The Greek & Latin Roots of English (21 page)

Or Perhaps I Can't Count That High

The largest number in Greek expressed in a single word is
myrias, myriados
(μυριάς), which represents the number 10,000. But it also meant infinite, or countless, which is the meaning we give
myriad
in current English usage.

It's More Than Enough

Although the word
plethora
(πληθώρη) originally meant fullness, it now means an overabundance.

It's Too Much

The word
googol
was coined by the nine-year-old nephew of the twentieth-century mathematician Edward Kasner, who defined it for him as “1 followed by a hundred zeros.” It seems like an appropriate word for a nonsensical number. The search engine Google is a play on the word, since it claims to offer access to an uncountable amount of knowledge.

How Much Is Two and Ten?

As we have already seen, the Roman numeral XII represents the number 12, or ten plus two. The word in Latin for twelve is just that:
duo
plus
decem
, or
duodecim
. The word passed into French and eventually appeared as
douzaine
. How do you think that happened?

A fallen warrior,
The Dying Gaul
. Third century BCE (Museo Capitolino, Rome)

Don't Be a Show-Off!

Some people are afflicted with sesquipedalianism. They love using words that are one- and-a-half feet long, taking delight in showing off and confusing you.

Here We Go Again …

A palindrome is a word or a sequence of words that reads, letter for letter, the same backward as forward. “Was it a cat I saw?”

παλívδρoμoς = running back again

NAME _______________________________________________________

A. Arrange the following words in numerical order as indicated by their Latin or Greek roots. What is the meaning of each word? Consult your unabridged dictionary if you are unsure of the meaning or etymology or any word listed.

B. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the literal meaning of the italicized word or part of a word. Make sure that your sentences are grammatically correct.

Example

To
unify
a people is to
make
them into
one
.

A
deuterogamist
has married for the
second
time.

18.
Primates
are ranked __________ in the order of living beings.

19. A
trilogy
is a literary work composed of __________ parts.

20. A
quatrain
is a verse of poetry that has __________lines.

21. A sextet has __________members.

22. When will the
tricentennial
celebration of American independence take place? __________

23.
Protoplasm
is regarded as the __________ form of living matter.

24. When a chorus sings in
unison
, it sings with __________ voice.

25. The
Pentagon
is a __________-angled building.

26. A
monotheist
believes in __________ god.

27. In exactly two
decades
, what year will it be? __________ Write the answer in Roman numerals. __________

28. If you are a sextuplet, how many siblings of your age do you have? __________

29. If a judge declares a contract
null and void
, what does this ruling mean? _____________________________________________________________

30. What is the difference in meaning between
ambivalent
and
ambiguous?
__________

31. What is the difference between a
kilometer
and a
millimeter
? ________________________________________________

32. When an atomic bomb
annihilated
Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, it reduced it ____________________

33. A
semiannual
event takes place __________ __________.

34. A
bicameral
legislature has __________chambers of lawmakers.

35. A
duplicitous
individual is deceiving and tricky. What is the root of this word, and how do you think it took on its current meaning? ________________________________________________________

36. Some people enjoy solitude, but I don't like being __________.

37. What is the meaning of
cipher
in mathematics? ______________________________

What is its meaning when describing a person? ______________________________

38. What is the present meaning of
plethora?
__________ Use it in a sentence. ________________________________________________________________________________

C. What are the French, Spanish, and Italian words for the numbers given below?

Footnotes

1
. Semi- is used only as a prefix in Latin; in English usage it can mean half, as in
semiannual
(twice a year), but it often has the meaning of “somewhat” or “partially,” e.g.,
semiconscious
.

2
. Used in English only as a learned borrowing.

GOVERNMENT
and
POLITICS