The Greek & Latin Roots of English (48 page)

We have already seen how vibrant and powerful a force Latin has been in the shaping of English vocabulary; and although it is no longer a spoken language, there are many phrases and expressions used in English that still appear in their Latin form.

Latin Proverbs

Measurements of Time

Measures and Relationships

Speech and Language

Drama and Theater

People, Places, and Things

Latin Abbreviations and Words Used in Scholarly Research and Writing

NAME _______________________________________________________

A. Find the Latin phrase that best fills out the meaning of the sentence.

1. He lies all the time, so I would take anything he says____________________.

2. Everyone makes mistakes; after all, ____________________.

3. I love sushi, but my husband hates raw fish. I always tell him,___________________.

4. He was a terrible person, but now that he has died, remember:___________________.

5. Instead of having a permanent chairperson, someone was chosen at each session to run the meeting as chairperson____________________.

6. The agreement was made__________, and the details were confidential.

7. He said that I would get paid by the day, but I did not take the job since the__________rate was too low.

8. Since life is short, enjoy yourself!____________________, as the Romans used to say.

9. The years flew by, and only now do I realize____________________.

10. I gave you this; you gave me that. It was a____________________agreement.

11. He repeated his argument without stopping and until I was disgusted. What are the phrases that can be used to describe his behavior and my response? ____________________ ____________________

12. I didn't mean to say that; it was a____________________.

13. He called himself the____________________, but the only voice you could hear was his.

14. I can't begin to say how remarkable it was, but____________________, I passed the exam.

15. Nothing he said made any sense; I couldn't understand his arguments since they were filled with____________________.

16. The situation was awful; the only thing that could save us was a __________.

17. Since the stage directions read
exeunt omnes
, __________the actors __________.

18.
“Mea culpa,”
he said; “it really is__________.”

19. Some believe an infant's mind is a____________________, on which anything can be written.

20. I behaved so badly that I knew that he would never invite me again. I had become____________________.

21. There is no one like him. He is truly a____________________.

22. I wandered around for hours after I got off at the wrong subway stop. I didn't recognize anyone or anything; I was in____________________.

23. Since the defendant was not to be located, he was tried____________________.

24. My friend is just like me in every way; he is my____________________.

25. I hate flying, and so I was glad to put my feet on____________________.

26. I don't know the exact date it happened, but it was__________1950.

27. Although the police did not know the identity of the bank robber, they had figured out his____________________, since the criminal always acted in the same way.