Words our Way

See You Next Year

2010-04-21T11:32:00.002-06:00

I've been getting some questions about why we are not updating this blog right now. The Word Power class only meets during the first half of the year, so I don't have any students in this course right now, but we will be back and adding more information to our blog next year.

If you are interested, starting the week of May 1, 2010 I will have a class developing an American Literature Circles Blog at: piercelitcircles@blogspot.com. Please check out my new student work here.

Thanks for your support, Lori Pierce

Root Words Bell and Dia

2010-02-18T12:59:00.003-07:00

Bell

*Bell: war or warlike

Example words containing Bell:
- Belligerence: warlike or aggressively hostile nature, condition, or attitude
The belligerent man made quite a fool of himself when he attempted to clash with a man twice his size.
- Antebellum: before or existing before the war; esp. civil war
While we were in Georgia, we toured several large and stately antebellum houses.
- Bellicose: inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; pugnacious
Unfortunately, the United States has been seen as a bellicose nation by some who believe we are antagonizing fights with many other countries.
- Rebel: a person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of his or her country
Anarchy has been a popular idea amongst rebellious and naive young people in the recent years.

Interesting History:
The Roman Goddess of war is Bellonia. She is not a well known goddess; her husband Mars, God of war, is more commonly known. Bellum, her namesake, is the Latin word for war. Bellonia was believed to invoke war-like frenzy and enthusiasm, so when the countries or people who worshiped her were going to war they would offer up sacrifices such as their own blood, limbs, organs or their enemies. Temples ands shrines dedicated to her have been found in the north-eastern parts of Rome, where she was the most widely worshiped.

brie

Dia

*Dia: across; through

Example words containing Dia:
- Diaspora: the movement, migration or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland
The harsh transportation of African people from their homeland to the rest of the world as slaves was a major Diaspora that displaced millions of people.
- Diathermy: the production of heat in body tissues by electric currents, for therapeutic purposes
Every Thursday my aunt has to go to the therapist so for diathermy because she has terrible muscle spasms.
- Diagnosis: the process of determining by examination the nature and circumstances of a diseased condition
The doctor told the old man that his diagnosis was very positive and that the man would only have to be in the hospital for three days.
- Diameter: a straight line passing through the center of a circle or sphere and meeting the circumference or surface at each end
In geometry class, we are learning how to find the diameter of a circle using the radius and pi.
- Diagonal: connecting two nonadjacent angles or vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, as a straight line
We constructed the diagonal of the squares to make boxes with an X’s in them.

Examples of how to use Dia:
The diagnosis of the exact place where the human race began is quite a mystery. Some historians believe that Africa is where the human race began, but others believe that India or other places in Asia could be the motherland of humans. It is difficult to discern where people came from because humans are very mobile creatures who are constantly moving around. Wherever humans originated from there has been a massive Diaspora throughout the history of their race as people have traveled throughout the world and all along the diameter of the Earth. Today, humans are living on every possible land mass, in every diagonal corner of every country, with millions of different lifestyles and customs.

Prefixes

2010-02-16T13:41:00.001-07:00

Over the coarse of the trimester, I have spent a lot of the time in a class called Advance word power. In this class we learned many thing such as roots. But the newest thing that we have learned is prefixes. Prefixes are an affix placed before a base of a word. Below is a list of prefixes and their meaning;

a/an- Without

ab/abs - away

ad/ac/af/ag/an/ap/ar/ar/as/at- Toward

ambi- both

ante- before

anthro- man

anti- against

arm- weapon

audio- sound

auto- moving

biblio- book

bio- self

cata- down

circum- around

co- together

con/com- come together

cred- belief

de- down, away

demi- half

dia- across

dis/dys- bad

ex- out

extra/exter- outside

frate- brother

geo- earth

graph- record

hetero- different

homo- the same

hyper- excessive

ideo- idea

idios- one’s own

in- in/ not

inter- between

legis- law

liber- free

micro- small

mis - wrong

mono- one

mortis- death

neo- new

non- not

omni- all

pat- father

ped- walking

poly - many

post- after

pre - before

re- again

semi- part

sol- alone

subter- underground

super- extra

syn- together

tele- distance

trans- across

un- not

uni- one

vert/vers- all around
Austin

Fus

2010-02-09T17:51:00.001-07:00

Many of English words come from many other languages and cultures. We use them every day and don't realize how each word comes from. The word Fus is another root word of English which comes from the Latin makes up many words means pour. Here are nine meanings and examples for Fus.
1. Effuse (Verb) – To pour out or forth.
o He effuses warmth and friendliness.
o Maria effuses her knowledge in science class.

2. Effusive (Adjective) – Unduly demonstrative, lacking reserve.
o My ant is a very effusive person and gushes and gushes about how good you look when she meet you.
o Normally phlegmatic hacks find themselves melting into rivulets of tears and effusive praise.
o They can vary from small exotic arrangements to large effusive ones.

3. Profuse (Adjective) – Abundant; in great amount; extravagant.
o No wonder that dancing and profuse perspiration was esteemed a necessary add-on to feeding!
o He spends profuse amounts of money on cloths.
o I apologized profusely after bumping into other shopping and knocking her over.

4. Profusion (Noun) – Abundance or large amount.
o There was a profusion of flowers at the Botanical Garden.
o It is rated one of the top game reserves in the world with a unique profusion of wildlife.
o A profusion of rich pink flowers cover the plant in summer.

5. Diffuse (Verb) – To spread out thinly or widely.
o Sun light is diffused when it shined through glass.
o More recently his research has concerned with water quality in relation to diffuse pollution and its mitigation through the completion of best management practice.
o We feel addressing the problems with a structured and planned strategy for the future will diffuse the pension time bomb.

6. Confuse (Verb) – to make something unable to think clearly or understand.
o The rumors and angry charges tended to confuse the issue.
o The result just leaves the viewer confused as to what the show is trying to be.
o Everyone were confused why John dead.

7. Fusillade (Noun) - A simultaneous or rapid and continuous discharge of many firearms.
o In addition to the slaying of Super Man, the member of the audience was wounded by the fusillade of shots.
o He commenced a regular fusillade on the house, smashing nearly the whole of the windows, besides damaging the framework.
o An assassin makes a Fusillade into the president house; he was lucky because he went shopping.

8. Fusion (Noun) - A fusing or melting together.
o Like all stars, the sun generates its energy by a nuclear process known as thermonuclear fusion.
o An excellent fusion of funk, Latin and jazz which took his audience into the early hours of the morning.
o This is equally the case with back specialists, many of whom still favor spinal fusion for chronic low back pain.

9. Suffuse (V) – To spread all over or through something.
o Massive numbers of factual errors suffuse the book, which make it a veritable minefield.
o The light is suffused with color from a couple of notable windows in the north aisle.
o The whole film has the feeling of being projected at two-thirds speed, so suffused is it with this overwhelming sense of ponderousness.

VOC means Sound or Speaking

2010-02-09T17:07:00.004-07:00

VOC

VOC means sound or speaking. VOC is the Greek/Latin root word. There are many root words that we have learned. For instance, Vol, Bel, SAT or SATIS, TEN, VIT or VIV and FUS. This root word will help you if you see any word that have a root word VOC in the word you will know that the word is about sound or speaking. Here are some words and the examples that have a root word VOC.

Equivocal (adjective): Allowing the possibility of several different meanings.
-Politicians are famed for providing equivocal answers to straight questions.
-One of a student in my classroom has an equivocal answer; he doesn’t know the answer when the teacher asks him.

Equivocate (Verb): to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead.
-When asked for his opinion on the death penalty he equivocated.
-The suspect equivocates when a police ask him the question.

Vociferous (adjective): crying out noisily; clamorous.
-A vociferous scream reverberated off the nearby walls.
-His son always makes a vociferous noise and it is annoying me when I hear it.

Provocative (adjective): tending or serving to provoke or incite.
-Carol asked a question in class that was so controversial the teacher thought it was too provocative to discuss.
-My provocative conversation makes my friend punches on my face.

Convocation (Noun): a group of people gathered in answer to a summons; assembly.
-My friends who studied in high school come into the convocation for meeting.
-One of my colleague was fired; he usually comes late for the convocation.

Evocative (adjective): tending to evoke.
-The movie was so evocative that I cried.
-The picture that my son draws is so evocative of my past.

Vocalize (Verb): to make vocal; utter articulate; sing; to endow with a voice; cause to utter.
- I feel so impressed that the singers could vocalize the music perfectly.
-My sister’s band has the best singer in the world; he vocalizes the melodious music.

My older brother is a bad boy; he usually skips the class and never does his homework. When the teacher asks him a question, he always has an equivocal answer. He likes to annoy me. When his provocative conversation makes me angry, I malign to my father that he harms to me and when he asks, my brother equivocates. My father punishes him by incarcerating him in his room for 3 days. When I walk past his room, I hear a vociferous noise from his room. I think he is vocalizing but he is crying. It is so evocative that I laugh. My father interdicts me from opening his door but he is going to the convocation in that time. I open it to talk to him and finally, I condone his behavior.

These are the examples of the root word VOC. It’s very useful if you remember all of these words or you can just remember the root word VOC which means sound. So if you see any word that has a root word VOC, remember it means SOUND OR SPEAKING.

By Too

Penelope Kapusta

2010-02-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hi I’m Erika, and this story is about a girl named Penelope who is practically the perfect women and lives the perfect life. She achieved everything she wanted in life. The point of this story was to use the root words Viv-Vit which means to be alive or full of life, to be lively. The root words, relate to the personality of the main character, Penelope.

Penelope Kapusta is a 23 year old woman who lives in New York, New York. Her father is the owner of Virgin records and her husband is the guitar player for Three Days Grace. Penelope isn’t your typical type of girl. When you see her, you see a beautiful tall brunette sense of fashion and charm. Her personality is full of vitality; she’s always smiling and lively. Because of her vivacious personality and beauty inside and out, she was named Miss Latina 2010. She now has a contract with Victoria Secret, which means she travels all over the world. She’s been everywhere, to L.A to Tokyo and Madrid.

People quickly fall in love with her. She is full of love, joy, peace, patience, and most important of them all is that she respects herself. There’s one thing about her personality that makes her stand out the most, she has a relationship with Jesus Christ. She’s known Jesus since the day she was born. She tries the best to spread his gospel. She knows how vital it is to spread his word. It’s for people to have a revival in their life. Her and her husband used to go to random places and sing Christian songs. Joe, her husband, plays the guitar and she sings. She has a very beautiful voice. It’s very similar o Christina’s Aguilera’s. Their favorite song to sing is “I want to hold your hand”, the Across the Universe version, She sings that song perfectly. One time a teenage girl started to cry because of the beauty of her voice. She got asked if she wanted a record deal, and she’s working on it now.

On February 14, Valentines Day, Penelope and Joe went to a retirement home to sing for the old folks. It was such a special day, in the middle of the song, everyone got in couples and began to dance. After the show, Joe gave her a kiss in front of all the audience, and sang her a song on how much he loved her while playing his guitar.

Penelope finally finished her album. When it got out, it was #1 on the billboard charts for a month. She quickly became famous and was loved by everyone. She was on every Magazine cover. She became a world sensation along with her husband Joe. They would go to every award show together. They would both be nominated for different categories. On the Grammies, Penelope was nominated 8 times. She took four awards that night. The message on her songs was always about love and peace. It had rhythm and beat. She did a world tour. It was the first time she was away from her husband. They’d call each other every night. They missed each other very much.

On March 20, it was to be their anniversary. They were going to meet each other in Italy Rome. Joe was very romantic; he wanted to take Penelope to Italy because that was her favorite place to go. Joe decided to get her a cute, white, fluffy puppy for their anniversary. Penelope wanted one very badly. Penelope bought him a car. When Penelope saw the puppy, she almost broke in tears. She named him Jebus.

When they received a break from their tours, they went back home. When they arrived there, they noticed Jebus was coughing out blood so Joe and Penelope had to take him to the vet. He had a bad disease and had to have a vivisection to fix the problem. Jebus got saved. With the money that Penelope and Joe won, they donated it to save a pet foundation. They continued their careers and made more albums and won more awards. They were both a happy couple for the rest of their lives.

Vitality: exuberant physical strength or mental vigor, full of life.
Vivacious: Full of animation and spirit; lively
Vital: of critical importance
Revival: restoration to life
Vivisection: the action of cutting into or dissecting a living body

An Unlikely Poem

2010-02-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

An Unlikely Poem

You and your bright green and pink polka-dot rhinoceros are ludicrous.
You scrutinize me and my oversized pet frog as he
Plop
Plop
Plops
around in our lavish backyard pond.

You vilify us with your harsh criticism as you complain—
but I think you are only frog green with jealousy.

Or are you appalled? Is it the slimy-slick stagnant green water?
Because I’ve been meaning to change that.

Or is it the all of the clamor he makes as he
Plop
Plop
Plops?
Because I’ve been meaning to build a fence.

Or maybe he is a hindrance to your concentration?
Because it takes a lot to train a rhinoceros.

Regardless of your untenable reasons and obvious duplicity—
I am cognizant of your spying.

However, I feel obliged to commiserate with your rhinoceros—
for a wonderful friendship has been kindled.

Everyone knows that bright green and pink polka-dot rhinoceros’s and oversized pet frogs make the best of friends.

As I have just illustrated, advanced vocabulary can be used in yet another useful and fun way. However, if you are still in the process of expanding your impressive vocabulary, (as I think we all are), then here is a list of definitions and sentences to help you along!

Ludicrous- adjective: Causing laughter because of absurdity; provoking or deserving derision; ridiculous; laughable
Example: The stand-up comedian’s performance was ludicrous. He told ridiculous jokes that caused the crowd to roar with laughter.

Scrutinize-verb: To examine in detail with careful or critical attention.
Example: Susie’s teacher scrutinized her paper for mistakes. Her critical eye is what gave her the reputation as a harsh teacher.
Lavish-adjective: Characterized by or produced with extravagance or profusion.
The princess lived a lavish style. Even her dog’s house was a small gold plated mansion.
Vilify-verb: to revile with abusive or defamatory language; malign
The political candidate vilified his opponent. He claimed that the opponent was guilty of running an unfair campaign.

Appall-verb: to strike with disgust or revulsion
The mother was appalled at the unsanitary condition of her son’s room. He had plates of food from two months ago hidden under his bed.
Stagnant-adjective: Not moving or flowing; motionless.
The pool was filled with stagnant water. Obviously it had not been cleaned or touched for months.

Clamor-noun: A loud outcry; a hubbub
The clamor caused by the circus was loud enough to be heard by the neighboring town.

Hindrance-noun: an obstruction or snag; impediment
The strict curfew that Cindy’s parents gave her acted as a hindrance in her social life.

Untenable-adjective: (of theories, propositions, etc.) incapable of being maintained, defended, or vindicated
The prosecutor’s harsh accusations toward the defendant were untenable due to the overwhelming evidence.

Duplicity-noun: Deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech.
The young teenager’s duplicity was obvious to her parents when she attempted blame her lateness on an escaped elephant who blocked her way home.

Cognizant-adjective: (sometimes followed by `of') having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
The elderly man was cognizant of his surroundings. He was able to give his grandchildren precise directions to the lake.

-Shacaira

Greek Roots

2010-02-02T13:47:00.001-07:00

The root words that I am about to share with you are the roots GEO- and ICHTHY-and PALEO-. I chose these three words based on my knowledge and my drive in the science field. To start out the root GEO- in Greek means earth and the root ICHTHY- in Greek means fish and with PALEO- in Greek means old. So in this blog I will not only give several words including these roots but I will give a definition and an example sentence.

GEO- Earth

Geocentric: having or representing the earth as a center.
Ex: During the Dark Ages many theologians produced a geocentric theory that all the stars went around the Earth.

Geology: the science that deals with the dynamics and physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the earth has undergone or is undergoing.
Ex: Before Darwin wrote his theory of evolution Charles Lyell was the leading person in the field of geology forming many of the techniques that we still use today.

Geography: the science dealing with the areal differentiation of the earth's surface, as shown in the character, arrangement, and interrelations over the world of such elements as climate, elevation, soil, vegetation, population, land use, industries, or states, and of the unit areas formed by the complex of these individual elements.
Ex: The study of geography is still a fairly new science field since it was only brought about in the past 200 years.

Geothermal: of or pertaining to the internal heat of the earth.
Ex: Researchers are now trying to find a way to incorporate geothermal wells to heats houses because it would be cheaper and more efficient.

ICHTHY- Fish

Ichthyology: the branch of zoology dealing with fishes.
Ex: The student went to the University of Florida to get his degree in ichthyology and marine biology.

Osteichthyes: skeletal fish.
Ex: The new species of fish was given the name Rocky based on the fact that he was an osteichhyes.

Chondrichthyes: cartilaginous fish.
Ex: Many fish including sharks are classified as chondrichthyes due to the fact that they have no solid skeleton.

Paleo- Old

Paleolithic: pertaining to an early age before the Stone Age.
Ex: The age when the dinosaurs ruled could be considered as paleolithic because there were no homo sapiens.

Paleomagnetism: magnetic polarization acquired by the minerals in a rock at the time the rock was deposited or solidified.
Ex: There are many rocks that when they are formed had paleomagnitism because of the atoms running through them.

Paleontology: the science of the forms of life existing in former geologic periods, as represented by their fossils.
Ex: Georges Cuvier is considered to be the father of paleontology because he discovered many fossils around his living space in Paris, France.

Paleozoic: noting or pertaining to an era occurring between 570 million and 230 million years ago, characterized by the advent of fish, insects, and reptiles.
Ex: The Paleozoic era was a very dangerous time since there was no way of knowing what the Earth was like back then.

Sire

Naima's story

2010-02-02T13:32:00.001-07:00

Naima’s story

Hello my name is Erika, and my story is a love story that involves different ways to use the root word Fus which means to pour. Naima, taking her normal walk through the park thinking about life did not know that after going out to lunch, today would be the day her life changed forever.

It’s a sunny bright evening. I’m taking my usual walk through Marriate Park. I like coming here because it has a beautiful big fountain of water in the middle of the park. I like coming here to think, think about the future, whatever is going on in the present, and life. The past is one thing I’m trying not to think about unless they’re good memories. I come here to dream and be thankful for the life God has given me. Think about how God effuses his love with warmth and hospitality.
My life couldn’t be any more perfect. I’m a student at CSU; I’m majoring in dance and have a countless amount of friends. I have my dream car, a red Jeep Wrangler 2010. The top of my car is always off during the summer, I like feeling the breeze in my face and how the wind touches my hair, and wearing my Gucci sunglasses, just like in the movies.
As I walked back to my car after my walk, I received a text message on my Mytouch phone. It was my best friend Selena; I almost forgot that we were supposed to meet in Applebee’s to hangout. As I was on my way to the restaurant, I realized the sky had become dark very quickly, and small drops of rain had started to come down. I got to the restaurant and saw Selena sitting in a table booth in the right side near the corner close to the window. The waiter asked if I preferred a table or booth, but I quickly pointed towards Selena and told him I had a reservation. It had been two weeks I hadn’t seen her because she just came back from Miami from Winter Break. We saw each other and ran towards each other to hug. We were both happy to see each other. I couldn’t wait for her to tell me her adventures in Miami. She quickly started off with how she met a cute boy and how she spent so much time with him.
The waiter came to the table and we ordered our food. I of course ordered my usual sweet and sour chicken with vegetables and fried rice on the side. Selena went back to talking about her trip. As she was talking I turned to the side and saw a familiar face, and strangely enough that face was looking back at me. I turned back to Selena in disbelief of who it could have been. I turned back and this time I was sure who it was. My heart dropped when I realized it. Selena saw my worried face and asked me what’s wrong.
“Look to your left,” I whispered to her. Once she looked, she turned back to me with the biggest smile. “Wait a second, isn’t he your ex boyfriend?” She couldn’t say it loud enough. Once she said that, I heard thunder coming from outside. I looked outside the window and saw a profusion of rain. I turned to Selena and asked her to hurry before the rain worsened. “Oh please. The rain is the last of your worries right now. Just chill for a bit more. I’m pretty sure the rain will calm down,” she said. I figures she was right and we got back to our conversation.
“So how long has it been since you’ve talked to Jon your ex” Selena asked.
“Since our high school graduation like a year ago.”
“What happened between you two?” “Well he was very immature and not a good boyfriend. I told him that and he decided we should break up.” In the back of my head I kept having thoughts from my past with him, which was the one thing I tried for the past year not to do. He was my first boyfriend, and my first kiss. I really liked him, and we were good friends before we broke up. “I thought he was different, but he turned out the opposite,” I told Sel. He didn’t even try to make our first kiss special, but deep down inside I knew he had strong feelings for me, or maybe I wanted myself to think he had strong feelings for me. I turned to Selena and she saw a look on my face of desperation to leave.
“We should probably go,” she said, “the rain slowed down.”

As we were waiting for the waiter to come with our check, a waitress came toward us with a Pina Colada. She put it in front of me and said,” From the man over there” pointing at Jon. I took a glimpse and he was looking at me so I smiled. Our waiter came and told us were good for the night because the young gentlemen, again pointing at Jon, has paid for everything. I couldn’t believe it; I didn’t think he would even pay for himself, especially pay for someone else. He stood up and came towards our table. Selena looked at me and I could tell she was nervous for me. My heart started to race as fast as it could and then I felt like it was about to pop out as I heard his smooth and deep voice call out “Hey Naima,” I felt a knot in my throat as I struggled to say “hey” back. “It’s been awhile, how have you been.” “I’ve been fine and you” I replied. “I’ve been well.” We both started to talk about college and how we were pursuing our careers. As we were talking, I noticed he didn’t take his eyes away from me, not even for a second.
Selena stood up and said she had to go. How could she leave at a time like this? But instead of making a scene, I used it as an excuse to leave too. I began to wonder that’s why she did it, to help me out. “Well” I said nervously, “it’s time for me to go.” We stood in silence and then he said,
“I’m glad I saw you today, I hope this isn’t the last time I see you.” I smiled and saw he was taking out his phone. I knew what was going to happen next.
“You should give me your number so we can stay in contact,” he said. So I gave it to him. I thanked him for the drink and for paying for our food. He gave me a hug and sparks began to happen all over again. After the break up, I promised myself I wouldn’t fall for him ever again, and here I am, feeling sparks for him.
We said our final goodbyes for the night and I went back to my car. I looked outside my car window and saw that the rain was effusive. My house was only 15 minutes away from the restaurant, but it took me 40 minutes to get there, afraid that if I went any faster the could slip and go out of control. I hardly could go to sleep that night just thinking about what happened that evening.
It was 9:45 am, and I sat on my couch to watch a review of yesterday’s Tyra Bank show. I made my self some coffee and ate a nutritious granola bar. I checked my phone to see if I had missing calls, but I had nothing. I checked constantly just to make sure if he’d send me a message. I stood up and looked at the mirror and thought to myself, maybe he asked for my number to be nice, but it was just a one night thing. From the moment I promised I wasn’t going to look at my phone unless it was for an emergency. I went upstairs to my bedroom and put my phone under my pillow.
I got my towel, turned on the radio and took a shower. I love showers. I like feeling clean and alive. Water makes me feel that way. After my shower, I came out and got ready. I began to feel good again and practically forgot the whole Jon thing. I put my make up bag in my Louis Viutton purse and went down stairs to my car. I realized I didn’t have my phone so I went back upstairs to get it. I looked at it and noticed a missing text message. “Good morning, it’s Jon by the way,” it said on the screen. My heart started to race again. He actually texted me. I wasn’t sure if I should text back or not, but I did. I replied, “Hey, how’s it going.” It took him about a minute to text back, but that minute felt like an hour.
I got in my car and went to the mall. I managed to keep the conversation going the whole time I was there. I was shopping at Hollister when I saw a sign hanging in the wall with a picture of two couples holding hands and hugging each other. It was one of those advertisements that claims if you buy their perfume you’ll have the man of your dreams down on their knees for you in a split second. I went into Vanity to try on some clothes. He hasn’t texted back for awhile. As I was at the cashier about to pay for my clothes, I got a phone call from Jon. We exchanged our hellos and he began to say, “So what are you doing tonight,” he asked nervously.
“I’m not sure, why?” I answered trying not to sound desperate.
“Well I was wondering if you wanted to go the movies with me tonight.”
“Tonight” I answered, “sure, why not.”
“Great, I’ll pick you up around 7:00.” I gave him my address and we said goodbye. I started to get butterflies in my stomach. I haven’t been this nervous since my audition for a music video.
I got home as quick as possible to change into something more seductive. It was around 6:30 and I put on my heels. I figured since it was Jon, he might come around later than 7:30. He never really was the type that came on time. I wanted to be ready before hand because I don’t like being rushed. I looked outside the window and saw a black GMC truck in front of my home. It was Jon. I’m glad I got early. He got out of the truck and reached for something in the back of the seat. They were flowers, white lilies to be exact. I remembered telling him when we were in high school that lilies were my favorites, I’m shocked he remembered. I heard the doorbell knock and took my time to open the door. He looked at me and in a low quiet voice he said, “Wow, you look beautiful.” He came inside the house and gave me the flowers. I told him to wait so that I could get them in a vase. We went into his truck and went off to the theatre. We talked the whole way there as if we were to see each other everyday. We saw a suspense movie. I wasn’t really into that type of movie, getting scared for no reason, pointless. During the middle of the movie, I had my hand rested in the handle were you put your cups. He reached for my hand and our fingers interlocked. We held hands during the rest of the movie.
After the movie he told me he had a surprise for me. We stopped near a park with an ice skating rink. It still had on the Christmas lights. No one was there except for us. From the back of his truck he took out two ice skates. I struggled a bit to put mine on since they were bigger than my usual size. He held my hand and took me into the ice rink. I was very scared, “This is the first time I do this,” I yelled.
“Don’t worry, I’ll show you,” he said while he out his hands around my waist. We began to skate with his hands still around me. I was beginning to get the hang of it. “What happened to us, in high school?” he asked sadly.
“I don’t think we were ready to be in a relationship with each other,” I replied. We were standing in the middle of the ice rink and he looked straight into my eyes and said, “Naima, since the moment I first saw you, I knew that somehow you were the one.”
“Then why did you break up with me?”
“Because I had so much going on, pressure from my family and pressure from my friends, I didn’t have a car to take you places, I felt that you weren’t happy and that you expected a lot from me and I couldn’t be able to give you anything.” He continued talking while he put his hands on my cheek and with his other hand he pulled me closer to him. “I realize now that that was the biggest mistake I ever made, to let go of you.” I closed my eyes and tried not to cry, my heart was telling me to believe everything he was saying but my mind was telling me not to. His hands were wrapped around me and mine wrapped around him. I always thought his hugs were quite special, they were like no other hug I ever had. I felt safe around his arms. I had so much that I had to say but I couldn’t find the right way to say it. At that moment I’d figured I’d give him a second chance. On the way back home he kept saying how much he missed me and how he was not going to screw this one up. Deep down, I believed him.
A couple weeks passed and we were still together. We would see each other every day, and he would always call me at night to say goodnight. We’ve only been together for a month but it felt more like years. I even trusted him with an extra key to my house, just in case I forgot mine.
It was a week before Valentines Day and I couldn’t think of anything to get him. I was confused. What do men like that you can buy at a local store? I called Selena for guidance, and we thought of an awesome plan. We had to call Jon’s brother to help us out with this one. The night before Valentines Day, I and Selena went to Jon’s home to put balloons on his truck and have a cute letter put on his wheel from me. Jon’s brother gave us an extra key. We thought he’d be surprised in the morning. After we finished I went back home to sleep. Jon said he had a special day planned for me tomorrow.
As I woke up I noticed the smell of fresh flowers. I stood up from my bed and saw red and pink flowers petals everywhere. I went to my bathroom and saw a vase full of flowers with a note that said “Follow the arrows.” I went to the hallway and followed the arrows down the stairs, to the living room and in to my kitchen. The last arrow was pointing at a big Mickey Mouse doll holding an envelope. I opened the envelope and it had a letter and two tickets to Disney Land. “Get ready before 10:00 am; I’ll pick you up around that time. The plane leaves at 11:00. Love always, Jon,” the letter quoted. I looked at my clock and it was 9:15. I only had 45 minutes to get ready. I took a 5 minute shower and rushed everything into my luggage. I was so excited and couldn’t wait. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. I heard the doorbell and it was Jon.
We left off to the airport. We got 1st class seats. I’ve only been on a plane once and I was freaking out. Jon held my hand the whole time. He figured I was scared. We got to L.A around 2:30. We went to our hotel and stayed in a suite.
The next day we woke up early to get to Disney. We took a picture with almost every character there, and waited in line for every single ride. It’s the most fun I ever had. Night time was getting close and we got a good spot for the fire works show. He stood up and told me he had a better spot. I refused to get up because we had a good spot. He convinced me to get up and took me near Cinderella’s castle. There was a man waiting near the door to the castle. When we got there, he opened the door for us.
“Wait, are you sure we won’t get in trouble” I asked.
“Nope, I hope not,” he replied. He took me to the top of the castle were we had a perfect view of the fire works. I smiled at him and he gave me an I told you so look. He kissed me profusely through out the whole fire works. It was the most perfect night. I thanked Jon for giving me such an amazing Valentines Day gift. He looked at me and told me that as long as I was with him, my life would be an adventure, as soon as he said that, he reached for something in his pocket, and kneeled down on one knee and said, “Naima you mean the world to me; out of all the women in the world you are the most beautiful. I could be like those other men and chase after many women, but my time would be wasted. They got nothing on you. I guess what I’m trying to say is I Love you and would you marry me.”
On the way back home I couldn’t wait to tell my family. I know I had only been with him for a short amount of time, but I was in love. I was sure my family would understand. When we got home I took him to Marriate Park with me. We sat on the bench near the fountain. Instead of going there and thinking by myself, I had Jon next to me, and we thought about our future. Last time I was there I had thought about life alone, but now I realize that life comes unexpectedly, and we have to make each second an adventure.

Effuse: To pour out
Effusive: Pouring out or over flowing.
Profuse: abundant, in great amount.
Profusion: Abundance or large amount.
Confused: Perplex or bewilder

FUS

2010-02-02T13:15:00.001-07:00

FUS – Pour

The Latin root word, “FUS” means literally “To Pour Out”. This is not always talking about pouring liquids physically, but also pouring out your emotions mentally. Today I will be going over many words with the root FUS, hopefully this entry will help you understand more about the Latin root FUS, and how it can be used in everyday language.

• Effuse (Verb) – To pour out or forth
-Example) The grungy smell of the rotten trash was effusing through the holes in the cheap trash bag.

• Effusive (Adjective) – Unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve
-Example) Because of her unsteady emotional state, the woman was effusive.

• Profuse (Adjective) – Abundant; in great amount; extravagant
-Example) My father gave me a profuse lecture bout taking my responsibilities as an adult.

• Profusion (Noun) – Abundance or large amount
-Example) There was a profusion of mice under the floorboards of the in the restaurant.

• Diffuse (Verb) – To spread out thinly or widely
-Example) As John poured the tea, the liquid diffused as it passed through the spout into the teacup.

• Confuse ( Verb) – To make unclear, indistinct
-Example) To confuse the man, Johnny drove in all different directions.

• Affusion (Noun) – Pouring of water or other liquid as I the rite of baptism.
-Example) The affusion of the water into the tank was done very carefully.

• Circumfuse (Verb) – To pour around; to diffuse
-Example) The man circumfused fertilizer over the lawn so it would look the best come summer.

• Fusible (Noun) – A description of metals and other materials that are easily melted or liquefied by heating.
-Example) The alloys were so light, they were going to be fusible in seconds.

• Fusion (Noun) – The act of procedure of liquefying melting by the applicant of heat.
-Example) The energy of the sun and all other stars is obtained by nuclear fusion.

• Refuse (Verb) – something like paper, trash, or garbage that has been thrown away.
-Example) The truck will be coming soon to pick up the cans full of refuse and take them to the dump

• Suffuse (Verb) – To spread through or over, as with liquid, color, or light.
-Example) The sky will suffuse with the clouds on a rainy day.

• Transfuse (Verb) – To pour, as a fluid, from one container to another.
-Example) My mom transfused the old orange juice with the new orange juice in order to make room in the fridge for more.

• Infusion (Noun) – The act or process of infusing.
-Example) The alchemists of many years ago tried to find an infusion that would turn ordinary metals into gold.

Three New Roots!

2010-02-02T12:47:00.002-07:00

THE ROOT WORDS:
~Cognoac, gnosi – know
~Tom – cut
~Morbus – disease

THE WORDS:

Cognoac and Gnosi
• Recognize- V: to identify a person or object previously seen
o Although it had been a decade or so, the woman recognized her old friend at their high school reunion.
• Prognosis- N: a forecasting of the probable course and outcome of a disease, esp. of the chances of recovery
o The prognosis was not terrible, Susan did have strep but she would not die from it!
• Incognito- Adj: having one’s identity concealed, as under an assumed name, esp. to avoid notice or formal attentions
o James Bond often uses other names when he does his spy work in order to remain incognito.
• Cognoscente- N: person or persons who have superior knowledge and understanding of a particular field, esp. in the fine arts, literature, and world of fashion
o William Shakespeare was a cognoscente of literature, his old fashioned plays make some of nowadays more modern plays look like children wrote them!

Tom
• Atom- N: the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element, consisting of a nucleus containing combinations of neutrons and protons and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus by electrical attraction
o An atom is so small it cannot be cut!
• Dichotomy- N: division into two usually contradictory parts or opinions.
o Many politicians have a dichotomy with their beliefs or ideas, one wants to run our country one way and the other a completely different way!
• Appendectomy- N: a surgery involving the excision of the appendix
o The appendix is a mystery to all doctors, no one knows what it is used for! However, if it becomes problematic then you must get an appendectomy.
Morbus
• Morbid- Adj: psychologically unhealthy or unwholesome (not always used literally)
o Some people are morbidly obese, meaning their weight could kill them.

What ties all these words together? A vocabulary-filled paragraph, that’s what!

Doctors are trained to recognize signs of disease to save their patients. Their prognoses are critical to both the client and themselves. If he diagnoses someone with a morbid form of cancer and they turn out not to have it, he will have to go incognito to hide from the angry family chasing him around for scaring them so badly! Some diagnosis, like appendicitis, require nearly immediate surgery. An appendectomy will quickly fix that problem! On the other hand, other patients are not lucky enough to get their problem fixed so fast. Morbid obesity takes years to be turned around, if it can be at all. In a nutshell, we should all appreciate every last atom we have!

Lisa

Armageddon and The Nostradamus Effect

2010-01-27T15:01:00.001-07:00

I have decided to use my vocabulary words in a short story on Armageddon and the Nostradamus Effect. I’m using these words to help teach the reader how to use the words in a story. Hopefully the story will help you understand the words in the story.
65 million years ago the world was home to many species of animals. What they didn’t realize was that a gigantic asteroid was heading for Earth. Based on scientific research scientists have predicted an Armageddon. Today in this world it is possible for Armageddon to happen. It is an irrevocable part of the lives of people on Earth that can’t be stopped because it is the natural part of life and is supposed to happen. Armageddon can bring a huge number of death tolls or even terminate the human race. It can bring a proliferation of deaths around the globe within a matter of minutes, making the human race extinct. Today, all of the power plants and pollution can cause the world to go into a global warming. With the many cars, factories, and power plants these industries can precipitate the Earths atmosphere to spread high heat waves and gases throughout the entire world. In theory this can cause a new ice age. If this does happen a magnitude of people would become estranged from their homes, but they wouldn’t have anywhere to go. People would act maudlin because they would be stranded with no hope. The human race would regress into pre stone-age state without power or anyway to survive. Without hope many people would start to berate God for doing this to the world. After Armageddon has run its course on Earth it would be difficult to hoist scraps from the ground. Armageddon is not an inadvertent event to planet Earth. It’s just the natural part of life for the destruction to happen. All of the events can possibly be sporadic from when it has started to now. From ancient civilizations they have been predicting the end of the world. They believed that the end of the world could happen in 2012. Today, scientists are doing research to see if the legend of 2012 will come true. People think that scientist fritter in their research because people don’t believe that 2012 will happen. Another name for Armageddon is the Nostradamus Effect. Nostradamus was a French doctor and astrologer. He was known for making predictions from Adolf Hitler to the September 11 attacks. Nostradamus has predicted many of natural disasters that could possibly happen. Some of his predictions are ambiguous to many scientist, the predictions have not been clear. When Nostradamus had done studies on the Mayans on when they predicted the end of the world, he also predicted as well. Scientists who don’t agree with Nostradamus think he is inane from all of the predictions that he has done. Some of the predictions that Nostradamus has predicted has so far have been right. Many people are dissident about Nostradamus’s predictions. If Armageddon does happen people all over the world will regress into riots with bad behavior. Only time will tell if Armageddon does happen, in my opinion, we will have to wait and see. Scientist and other researchers are still trying to unlock the Nostradamus Effect; so far some of his predictions have been correct. Who knows what will happen. The earth is still a young planet in our solar system. There are more journeys yet to come for our planet.

-Lucas

PAN

2010-01-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

The words that we use every day in our English language come from many other languages and cultures. We use them every day and don't realize how many other languages make up our English language. PAN is another root word of English which makes up many words. Here are some examples for PAN.

PAN means ALL

• Panacea (noun) - A remedy for all disease or ills.
o One day they hope to find the ultimate panacea and cure all of the world's ills.
o The scientists are discovering a panacea which can cure all kinds of diseases.
o After years of incarceration the outside had become the panacea to all my ills.

• Pandemic (adjective) – A wide spread disease.
o Because the rats and fleas that spread the Black Plague were found throughout Europe, the plague soon became a pandemic there.
o It’s difficult to read a newspaper or watches the TV news without finding some reference to the anticipated avian flu pandemic.
o Dire predictions have been made that a devastating influenza pandemic will occur any time soon.

• Pandemonium (noun) - Wild uproar or unrestrained disorder; tumult or chaos.
o The riot caused sheer pandemonium!
o Keith thought long; then came up with perfection: “All-out pandemonium based on demented harassment of anything that moves”.
o These are indicative of the general pandemonium which seems to be dominating the class at the present time.

• Panegyric (noun) – A lofty speech of praise for a person usually in a eulogy.
o Tom gives a panegyric while talking to his co-workers.
o I do not agree at all with the panegyrics written in the English newspaper.
o I speak a panegyric of love to my girlfriend.

• Pantheist (noun) – A person who believes is all gods.
o Pantheism is a philosophy where God is manifested in the universe, and that all creation is a part of God.
o The Pantheist loves Jesus, Buddha, and all other deities.
o Michael goes to church everyday; he is pantheist.

• Pangaea (noun) – the hypothetical landmass that existed when all continents were joined together.
o Dinosaurs lived on Pangaea long before people were alive.
o Scientists say that long ago America was a part of Pangaea.

• Panorama (noun) – an unobstructed view from all directions.
o The best place to see a panorama of Colorado is from Long’s Peak.
o An easy walk here can be taken to Viewing Peak, from where a panorama of the valley unfolds.
o The panorama of the limestone peaks of the Blue mountain range on the west coast never fails to impress.
o Sarah loves to take panoramic pictures when she sees a beautiful view.

• Panchromatic (adjective) - sensitive to all visible colors, as a photographic film.
o In fact they are like normal panchromatic films except that they have extended red sensitivity to longer electromagnetic wavelengths.
o Examples include combining high resolution panchromatic imagery with coarse resolution multispectral imagery, or merging actively and passively sensed data.

These are example words that aren’t coming from the root word:

• Panda (noun) - A cute bear having black and white color that mostly founded in China.
• Panic (noun) - A sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals.
• Pancake (noun) - A thin, flat cake of batter fried on both sides on a griddle or in a frying pan; griddlecake or flapjack.
• Pancreas (noun) - a gland, situated near the stomach, that secretes a digestive fluid into the intestine through one or more ducts and also secretes the hormone insulin.

New to College

2010-01-26T13:37:00.002-07:00

The end of a student’s senior year in high school often marks a very exciting and bittersweet start to the rest of one’s life. For many, this also leads to the beginning of a college career. Kate was a new freshman at the Colorado State University and she was just about to start her first term. She was scared to death to finally be out on her own, yet she was very eager as well. For the past few years, she felt as if her house were a tent. This tent was enclosing her in from the rest of the world. Kate was always known to be a very tenacious girl and wanted nothing more but to burst out of her bubble. She wanted to experience what she had not yet experienced, but she was nervous as to what the future held in store for her.
Kate did not know anyone at her new college. She was preparing to meet her new roommate, and desperately hoped that they would get along. Kate held temporary tenure over her dorm room and was worrisome as to how she would pay the money for it over the year. After seeing her new roommate, the money issues instantly became the least of her worries for the time being. Her roommate was dressed in a clown costume and was wearing a foam Green Bay Packers cheese hat. Kate did not know what to make out of her new roommate. She was untenable in that she was standing frozen in the middle of the room, awestruck at her acquaintances crazy appearance. Even weirder, her roommate did not introduce herself. Instead she set down her suit case, screamed out a long “rawrrrr” like a dinosaur, and left the room flapping her arms like a chicken.
Instead of creeping Kate out, her roommate’s actions actually made her loosen up and giggle. It would seem that most people would be somewhat tentative in confronting this character, but in all reality, Kate couldn’t wait to see what her roomie would do next. Kate decided to call her mom so she could talk to someone about her seemingly insane roommate. Kate’s mother was freaking out saying that Kate should apply for a new roommate right away. Even though Kate agreed, she tried to extenuate the situation for it was actually extremely entertaining. Taking this amusing situation in the best light, Kate found herself looking forward to the new adventures ahead of her.

Attenuate: to weaken or reduce in force, intensity, effect, quantity, or value: to attenuate desire.
Extenuate: to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious: to extenuate a crime.
Tenacity: holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold (often fol. by of)
Untenable: incapable of being defended, as an argument, thesis, etc.; indefensible.
Tenure: the holding or possessing of anything: the tenure of an office.
Tentative: unsure; uncertain; not definite or positive; hesitant: a tentative report on her findings.
Tenuous: of slight importance or significance; unsubstantial: He holds a rather tenuous position in history.

2010-01-26T13:37:00.001-07:00

In our class we have learned many Greek and Latin root words. We have learned MAL (bad), VAC (empty), BREV (short), and DICT (say or declare). Learning root words is important because you can figure out words you might not know. Below I have listed the definitions of these and a creative short story incorporating all of the new words we have just learned.
Malign (v): to speak harmful untruths about someone/thing or to speak evil (slander)
Malevolent (adj.): Wishing evil or harm onto others; showing ill will.
Malediction (n): A curse, slander, or statement.
Malice (n): Desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on someone.
Malicious (adj.): Characterized by or showing malice.
Malfeasance (n): The performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified.
Vacuous (adj.): 1.) Emptied of or lacking content. 2.) Marked by lack of ideas or intelligence.
Brevity (n): Shortness of duration; especially shortness or conciseness of expression.
Diction (n): Choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, and effectiveness.
Indict (v): 1.) To charge with a fault of offense criticize or accuse. 2.) To charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a jury.
Indicative (adj.): Showing, signifying, or suggestive. (Typically following the word “of”)
Dictum (n): An authoritative saying or judicial order.
The Malicious Mayor
Once upon a time there was a malicious mayor who stole money from all of the people in his city. He maligned the people by telling them that their money was going towards a third world country that desperately needed it, when actually he was using it for his own good. He didn’t make enough money to support his opulent lifestyle so he had to con people of their money. The mayor’s dictum was one the people had to listen to; after all you can’t say no to the mayor! The people of the city had a feeling that this was wrong but the brevity in his speeches and his diction gave them no proof. They lost hope and gave up trying to accuse him of a crime that seemed unfeasible. The mayor was malevolent and didn’t stop there! His luxurious lifestyle was so lavish that he needed more money. He asked for money from other cities as well! He told an elaborate story of how the country was struck by a hurricane and it would honorable to make a generous donation. The other cities weren’t vacuous though; they knew the mayor was lying through his teeth because they had not heard or seen any proof about this hurricane. The mayor’s sketchy answers and hasty requests for money were indicative of the fraud. They caught on and soon after the mayor was accused of a malfeasance. The judge in his court was a previous mayor to the same town; he showed no mercy for the stupidity of his crime and punished him to the full extent. His indictment was delivered the next week and he is now in the county jail. The malediction of his new cell mate makes him miserable every day, even the guards have malice towards him for his voracious crime.

Jessi :)

Mal poem

2010-01-20T11:55:00.002-07:00

In class we went over Latin and Greek roots. The main root in this section that really caught my eyes was the root “mal-” which stands mean bad and evil. This root really inspired me to write this poem with such strong powerful words.

We all have malice within
Showcased by our malediction
Thrown towards each other
Casually
Carelessly
Malevolent words meant to harm
To scorn
To hurt others

People malign there brethren
Putting them down to get a high

A once high respected falls
His malfeasance is absolute
We are a malicious group
We have a vacuous spot in our chest
Where our love should be.

Mal

2010-01-19T13:33:00.001-07:00

Mal
Mal is a Greek and Latin root and it means bad and evil.
Malign- It is verb and the definition for this vocabulary is to speak harmful untruths about or to speak evil (slander). It can be an adjective too, and it means evil or injurious in effect.
 Some people malignedPresident Obama by telling the lies about his religion and his beliefs.
 Bill Clinton is a very malignant man because he did lie about his affair until he admitted that he did had an affair.
Malevolent- It is an adjective and the definition for this word is wishing evil or harm to others; showing ill will.
 The terrorists who crashed into New York’s building were malevolent because they killed thousands of people in New York on 9/11.
 Saddam Hussein was a malevolent person who killed many of his people in his own country.
Malediction- It is noun and the definition of this vocabulary is a curse or slanderous statement.
 The malediction that the Senator gave yesterday about the terrorists made the headline news.
 I know an old gypsy lady will give you a malediction for your enemy for fifteen dollars.
Malice- It is noun and the definition for this word is desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering; meanness; evil intent.
 The Devil has malice for the angels, God and people who believe in God or Gods.
 Some people have malice for their enemies because they cannot stand them.
Malicious- It is an adjective and the definition for this vocabulary is characterized by or showing malice.
 This girl spread malicious gossip about her ex-boyfriend who dumped her for her sister.
 On the television show Law and Order last night, the murderer showed malicious contempt for his victims by mutilating their bodies.
Malfeasance- It is noun and the definition of this word is the performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law; wrongdoing (use esp. of an act in violation of a public trust).
 O.J. Simpson was accused of malfeasance because he was guilty of robbing banks.
 John is not official malfeasance, he is suspended from his job and they are investigating him right now.
Malfunction- It is a verb and the definition for this word is failure to function properly.
 My new laptop is malfunctioning because the Internet is never working.
 You should never buy a Dell desktop computer because they always malfunction and it seems like they never work right.
Malcontent- It is adjective and the definition for this vocabulary is not satisfied or content with currently prevailing condition or circumstances.
 My boss is a malcontent. He is never satisfied with me because I do not listen to his directions for making hamburgers at Wendy’s.
 Just because I am disappointed about not doing well on my calculus test does not make me a malcontent.

Audra

Big Words and a VERY Short Story

2010-01-19T12:47:00.002-07:00

Big words can make you sound and feel sophisticated, but what happens when those words get too big? Lets look at some examples, shall we?

Ebullient: Adj – overflowing with enthusiasm or excitement
~ Ex ~ The athlete was in an ebullient mood when she won the gold medal.
Equanimity: N – mental or emotional stability or composure; calmness
~ Ex ~ Some people have such equanimity! They can be so calm under pressure.
Gasconade: V – to boast extravagantly
~ Ex ~ She can be so gasconade. She brags about everything!
Gnomon: The raised part of the sundial that casts the shadow
~ Ex ~ The gnomon on the old sundials begin to ware away over time.
Winebibber: N – a person who drinks much wine
~ Ex ~ My cousin is a winebibber! She is a wine taster.
Sesquipedalian: Adj – given to using long words
~ Ex ~ Today, I read such a sesquipedalian sentence. It had five or six words I couldn’t even pronounce!
Perfidious: Adj – disloyal; deceitful
~ Ex ~ He was an extremely perfidious husband. Cheating once is bad, but twice is dreadful!
Nefarious: Adj – infamous by way of being extremely wicked
~ Ex ~ Oprah did not get her infamy by doing nefarious, attention-getting deeds. She worked hard for all she has!
Deride: V – to laugh at in scorn; mock
~ Ex ~ It is rude to deride someone because of an embarrassing moment.
Pugnacious: Adj – inclined to quarrel or fight readily; belligerent
~ Ex ~ Some boys have pugnacious attitudes during their teenage years. They will fight about the silliest things!
Obsequious: Adj – severely compliant or differential; obedient
~ Ex ~ I sit in class with an obsequious manner because I am constantly prepared to do whatever task the teacher requests of me!
Antebellum: Adj – belonging to the period before the war, esp. the Civil War
~ Ex ~ My grandparents were born during an antebellum time period, some of them were even in the wars!
Ziggurat: N – a temple of Sumerian origin in the form of a pyramidal tower
~ Ex ~ There are many temples one can visit while in foreign countries, on would be a ziggurat which has beautiful terraces.
Subjugate: V – to make submissive
~ Ex ~ Subjugating a dog is harder ten it sounds because they can be very stubborn!
Hubris: N - excessive pride of self-confidence; arrogance
~ Ex ~ Many people let their accomplishments go to their heads, causing them to become hubris.
Jejune: Adj – juvenile; immature
~ Ex ~ Boys always seem to have jejune attitudes, even when they say they are grown up.
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- the fear of long words
~ Ex ~ Sara would never be able to attend any type of medical conference because she suffers from a bad case of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.

A VERY Short Story
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Elaine. Elaine was the perfect little girl! She did not have a jejune attitude; in fact, many would say she was the most mature young woman in her age group. Her mother was an unsuccessful winebibber, and also a hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobic. To her greatest despair, her only daughter spoke in a highly sesquipedalian manner. Elaine’s mother would often try to subjugate her in hopes of making her speak in a way she could understand. Elaine did not have an obsequious outlook on life, so her efforts were rendered useless. Her mother tried everything! The “silent treatment,” therapy, and worst of all she would constantly deride her own daughter. Lucky for Elaine, as the end of her senior year in high school approached she was contacted by a prestigious college. She applied for multiple academic scholarships and ended up getting accepted! Elaine went to her mother to break her the good news in an ebullient mood, but her mothers’ lack of concern forced her to display equanimity. She had a pugnacious feeling about her that she had to suppress in order to prevent doing something uncalled for. Elaine graduated from her college at the top of her class and became a successful dean of that very university. Today, Elaine is rightfully gasconade, but being the mature woman she is she is never hubris. The End!
-Lisa

A Lesson in Elocution

2010-01-14T19:34:00.001-07:00

Previous to entering my Advanced Word Power class, my elocution lacked certain eloquence. Even though I was quite a loquacious person, I was always the first to offer my benediction; my benevolence was not always well received. I endured harsh obloquies from teachers and magnates regarding my lack of proper diction. These abusive indictments came as an unwelcome surprise that left me feeling very piqued. Instead of receiving beautiful panegyrics, they suggested that I study famous Shakespearean soliloquies in order to increase my fluid articulation. They also advised that I promptly cease using my current vocabulary which was indicative of my vacuous intelligence. Despite my initial aversion to this idea, I surrendered and complied with their demands. In addition to their requests, I began diligently learning the vocabulary provided in my Word Power class. Luckily, after many exhausting nights of studying my efforts paid off. I am now a lucid orator who receives many compliments for my excellent elocution.

Now although this is a fictional story it has its roots in reality. I used to regard many of the advanced vocabulary words in my story at one time to be utter nonsense. However, after learning that most words borrow their roots from either Greek or Latin, it became much easier to uncover their definitions.

Root Words-

*Magn-Gigantic

Magnate: Noun- A person of great influence, or importance in a particular field of business.
Example- Bill Gates is considered a powerful magnate due to his overwhelming success in the computer business.

*Loc/Loq- Talk

Elocution: Noun- A person’s manner of speaking aloud in public.
Example- The young student was complimented on his poised elocution. His confidence when speaking really shone through.

Loquacious: Adjective- Characterized by excessive talk; wordy
Example- Many people at the movie theater found the girls loquacious personality very annoying. How were they supposed to enjoy the movie with her incessant conversation?

Eloquence: Adjective- Characterized by persuasive, powerful, and expressive speaking.
Example- The crowd was inspired by the president’s powerful eloquence. His persuasive speech won him many votes.

Soliloquy: Noun- 1) A dramatic speech in which a character talks to himself or reveals his thoughts alone on stage. 2) The act of speaking to oneself
Example- Every time my English professor recites Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, it is as though he is speaking to himself just as Hamlet was.

Obloquy: Noun- Blame or abusive language aimed at a person, especially by many people or by the general public.
Example-My mother is notorious for her obloquy. She is always yelling at my brother for not cleaning his room.

Bene-Good

Benediction: Noun- A blessing or an expression of good wishes
Example- Catholics from all over the world travel to receive the Pope’s benediction. They believe it will bring good things into their life.

Benevolence: Noun- A desire to do good to/ for others
Example- Oprah’s benevolence inspired her to build schools for underprivileged children in Africa.
Pan-All

Panegyric: Noun- A lofty speech of praise for a person
Example-The beneficiary delivered a beautiful panegyric at the banquet honoring her benefactor for all that he had given her.

Dict- Say or declare

Diction: Noun- Choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness
The public speaking coach emphasized the importance of diction for clarity and effectiveness during a debate.

Indicative: Adjective- (Followed by the word of) - Showing, signifying, suggestive
Example- All of the books in Susie’s room was indicative of her love to read.

*Vac-Empty

Vacuous: Adjective- 1) Emptied of or lacking content 2) marked by lack of ideas or intelligence
Example- Tom’s dumbfounded vacuous expression was indicative of his lack of knowledge.

-Shacaira

The root DIC/DICT=TALK

2010-01-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

The root word Dict you can find just about anywhere in our everyday language. Some of the more common uses of DICT appear in words such as “Dictionary”, “Dictator”, or “Diction”. Today I will be going over many words with the root DICT.

Dictionary(N): A book containing a selection of the words of a language, usually arranged alphabetically, giving information about their meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, inflected forms, etc.
-Ex) John had to use a dictionary to look up a word that he was not familiar about.

Diction(N): Style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words.
-Ex) A speaker must have excellent diction to have the listeners understand

Dictator(V): To say or read (something) aloud for another person to transcribe or for a machine to record
-Ex) Joe had to dictate his old letters to save room around the house by putting them all on audio files.

Addict(V): A person who is addicted to an activity, habit, or substance.
-Ex) The gambling addict spent all day and all his money in the casino's trying to get lucky.

Contradiction(V): To assert the contrary or opposite of; deny directly and categorically.
-Ex) It's a contradiction to say he's good in math, but failed algebra

Predict(V): To declare or tell in advance; prophesy; foretell.
-I predicted that the water would turn blue after adding the blue dye to it.

Verdict(N): The finding or answer of a jury given to the court concerning a matter submitted to their judgment.
-Ex) The jury came to the verdict that he was guilty of murder in the second degree.

Malediction(N): A curse; imprecation.
-Ex) The poor boy couldn't shake the malediction that was put upon him by the old witch.

Indict(V): To bring a formal accusation against, as a means of bringing to trial
-Ex) I can indict you on the information I have so far.

Indictment(N): A formal accusation initiating a criminal case, presented by a grand jury and usually required for felonies and other serious crimes.
-Ex) In the common legal system, an indictment is a formal accusation that a person has committed a criminal offense.

Indicative(ADJ): Showing, signifying, or pointing out
-Ex) The high school senior was very indicative about showing all the new students where everything was.

Dictum(N): An authoritative pronouncement.
-Ex) A guard delivered a dictum that all prisoners would be quiet.

Benediction(N): An utterance of good wishes.
-Ex) Saying “bless you” when someone sneezes is a benediction.

Valediction(N): An act of bidding farewell or taking leave.
-Ex) The man gave his wife a valediction before he left for his 9 month journey in Iraq.

Edict(N): A decree issued by a sovereign or other authority.
-Ex) In 1992, Pope John Paul II lifted the edict of inquisition against Galileo

by Dylan

2010-01-12T12:47:00.004-07:00

MAL

The Greek/Latin root word will help you if you don’t know the definition of the word. The roots that we have learned were PAN, BENE, LOC/LOQ, MAGN, VAC, BREV, DIC/DICT and MAL. You may have seen some of these root words before. The root word of MAL means bad. And these are some examples of the root word MAL.

-Malign (verb): to speak harmful truths about or to speak evil (slander).
- The boy maligns his friend by telling people that he is cheating and nasty.
Malign can also be an adjective too.

-Malign (adjective): evil or injurious in effect
-My ex-girlfriend is very malign to me because she maligns me by telling that I stole her money.
-Malevolent (adjective): wishing evil or harm to others; showing ill will (opposite of benevolent)
-The malevolent stepmother locks Cinderella in the broom closet.
-As she cast her malevolent gaze upon me I could feel my sudden burst of bravado shrinking to nothing.

-Malediction (Noun): a curse or slanderous statement
-The poor boy couldn’t shake the malediction that was put upon him by the witch.
-I am the only warlock in my guild who has all three points invested in the malediction talent, making me very valuable during raids.

-Malice (Noun): desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering; evil intent.
-Before Jeff accepted religion, he was constantly filled with thoughts of malice.
-The man has the malice to the adversary, so he maligns him by telling lies.

-Malicious (adjective): characterized by or showing malice.
-The malicious man tried to steal the old lady’s glasses, so she wouldn’t be able to see.
-Opening a malicious program on the computer will result in a computer virus.

-Malfeasance (Noun): The performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrast to law; wrongdoing caused especially of an act in violation of a public trust.
-A large number of Wall Street executives have been guilty of financial malfeasance.

-Malnutrition (Noun): lack of proper nutrition; inadequate or unbalanced nutrition.
-The lack of food leads to malnutrition, which is evidenced by illness and disorder, and ultimately to death by hunger, which is called starvation.

-Malcontent (adjective): not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances, dissatisfied with the existing government, administration, system, etc.
-Apart from saving lives, the doctor lives a malcontent lifestyle living alone in his apartment.

-Malcontent (Noun): a malcontent person, esp. one who is chronically discontented or dissatisfied.
-I am not concerned about a few malcontents; they are just the fly in my rum.

-Malaise (Noun): a condition of general bodily weakness or discomfort, often marking the onset of disease, a vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort.
-I need a cure for the malaise afflicting me today.
-My malaise hindered me from attending school today.

-Malady (Noun): any disorder or disease of the body, esp. one that is chronic or deep-seated, any undesirable or disordered condition: social maladies; a malady of the spirit.
-The woman found that the genetic malady she had had since childhood could be cured.

-Maladjusted (Adjective): badly or unsatisfactorily adjusted, esp. in relationship to one's social circumstances, environment, etc.
- He has a very maladjusted family; the only time they converse is when everyone is under the influence of alcohol.
These are the examples of the root word MAL. You might have used the root word MAL before. It’s helpful when you don’t know the word but if you see the root word MAL you can know that the word is negative.

Remember MAL mean bad.

By Too

Greek Roots

2010-01-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

I have found a few Greek word roots that I would like to share. I will tell you what the root word means, a few words that use the root, and example sentences for the words.

Sent-/Sens meaning feel

Sentiment (noun) – showing feeling towards something
Ex: The boy had a strong sentiment of love toward the girl that he had a crush on.
Sensation (noun) – a feeling of excitement
Ex: The movie, Avatar, was such a sensation that it blew the crowd away.
Resent (verb) – to feel displeasure from a sense of injury
Ex: The boy’s girlfriend resented him after he had insulted her outfit.
Sensory (adjective) – pertaining to senses
Ex: Blind people may not have sight but they have four other heightened senses in their sensory system.

Scrib/Script meaning write

Scribble (verb) – meaningless writings or drawings
Ex: My mom scribbles words carelessly to make notes for herself.
Subscribe (verb) - to buy by signing an agreement for something in return.
Ex: Most businesses subscribe to a newspaper so their customers can read them as they wait.
Manuscript (noun) – a manually written document
Ex: The author wrote a manuscript to the publisher of his publishing company.
Scribe (noun) – a person who writes documents for other people.
Ex: The king’s scribe had written over five hundred drafts of the king’s speech to his court talking about the problems of the kingdom.

Levi meaning light

Levity (noun) - lightness of mind or lack of seriousness
Ex: During class, my friends and I have levity, because we always are messing around.
Alleviate (verb) – to lessen intensity
Ex: The school nurse tried to alleviate the pain of the headache by giving the student a pain killer.
Levitate (verb) - to float in the air
Ex: In fictional movies, some people will levitate in the air as they meditate.

Dura meaning hard/long-lasting

Durable (adjective) - lasting through wear and tear.
Ex: The backpack was so durable that it could withstand all of the student’s binders for four school years.
Duration (noun) – extended period of time
Ex: The keynote speaker said that the audience could not use their phone for the duration of the three day conference.
Endure (verb) - to hold out against
Ex: The boy could no longer endure his opponent’s insults so he went to go tell the teacher.

Posted by Levi

Root Word DIC

2010-01-12T12:38:00.003-07:00

“Dic” Words

The root words Dic/Dict are Latin roots which mean to say or declare. There are many ways this root word can be used, both good and bad! This is a root word everyone should know.

If you are like me you wonder what dictators have to do with speaking. After our lesson on DIC I found out that dictators use their words to gain power. In other words, they have very good elocution. Here is a story of one fiver year old rose to power.

Little Hitler
Little Hitler was a mean little dictator. He used his public speaking skills to sway the views of the other little boys and girls in daycare. He never had to share toys with others. For a five year old he had amazing diction. Whenever he spoke, he got his way. One day at snack time, little Hitler wanted an extra cookie and he knew just how to get it. He gave a powerful dictum when he announced that he would blow the classroom with his Tonka toys. He used big words when he spoke to his teacher. She was very confused and had to look up words in the dictionary. She was in shock when she read the definitions. She contradicted little Hitler’s words and made him very angry. She did not think a five year old was capable of blowing up anything, let alone with a Tonka toy. Hitler spoke a malediction thinking the teacher would be scared. To his surprise, it worked! She finally gave in and handed him an extra cookie. Little Hitler walked away with a smile upon his face. After snack he made a prediction that he could make anyone give in to his every command. From that moment on he vowed to never let anyone indict him. He knew he could always get his way. Later on that night, Hitler’s mom was tucking him in and saying benedictions. He cried and pleaded with her to let him stay up. He gave her an ultimatum. “Mommy, let me stay up till 10 or I’ll run away,” he said. From the look in her eyes he knew she was wrapped around his finger. Years later he applied the same techniques and persuaded millions of people. Instead of asking for a cookie he merely told people how they could solve all their problems. This eventually led to the Holocaust. This could have all been avoided if his teacher never gave him an extra cookie.

Definitions
Dictator- a person exercising absolute power
Diction- quality of good speaking
Dictum- an authoritative saying or judicial order
Dictionary- a book containing a selection of words of a language
Contradicted- to assert the contrary or opposite of
Malediction- to utter a curse or slander
Prediction- the act of predicting
Indict- proclamation
Benediction- a blessing

By Shea :)

Bene

2009-12-15T13:47:00.004-07:00

Bene
The root of BENE is from Latin and it means good and well.
Benefactor- It is a noun and the definition for this word is someone who gives benefits (an advantage or act of kindness).
University Schools has many benefactors who donate time and money.
Most of the benefactors are willing to raise money for the children who are struggling with their health problems.
Beneficial- It is an adjective and the meaning for this word is conferring benefits; advantageous; helpful.
The little boy was beneficial to an elderly woman by mowing her lawn.
Going to the tutoring center was beneficial because I can get help for my test.
Benevolent- Noun and meaning is a desire to do well to others.
The benevolence of the King won over his people because he gave them food.
The president gave everyone in the United States a benevolent speech so the American people will vote for him.
Benediction- Noun and meaning for this word is a blessing or an expression of good wishes.
Saying “bless you” when someone sneezes is a benediction.
On the Sundays, most preachers give a benediction on how God loves you.
Beneficiary- It is a noun and the meaning is someone who receives the benefits (advantages or act of kindness).
Our school is a beneficiary of benefactors who donate to the school.
My parents’ Will has my older brother as their beneficiary of their estate.
Benefit- Noun and the meaning is something that is advantageous or good; an advantage. She explained the benefits of public ownership of the postal system.
Some jobs have really good benefits like good insurance but the salary is not good enough for me.
Benedictory- This vocabulary is an adjective and the definition for this word is of, giving or expressing benediction.
Some people are benedictory who donate big money for some family that could not afford Christmas presents for their children.
The flowers at the funeral service represented benedictory toward the family that loss their family member.
Benedict- It is a noun and the meaning for this vocabulary is a newly married man, esp. one who has been long a bachelor.
Some benedicts struggle to keep their marriage going because they had been bachelors for so long time.
My brother-in-law was a benedict but now he is married to my sister.
Beneficent- This word is an adjective and the definition for this word is doing or promoting some good.
My father is a really good benefice person because he will buy one car for each of his five children.
Green Peace organization has proven that they are a benefice organization.
Benefactress- Noun and the definition is a female who confers a benefit, bequest, endowment, or the like.
My mom is a benefactress because she volunteered lots of her time at the church where my family has been going for years.
A benefactress within University Schools is Lori Pierce due to she donates quite a bit of her time for the students to become a successful individual in community.

Each meaning of the vocabulary was from dictionary.com.

Audra

MAGN

2009-12-15T13:23:00.001-07:00

There are three parts to a word. The root, pre-fix, and suffix. Root words are words that go at the beginning of the word. They can help you figure out what the word means if you do not know what the definition of the word actually is. The English language commonly uses many of the Greek and Latin root words. There are tons of root words, more than you are probably aware of. In class we have learned four root words so far, MAGN, PAN, LOC/ LOQ, and BENE.
MAGN is a Latin root word. MAGN means gigantic, or large. You may use words with the root word MAGN more often than you think. For example, in a particular field or business the person with a great amount of influence is the magnate. A popular word, magnificent, means splendid in appearance, and extraordinarily fine. For example, the bride looked magnificent on her wedding day after hours of getting ready for the big day. Also you could say the movie star looked magnificent in her evening gown at the CMA’s and everyone couldn’t keep their eyes off her beauty. A magnanimous person is one that is generous, unselfish, and noble. The magnanimous man gave all the children in the orphanage Christmas gifts because he wanted to spread more generosity. The old lady thanked the magnanimous man for saving her from a car accident, and appreciated that he was generous enough to walk her across the street afterwards. Magnitude means greatness in size or amount, this word can be used for helping readers to understand the size of items or it can be used as a scientific definition; for earthquakes. For example, the magnitude of a volcano was so bit it covered in town in lava. A word can show great distinction under the root word MAGN, magna cum laude. This means graduating college with the highest standard of the diploma. This is a very honorary title and people work very hard for this. A magnifying glass is a commonly used object; it is used to see things more clearly. Many little boys like to use magnifying glasses and the sun to kill ants. The word magnify means increasing the size, volume, or significance. She is scared of heights, and when she was on top of the Eiffel Tower; her fear magnified. An old lady magnified the computer screen so she could read the article on “How to Look Younger in Ten Easy Steps” more clearly. Another commonly used object is a magnet. Magnet means a piece of metal that has a great attraction to another piece of metal. The little kids loved playing with their magnets on the fridge because they could throw them against the fridge and it would stick.
As one can see the root word, MAGN, is a popular and very useful asset to ones vocabulary. It would be useful for people to collaborate these words in their every day vocabulary.
by Jessi

BENE means Good!

2009-12-15T12:23:00.002-07:00

The Greek/Latin root word BENE means good or well. This root word holds a significant meaning in various English vocabularies. The first word that will be covered is the noun 'benevolence', which is the desire to do good to others. An example sentence with this word would be “the benevolence of the king won over his people because he gave them free land and food.” The next BENE word is the noun 'benefactor'. This is a person who gives benefits such as advantages or acts of kindness. The example sentence for this one would be “UH has many benefactors who donate time and money.” Another root word that goes hand in hand with benefactor is the noun 'beneficiary'. This is a name for someone who receives benefits, advantages, or acts of kindness. An example would be “UH is a beneficiary of many benefactors who donate to the school.” The final word that will be covered is the noun 'benediction'. This is a blessing or an expression of good wishes towards someone. A perfect example would be “The mother gave her son a benediction by saying ‘bless you!’ after his huge sneeze.” There are a few other BENE words such as 'benefit' and 'beneficial', but the ones that were just discussed are in the most need of recognition. It can be argued that most people have already heard the words benefit and beneficial at some point in everyday conversation, the others are more rarely used.
As one can easily see, these words describe very positive aspects and meanings. Every word with the root word of BENE will always mean something good. It could make sense to just add a 'un' to the beginning of 'benevolence' to prove this point wrong and turn the meaning into a negative one. As it turns out, 'unbolevelence' is not an approved word. The actual antonym of this word is 'malevolence' which has the opposite definition of evil or of ill will. This word comes from the opposing group of root words MAL, meaning bad. One of the major things to remember is that BENE is always good! I have created an original poem to help students remember the words and definitions for the various BENE words that have previously been discussed.

Benny the Best Bulldog

Benny the bulldog is the best dog in the world!

Even though he is considered by many to be just a dog, he is filled with great humanlike benevolence.
While devoting his life to being a police dog; he assists the elderly across the streets and prevents violence.

Whenever someone sneezes, he expresses his benedictions in a barking form of "bless you!"
His barks sound so understandable that one could mistake him for Scooby Doo!

One could think of Benny as being the world's greatest four-legged benefactor.
For all the effort and good he's done, he deserves a movie starring Benny as the hero and lead actor!

The old woman at the funeral home is Benny's greatest beneficiary.
She is grateful for the time and company Benny gives every day; it's almost as if he is her personal secretary!

Benny the bulldog is the best dog in the world!

-A poem by Natalie

The Root Loc or Loqu

2009-12-15T11:19:00.005-07:00

Loc/Loqu

The root word Loc or Loqu means speech or talk.

The bulk of vocabularies in the English language have either a Latin or Greek Etymology. If one has a firm understanding of many different roots in any language, then that person will be able to use common sense and context clues to discover meanings of various different words.

Some example words:

-Loquacious: characterized by excessive talk; wordy
-In the classroom, there were so many different loquacious individuals that, in order to be heard I had to bellow deafeningly and by the time the bell rang my voice was nothing but a murmur.

-Eloquent: characterized by persuasive, powerful and expressive speaking
-The eloquent way, in which the president spoke evoked many responses in the spectators, only a minority of close-minded individuals responded to the speech with anger or violence.

-Elocution: a person’s manner of speaking aloud in public
-The pupil premeditated to greatly improve his elocution before the presentation of his speech; upon which all of his instruction, up to now would determine.

-Soliloquy: 1) a dramatic speech in which a character talks to himself or reveals his thoughts alone onstage 2) The act of speaking to oneself
-The soliloquy of the man, who resides underneath the bridge, often frightens passerbies for the reason that he is rather dynamic and often sadistic in speaking to himself.

-Obloquy: blame, or abusive language aimed at a person especially by many people or by the general public
-The obloquy is rather wretched and connote from an entire nation that can see fit to blame one man for their downfalls, when the powers of that nation subsist in the hands of the people.

A good way to remember what Loc means….

You TALK with your MOUTH

….Loqu will just have to be memorized

By: Brie

Military terminology

2009-12-08T12:54:00.001-07:00

We have heard them in movies and in video games, they are the basic words used by the military forces. Words such as Danger close, air-lift, and cease fire. They are the words that we are used to. But there is so much military terminology that we don't know the rest of it. So in order to give you a better understanding of military terminology I have created a small list of military words that u are bound to hear. I have also taken the liberty of finding the meaning of the military Alphabet.
Abort-to fail to accomplish a purpose or mission for any reason other than enemy action.
Acoustic warfare-Action involving the use of underwater acoustic energy
Action deferred-Tactical action on a specific track is being withheld for better tactical advantage
Balisage- The marking of a route by a system of dim beacon lights enabling vehicles to be driven at near day-time speed, under blackout conditions.
Fallout patterns-The distribution of fallout as portrayed by fallout contours. Fairway-A channel either from offshore, in a river, or in a harbor that has enough depth to accommodate the draft of large vessels.
Unconventional warfare-A broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations, normally of long duration
Paradrop-Delivery by parachute of personnel or cargo from an aircraft in flight.
Panel code-A prearranged code designed for visual communications, usually between friendly units, by making use of marking panels. See also marking panel.
Barrage- A pre-arranged barrier of fire.
Damage area-In naval mine warfare, the plan area around a minesweeper inside which a mine explosion is likely to interrupt operations.
Damage criteria-The critical levels of various effects, such as blast pressure and thermal radiation, required to achieve specified levels of damage.
Radar fire-Gunfire aimed at a target which is tracked by radar.
Catalytic attack- An attack designed to bring about a war between major powers through the disguised machinations of a third power.
Caveat- A designator used with a classification to further limit the dissemination of restricted information.
Zone of fire-An area into which a designated ground unit or fire support ship delivers, or is prepared to deliver, fire support. Fire mayor may not be observed. Also called ZF.
Land forces-Personnel, weapon systems, vehicles, and support elements operating on land to accomplish assigned missions and tasks.
Kill box-A three-dimensional area used to facilitate the integration of joint fires. Call of fire-A request for fire containing data necessary for obtaining the required fire on a target.
Salted weapon-A nuclear weapon which has, in addition to its normal components, certain elements or isotopes which capture neutrons at the time of the explosion and produce radioactive products over and above the usual radioactive weapon debris.

A: Alpha
B: Bravo
C: Charlie
D: Delta
E: Echo
F: Foxtrot
G: Golf
H: Hotel
I: India
J: Juliet
K: Kilo
L: Lima
M: Mike
N: November
0: Oscar
P: Papa
Q: Quebec
R: Romeo
S: Sierra
T: Tango
U: Uniform
V: Victor
W: Whiskey
X: X-Ray
Y: Yankee
Z: Zulu
Written by Austin

Questions

2009-12-08T12:43:00.003-07:00

In our advanced word power class we were given our first list of higher level words. I was not sure I was going to remember the definitions if I had not used them. I was having a bad day and had the need to write a poem. When I write poems I am able to express myself in a way that I normally cannot. As I wrote I threw in some of the words on our list and felt like I had such an easier time with expressing myself.

12/3/09
I am interdicted,
Interdicted to show my emotions.

The moment I do
I open myself
open my mouth
I pique
the world

The same plot repeats,
Again the stress is here,
Stress
Stress
Stress
Pushing me,
past the point,
of no feeling.

the antecedents
of my life
creep slowly
to the front of my mind

how loathsome it is
not to feel.
I feel no emotions
Again
AGAIN

I feel the tears
Ready to fall
Away from my body
Away from two
burned out orbs orbs
that no longer work

aversion is all around me
sucking me down
away from myself?
away from my façade?
Away from my feelings?
Away from my thoughts?

I am done
Again events happening
Replaying
Happening

I will sink and die,
Then resuscitated
Against my will
Forced to move on
Forced to be happy
Forced to fake it
Fake me

It starts all over again
I live
Die

I live
Waiting to die

Air Travel Terminology

2009-12-08T12:24:00.001-07:00

Air Travel Terminology

Terminology is the system of terms belonging or peculiar to a science, art, or specialized subject. I am interested in one day going into an aviation career so I decided to look up terminology for aviation for my assignment. I would like to share the terminology that I have found with you. I have found the definition and have written an example sentence to help you better understand the words.

Transcontinental- Spanning across a single continent.

Ex: I took a transcontinental flight from Los Angles, California to Miami, Florida.

Jet lag- A physiological condition caused by the disorientation of a person's biological clock due to travel across several time zones. Characterized by irritability, lethargy, insomnia, and other symptoms.

Ex: The jet lag from my flight across two time zones made me really tired.

Hub- A city or an airport in which an airline has major operations and many gates.

Ex: Frontier Airlines' hub is located at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It has its own terminal to itself.

Frequent flyer- A person who flies frequently. Specifically, a person who is enrolled in an airline's frequent flyer program.

Ex: The businessman has a frequent flyer card because he travels so much with work.

Air traffic controller- Person in the control tower of an airport charged with monitoring and directing the takeoff and landing of planes.

Ex: The air traffic controller directed the plane to the wrong runway so the plane had to turn around causing a big jam at the runway.

Actual flying time- Total time spent in the air, as opposed to scheduled flight time or time spent waiting on the ground.

Ex: The ticket says one time that will be arriving but the actual flying time is is shorter because it doesn't count the time on the ground and taxiing.

Aerotropolis- A combined airport and urban center, purposely designed with the airport as the central feature and reason for its existence.

Ex: Some people consider DIA an aerotropolis because it's an airport and it has shops and restaurants.

Jetway- An enclosed gangway that provides access from the terminal to an aircraft.

Ex: To board the plane the people had to walk across the jetway.

Screener- Any person tasked with examining passengers, passenger documents, or baggage at an airport or other transportation terminal.

Ex: As you enter the terminal you will be checked by a screener to see if you have any weapons or things not allowed on the plane.

Skycap- A baggage carrier or porter at an airport.

Ex: The skycap took my baggage from the bus to the check-in desk.

Taxiway- A right of way at an airport used by planes to get to and from the runway.

Ex: An airplane takes the taxiway from the terminal to the runway so it can takeoff.

Tilt-wing- Of an aircraft, having wings that can be rotated so as to facilitate landing or taking off in short distances.

Ex: The pilot misjudged the runway so he had to use the tilt-wing to get the plane to lift off faster.

Aircraft Stand- A parking area for aircraft at an airport.

Ex: The airplane parked at the aircraft stand to wait for the terminal to open up.

Travolator- A moving sidewalk, sometimes used in airports.

Ex: To travel within an airport for longer distances people can use the moving pathway called a travolator.

Turbulence- Rough, sometimes violent, atmospheric conditions encountered by airplanes.

Ex: When flying you enter turbulence from the clouds and wind causing the plane to shake.

Hidden-city ploy- A stratagem used to get a lower airfare when the fare for a flight from A to C with a stop in B is cheaper than a fare directly from A to B. The passenger who wants to travel to B, buys a ticket from A to C and then gets off at B. Considered unethical by airlines and many travel agencies.

Ex: The passenger thought he could get away with hidden-city ploy by buying a ticket to Memphis from Denver with a connecting flight in Las Vegas and getting off in Las Vegas as his original plan.

Gate- Area in an airport where passengers board an airplane.

Ex: The passenger needed to get to gate B-27 so she could board the plane.

Flight number- A unique alphanumerical designator that identifies a specific airplane's journey from one destination to another in a single direction, sometimes with intermediate stops.

Ex: I took flight number S774 to Jamaica and flight number S778 back to Denver.

Flight deck- On a commercial airliner, the cockpit of the airplane.

Ex: Sometimes passengers can go and see the flight deck, or the cockpit, of the plane.

Airport codes- Three-letter codes used to uniquely identify all airports.
The airport code for Denver International Airport is DIA and the airport code for Las Vegas McCarran International Airport is LAS.

Travel Industry Dictionary." Travel Industry Dictionary. Ed. The Intrepid Traveler. The Intrepid Traveler, 2009. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. .

Posted by Levi

Agricultural Jargon

2009-12-08T12:23:00.001-07:00

Jargon is the specialized language of a trade. Agriculture is a field of work that has many words that can only be applied to agriculture

Some interesting words I found are:

Antemortem- The inspection of an animal before being slaughtered
Blending- Combining two different qualities of grain
Broiler- A young chicken raised primarily for meat
Bushel- A volume of measure for grain, fruit, ect.
Carcinogen- Any product that produces or promotes cancer
Casein- The main portion of milk protein
Combine- A self-propelled grain harvester. In one operation it combines cutting, threshing, separation, cleaning, and straw dispersal
Composting- The controlled biological decomposition of organic material, such as sewage sludge, animal manures, or crop residues, in the presence of air to form a humus-like material
Defoliant- A chemical that removes leaves from trees and growing plants; regulated as a pesticide.
Desiccant — A chemical agent that absorbs moisture; desiccants can be used to control certain insect pests or mildew

Agriculture has a major impact on everyone’s life. Almost everyone in the United States eats meat and or grains produced by farmers. Without antemortem, the meat we consume might harm us. A young chicken that is 6-8 weeks old is called a broiler. Chickens are raised for two reasons, meat and eggs. Dairy cows play a big part in everyone’s life. In skim milk a product called casein can be found. When farmers need to clear land, they use a chemical called a defoliant. After the land is cleared, to get rid of excess moisture a chemical called desiccant is used. Before farmers can plant they have to put compost in their fields. Compost can be food waste or manure. This helps put nutrients back in the soil. When it’s time to harvest, farmers use a combine. This is a piece of equipment that cuts the crops. Bushels are easy ways to measure out fruits, vegetables, and grains. The actual weight varies for different types. Blending is a process that is used to combine two different grains to equal out prices. By doing this the contract order can be filled. Agriculture and farming can be a difficult task but someone has to do it!

Posted by Shea :)

Greek Root Pan

2009-12-08T12:22:00.001-07:00

Pan- Meaning all, everything
Intro
The reason that I picked this Greek root is because I have many interests in this Greek root. Just the word pan, which is the word I chose, is interesting because it holds so many fascinating words such as pandemic and Pangaea. I also chose this way to publish these words is because I tend to learn and understand words better with sentences and if the words are in a list so that it is easier read. As you will plainly see from the list that is about to be presented to you many of the words are dealing with the body and psychology due to the fact that both of the fields tend to use a lot of Latin and Greek terms. So this helps in the search of locating these words and being able to have an idea of what they mean.
Other Words
• Panangitis: (n) - Inflammation involving all the coats of a blood vessel.
Ex: The patient had a severe case of Panangitis due to his bad case of diabetes.
• Pananxiety: (n) - Mass hysteria.
• Ex: The crowd in the arena was in a state of pananxiety after the riot squad threw in several cans of tear gas.
• Pancarditis: (n) - Inflammation of all the structures of the heart.
Ex: Many people believe that they have pancarditis after they eat spicy food because it feels like their heart is burning. That is a misconception because they have acid reflux while pancarditis is very severe.
• Panchromatic: (adj) - Sensitive (though not equally so) to light of all colors in the visible range.
Ex: The panchromatic film was accidentally exposed to the light and was completely ruined.
• Pancratic: (adj)-Having a mastery of all subjects, universally accomplished.
Ex: The pancratic professor thoroughly showed his students how to speak French, finish a differential calculus problem, make a touchdown, and train a dog all at the same time.
• Pandemia: (n) - Of or belonging to the whole people, public, general.
Ex: The Stanley Hotel is considered a pandemia because it has been in Estes Park since the beginning of the town.
• Pantalgia: (n) - Pain involving the entire body.
Ex: When patients are bitten by the bullet ant they have recorded feelings of pantalgia due to the toxins in the ants’ bite that affect all the nerves in the body.
• Pantaphobia: (n) - Lacking fear, having no fear; an abnormal fearlessness.
Ex: The man had a strange case of pantaphobia. Researchers have put him in a tank with hungry sharks and obtained no reaction.
• Panphobia: (n) - An irrational fear of a nonspecific fear; a fear of everything; a state of general unexplained anxiety.
Ex: The patient had a severe case of panphobia. Researchers put a glass of water in front of him and the patient recorded the fear of the cup holding the water.
• Panacea: (n) – A cure for all diseases.
Ex: The doctors thought that they have found a panacea for all diseases because they have cured many illnesses with one medicine.
• Pantheist: (n) – A person who believes in all gods.
Ex: The pantheist believes in Buddha, Christ, Allah, and Shiva.

Posted by: Sire

Podcast #7: MAL and BENE

2009-10-27T07:20:00.002-06:00

Listen to Marissa discuss the connections between MAL and BENE roots as antonyms.

Podcast #6: The root DIC

2009-10-27T07:15:00.001-06:00

Listen to Dennise explain the Greek root DIC/DICT.

Witch on the Hill

2009-10-14T15:04:00.001-06:00

So far, I have learned many vocabulary words that I did not know before. The class I am in has taught me so many facts about words, such as the roots and just the meaning of them. I have enjoyed learning and putting together these vocabulary words, so I would like to share a story I have written including some of the words I have learned. I hope you get a laugh out of it as well as learn some new vocabulary words!
Up on a hill there lived a little witch. She wore pointed shoes and had green skin. She wore a big purple gown that went to her toes. Her proliferation of zits scares every kid. She had witch ingredients such as eyeballs and worms. In the middle of her house stood a six foot cauldron. It had purple liquid that bubbled into thin air. Some would think she was vacuous, not having a brain. She doesn’t act very smart, but what witch does? Hurting all ears nearby with her discordant voice, she uses maledictions to hurt all the little children. If you can’t tell by now, he witch hates all kids. She is usually malevolent when they go Trick-or-Treating. She lives far away from the city, so she enjoys the brevity of her visitors.
The children that come by get scared, even though they act pompous. They go around her house, trying to spy on her. They get curious and want to see one of her spells in action. They think she doesn’t see them, but she does. Since the witch doesn’t like them, the children don’t like her back. She will play tricks on the children every now and then. Sometimes, turning them into a frog for the day, or even giving them lice. She is not very nice. The malice of the kids makes them want to do damage to her. They’re kids, so they can’t do much harm. Even though they are provocative towards the witch with their evil schemes, the children still want to indict her for being a witch. The days go on, and the evil witch still lives at her house. Only coming out on Halloween.
So, now you see how those different vocabulary words can be put together. Remember try to include detail of the word you’re using, into your sentence. That will always help the reader to understand the word more. I hope this helps you on your way to learning bigger vocabulary.

Podcast #5:The Root VAC

2009-10-08T13:51:00.002-06:00

Listen to JJ's podcast explaining the root word VAC

Podcast #4: The root word MAL

2009-10-08T12:20:00.002-06:00

Listen to Cameron, Sean, and Jesse's podcast on the root MAL and words that work with this root.

Festive Seasonal Vocabulary

2009-10-08T07:22:00.003-06:00

This is the magical festive blog of All Hallows Eve. We are Jeffery and Brittney. We will go over the festive vocabulary used during these seasonal times. There are many magical festive words that are used during this season that not everyone understands fully.
First we will start with a little Halloween background information. Halloween originated with the Celts. It was the last day of summer and beginning of winter, which was often linked to death. The Celts believe the line between life and death was blurry on this day, and they celebrated Samhain, the day when ghosts returned to earth. They would light sacred bonfires and dress up in animal skins.
Now we shall start off with the festive vocabulary. The next few words are some creatures associated with this season. There is a definition and sentence for each.
Arachnid: any wingless, carnivorous arthropod of the class Arachnida such as spiders and scorpions. An example of arachnid in a sentence would be “An arachnid with eight long hairy legs was nibbling on my toes whilst I slept.”
Ghoul: an evil demon, originally of Oriental legend, supposed to feed on human beings, and especially to rob graves, prey on corpses, etc. Now that you know what ghouls like to do and their origin, you can use them in a profusion of sentences! An example might be, “I really hope the ghouls stay away from my grave when I die, because I’m going to be buried with some of my positions.”
Poltergeist: a ghost or spirit supposed to manifest its presence by noises, knockings, etc. “Peeves is a poltergeist at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he wreaks havoc by throwing things about.”
Zombie: the body of a dead person given the semblance of life, but mute and will-less, by a supernatural force, usually for some evil purpose. “The undead zombies attacked Marvin and devoured his succulent brain through a straw that was purple and twisty.”
Apparition: a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, esp. a ghost; a specter or phantom. “The children were scared out of their wits when they discovered an apparition appeared and devoured their shoes.”
Inferi: Originated from Harry Potter and usually is not used outside of the Harry Potter world. They are corpses animated and controlled by a magical spell. “Harry forgot that the Inferi fear fire, and nearly died a horrible, slimy death.
Warlock: a man who practices the black arts; a male witch; sorcerer; demon. “I wish I was a warlock because I would like to turn my sister into a slimy little toad.”
Now that we have gone over some ghastly creatures, we shall discuss a few other terms relating to this festive magical season.
Eerie: Inspiring a feeling of fear; strange and frightening. “As Skye ran away from Inferi through the eerie, foggy swamp, he tripped over a root from a weeping willow tree and died a mucky death.
Tombstone: a stone marker, usually inscribed on a tomb or grave. “I have always been afraid of tombstones because I dreamed that one grew legs, left its grave, and chased me down the street.”
Well that’s all for the festive Halloween blog. I hope you enjoyed it and will use these words more properly this year and perhaps learned some new festive words. Have a fun and safe festive magical season!

DIC/DICT Latin Root Words

2009-10-06T08:54:00.002-06:00

Today we will be blogging about the Latin root words DIC/ DICT. These Latin roots deal with many words we use everyday. . All of these words deal with words in one way or another. Some of the common DIC/DICT words are indict, indicative, diction, dictionary, dictator, and benediction The first DIC/DICT word that we will be talking about is indict.
The word indict means to charge with a fault or offense: criticize, accuse, to charge with a crime. An example sentence with the word indict could be, “The criminal will be indicted for felony gun possession in front of a federal grand jury.” This word is mostly used when talking about the legal system. When you are being indicted it is usually refers to it in a negative manner.
Another DIC/DICT word that can be used that has these roots is indicative. The word indicative means showing, signifying, or pointing out: expressive or suggestive. An example sentence is, “My instructor’s terrible mood was indicative of my bad driving skills on the road.” .The next word we will tell you about is dictionary. It is a standard book that gives a definition and origin of words. We use this when we are talking about words or a tool to understand words. An example sentences for this word is, “My teacher wanted me to grab a dictionary and look up the meaning of the word and present it to the class.”
Another word is dictator; it means a person who exercises absolute power. You will see this word used when politics are the center of discussion. An example sentence for this word might be, “Yesterday in class my teacher was acting like a dictator because she wanted absolute control over all aspects of the class.”
This next DICT word is a very important one to the DICT/DIC word family. The word diction usually refers to choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. An example sentence for this word is, “At the National Football League press conference the commissioner had very good diction when he spoke carefully and clearly about the performance enhancing drug problem in the league.”
The next DIC/DICT word that we use is benediction. The word benediction means giving a blessing or wishing goodness. An example of the way we would use benediction in a sentence would be, “When we went to the wedding for my cousin Charity, the priest gave his benediction then the wedding was over and they were finally married”. Benediction also has another root word bene. Bene means good and DIC means words, Benediction makes the connection with good words and benediction means giving a blessing.
So the DIC/DICT Latin root words are very important to the world of words. We use these words in our everyday life. It is the word we use to deal with w

Mikael, Ashli, and Micheal Y.

Vac-

2009-10-06T08:41:00.007-06:00

Have you ever thought about how Greek and Latin root words influence your life? Whenever you use a vacuum cleaner or are on vacation, you’re using words influenced by people that lived thousands of years ago.
Vac is the Greek root for “empty”. Words beginning with vac, such as vacant express emptiness. A hotel with vacancy isn’t full and has room for more people to stay. Vacuous can be used to express emptiness also, someone who is a vacuous thinker is empty minded. When you go on vacation your house is empty, for the most part anyway. A vacuum is a space without air or matter and a vacuum cleaner uses a vacuum to pick up dirt and an empty bag to hold everything it picks up. The root “vac” is used in many words in the English language. Many people don’t realize how much of an influence it has on our day to day lives.

We've prepared some poems using "vac" and other latin and greek roots.

Garden of Bugs

My garden was all full,
Of creepy, crawly bugs.
Eating holes through my vines,
My tomatoes full of slugs.
Cucumbers crawling with ants,
My carrots covered in worms.
It’s no longer a garden of plants,
More like a home for bugs.
My garden is now vacant,
In regards to bug sprays.
My plants are now dead,
I indict the bugs.

Snowy Day

The temperature lowers as the winds blow.
Vacuous roads are now covered in snow.
Families inside, rather warm and snug
Except for one man, out of a snowdrift he dug.
With no blankets or warmth, provoking illness
A little boy watching from his window pane.
The little boy walks out with a warm cup of Joe.
Toward the odd man, skeptical and slow.
Once near the man though it took a while
Gave him the warm cup, with a friendly smile.

Alone

All alone, with no one around,
Just you and yourself and no other sound.
With nothing but emptiness and vacuous space.
The proliferation of your thoughts lying in hand,
Relieving discordant thoughts you could no longer contain.
You find intriguing, relaxing and sane.
Things begin to lose their fog relatively fast
Defining who you are and moving on from the past.
How much longer will all this continue?
Until all you problems begin to renew.

We were given a list of vocabulary words that we decided to use in poems. This made the poems harder to write, but yet it expanded our knowledge on poetry. This helped expand our vocabulary use and our understanding of the words. We feel like we used our words to the best of our ability to make our poems meaningful.

by Caleb and Kelsey

More on Greek and Latin Roots

2009-09-17T08:51:00.001-06:00

Have you ever wondered how the English language was established? Who was the genius who put together this language and how? Some people may think some guy back in the day just made up sounds and put them together to mean something. That’s what I had in mind before I did this paper. Greek roots have a big part in the English language. The root can be in the beginning of the word, in the middle, or even at the end. The meaning of that Greek root has a very similar meaning to the actual English word that it is in. A word is made up of prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes are placed at the beginning of a word to make up its meaning. A suffix is placed at the end of a word. I am going to give you an example of three.

The Greek root, -bene, means good. An English example of that is benevolence. This means an act of kindness which is a noun. An act of kindness means being good, so -bene has an affect on the word. If you want to use that word in a sentence, an example would be, “My best friend is filled with benevolence because she can cheer me up on those sad days.” Another word with -bene in it is beneficiary. That means a person receiving kindness. “After my grandma died from brain surgery, I was a beneficiary to her estate.” That is also a noun. There are some good examples of the Greek root –bene.

Next, we are going to look at the root –pan. That means all. Panorama means to view in all directions. Panacea is a cure for all life’s illnesses. As you can see, -pan is at the beginning of these English words. Pantheist means a person who believes in all gods. All of these words are nouns. Pandemic means a large spread illness. There is a pandemic in the US involving the swine flu. All of these words have a meaning that is “all.”

Finally, we have –loc/loq. This Greek root means talk. To talk plenty or loudly. You will notice that in these English words, the root is not at the beginning of all of them. Loquacious means excessive talk or to be wordy. This word is an adjective. My cousin is loquacious when the teacher is talking. Eloquent means to speak very well or with praise. This is also an adjective. My father at my church is eloquent with his sermons. That word has the root in the middle. Elocution also has the Greek root in the middle of it. This is a style of speaking which is a noun. There are way more Greek roots than I have given you. I hope this has taught you the meaning and the usage of some of them. I have learned that Greek roots are very important.

By Rina M.

Podcast #3: Vocab Corner Radio Show

2009-09-15T07:48:00.003-06:00

Listen to a radio show about vocabulary including such interesting words as idiosyncrasy and some greek and latin roots.

by Myles K. and Jeffrey G.

Podcast #2:Slang words

2009-09-10T14:06:00.003-06:00

Listen to Britney, Ashli, Mikael, and Caleb's podcast about slang.

Funny Words

2009-09-10T08:41:00.003-06:00

Our American Dictionary is made up of many different funny words. Funny words can have all sorts of diverse sounds that make them abnormal to written or verbal language. There are certain words that roll off your tongue awkwardly and there are some words that simply get stuck to your tongue and you can never quite say them right. To little kids their funny words consist of “fart” or “cooties” but when you get more mature and intellectual funny words become terms like “balderdash” and “scallywag.” Some funny words may contain double o’s or possibly could have 20 letters. As a group we decided to investigate the world of silly, funny, and down right asinine words of the English language. For each word, we will give the definition, an incorrect sentence and a sentence that shows the proper use of the word.

The first word that we that we examined was the word: Supercool
–verb
To cool (as in a liquid) below it freezing point without solidification

Incorrect Sentence:
Our friend Sally had on a supercool pair of socks on yesterday.

Correct Sentence:
We were supercooling the lemonade, but of course we stopped in time to make a lemonade slushie, rather than a lemonade popsicle.

Another word that we examined was the word: Chomp
–verb
To make vigorous biting or chewing motions with the jaw and teeth.

Incorrect Sentence:
The propeller started to chomp, so the ship started to sail.

Correct Sentence:
The mailman tried to run away from the chihuahua, but it got the opportunity to chomp on his leg, so it did.

Another word that we examined was the word: Noodle
–noun
A foolish or stupid person.

Incorrect Sentence:
I drove my noodle to school today but it wouldn’t fit in the parking spot.

Correct Sentence:
When Johnny called it “The Great Wall of Japan” we all just ignored the noodle and went on with our lesson.

Another word that we examined was the word: Crankpin
–noun
A short cylindrical pin at the outer end of a crank, held by and moving with a connecting rod or link
Incorrect Sentence:
I asked the teacher if I could borrow her crankpin at the beginning of class but she just told me to bring my own writing utensils.

Correct Sentence:
When the crankpin fell out of the crank we all had to search for it or the machine wouldn’t run.

Another word that we examined was the word: Myrtle
–noun
A common evergreen, bushy shrub.
Incorrect Sentence:
The myrtle of the story was that you shouldn’t lie.

Correct Sentence:
My mother was outside clipping the myrtles as I did my homework.

Another word that we examined was the word: Pince-nez
–noun
Eye-glasses clipped to the nose by a spring that grips the bridge of your nose

Incorrect Sentence:
Our teacher’s pince-nez was holding his socks up quite nicely.

Correct Sentence:
The man was completely old fashion, complete with the sport coat and the pince-nez attached to his glasses.

Another word that we examined was the word: Peewee
-adjective
Short, miniature sized or little
Incorrect Sentence:
The girl was so peewee she was the tallest girl on the court.

Correct Sentence:
John had always gotten made fun of because of how short he was, people often called him “peewee” and “shrimp.”

Another word that we examined was the word: Desoxyribonucleic Acid
–noun
DNA
Incorrect Sentence:
Jimmy sneezed without covering his mouth and the girls screamed and ran away worried that his Desoxyribonucleic Acid would get all over them.

Correct Sentence:
In science class the kids learned that they got most of their Desoxyribonucleic Acid from their parents.

Another word that we examined was the word: Futtock
–noun
One of the curved timbers put together to form the lower part of the compound rib of a ship.
Incorrect Sentence:
The boy didn’t like to stand; he preferred to sit on his futtocks.

Correct Sentence:
The captain of the ship got worried if they got into shallow waters that his futtock could get split in two.

Another word that we examined was the word: Gemsbok
–noun
A male goat
Incorrect Sentence:
The girl put the shiny gemsbok she found on the ground into her pocket.

Correct Sentence:
The farm family had certain chores assigned and Craig always had to milk the gemsbok.

Another word that we examined was the word: Oodles
–noun
A great quantity
Incorrect Sentence:
Jonathon spilled his oodles all over the carpet.

Correct Sentence:
Cheryl had oodles and oodles of recipes up her sleeve when it came to Italian food.

Another word that we examined was the word: Oomph
–noun
Personal charm or magnetism, vitality
Incorrect Sentence:
No one ate the oomph at dinner because the smell was revolting.

Correct Sentence:
The basketball team added extra oomph in order to beat the opposing team.

Another word that we examined was the word: Poppycock
–noun
Empty talk or writing, rubbish.
Incorrect Sentence:
Jennifer took her poppycock on a walk through the neighborhood.

Correct Sentence:
He filled her mind with complete poppycock about getting married and then just disappeared without a word.

As you can see, our world is filled with many different styles of words that can make you giggle. Now that you know these 13 unique words, you can impress your average noodles by limiting the poppycock in your vocabulary.

By: Marissa, Jesse, and Kelsey

Roots and prefixes--MAGN and HYPER

2009-09-10T08:38:00.007-06:00

This week on our blog we will be talking about the Etymology of the prefixes magn-and hyper-. The prefix magn- comes from a Latin root, and has multiple examples. Here are a few words using the prefix magn- magnitude, magnify, and magnate. The prefix hyper- comes from a Greek root. Words like hyperextend, hyperdrive, and hypercritic all have hyper as its prefix, meaning exaggeration.

Magn is a prefix from the Latin roots that mean gigantic. An example that uses magn is magnitude, which means in great size or extent. “When I went to the carnival the magnitude of the rollercoaster frightened me.” This is a good example because magn means gigantic, and magnitude means great in size.
Another commonly used word is magnify and it means to make bigger. “During class our science teacher had to magnify the insect so we could see the details on its back more clearly.” This is a good example because it is referring to making something gigantic.
Magn used in magnate, a person with lots of power. “The military sergeant was a great magnate because he ruled the entire base.” The reason that this is such a good example is that having lots of power means you are gigantic.

Hyper is our final prefix. Hyper comes from a Greek root word meaning over and implies exaggeration. Hyper has also become a slang word that is used to describe someone who is very high strung or excitable. Many teens abuse this prefix and mistake it for its actual correct meaning. The prefix hyper in the word, hyper extended means, to extend a joint to where the angle is greater than normal. “The quarterback hyperextended his arm when he got tackled.” Hyperdrive is to be in a heightened state of extreme activity. “My brother is always in hyperdrive after drinking a Monster energy drink.” Being a hypercritic is a person who is excessively captiously critical. “When Obama won the presidency many talk show hosts were hypercritical because they were nervous about his inexperience.”

Magn and Hyper are two prefixes that are used commonly in our everyday language. There is a huge variety of words in the English language that use these prefixes, Magn and Hyper. It’s very helpful to be familiar with these prefixes because knowing these prefixes will give you a greater extent of understanding of words that use these prefixes. We hope that you have enjoyed our blog on Etymology! Please continue reading our blogs, there will be many more to come!

Written By: Dennise F, Michael Y, Jeffrey H & Cameron H.

Podcast #1: Introduction

2009-08-16T19:05:00.006-06:00

A brief introduction to our podcast.

Welcome to our blog!

2009-08-16T19:00:00.001-06:00

Greetings,
Our class will be producing this blog to share information about vocabulary, words people should know, vocabulary in context, etymology, and other discoveries we make. Our goal is to be instructive but also entertaining, and to get our community to see the power of language. We will begin updating the blog in the coming weeks after school has started. We will also be posting links to podcasts as soon as our new equipment arrives.

This blog has been made possible in part by a grant from The Community Foundation of Greeley and Weld County. We are very appreciative of their support and encouragement.

Please check back with us frequently to see what we are up to.

Lori Pierce, Instructor