + +What differences in human nature, conditions, and disposition are revealed +by laughter! If a person gives audible expression to mirth, gayety, or +good-humor, the simplest word to apply to what he does is _laugh_. +But suppose a girl, with slight or insufficient provocation, engages in +silly or foolish though perhaps involuntary laughter. We should say she +_giggles_. Suppose a youngster is amused at an inappropriate moment +and but partly suppresses his laughter; or suppose he wilfully permits the +breaking forth of just enough laughter to indicate disrespect. He +_snickers_. Suppose a person gives a little, light laugh; or more +especially, suppose a crowd gives such an one as the result of slight, +simultaneous amusement. Our word now is _titters_. Suppose we laugh +low or gently or to ourselves. We _chuckle_. Suppose some one laughs +loudly, boisterously, even coarsely, in a manner befitting a lumber camp +rather than a drawing room. That person _guffaws_. Suppose a man +engages in explosive and immoderate laughter. He _cachinnates_. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <chortle, roar>. + +_Second assignment_: Name all the words you can that designate +inaudible laughter (for example, <smile, smirk, grin>). + +_Sentences_: The rough fellow ____ in the lecturer's face. "If you +prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not ____?" He kept ____ +at the thought of the surprise he would give them. "The swain mistrustless +of his smutted face, While secret laughter ____ round the place." The +ill-bred fellow was ____ with strident, violent, irritating sounds. "The +little dog ____ to see such sport." The audience ____ when the speaker's +glasses began to slip from his nose. The girl kept ____ in a way that +embarrassed us both. The small boy ____ when the preacher's notes +fluttered out of the Bible to the floor. The rude fellows ____ at this +evidence of my discomfiture. He ____ very kindly and told me not to feel +any regrets. The little maids tried to be polite, but ____ irrepressibly. + + +<Look, glance, gaze, stare, peer, scan, scrutinize, gloat, glare, +glower, lower, peek, peep, gape, con, pore, ogle.> + +A person simply directs his eyes to see. He _looks_. But eyes may +speak, we are told, and since this person undergoes many changes of mood +and purpose, we shall let his eyes tell us all they will about his +different manners of looking. At first he but looks momentarily (as from +lack of time) or casually (as from lack of interest). He _glances_. +Soon he makes a business of looking, and fastens his eyes for a long time +on something he admires or wonders at. He _gazes_. Presently he looks +with a blank, perhaps a rude, expression and with eyes opened widely; he +may be for the moment overcome with incomprehension, surprise, or fright, +or perhaps he wishes to be insolent. He _stares_. Now he is looking +narrowly or closely at something that he sees with difficulty. He +_peers_. The next moment he looks over something with care or with an +encompassing sweep of vision. He _scans_ it. His interest thoroughly +enlisted, he looks at it carefully point by point to see that it is right +in each detail. He _scrutinizes_ it. He then alters his mood, and +looks with scornful or malignant satisfaction upon something he has +conquered or has power over. He _gloats_. Anger, perhaps fierceness, +takes possession of him, and he looks with piercing eyes. He +_glares_. Threat mingles with anger, and in all likelihood he looks +scowlingly or frowningly. He _glowers_. An added expression of +sullenness or gloom comes into his look. He _lowers_. He throws off +his dark spirit and looks slyly and playfully, let us say through a small +opening. He _peeks_. Playfulness gives place to curiosity; he looks +quickly and furtively, perhaps through some tiny aperture, and probably at +something he has no business to see. He _peeps_. The while he looks +his mouth falls open, as from stupidity or wonder. He _gapes_. He +looks at something a long time to study it. He _cons_ or +_pores_. His study is not of the thing itself; it is meditation or +reverie. He _pores_. A member of the opposite sex is present; he +looks at her with the effort of a flirt to attract attention to himself, +or less scrupulous, he directs toward her amorous or inviting glances. He +_ogles_. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <leer, view, survey, +inspect, regard, watch, contemplate>. + +_Sentences_: The inspecting officer ____ the men's equipment. The +student ____ his lessons carefully. At this unexpected proposal Dobbett +merely ____. Jimmie ____ at the fellow who had kicked the pup. The +inquisitive maid ____ into all the the closets. He ____ over his fallen +adversary. The bookkeeper ____ over his ledger. In the darkened hallway he +____ at the notices on the bulletin board. "The poet's eye, in a fine +frenzy rolling, Doth ____ from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven." +From the way her father ____ the foolish, young man should have known it +was time to go. He ____ long and lovingly upon the scenes he was leaving. +The newcomer ____ insolently at his host and ____ the young ladies. + + +<Abandon, desert, forsake.> + +_Abandon_ denotes absolute giving up, as from force of circumstances +or shirking of responsibility. _Desert_ refers to leaving or quitting +in violation of obligation, duty, or oath. _Forsake_, which may +involve no culpability, usually implies a breaking off of intimate +association or attachment. + +_Sentences_: The sailor ____ his ship. Necessity compelled him to +____ his friends in a time of sore trouble. They hated to ____ their old +haunts. A brave man never ____ hope. An unscrupulous man will ____ his +principles when it is to his advantage. "When my father and my mother ____ +me, then the Lord will take me up." We ____ our attempt to save the ship. + + +<Abase, debase, degrade, humble, humiliate, disgrace.> + +To _abase_ is to bring down so that the victim feels himself lowered +in estate or external condition. To _debase_ is to produce a marked +decline in actual worth or in moral quality. To _degrade_ is to lower +in rank or status. To _humble_ is to lower in dignity or self-esteem, +or as used reflexively, to restrain one's own pride; the word often +implies that the person has been over-proud or arrogant. To +_humiliate_ is to deprive of self-esteem or to bring into ignominy. +To _disgrace_ is to bring actual shame upon. + +_Sentences_: They ____ the guilty officer from captain to lieutenant. +A man should ____ himself before God. He had so ____ himself that I no +longer expected good of him. His detection at cheating had ____ him before +the students. By successive overlords they had been ____ into a condition +of serfdom. The aristocratic old lady was ____ by her loss of social +position. The conversion of so much bullion into money had ____ the +coinage. + + +<Answer, reply, response, rejoinder, retort, repartee.> + +An interesting thing about the _answer_ group is that the generic +term has a somewhat strong rival in _reply_, itself fairly inclusive. +We must therefore discriminate rather fully between _answer_ and +_reply_. The former is a return in words to a question, a +communication, or an argument. The latter suggests a more or less formal +answer, as one carefully prepared or intelligently thought out. We might +give an _answer_ offhand, but are less likely to give a _reply_ +so. We may give any kind of _answer_ to a question, but if we give a +_reply_, the implication is that we have answered it definitely, +perhaps satisfactorily. On the other hand, in controversial matters we +may, though we by no means always do, imply a more conclusive meeting of +objections through _answer_ than through _reply_. A +_response_ is an expected answer, one in harmony with the question or +assertion, or in some way carrying the thought farther. A _rejoinder_ +is a quick reply to something controversial or calling forth opposition. +A _retort_ is a short, sharp reply, such as turns back censure or +derision, or as springs from anger. A _repartee_ is an immediate and +witty reply, perhaps to a remark of similar character which it is intended +to surpass in cleverness. + +_Sentences_: The detailed ____ to our letter should reach us within a +week. The plays of Oscar Wilde abound in brilliant ____. The speaker's +____ to the heckler was incisive and scathing. My ____ to that third +question in the examination in history was incorrect. The congregation +read the ____ in unison. You have enumerated objections to my course; here +is their ____. "This is no ____, thou unfeeling man, to excuse the current +of thy cruelty." There was silence throughout the chamber as the old +statesman rose to make his ____. To the tenderfoot's remark the guide +mumbled an indifferent ____. Our appeal for the sufferers elicited but a +poor ____. + + +<Ask, inquire, question, interrogate, interpellate, query, quiz, +catechize, request, beg, solicit, entreat, beseech, crave, implore, +supplicate, importune, petition.> + +From the general tree of asking grow many branches, different in size, in +the direction they take, in the shades of meaning they cast. What can we +learn from a rapid scrutiny of each? That to _inquire_ is to ask for +specific information. That to _question_ is to keep asking in order +to obtain detailed or reluctantly given information. That to +_interrogate_ is to question formally, systematically, or thoroughly. +That to _interpellate_ is to question as of unchallenged right, as in +a deliberative body. That to _query_ is to bring a thing into +question because of doubt as to its correctness or truth. That to +_quiz_ is to question closely and persistently, as from +meddlesomeness, opposition, or curiosity. That to _catechize_ is to +question in a minute, perhaps impertinent, manner in order to ascertain +one's secrets or the amount of his knowledge or information. That to +_request_ is to ask formally and politely. That to _beg_ is to +ask for deferentially or humbly, especially on the ground of pity. That to +_solicit_ is to ask with urgency. That to _entreat_ is to ask +with strong desire and moving appeal. That to _beseech_ is to ask +earnestly as a boon or favor. That to _crave_ is to ask humbly and +abjectly, as though unworthy of receiving. That to _implore_ is to +ask with fervor and intense earnestness. That to _supplicate_ is to +ask with urgent or even desperate appeal. (Both _implore_ and +_supplicate_ imply humility, as of a prayer to a superior being.) +That to _importune_ is to ask for persistently, even wearyingly. That +to _petition_ is to ask a superior, usually in writing, for some +favor, grant, or right. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <plead, pray>. + +_Sentences_: The leader of the minority ____ the upholders of the +measure sharply as to a secret understanding. I ____ you to keep your +promise. I shall ____ that solution for the present. The colonists ____ +Great Britain for a redress of grievances. She ____ the governor to grant +her husband a pardon. A child is naturally inquisitive and ____ many +questions. I ____ you to show mercy. On bended knees he ____ God's +forgiveness. "I'm stopp'd by all the fools I meet And ____ in every +street." The policeman ____ the suspect closely. The prosecuting attorney +____ the witness. We are ____ funds to aid the famine-stricken people of +India. He ____ me about your health. You should ____ at the office about +the lost package. She ____ your presence at the party. Every one resents +being ____. I ____ you to care for the child after I am gone. A fool +can ____ questions a wise man can't answer. She annoyed them by constantly +____ them for favors. The reporter ____ into the causes of the riot. "____ +and it shall be given you." I ____ your pardon, though I well know I do +not deserve it. The man ____ me to give him some money for food. + + +<Burn, scorch, singe, sear, parch, char, incinerate, cremate, +cauterize.> + +If you consume or injure something by bringing it in contact with fire or +heat, you _burn_ it. If you do not consume it but burn it +superficially so as to change the texture or color of its surface, you +_scorch_ it. If you burn off ends or projections of it, you +_singe_ it. If you burn its surface to dryness or hardness, you +_sear_ it. If you dry or shrivel it with heat, you _parch_ it. +If through heat you reduce it to a state of charcoal, or cinders, you +_char_ it. If you burn it to ashes, you _incinerate_ it. (This +word is learned and but little used in ordinary discourse.) If you burn a +dead body to ashes, you _cremate_ it. If you burn or sear anything +with a hot iron or a corrosive substance, you _cauterize_ it. + +_Sentences_: The hired girl ____ the cloth in ironing it. By getting +too close to the fire he ____ the nap of his flannels. The doctor at once +____ the wound. The cook had picked the chicken and now ____ its down over +the coals. I used to ____ grains of field corn on the cookstove, while my +mother prepared dinner. Shelley's body was ____ on a funeral pyre. The +lecturer spoke of the time when the whole earth might be ____. The earth +was ____ and all growing things were ____ by the intense summer heat. + + +<Busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous.> + +From much of the talk that we hear nowadays it might be supposed that the +earnest devotion of one's self to a task is a thing that has disappeared +from the earth. But a good many people are exhibiting this very devotion. +Let us see in what different degrees. The man who actively applies himself +to something, whether temporarily or habitually, is _busy_. The man +who makes continued application to work a principle or habit of life, is +_industrious_. The man who applies himself aggressively to the +accomplishment of some specific undertaking or pursuit, is +_diligent_. The man who quietly and determinedly sticks to a task +until it is accomplished, no matter what its difficulties or length, is +_assiduous_. The man who makes steady and painstaking application to +whatever he is about, is _sedulous_. + +_Sentences_: Early in life he acquired ____ habits. By patient and +____ study you may overcome those defects of your early education. "How +doth the ____ little bee improve each shining hour." The manager gave such +____ attention to details that he made few mistakes. He is ____ at +present. Oh, yes, he is always ____. "Nowher so ____ a man has he ther +has, And yet he seemed ____ than he was." + + +<Concise, terse, succinct, compendious, compact, sententious, pithy, +laconic, curt.> + +Words descriptive of brief utterance are, in nearly every instance, in +their origin figurative. The brevity is brought out by comparison with +something that is noticeably short or small. Let us examine the words of +our list for their figurative qualities. A _concise_ statement is one +that is _cut down_ until a great deal is said in a few words. A +_terse_ statement is _rubbed off_, rid of unessentials. +A _succinct_ statement has its important thoughts _bound_ into +small compass, as by a girdle. A _compendious_ statement _weighs +together_ the various thoughts and aspects of a subject; it shows by +means of a few effective words just what these amount to, gives a summary +of them. A _compact_ statement has its units of thought _fastened +together_ into firmness of structure; its brevity is well-knit. A +_sententious_ statement gives _feelings_ or _opinions_ in a +strikingly pointed or axiomatic way, so that they can be easily grasped +and remembered; if _sententious_ is unfavorably used, the statement +may be filled with paraded platitudes. A _pithy_ statement gives the +very _pith_, the heart of a matter; it is sometimes slightly quaint, +always effective and arresting. A _laconic_ statement is made in the +manner of _the Spartans_, who hated talk and used as few words as +possible. A _curt_ statement is _made short_; its abruptness is +oftentimes more or less rude. + +_Sentences_: "A tale should be judicious, clear, ____, the language +plain, and incidents well link'd." "Charles Lamb made the most ____ +criticism of Spenser when he called him the poet's poet." With a ____, +disdainful answer she turned away. The sermon was filled with ____ +sayings. By omitting all irrelevant details, he made his statement of the +case ____. It requires great skill to give a ____ statement of what such a +treatise contains. A proverb is a ____ statement of a truth. + + +<Death, decease, demise.> + +Men are as mindful of rank and pretension in their terms for the cessation +of life as in their choice of tombstones for the departed. _Death_ is +the great, democratic, unspoilable word. It is not too good for a clown or +too poor for an emperor. _Decease_ is a more formal word. Its +employment is often legal--the death proves to be of sufficient importance +for the law (and the lawyers) to take notice. _Demise_, however, is +outwardly the most resplendent term of all. It implies that the victim cut +a wide swath even in death. It is used of an illustrious person, as a +king, who transmits his title to an heir. Ordinary people cannot afford a +_demise_. If the term is applied to their shuffling off of this +mortal coil, the use is euphemistic and likely to be stilted. + +_Sentences_: "The crown at the moment of ____ must descend to the +next heir." "____ is a fearful thing." "In their ____ they were not +divided." At the ____ of his father he inherited the estate. "Each shall +take His chamber in the silent halls of ____." "Many a time I have been +half in love with easeful ____." + + +<Early, primitive, primeval, primordial, primal, pristine.> + +_Early_ is the simple word for that which was in, or toward, the +beginning. That is _primitive_ which has the old-fashioned or simple +qualities characteristic of the beginning. That is _primeval_ which +is of the first or earliest ages. That is _primordial_ which is first +in origin, formation, or development. That is _primal_ which is first +or original. (The word is poetic.) That is _pristine_ which has not +been corrupted from its original state. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <aboriginal, +prehistoric.> + +_Sentences_: It was a hardy mountain folk that preserved the ____ +virtues. The ____ history of mankind is shrouded in uncertainty. "This is +the forest ____." "It hath the ____ eldest curse upon 't, A brother's +murder." "A ____ leaf is that which is immediately developed from the +cotyledon." As the explorers penetrated farther into the country, they +beheld all the ____ beauties of nature. Some countries still use the ____ +method of plowing with a stick. + + +<Face, countenance, features, visage, physiognomy.> + +We hear some one say that he reads faces. How? Through long study of them +and what they indicate. The human race as a whole has been reading faces +through the centuries. It has felt such need to label certain recurring +aspects of them that it has invented the designating terms. Of these terms +the simple, inclusive one is of course _face_ itself. If, however, we +are thinking of the face as its look or expression reveals thoughts, +emotions, or state of mind, our term is _countenance_. If we are +thinking of it as distinguished or individualized by the contour, lines, +etc., we speak of the _features_. If we are thinking of its external +appearance or aspect, we call it the _visage_. If, finally, we are +thinking of it as indicative of mind, disposition, or fundamental +character, we say _physiognomy._ + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <lineaments>. + +_Sentences_: His grotesque ____ reminded one of a gargoyle. It is +said that the ____ of persons living constantly together tend to become +alike. "Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling ____." The teacher +told the students to wash their ____ every morning. "A ____ more in sorrow +than in anger." The firm but kind ____ of the old statesman shone happily +at this ovation. "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then ____ to +____." She turned an eager ____ up to me as she spoke. One's ____ is +moulded by one's thoughts. Cosmetics injure the ____. His clear-cut ____ +impressed his employer. + + +<Financial, monetary, pecuniary, fiscal.> + +_Financial_ is usually applied to money matters of considerable size +or moment. _Monetary_ applies to money, coin, or currency as such. +_Pecuniary_ refers to practical matters in which money is involved, +though not usually in large amounts. _Fiscal_ refers especially to +the time when money, receipts, and accounts are balanced or reckoned. + +_Sentences_: A ____ reward has been offered. We gave the unfortunate +man ____ assistance. The ____ system of the country was sound. It was +Hamilton who more than any one else shaped the ____ policies of the new +government. Experts audit the company's accounts at the end of the ____ +year. The ____ interests of the country were behind the bill. + + +<Flee, abscond, decamp.> + +To _flee_ is to run away from what one would avoid, as danger, +arrest, or the like. To _abscond_ is to steal off secretly and hide +one's self, as from some disgraceful reason or to avoid arrest. To +_decamp_ is to leave suddenly in great haste to get away; the word is +often used humorously. + +_Sentences_: They went to have their money refunded, but the swindler +had ____. The bank teller ____ after having squandered most of the +deposits. Yes, we were in proximity to a polecat, and without further +parley we ____. "Resist the devil, and he will ____ from you." William +Wallace, when pursued by the English, ____ into the Highlands. + + +<Foretell, predict, prophesy, forecast, presage, forebode, portend, +augur, prognosticate.> + +_Foretell_ is the general word for stating or perceiving beforehand +that which will happen. _Predict_ implies foretelling based on +well-founded or precise knowledge. _Prophesy_ often implies +supernatural inspiration to foretell correctly. The word is especially so +used in connection with the Scriptures; but in the Scriptures themselves +it frequently expresses insight and admonition without the element of +foretelling. _Forecast_ involves a marked degree of conjecture. +_Presage_ usually means to give as a presentiment or warning. +_Forebode_ expresses an uncertain foreknowledge of vague impending +evil. _Portend_ indicates the likelihood that something will befall +which is threatening or evil in its consequences. _Augur_ means +foretelling from omens. _Prognosticate_ means foretelling through the +study of signs or symptoms. + +_Sentences_: "For we know in part, and we ____ in part." (Insert +in the blank, successively, the terms just distinguished. In each instance +how is the meaning affected? Do any of the terms fail to make sense at +all? Which term do you think the right one? Bearing in mind the +distinctions we have made, frame sentences of your own to embody the +terms.) + + +<Get, acquire, obtain, procure, attain, gain, win, earn.> + +_Get_, the general term, may be used of whatever one comes by +whatsoever means to possess, experience, or realize. To _acquire_ is +to get into more or less permanent possession, either by some gradual +process or by one's determined efforts. To _obtain_ is to get +something desired by means of deliberate effort or request. To +_procure_ is to get by definitely planned effort something which, in +most instances, is of a temporary nature or the possession of which is +temporary. To _attain_ is to get through striving that which one has +set as a goal or end of his desire or ambition. To _gain_ is to get +that which is advantageous. To _win_ is to get as the result of +successful competition or the overcoming of opposition. To _earn_ is +to get as a deserved reward for one's efforts or exertions. + +_Sentences_: With such wages as those, he can barely ____ a living. +He ____ a pardon by appealing to the governor. The speaker ____ his point +by forcing his opponent to admit that the figures were misleading. By +buying in June I can ____ a good overcoat at half price. Did you ____ only +seven thousand dollars for your house? Walpole believed in ____ one's +ends in the surest and easiest way possible. It is illegal to ____ money +through false pretences. A junior ____ the prize in the oratorical +contest. Kirk ____ his advancement by taking a personal interest in the +firm's welfare. The painter ____ a foreign accent while he was studying in +Paris. He ____ their gratitude by loyally serving them. It was through +sacrifices that he ____ an education. + + +<Give, bestow, grant, confer, present>. + +We _give_ that which we transfer from our own to another's possession +or ownership, usually without compensation. We _bestow_ that which we +give gratuitously, or of which the recipient stands in especial need. We +_grant_ that which has been requested by one dependent upon us or +inferior to us, and which we give with some formality. From a position of +superiority we _confer_ as a favor or honor that which we might +withhold or deny. We _present_ that which is of importance or value +and which we give ceremoniously. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <furnish, supply, +impart>. + +_Sentences_: William the Conqueror ____ English estates upon his +followers. The rich man ____ his wonderful art collection to the museum. +My application for a leave of absence has been ____. The ticket agent ____ +us complete information. Every year he ____ alms upon the poor in that +neighborhood. The school board may ____ an increase in the salaries of +teachers. Many merchants ____ premiums with the articles they sell. The +college ____ an honorary degree upon the distinguished visitor. The +Pilgrims ____ thanks to God for their preservation. "Not what we ____, but +what we share." + + +<Haste, celerity, speed, hurry, expedition, despatch>. + +What did John Wesley mean by saying, "Though I am always in _haste_, +I am never in a _hurry_"? Does Lord Chesterfield's saying "Whoever is +in a _hurry_ shows that the thing he is about is too big for him" +help explain the distinction? Explain the distinction (taking _speed_ +in the modern sense) in the saying "The more _haste_, ever the worse +_speed_." "The tidings were borne with the usual _celerity_ of +evil news." Give the well-known saying in four simple words that express +the same idea. Which of the two statements is the more forceful? Which is +the more literary? Why did Prescott use the former in his _Ferdinand and +Isabella_? "_Despatch_," says Lord Chesterfield, "is the soul of +business." What does _despatch_ suggest about getting work done that +_haste_ or _speed_ does not? In which way would you prefer for +your employee to go about his task--with _haste_, with _speed_, +or with _despatch_? "With wingéd _expedition_, Swift as the +lightning glance, he executes His errand on the wicked." Why is it that +this use of _expedition_ in Milton's lines is apt? Would +_despatch_ have served as well? If not, why not? + + +<Hate, detest, abhor, loathe, abominate, despise>. + +To _hate_ involves deep or passionate dislike, sometimes bred of +ill-will. To _detest_ involves an intense, vehement, or deep-seated +antipathy. To _abhor_ involves utter repugnance or aversion, with an +impulse to recoil. To _loathe_ involves disgust because of physical +or moral offensiveness. To _abominate_ involves strong moral +aversion, as of that which is odious or wicked. To _despise_ is to +dislike and look down upon as inferior. + +_Sentences_: When he had explained his fell purpose, I could only +____ him. Who would not ____ a slimy creature like Uriah Heep? It is +natural for us to ____ our enemies. She ____ greasy food. There suddenly +in my pathway was the venomous reptile, darting out its tongue; oh, I ____ +snakes! A wholesome nature must ____ such principles as these. A child +____ to kiss and make up. The pampered young millionaire ____ those who +are simply honest and kind. These daily practices of her associates she +____. + + +<Healthful, wholesome, salutary, salubrious, sanitary, hygienic>. +(With this group contrast the _Disease_ group below.) + +The words of this group are assuredly blessed. Every one of them has to do +with the giving, promotion, or preservation of health. But health is of +various kinds, and therefore the words apply differently. _Healthful_ +is the most inclusive of them; it means that the thing it refers to is +full of health for us. _Wholesome_ also is a very broad term; what is +wholesome is good for us physically, mentally, or morally. _Salutary_ +is confined to that which affects for good our moral (including civic and +social) welfare, especially if it counteracts evil influences or +propensities. _Salubrious_ is confined to the physical; it is used +almost solely of healthful air or climate. _Sanitary_ and +_hygienic_ apply to physical well-being as promoted by the +eradication of the causes for sickness, disease, or the like; +_sanitary_, however, is used of measures and conditions affecting +people in general, whereas _hygienic_ connects itself with personal +habits. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: The word _healthy_ is +often confused with _healthful_. You have already discriminated +between these two terms, but you should renew your knowledge of the +distinction between them. + +_Sentences_: Colorado is noted for its ____ air. He offered the young +people some ____ advice. A person should brush his teeth every day for +____ reasons. In spite of its horrors, the French Revolution has had a +____ effect upon civilization. Damp, low places do not have a ____ +climate. Cities in the middle ages were not ____. His is a very ____ way +of life. My doctor recommends buttermilk as ____. + + +<Heavy, weighty, burdensome, onerous>. + +He knew that it was a ____ responsibility. (Insert the four words in the +blank space in turn, and analyze the differences in meaning thus +produced.) + + +<Liberal, generous, bountiful, munificent>. + +He made a ____ donation to the endowment fund. (Insert the four words in +the blank space in turn, and analyze the differences in meaning.) + + +<Masculine, male, manly, manlike, manful, mannish, virile>. + +"A man's a man for a' that," sang the poet. So he is, but not all the +adjectives allusive to his state are equally complimentary. +_Masculine_ betokens the qualities and characteristics belonging to +men. _Male_ designates sex and is used of animals as well as human +beings. _Manly_ (used of boys as well as men) implies the possession +of qualities worthy of a man, as strength, courage, sincerity, honesty, +independence, or even tenderness. _Manlike_ refers to qualities, +attributes, or foibles characteristically masculine. _Manful_ +suggests the valor, prowess, or resolution properly belonging to men. +_Mannish_ (a derogatory word) indicates superficial or affected +qualities of manhood, especially when inappropriately possessed by a +woman. _Virile_ applies to the sturdy and intrepid qualities of +mature manhood. + +_Sentences_: The Chinese especially prize ____ children. He was a +____ little fellow. She walked with a ____ stride. With ____ courage he +faced the crisis. It was a ____ defense of an unpopular cause. ____ +strength is the complement of female grace. The old sailor still retained +the rugged and ____ strength of a man much younger. With ____ bluntness +he told her what he thought. Such gentleness is not weak; it is ____. He +made a ____ struggle against odds. "His ____ brow Consents to death, but +conquers agony." Now isn't that assumption of omniscience ____? + + +<Name, appellation, designation, denomination, title, alias>. + +A _name_ is the word or words by which a person or thing is called or +known. If the name be descriptive or characterizing, even though in a +fanciful way, it is an _appellation_. If it particularizes an +individual through reference to distinctive quality or nature, perhaps +without employing any word the individual is usually known by, it is a +_designation_. If it specifies a class, especially a religious sect +or a kind of coin, it is a _denomination_. If it is an official or +honorary description of rank, office, place within a profession, or the +like, it is a _title_. If it is assumed, as to conceal identity, it +is an _alias_. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <cognomen, patronymic, nom +de plume, pseudonym>. + +_Sentences_: Yes, it is a five-dollar gold piece, though one doesn't +often see a coin of that ____ nowadays. The Little Corporal is the ____ +applied to Napoleon by his soldiers. The eldest son of the king of England +bears the ____ of the Prince of Wales. The government issues stamps in +various ____. "That loafer" was his contemptuous ____ of the man who could +not find work. "Duke" is the highest ____ of nobility in England. The +crook was known to the police under many ____. At the battle of Bull Run +Jackson received the ____ "Stonewall." "What's in a[n] ____? that which we +call a rose By any other ____ would smell as sweet." The head of the +American government bears the ____ of President. The Mist of Spring was +the little Indian maiden's ____. His ____ was Thornberg. + + +<Old, ancient, olden, antique, antiquated, archaic, obsolete, venerable, +immemorial, elderly, aged, hoary, decrepit, senile, superannuated>. + +We reserve the right to judge for ourselves when told that something-- +especially a joke--is "the very latest." So may we likewise discriminate +among degrees of age. _Old_ is applied to a person or thing that has +existed for a long time or that existed in the distant past. The word may +suggest a familiarity or sentiment not found in _ancient_, which is +used of that which lived or happened in the remote past, or has come down +from it. _Olden_ applies almost wholly to time long past. +_Antique_ is the term for that which has come down from ancient times +or is made in imitation of the style of ancient times, whereas +_antiquated_ is the term for that which has gone out of style or +fashion. _Archaic_ and _obsolete_ refer to words, customs, or +the like, the former to such as savor of an earlier period though they are +not yet completely out of use, the latter to such as have passed out of +use altogether. _Immemorial_ implies that a thing is so old that it +is beyond the time of memory or record. _Elderly_ is applied to +persons who are between middle age and old age. _Aged_ is used of one +who has lived for an unusually long time. _Hoary_ refers to age as +revealed by white hair. _Venerable_ suggests the reverence to be paid +to the dignity, goodness, or wisdom of old age. _Decrepit_ conveys a +sense of the physical infirmities and weakness which attend old age; +_senile_ of the lessening powers of both body and mind that result +from old age. _Superannuated_ is applied to a person who on account +of old age has been declared incapable of continuing his activities. + +_Sentences_: He liked to read romances of the ____ days. Dana records +that he once saw a man so ____ that he had to raise his eyelids with his +fingers. Many writers use ____ words to give quaintness to their work. He +liked to sit around in his ____ clothes. "The moping owl does to the moon +complain Of such as, wandering near her secret bower, Molest her ____ +solitary reign." Some of these ____ sequoia trees were old before the +white man discovered this continent. They are building the church in the +____ Roman style of architecture. "Be not ... the last to lay the ____ +aside." Many of Chaucer's words, being ____, cannot possibly be understood +without a glossary. Most churches now have funds for ____ ministers. A man +is as ____ as he feels; a woman is as ____ as she looks. The ____ old man +could scarcely hobble across the room. What better proof that he is ____ +do you ask than that he babbles constantly about what happened when he was +young? "I am a very foolish fond ____ man, Fourscore and upward." They +revered the ____ locks of the old hero. At sixty a man is considered a[n] +____ person. That the earth is flat is a[n] ____ idea. The young warriors +listened respectfully to the ____ chief's advice. They unearthed a[n] ____ +vase. "____ wood best to burn, ____ wine to drink, ____ friends to trust, +and ____ authors to read." His favorite study was ____ history. "Grow ____ +along with me." "The most ____ heavens, through thee, are fresh and +strong." + + +<Pay, compensate, recompense, remunerate, requite, reimburse, +indemnify>. + +Most men are willing to receive what is due them. They might even be +persuaded to receive a bit more. Why should they not be as scrupulous to +receive what they are entitled to in the medium of language as of money? +Sometimes they are. Offering to _pay_ some people instead of to +_compensate_ them is like offering a tip to the wrong person. Why? +Because there is a social implication in _compensate_ which is not +contained in _pay_. To _pay_ is simply to give what is due, as +in wages (or even salary), price, or the like. To _compensate_ is to +make suitable return for service rendered. Does _compensate_ not +sound the more soothing? But save in exceptional circumstances the +downrightness of _pay_ has no hint of vulgarity. To _recompense_ +is to make a return, especially if it is not monetary, for work, pains, +trouble, losses, or suffering; or some quality or blessing (as affection +or happiness) may be said to recompense one. To _remunerate_ is to +disburse a large amount to a person, or to give it to him as a reward, or +otherwise to make him a return in a matter of importance. To +_requite_ is to put a just value upon one's work, deeds, or merit and +to make payment strictly in accordance with his deserts. To +_reimburse_ is to make good what some one has spent for you. To +_indemnify_ is to secure some one against loss or to make restitution +for damages he has sustained. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <disburse, reward>. + +_Sentences_: Let us ____ him for his efforts in our behalf. +Let us ____ their kindness with kindness, their cruelty with cruelty. +To ____ them adequately for such patriotic sacrifices is of course +impossible. The government demanded that it be ____ for the injury to its +citizens. I shall ____ you for all sums expended. He ____ the bill by a +check. The success of her children ____ a mother for her sacrifices for +them. Wages are ____ to laborers; salaries are ____ to judges. + + +<Proud, arrogant, presumptuous, haughty, supercilious, insolent, +insulting>. + +Most persons feel in their hearts that their claims and merits are +superior to those of other people. But they do not like for you, in +describing them, to imply that their self-appraisal is too high. +"Comparisons are odious," and therefore in comparing their fancied with +their real selves you must choose your terms carefully. Of the words that +suggest an exaggerated estimate of one's merits or privileges the +broadest, as well as the least offensive, is _proud_. In fact this +word need not carry the idea of exaggeration. A proud man may but hold +himself in justifiable esteem, or wish to measure up to the demands of his +station or to the expectations of others. On the other hand, he may +overvalue his attainments, possessions, connections, etc. To say that the +man is _arrogant_ means that he combines with pride a contempt for +others, that he claims for himself greater attention, consideration, or +respect than he is entitled to. To say that he is _presumptuous_ +makes him an inferior (or at least not a superior) who claims privileges +or takes liberties improperly. To say that he is _haughty_ means that +he assumes a disdainful superiority to others, especially through fancied +or actual advantage over them in birth or social position. To say that he +is _supercilious_ means that he maintains toward others an attitude +of lofty indifference or sneering contempt. To say that he is +_insolent_ means that he is purposely and perhaps coarsely +disrespectful toward others, especially toward his superiors. To say that +he is _insulting_ means that he gives or offers personal affront, +probably in scornful or disdainful speech. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <scornful, imperious, +contumelious, impudent, impertinent>. + +_Sentences_: He was ____ in replying to the questions. She paid no +attention to his words, but kept looking at him with a[n] ____ smile. He +was ____ in acting as if he were their equal. The hot-tempered fellow +answered this ____ remark with a blow. She resented his presuming to speak +to her, and turned away in a[n] ____ manner. The servant was ____ to her +mistress. Are you not very ____ of your family connections? The old man +was so ____ that he expected people to raise their hats to him and not to +sit down till he gave permission. + + +<Punish, chastise, chasten>. + +To _punish_ a person is to inflict pain or penalty upon him as a +retribution for wrong-doing. There may be, usually is, no intention to +improve the offender. To _chastise_ him is to inflict deserved +corporal punishment upon him for corrective purposes. To _chasten_ +him is to afflict him with trouble for his reformation or spiritual +betterment. The word is normally employed in connection with such +affliction from God. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <castigate, scourge>. + +_Sentences_: "Hearing oftentimes The still, sad music of humanity, +Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To ____ and subdue." Ichabod +Crane freely used his ferule in ____ his pupils. "Whom the Lord loveth he +____." A naughty child should be ____. + + +<Rich, wealthy, affluent, opulent>. + +"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a +rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Substitute _wealthy_ for +_rich_. Is the meaning exactly the same? Is Goldsmith's description +of the village preacher--"passing rich with forty pounds a year"--as +effective if _wealthy_ is substituted? What is the difference between +_riches_ and _wealth_? Which implies the greater degree of +possession, which the more permanence and stability? Which word suggests +the more personal relationship with money? Which word the more definitely +denotes money or its immediate equivalent? Why do we say "get-rich-quick +schemes" rather than "get-wealthy-quick schemes"? What besides the +possession of wealth does _affluent_ suggest? Could we say that a +rich miser lives in affluence? If not, why not? A poor clerk who has ten +dollars to spend as he pleases may feel affluent. A rich banker may be a +man of affluence in his town. What power does this suggest that he has +besides the possession of a great deal of money? Explain all that Swift +implies by the word _opulence_ in the quotation "There in full +opulence a banker dwelt, Who all the joys and pangs of riches felt." If +you substitute _affluence_, what different impression do you get? + + +<Rural, rustic, pastoral, bucolic>. + +"The _rural_ inhabitants of a country." Are the people being spoken +of favorably, unfavorably, or neutrally? How would the meaning be affected +if they were called _rustic_ inhabitants? Would you ordinarily speak +of the _rural_ or the _rustic_ population to distinguish it from +the urban? Would you speak of _rural_ or _rustic_ activities? +_rural_ or _rustic_ manners? When the two adjectives may be +employed, is one of them unflattering? Is a _rustic_ bridge something +to be ashamed of? a _rustic_ chair? a _rustic_ gate? What, then, +is the degree of reproach that attaches to each of the two adjectives? the +degree of commendation? Wherein do _pastoral_ scenes differ from +_rural_? _pastoral_ amusements from _rustic_? Can you trace +a connection between the _pastor_ of a church and a _pastoral_ +life? Do you often hear the word _bucolic_? In what mood is it +oftenest uttered? Which of the four adjectives best fits into Goldsmith's +dignified lament: "And ____ mirth and manners are no more"? + + +<Silent, reserved, uncommunicative, reticent, taciturn>. +(This group may be contrasted with the _Talkative_ group, below.) + +We pass through a crowded room and notice that some of its occupants are +not adding their voices to the chatter. We resolve to study these +unspeaking persons. Some of them merely have nothing to say, or are timid +or preoccupied; or it may be they deliberately have set themselves not to +talk. These are _silent_. Some plainly desire not to talk, it may be +in general or it may be upon some particular topic; they may (but need +not) regard themselves as superior to their associates, or for some other +reason let aloofness or coldness creep into their manner. These are +_reserved_. Others withhold information that persons about them are, +or would be, interested in. These are _uncommunicative_. Others +maintain their own counsel; they neglect opportunities to reveal their +thoughts, plans, and the like. These are _reticent_. Others are +disinclined--and habitually, we perceive--to talking. These are +_taciturn_. + +_Sentences_: The ____ prisoner evaded all questions. He was as ____ +as nature itself; he never gave his views upon any subject. He was ____ +about the firm's affairs, especially toward persons who seemed +inquisitive. We knew there had been a love affair in his life, but he was +____ on the subject. She sat ____ throughout the discussion. If to be ____ +is golden, Lucas should have been a billionaire. + + +<Sing, chant, carol, warble, troll, yodel, croon, hum, chirp, +chirrup>. + +You hear a "concord of sweet sounds," not instrumental but vocal, and wish +to tell me so. You say that some person _sings_. Then you recall that +I am something of an expert in music, and you cast about for the word that +shall state specifically the kind of singing that is being done. Does the +person sing solemnly in a more or less uniform tone? You tell me that he +_chants_. Does he sing gladly, spontaneously, high-spiritedly, as if +his heart were pouring over with joy? You say that he _carols_. Does +he sing with vibratory notes and little runs, as in bird-music? You say +that he _warbles_. Does he sing loudly and freely? You say that he +_trolls_. Does he sing with peculiar modulations from the regular +into a falsetto voice? You say that he _yodels_. Does he sing a +simple, perhaps tender, song in a low tone (as a lullaby to an infant)? +You say that he _croons_. Does he sing with his lips closed? You say +that he _hums_. Does he utter the short, perhaps sharp, notes of +certain birds and insects? You say that he _chirps_ or +_chirrups_. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <trill, pipe, quaver, +peep, cheep, twitter>. + +_Sentences_: A cricket ____ in the grass outside the door. He +abstractedly gazed out of the window and ____ a few strains of an old +song. Listen, they are ____ the Te Deum. "And ____ still dost soar, and +soaring ever ____." A strange, uncanny blending of false and true notes it +is when the Swiss mountaineers are ____. Negroes, as a race, love to +____. As she soothes the child to sleep she ____ a "rock-a-bye-baby." + + +<Suave, bland, unctuous, fulsome, smug>. + +_Suave_ implies agreeable persuasiveness or smooth urbanity. +_Bland_ suggests a soothing or coaxing kindness of manner, one that +is sometimes lacking in sincerity. _Unctuous_ implies excessive +smoothness, as though one's manner were oiled. The word carries a decided +suggestion of hypocrisy. _Fulsome_ suggests such gross flattery as to +be annoying or cloying. _Smug_ suggests an effeminate +self-satisfaction, usually not justified by merit or achievement. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <complaisant, elegant, +trim, dapper, spruce, genteel, urbane, well-bred, gracious, affable, +benign>. + +_Sentences_: He thought his answer exceedingly brilliant and settled +back into his chair with ____ complacency. "____ the smile that like a +wrinkling wind On glassy water drove his cheek in lines." They were +irritated by his ____ praise. Although he disliked them, he greeted them +with ____ cordiality. "A bankrupt, a prodigal, ... that used to come so +____ upon the mart; let him look to his bond." ____ as a diplomat. + + +<Talkative, loquacious, garrulous, fluent, voluble, glib>. +(This group may be contrasted with the _Silent_ group, above.) + +A little while ago you were in a crowded room and made a study of the +persons disposed to silence. But your study was carried on under +difficulties, for many of those about you showed a tendency to copious or +excessive speech. One woman entered readily into conversation with you and +convinced you that her natural disposition was to converse a great deal. +She was _talkative_. From her you escaped to a man who soon proved +that he talked too much and could run on with an incessant flow of words, +perhaps employing many of them where a few would have sufficed. He was +_loquacious_. The two of you were joined by an old gentleman who +forthwith began to talk wordily, tediously, continuously, with needless +repetitions and in tiresome detail; you suspected that he had suffered a +mental decline from age, and that he might be excessively fond, in season +and out of season, of talking about himself and his opinions. He was +_garrulous_. You broke away from these two and fell into the hands of +a much more agreeable interlocutor. He talked with a ready, easy command +of words, so that his discourse _flowed_ smoothly. He was +_fluent_. He introduced you to a lady whose speech possessed +smoothness and ease in too great degree; it fairly _rolled_ along, as +a hoop does downhill. The lady was _voluble_. Into your triangular +group broke a newcomer whose speech had in it a flippant, or at least a +superficially clever, fluency. He was _glib_. Leaving these three to +fight (or talk) it out as best they might, you grabbed your hat and +hurried outside for a fresh whiff of air. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <chattering, long-winded, +prolix, wordy, verbose>. + +_Sentences_: The insurance agent was so ____ a talker that I was +soothed into sleepiness by his voice. The ____ old man could talk forever +about the happenings of his boyhood. Through ____ descriptions of life in +the city the dapper summer boarder entranced the simple country girl. I +met a ____ fellow on the train, and we had a long conversation. She was so +____ that I spent half the afternoon with her and learned nothing. + + +<Weak, debilitated, feeble, infirm, decrepit, impotent>. + +_Weak_ is the general word for that which is deficient in strength. +_Debilitated_ is used of physical weakness, in most instances brought +on by excesses and abuses. _Feeble_ denotes decided or extreme +weakness, which may excite pity or contempt. _Infirm_ is applied to a +person whose weakness or feebleness is due to age. _Decrepit_ is used +in reference to a person broken down or worn out by infirmities, age, or +sickness. _Impotent_ implies such loss or lack of strength or +vitality as to render ineffective or helpless. + + +_Assignment for further discrimination_: <enervated, languid, +frail>. + +_Sentences_: "Here I stand, your slave, A poor, ____, weak, and +despis'd old man." A[n] ____ old man shuffled along with the aid of a +cane. Though still in his youth, he was ____ from intemperance and fast +living. A fellow who does that has a[n] ____ mind. He staggered about +trying to strike his opponent, but rage and his wound rendered him for the +time ____. The grasp of the old man was so ____ that the cup trembled in +his hand. "Like rich hangings in a homely house, So was his will in his +old ____ body." After his long illness he was as ____ as a child. He made +but a[n] ____ attempt to defend himself. + + +<Wise, learned, erudite, sagacious, sapient, sage, judicious, prudent, +provident, discreet>. (Compare the distinction between _knowledge_ +and _wisdom_ under Words Often Confused above.) + +_Wise_ implies sound and discriminating judgment, resulting from +either learning or experience. _Learned_ denotes the past acquisition +of much information through study. _Erudite_ means characterized by +extensive or profound knowledge. _Sagacious_ implies far-sighted +judgment and intuitive discernment, especially in practical matters. +_Sapient_ is now of infrequent use except as applied ironically or +playfully to one having or professing wisdom. _Sage_ implies deep +wisdom that comes from age or experience. _Judicious_ denotes sound +judgment or careful discretion in weighing a matter with reference to its +merits or its consequences. _Prudent_ conveys a sense of cautious +foresight in judging the future and planning for it upon the basis of the +circumstances at hand. _Provident_ suggests practical foresight and +careful economy in preparing for future needs. _Discreet_ denotes +care or painstakingness in doing or saying the right thing at the right +time, and the avoidance thereby of errors or unpleasant results. + +_Sentences_: Against the time when his children would be going to +college he had been ____. "Most ____ judge!" The ____ old warrior could +not be deceived by any such ruse. "Be ye therefore as ____ as serpents, +and harmless as doves." The ____ advice of his elders was wasted on him. +The course was ____, not rash. He was ____ in avoiding all reference to +the subject. "Type of the ____, who soar but never roam, True to the +kindred points of heaven and home." Even by those scholars, those +specialists, he was deemed ____. How ____ the young man is! "Where +ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be ____." Is it ____ to spend money thus +lavishly? He considered the matter well and gave a most ____ answer. To +spend every cent of one's income is surely not to be ____. + + +<Work, labor, toil, drudgery>. + +All of us, at times anyhow, get out of as much work as we can. We even use +the word _work_ and its synonyms loosely and indolently. Perhaps this +is a literary aspect of the labor problem. If, however, we can shake off +our sluggishness and exert ourselves in discriminating our terms, we shall +use _work_ as a general word for effort, physical or mental, to some +purposive end; _labor_ for hard, physical work; _toil_ for +wearying or exhaustive work; and _drudgery_ for tedious, monotonous, +or distasteful work, especially of a low or menial kind. + +_Sentences_: It required the ____ of thousands of men to complete the +tunnel. To be condemned to the galleys meant a life of unending ____. The +man who enjoys his ____ will succeed. Twenty years of incessant ____ had +extinguished in him every spark of ambition. He was weary after the +____ of the day. All ____ and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Through the +heart-breaking ____ of thousands the pyramids were built to commemorate a +few. He was sentenced to hard ____. + + + +VIII + + SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (2) + + +You have now seen enough of the method of discriminating synonyms to take +more of the responsibility for such work upon yourself. In this chapter, +therefore, the plan followed in Exercise A is abandoned and no +discriminations are supplied you. + + +EXERCISE B + +For some of the generic words in Exercise A you will find antonyms in +Exercise C. Here is a list: + +In Exercise A: walk, laugh, busy, hate, masculine, old + +In Exercise C: run, cry, idle, love, feminine, young. + +Now each of the generic terms in C is followed by a list of its synonyms. +But for the six generic terms just given let us see how many synonyms you +can find for yourself. Simply study each word in turn, think of all the +synonyms for it you can summon, strike out those you consider far-fetched. +Then compare your list with the list under the antonym in Exercise A; if +possible, improve your list by means of this comparison. Finally, compare +your revised list with the list in Exercise C. + +In Exercise C are two generic terms that carry the same idea (but not in +the same part of speech) as generic terms in Exercise A. They are as +follows: + +In Exercise A: sing, death + +In Exercise C: song, die. + +Take _song_ and _die_. First, find all the satisfactory synonyms +you can for yourself. Then if possible improve your list by studying the +list under the corresponding word in Exercise A. Finally, compare your +revised list with the one in Exercise C. + + +EXERCISE C + +After three introductory groups (dealing with thoroughly concrete ideas +and words) the synonyms in this exercise are arranged alphabetically +according to the first word in each group. + +Discriminate the words in each group, and fill each blank in the +illustrative sentences with the word that conveys the meaning exactly. + + +<See, perceive, descry, distinguish, espy, discern, note, notice, watch, +observe, witness, behold, view>. + +_Sentences_: The intruder he ____ in the early dawn-light might have +been man or beast; he could not have ____ one from the other. After a long +search I ____ on the map the name of the town. The teacher ____ the +throwing of the paper wad, but thought best not to ____ it. "He that hath +eyes to ____, let him ____." I ____ the encounter. "I hope to ____ my +Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar." "When my eyes turn to +____ for the last time the sun in heaven." I sat by the flower and ____ +the bee plunder it. The scrawl on the paper was meaningless, but at length +by close attention he ____ secret writing. "Your young men shall ____ +visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." He had ____ human nature +manifesting itself under various conditions. + + +<Kill, slay, slaughter, massacre, butcher, murder, assassinate, execute, +hang, electrocute, guillotine, lynch, despatch, decimate, crucify>. + +_Sentences_: With the jawbone of an ass Samson ____ a thousand of his +enemies. It was his duty as sheriff to ____ the criminal, and the method +decreed by the state was that he should ____ him. Previously the method of +carrying out a sentence of death had been to ____ the criminal. On our +left wing we lost one man in ten: thus our lines were literally ____ On +our right wing, where we advanced to the attack in the open, our men were +simply ____. After the garrison had laid down its arms the Indians ____ +men, women, and children. "I would not ____ thy soul." During the French +Revolution many of the nobility were ____. In the country late fall is the +time to ____ hogs. Thinking that his accomplice was no longer of use, he +quietly ____ him. The anarchist who had ____ the governor was taken by a +mob and ____. + + +<Sleep, slumber, repose, nap, doze, drowze, lethargy, dormancy, coma, +trance, siesta>. + +_Sentences_: Since he had not exerted himself beforehand, his state +was one of ____ rather than one of ____. The sultry heat of the day put +him into a ____. "Not poppy, nor mandragora, Nor all the ____ syrops of +the world, Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet ____ Which thou +ow[n]edst yesterday." Light and pleasant be thy ____. "And still she slept +an azure-lidded ____." From the ____ induced by his injury the physicians +were unable to arouse him. "Oh ____! it is a gentle thing, Beloved from +pole to pole!" "The poppied warmth of ____ oppress'd Her soothéd limbs, +and soul fatigued away." In Spanish-speaking South American countries +every one expects to take his ____. He lay down under the tree for a short +____ and had just fallen into a preliminary ____ when the picnic party +arrived. "Macbeth does murder ____, the innocent ____, ____ that knits up +the ravel'd sleave of care." + + +<Abolish, repeal, rescind, revoke, abrogate, annul, nullify, cancel, +reverse>. + +_Sentences_: A declaration of war would of course ____ the treaty. +The legislature has the right to ____ old laws as well as to enact new +ones. Because they left his grounds littered with paper, he ____ their +privilege of holding picnics there. The king ____ the decree that the +conspirators should be exiled. Slavery was ____ by the Emancipation +Proclamation. The emperor ____ many of the ancient rights of the people. +They ____ the mortgage when he paid the money. The violation of these +provisions has ____ the contract. It was an ill day for France when the +Edict of Nantes was ____ by Louis XIV. The Supreme Court ____ the decision +of the lower tribunal. The Mormons have officially ____ polygamy. The +codicil ____ some of the earlier provisions in his will. + + +<Acquit, exculpate, exonerate, absolve>. + +_Sentences_: He ____ himself from all blame. The king ____ them from +their allegiance. The teacher ____ the student who had been suspected of +theft. The father confessor ____ the penitent. The jury ____ the man on +the first ballot. + + +<Afraid, fearful, frightened, alarmed, scared, aghast, terrified, timid, +timorous.> (This group may be compared with the _Fear group_, +below.) + +_Sentences_: One child was too ____ to speak to the strangers; the +other too ____ to do anything but squall. "If Caesar hide himself, shall +they not whisper 'Lo, Caesar is ____'?" Any one might have been ____ by +this noise in a room said to be haunted; and for my part, I stood ____. + + +<Allay, alleviate, mitigate, assuage, mollify, relieve.> + +_Sentences_: The judge ____ the severity of the punishment. They +collected funds to ____ the sufferings of the poor. He could not ____ the +wrath of the angry man. Shall we try to ____ their fears by telling them +the accident may have been less calamitous than they have heard? A mustard +plaster ____ the pain. The grief of the mother was ____ by the presence of +her child. This experience had by no means ____ his temper. + + +<Allow, permit, suffer, tolerate.> + +_Sentences_: Visitors are not ____ to see the king. The over-running +of my yard by the neighbors' chickens is a nuisance I shall not ____. "____ +little children to come unto me." The use of bicycles and velocipedes +on the pavement, though not ____ by the city, is good-naturedly ____ by +most of the citizens. She ____ her children to play in the street. + + +<Ascribe, attribute, impute.> + +_Sentences_: I ____ my failure to poor judgment. He ____ sinister +motives for their actions. So many ideal characteristics have been ____ to +Washington that it is difficult to think of him as a man. + + +<Awkward, clumsy, ungainly, gawky, lanky.> + +_Sentences_: An elephant is ____ in its movements. Some ____ +countrymen hung around the circus entrance. He was tall and ____; he +seemed to be a mere prop on which clothes were hung. Isn't that man ____ +in his carriage? The fingers of the ball-players might as well have been +thumbs, so ____ were they from the cold. Girls throw a ball in a[n] ____ +manner. + + +<Bite, nibble, gnaw, chew, masticate, champ>. + +_Sentences_: Fletcher taught people to ____ their food well. The +mouse ____ the cheese, but the trap did not spring. A horse ____ his bits. +When I ____ into the apple, I found that it was sour. The rat ____ a hole +through the board. + + +<Break, crack, fracture, sever, rend, burst, smash, shatter, shiver, +splinter, sunder, rive, crush, batter, demolish, rupture>. (After +discriminating these terms for yourself, see the treatment of _break, +fracture_ under <Break, fracture> above under Parallels.) + +_Sentences_: "____ my timbers!" the old salt exclaimed. The anaconda +is an immense serpent that wraps itself about its victim and ____ it. +The child blew the soap bubble wider and wider till it ____. "You +may ____, you may ____ the vase if you will." Looking closely at the eggs, +she perceived that one of them was ____. With a board the thoughtless +child ____ the anthill. During a violent fit of coughing he ____ a blood +vessel. The thick cloud was ____ and the sunshine streamed through. + + +<Careful, cautious, wary, circumspect, canny>. + +_Sentences_: A mouse must be ____ lest it be caught in a trap. He had +learned to be ____ in advancing his radical opinions. The man was a Scot +and therefore ____. With a ____ movement I opened the door to investigate +the strange noise. He was ____ in checking up the accounts. Be extremely +____ in your behavior, for they are watching to criticize you. + + +<Condescend, deign, vouchsafe>. + +_Sentences_: The king ____ them safe conduct through the country. He +would not ____ to touch the money that had been gained dishonestly. His +____ manner irritated them. The master ____ to hear the complaints of the +servants. + + +<Confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify_. + +_Sentences_: He ____ the charge with positive proof. The finding of +Desdemona's handkerchief ____ Othello's belief that she was guilty. The +other witnesses ____ his testimony. The doctor ____ the appointment his +assistant had made for him. He ____ his results by repeating the +experiment a number of times. + + +<Courage, bravery, resolution, dauntlessness, gallantry, boldness, +intrepidity, daring, valor, prowess, fortitude, heroism>. (With this +group contrast the _Fear_ group, below.) + +_Sentences_: It seemed they must be driven from their works but they +held to them with the utmost ____. He had the ____ to fight an aggressive +battle, but not the ____ to stand for long days upon the defensive; less +still did he have the ____ to disregard unjust criticism. The silent ____ +of the women who bide at home surpasses the ____ the warriors who engage +in battle. He had the dashing ____ of a cavalry officer. + + +<Cruel, brutal, ferocious, fierce, savage, barbarous, truculent, +merciless, unmerciful, pitiless, ruthless, fell>. (With this group +contrast the _Kind_ group, below.) + +_Sentences_: "But with the whiff and wind of his ____ sword +The unnerved father falls." "Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, +That bide the pelting of this ____ storm." The ____ fellow could cause +suffering to a child without the least tinge of remorse. Such conduct is +unheard of in civilized communities; it is ____, it is ____. "I must be +____ only to be kind." + + +<Cry, weep, sob, snivel, whimper, blubber, bawl, squall, howl, wail>. + +_Sentences_: "____ no more, woeful shepherds; ____ no more." +The woman covered her face with her hands and ____, while the children +____. He ____ a forced regret at the death of his uncle, and asked that +the will be read, "Rachel ____ for her children." "Rejoice with them that +do rejoice, and ____ with them that ____." "I could lie down like a tired +child And ____ away this life of care Which I have borne and yet must +bear." "An infant ____ in the night." "What's Hecuba to him or he +to Hecuba That he should ____ for her?" I was disgusted at the sight of +that overgrown boy standing in the corner ____. "You think I'll ____; No, +I'll not ____: I have full cause of ____, but this heart Shall break into +a hundred thousand flaws Or ere I'll ____." + + +<Cut, cleave, hack, haggle, notch, slash, gash, split, chop, hew, lop, +prune, reap, mow, clip, shear, trim, dock, crop, shave, whittle, slice, +slit, score, lance, carve, bisect, dissect, amputate, detruncate, +syncopate.> + +_Sentences_: "I'll ____ around your heart with my razor, And shoot +you with my shotgun too." "O Hamlet! thou hast ____ my heart in twain." By +the pressure of his hands he could ____ an apple. With his new hatchet +George began ____ at the cherry tree. He carelessly ____ off a branch or +two. The horses were ____ the rank grass. An old form of punishment was to +____ the nose of the offender. The nobleman ordered the groom to ____ the +tails of the carriage horses. You should ____ your meadows in the summer +and ____ your grapevines in the late fall or early winter. "Do you," asked +the barber, "wish your hair ____ or ____?" ____ to the line. It is painful +to see Dodwell trying to ____ a turkey. In geometry we learned to ____ +angles, in biology to ____ cats. The bad man in the West ____ his gunstock +each time he shot a tenderfoot. Betty, will you ____ this cucumber? +"'Mark's way,' said Mark, and ____ him thro' the brain." + + +<Deadly, mortal, fatal, lethal>. + +_Sentences_: He has a ____ disease. The spirit of Virgil guided Dante +through the ____ shades. Cyanide of potassium is a ____ poison. He struck +a ____ blow. + + +<Defeat, subdue, conquer, overcome, vanquish, subjugate, suppress>. + +_Sentences_: Napoleon ____ his enemies in many battles, but he was +not able to ____ them. The new governor general ____ the uprising. He was +____ in the election. Caesar ____ many countries and made them swear +allegiance to Rome. "Who ____ by force Hath ____ but half his foe." The +militia ____ the rioters. + + +<Deny, contravene, controvert, refute, confute>. + +_Sentences_: He produced evidence to ____ the charge. They could not +____ the facts we presented. It is difficult to ____ those who are +spreading these rumors, yet all right-minded people think the rumors +false. "I put thee now to thy book-oath; ____ it if thou canst." Either +admit or ____ the truth of this allegation. Such a law ____ the first +principles of justice. + + +<Destroy, demolish, raze, annihilate, exterminate, eradicate, extirpate, +obliterate.> + +_Sentences_: All the ferocious wild animals are gradually being +____. As weeds from a field, so is it difficult to ____ all the faults +from man's nature. But how shall we ____ the cause of this disease? Fire +____ the bank. The wrecking crew ____ the building. She tried to ____ the +terrible scene from her memory. "____ all that's made To a green thought +in a green shade." The cyclone ____ the church. The Spanish Inquisition +tried to ____ heresy. "____ out the written troubles of the brain." +The army was not only defeated; it was ____. "A bold peasantry, their +country's pride, When once ____, can never be supplied." + + +<Die, expire, perish, decease, succumb.> + +_Sentences_: All men are mortal and must ____. "As wax melteth before +the fire, so let the wicked ____ at the presence of God." "I still had +hopes, my long vexations past, Here to return, and ____ at home at last." +The late ____ Mr. Brown left all his property to his family. "Cowards ____ +many times before their deaths." "The poor beetle, that we tread upon, In +corporal sufferance finds a pang as great As when a giant giant ____." +"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not ____ +from the earth." "Thus on Maeander's flowery margin lies Th' ____ swan, +and as he sings he dies." Over a thousand people ____ in the fire at the +theater. "To ____, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream." He ____ to a +lingering disease. "Aye, but to ____, and go we know not where; To lie in +cold obstruction and to rot." "Wind my thread of life up higher, Up, +through angels' hands of fire! I aspire while I ____." + + +<Dip, douse, duck, plunge, immerge, immerse, submerge, sink, dive.> + +_Sentences_: He ____ his head under the hydrant. The Baptists ____ at +baptism. She ____ the cloth into the dye. The sophomores ____ the freshmen +into the icy water of the lake. Paul Jones could not ____ the enemy's +ship; he therefore resolved to board it. The wreck lay ____ in forty +fathoms of water. Uncle Tom ____ overboard to rescue the child. When the +gun is discharged, the loon does not rise from the water; it ____. Lewis +became badly strangled when the other boys ____ him. + + +<Disease, sickness, illness, indisposition, ailment, affection, +complaint, disorder, distemper, infirmity, malady.> (With this group +contrast the _healthful_ group.) + +_Sentences_: He was suffering the ____ of age. Cancer is still in +many instances an incurable ____ The ____ of the lady ended as soon as the +maid told her the callers had gone away. It was an old ____ of the +tonsils, but this time the child's ____ was slight. "To help me through +this long ____, my life." + + +<Disloyal, false, unfaithful, faithless, traitorous, treasonable, +treacherous, perfidious.> + +_Sentences_: The king discovered many ____ schemes among those who +pretended to be his loyal supporters. England's enemies have long called +her "____ Albion." They were afraid the Indian guide would betray them by +some ____ action. "O you beast! O ____ coward! O dishonest wretch!" He was +____ to his adopted country. "Bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, ____, +lecherous, kindless villain! O! vengeance!" + + +<Do, perform, execute, accomplish, achieve, effect.> + +_Sentences_: An officer ____ the orders with despatch. He ____ a +mighty name for himself. "If it were ____ when 'tis ____ then 'twere well +It were ____ quickly." Constant efforts will ____ miracles. The student +____ the problems quickly. The doctor hopes his new treatment will ____ a +cure. "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to ____." He persevered +till he ____ his purpose. He always ____ more than was expected of him. + + +<Dress, clothes, clothing, garments, apparel, raiment, habiliments, +vestments, attire, garb, habit, costume, uniform.> + +_Sentences_: The spy concealed his identity by wearing the ____ of a +monk. The soldiers wore blue ____. She was an excellent horsewoman, and +rode in a fashionable ____. "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an +old ____." Millions of men left farms and factories and shops to don the +____ of war. The invitation specified that the men should wear evening +____. The store specialized in women's wearing ____. A person should wear +warm ____ in winter. The king appeared in his royal ____. He always wore +expensive ____. The bishop entered in his clerical ____. "The ____ oft +proclaims the man." The theatrical ____ was full of spangles. One's ____ +should never be conspicuous. + + +<Drink, imbibe, sip, sup, swallow, quaff, tipple, tope, guzzle, +swig.> + +_Sentences_: "She who, as they voyaged, ____ With Tristram that +spiced magic draught." Plants ____ moisture through their roots. "A little +learning is a dang'rous thing; ____ deep, or taste not the Pierian +spring." He ____ down the liquor in a couple of huge draughts. On the fan +was a picture of Japanese maidens daintily ____ tea. "____ to me only with +thine eyes." His red nose betrayed the fact that he constantly ____. + + +<Elicit, extract, exact, extort.> + +_Sentences_: They ____ payment to the last cent. The police ____ a +confession from the prisoner by intimidating him. This terrible suffering +____ our sympathy. His resolve to begin again after his failure ____ their +admiration. "But lend it rather to thine enemy; Who if he break, thou +mayst with better face ____ the penalty." They ____ all the information +they could by questioning the child. + + +<Embarrass, disconcert, discompose, discomfit, confuse, confound, +agitate, abash, mortify, chagrin, humiliate.> + +_Sentences_: The annoying little raids ____ the enemy. Such +conclusive proof of his lies completely ____ him. His sudden proposal ____ +her. He stood ____ in the presence of the king. The traveler was ____ by +the many turns in the road. She was ____ by the delay in having dinner +ready. She was ____ by her husband's ill manners. The possibility that her +daughter might have been in the accident ____ her. I was ____ at being so +cleverly outwitted. + + +<Excuse, pardon, forgive, condone.> + +_Sentences_: We should ____ even those who do us wrong. "Father, ____ +them; for they know not what they do." I trust you will ____ my being +late. Ignorance ____ no one before the law. The governor ____ the convict. +He thought it better to ____ the offense than to try to punish it. + + +<Explain, expound, interpret, elucidate.> + +_Sentences_: The minister ____ the doctrine of predestination. +The tribesman ____ his chief's words for us. He ____ his meaning by giving +clear examples. Joseph was called upon to ____ Pharaoh's dream. Can you +____ the reason for your absence? Various scholars have ____ the passage +differently. + + +<Fat, fleshy, stout, plump, buxom, corpulent, obese, portly, pursy, +burly, pudgy, chubby.> + +_Sentences_: "There live not three good men unhanged in England, and +one of them is ____ and grows old." A[n] ____ rosy-faced child walking +beside a girl just pleasantly ____ came past the garden. The ____ lady was +talking with a[n] ____, ill-conditioned man. "So ____, blithe, and +debonair." "He's ____ and scant of breath." The ruffian was a[n] ____ +fellow. They were ____ in varying degrees: one was ____, one ____, and one +downright ____. + + +<Fear, dread, fright, apprehension, affright, alarm, dismay, timidity, +consternation, panic, terror, horror, misgiving, anxiety, scare, tremor, +trepidation.> (With this group compare the _Afraid_ group, above, +and contrast the _Courage_ group, also above.) + +_Sentences_: "Like one, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in ____ and +____." "His scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to +awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the ____ and ____ of kings." ____ +changed to ____ when we perceived the corpse. Washington felt some ____ as +to the loyalty of Charles Lee, but was amazed to find his force retreating +in ____, indeed almost in a[n] ____. + + +<Feminine, female, womanly, womanlike, womanish, effeminate, +ladylike.> + +_Sentences_: She possessed every ____ charm. He gave a[n] ____ start +of curiosity. The pistil is considered the ____ organ of a flower. It was +once not thought ____ for a woman to ride astride a horse. He inherited +the throne through the ____ line. Patience is one of the greatest of ____ +virtues. The hired girl in her finery minced along with a[n] ____ step. +Some people consider it ____ to wear a wrist watch. Her ____ heart was +touched at the sight. It is ____ to jump at the sight of a mouse. + + +<Fight, combat, struggle, scuffle, fray, affray, attack, engagement, +assault, onslaught, brawl, melee, tournament, battle, conflict, strife, +clash, collision, contest, skirmish, encounter, brush, bout, set-to.> + +_Sentences_: "A darkling plain Swept with confused alarms of ____ and +flight." The ____ upon Fort Sumter was the direct cause of the Civil War. +The ____ between our forces and theirs was brief and trivial; it was only +a cavalry ____. There is an excellent account of a knightly ____ in +_Ivanhoe_. We repelled their general ____; then ourselves advanced; +the ____ of our lines with theirs soon resulted in an inextricable ____. +A chance ____ of small forces at Gettysburg brought on a terrible ____. +There had long been ____ between the two factions within the party. +Angered by what had begun as a playful ____, one of the men challenged the +other to ____. + + +<Fleeting, transient, transitory, ephemeral, evanescent.> + +_Sentences_: It is the lot of every one to endure many sorrows in +this ____ life. They saw for a short while a[n] ____ comet. The ____ +glories of dawn had merged into the sordid realities of daytime. The +remark made but a[n] ____ impression upon him. The ____ moments sped away. +"Art is long, and time is ____." Joy is ____. Much of the popular +literature of the day is ____ in character. + + +<Frank, candid, open, artless, guileless, ingenuous, unsophisticated, +naive.> + +_Sentences_: It was a[n] ____ excuse. It was a pleasure to meet a +person so simple and ____. He was ____ to say that he did not like the +arrangement. "Who, mindful of the unhonored dead, Dost in these lines +their ____ tale relate." "The Moor is of a free and ____ nature." He gave +them his ____ opinion. + + +<Frustrate, foil, thwart, counteract, circumvent, balk, baffle, +outwit.> + +_Sentences_: The schemers were themselves ____. He was ____ by the +many contradictory clues. Circumstances ____ all his plans to get rich. +The parents ____ the attempt of the couple to elope. The guard ____ the +prisoner's attempt to escape. He was ____ at every turn. They put forth a +statement to ____ the influence of their opponents' propaganda. By +slipping away during the night, Washington ____ the enemy. The politician +by his shrewdness ____ the attempt to discredit him. + + +<Glad, happy, cheerful, mirthful, joyful, joyous, blithe, gay, +frolicsome, merry, jolly, sportive, jovial, jocular, jocose, jocund.> + +_Sentences_: "The milkmaid singeth ____." "And all went ____ as a +marriage bell." "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel +of peace, and bring ____ tidings of good things." A ____ Lothario. "So +buxom, ____, and debonair." As ____ as a fawn. He kept smiling, for he was +in ____ mood. "You are sad Because you are not ____; and 'twere as easy +For you to laugh and leap, and say you are ____, Because you are not sad." +He longed for the ____ life of a ____ English squire. + + +<Habit, custom, usage, practice, wont.> + +_Sentences_: ____ makes perfect. The immigrants kept up many of the +____ of their native land. "God fulfils himself in many ways, Lest one +good ____ should corrupt the world." It was his ____ to walk among the +ruins. An old ____ permits a man to kiss a girl who is standing under +mistletoe. ____ establishes many peculiar idioms in a language. He +acquired the ____ of smoking. "It is a ____ more honor'd in the breach +than the observance." De Quincey was a victim of the opium ____. "Age +cannot wither her, nor ____ stale Her infinite variety." "'Tis not his +____ to be the hindmost man." + + +<Harass, annoy, irritate, vex, fret, worry, plague, torment, molest, +tease, tantalize.> + +_Sentences_: The merchant ____ about his financial losses. "Life's +but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and ____ his hour upon +the stage, And then is heard no more." The children never lost an +opportunity to ____ the teacher. The other pupils ____ him because he was +the teacher's favorite. The newcomer was ____ by their frequent questions. +Don't ____ the child by holding the grapes beyond its reach. "He was met +even now As mad as the ____ sea." Ah, but I am ____ by doubts and fears. +"The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wand'ring near her +secret bower, ____ her ancient, solitary reign." The child ____ because +the rain kept it indoors. When the joke was discovered, they almost ____ +the life out of him. I was ____ at their discovering my predicament. "You +may as well forbid the mountain pines To wag their high tops, and to make +no noise When they are ____ with the gusts of heaven." + + +<Hinder, restrain, obstruct, impede, hamper, retard, check, curb, clog, +encumber, forestall, suppress, repress, prevent.> + +_Sentences_: Baggage ____ the progress of an army. It is the purpose +of modern medicine to ____ disease. The accumulations of dust and grease +____ the machine. "My tears must stop, for every drop ____ needle and +thread." By acknowledging his fault he hoped to ____ criticism. Though +before she had been unable to ____ her tears, she could now scarcely ____ +a yawn. A fallen tree ____ his further progress. The horse was ____ with a +heavy burden, and the unsure footing of the trail further ____ the +ascent. His jealous colleagues ____ his plans in every way they could. + + +<Hole, cavity, excavation, pit, cache, cave, cavern, hollow, depression, +perforation, puncture, rent, slit, crack, chink, crevice, cranny, breach, +cleft, chasm, fissure, gap, opening, interstice, burrow, crater, eyelet, +pore, bore, aperture, orifice, vent, concavity, dent, indentation. > + +_Sentences_: The explorers, having eaten all the provisions they had +carried with them, hurried back to their ____. The battering-ram at last +made a[n] ____ in the walls. The ____ in the log had been caused by the +intense heat. He tore off the check along the line of the ____. The ____ +in the earth gradually deepened and narrowed into a[n] ____. Pyramus and +Thisbe made love to each other through a[n] ____ in a wall. "Once more +unto the ____, dear friends, once more." The ____ in the mountain ranges +of Virginia influenced strategy during the Civil War. Several ____ in the +toe of one of his shoes apprised me that he had a sore foot. The supposed +____ in the rock turned out to be a[n] ____ that led into a dark but +spacious ____. He suffered a[n] ____ of one of his tires near the place +where the laborers were making the ____. It was a gun of very large ____. +The ____ in the percolator was made by a flatiron aimed at Mr. Wiggins' +head. + + +<Idle, inert, lazy, indolent, sluggish, slothful.> + +_Sentences_: "He also that is ____ in his work is brother to him +that is a great waster." "The ____ singer of an empty day." Mighty, ____ +forces lie locked up in nature, waiting for man to release them. He was +a[n] ____, good-for-nothing fellow whose whole business in life was to +keep out of work. "For Satan finds some mischief still For ____ hands to +do." He was too ____ to do his work well. "The ____ yawning drone." His +steps were so ____ one would almost think he was not moving. "As ____ as a +painted ship Upon a painted ocean." "I talk of dreams, Which are the +children of an ____ brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy." + + +<Ignorant, illiterate, uninformed, uneducated, untutored, unlettered, +unenlightened.> + +_Sentences_: Without public schools most children would be ____; +without missionaries many barbarous tribes would remain ____. Andrew +Jackson was ____ that peace had been declared when he fought the battle of +New Orleans. Even the wisest men are ____ upon some subjects. "Lo, the +poor Indian, whose ____ mind Sees God in clouds or hears Him in the wind!" +The mountain whites, though often totally ____, are nevertheless a shrewd +folk. "Their name, their years, spelt by th' ____ muse, The place of fame +and elegy supply." The percentage of ____ persons is constantly decreasing +in America. + + +<Incline, tip, lean, cant, slant, slope, tilt, list, careen, dip.> + +_Sentences_: He ____ the bucket of water over. The vessel ____ to the +stern and began to sink. The ship ____ to larboard. He ____ the top of the +picture away from the wall. The sprinter ____ forward and touched the tips +of his fingers against the ground. The gable ____ sharply. The hill ____ +gently. The cowboy had ____ his hat fetchingly. + + +<Journey, voyage, tour, pilgrimage, trip, jaunt, excursion, junket, +outing, expedition.> + +_Sentences_: The people protested the expenditure of money for a +Congressional ____ to investigate the Philippine Islands. Each Sunday +there is a[n] ____ at half fare between the two cities. He conducted a +party on a summer ____ through Europe. Last summer I took a[n] ____ to the +Yellowstone National Park. It was a long ____ from Philadelphia to Boston +by stage coach. They hurriedly arranged for a[n] ____ to the woods. +Magellan was the first man to make a[n] ____ around the globe. The +scientific body organized a[n] ____ to explore the polar regions. +Thousands of Mohammedans make an annual ____ to Mecca. + + +<Kind, compassionate, merciful, lenient, benignant, benign, clement, +benevolent, charitable, gracious, humane, sympathetic.> (With this +group compare the _Cruel_ group, above.) + +_Sentences_: The weather was ____. She was as ____ as a queen. "Thou +dost wear The Godhead's most ____ grace." Cowper was too ____ to tread +upon a worm needlessly. A judge in sentencing a convicted man may be as +____ as circumstances and the law allow. ____ neutrality. "Blessed are the +____." "She was so ____ and so pitous She wolde wepe if that she sawe a +mous Caught in a trappe." "____ hearts are more than coronets." + + +<Love, affection, attachment, fondness, infatuation, devotion, +predilection, liking.> + +_Sentences_: Between the two young people had grown a[n] ____ which +now ripened into ____. "The course of true ____ never did run smooth." The +mad ____ of Mark Antony for Cleopatra was the cause of his downfall. She +had only a[n] ____ for him, but he an unqualified ____ for her. "Man's +____ is of his life a thing apart; 'Tis woman's whole existence." He shows +a marked ____ for the companionship of women. My ____ for the tart was +enhanced by my ____ for the girl who baked it. That boy shows a[n] ____ +for horses, and a positive ____ for dogs. + + +<Margin, edge, limit, border, boundary, bound, bourn, brim, rim, brink, +verge, skirt, confine.> + +_Sentences_: He had reached the ____ of endurance. In writing, leave +a wide ____ on the left side of the page. "Borrowing dulls the ____ of +husbandry." "The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his ____." Within +the ____ of reason. He stood on the ____ of ruin. The rock at the ____ of +the cañon is called the ____ rock. I was on the ____ of doing a very +indiscreet thing. "The undiscover'd country from whose ____ No traveler +returns." Fill your glasses to the ____. + + +<Matrimonial, conjugal, connubial, nuptial, marital.> + +_Sentences_: "However old a ____ union, it still garners some +sweetness." A court of ____ relations. "Contented toil, and hospitable +care, And kind ____ tenderness are there." "To the ____ bower I led her, +blushing like the morn." She finally decided that he had no ____ +intentions. "And hears the unexpressive ____ song In the blest kingdoms +meek of joy and love." + + +<Occupation, employment, calling, pursuit, vocation, avocation, +profession, business, trade, craft.> + +_Sentences_: He gave his life to literary ____. My brother found ____ +as a tutor in a rich family. Colleges are trying to direct their students +into the ____ they are best fitted for. Andrew Johnson was a tailor by +____. Medicine is a very ancient ____. The shoemaker was very skilled at +his ____. After losing his hand he could no longer engage in his ____ as +telegrapher. The grocer carries on only a wholesale ____. He considered +his ____ to the ministry a sacred duty. "Sir, 'tis my ____ to be plain." +Do you find collecting coins a pleasant ____? + + +<Pacify, appease, placate, propitiate, conciliate, mollify>. + +_Sentences_: We ____ our hunger when we reached the inn. In olden +times men tried to ____ the offended gods by offering human sacrifices. +They ____ the angry man by promising to hear his grievances immediately. +The premier thought he could ____ this particular faction by offering its +leader a seat in the cabinet. "Chiron ____ his cruel mind With art, and +taught his warlike hands to wind The silver strings of his melodious +lyre." A friendly word will usually ____ one's enemies. + + +<Part, piece, portion, section, subdivision, fraction, instalment +element, component, constituent, ingredient, share, lot, allotment>. + +_Sentences_: One ____ in his success was his courage. She was +studying the ____ of the pie; he the chances of getting another ____. Is +it ____ and ____ alike? "I live not in myself, but I become ____ of that +around me." "Act well your ____; there all the honor lies." He owned a[n] +____ of land near the city limits; a speculator bought a[n] ____ of this +and divided it into city lots. "I am a[n] ____ of all that I have met." +The purchaser, having only a[n] ____ of this sum in ready money, offered +to pay in ____. + + +<Pay, hire, salary, wages, fee, stipend, honorarium>. + +_Sentences_: Give the manager his ____, the workmen their ____. "The +laborer is worthy of his ____." He received his weekly ____ from the +parsimonious old man. The ____ for enrolment is ten dollars. "This is ____ +and ____, not revenge." + + +<Polite, civil, obliging, courteous, courtly, urbane, affable, +complaisant, gracious>. + +_Sentences_: He was ____ enough, but not definitely ____. "So ____ +that he ne'er ____." Though he had never lived in a city, much less in the +circle of royalty, his manners were ____, even ____. Your desire to please +is shown in your ____ greeting. "Damn with faint praise, assent with ____ +leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer." + + +<Quarrel, altercation, disagreement, contention, controversy, breach, +rupture, dispute, dissension, bickering, wrangle, broil, squabble, row, +rumpus, ruction, spat, tiff, fuss, jar, feud.> + +_Sentences_: It was only a little ____ between lovers. The ____ +between the partners was over the right of the senior to make contracts +for the firm; it grew into an angry ____. It was a long-drawn political +____. At the meeting of our committee the chairman and one of the members +had a sharp ____ over a point of order. A[n] ____ in some minor matters +led to a[n] ____ in their friendship. "Thrice is he armed that hath his +____ just." Those chattering, choleric fellows are always engaged in ____; +last night they on meeting had a[n] ____ which brought on a long-drawn +____, and when their friends joined in, there was a noisy ____. I have +seen all sorts of ____, from a trivial childish ____ to a grim ____ of +mountaineers. + + +<Raise, lift, heave, hoist, erect, rear, elevate, exalt, enhance.> + +_Sentences_: Let the Lord be ____. "As some tall cliff that ____ its +awful form." Because of this success his reputation was ____. The horse +____ when the machine began to ____ the huge block of stone by means of a +crane. "I will ____ up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my +help." The load was too heavy for him to carry; in fact he just managed to +____ it into the wagon. + + +<Relinquish, waive, renounce, surrender, forego, resign, abdicate.> + +_Sentences_: The defense ____ objection to the first of these points. +The refugee was willing to ____ his right to resist extradition. The +teacher ____ her position at the end of the year. The king ____ when the +people rose in revolt. He ____ his command of the army. Do you ____ your +claim in this mine? The bankrupt ____ his property to the receiver to help +pay his debts. + + +<Renounce, abjure, forswear, recant, retract, repudiate>. + +_Sentences_: He ____ the statement. Thereupon Henry Esmond ____ his +allegiance to the House of Stuart. It is a serious matter for a government +to ____ its debts. Did the heretic ____? Do you ____ the devil and all his +works? "The wounded gladiator ____ all fighting, but soon forgetting his +former wounds resumes his arms." He had broken his solemn oath; he was +____. + + +<Reprove, rebuke, reprimand, admonish, chide, upbraid, reproach, scold, +rate, berate>. + +_Sentences_: "He ____ their wanderings but relieved their pain." +"Many a time and oft In the Rialto you have ____ me About my moneys and my +usances." They ____ the man who had taken the savings of the poor, and +____ him against such schemes thereafter. The general ____ his +subordinate. + + +<Robber, bandit, brigand, ladrone, desperado, buccaneer, freebooter, +pirate, corsair, raider, burglar, footpad, highwayman, depredator, +spoiler, despoiler, forager, pillager, plunderer, marauder, myrmidon>. +(With this group compare the _Steal_ group, below.) + +_Sentences_: Every boy has his period of wanting to be a ____. +_Treasure Island_ is one of the best ____ stories ever written. +The ____ lurks in dark passageways and steals upon his victim. The fierce +followers of Achilles were called ____. The men sent out by the army as +____ seemed to the people of the countryside more like ____. The fearless +____ had soon gathered about him a band of ____. Robin Hood was no ____ of +poor folk. The outcast became a ____ among the mountaineers of northern +Italy. Every, boy likes to read of the bold ____ who sailed the Spanish +Main. Union plans were often upset by daring Confederate ____, such as +Stuart, Morgan, and Forrest. + + +<Run, scamper, scurry, scuttle, scud, scour, pace, gallop, trot, lope, +sprint, sweep>. + +_Sentences_: Swift horsemen ____ the country in search of the +fugitive. Wherever they came, the inhabitants ____ for shelter. "The dish +____ away with the spoon." For his horse to ____ made difficult riding, to +____ made comfortable riding, to ____ made exhilarating riding. "He may +____ that readeth it." The old sailing-boat ____ before the wind. "Haste +me to know't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of +love, May ____ to my revenge." The rats ____ across the floor. "He who +fights and ____ away May live to fight another day." + + +<Say, utter, pronounce, announce, state, declare, affirm, aver, +asseverate, allege, assert, avouch, avow, maintain, claim, depose, +predicate, swear, suggest, insinuate, testify>. (With this group +compare the _Speak_ and _Talk_ groups, below.) + +_Sentences_: It was something I merely ____ in passing; I would not +____ to it. I could not ____ in court, and therefore had to ____ before a +notary. The scientist ____ that a seismograph will infallibly record +earthquakes. He solemnly ____ that he would not ____ exemption from the +draft. + + +<Shine, beam, gleam, glisten, glister, glitter, glare, flare, flash, +sparkle, twinkle, dazzle, glimmer, glow, radiate, scintillate, +coruscate>. + +_Sentences_: The gorgeous parade ____ the boy. "____, ____, little +star." He was witty that night; he fairly ____. At this compliment the old +lady ____. "Now fades the ____ landscape on the sight." A rocket ____ in +the darkness. She ____ her elderly wooer a look of defiance; then her eyes +softened and ____ with amusement. "All that ____ is not gold." "How far +that little candle throws his beams! So ____ a good deed in a naughty +world." The old man ____ into sudden anger. + + +<Slander, defame, asperse, calumniate, traduce, vilify, malign, libel, +backbite>. + +_Sentences_: A newspaper must be careful not to ____ any one. Too +many supposedly religious people ____ their fellow believers. I do not +____ your motives. He ____ the character of everybody who chances to +possess one. + + +<Smell, odor, savor, scent, fragrance, aroma, perfume, redolence, tang, +stench>. + +_Sentences_: The ____ of the flowers in the vase mingled with the +____ of boiling cabbage in the kitchen. The ____ of spring is on the +meadows. So keen was the hound's sense of ____ that he quickly picked up +the ____ again. Any smoker likes the ____ of a good cigar. The ____ of +the handkerchief was delicate. Though it was a disagreeable ____, I should +hardly call it a[n] ____. The ____ of spices told him that his mother was +baking his favorite cake, and he also detected the ____ of coffee. The +____ of the ocean was in the air. He sniffed the ____ of frying bacon. + + +<Song, ballad, ditty, lullaby, hymn, anthem, dirge, chant, paean, lay, +carol, lilt>. + +_Sentences_: "They learn in suffering what they teach in ____." +The mother crooned a[n] ____ to her babe. The Highland girl sang a moving +old ____. The worshipers sang a[n] ____ of praise. Charles Wesley wrote many +____. As I approached the cathedral, I could hear the ____ of larks +outside and the ____ of the choir within. "Our sweetest ____ are those +that tell of saddest thought." "A[n] ____ for her the doubly dead in that +she died so young." + + +<Speak, discourse, expatiate, descant, comment, argue, persuade, plead, +lecture, preach, harangue, rant, roar, spout, thunder, declaim, harp>. +(With this group compare the _Say_ group, above, and the _Talk_ +group, below.) + +_Sentences_: "His virtues Will ____ like angels trumpet-tongu'd +against The deep damnation of his taking-off." "Here, under leave of +Brutus and the rest, ... Come I to ____ in Caesar's funeral." "Ay me! what +act, That ____ so loud and ____ in the index?" "Hadst thou thy wits and +didst ____ revenge, It could not move thus." "Thou canst not ____ of that +thou dost not feel." "Nay, if thou'lt mouth, I'll ____ as well as thou." +While the politician ____ in the senate chamber upon theoretical ills, the +agitator outside ____ the mob about actual ones. "For murder, though it +have no tongue, will ____ With most miraculous organ." + + +<Spend, expend, disburse, squander, waste, lavish>. + +_Sentences_: Large sums were ____ in rebuilding the devastated +regions of France. ____ your money, but do not ____ it. One should not +____ more than one earns. The king ____ great sums upon his favorites. The +political boss ____ the money among his henchmen. "The younger son ... +____ his substance with riotous living." + + +<Spot, blotch, speckle, fleck, dapple, smear, smutch, brand, defacement, +blemish, stain, discoloration, speck, mark, smudge, flaw, defect, +blot>. + +_Sentences_: A ____ in the crystal. The ____ of Cain. A life free +from ____. "Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul; And there I see such +black and grained ____ As will not leave their tinct." From the standpoint +of theatrical effectiveness _A ____ in the 'Scutcheon_ is one of the +best of Browning's plays. An eruption of the skin made a yellow ____ on +his right hand. Dragging my sleeve across the fresh ink had made a ____ +upon the page. The ____ of foam by the roadside proved that his horse had +been going fast. The ____ at the end of his fingers told me he was a +cigarette-smoker. On the left foreleg of the horse was a slight ____. + + +<Stay, tarry, linger, stop, sojourn, remain, abide, live, reside, dwell, +lodge.> + +_Sentences_: The Israelites ____ in Egypt. He ____ to chat with us, +but could not ____ overnight. I ____ in a wretched tavern. "I can ____, I +can ____ but a night." "I did love the Moor to ____ with him." "He that +shall come will come, and will not ____." "I will ____ in the house of the +Lord forever." "If ye ____ in me, and my words ____ in you, ye shall ask +what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." "I would rather be a +doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to ____ in the tents of +wickedness." The guests ____ in the cheerful drawing-room. + + +<Steal, abstract, pilfer, filch, purloin, peculate, swindle, plagiarize, +poach>. (With this group, which excludes the idea of violence, compare +the _Robber_ group, above.) + +_Sentences_: I am afraid that our son ____ the purse from the +gentleman. No one knows how long the cashier has been ____ the funds of +the bank. To take our money on such unsound security is to ____ us. He +slyly ____ a handkerchief or two. This paragraph is clearly ____. "Thou +shalt not ____." Many government employees seem to think that to ____ is +their privilege and prerogative. The crown jewels have been ____. She ____ +a number of petty articles. A well-known detective story by Poe is called +_The ____ Letter._ "Who ____ my purse ____ trash.... But he that ____ +from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me +poor indeed." "A cut-purse of the empire and the rule, That from a shelf +the precious diadem ____, And put it in his pocket!" + + +<Strike, hit, smite, thump, beat, cuff, buffet, knock, whack, belabor, +pommel, pound, cudgel, slap, rap, tap, box.> + +_Sentences_: ____ him into the middle of next week. He ____ and ____ +the poor beast unmercifully. "As of some one gently ____, ____ at my +chamber door." "Unto him that ____ thee on the one cheek offer also the +other." "Bid them come forth and hear me, Or at their chamber door I'll +____ the drum Till it cry sleep to death." "One whom I will ____ into +clamorous whining." "____ for your altars and your fires!" By means of +heavy stones the squaws ____ the corn into meal. + + +<Sullen, surly, sulky, crabbed, cross, gruff, grum, glum, morose, dour, +crusty, cynical, misanthropic, saturnine, splenetic.> + +_Sentences_: "Between us and our hame [home], Where sits our ____, +____ dame, Gathering her brows like gathering storm, Nursing her wrath to +keep it warm." A ____ old bachelor. A ____ Scotchman. He hated all men; he +was truly ____. He sat ____ and silent all day; by nightfall he was truly +____. + + +<Talk, chat, chatter, prate, prattle, babble, gabble, jabber, tattle, +twaddle, blab, gossip, palaver, parley, converse, mumble, mutter, stammer, +stutter.> (With this group compare the _Say_ and _Speak_ +groups, above.) + +_Sentences_: It was a queer assembly, and from it arose a queer +medley of sounds: the baby was ____, the old crone ____, the gossip ____, +the embarrassed young man ____, the child ____ the tale-bearer ____, the +hostess ____ with the most distinguished guest, and the trickster ____ +with his intended victim. "Blest with each talent and each art to please, +And born to write, ____, and live with ease." "I wonder that you will +still be ____, Signor Benedick; nobody marks you." + + +<Tear, rend, rip, lacerate, mangle.> + +_Sentences_: The explosion of the shell ____ his flesh. The tailor +____ the garment along the seam. I'll ____ this paper into bits. Those +savages would ____ you limb from limb. She ____ her dress on a nail. The +cogs caught his hand and ____ it. How could such reproaches fail to ____ +my feelings? + + +<Throw, pitch, hurl, dash, fling, cast, toss, flip, chuck, sling, heave, +launch, dart, propel, project.> + +_Sentences_: Suddenly he ____ the glittering coins away. Goliath +learned to his cost that David could ____ a stone. The explosion of the +gunpowder ____ the bullet from the gun. "____ down your cups of Samian +wine!" The children amused themselves by ____ the ball back and forth. He +____ himself dejectedly into a seat. The thief ____ a glance beside him. +The mischievous boy ____ a stone through the window. They ____ some of the +cargo overboard to lighten the boat. The eager fisherman ____ the fly for +the trout. The untidy fellow ____ the towel in a corner. + + +<Whip, chastise, castigate, flagellate, scourge, lash, trounce, thrash, +flog, maul, drub, switch, spank, bastinado.> (This group limits the +field of the _Punish_ group in Exercise A, and extends the list of +synonyms.) + +_Sentences_: The drunken driver ____ the excited horses. The zealot +was accustomed to ____ himself. The ruler bade that the Christians be +____. The teacher ____ the small children gently, but he unsparingly ____ +the big ones. "My father hath ____ you with whips, but I will ____ you +with scorpions." The bully was always ____ men smaller than himself till +one of them turned on him and ____ him thoroughly. + + +<Wicked, sinful, felonious, illegal, immoral, heinous, flagitious, +iniquitous, criminal, vicious, vile.> + +_Sentences_: "I am fled From this ____ world, with ____ worms to +dwell." A[n] ____ assault. "The ____ prize itself Buys out the law." It +was, though not a[n] ____ act, a most ____ one. "There the ____ cease from +troubling; and there the weary be at rest." + + +<Young, youthful, boyish, girlish, juvenile, puerile, immature, callow, +adolescent.> + +_Sentences_: The plan had all the faults of ____ judgment. Many great +authors have written books of ____ fiction. The bird, which was still +____, was of course unable to fly. "Such sights as ____ poets dream On +summer eves by haunted stream." He was in that ____ stage of development +when one is neither a boy nor a man. "I was so ____, I loved him so, I had +No mother, God forgot me, and I fell." He made a[n] ____ attempt to +impress them with his importance. "Bacchus ever fair, and ever ____." +A red necktie gave him a more ____ appearance. The self-satisfied air of +a[n] ____ youth is often trying to his elders. + + +EXERCISE D + +In this exercise each group of synonyms is followed by quotations from +authoritative writers in which the words are discriminatingly employed. +Find the meaning of each italicized word in these quotations, and +differentiate the word accurately from the others in that group. +Substitute for it other words from the group, and observe precisely how +the meaning is affected. + +(So many of the quotations are from poetry that these will be printed as +verse rather than, as in the preceding exercises, in continuous lines like +prose.) + + +<Affront, insult, indignity.> + + A moral, sensible, and well-bred man + Will not _affront_ me,--and no other can. + An old _affront_ will stir the heart + Through years of rankling pain. + +The way to procure _insults_ is to submit to them. A man meets +with no more respect than he exacts. + +It is often better not to see an _insult_ than to avenge it. + +Even a hare, the weakest of animals, may _insult_ a dead lion. + +To a native of rank, arrest was not merely a restraint, but a foul +personal _indignity_. + + +<Dishonor, disgrace, ignominy, infamy, obloquy, opprobrium>. + + His honor rooted in _dishonor_ stood, + And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. + +It is hard to say which of the two we ought most to lament,--the unhappy +man who sinks under the sense of his _dishonor_, or him who survives +it. + + Could he with reason murmur at his case + Himself sole author of his own _disgrace_? + +Whatever _disgrace_ we may have deserved, it is almost always in our +power to re-establish our character. + + When in _disgrace_ with fortune and men's eyes + I all alone beweep my outcast state. + +Their generals have been received with honor after their defeat; yours +with _ignominy_ after conquest. + +Wilful perpetuations of unworthy actions brand with most indelible +characters of _infamy_ the name and memory to posterity. + +And when his long public life, so singularly chequered with good and evil, +with glory and _obloquy_, had at length closed forever, it was to +Daylesford that he retired to die. + +Great _opprobrium_ has been thrown on her name. + + +<Fame, honor, renown, glory, distinction, reputation, repute, celebrity, +eminence, notoriety>. + + Let _fame_, that all hunt after in their lives, + Live register'd upon our brazen tombs. + +Men have a solicitude about _fame_; and the greater share +they have of it, the more afraid they are of losing it. + + _Fame_ is no plant that grows on mortal soil, + . . . . . . . . + But lives and spreads aloft by those pure eyes + And perfect witness of all-judging Jove; + As he pronounces lastly on each deed, + Of so much _fame_ in heaven expect thy meed. + + When faith is lost, when _honor_ dies, + The man is dead. + + Act well your part; there all the _honor_ lies. + +The Athenians erected a large statue of Aesop, and placed him, though a +slave, on a lasting pedestal, to show that the way to _honor_ lies +open indifferently to all. + + I could not love thee, dear, so much, + Loved I not _honor_ more. + +That nation is worthless which does not joyfully stake everything on her +_honor_. + + By heaven methinks it were an easy leap + To pluck bright _honor_ from the pale-fac'd moon. + +That merit which gives greatness and _renown_ diffuses its influence +to a wide compass, but acts weakly on every single breast. + + Speak no more of his _renown_, + Lay your earthly fancies down, + And in the vast cathedral leave him, + God accept him, Christ receive him. + +The young warrior did not fly; but met death as he went forward in his +strength. Happy are they who dies in youth, when their _renown_ is +heard! + + The paths of _glory_ lead but to the grave. + +_Glory_ long has made the sages smile; 'tis something, nothing, +words, illusion, wind. + + Not once or twice in our rough island-story + The path of duty was the way to _glory_. + +He was a charming fellow, clever, urbane, free-handed, with all that +fortunate quality in his appearance which is known as _distinction._ + +Never get a _reputation_ for a small perfection if you are trying for +_fame_ in a loftier area. + +One may be better than his _reputation_ or his conduct, but never +better than his principles. + + I see my _reputation_ is at stake + My _fame_ is shrewdly gor'd. + +CASSIO. _Reputation, reputation, reputation!_ O! I have lost my +reputation. I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is +bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation! +IAGO. As I am an honest man, I thought you had received some bodily wound. + +You have a good _repute_ for gentleness and wisdom. +_Celebrity_ sells dearly what we think she gives. + + Kings climb to _eminence_ + Over men's graves. + +_Notoriety_ is short-lived; _fame_ is lasting. + + +<Hatred, hate, animosity, ill-will, enmity, hostility, bitterness, +malice, malevolence, malignity, rancor, resentment, dudgeon, grudge, +spite>. + +The _hatred_ we bear our enemies injures their happiness less than +our own. + +_Hate_ is like fire; it makes even light rubbish deadly. + +He generously forgot all feeling of _animosity_, and determined to go +in person to his succor. + + That thereby he may gather + The ground of your _ill-will_, and so remove it. + +No place is so propitious to the formation either of close friendships or +of deadly _enmities_ as an Indiaman. + +There need be no _hostility_ between evolutionist and theologian. + + Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks, + His fits, his frenzy, and his _bitterness?_ + + Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, + Nor set down aught in _malice_. + +Every obstacle which partisan _malevolence_ could create he has had +to encounter. + +His flight is occasioned rather by the _malignity_ of his countrymen +than by the enmity of the Egyptians. + + Where the soul sours, and gradual _rancor_ grows, + Imbitter'd more from peevish day to day. + +Peace in their mouthes, and all _rancor_ and vengeance in their +hartes [hearts]. + + For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd; + Put _rancors_ in the vessel of my peace + Only for them. + +Her _resentment_ against the king seems not to have abated. + +Mrs. W. was in high _dudgeon_; her heels clattered on the red-tiled +floor, and she whisked about the house like a parched pea upon a +drum-head. + + If I can catch him once upon the hip, + I will feed fat the ancient _grudge_ I bear him. + +Men of this character pursue a _grudge_ unceasingly, and never forget +or forgive. + + And since you ne'er provoked their _spite_, + Depend upon't their judgment's right. + + +<Marriage, matrimony, wedlock>. (With this group compare the +_matrimonial_ group in Exercise C, above.) + +_Marriages_ are made in heaven. + +Hasty _marriage_ seldom proveth well. + +A man finds himself seven years older the day after his _marriage_. + + Let me not to the _marriage_ of true minds + Admit impediments. + +_Marriage_ is the best state for man in general; and every man is a +worse man in proportion as he is unfit for the married state. + +_Matrimony_--the high sea for which no compass has yet been invented. + +_Wedlock's_ a lane where there is no turning. + + What is _wedlock_ forced, but a hell, + An age of discord and continual strife? + + +<Mercy, clemency, lenity, leniency, lenience, forbearance>. + + Teach me to feel another's woe, + To hide the fault I see; + That _mercy_ I to others show, + That _mercy_ show to me. + + The quality of _mercy_ is not strain'd, + It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven + Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd; + It blesseth him that gives and him that takes; + * * * * * + And earthly power doth then show likest God's + When _mercy_ seasons justice. + +_Clemency_ is the surest proof of a true monarch. + +_Lenity_ will operate with greater force, in some instances, than +vigor. + +All the fellows tried to persuade the Master to greater _leniency_, +but in vain. + +It will be necessary that this acceptance should be followed up by +measures of the utmost _lenience_. + +There is however a limit at which _forbearance_ ceases to be a +virtue. + + +<Pity, sympathy, compassion, commiseration, condolence>. + + Careless their merits or their faults to scan, + His _pity_ gave ere charity began. + +For _pity_ melts the mind to love. + +For _pitee_ renneth [runneth] soon in gentle herte [heart]. + +Our _sympathy_ is cold to the relation of distant misery. + +Man may dismiss _compassion_ from his heart, but God will never. + +It is unworthy a religious man to view an irreligious one either with +alarm or aversion; or with any other feeling than regret, and hope, and +brotherly _commiseration_. + +Their congratulations and their _condolences_ are equally words of +course. + + +<Poverty, want, need, destitution, indigence, penury>. + + Is there for honest _poverty_ + That hings [hangs] his head, and a' that? + +Not to be able to bear _poverty_ is a shameful thing, but not to know +how to chase it away by work is a more shameful thing yet. + + Stitch! stitch! stitch! + In _poverty_, hunger, and dirt, + And still with a voice of dolorous pitch, + Would that its tone could reach the Rich, + She sang this "Song of the Shirt!" + +_Poverty_ is dishonorable, not in itself, but when it is a proof of +laziness, intemperance, luxury, and carelessness; whereas in a person that +is temperate, industrious, just and valiant, and who uses all his virtues +for the public good, it shows a great and lofty mind. + + _Want_ is a bitter and hateful good, + Because its virtues are not understood; + Yet many things, impossible to thought, + Have been by _need_ to full perfection brought. + +Hundreds would never have known _want_ if they had not first known +waste. + + O! reason not the _need_; our basest beggars + Are in the poorest thing superfluous: + Allow not nature more than nature needs, + Man's life is cheap as beast's. + +The Christian inhabitants of Thessaly would be reduced to +_destitution_. + +It is the care of a very great part of mankind to conceal their +_indigence_ from the rest. + + Chill _penury_ repress'd their noble rage, + And froze the genial current of the soul. + +Chill _penury_ weighs down the heart itself; and though it sometimes +be endured with calmness, it is but the calmness of despair. + + Where _penury_ is felt the thought is chain'd, + And sweet colloquial pleasures are but few. + + +<Regret, compunction, remorse, contrition, penitence, repentance>. + +_Regrets_ over the past should chasten the future. + +He acknowledged his disloyalty to the king with expressions of great +_compunction_. + + Through no disturbance of my soul, + Or strong _compunction_ in me wrought, + I supplicate for thy control. + +God speaks to our hearts through the voice of _remorse_. + +To err is human; but _contrition_ felt for the crime distinguishes +the virtuous from the wicked. + +Christian _penitence_ is something more than a thought or an emotion +or a tear; it is action. + +_Repentance_ must be something more than mere _remorse_ for +sins; it comprehends a change of nature befitting heaven. + + +<Stubborn, obstinate, pertinacious, intractable, refractory, +contumacious>. + + For fools are _stubborn_ in their way, + As coins are harden'd by th' allay; + And _obstinacy's_ ne'er so stiff + As when 'tis in a wrong belief. + +They may also laugh at their _pertinacious_ and incurable obstinacy. + +He who is _intractable_, he whom nothing can persuade, may boast +himself invincible. + + There is a law in each well-order'd nation + To curb those raging appetites that are + Most disobedient and _refractory_. + +He then dissolved Parliament, and sent its most _refractory_ members +to the Tower. + +If he were _contumacious_, he might be excommunicated, or, in other +words, be deprived of all civil rights and imprisoned for life. + + +EXERCISE E + +The following list of synonyms is given for the convenience of those who +wish additional material with which to work. This is a selected list and +makes no pretense to completeness. It is suggested that you discriminate +the words within each of the following groups, and use each word +accurately in a sentence of your own making. + +Abettor, accessory, accomplice, confederate, conspirator. +Acknowledge, admit, confess, own, avow. +Active, agile, nimble, brisk, sprightly, spry, bustling. +Advise, counsel, admonish, caution, warn. +Affecting, moving, touching, pathetic. +Agnostic, skeptic, infidel, unbeliever, disbeliever. +Amuse, entertain, divert. +Announce, proclaim, promulgate, report, advertise, publish, bruit, blazon, +trumpet, herald. +Antipathy, aversion, repugnance, disgust, loathing. +Artifice, ruse, trick, dodge, manoeuver, wile, stratagem, subterfuge, +finesse. +Ascend, mount, climb, scale. +Associate, colleague, partner, helper, collaborator, coadjutor, companion, +helpmate, mate, team-mate, comrade, chum, crony, consort, accomplice, +confederate. +Attach, affix, annex, append, subjoin. +Attack, assail, assault, invade, beset, besiege, bombard, cannonade, +storm. + +Begin, commence, inaugurate, initiate, institute, originate, start, found. +Belief, faith, persuasion, conviction, tenet, creed. +Belittle, decry, depreciate, disparage. +Bind, secure, fetter, shackle, gyve. +Bit, jot, mite, particle, grain, atom, speck, mote, whit, iota, tittle, +scintilla. +Bluff, blunt, outspoken, downright, brusk, curt, crusty. +Boast, brag, vaunt, vapor, gasconade. +Body, corpse, remains, relics, carcass, cadaver, corpus. +Bombastic, sophomoric, turgid, tumid, grandiose, grandiloquent, +magniloquent. +Boorish, churlish, loutish, clownish, rustic, ill-bred. +Booty, plunder, loot, spoil. +Brittle, frangible, friable, fragile, crisp. +Building, edifice, structure, house. + +Call, clamor, roar, scream, shout, shriek, vociferate, yell, halloo, +whoop. +Calm, still, motionless, tranquil, serene, placid. +Care, concern, solicitude, anxiety. +Celebrate, commemorate, observe. +Charm, amulet, talisman. +Charm, enchant, fascinate, captivate, enrapture, bewitch, infatuate, +enamor. +Cheat, defraud, swindle, dupe. +Choke, strangle, suffocate, stifle, throttle. +Choose, pick, select, cull, elect. +Coax, wheedle, cajole, tweedle, persuade, inveigle. +Color, hue, shade, tint, tinge, tincture. +Combine, unite, consolidate, merge, amalgamate, weld, incorporate, +confederate. +Comfort, console, solace. +Complain, grumble, growl, murmur, repine, whine, croak. +Confirmed, habitual, inveterate, chronic. +Connect, join, link, couple, attach, unite. +Continual, continuous, unceasing, incessant, endless, uninterrupted, +unremitting, constant, perpetual, perennial. +Contract, agreement, bargain, compact, covenant, stipulation. +Copy, duplicate, counterpart, likeness, reproduction, replica, facsimile. +Corrupt, depraved, perverted, vitiated. +Costly, expensive, dear. +Coterie, clique, cabal, circle, set, faction, party. +Critical, judicial, impartial, carping, caviling, captious, censorious. +Crooked, awry, askew. +Cross, fretful, peevish, petulant, pettish, irritable, irascible, angry. +Crowd, throng, horde, host, mass, multitude, press, jam, concourse. +Curious, inquisitive, prying, meddlesome. + +Dainty, delicate, exquisite, choice, rare. +Danger, peril, jeopardy, hazard, risk. +Darken, obscure, bedim, obfuscate. +Dead, lifeless, inanimate, deceased, defunct, extinct. +Decay, decompose, putrefy, rot, spoil. +Deceit, deception, double-dealing, duplicity, chicanery, guile, treachery. +Deceptive, deceitful, misleading, fallacious, fraudulent. +Decorate, adorn, ornament, embellish, deck, bedeck, garnish, bedizen, +beautify. +Decorous, demure, sedate, sober, staid, prim, proper. +Deface, disfigure, mar, mutilate. +Defect, fault, imperfection, disfigurement, blemish, flaw. +Delay, defer, postpone, procrastinate. +Demoralize, deprave, debase, corrupt, vitiate. +Deportment, demeanor, bearing, port, mien. +Deprive, divest, dispossess, strip, despoil. +Despise, contemn, scorn, disdain. +Despondency, despair, desperation. +Detach, separate, sunder, sever, disconnect, disjoin, disunite. +Determined, persistent, dogged. +Devout, religious, pious, godly, saintly. +Difficulty, hindrance, obstacle, impediment, encumbrance, handicap. +Difficulty, predicament, perplexity, plight, quandary, dilemma, strait. +Dirty, filthy, foul, nasty, squalid. +Discernment, perception, penetration, insight, acumen. +Disgraceful, dishonorable, shameful, disreputable, ignominious, +opprobrious, scandalous, infamous. +Disgusting, sickening, repulsive, revolting, loathsome, repugnant, +abhorrent, noisome, fulsome. +Dispel, disperse, dissipate, scatter. +Dissatisfied, discontented, displeased, malcontent, disgruntled. +Divide, distribute, apportion, allot, allocate, partition. +Doctrine, dogma, tenet, precept. +Dream, reverie, vision, fantasy. +Drip, dribble, trickle. +Drunk, drunken, intoxicated, inebriated. +Dry, arid, parched, desiccated. + +Eat, bolt, gulp, gorge, devour. +Encroach, infringe, intrench, trench, intrude, invade, trespass. +End, conclude, terminate, finish, discontinue, close. +Enemy, foe, adversary, opponent, antagonist, rival. +Enough, adequate, sufficient. +Entice, inveigle, allure, lure, decoy, seduce. +Erase, expunge, cancel, efface, obliterate. +Error, mistake, blunder, slip. +Estimate, value, appreciate. +Eternal, everlasting, endless, deathless, imperishable, immortal. +Examination, inquiry, inquisition, investigation, inspection, +scrutiny, research, review, audit, inquest, autopsy. +Example, sample, specimen, instance. +Exceed, excel, surpass, transcend, outdo. +Expand, dilate, distend, inflate. +Expel, banish, exile, proscribe, ostracize. +Experiment, trial, test. +Explicit, exact, precise, definite. + +Faculty, gift, endowment, aptitude, attribute, talent, predilection, bent. +Failing, shortcoming, defect, fault, foible, infirmity. +Famous, renowned, celebrated, noted, distinguished, eminent, illustrious. +Fashion, mode, style, vogue, rage, fad. +Fast, rapid, swift, quick, fleet, speedy, hasty, celeritous, expeditious, +instantaneous. +Fasten, tie, hitch, moor, tether. +Fate, destiny, lot, doom. +Fawn, truckle, cringe, crouch. +Feign, pretend, dissemble, simulate, counterfeit, affect, assume. +Fiendish, devilish, diabolical, demoniacal, demonic, satanic. +Fertile, fecund, fruitful, prolific. +Fit, suitable, appropriate, proper. +Flame, blaze, flare, glare, glow. +Flat, level, even, plane, smooth, horizontal. +Flatter, blandish, beguile, compliment, praise. +Flexible, pliable, pliant, supple, limber, lithe, lissom. +Flit, flutter, flicker, hover. +Flock, herd, bevy, covey, drove, pack, brood, litter, school. +Flow, pour, stream, gush, spout. +Follow, pursue, chase. +Follower, adherent, disciple, partisan, henchman. +Fond, loving, doting, devoted, amorous, enamored. +Force, strength, power, energy, vigor, might, potency, cogency, efficacy. +Force, compulsion, coercion, constraint, restraint. +Free, liberate, emancipate, manumit, release, disengage, disentangle, +disembarrass, disencumber, extricate. +Freshen, refresh, revive, renovate, renew. +Friendly, amicable, companionable, hearty, cordial, neighborly, sociable, +genial, complaisant, affable. +Frighten, affright, alarm, terrify, terrorize, dismay, appal, daunt, +scare. +Frown, scowl, glower, lower. +Frugal, sparing, saving, economical, chary, thrifty, provident, +prudent. + +Game, play, amusement, pastime, diversion, fun, sport, entertainment. +Gather, accumulate, amass, collect, levy, muster, hoard. +Ghost, spirit, specter, phantom, apparition, shade, phantasm. +Gift, present, donation, grant, gratuity, bequest, boon, bounty, largess, +fee, bribe. +Grand, magnificent, gorgeous, splendid, superb, sublime. +Greet, hail, salute, address, accost. +Grief, sorrow, distress, affliction, trouble, tribulation, woe. +Grieve, lament, mourn, bemoan, bewail, deplore, rue. +Guard, defend, protect, shield, shelter, screen, preserve. + +Habitation, abode, dwelling, residence, domicile, home. +Harmful, injurious, detrimental, pernicious, deleterious, baneful, +noxious. +Have, possess, own, hold. +Headstrong, wayward, wilful, perverse, froward. +Help (noun), aid, assistance, succor. +Help (verb), assist, aid, succor, abet, second, support, befriend. +Hesitate, falter, vacillate, waver. +Hide, conceal, secrete. +High, tall, lofty, elevated, towering. +Hint, intimate, insinuate. +Hopeful, expectant, sanguine, optimistic, confident. +Hopeless, despairing, disconsolate, desperate. +Holy, sacred, hallowed, sanctified, consecrated, godly, pious, saintly, +blessed. + +Impolite, discourteous, inurbane, uncivil, rude, disrespectful, pert, +saucy, impertinent, impudent, insolent. +Importance, consequence, moment. +Impostor, pretender, charlatan, masquerader, mountebank, deceiver, +humbug, cheat, quack, shyster, empiric. +Imprison, incarcerate, immure. +Improper, indecent, indecorous, unseemly, unbecoming, indelicate. +Impure, tainted, contaminated, polluted, defiled, vitiated. +Inborn, innate, inbred, congenital. +Incite, instigate, stimulate, impel, arouse, goad, spur, promote. +Inclose, surround, encircle, circumscribe, encompass. +Increase, grow, enlarge, magnify, amplify, swell, augment. +Indecent, indelicate, immodest, shameless, ribald, lewd, lustful, +lascivious, libidinous, obscene. +Insane, demented, deranged, crazy, mad. +Insanity, dementia, derangement, craziness, madness, lunacy, mania, +frenzy, hallucination. +Insipid, tasteless, flat, vapid. +Intention, intent, purpose, plan, design, aim, object, end. +Interpose, intervene, intercede, interfere, mediate. +Irreligious, ungodly, impious, godless, sacrilegious, blasphemous, +profane. +Irritate, exasperate, nettle, incense. + +Join, connect, unite, couple, combine, link, annex, append. + +Kindle, ignite, inflame, rouse. + +Lack, want, need, deficiency, dearth, paucity, scarcity, deficit. +Lame, crippled, halt, deformed, maimed, disabled. +Large, great, big, huge, immense, colossal, gigantic, extensive, vast, +massive, unwieldy, bulky. +Laughable, comical, comic, farcical, ludicrous, ridiculous, funny, droll. +Lead, guide, conduct, escort, convoy. +Lengthen, prolong, protract, extend. +Lessen, decrease, diminish, reduce, abate, curtail, moderate, mitigate, +palliate. +Lie (noun), untruth, falsehood, falsity, fiction, fabrication, mendacity, +canard, fib, story. +Lie (verb), prevaricate, falsify, equivocate, quibble, shuffle, dodge, +fence, fib. +Likeness, resemblance, similitude, similarity, semblance, analogy. +Limp, flaccid, flabby, flimsy. +List, roll, catalogue, register, roster, schedule, inventory. +Loud, resonant, clarion, stentorian, sonorous. +Low, base, abject, servile, slavish, menial. +Loyal, faithful, true, constant, staunch, unwavering, steadfast. +Lurk, skulk, slink, sneak, prowl. + +Make, create, frame, fashion, mold, shape, form, forge, fabricate, invent, +construct, manufacture, concoct. +Manifest, plain, obvious, clear, apparent, patent, evident, perceptible, +noticeable, open, overt, palpable, tangible, indubitable, unmistakable. +Many, various, numerous, divers, manifold, multitudinous, myriad, +countless, innumerable. +Meaning, significance, signification, import, purport. +Meet, encounter, collide, confront, converge. +Meeting, assembly, assemblage, congregation, convention, conference, +concourse, gathering, mustering. +Melt, thaw, fuse, dissolve, liquefy. +Memory, remembrance, recollection, reminiscence, retrospection. +Misrepresent, misinterpret, falsify, distort, warp. +Mix, compound, amalgamate, weld, combine, blend, concoct. +Model, pattern, prototype, criterion, standard, exemplar, paragon, +archetype, ideal. +Motive, incentive, inducement, desire, purpose. +Move, actuate, impel, prompt, incite. + +Near, nigh, close, neighboring, adjacent, contiguous. +Neat, tidy, orderly, spruce, trim, prim. +Needful, necessary, requisite, essential, indispensable. +Negligence, neglect, inattention, inattentiveness, inadvertence, +remissness, oversight. +New, novel, fresh, recent, modern, late, innovative, unprecedented. +Nice, fastidious, dainty, finical, squeamish. +Noisy, clamorous, boisterous, hilarious, turbulent, riotous, obstreperous, +uproarious, vociferous, blatant, brawling. +Noticeable, prominent, conspicuous, salient, signal. + +Order (noun), command, mandate, behest, injunction, decree. +Order (verb), command, enjoin, direct, instruct. +Oversight, supervision, direction, superintendence, surveillance. + +Pale, pallid, wan, colorless, blanched, ghastly, ashen, cadaverous. +Patience, forbearance, resignation, longsuffering. +Penetrate, pierce, perforate. +Place, office, post, position, situation, appointment. +Plan, design, project, scheme, plot. +Playful, mischievous, roguish, prankish, sportive, arch. +Plentiful, plenteous, abundant, bounteous, copious, profuse, exuberant, +luxuriant. +Plunder, rifle, loot, sack, pillage, devastate, despoil. +Pretty, beautiful, comely, handsome, fair. +Profitable, remunerative, lucrative, gainful. +Prompt, punctual, ready, expeditious. +Pull, draw, drag, haul, tug, tow. +Push, shove, thrust. +Puzzle, perplex, mystify, bewilder. + +Queer, odd, curious, quaint, ridiculous, singular, unique, bizarre, +fantastic, grotesque. + +Rash, incautious, reckless, foolhardy, adventurous, venturous, +venturesome. +Rebellion, insurrection, revolt, mutiny, riot, revolution, sedition. +Recover, regain, retrieve, recoup, rally, recuperate. +Reflect, deliberate, ponder, muse, meditate, ruminate. +Relate, recount, recite, narrate, tell. +Replace, supersede, supplant, succeed. +Repulsive, unsightly, loathsome, hideous, grewsome. +Requital, retaliation, reprisal, revenge, vengeance, retribution. +Responsible, answerable, accountable, amenable, liable. +Reveal, disclose, divulge, manifest, show, betray. +Reverence, veneration, awe, adoration, worship. +Ridicule, deride, mock, taunt, flout, twit, tease. +Ripe, mature, mellow. +Rise, arise, mount, ascend. +Rogue, knave, rascal, miscreant, scamp, sharper, villain. +Round, circular, rotund, spherical, globular, orbicular. +Rub, polish, burnish, furbish, scour. + +Sad, grave, sober, moody, doleful, downcast, dreary, woeful, somber, +unhappy, woebegone, mournful, depressed, despondent, gloomy, melancholy, +heavy-spirited, sorrowful, dismal, dejected, disconsolate, miserable, +lugubrious. +Satiate, sate, surfeit, cloy, glut, gorge. +Scoff, jeer, gibe, fleer, sneer, mock, taunt. +Secret, covert, surreptitious, furtive, clandestine, underhand, stealthy. +Seep, ooze, infiltrate, percolate, transude, exude. +Sell, barter, vend, trade. +Shape, form, figure, outline, conformation, configuration, contour, +profile. +Share, partake, participate, divide. +Sharp, keen, acute, cutting, trenchant, incisive. +Shore, coast, littoral, beach, strand, bank. +Shorten, abridge, abbreviate, curtail, truncate, syncopate. +Show (noun), display, ostentation, parade, pomp, splurge. +Show, exhibit, display, expose, manifest, evince. +Shrink, flinch, wince, blench, quail. +Shun, avoid, eschew. +Shy, bashful, diffident, modest, coy, timid, shrinking. +Sign, omen, auspice, portent, prognostic, augury, foretoken, adumbration, +presage, indication. +Simple, innocent, artless, unsophisticated, naive. +Skilful, skilled, expert, adept, apt, proficient, adroit, dexterous, deft, +clever, ingenious. +Skin, hide, pelt, fell. +Sleepy, drowsy, slumberous, somnolent, sluggish, torpid, dull, lethargic. +Slovenly, slatternly, dowdy, frowsy, blowzy. +Sly, crafty, cunning, subtle, wily, artful, politic, designing. +Smile, smirk, grin. +Solitary, lonely, lone, lonesome, desolate, deserted, uninhabited. +Sour, acid, tart, acrid, acidulous, acetose, acerbitous, astringent. +Speech, discourse, oration, address, sermon, declamation, dissertation, +exhortation, disquisition, harangue, diatribe, tirade, screed, philippic, +invective, rhapsody, plea. +Spruce, natty, dapper, smart, chic. +Stale, musty, frowzy, mildewed, fetid, rancid, rank. +Steep, precipitous, abrupt. +Stingy, close, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, sordid, +Storm, tempest, whirlwind, hurricane, tornado, cyclone, typhoon +Straight, perpendicular, vertical, plumb, erect, upright. +Strange, singular, peculiar, odd, queer, quaint, outlandish. +Strong, stout, robust, sturdy, stalwart, powerful. +Stupid, dull, obtuse, stolid, doltish, sluggish, brainless, bovine. +Succeed, prosper, thrive, flourish, triumph. +Succession, sequence, series. +Supernatural, preternatural, superhuman, miraculous. +Suppose, surmise, conjecture, presume, imagine, fancy, guess, think, +believe. +Surprise, astonish, amaze, astound. +Swearing, cursing, profanity, blasphemy, execration, imprecation. + +Teach, instruct, educate, train, discipline, drill, inculcate, instil, +indoctrinate. +Thoughtful, contemplative, meditative, reflective, pensive, wistful. +Tire, weary, fatigue, exhaust, jade, fag. +Tool, implement, instrument, utensil. +Trifle, dally, dawdle, potter. +Try, endeavor, essay, attempt. +Trust, confidence, reliance, assurance, faith. +Turn, revolve, rotate, spin, whirl, gyrate. + +Ugly, homely, uncomely, hideous. +Unwilling, reluctant, disinclined, loath, averse. + +Watchful, vigilant, alert. +Wave (noun), billow, breaker, swell, ripple, undulation. +Wave (verb), brandish, flourish, flaunt, wigwag. +Weariness, languor, lassitude, enervation, exhaustion. +Wearisome, tiresome, irksome, tedious, humdrum. +Wet (adjective), humid, moist, damp, dank, sodden, soggy. +Wet (verb), moisten, dampen, soak, imbrue, saturate, drench +Whim, caprice, vagary, fancy, freak, whimsey, crotchet. +Wind, breeze, gust, blast, flaw, gale, squall, flurry. +Wind, coil, twist, twine, wreathe. +Winding, tortuous, serpentine, sinuous, meandering. +Wonderful, marvelous, phenomenal, miraculous. +Workman, laborer, artisan, artificer, mechanic, craftsman. +Write, inscribe, scribble, scrawl, scratch. + +Yearn, long, hanker, pine, crave. + + +EXERCISE F + +Write three synonyms for each of the following words. Discriminate the +three, and embody each of them in a sentence. + +Accomplish Conduct (noun) Humble Scream +Agree Conspicuous Indifferent Shrewd +Anger Cringe Misfortune Shudder +Attempt Difficult Obey Skill +Big Disconnect Object (noun) Soft +Brute Erratic Object (verb) Splash +Business Flash Obligation Success +Careless Fragrant Occupied Sweet +Climb Gain Oppose Trick +Collect Generous Persist Wash +Commanding Grim Revise Worship +Compel Groan Room + + +EXERCISE G + +Supply eight or ten intervening words between each of the following pairs. +Arrange the intervening words in an ascending scale. + +Dark, bright Wet, dry +Savage, civilized Beautiful, ugly +Friend, enemy Hope, despair +Wise, foolish Love, hate +Enormous, minute Admirable, abominable +Curse, bless Pride, humility + + + +IX + + MANY-SIDED WORDS + + +In Chapter VII you made a study of printed distinctions between synonyms. +In Chapter VIII you were given lists of synonyms and made the distinctions +yourself. Near the close of Chapter VIII you were given words and +discovered for yourself what their synonyms are. This third stage might +seem to reveal to you the full joys and benefits of your researches in +this subject. Certainly to find a new word for an old one is an +exhilarating sort of mental travel. And to find a new word which expresses +exactly what an old one expressed but approximately is a real acquisition +in living. But you are not yet a perfectly trained hunter of synonyms. +Some miscellaneous tasks remain; they will involve hard work and call your +utmost powers into play. + +Of these tasks the most important is connected with the hint already given +that many words, especially if they be generic words, have two or more +entirely different meanings. Let us first establish this fact, and +afterwards see what bearing it has on our study of synonyms. + +My friend says, "I hope you will have a good day." Does he mean an +enjoyable one in general? a profitable or lucrative one, in case I have +business in hand? a successful one, if I am selling stocks or buying a +house? Possibly he means a sunshiny day if I intend to play golf, a snowy +day if I plan to go hunting, a rainy day if my crops are drying up. The +ideas here are varied, even contradictory, enough; yet _good_ may be +used of every one of them. _Good_ is in truth so general a term that +we must know the attendant circumstances if we are to attach to it a +signification even approximately accurate. This does not at all imply that +_good_ is a term we may brand as useless. It implies merely that when +our meaning is specific we must set _good_ aside (unless +circumstances make its sense unmistakable) in favor of a specific word. + +_Things_ is another very general term. In "Let us wash up the things" +it likely means dishes or clothes. In "Hang your things in the closet" it +likely means clothes. In "Put the things in the tool-box" it likely means +tools. In "Put the things in the sewing-basket" it likely means thread, +needles, and scissors. In "The trenches are swarming with these things" it +likely means cooties. A more accurate word is usually desirable. Yet we +may see the value of the generality in the saying "A place for everything, +and everything in its place." + +_Good_ and _things_ are not alone in having multitudinous +meanings. There are in the language numerous many-sided words. These words +should be studied carefully. True, they are not always employed in +ambiguous ways. For example, _right_ in the sense of correct is +seldom likely to be mistaken for _right_ in the sense of not-left, +but a reader or hearer may frequently mistake it for _right_ in the +sense of just or of honorable. In the use of such words, therefore, we +cannot become too discriminating. + + +EXERCISE H + +This exercise concerns itself with common words that have more than one +meaning. Make your procedure as follows. First, look up the word itself. +Under it you will find a number of defining words. Then look up each of +these in turn, until you have the requisite number and kind of synonyms. +(The word is sure to have more synonyms than are called for.) You will +have to use your dictionary tirelessly. + +<Bare.> Find three synonyms for _bare_ as applied to the body; +three for it as applied to a room. + +<Bear.> Give three other words that might be used instead of +_bear_ in the sentence "The pillar bears a heavy weight"; three in +the sentence "He bore a heavy load on his back"; three in the sentence "He +bore the punishment that was unjustly meted out to him"; three in the +sentence "He bore a grudge against his neighbor"; two in the sentence "The +field did not bear a crop last year." + +<Bold.> Give ten synonyms for _bold_ as applied to a warrior; +ten as applied to a young girl. Observe that the synonyms in the first +list are favorable in import and suggest the idea of bravery, whereas +those in the second list are unfavorable and suggest the idea of +brazenness. How do you account for this fact? Can you think of +circumstances in which a young girl might be so placed that the favorable +synonyms might be applied to her? + +<Bright.> Give as many words as you can, at least twelve, that can be +used instead of _bright_ as applied to a light, a diamond, a wet +pavement, or a live coal. Give three words for _bright_ as applied to +a child of unusual intelligence; two as applied to an occasion that +promises to turn out well; two as applied to a career that has been +signally successful. + +<Clear.> Give five synonyms for clear as applied to water; ten as +applied to a fact or a statement; three as applied to the sky or +atmosphere; three as applied to the voice; two as applied to a passageway +or a view; three as applied to one's judgment or thinking. + +<Close.> Give three words that could be substituted for _close_ +as applied to the atmosphere in a room; four as applied to a person who is +uninclined to talk about a matter; three as applied to something not far +off; four as applied to a friend; five as applied to a person who is +reluctant to spend money; five as applied to a translation; five as +applied to attention or endeavor. + +<Discharge.> Substitute in turn four words for _discharge_ in +the sentence "The judge discharged the prisoner"; two in the sentence "The +foreman discharged the workman"; two in the sentence "The hunter +discharged the gun"; three in the sentence "The sore discharged pus"; two +in the sentence "My neighbor discharged the debt"; two in the sentence "He +discharged his duty." + +<Dull>. Name three words besides _dull_ that could be applied to +a blade or a point; five to a person with slow intellect; three to +indifference toward others; two to a color; three to a day that is not +cheerful; five to talk or discourse that is not interesting. + +<Fair>. Substitute five words for _fair_ in the sentence "He +gave a fair judgment in the case"; three in the sentence "The son made a +fair showing in his studies"; four in the sentence "She had a fair face"; +two in the sentence "Her complexion was fair"; three in the sentence "Let +no shame ever fall upon your fair name." + +<False>. Find two words that you can substitute for _false_ as +applied to a signature, to a report or a piece of news, to jewels or +money, to a friend. + +<Fast>. Name two words I might substitute for _fast_ in the +sentence "Drive the stake until it is fast in the ground"; three in the +sentence "He made a fast trip for the doctor"; six in the sentence "By +leading a fast life he soon squandered his inheritance." + +<Firm>. Substitute four words for _firm_ in the sentence "I made +the board firm by nailing it to the wall"; three in the sentence "The +water froze into a firm mass"; five in the sentence "He was firm in his +determination to proceed." + +<Flat>. Instead of _flat_ use in turn four other words in the +sentence "This is a flat piece of ground"; five in the sentence "It was as +flat a story as ever wearied company"; three in the sentence "The cook +having forgotten the salt, the soup was flat"; four in the sentence "I am +surprised by your flat refusal." + +<Free>. _Free_ may be applied to a person not subject to a tax +or a disease, to a person who has been released from confinement or +restraint, to a person who is not reserved or formal in his relations to +others, to a person who is willing to give. Out of your own resources +substitute as many words as you can for _free_ in each of these +sentences. Now look up _free_ in a dictionary or book of synonyms. +What proportion of its synonyms were you able to think up unaided? + +<Great>. Give three synonyms for _great_ as applied to size, to +number, to a man widely known for notable achievement, to an error or +crime, to price. + +<Hard>. Give six synonyms for _hard_ as applied to a rock; six +as applied to a task or burden; six as applied to a problem or situation; +ten as applied to one's treatment of others. + +<Harsh>. Give three words that can be applied instead of _harsh_ +to a sound; three that can be applied instead of _harsh_ to the +voice; five that can be applied to one's treatment of others; five that +can be applied to one's disposition or nature. + +<Just>. Substitute five words for _just_ in the sentence "You +are just in your dealings with others"; three in the sentence "A just +punishment was meted out to him"; three in the sentence "They made a just +division of the property"; two in the sentence "He had a just claim to the +title." + +<Plain>. Give six words that can be substituted for _plain_, as +applied to a fact or statement; four as applied to the decorations of a +room; two as applied to the countenance; four as applied to a surface; +three as applied to a statement or reply. + +<Poor>. Give five words that can be used instead of _poor_ as +applied to a person who is without money or resources; ten as applied to a +person lacking in flesh; three as applied to clothing that is worn out; +five as applied to land that will bear only small crops or no crops at +all; two as applied to an occasion that does not promise to turn out well. + +<Quick>. Give six words that could be used instead of _quick_ +as applied to a train or a horse in travel; six as applied to the +movements of a person about a room or to his actions in the performance of +his work; four to a disposition or temper that is easily irritated. + +<Serious>. Give five synonyms for _serious_ as applied to one's +countenance or expression; three as applied to a problem or undertaking; +two as applied to a disease or to sickness. + +<Sharp>. Give two synonyms for _sharp_ as applied to a blade or +a point; six as applied to a pain or to grief; four as applied to a remark +or reply; ten as applied to one's mind or intellect; three as applied to +temper or disposition; three as applied to an embankment; three as applied +to the seasoning of food; three as applied to a cry or scream. + +<Stiff>. Give six synonyms for _stiff_ as applied to an iron +rod; three as applied to an adversary; six as applied to one's manner or +bearing; two as applied to one's style of writing or speaking. + +<Strong>. Give three synonyms for _strong_ as applied to a +person in regard to his health; ten as applied to him in regard to his +muscularity of physique; four as applied to a fortress; three as applied +to a plea or assertion; three as applied to an argument or reason; three +as applied to determination; two as applied to liquor; three as applied to +a light; two as applied to corrective measures; two as applied to an odor. + +<Vain>. Give five synonyms for vain as applied to a man who +overvalues himself or his accomplishments; six as applied to an attempt +that comes to nothing; three as applied to hopes that have little chance +of fulfilment. + +<Weak>. Substitute five synonyms for _weak_ in the sentence "I +was very weak after my illness"; four in the sentence "The fortress was +especially weak on the side toward the plain"; three in the sentence "He +made a weak attempt to defend his actions"; three in the sentence "Many of +these arguments are weak"; three in the sentence "Hamlet is usually +interpreted as being weak of will"; three in the sentence "The liquor was +so weak it had no taste"; three in the sentence "The lace was weak and +soon tore." + +<Wild>. Give two words instead of _wild_ as applied to animals; +two as applied to land; three as applied to people who have not been +civilized; three as applied to a storm, an uncontrolled temper, or a mob; +three as applied to a scheme that has no basis in reason or practicality. + + +EXERCISE I + +In Exercise H you started with ideas and objects, and had to find words of +a given meaning that could be applied to them. In this exercise you start +with the words, and must find the ideas and objects. + +<Base>. To what is _base_ applied when inferior, cheap, +worthless could be used as its synonyms? To what is it applied when +debased, impure, spurious, alloyed, counterfeit could be used? When mean, +despicable, contemptible, shameful, disgraceful, dishonorable, +discreditable, scandalous, infamous, villainous, low-minded could be used? +When ignoble, servile, slavish, groveling, menial could be used? When +plebeian, obscure, untitled, vulgar, lowly, nameless, humble, unknown +could be used? + +<Mortal>. Can you properly contrast mortal with immortal existence? +mortal with porcine existence? Is porcine existence also mortal? Is mortal +existence also porcine? What adjective pertaining to mankind forms a true +contrast to _porcine_? What is a synonym for _mortal_ in its +broad sense? in its narrow sense? + +<Severe>. To what is _severe_ applied when harsh, stern, +rigorous, drastic, austere, hard could be substituted for it? When plain, +unembellished, unadorned, chaste could be substituted? When acute, +violent, extreme, intense, sharp, distressing, afflictive could be +substituted? When keen, cutting, biting, stinging, caustic, critical, +trenchant could be substituted? + + +EXERCISE J + +Reread the discussion of _good_ and _things_ in Many-sided +Words. Then for each of the words listed below collect or compose twenty +or more sentences in which the word is used. As largely as possible, take +them from actual experience. In doing this you must listen to the use of +the word in everyday talk. After you have made your list of sentences as +varied and extensive as you can, try to substitute synonyms that will +express the idea more accurately. Note whether a knowledge of the +attendant circumstances is necessary to an understanding of the original +word, to an understanding of the word substituted for it. + +Bad Fine Matter Affair +Nice Common Case Boost + + +EXERCISE K + +Analyze each of the words given below into its various uses or +applications. Then for it in each of these applications assemble as many +synonyms as you can unaided. Finally, have recourse to a dictionary or +book of synonyms for the further extension of your lists. + +(By way of illustration, let us take the word _quiet_. Through +meditation and analysis we discover that it may be applied (a) to water or +any liquid not in motion, (b) to a place that is without sound, (c) to a +place shut off from activity or bustle, (d) to a person who is not +demonstrative or forward in manner. We then think of all the words we can +that can be substituted for it in each of these uses. No matter how +incompletely or unsatisfactorily we feel we are performing this task, we +must not give it over until we have found every word we can summon. Then +we turn to a dictionary or book of synonyms. Thus for _quiet_ we +shall assemble such synonyms as (a) calm, still, motionless, placid, +tranquil, serene, smooth, unruffled, undisturbed, pacific, stagnant; +(b) silent, still, noiseless, mute, hushed, voiceless; (c) secluded, +sequestered, solitary, isolated, unfrequented, unvisited, peaceful, +untrodden, retired; (d) demure, sedate, staid, reserved, meek, gentle, +retiring, unobtrusive, modest, unassuming, timid, shrinking, shy.) + +Barren Keep Pure Solid +Certain Liberal Rare Sorry +Cold Light (adjective) Rich Spread +Cool Light (noun) Right Straight +Deep Long Rude Still +Dry Low Short Sure +Easy Mean Simple Thick +Foul Narrow Slow Thin +Full New Small Tender +Gentle Obscure Smooth True +Grand Odd Sober Warm +Heavy Particular Soft Yield +Keen + + +<Literal vs. Figurative Applications> + +One of the most interesting things to watch in the study of words is their +development from a literal to a figurative application. The first man who +broke away from the confines of the literal meaning of a word and applied +the word to something that only in a figurative sense had qualities +analogous to the original meaning, was creating poetry. He was making an +imaginative flight comparable in daring to the Wright brothers' first +aeronautic flight. But as the word was used over and over in this +figurative way the imaginative flight became more and more commonplace. At +last it ceased to be imaginative at all; through frequent repetition it +had settled into the matter of course. A glance back at the _Concise_ +group above will show you that with time the comparison which was once the +basis and the life of the figurative use of words is dulled, obscured, +even lost. + +As a further enforcement of this fact, let us analyze the word +_rough_. In its literal application, it may designate any surface +that has ridges, projections, or inequalities and is therefore uneven, +jagged, rugged, scraggy, or scabrous. Now frequently a man's face or head +is rough because unshaved or uncombed; also the fur of an animal is rough. +Hence the term could be used for unkempt, disheveled, shaggy, hairy, +coarse, bristly. "The child ran its hand over its father's rough cheek" +and "The bear had a rough coat" are sentences that even the most +unimaginative mind can understand. We speak of rough timber because its +surface has not been planed or made smooth. We speak of a rough diamond +because it is unpolished, uncut. Note that all these uses are literal, +that in each instance some unevenness of surface is referred to. + +But man, urged on by the desire to say what he means with more novelty, +strikingness, or force, applied the word to ideas that have no surfaces to +be uneven. He imagined what these ideas would be like if they had +surfaces. Of course in putting these conceptions into language he was +creating figures of speech, some of them startlingly apt, some of them +merely far-fetched. He said a man had a _rough_ voice, as though the +voice were like a cactus in its prickly irregularities. By _rough_ he +meant what his fellows meant when they spoke of the voice as harsh, +grating, jarring, discordant, inharmonious, strident, raucous, or +unmusical. Going farther, that early poet said the weather was +_rough_. He thought of clement weather as being smooth and even, but +of inclement, severe, stormy, tempestuous, or violent weather as being +full of projections to rend and harass one. Thus an everyday use of the +term today was once wrenched and immoderate speech. Possibly the first man +who heard of rough weather was puzzled for a moment, then amused or +delighted as he caught the figure. It did not require great originality to +think of a crowd as _rough_ in its movements. But our poet applied +the idea to an individual. To him a rude, uncivil, impolite, ungracious, +uncourteous, unpolished, uncouth, boorish, blunt, bluff, gruff, brusk, or +burly person was as the unplaned lumber or the unpolished gem; and we +imitative moderns still call such a man _rough_. But we do not think +of the man as covered with projections that need to be taken off, unless +forsooth we receive _rough_ treatment at his hands. And note how far +we have journeyed from the original idea of the word when we say "I gave +the report a _rough_ glance," meaning cursory, hasty, superficial, or +incomplete consideration. + +Many very simple words, including several of those already treated in this +chapter, are two-sided in that they are both literal and figurative. + + +EXERCISE L + +Trace each of the following words from its literal to its figurative +applications, giving synonyms for each of its uses. + +Open Bright Stiff Hard +Low Cool Sharp Flat +Keen Strong Dull Raw +Small Odd Warm Deep +Eccentric + + +<Imperfectly Understood Facts and Ideas> + +Thus far in this chapter we have been considering many-sided words. We +must now turn to a certain class of facts and ideas that deserve better +understanding and closer analysis than we usually accord them. + +These facts and ideas are supposed to be matters of common knowledge. And +in their broad scope and purport they are. Because acquaintance with them +is taken for granted it behooves us to know them. Yet they are in reality +complicated, and when we attempt to deal with them in detail, our +assurance forsakes us. All of us have our "blind sides" intellectually-- +quake to have certain areas of discussion entered, because we foresee that +we must sit idly by without power to make sensible comment. Unto as many +as possible of these blind sides of ourselves we should pronounce the +blessed words, "Let there be light." We have therefore to consider certain +matters and topics which are supposed to belong to the common currency of +social information, but with which our familiarity is less thoroughgoing +than it should be. + +What are these facts and topics? Take for illustration the subject of +aeronautics. Suppose we have but the vaguest conception of the part played +or likely to be played by aircraft in war, commerce, and pleasure. Suppose +we are not aware that some craft are made to float and others to be driven +by propellers. Suppose such terms as Zeppelin, blimp, monoplane, biplane, +hydroplane, dirigible have no definite import for us. Does not our +knowledge fall short of that expected of well-informed men in this present +age? + +Or take military terms. Everybody uses them--clergymen, pacifists, +clubmen, social reformers, novelists, tramps, brick-layers, Big-Stickers. +We cannot escape them if we would. We ourselves use them. But do we use +them with precise and masterly understanding? You call one civilian +colonel and another major; which have you paid the higher compliment? You +are uncertain whether a given officer is a colonel or a major, and you +wish to address him in such fashion as will least offend his sensitiveness +as to rank and nomenclature; which title--colonel or major--is the less +perilous? You are told that a major has command of a battalion; does that +tell you anything about him? You are told that he has command of a +squadron, of a brigade, of a platoon; do these changes in circumstances +have any import for you? If not, you have too faltering a grasp upon +military facts and terminology. + +The best remedy for such shortcomings is to be insatiably curious on all +subjects. This of course is the ideal; nobody ever fully attains it. +Nevertheless Exercise M will set you to groping into certain broad matters +relevant to ordinary needs. Thereafter, if your purpose be strong enough, +you will carry the same methods there acquired into other fields of +knowledge. + +You may object that all this is as much mental as linguistic--that what is +proposed will result in as large accessions of general information as of +vocabulary. Let this be admitted. Deficiencies of language are often, +perhaps almost invariably, linked with deficiencies of knowledge. +To repair the one we must at the same time repair the other. This may seem +a hard saying to those who seek, or would impart, mere glibness of phrase +without regard for the substance--who worship "words, words, words" +without thought of "the matter." There is such a thing as froth of +utterance, but who has respect therefor or is deceived thereby? Speech +that is not informed is like a house without a foundation. You should not +desire to possess it. Abroad in this world of ours already are too many +people who darken counsel by words without knowledge. + + +EXERCISE M + +A second lieutenant is the commissioned officer of lowest grade in the +United States army. Name all the grades from second lieutenant to the +grade that is highest. + +An admiral is the officer of highest grade in the United States navy. Name +all the grades down to that which is lowest. + +Name as many as possible of the different ranks of the clergy in the Roman +Catholic Church, in the Church of England. + +Give ascendingly the five titles in the British nobility. + +Name the different kinds of vehicles. + +Name the different kinds of schools. + +Name all the different kinds of boats and ships (both ancient and modern) +you can think of. + +Give the nautical term for the right side of a ship, for the left side of +a ship, for the front, for the rear, for the forward portion, for the rear +portion. + +Name the various kinds of bodies of water (oceans, rivers, lagoons, etc.) + +Give all the terms of relationship of persons, both by blood and by +marriage. What relation to you is your grandfather's brother? your +cousin's daughter? + +Name all the bones of the human head. + +Give the names of the different parts of a typical flower. + +Name as many elements as you can. What is the number usually given? What +was the last element discovered, and by whom? + +Name the elements of which water is composed. Name the principal elements +in the composition of the air. + +Make as long a list as possible (up to thirty) of words that appeal to the +sense of sight (especially color words and motion words), to the sense of +hearing, of smell, of taste, of touch. + +Find words descriptive of various expressions in the human face. + +Name all the terms you can associated with law, with medicine, with +geology. + +Name the planets, the signs of the zodiac, as many constellations as you +can. + +Name the seven colors of the spectrum, and for each name give all the +synonyms you can. What are the primary colors? the secondary colors? + +Give the various races into which mankind has been divided, and the color +of each. + +Name every kind of tree you can think of, every kind of flower, every kind +of animal, every kind of bird. + + + +X + + SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF WORDS + + +You have already mastered many words, but a glance at any page of the +dictionary will convince you that you have not mastered all. Nor will you, +ever. Their number is too great, and too many of them are abstrusely +technical. + +Nevertheless there remain many words that you should bring into your +vocabulary. Most of them are not extremely usual; on the other hand they +are not so unusual that you would encounter them but once in a lifetime. +The majority of them are familiar to you, perhaps; that is, you will have +a general feeling that you have seen them before. But this is not enough. +Do you know exactly what they mean? Can you, when the occasion comes, use +them?-use them promptly and well? This is the test. + +Many of the words are absolutely new so far as this book is concerned. +They have not been discussed or attached to any list. Many are not +entirely new. They have appeared, but not received such emphasis that they +are sure to stand fast in your memory. Or some cognate form of them may +have been mastered, yet they themselves may remain unknown. Thus you may +know _commendation_ but not _commendatory_, _credulous_ but not +_incredulity_, _invalid_ but not _invalidate_ or +_invalidity_. One of the best of all ways to extend your vocabulary +is to make each word of your acquaintance introduce you to its immediate +kinsmen, those grouped with it on the same page of the dictionary. + +This chapter puts you on your mettle. Hitherto you have been given +instructions as to the way to proceed, Now you must shift for yourself. +The words, to be sure, are corraled for you. But you must tame them and +break them, in order that on them you may ride the ranges of human +intercourse. If you have not yet learned how to subdue them to your will +and use, it would be futile to tell you how. You have been put in the way +of mastering words. The task that henceforth confronts you is your own. +You must have at it unaided. + +It is true that, in the exercise that follows, specific help is given you +on a limited number of the words. But this help is only toward discovering +the words for yourself before you have seen them in a list. And for most +of the words not even this meager assistance is given. + + +EXERCISE - Supplementary + +Each of the following groups of words is preceded by sentences in which +blanks should be filled by words from that group. But do your best to fill +these blanks properly before you consult the group at all. You must learn +to think of, or think up, the right word instead of having it pointed out +to you. + +These benefits were not inherent in the course he had taken; they were +purely ____. Anything which existed before Noah's flood is called ____. +His left hand, which had ceased to grow during his childhood, was now +withered from its long ____. Certain books once belonging to the Bible +have been discarded by the Protestants as ____. When Shakespeare makes +Hector quote Aristotle, who lived long after the siege of Troy, he is +guilty of an ____. Whatever causes the lips to pucker, as alum or a green +persimmon, is spoken of as ____. + +Abash, abbreviate, abduct, aberrant, aberration, abeyance, abhorrent, +abject, abjure, aboriginal, abortive, abrade, abrasion, abrogate, +absolution, abstemious, abstention, abstruse, accelerate, accentuate, +acceptation, accessary, accession, accessory, acclamation, acclivity, +accolade, accomplice, accost, acerbity, acetic, achromatic, acidulous, +acme, acolyte, acoustics, acquiescence, acquisitive, acrimonious, acumen, +adage, adamantine, addict, adduce, adhesive, adipose, adjudicate, +adolescence, adulation, adulterate, advent, adventitious, aerial, +affability, affidavit, affiliate, affinity, agglomerate, agglutinate, +aggrandizement, agnostic, alignment, aliment, allegorical, alleviate, +altercation, altruistic, amalgamate, amatory, ambiguity, ambrosial, +ameliorate, amenable, amenity, amity, amnesty, amulet, anachronism, +analytical, anathema, anatomy, animadversion, annotate, anomalous, +anonymous, antediluvian, anterior, anthology, anthropology, antinomy, +antiquarianism, antiseptic, aphorism, apocryphal, aplomb, apostasy, +apparatus, apparition, appellate, appertain, appetency, apposite, +approbation, appurtenance, aquatic, aqueous, aquiline, arbitrary, archaic, +arduous, aromatic, arrear, articulate, ascetic, asperity, asphyxiate, +asseverate, assiduity, assimilate, astringent, astute, atrophy, attenuate, +auditory, augury, auscultation, austerity, authenticate, authenticity, +auxiliary, avidity. + +The man wished to fight; he was in ____ mood. There is only a handful of +these things; yes, a mere ____. Slight mishaps like these lead to quips +and mutual ____. His conduct is odd, grotesque, ____. + +Baccalaureate, badinage, bagatelle, baleful, ballast, banality, baneful, +beatitude, bellicose, belligerent, benefaction, beneficent, benison, +betide, bibulous, bigotry, bizarre, bombastic, burlesque. + +This effect was not obtained all at once; it was ____. These subjects +belong to the same general field of knowledge as those; the two sets +are ____. He is a skilled judge of art, a ____. The Southern states were +unwilling to remain in the Union; they could be kept only by ____. Monks +take upon themselves the vow of ____. No, this animal does not live on +vegetation; it is a ____ animal. + +Cacophonous, cadaverous, cadence, callow, calumny, capillary, captious, +cardinal, carnal, carnivorous, castigate, cataclysm, catastrophe, +category, causality, cavernous, celebrity, celibacy, censorious, ceramics, +cerebration, certitude, cessation, charlatan, chimerical, chronology, +circuitous, circumlocution, citation, clandestine, clarify, clemency, +coadjutor, coagulate, coalesce, coercion, cogency, cognizant, cohesion, +coincidence, collusion, colossal, comatose, combustible, commendatory, +commensurate, commiserate, communal, compatibility, compendium, +complaisant, comport, composite, compulsive, compulsory, computation, +concatenate, concentric, concessive, concomitant, condign, condiment, +condolence, confiscatory, confute, congeal, congenital, conglomerate, +congruity, connivance, connoisseur, connubial, consensus, consistence, +consort, constriction, construe, contentious, context, contiguity, +contiguous, contingent, contortion, contravene, contumacious, contumacy, +contumelious, convergent, conversant, convivial, correlate, corrigible, +corroborate, corrosive, cosmic, covenant, crass, credence, crescent, +criterion, critique, crucial, crucible, cryptic, crystalline, culmination, +culpable, cumulative, cupidity, cursive, cursory, cutaneous, cynosure. + +His course was not prescribed for him by superiors; his powers were ____. +The suppression of these anarchistic tendencies has required ____ +measures. She was just entering society, and was proving herself a popular +____. Yes, this tree loses its leaves every year; it is a ____ tree. He +pretends that his ____ are sound, because he can read the stars. + +Debilitate, debonair, debutante, decadence, decapitate, deciduous, +declivity, decompose, decorous, dedicatory, deduction, deferential, +deficiency, deglutition, dehiscence, delectable, delete, deleterious, +delineate, deliquescent, demarcation, demimonde, demoniac, denizen, +denouement, deprecate, depreciate, derelict, derogatory, despicable, +desuetude, desultory, deteriorate, diacritical, diagnosis, diaphanous, +diatribe, didactic, diffusive, dilatory, dilettante, dipsomania, +dirigible, discommode, discretionary, discursive, disintegrate, disparity, +dispensable, disseminate, dissimulation, dissonant, distain, divagation, +divination, divulge, dolor, dorsal, drastic, dubiety, duress, dynamic. + +These facts do not circulate except among a limited group of people; they +are therefore ____. The departure of the children of Israel from Egypt was +a general ____. His philosophy, instead of conforming to a single system, +was ____. Lamb wrote admirable letters; he has a delightful ____ style. +The period at which our days and nights are of equal length is the ____ +period. + +Ebullient, ecclesiastical, echelon, eclectic, ecstatic, edict, eerie, +effervescent, efficacious, effrontery, effulgence, effusion, egregious, +eleemosynary, elicit, elite, elucidate, embellish, embryonic, emendation, +emissary, emission, emollient, empiric, empyreal, emulous, encomium, +endue, enervate, enfilade, enigmatic, ennui, enunciate, environ, epicure, +epigram, episode, epistolary, epitome, equestrian, equilibrium, +equinoctial, equity, equivocate, eradicate, erosion, erotic, erudition, +eruptive, eschew, esoteric, espousal, estrange, ethereal, eulogistic, +euphonious, evanescent, evangelical, evict, exacerbate, excerpt, +excommunicate, excoriate, excruciate, execrable, exegesis, exemplary, +exhalation, exhilarate, exigency, exodus, exonerate, exorbitant, exotic, +expectorate, expeditious, explicable, explicit, expunge, extant, +extemporaneous, extrinsic. + +He deceives himself by this argument, for the argument is utterly ____. +No complicated action can be planned in absolute detail; much must depend +on ____ circumstance. + +Fabricate, fabulous, facetious, factitious, fallacious, fallible, +fastidious, fatuous, feasible, feculence, fecundity, felicitous, +felonious, fetid, feudal, fiducial, filament, filtrate, finesse, flaccid, +flagitious, floriculture, florid, fluctuate, foible, forfeiture, +fortuitous, fractious, franchise, frangible, frontal, froward, furtive. + +The advice was both unasked and unwelcome; it was purely ____. Throughout +the World War the ____ of Germany over the other Central European powers +was unquestioned. Buffaloes naturally go together in herds; they are ____. + +Galaxy, galleon, garrulity, gesticulate, gormand, granivorous, +grandiloquent, gravamen, gratuitous, gregarious, habitue, hallucination, +harbinger, hardihood, heckle, hectic, hedonist, hegemony, heinous, +herbivorous, heretic, hermaphrodite, heterodox, heterogeneous, hibernate. +histrionic, hoidenism, homiletics, homogeneous, hydraulic, hypothesis. + +We cannot understand God's ways; they are ____. Nor need we expect to +change them; they are ____. If an animal has no backbone, it is ____. A +boy so confirmed in his faults that we cannot correct them is ____. + +Idiosyncrasy, illicit, immaculate, immanent, imminent, immobile, immure, +immutable, impalpable, impeccable, impecunious, imperturbable, impervious, +implacable, implicit, impolitic, imponderable, importunate, imprecation, +impromptu, improvise, imputation, inadvertent, inamorata, inanity, +incarcerate, inchoate, incidence, incision, incongruent, inconsequential, +incontinent, incorporeal, incorrigible, incredulity, incumbent, +indecorous, indigenous, indigent, indite, indomitable, ineluctable, +inexorable, inexplicable, inferential, infinitesimal, infinitude, +infraction, infusion, inhibit, innocuous, innuendo, inopportune, +insatiable, inscrutable, insidious, inspissated, insulate, intangible, +integral, integument, interdict, internecine, intractable, intransigent, +intrinsic, inure, invalidate, inveigh, inveigle, invertebrate, invidious, +irrefragable, irrefutable, irrelevant, irreparable, irrevocable, iterate. + +He overpraised people; he was always engaged in extravagant ____ of +somebody or other. The small man who has written a book becomes +pretentious at once and regards himself as one of the ____. Thatcher is +always engaged in lawsuits; he is the most ____ man I ever saw. + +Jocose, jocund, jurisprudence, juxtaposition, kaleidoscopic, labyrinth, +lacerate, lackadaisical, lacrimal, laity, lambent, lampoon, largess, +lascivious, laudable, laudation, lavation, legionary, lethargic, +licentious, lineal, lingual, literati, litigious, loquacity, lubricity, +lucent, lucre, lucubration, lugubrious. + +Those soldiers are fighting, not for principle, but for pay; they are +____. Iron that is not heated cannot be hammered into shape; it is not +____. + +Machination, macrocosm, magisterial, magniloquent, maladroit, malfeasance, +malignity, malleable, mandate, matutinal, medieval, mephitic, mercenary, +mercurial, meretricious, metamorphose, meticulous, microcosm, +misanthropic, misogyny, misprision, mitigate, monitor, mortuary, +mundane, mutable. + +It is a government by the few; therefore an ____. All the men of influence +in the state give offices to their kinsmen; the system is one of ____. +Yes, grandfather is eighty years old today; he has become an ____. + +Nebulous, nefarious, negation, neophyte, nepotism, neurotic, noisome, +nomenclature, nonchalant, non sequitur, nucleus, nugatory, obdurate, +objurgation, obligatory, obloquy, obsequious, obsession, obsolete, +obstreperous, obtrusive, obtuse, obverse, obviate, occult, octogenarian, +officious, olfactory, oleaginous, oligarchy, ominous, onomatopceia, +opacity, opaque, opprobrious, oracular, orthodox, oscillate, osculate, +ostensible, ostentation, ostracize, outré, ovation, overture. + +In England the eldest son inherits the title and the estate, but Americans +do not take to a system of ____. You are always putting off until tomorrow +what you could do today; do you think it pays to ____ thus? An ambassador +whose powers are unlimited is called an ambassador ____. Beasts or men +that are given to plundering are ____. + +Pabulum, pageantry, paginate, palatial, palliate, palpable, panacea, +panegyric, panorama, paradoxical, paramount, parasite, parochial, +paroxysm, parsimonious, parturition, patois, patriarchal, patrician, +patrimony, peccadillo, pecuniary, pedantic, pellucid, pendulous, +penultimate, penurious, peregrination, perfunctory, peripatetic, +periphery, persiflage, perspicacious, perspicuity, pertinacious, +pharmaceutic, phenomenal, phlegmatic, phraseology, pictorial, piquant, +pique, plagiarize, platitudinous, platonic, plebeian, plenipotentiary, +plethora, pneumatic, poignant, polity, poltroon, polyglot, pontifical, +portentous, posterior, posthumous, potent, potential, pragmatic, preamble, +precarious, precocious, precursor, predatory, predestination, predicament, +preemptory, prelate, preliminary, preposterous, prerequisite, prerogative, +presentiment, primogeniture, probation, probity, proclivity, +procrastinate, prodigal, prodigious, prodigy, profligate, progenitor, +proletarian, prolific, prolix, promiscuous, promissory, propaganda, +propensity, prophylactic, propinquity, propitiatory, propitious, +proprietary, prorogue, proselyte, prototype, protuberant, provender, +proximity, prurient, psychical, psychological, puerile, pugnacious, +puissant, punctilious, pungent, punitive, pusillanimous, putrescent, +pyrotechnics. + +The coil of wire, being ____, instantly resumed its original shape. Some +one must arrange these papers for publication; will you be their ____? +Poe's mind had a bent toward ____: it could reason out a whole chain of +circumstances from one or two known facts. He showed a disposition not to +comply with these instructions; yes, he was ____. + +Rabbinical, rancorous, rapacious, ratiocination, rational, raucous, +recalcitrant, recant, recapitulate, recession, reciprocal, reciprocate, +recluse, recondite, recreant, recrudescence, rectilinear, rectitude, +recumbent, redactor, redress, redound, refractory, refulgent, rejuvenate, +relevant, rendezvous, rendition, reparation, repercussion, repertory, +replenish, replete, replevin, reprehend, reprobate, repulsive, requisite, +rescind, residue, residuum, resilient, resplendent, resurgence, +resuscitate, reticulate, retribution, retrograde, retrospect, rigorous, +risible, rodomontade, rudimentary, ruminate. + +His position carries no responsibility; it is a ____. The moon revolves +about the earth, and is therefore the earth's ____. His work keeps him at +his desk all day; it is ____ work. Your words incite men to disorder and +rebellion; they are ____. + +Saccharine, sacerdotal, sacrament, sacrilege, salient, salubrious, +sardonic, satellite, saturnine, schism, scurrilous, sectarian, secular, +sedative, sedentary, seditious, sedulous, segregate, seismograph, +senescent, sententious, septuagenarian, sequester, sibilant, similitude, +sinecure, sinuous, solicitous, solstice, somnolent, sophisticated, +sophistry, sorcery, spasmodic, specious, spirituelle, splenetic, +spontaneity, sporadic, spurious, stipend, stipulate, stoical, stricture, +stringency, stultify, stupendous, sublimity, suborn, subpoena, subsidiary, +subsidy, substratum, subtend, subterfuge, subterranean, subvention, +subvert, sudorific, supercilious, supernal, supervene, supine, +supposititious, surreptitious, surrogate, surveillance, susceptible, +sustenance, sycophantic, syllogism, sylvan, symmetrical, symposium, +synchronize, synonymous, synopsis, synthesis. + +The small stream flows into the larger one and is its ____. The thick +glass roof lets through sufficient light for us to see by; it is ____. You +will not find him hard to manage; he has spirit enough, yet is ____. + +Tactile, tangible, tantamount, temerity, tenable, tenacious, tentative, +tenuous, termagant, terrestrial, testimentary, thaumaturgic, therapeutic, +titular, torso, tortuous, tractable, traduce, transcendent, +transfiguration, transient, transitory, translucent, transverse, travesty, +tribulation, tributary, truculent, truncate, turbid, turpitude, tyro. + +He is so extravagantly fond of his wife that I should call him ____. +Christ died for others; it was a ____ death. The most notable quality in +Defoe's narrative is its likeness to actual facts, or in a word, its ____. + +Ubiquity, ulterior, ululation, umbrage, unanimous, undulate, urbanity, +usurious, uxorious, vacillate, vacuous, vandalism, variegate, velocity, +venal, venereal, venial, venous, veracious, verdant, verisimilitude, +vernacular, versatile, vestal, vibratory, vicarious, vicissitude, +virulence, viscid, viscous, vitiate, vitreous, vituperate, vivacious, +volatile, volition, voluminous, voluptuary, voluptuous, voracious, votive, +vulnerable, whimsical, zealot. + + + +XI + + RETROSPECT + + +DO you never, while occupying a dental chair and deploring the necessity +that drives you to that uncomfortable seat, admire the skill of the +dentist in the use of his instruments? A great many of these instruments +lie at his hand. To you they appear bewildering, so slightly different are +they from each other. Yet with unerring readiness the dentist lays hold of +the one he needs. Now this facility of his is not a blessing with which a +gracious heaven endowed him. It is the consequence and reward of hard +study, and above all of work, hard work. + +You have been ambitious of like skill in the manipulation of words. Had +you not been, you would never have undertaken this study. You have +perceived that when you speak or write, words are your instruments. You +have wished to learn how to use them. Now for every idea you shall ever +have occasion to express await throngs of vocables, each presenting its +claims as a fit medium. These you must pass in instantaneous review, these +you must expertly appraise, out of these you must choose the words that +will best serve your purpose. With practice, you will make your selections +unconsciously. You will never, of course, quite attain the infallibility +of the dentist; for linguistic instruments are more numerous than dental, +and far more complex. But you will more and more nearly approximate the +ideal, will more and more nearly find that right expression has become +second nature with you. + +All this is conditioned upon labor faithful and steadfast. Without labor +you will never be adept. At the outset of our study together we warned you +that, though we should gather the material and point the way, you yourself +must do the work. This book is not one to glance through. It is one to +dwell with, to toil with. It exacts much of you--makes you, for each page +you turn, pay with the sweat of your brain. + +But, assuming that you have done your part, what have you gained? Without +answering this question at all fully, we may at this juncture engage in a +brief retrospect. + +First of all, you have rid yourself of the notion that words are dead +things, unrealities worthy of no more than wooden and mechanical +employment. As much as anything else in the world, words are alive and +responsive, are fraught with unmeasured possibilities of good or ill. +You have taken due cognizance of the fact that words must be considered in +the aggregate as well as individually, and have reckoned with the pitfalls +and dangers as well as with the advantages of their use in combination. +But the basis of everything is a keener knowledge of words severally. You +have therefore come to study words with the zest and insight you exhibit +(or should exhibit) in studying men. Incidentally, you have acquired the +habit of looking up dictionary definitions, not merely to satisfy a +present need, but also to add permanently to your linguistic resources. + +You have carried the study of individuals farther. You have come to know +words inside and out. Such knowledge not only assists you in your dealings +with your contemporaries; it illuminates for you great literature of the +past that otherwise would remain obscure. How much keener, for example, is +your understanding of Shakespeare's passage on the Seven Ages of Man +because of your thorough acquaintance with the single word +_pantaloon_! How quickly does the awe for big words slip from you +when you perceive that _precocious_ is in origin the equivalent of +_half-baked_! What intimacy of insight into words you feel when you +find that a _companion_ is a _sharer of one's bread_! What a +linking of language with life you discover when you learn the original +signification of _presently_, of _idiot_, of _rival_, of +_sandwich_, of _pocket handkerchief_! And what revelations as +into a mystic fraternalism with words do you obtain when you confront +such a phrase as "the bank _teller_" or "cut to the _quick_"! + +Not only have words become more like living beings to you; you have +learned to think of them in relations analogous to the human. You can +detect the blood kinship, for example, between _prescribe_ and +_manuscript_, and know that the strain of _fact_ or _fie_ or _fy_ in +a word is pretty sure to betoken making or doing. You know that there are +elaborate intermarriages among words. You recognize _phonograph_, for +example, as a married couple; you even have confidential word as to the +dowry brought by each of the contracting parties to the new verbal +household. + +You have discovered, further, that the language actually swarms with +"pairs"--words joined with each other not in blood or by marriage but +through meaning. You have so familiarized yourself with hundreds of these +pairs that to think of one word is to call the other to mind. + +Finally, and in many respects most important of all, you have acquired a +vast stock of synonyms. You have had it brought to your attention that the +number of basic ideas in the world is surprisingly small; that for each of +these ideas there is in our language one generic word; that most people +use this one word constantly instead of seeking the subsidiary term that +expresses a particular phase of the idea; and that you as a builder of +your vocabulary must, while holding fast to the basic idea with one hand, +reach out with the other for the fit, sure material of specific words. Nor +have you rested in the mere perception of theory. You have had abundant +practice, have yourself covered the ground foot by foot. You can therefore +proceed with reasonable freedom from the commoner ideas of the human mind +to that expression of definite aspects of them which is anything but +common. + +You have not, of course, achieved perfection. There still is much for you +to do. There always will be. Nevertheless in the ways just reviewed, and +in various other ways not mentioned in this chapter, you have made +yourself verbally rich. You are one of the millionaires of language. When +you speak, it is not with stammering incompetence, but with confident +readiness. When you write, it is with energy and assurance in the very +flow of the ink. Where you had long been a slave, you have become a +freeman and can look your fellows in the eye. You have the best badge of +culture a human being can possess. You have power at your tongue's end. +You have the proud satisfaction of having wrought well, and the +inspiration of knowing that whatever verbal need may arise, you are +trained and equipped to grapple with it triumphantly. + + + +APPENDICES + + +_Appendix I_ + + THE DRIFT OF OUR RURAL POPULATION CITYWARD + (An editorial) + +To an individual who from whatever motives of personal advantage or mere +curiosity has made himself an observer of current tendencies, the drift of +our rural population cityward gives food for serious reflection. This +drift is one of the most pronounced of the social and economic phenomena +of the day. Its consequences upon the life, welfare, and future of the +great nation to which we are proud to acknowledge our whole-hearted +allegiance are matters of such paramount importance to all concerned that +we should turn aside more often than we do from the distracting exactions +of our ordinary activities to give them prolonged and earnest +consideration. + +A generation or so ago human beings were content to spend the full term of +their earthly existence amid rural surroundings, or if in their declining +days they longed for more of the comforts and associations which are among +the cravings of mortality, it was an easy proposition to move to the +nearest village or, if they were too high and mighty for this simple +measure to satisfy them, they could indulge in the more grandiose +performance of residing in the county seat. But nowadays our people want +more. Rich or poor, tall or dumpy, tottering grandmothers or babies in +swaddling-clothes, they long for ampler pastures. Their brawny arms or +hoary heads must bedeck nothing less than the metropolis itself, and +perchance put shoulders to the wheel in the incessant grind of the urban +treadmill. Can you beat it? Unquestioned profit does not attend the +migration. It stands to reason that some of the very advantages sought +have been sacrificed on the altar of the drift cityward. Let us say you +have your individual domicile or the cramped and sunless apartment you dub +your habitation within corporate limits. Does that mean that the +privileges of the city are at your disposal, so that you have merely to +reach forth your hand and pluck them? Well, hardly! You certainly do not +reside in the downtown section, or if you do, you wish to heaven you +didn't. And you can reach this section only with delay and inconvenience, +whether in the hours of business or in the subsequent period devoted to +the glitter of nocturnal revelry and amusement. + +But whatever the disadvantages of the city, the people who endure them are +convinced that to go back to the vines and figtrees of their native heath +would be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Why? Well, for one +thing, there is no such thing as leisure in the areas that lie beyond +those vast aggregations of humanity which constitute our cities. Not only +are there innumerable and seemingly interminable chores that must follow +the regular occupations of the day, but a thousand emergencies due to +chance, weather, or the natural cussedness of things must be disposed of +as they arise, regardless of what plans the rustic swain cherishes for the +use of his spare time. Urban laborers have contrived by one means or +another to bring about a limitation of the number of hours per diem they +are forced to toil. To the farmers such an alleviation of their hardships +is not within the realm of practicability. They kick about it of course. +They say it's a blooming nuisance. But neither their heartburnings nor +their struggles can efface it as a fact. + +Again, the means of entertainment are more limited, and that by a big lot, +with the farmer than with those who dwell in the cities. It is all very +well to talk about the blessings of the rural telephone, rural free +delivery, and the automobile. These things do make communication easier +than it used to be, but after all they're only a drop in the bucket and do +little to stop the drift cityward. We may remark just here that if you +live a thousand miles from nowhere and are willing to drive your Tin +Lizzie into town for "the advantages," you aren't likely to get much even +along the line of the movies, and you'll get less still if what you're +after is an A-1 school for your progeny. + +Finally, the widespread impression that the farmer is a bloated and +unscrupulous profiteer has done much to disgust him with his station and +employment in life. We don't say he's the one and only when it comes to +the virtues. Maybe he hasn't sprouted any wings yet. What if he hasn't? +The cities, with their brothels, their big business, and their municipal +governments--you wouldn't have the face to say that there's anything wrong +with them, now would you? Oh, no! Of course not! The farmer pays high for +his machinery and goes clear to the bottom of his pocketbook when he has +to buy shoes or a sack of flour, but let him have a steer's hide or a +wagon load of wheat to sell, and it's somebody else's ox that's gored. +Consumers pay big prices for farm products, goodness knows, but they don't +pay them to the farmer. Not on your tintype. The middleman gets his, you +needn't question that. We beg pardon a thousand times. We mean the +middle_men_. There's no end to those human parasites. + +And so farmer after farmer breaks up the old homestead and contributes his +mite to the drift cityward. What will be the result that comes out of it +all? The effect upon the farmer deserves an editorial all to itself. Here +we must limit ourselves to the effects on the future of our beloved +American nation. And even these we can now do no more than mention; we +lack space to elaborate them. One effect, if the tendency continues, will +be such a reduction in home-produced foodstuffs that we shall have to +import from other countries lying abroad a good portion of the means of +our physical sustenance, and shall face such an increase in the cost of +the same that thousands and thousands of our people will find it +increasingly harder as the years pass by to maintain their relative +economic position. Another effect will be that our civilization, which to +this point has sprawled over broad acres, will become an urban +civilization, penned in amid conditions, restraints, privations, and +perhaps also opportunities unprecedented in our past history and unknown +to the experience we have had hitherto. A final effect will be that our +most conservative class, the rural populace, will no longer present +resistance that is formidable to the innovations which those who hold +extreme views are forever exhorting us to embrace; and the result may well +be that the disintegration of this staying and stabilizing element in our +citizenship--one that retards and mollifies if it does not inhibit +change--will produce consequences in its train which may be as dire as +they are difficult to foretell. + + +_Appendix_ 2 + + CAUSES FOR THE AMERICAN SPIRIT OF LIBERTY + (From the _Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies_) + By EDMUND BURKE + +In this character of the Americans, a love of freedom is the predominating +feature which marks and distinguishes the whole; and as an ardent is +always a jealous affection, your Colonies become suspicious, restive, and +untractable whenever they see the least attempt to wrest from them by +force, or shuffle from them by chicane, what they think the only advantage +worth living for. This fierce spirit of liberty is stronger in the English +Colonies probably than in any other people of the earth, and this from a +great variety of powerful causes; which, to understand the true temper of +their minds and the direction which this spirit takes, it will not be +amiss to lay open somewhat more largely. + +First, the people of the Colonies are descendants of Englishmen. England, +Sir, is a nation which still, I hope, respects, and formerly adored, her +freedom. The Colonists emigrated from you when this part of your character +was most predominant; and they took this bias and direction the moment +they parted from your hands. They are therefore not only devoted to +liherty, but to liberty according to English ideas, and on English +principles. Abstract liberty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be +found. Liberty inheres in some sensible object; and every nation has +formed to itself some favorite point, which by way of eminence becomes the +criterion of their happiness. It happened, you know, Sir, that the great +contests for freedom in this country were from the earliest times chiefly +upon the question of taxing. Most of the contests in the ancient +commonwealths turned primarily on the right of election of magistrates; or +on the balance among the several orders of the state. The question of +money was not with them so immediate. But in England it was otherwise. On +this point of taxes the ablest pens, and most eloquent tongues, have been +exercised; the greatest spirits have acted and suffered. In order to give +the fullest satisfaction concerning the importance of this point, it was +not only necessary for those who in argument defended the excellence of +the English Constitution to insist on this privilege of granting money as +a dry point of fact, and to prove that the right had been acknowledged in +ancient parchments and blind usages to reside in a certain body called a +House of Commons. They went much farther; they attempted to prove, and +they succeeded, that in theory it ought to be so, from the particular +nature of a House of Commons as an immediate representative of the people, +whether the old records had delivered this oracle or not. They took +infinite pains to inculcate, as a fundamental principle, that in all +monarchies the people must in effect themselves, mediately or immediately, +possess the power of granting their own money, or no shadow of liberty can +subsist. The Colonies draw from you, as with their life-blood, these ideas +and principles. Their love of liberty, as with you, fixed and attached on +this specific point of taxing. Liberty might be safe, or might be +endangered, in twenty other particulars, without their being much pleased +or alarmed. Here they felt its pulse; and as they found that beat, they +thought themselves sick or sound. I do not say whether they were right or +wrong in applying your general arguments to their own case. It is not +easy, indeed, to make a monopoly of theorems and corollaries. The fact is, +that they did thus apply those general arguments; and your mode of +governing them, whether through lenity or indolence, through wisdom or +mistake, confirmed them in the imagination that they, as well as you, had +an interest in these common principles. + +They were further confirmed in this pleasing error by the form of their +provincial legislative assemblies. Their governments are popular in an +high degree; some are merely popular; in all, the popular representative +is the most weighty; and this share of the people in their ordinary +government never fails to inspire them with lofty sentiments, and with a +strong aversion from whatever tends to deprive them of their chief +importance. + +If anything were wanting to this necessary operation of the form of +government, religion would have given it a complete effect. Religion, +always a principle of energy, in this new people is no way worn out or +impaired; and their mode of professing it is also one main cause of this +free spirit. The people are Protestants; and of that kind which is the +most adverse to all implicit submission of mind and opinion. This is a +persuasion not only favorable to liberty, but built upon it. I do not +think, Sir, that the reason of this averseness in the dissenting churches +from all that looks like absolute government is so much to be sought in +their religious tenets, as in their history. Every one knows that the +Roman Catholic religion is at least coeval with most of the governments +where it prevails; that it has generally gone hand in hand with them, and +received great favor and every kind of support from authority. The Church +of England too was formed from her cradle under the nursing care of +regular government. But the dissenting interests have sprung up in direct +opposition to all the ordinary powers of the world, and could justify that +opposition only on a strong claim to natural liberty. Their very existence +depended on the powerful and unremitted assertion of that claim. All +Protestantism, even the most cold and passive, is a sort of dissent. But +the religion most prevalent in our Northern Colonies is a refinement on +the principle of resistance; it is the dissidence of dissent, and the +protestantism of the Protestant religion. This religion, under a variety +of denominations agreeing in nothing but in the communion of the spirit of +liberty, is predominant in most of the Northern Provinces, where the +Church of England, notwithstanding its legal rights, is in reality no more +than a sort of private sect, not composing most probably the tenth of the +people. The Colonists left England when this spirit was high, and in the +emigrants was the highest of all; and even that stream of foreigners which +has been constantly flowing into these Colonies has, for the greatest +part, been composed of dissenters from the establishments of their several +countries, who have brought with them a temper and character far from +alien to that of the people with whom they mixed. + +Sir, I can perceive by their manner that some gentlemen object to the +latitude of this description, because in the Southern Colonies the Church +of England forms a large body, and has a regular establishment. It is +certainly true. There is, however, a circumstance attending these Colonies +which, in my opinion, fully counterbalances this difference, and makes the +spirit of liberty still more high and haughty than in those to the +northward. It is that in Virginia and the Carolinas they have a vast +multitude of slaves. Where this is the case in any part of the world, +those who are free are by far the most proud and jealous of their freedom. +Freedom is to them not only an enjoyment, but a kind of rank and +privilege. Not seeing there, that freedom, as in countries where it is a +common blessing and as broad and general as the air, may be united with +much abject toil, with great misery, with all the exterior of servitude; +liberty looks, amongst them, like something that is more noble and +liberal. I do not mean, Sir, to commend the superior morality of this +sentiment, which has at least as much pride as virtue in it; but I cannot +alter the nature of man. The fact is so; and these people of the Southern +Colonies are much more strongly, and with an higher and more stubborn +spirit, attached to liberty than those to the northward. Such were all the +ancient commonwealths; such were our Gothic ancestors; such in our days +were the Poles; and such will be all masters of slaves, who are not slaves +themselves. In such a people the haughtiness of domination combines with +the spirit of freedom, fortifies it, and renders it invincible. + +Permit me, Sir, to add another circumstance in our Colonies which +contributes no mean part towards the growth and effect of this untractable +spirit. I mean their education. In no country perhaps in the world is the +law so general a study. The profession itself is numerous and powerful; +and in most provinces it takes the lead. The greater number of the +deputies sent to the Congress were lawyers. But all who read, and most do +read, endeavor to obtain some smattering in that science. I have been told +by an eminent bookseller, that in no branch of his business, after tracts +of popular devotion, were so many books as those on the law exported to +the Plantations. The Colonists have now fallen into the way of printing +them for their own use. I hear that they have sold nearly as many of +Blackstone's Commentaries in America as in England. General Gage marks out +this disposition very particularly in a letter on your table. He states +that all the people in his government are lawyers, or smatterers in law; +and that in Boston they have been enabled, by successful chicane, wholly +to evade many parts of one of your capital penal constitutions. The +smartness of debate will say that this knowledge ought to teach them more +clearly the rights of legislature, their obligations to obedience, and the +penalties of rebellion. All this is mighty well. But my honorable and +learned friend on the floor, who condescends to mark what I say for +animadversion, will disdain that ground. He has heard, as well as I, that +when great honors and great emoluments do not win over this knowledge to +the service of the state, it is a formidable adversary to government. If +the spirit be not tamed and broken by these happy methods, it is stubborn +and litigious. _Abeunt studia in mores_. This study renders men +acute, inquisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defence, full of +resources. In other countries, the people, more simple, and of a less +mercurial cast, judge of an ill principle in government only by an actual +grievance; here they anticipate the evil, and judge of the pressure of the +grievance by the badness of the principle. They augur misgovernment at a +distance, and snuff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze. + +The last cause of this disobedient spirit in the Colonies is hardly less +powerful than the rest, as it is not merely moral, but laid deep in the +natural constitution of things. Three thousand miles of ocean lie between +you and them. No contrivance can prevent the effect of this distance in +weakening government. Seas roll, and months pass, between the order and +the execution; and the want of a speedy explanation of a single point is +enough to defeat a whole system. You have, indeed, winged ministers of +vengeance, who carry your bolts in their pounces to the remotest verge of +the sea. But there a power steps in that limits the arrogance of raging +passions and furious elements, and says, _So far shalt thou go, and no +farther_. Who are you, that you should fret and rage, and bite the +chains of nature? Nothing worse happens to you than does to all nations +who have extensive empire; and it happens in all the forms into which +empire can be thrown. In large bodies the circulation of power must be +less vigorous at the extremities. Nature has said it. The Turk cannot +govern Egypt and Arabia and Kurdistan as he governs Thrace; nor has he the +same dominion in Crimea and Algiers which he has at Brusa and Smyrna. +Despotism itself is obliged to truck and huckster. The Sultan gets such +obedience as he can. He governs with a loose rein, that he may govern at +all; and the whole of the force and vigor of his authority in his center +is derived from a prudent relaxation in all his borders. Spain, in her +provinces, is, perhaps, not so well obeyed as you are in yours. She +complies, too; she submits; she watches times. This is the immutable +condition, the eternal law of extensive and detached empire. + +Then, Sir, from these six capital sources--of descent, of form of +government, of religion in the Northern Provinces, of manners in the +Southern, of education, of the remoteness of situation from the first +mover of government-from all these causes a fierce spirit of liberty has +grown up. It has grown with the growth of the people in your Colonies, and +increased with the increase of their wealth; a spirit that unhappily +meeting with an exercise of power in England which, however lawful, is not +reconcilable to any ideas of liberty, much less with theirs, has kindled +this flame that is ready to consume us. + + +_Appendix 3_ + + PARABLE OF THE SOWER + (Matthew 13:3,8 and 18-23) + +And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, +Behold, a sower went forth to sow; + +And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, +and the fowls came and devoured them up: + +Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: +and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: + +And when the sun was up, they were scorched; +and because they had no root, they withered away. + +And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: + +But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, +some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. + +Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. + +When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, +then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his +heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. + +But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he +that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. + +Yet he hath not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when +tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is +offended. + +He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; +and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the +word, and he becometh unfruitful. + +But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the +word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, +some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. + + +_Appendix 4_ + + THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN + _(As You Like It, II, vii, 139-166)_ + By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE + + +All the world's a stage, +And all the men and women merely players: +They have their exits and their entrances; +And one man in his time plays many parts, +His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, +Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. +And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel, +And shining morning face, creeping like snail +Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, +Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad +Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier, +Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard +Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, +Seeking the bubble reputation +Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice, +In fair round belly with good capon lin'd, +With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, +Full of wise saws and modern instances; +And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts +Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon, +With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, +His youthful hose well say'd, a world too wide +For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, +Turning again toward childish treble, pipes +And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, +That ends this strange eventful history, +Is second childishness and mere oblivion, +Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. + + +_Appendix 5_ + + THE CASTAWAY + (From _Robinson Crusoe_) + By Daniel Defoe + +And now our case was very dismal indeed; for we all saw plainly that the +sea went so high that the boat could not escape, and that we should be +inevitably drowned. As to making sail, we had none, nor, if we had, could +we have done anything with it; so we worked at the oar towards the land, +though with heavy hearts, like men going to execution; for we all knew +that when the boat came near the shore, she would be dashed in a thousand +pieces by the beach of the sea. However, we committed our souls to God in +the most earnest manner; and the wind driving us towards the shore, we +hastened our destruction with our own hands, pulling as well as we could +towards land. + +What the shore was, whether rock or sand, whether steep or shoal, we knew +not; the only hope that could rationally give us the least shadow of +expectation, was if we might happen into some bay or gulf, or the mouth of +some river, where by great chance we might have run our boat in, or got +under the lee of the land, and perhaps made smooth water. But there was +nothing of this appeared; but as we made nearer and nearer the shore, the +land looked more frightful than the sea. + +After we had rowed, or rather driven, about a league and a half, as we +reckoned it, a raging wave, mountain-like, came rolling astern of us, and +plainly bade us expect the _coup de grâce_. In a word, it took us +with such a fury that it overset the boat at once; and separating us as +well from the boat as from one another, gave us not time hardly to say, +"O God!" for we were all swallowed up in a moment. + +Nothing can describe the confusion of thought which I felt, when I sank +into the water; for though I swam very well, yet I could not deliver +myself from the waves so as to draw breath, till that wave having driven +me, or rather carried me, a vast way on towards the shore, and having +spent itself, went back, and left me upon the land almost dry, but half +dead with the water I took in. I had so much presence of mind, as well as +breath left, that seeing myself nearer the mainland than I expected, I got +upon my feet, and endeavored to make on towards the land as fast as I +could, before another wave should return and take me up again; but I soon +found it was impossible to avoid it; for I saw the sea come after me as +high as a great hill, and as furious as an enemy, which I had no means or +strength to contend with: my business was to hold my breath, and raise +myself upon the water, if I could; and so by swimming to preserve my +breathing, and pilot myself towards the shore if possible; my greatest +concern now being that the wave, as it would carry me a great way toward +the shore when it came on, might not carry me back again with it when it +gave back towards the sea. + +The wave that came upon me again buried me at once twenty or thirty feet +deep in its own body, and I could feel myself I carried with a mighty +force and swiftness towards the shore a very great way; but I held my +breath, and assisted myself to swim still forward with all my might. I was +ready to burst with holding my breath, when as I felt myself rising up, +so, to my immediate relief, I found my head and hands shoot out above the +surface of the water; and though it was not two seconds of time that I +could keep myself so, yet it relieved me greatly, gave me breath and new +courage. I was covered again with water a good while, but not so long but +I held it out; and finding the water had spent itself, and began to +return, I struck forward against the return of the waves, and felt ground +again with my feet. I stood still a few moments to recover breath, and +till the waters went from me, and then took to my heels, and ran with what +strength I had, farther towards the shore. But neither would this deliver +me from the fury of the sea, which came pouring in after me again; and +twice more I was lifted up by the waves and carried forwards as before, +the shore being very flat. + +The last time of these two had well-nigh been fatal to me; for the sea +having hurried me along, as before, landed me, or rather dashed me, +against a piece of a rock, and that with such force as it left me +senseless, and indeed helpless, as to my own deliverance; for the blow, +taking my side and breast, beat the breath as it were quite out of my +body; and had it returned again immediately, I must have been strangled in +the water; but I recovered a little before the return of the waves, and +seeing I should be covered again with the water, I resolved to hold fast +by a piece of the rock, and so to hold my breath, if possible, till the +wave went back. Now, as the waves were not so high as at first, being +nearer land, I held my hold till the wave abated, and then fetched another +run, which brought me so near the shore that the next wave, though it went +over me, yet did not so swallow me up as to carry me away; and the next +run I took I got to the mainland; where, to my great comfort, I clambered +up the cliffs of the shore, and sat me down upon the grass, free from +danger and quite out of the reach of the water. I was now landed, and safe +on shore, and began to look up and thank God that my life was saved, in a +case wherein there was some minutes before scarce any room to hope. I +believe it is impossible to express, to the life, what the ecstasies and +transports of the soul are when it is so saved, as I may say, out of the +very grave: and I do not wonder now at that custom, when a malefactor, who +has the halter about his neck, is tied up, and just going to be turned +off, and has a reprieve brought to him--I say, I do not wonder that they +bring a surgeon with it, to let him blood that very moment they tell him +of it, that the surprise may not drive the animal spirits from the heart, +and overwhelm him. + + "For sudden joys, like griefs, confound at first." + +I walked about on the shore, lifting up my hands, and my whole being, as I +may say, wrapt up in a contemplation of my deliverance; making a thousand +gestures and motions, which I cannot describe; reflecting upon all my +comrades that were drowned, and that there should not be one soul saved +but myself; for, as for them, I never saw them afterwards, or any sign of +them, except three of their hats, one cap, and two shoes that were not +fellows. + +I cast my eyes to the stranded vessel, when, the breach and froth of the +sea being so big, I could hardly see it, it lay so far off; and +considered, Lord! how was it possible I could get on shore? + +After I had solaced my mind with the comfortable part of my condition, I +began to look round me, to see what kind of place I was in, and what was +next to be done: and I soon found my comforts abate, and that, in a word, +I had a dreadful deliverance: for I was wet, had no clothes to shift me, +nor anything either to eat or drink, to comfort me; neither did I see any +prospect before me but that of perishing with hunger, or being devoured by +wild beasts: and that which was particularly afflicting to me was, that I +had no weapon, either to hunt and kill any creature for my sustenance, or +to defend myself against any other creature that might desire to kill me +for theirs. In a word, I had nothing about me but a knife, a tobacco-pipe, +and a little tobacco in a box. This was all my provision; and this threw +me into terrible agonies of mind, that for awhile I ran about like a +madman. Night coming upon me, I began with a heavy heart, to consider what +would be my lot if there were any ravenous beasts in that country, seeing +at night they always come abroad for their prey. + +All the remedy that offered to my thoughts, at that time, was to get up +into a thick busby tree, like a fir, but thorny, which grew near me, and +where I resolved to sit all night, and consider the next day what death I +should die, for as yet I saw no prospect of life. I walked about a furlong +from the shore, to see if I could find any fresh water to drink, which I +did to my great joy; and having drunk, and put a little tobacco in my +mouth to prevent hunger, I went to the tree, and getting up into it, +endeavored to place myself so that if I should sleep I might not fall. And +having cut me a short stick, like a truncheon, for my defense, I took up +my lodging; and being excessively fatigued, I fell fast asleep, and slept +as comfortably as, I believe, few could have done in my condition, and +found myself more refreshed with it than I think I ever was on such an +occasion. + +When I waked it was broad day, the weather clear, and the storm abated, so +that the sea did not rage and swell as before; but that which surprised me +most was, that the ship was lifted off in the night from the sand where +she lay, by the swelling of the tide, and was driven up almost as far as +the rock which I at first mentioned, where I had been so bruised by the +wave dashing me against it. This being within about a mile from the shore +where I was, and the ship seeming to stand upright still, I wished myself +on board, that at least I might save some necessary things for my use. + +When I came down from my apartment in the tree, I looked about me again, +and the first thing I found was the boat, which lay, as the wind and sea +had tossed her up, upon the land, about two miles on my right hand. I +walked as far as I could upon the shore to have got to her; but found a +neck, or inlet, of water between me and the boat, which was about half a +mile broad; so I came back for the present, being more intent upon getting +at the ship, where I hoped to find something for my present subsistence. + +A little after noon I found the sea very calm and the tide ebbed so far +out, that I could come within a quarter of a mile of the ship. And here I +found a fresh renewing of my grief; for I saw evidently that if we had +kept on board, we had been all safe: that is to say, we had all got safe +on shore, and I had not been so miserable as to be left entirely destitute +of all comfort and company, as I now was. This forced tears to my eyes +again; but as there was little relief in that, I resolved, if possible, to +get to the ship-, so I pulled off my clothes, for the weather was hot to +extremity, and took the water. But when I came to the ship, my difficulty +was still greater to know how to get on board; for, as she lay aground, +and high out of the water, there was nothing within my reach to lay hold +of. I swam round her twice, and the second time I espied a small piece of +rope, which I wondered I did not see at first, hanging down by the +fore-chains so low that, with great difficulty, I got hold of it, and by +the help of that rope got up into the forecastle of the ship. Here I found +that the ship was bulged, and had a great deal of water in her hold; but +that she lay so on the side of a bank of hard sand, or rather earth, that +her stern lay lifted up upon the bank, and her head low, almost to the +water. By this means all her quarter was free, and all that was in that +part was dry; for you may be sure my first work was to search, and to see +what was spoiled and what was free. And, first, I found that all the +ship's provisions were dry and untouched by the water, and being very well +disposed to eat, I went to the bread-room, and filled my pockets with +biscuit, and ate it as I went about other things, for I had no time to +lose. I also found some rum in the great cabin, of which I took a large +dram, and which I had, indeed, need enough of to spirit me for what was +before me. Now I wanted nothing but a boat, to furnish myself with many +things which I foresaw would be very necessary to me. + +It was in vain to sit still and wish for what was not to be had; and this +extremity roused my application. We had several spare yards, and two or +three large spars of wood, and a spare topmast or two in the ship: I +resolved to fall tp work with these, and I flung as many of them overboard +as I could manage for their weight, tying every one with a rope, that they +might not drive away. When this was done I went down the ship's side, and +pulling them to me I tied four of them together at both ends, as well as I +could, in the form of a raft, and laying two or three short pieces of +plank upon them, crossways, I found I could walk upon it very well, but +that it was not able to bear any great weight, the pieces being too light. +So I went to work, and with the carpenter's saw I cut a spare topmast into +three lengths, and added them to my raft, with a great deal of labor and +pains. But the hope of furnishing myself with necessaries encouraged me to +go beyond what I should have been able to have done upon another occasion. + +My raft was now strong enough to bear any reasonable weight. My next care +was what to load it with, and how to preserve what I laid upon it from the +surf of the sea: but I was not long considering this. I first laid all the +planks or boards upon it that I could get, and having considered well what +I most wanted, I first got three of the seamen's chests, which I had +broken open and emptied, and lowered them down upon my raft; the first of +these I filled with provisions--viz., bread, rice, three Dutch cheeses, +five pieces of dried goat's flesh (which we lived much upon), and a little +remainder of European corn, which had been laid by for some fowls which we +brought to sea with us, but the fowls were killed. There had been some +barley and wheat together; but, to my great disappointment, I found +afterwards that the rats had eaten or spoiled it all. As for liquors, I +found several cases of bottles belonging to our skipper, in which were +some cordial waters; and, in all, about five or six gallons of arrack. +These I stowed by themselves, there being no need to put them into the +chest, nor any room for them. While I was doing this, I found the tide +began to flow, though very calm; and I had the mortification to see my +coat, shirt, and waistcoat, which I had left on shore upon the sand, swim +away. As for my breeches, which were only linen, and open-kneed, I swam on +board in them and my stockings. However, this put me upon rummaging for +clothes, of which I found enough, but took no more than I wanted for +present use, for I had other things which my eye was more upon; as, first, +tools to work with on shore: and it was after long searching that I found +out the carpenter's chest, which was indeed a very useful prize to me, and +much more valuable than a ship-lading of gold would have been at that +time. I got it down to my raft, whole as it was, without losing time to +look into it, for I knew in general what it contained. + +My next care was for some ammunition and arms. There were two very good +fowling-pieces in the great cabin, and two pistols. These I secured first, +with some powder-horns, a small bag of shot, and two old rusty swords. I +knew there were three barrels of powder in the ship, but knew not where +our gunner had stowed them; but with much search I found them, two of them +dry and good, the third had taken water. Those two I got to my raft, with +the arms. And now I thought myself pretty well freighted, and began to +think how I should get to shore with them, having neither sail, oar, nor +rudder; and the least capful of wind would have overset all my navigation. + +I had three encouragements: first, a smooth, calm sea; secondly, the tide +rising, and setting in to the shore; thirdly, what little wind there was +blew me towards the land. And thus, having found two or three broken oars, +belonging to the boat, and besides the tools which were in the chest, two +saws, an axe, and a hammer, with this cargo I put to sea. For a mile, or +thereabouts, my raft went very well, only that I found it drive a little +distant from the place where I had landed before: by which I perceived +that there was some indraught of the water, and consequently, I hoped to +find some creek or river there, which I might malze use of as a port to +get to land with my cargo. + +As I imagined, so it was. There appeared before me a little opening of the +land. I found a strong current of the tide set into it; so I guided my +raft as well as I could, to keep in the middle of the stream. + +But here I had like to have suffered a second shipwreck, which, if I had, +I think verily would have broken my heart; for, knowing nothing of the +coast, my raft ran aground at one end of it upon a shoal, and not being +aground at the other end, it wanted but a little that all my cargo had +slipped off towards the end that was afloat, and so fallen into the water. +I did my utmost, by setting my back against the chests, to keep them in +their places, but could not thrust off the raft with all my strength; +neither durst I stir from the posture I was in; but holding up the chests +with all my might, I stood in that manner near half an hour, in which time +the rising of the water brought me a little more upon a level; and a +little after, the water still rising, my raft floated again, and I thrust +her off with the oar I had into the channel, and then driving up higher, I +at length found myself in the mouth of a little river, with land on both +sides, and a strong current or tide running up. I looked on both sides for +a proper place to get to shore, for I was not willing to be driven too +high up the river; hoping in time to see some ship at sea, and therefore +resolved to place myself as near the coast as I could. + +At length I spied a little cove on the right shore of the creek, to which, +with great pain and difficulty, I guided my raft, and at last got so near, +that reaching ground with my oar, I could thrust her directly in. But here +I had like to have dipped all my cargo into the sea again; for that shore +lying pretty steep-that is to say, sloping--there was no place to land but +where one end of my float, if it ran on shore, would lie so high, and the +other sink lower, as before, that it would endanger my cargo again. All +that I could do was to wait till the tide was at the highest, keeping the +raft with my oar like an anchor, to hold the side of it fast to the shore, +near a flat piece of ground, which I expected the water would flow over; +and so it did. As soon as I found water enough, for my raft drew about a +foot of water, I thrust her upon that flat piece of ground, and there +fastened or moored her, by sticking my two broken oars into the ground-one +on one side, near one end, and one on the other side, near the other end; +and thus I lay till the water ebbed away, and left my raft and all my +cargo safe on shore. + + + +_Appendix 6_ + + READING LISTS + +One of the best ways to _know_ words is through seeing them used by +the masters. For this reason, as well as for many others, you should read +extensively in good literature. The following lists of prose works may +prove useful for your guidance. They are not intended to be exclusive, not +intended to designate "the hundred best books." Rather do they name some +good books of fairly varied types. These are not all of equal merit, even +in their use of words. Some use words with nice discrimination, some with +splendid vividness and force. For each author only one or two books are +named, but in many instances you will wish to read further in the author, +perhaps indeed his entire works. + +<Biography and Autobiography> + +Boswell, James: _Life of Samuel Johnson_ +Bradford, Gamaliel: _Lee the American; American Portraits, 1875-1900_ +Franklin, Benjamin: _Autobiography_ +Grant, U. S.: _Personal Memoirs_ +Irving, Washington: _Life of Goldsmith_ +Paine, A. B.: _Life of Mark Twain_ +Walton, Izaak: _Lives_ + +<Essays, Adventure, etc.> + +Addison, Joseph: _Spectator Papers_ +Bryce, Sir James: _The American Commonwealth_ +Burke, Edmund: _Speech on Conciliation_ +Burroughs, John: _Wake Robin_ +Chesterton, G. K.: _Heretics_ +Crothers, S. M.: _The Gentle Reader_ +Dana, R. H., Jr.: Two _Years Before the Mast_ +Darwin, Charles: _Origin of Species_ +Emerson, R. W.: _Essays_ +Irving, Washington: _Sketch Book_ +Lincoln, Abraham: _Speeches and Addresses_ +Lucas, E. V.: _Old Lamps for New_ +Macaulay, T. B.: _Essays_ +Muir, John: _The Mountains of California_ +Thoreau, H. D.: _Walden_ +Twain, Mark: _Life on the Mississippi_ + +<Fiction> + +Allen, James Lane: _The Choir Invisible_ +Austen, Jane: _Pride and Prejudice_ +Barrie, Sir James M.: _Sentimental Tommie_ +Bennett, Arnold: _The Old Wives' Tale_ +Blackmore, R. D.: _Lorna Doone_ +Bunyan, John: _Pilgrim's Progress_ +Cable, G. W.: _Old Creole Days_ +Conrad, Joseph: _The Nigger of the Narcissus_ +Defoe, Daniel: _Robinson Crusoe_ +Dickens, Charles: _David Copperfield_ +Eliot, George: _Adam Bede_ +Galsworthy, John: _The Patrician_ +Goldsmith, Oliver: _The Vicar of Wakefield_ +Hardy, Thomas: _The Return of the Native_ +Harte, Bret: _The Luck of Roaring Camp_ (short story) +Hawthorne, Nathaniel: _The Scarlet Letter_ +Hergesheimer, Joseph: _Java Head_ +Hudson, W. H.: _Green Mansions_ +Kingsley, Charles: _Westward Ho_! +Kipling, Rudyard: _Plain Tales from the Hills_ (short stories) +London, Jack: _The Call of the Wild_ +Merrick, Leonard: _The Man Who Understood Women (volume of short +stories); _The Actor Manager_ +Mitchell, S. Weir: _Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker_ +Norris, Frank: _The Octopus_ +Poe, Edgar Allan: _The Fall of the House of Usher_ (short story) +Poole, Ernest: _The Harbor_ +Scott, Sir Walter: _Ivanhoe_ +Smith, F. Hopkinson: _Colonel Carter of Cartersville_ +Stevenson, R. L.: _Treasure Island_ +Tarkington, Booth: _Monsieur Beaucaire_ +Thackeray, W. M.: _Vanity Fair_ +Twain, Mark: _Huckleberry Finn_ +Wells, H. G.: _Tono Bungay_ +Wharton, Edith: _Ethan Frome_ +Wister, Owen: _The Virginian_ + + + INDEX. + +The index comprises, besides miscellaneous items, four large classes of +matter: (1) topics, including many minor ones not given separate textual +captions; (2) all individual words and members of pairs explained or +commented on in the text; (3) the key syllables, but not the separate +words, of family groups; (4) the first or generic term, but not the other +terms, in all assemblies of synonyms; hence, this book can be used as a +handbook of ordinarily used synonyms. + +_Abandon_, Synonyms of, +_Abase_, Synonyms of, +_Abettor_, Synonyms of, +_Abolish_, Synonyms of, +_Abridge_ +Abstract vs. concrete terms. Also see _Words_ +_Absurd_ +_Accumulate_ +_Acknowledge_, Synonyms of, +_Acquit_, Synonyms of, +_Act_ family +_Active_, Synonyms of, +_Advise_, Synonyms of, +Aeronautics, Familiar terms in, +_Affair_ +_Affect_ +_Affecting_, Synonyms of, +_Affront_, Synonyms of, +_Afraid_, Synonyms of, +_Ag_ family +_Agnostic_, Synonyms of, +_Allay_, Synonyms of, +_Allopath_ +_Allow_, Synonyms of, +_Altitude_ +_Amicable_ +_Amuse_, Synonyms of, +Analysis. See _Vocabulary_ and _Synonyms_ +Analysis, Rhetorical, +Anglo-Saxon words in modern English. See _Native words_ +_Anim_ family +_Anni, annu_ family +_Announce_, Synonyms of, +_Answer_, Synonyms of, +_Antipathy_, Synonyms of, +Antonyms +_Appreciate_ +_Apprehend_ +_Apricot_ +_Ardor_ +_Argument_ +_Artful_ +_Artifice_, Synonyms of, +_Ascend_ +_Ascend_, Synonyms of, +_Ascribe_ +_Ascribe_, Synonyms of, +_Ask_, Synonyms of, +_Assail_ +_Associate_, Synonyms of, +_Attach_, Synonyms of, +_Attack_; Synonyms of, +_Attention_ +_Audi, auri_ family +Audience, Adapting discourse to, +_Auto_ family +_Avert_ +_Awkward_, Synonyms of, + +_Backhanded_ +_Bald heads_ +_Bare_ +_Base_ +_Bear_ +_Bedlam_ +_Beef_ +_Begin_, Synonyms of, +_Belief_, Synonyms of, +_Belittle_, Synonyms of, +_Bind_, Synonyms of, +_Bit_, Synonyms of, +_Bite_, Synonyms of, +Blood relationships between words. + Small groups of words so related. Also see _Words_ +_Bluff_, Synonyms of, +_Boast_, Synonyms of, +_Body_, Synonyms of, +_Bold_ +_Bombastic_, Synonyms of, Books of synonyms, List of, +_Boor_ +_Boorish_, Synonyms of, +_Booty_, Synonyms of, +Boys, Kinds of, +_Brand, brun_ family +_Break_ +_Break_, Synonyms of, +_Breakfast_ +_Bridegroom_ +_Bright_ +_Brittle_, Synonyms of, +_Brotherly_ +_Building_, Synonyms of, +Burke, Edmund. See _Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty_ +_Burn_ family +_Burn_, Synonyms of, +_Burn with indignation_ +_Busy_, Synonyms of, +_By and by_ + +_Cad_ family +_Calf_ +_Call_, Synonyms of, +_Calm_, Synonyms of, +_Cant_ family +_Cap(t)_ family +_Capricious_ +_Care_, Synonyms of, +_Careful_, Synonyms of, +_Cart before the horse_, +_Cas_ family +"Castaway, The" (Defoe). Comments and assignments on, +"Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty" (Burke). + Comments and assignments on, +_Cede, ceed, cess_ family +_Ceive, ceit, cept_ family +_Celebrate_, Synonyms of, Celibates, Verbal, +_Censure_ +_Cent_ family +_Cent_ family +_Charm_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Charm_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Chant_ family +_Cheat_, Synonyms of, +Child. See _How a child becomes acquainted_, etc. +_Choke_, Synonyms of, +_Choose_, Synonyms of, +_Chron_ family +_Church_ +_Churl_ +_Cid_ family +_Cide_ family +_Cigar_ +_Cip_ family +_Circumstances_ +_Cis(e)_ family +Classes of words, in general, (also see _Words_); + in your own vocabulary, +Classic words, distinguished from native; in modern English, +_Clear_ +_Clodhopper_ +_Close_ +_Close the door to_, +_Coax_, Synonyms of, +_Cold_ +Coleridge, S. T., Quotation from, +_Color_, Synonyms of, +_Combine_, Synonyms of, +_Comfort_, Synonyms of, +_Common_ +_Companion_ +_Complain_, Synonyms of, +_Conchology_ +_Concise_, Synonyms of, +_Condescend_, Synonyms of, +_Condition_ +_Confirm_, Synonyms of, +_Confirmed_, Synonyms of, +_Confound_ +_Congregate_ +_Connect_, Synonyms of, +Connotation +_Constable_ +_Contagious_ +_Continual_, Synonyms of, +_Continuous, continual_ +_Contract_, Synonyms of, +_Conversation_ +_Copy_, Synonyms of, +_Cordiality_ +_Corp(s)_ family +_Corrode_ +_Corrupt_, Synonyms of, +_Costly_, Synonyms of, +_Coterie_, Synonyms of, +_Counterfeit_ +_Courage_, Synonyms of, +_Course_ family +_Coxcomb_ +_Crafty_ +_Crease, cresce, cret, crue_ family +_Cred, creed_ family +_Crestfallen_ +_Crisscross_ +_Critical_, Synonyms of, +_Criticism_ +_Crooked_, Synonyms of, +_Cross_ +_Cross_, Synonyms of, +_Crowd_, Synonyms of, +_Crowsfeet_ +_Crude_ +_Cruel_, Synonyms of, +_Cry_ +_Cry_, Synonyms of, +_Cunning_ +_Cur_ family +_Cure_ family +_Curious_, Synonyms of, +_Cut_, Synonyms of, + +_Daily_ +_Dainty_, Synonyms of, +_Daisy_ +_Dandelion_ +_Danger_, Synonyms of, +_Darken_, Synonyms of, +_Dead_, Synonyms of, +_Deadly_, Synonyms of, +_Death_, Synonyms of, +_Decay_, Synonyms of, +_Deceit_, Synonyms of, +_Deceptive_, Synonyms of, +_Decorate_, Synonyms of, +_Decorous_, Synonyms of, +_Deface_, Synonyms of, +_Defeat_, Synonyms of, +_Defect_, Synonyms of, +Definitions, of words; Dictionary vs. informal; + How to look up in a dictionary, +Defoe, Daniel. See _The Castaway_ +_Degrade_ +_Delay_, Synonyms of, +_Demean_ +_Democrat_ +_Demon_ +_Demoralize_, Synonyms of, +_Deny_, Synonyms of, +_Deportment_, Synonyms of, +_Deprive_, Synonyms of, +Description +_Despise_, Synonyms of, +_Despondency_, Synonyms of, +_Destroy_, Synonyms of, +_Detach_, Synonyms of, +_Determined_, Synonyms of, +_Deviate_ +_Devilish_ +_Devout_, Synonyms of, +_Dexterity_ +_Dic, dict_ family +Dictionaries, List of; How to use, +_Die_, Synonyms of, +_Differ_ +_Difficulty_, Synonyms of, +_Dign_ family +_Dilapidated_ +_Dip_, Synonyms of, +_Dirty_, Synonyms of, +_Disaster_ +_Discernment_, Synonyms of, +_Discharge_ +Discords, Verbal +Discourse, at first hand; adapted to audience, +_Disease_, Synonyms of, +_Disgraceful_, Synonyms of, +_Disgusting_, Synonyms of, +_Dishonor_, Synonyms of, +_Disloyal_, Synonyms of, +_Dispel_, Synonyms of, +_Dissatisfied_, Synonyms of, +_Diurnal_ +_Divide_, Synonyms of, +_Do_, Synonyms of, +_Doctrine_, Synonyms of, +_Doom, Doomsday_ +_Dream_, Synonyms of, +_Dress_, Synonyms of, +"Drift of Our Rural Population Cityward, The" (Editorial), + Comments and assignments, +_Drink_, Synonyms of, +_Drip_, Synonyms of, +_Drunk_, Synonyms of, +_Dry_, Synonyms of, +_Duc, duct_ family +_Dull_ +_Dur(e)_ family + +_Early_, Synonyms of, +_Eat_, Synonyms of, +Editorial. See _The Drift of Our Rural Population Cityward_ +_Effect_ +_Egregious_ +_Ejaculate_ +_Elicit_, Synonyms of, +_Embarrass_, Synonyms of, +_Embrace_ +_Encroach_, Synonyms of, +_End_, Synonyms of, +_Enemy_ +_Enemy_, Synonyms of, +_Engine_ +_Enni_ family +_Enormity, enormousness_ +_Enough_, Synonyms of, +_Entice_, Synonyms of, +_Erase_, Synonyms of, +_Error_ family +_Error_, Synonyms of, +_Estimate_, Synonyms of, +_Eternal_, Synonyms of, +_Eu_ family +_Eugenics_ +_Ex_ family +_Examination_ +_Example_, Synonyms of, +_Exceed_, Synonyms of, +_Exclude_ +_Excuse_, Synonyms of, +_Expand_, Synonyms of, +_Expel_, Synonyms of, +_Experiment_, Synonyms of, +_Explain_, Synonyms of, +Explanation (Exposition) +_Explicit_, Synonyms of, +_Expression_ + +_Face_, Synonyms of, +_Fact_ family +_Faculty_, Synonyms of, +_Failing_, Synonyms of, +_Fair_ +_False_ +_Fame_, Synonyms of, +Families, Verbal, +_Famous_, Synonyms of, +_Fashion_, Synonyms of, +_Fast_ +_Fast_, Synonyms of, +_Fasten_ Synonyms of, +_Fat_, Synonyms of, +_Fate_, Synonyms of, +_Fatherly_ +_Fawn_, Synonyms of, +_Fear_, Synonyms of, +_Feat, fect, feit_ family +_Feign_, Synonyms of, +_Fellow_ +_Feminine_, Synonyms of, +_Fer_ family +_Fertile_, Synonyms of, +_Fic(e)_ family +_Fiddle_ +_Fiendish_, Synonyms of, +_Fight_, Synonyms of, +_Financial_, Synonyms of, +_Fin(e)_ family +_Firm_ +_Fit_, Synonyms of, +_Flag, The_ +_Flame_, Synonyms of, +_Flat_ +_Flat_, Synonyms of, +_Flatter_, Synonyms of, +_Flect, flex_ family +_Flee_, Synonyms of, +_Fleeting_, Synonyms of, +_Flexible_, Synonyms of, +_Flit_, Synonyms of, +_Flock_, Synonyms of, +_Flock together_ +_Flow_, Synonyms of, +_Flu, fluence, flux_ family +_Foe_ +_Follow_, Synonyms of, +_Follower_, Synonyms of, +_Fond_ +_Fond_, Synonyms of, +_Force_, Synonyms of, +_Foretell_, Synonyms of, +_Fort_ family +Fossils in modern English, List of, +_Found_ family +_Fract, frag_ family +_Fracture_ +_Frank_, Synonyms of, +Franklin, Benjamin, and _Spectator Papers_, +_Fraternal_ +_Free_ +_Free_, Synonyms of +French and Norman-French words occurring in modern English +_Freshen_, Synonyms of, +_Fret_ +_Friendly_ +_Friendly_, Synonyms of, +_Frighten_, Synonyms of, +_Frigid_ +_Frown_, Synonyms of, +_Frugal_, Synonyms of, +_Frustrate_, Synonyms of, +_Fug(e)_ family +_Fuse_ family +_Fy_ family + +_Game_, Synonyms of, +_Gather_, Synonyms of, +_Gen_ family +General facts and ideas with which acquaintance assumed, +General ideas, as best basis for study of synonyms, +General vs. specific terms. Also see _Words_ +Genus and species +_Ger, gest_ family +Germanic words in modern English +_Get_, Synonyms of, +_Get on to_ +"Gettysburg Address" (Lincoln); Comments on, +_Ghost_ +_Ghost_, Synonyms of, +_Gift_, Synonyms of, +_Give_, Synonyms of, +_Glad_, Synonyms of, +_Go out of one's way_ +_Good_ +_Good_ family +_Goodby_ +_Grade_ family +_Gram_ family +_Grand_, Synonyms of, +_Graph_ family +_Gray hair_ +_Great_ +_Greedy_ +Greek prefixes List of, +Greek stems, List of, +Greek words in modern English +_Greet_, Synonyms of, +_Gress_ family +_Grief_, Synonyms of, +_Grieve_, Synonyms of, +_Groom_ +_Grudgingly_ +_Guard_, Synonyms of, +_Guileless_ + +_Hab_ family +_Habit_, Synonyms of, +_Habitation_, Synonyms of, +_Hale_ family +_Half-baked_ +_Harass_, Synonyms of, +_Hard_ +_Harmful_, Synonyms of, +_Harsh_ +_Haste_, Synonyms of, +_Hate_, Synonyms of, +_Hatred_, Synonyms of, +_Have_, Synonyms of, +_Hayseed_ +_Head foremost_ +_Headstrong_, Synonyms of, +_Heal_ family +_Healthful_, Synonyms of, +_Heathen_ +_Heavy_, Synonyms of, +_Height_ +_Help_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Help_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Hesitate_, Synonyms of, +_Hib_ family +_Hide_, Synonyms of, +_High_, Synonyms of, +_Highstrung_ +_Hinder_ Synonyms of, +_Hint_, Synonyms of, +_Hot_ family +_Hole_, Synonyms of, +_Holy_, Synonyms of, +_Home_ +_Homeopath_ +_Homesickness_ +_Hopeful,_ Synonyms of, +_Hopeless_, Synonyms of, +_Hose_ +_House_ +How a child becomes acquainted with the complexity of life and language +_Hug_, +_Humor_ +_Hussy_ +_Idiot_ +_Idle_ +_Ig_ family +_Ignorant_, Synonyms of, +_Imp_ +Imperfectly understood facts and ideas +_Impolite_, Synonyms of, +_Importance_, Synonyms of, +_Imposter_, Synonyms of, +_Imprison_, Synonyms of, +_Improper_, Synonyms of, +_Impure_, Synonyms of, +_In a minute_ +_Inborn_, Synonyms of, +_Incense_ +_Incite_, Synonyms of, +_Incline_, Synonyms of, +_Inclose_, Synonyms of, +_Increase_, Synonyms of, +_Indecent_, Synonyms of, +_Infantry_ +_Infectious_ +_Ingenious_ +_Inner_ +_Innocent_ +_Innuendo_ +_Insane_, Synonyms of, +_Insanity_, Synonyms of, +_Insinuate_ +_Insipid_, Synonyms of, +_Instances_ +_Instigate_ +_Insult_ +_Intention_, Synonyms of, +_Internal_ +_Interpose_, Synonyms of, +_Investigate_ +_Irreligious_, Synonyms of, +_Irritate_, Synonyms of, +_It_ family +"Ivanhoe" (Scott), Quotation from, +_Ject_ family +_Join_, Synonyms of, +_Journey_, Synonyms of, +_Jud_ family +_Jump on_ +_Junct_ family +_Jur, jus_ family +_Jure_ family +_Just_ + +Key-syllables, Variations in form of; Misleading resemblance between; + Lists of, +_Kick_ +_Kill_, Synonyms of, +_Kind_, Synonyms of, +_Kindle_, Synonyms of, +Kinships between words. See _Blood relationships between words; + Marriages between words; Words_ +_Knave_ +_Knowledge_ + +_Lack_, Synonyms of, +_Lame_, Synonyms of, +_Large_, Synonyms of, +_Late_ family +Latin prefixes, List of, +Latin stems, List of, +Latin words in modern English. See _Classic words_ +_Laugh_, Synonyms of, +_Laughable_, Synonyms of, +_Lead_, Synonyms of, +_Lect, leg_ family +_Lengthen_, Synonyms of, +_Lessen,_ Synonyms of, +_Lewd_ +_Liberal_, Synonyms of, +_Lie_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Lie_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Lig_ family +_Likeness_, Synonyms of, +_Limp_, Synonyms of, +_List_, Synonyms of, +Literal vs. figurative terms and applications. Also see _Words_ +_Loc, loco, local, locate_ family +_Locu_ family +_Log_ family +_Look_, Synonyms of, +Loose use of words +_Loquy_ family +_Lord_ +_Lose steam_ +_Loud_, Synonyms of, +_Love_ +_Love_, Synonyms of, +_Low,_ Synonyms of, +_Loyal_, Synonyms of, +_Luc, lum, lus_ family +_Lude, lus_ family +_Lunatic_ +_Lurk_, Synonyms of, +_Lust_ + +_Make_, Synonyms of, +_Make one's pile_ +_Man_, as a generic term, +_Man, manu_ family +_Mand_ family +_Manifest_, Synonyms of, +_Manly_ +_Many_, Synonyms of, +Many-sided words +_Margin_, Synonyms of, +_Marriage_, Synonyms of, +Marriages between words. Also see _Words_ +_Marshal_ +_Masculine_, Synonyms of, +_Matinée_ +_Matrimonial_, Synonyms of, +_Meaning_, Synonyms of, +_Meet_, Synonyms of, +_Meeting_, Synonyms of, +_Melt_, Synonyms of, +_Memory_, Synonyms of, +_Mercy_, Synonyms of, +_Mere, merely_ +_Meter, metri_ family +Military terms, Familiar +_Mis(e), mit_ family +_Misrepresent_, Synonyms of, +_Mix_, Synonyms of, +_Mob_ family +_Model_, Synonyms of, +_Modern_ +_Mono_ family +_Mort_ family +_Mortal_ +_Mortify_ +_Mot(e)_ family +_Mother_ +_Motive_, Synonyms of, +_Move_ family +_Move_, Synonyms of, +_Mot(e)_ family + +_Name_, Synonyms of, +Narration +_Nasturtium_ +_Nat(e)_ family +Native words, distinguished from classic; in modern English, +_Near_, Synonyms of, +_Neat_, Synonyms of, +_Needful_, Synonyms of, +_Negligence_, Synonyms of, +_New_, Synonyms of, +_Nice_, Synonyms of, +_Nickname_ +_Noble_ family +_Noise_ +_Noisy_, Synonyms of, +_Nostalgia_ +_Nostril_ +_Nostrum_ +_Not(e), nor(e)_ family +_Noticeable_, Synonyms of, + +_Objective_ +_Occupation_, Synonyms of, +_Offspring_ +_Old_, Synonyms of, +_Ology_ family +_Omen, ominous_ +Opposites +_Order_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Order_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Oversight_, Synonyms of, +_Ox_ + +_Pacify_, Synonyms of, +_Pagan_ +Pairs, Three types of; Lists of or assignments in; as Synonyms, +_Pale_, Synonyms of, +_Pan_ family +_Pantaloon_ +"Parable of the Sower"; Comments and assignments on, +"Parable of the Prodigal Son"; Comments on, +Parallels +Paraphrasing +_Pard_ +_Parlor_ +_Parson_ +_Part_, Synonyms of, +Parts of Speech, Wrong, +_Pass, path_ family +_Pastor_ +_Paternal_ +_Patience_, Synonyms of, +_Patter_ +_Pay_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Pay_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Ped_ family +_Pen_ +_Pend, pense_ family +_Penetrate_, Synonyms of, +_Perspiration_ +_Pet_ family +_Petit, petty_ family +_Petr, peter_ family +_Phil(e)_ family +_Phone_ family +_Pin-money_ +_Pity_, Synonyms of, +_Place_, Synonyms of, +_Plain_ +_Plan_, Synonyms of, +_Playful_, Synonyms of, +_Plentiful_, Synonyms of, +_Plic(ate), ply_ family +_Plunder_, Synonyms of, +_Pocket handkerchief_ +_Pod_ family +_Poli_ family +_Polite_ +_Polite_, Synonyms of, +_Pond_ family +_Ponder_ +_Pone, pose_ family +_Poor_ +_Porcine_ +_Pork_ +_Port_ family +_Portent, portentous_ +_Poten(t)_ family +_Poverty_, Synonyms of, +_Precocious_ +_Prehend_ family +_Preposterous_ +_Presbyterian_ +_Presently_ +_Pretty_, Synonyms of, +_Prise_ family +_Prob_ family +_Prod up_ +_Profitable_, Synonyms of, +_Progeny_ +_Prompt_, Synonyms of, +_Proud_, Synonyms of, +_Pull_, Synonyms of, +_Pulse_ family +_Punish_, Synonyms of, +_Push_, Synonyms of, +_Put(e)_ family +_Puzzle_, Synonyms of, + +_Qualm_ +_Quarrel_, Synonyms of, +_Quean_ +_Queer_, Synonyms of, +_Quick_ +Quickly, Dame +_Quiet_ +Quotations from literature, embodying old senses of words + +_Raise_, Synonyms of, +_Rash_, Synonyms of, +Reading Lists +_Rebellion_, Synonyms of, +_Recant_ +_Recover_, Synonyms of, +_Recrudescence_ +_Reflect_, Synonyms of, +_Refuse_ +_Regret_, Synonyms of, +_Relate_, Synonyms of, +_Relinquish_, Synonyms of, +_Renounce_, Synonyms of, +_Replace_, Synonyms of, +_Reprove_, Synonyms of, +_Republican_ +_Repulsive_, Synonyms of, +_Requital_, Synonyms of, +_Residence_ +_Responsible_, Synonyms of, +_Reveal_, Synonyms of, +_Reverence_, Synonyms of, +_Rich_, Synonyms of, +_Ridicule_, Synonyms of, +_Right_ +_Ripe_, Synonyms of, +_Rise_ +_Rise_, Synonyms of, +_Rival_ +_Robber_, Synonyms of, +_Rog, rogate_ family +_Rogue_, Synonyms of, +_Rough_ +_Round_, Synonyms of, +_Routine_ +_Rub_, Synonyms of, +_Ruminate_ +_Run_, Synonyms of, +_Rapt_ family +_Rural_, Synonyms of, + +_Sabotage_ +_Sad_, Synonyms of, +_Sal, sail_ family +_Salary_ +_Sandwich_ +_Sans_ +_Sarcasm_ +_Satiate_, Synonyms of, +_Saws_ +_Say_, Synonyms of, +Scandinavian words in modern English +_Science, scit(e)_ family +_Scoff_, Synonyms of, +Scott, Sir Walter, Quotation from, +_Scribe, script_ family +_Secret_, Synonyms of, +_Sect_ family +_Secu, sequ_ family +_Sed_ family +_See_, Synonyms of, +_Seep_, Synonyms of, +_Sell_ +_Sell_, Synonyms of, +_Sens(e), sent_ family +_Serious_ +"Seven Ages of Man, The" (Shakespeare); Comments and assignments on, +_Severe_ +Shakespeare, William. See _The Seven Ages of Man_ +_Shamefaced_ +_Shape_, Synonyms of, +_Share_, Synonyms of, +_Sharp_ +_Sharp_, Synonyms of, +_Shear_ family +_Shine_, Synonyms of, +_Shore_ family +_Shore_, Synonyms of, +_Shorten_ +_Shorten_, Synonyms of, +_Show_ (noun), Synonyms of, +_Show_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Shrink_, Synonyms of, +_Shun_, Synonyms of, +_Shy_, Synonyms of, +_Side_ +_Sid(e)_ family +_Sidetrack_ +_Sign_ family +_Sign_, Synonyms of, +_Silent_, Synonyms of, +_Silly_ +_Simple_, Synonyms of, +_Sing_, Synonyms of, +_Sing another tune_ +_Sinister_ +_Sist_ family +_Skilful_, Synonyms of, +_Skin_, Synonyms of, +_Slander_, Synonyms of, +Slang +_Sleep_, Synonyms of, +_Sleepy_, Synonyms of, +Slovenliness +_Slovenly_, Synonyms of, +_Sly_, Synonyms of, +_Smell_, Synonyms of, +_Smile_, Synonyms of, +_Smoke in one's pipe_ +_Solitary_, Synonyms of, +_Solve, solu_ family +_Song_, Synonyms of, +_Soon_ +Sources for modern English, Variety of, +_Sour_, Synonyms of, +_Sow_ +_Speak_, Synonyms of, +_Spect, spic(e)_ family +"Spectator Papers, The" (Addison) +_Speech_, Synonyms of, +_Spend_, Synonyms of, +_Spire, spirit_ family +_Spirit_ +_Spond, spons(e)_ family +_Spot_, Synonyms of, +_Spruce_, Synonyms of, +_Sta, sti_ family +_Stale_, Synonyms of, +_Stay_, Synonyms of, +_Stead_ family +_Steal_, Synonyms of, +_Steep_, Synonyms of, +_Stiff_ +_Stingy_, Synonyms of, +_Stirrup_ +_Storm_, Synonyms of, +_Straight_, Synonyms of, +_Strain, string, strict_ family +_Strange_, Synonyms of, +_Strike_, Synonyms of, +_Strong_ +_Strong_, Synonyms of, +_Struct, stru(e)_ family +_Stubborn_, Synonyms of, +_Stupid_, Synonyms of, +_Suave_, Synonyms of, +_Subjective_ +_Succeed_, Synonyms of, +_Succession_, Synonyms of, +_Sue_ family +_Sullen_, Synonyms of, +_Sult_ family; Superfluous details, +_Supernatural_, Synonyms of, +_Suppose_, Synonyms of, +_Surprise_, Synonyms of, +_Swearing_, Synonyms of, +_Sweat_ +_Swine_ +Synonyms, Necessity for; Similar not identical in meaning; + List of books of; How to acquire; Analysis of your use of; + Progress from the general to the specific; + Pertinent rather than comprehensive; Lists of, or assignments in, + (also see _Pairs_) + +_Tact_ family +_Tail_ family +_Tain_ family +_Take down a notch_ +_Take hold of_ +_Take the hide off_ +_Take umbrage_ +_Talk_ (noun) +_Talk_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Talkative_, Synonyms of; Tameness, +_Tang_ family +_Teach_, Synonyms of, +_Tear_, Synonyms of, +Telegrams and night letters +_Ten, tent_ family +_Tend, tens, tent, ten_ family +_Tender_ +Tennyson, Alfred, Quotation from, +_Tension_ +_Term, termin_ family +_Ter(re), terra_ family +_Thank your lucky stars_ +_Thesis, theme_ family +Thing(s) +_Thoughtful_, Synonyms of, +_Throw_, Synonyms of, +_Throw in the shade_ +_Throw out a remark_ +_Tin_ family +_Tire_, Synonyms of, +_Tool_, Synonyms of, +_Tone_ +Tone, Unity of. See _Discords, Verbal_ +_Tort_ family +_Track_ +_Tract, tra(i)_ family +Translation +_Trifle_, Synonyms of, +Triteness +_Trivial_ +_Trust_, Synonyms of, +_Truth_ +_Try_, Synonyms of, +_Tum_ family +_Turb_ family +_Turn_, Synonyms of, + +_Ugly_, Synonyms of, +_Umpire_ +_Understood_ +_Unsophisticated_ +_Unwilling_, Synonyms of, + +_Vade, vasion_ family +_Vail, vol(e)_ family +_Vain_ +_Vapid_ +_Veal, veau_ +_Vend_ +_Vene, vent_ family +_Veracity_ +_Vers(e), vert_ family +_Vid_ family +_Villain_ +_Vince, vict_ family +_Vinegar_ +_Violin_ +_Vir_ family +_Virile_ +_Virtue_ +_Vis_ family +_Viv(e)_ family +_Voc, voke_ family +Vocabulary, Ready, wide, or accurate; Speaking or writing; + Analysis of your own +_Volve, volute_ family +_Voluntary_ +_Voracious_ +Vulgar + +_Walk_. Synonyms of, +_Watchful_, Synonyms of, +Wave (noun), Synonyms of, +Wave (verb), Synonyms of, +_Weak_ +_Weak_, Synonyms of, +_Weariness_, Synonyms of, +_Wearisome_, Synonyms of, +_Classes of words, Abstract vs. +_Wench_ +_Wet_ (adjective), Synonyms of, +_Wet_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Wheedle_ +Whim,_ Synonyms of, +Whip, Synonyms of, +Whole_ family +_Wicked_, Synonyms of, +_Wild_ +_Willing_ +_Wind_, Synonyms of, +_Wind_ (verb), Synonyms of, +_Winding_, Synonyms of, +_Wis, wit_ family +Wisdom +_Wise_, Synonyms of, +_Wizard_ +_Wonderful_, Synonyms of, +Wordiness +Words, as realities; as instruments; to be learned in various ways; + like people; in combination; Individual; to learn first; The past of; + Buried meanings of; Poetry of; Dignified and unassuming; + Literal, concrete, and specifc; General; Exaggerative; Debased; + as celibates; related in blood or by marriage; + examined for relationships; related in meaning; often confused; + Native and classic; Many-sided; Supplementary list of. + Also see _concrete terms, Literal vs. figurative terms, + General vs. specific terms, Slang, Vocabulary, Synonyms, Fossils, + Loose use of words +_Work_, synonyms of, +_Workman_, Synonyms of, +_Worm in_ +_Write_, Synonyms of, +Writing as an aid to memory +_Wrong_ + +_Yearn_, Synonyms of, +Young, Synonyms of, + + +THE END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Century Vocabulary Builder +by Creever & Bachelor + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY VOCABULARY BUILDER *** + +***** This file should be named 10073-8.txt or 10073-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/0/7/10073/ + +Produced by Stan Goodman, Charles M. 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