The Greek & Latin Roots of English (47 page)

Sacred Space

The root of the English word
church
is almost unrecognizable in its Anglicized form. It is derived from
cyriacon
(κυριακόν = belonging to the Lord); the Greek-based word was introduced into Old English at the time of the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in 597 CE.

A. Which mythological figures or places appear in this paragraph, and what does each of them represent?

The plutocrats looked down from the Olympian heights of the corporate boardroom as they watched the plebeians on the stock exchange floor panic at the mercurial behavior of the prices of cereal futures. Despite their saturnine expressions, the titans of industry actually felt jovial at this turn of events.

B. Answer each question or fill in the blank with the literal meaning of the italicized word or part of a word. If you are unsure of the meaning, check your unabridged dictionary.

9. What do
Janus
and a
janitor
have in common? ______________________________.

10. Why did the bodybuilder who called himself Charles
Atlas
choose that stage name? ____________________

11. A
martial
spirit is useful in times of __________.

12. I thought I had gotten away with the crime, but the policeman proved to be my __________.

13. The ancient Romans believed that the eruptions of fire and lava from Mt. Vesuvius were caused by the god __________.

14. When the emperor Augustus was
deified
, the Roman senate decreed that he had been __________ into a__________.

15. “It's been
eons
since I saw you,” he cried. He was exaggerating, but it really had been__________.

16. If you put off for tomorrow what you should do today, you are __________.

17.
Ephemeral
ideas last __________ __________.

18. What do the abbreviations A.M. and P.M. represent?
__________  __________
__________  __________

19. I was terrified, because the __________ darkness made it impossible to know where I was.

20. The
labyrinthine
structure of the building confused me; I felt as if I were lost in __________.

21. What is the chief symptom of
lethargy?
__________

22. My mother said my room was so dirty that it reminded her of the__________; and so I began the
Sisyphean
task of cleaning it, even though I knew my efforts would be__________.

23. My secretary sits outside my office like a __________, always guarding and protecting me from unwanted visitors.

24. I was tormented by the __________ aroma coming from the bakery, but, unfortunately, I was on a diet. Like a__________, the chocolate cake called out to me, “Eat me”; but I resisted.

25. After the movie flopped, everyone said the actor's career had gone up in flames; but the following year, like the__________, he rose from the ashes.

26. Many politicians have a __________ability to change positions on almost any issue.

27. He warned her not to ask those questions, for it would only open up a __________ that would cause her great unhappiness.

28. Everywhere he went he was surrounded by his__________, who would do anything he wanted.?

29. His
hectoring
tones revealed his __________ personality.

30. A person who gives wise advice and counsel may be called a __________.

31. To speak in
stentorian
tones is to talk__________.

32. A faithful wife may be described as resembling__________.

33. His constant predictions of impending disaster turned him into a__________, whom no one believed.

34. His __________around the world to find happiness led him on a long and wandering journey.

35. His luxurious lifestyle and self-indulgent behavior were indicative of his __________ temperament; his brother, however, lived in __________ surroundings, getting by with little beyond the necessities.

36. Calvin Coolidge, the thirtieth U.S. president (1923–1928), was nicknamed “Silent Cal” because he was a man of few words. The adjective we might use to describe him is__________.

37. The painting depicted an __________ landscape of unspoiled beauty and simplicity.

38.
I should of went
is an example of a __________.

39. When the critic described the millionaire's new home as a
mausoleum
, he meant that it resembled a __________.

40. A battle that is won at too great a cost is called a __________.

41. Cutting off a thief's hand for stealing a loaf of bread is a __________ punishment.

42. When sitting in the dentist's chair, what is the best philosophical attitude to adopt? __________

43. A
hedonist
lives only for __________.

44. She told him, “let's just be friends;” but since he wanted to get married, he was not at all interested in a __________ relationship with her.

45. He indulged his __________ tastes by ordering the best food and wine on the menu.

46. Her __________ attitude made it impossible for her to believe that anyone sincerely acted on moral principle.

47. We formed an __________ committee to deal only with that particular problem.?

48. Contemplation should take place in a__________. What is the current English usage of this word? ____________________

49. The account of his life read like a
hagio
graphy, since it concealed all his faults and portrayed him as a __________.

50. The
Apostles
were __________ __________to preach the Christian Gospel.

51. The ancient Egyptian system of writing is called hieroglyphs because it was once believed that they were __________carvings.

52. A
dogmatic
individual wants to impose his own __________ on others.

53.
Angels
are the __________ of God.

54. The original meaning of
hierarchy
concerned the __________ __________. What is its current English usage? ____________________

55. According to its root,
moral
behavior should be determined by__________.

56. As his thoughts
meandered
, his attention __________ from the professor's lecture.

Footnotes

1
. The etymology of
religio
is unclear, although most scholars believe it is derived from the verb
ligo-ligare
, perhaps from a sense of viewing religion as a way of binding the community together.

2
. The Romans called Apollo, the Titans, Atlas, Prometheus, Dionysus, Pan, the Muses, and Nemesis by their Greek names.

LINGUA LATINA ETIAM VIVIT!
(The Latin Language Still Lives!)

Bathing beauty. Fourth century CE (Piazza Armerina, Sicily)

Moth: They have been at a great feast of languages and stolen the scraps. Costard: O, they have lived long on the almsbasket of words! I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not so long by the head as Honorificabilitudinitatibus; thou art easier swallowed than a flapdragon
.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE,
Love's Labour's Lost
, V.i