College Vocabulary · Grade 12 · Week 17
20 words for the week · pairs with Composition lesson 5.1.
Reading: the Composition lesson 5.1, "Herbert’s The Temple as a Book," and this week's literature book, Pensees, selected (Pascal, Trotter tr.), the section for Week 17 (public-domain text, Project Gutenberg).
Theme of the week: Herbert’s “Man” ends by asking God to dwell in the palace He has built, which is Paul’s teaching turned into prayer and the reason his book is called <em>The Temple</em>. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Rhythm: 4 words a day, Monday to Friday. Each day: read the entry aloud, copy the quoted sentence into the writing notebook, and write one sentence of your own. Friday: learn the last 4 words, then take the quiz.
Sources: ★ = quoted exactly from this week's reading (the lesson or the literature book) · ✝ = KJV (1769 text), quoted exactly · ◆ = quoted exactly from another work on the approved booklists (public-domain text) · ✎ = original example sentence
Part of speech: adjective (also a verb)
Definition: Lithe and supple; flexible.
From the reading: "Now this was written at a time when the black limber bone of the Greenland or Right whale was largely used in ladies’ bodices." (Moby-Dick)
Root:perhaps from limb.
Part of speech: verb
Definition: To treat a person as a celebrity.
Context (original sentence): London society lionized the young explorer after his return from Africa.
Root:from lion, in the sense of a celebrated person.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Looking or sounding sad and dismal, often in an exaggerated way.
From the reading: "I hardly know whether I had slept or not after this musing; at any rate, I started wide awake on hearing a vague murmur, peculiar and lugubrious, which sounded, I thought, just above me." (Jane Eyre)
Root:Latin lugubris, from lugere, to mourn.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Expressing the writer's emotions in an imaginative and beautiful way.
From the reading: "It was a song that imitated the measure of beating upon iron, and was a mere lyrical excuse for the introduction of Old Clem’s respected name." (Great Expectations)
Root:Greek lyra, lyre.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Conforming to or following what is currently popular and fashionable.
Context (original sentence): She wore a modish bonnet from Paris to church.
Root:from mode, French, fashion.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Visually attractive, especially in a quaint or charming way.
From the reading: "The caravan, stretched out upon the Desert, was very picturesque; in motion, however, it was like a lazy serpent." (Ben-Hur)
Root:Italian pittoresco, in the manner of a painter.
Part of speech: verb
Definition: To provide or supply food or other goods as one's business.
From the reading: "Soon came Merlin unto the king, and said, Sir, ye must purvey you for the nourishing of your child." (Le Morte d'Arthur)
Root:Old French porveeir, from Latin providere.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Uncontrollably exuberant; boisterous.
Context (original sentence): The rambunctious puppies tumbled over each other in the hay.
Root:perhaps an American alteration of rumbustious.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Relating to a transitional or initial stage; at a boundary or threshold.
Context (original sentence): Dawn is a liminal hour, neither night nor day.
Root:Latin limen, threshold.
Part of speech: noun
Definition: Growth or increase by the gradual accumulation of additional layers or matter.
Context (original sentence): Centuries of accretion had buried the Roman road beneath the town.
Root:Latin accrescere, to grow.
Part of speech: noun
Definition: The point at which something is at its best or most highly developed.
Context (original sentence): The cathedral marks the acme of Gothic building in England.
Root:Greek akme, highest point.
Part of speech: noun
Definition: The protection, backing, or support of a particular person or organization.
From the reading: "But surely it is in no wise possible for another god to go beyond or to make void the purpose of Zeus, lord of the aegis." (The Odyssey)
Root:Greek aigis, the shield of Zeus.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land.
Context (original sentence): Before the railroads came, the county was entirely agrarian.
Root:Latin ager, field.
Part of speech: adverb (also a adjective)
Definition: With hands on the hips and elbows turned outward.
From the reading: "Infuriated at the self-command of the captive, the woman placed her arms akimbo; and, throwing herself into a posture of defiance, she broke out anew, in a torrent of words that no art of ours could commit successfully to paper." (The Last of the Mohicans)
Root:Middle English in kenebowe, in a sharp bend.
Part of speech: verb
Definition: To precede in time; to come before.
Context (original sentence): The old well antedates the castle by several centuries.
Root:Latin ante, before + date.
Part of speech: adverb (also a adjective)
Definition: With reference to; concerning.
From the reading: "It is quite the contrary, an observation apropos of the style occurred to me that is by no means irrelevant as things stand." (Crime and Punishment)
Root:French à propos, to the purpose.
Part of speech: verb (also a noun)
Definition: To waste away, typically from lack of use.
From the reading: "Two doctors of the T.T.U.'s Told him his legs from long disuse, Were atrophied; and saying "So From step to higher step we go Till everything is New and True," They cut his legs off and withdrew." (Poems of Chesterton)
Root:Greek atrophia, lack of food.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Respected and impressive; majestic.
From the reading: "The Trojan chief appear’d in open sight, August in visage, and serenely bright." (The Aeneid)
Root:Latin augustus, consecrated, venerable.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Blissfully happy; imparting holy bliss.
Context (original sentence): A beatific smile lit the old saint's face.
Root:Latin beatus, blessed + facere, to make.
Part of speech: verb (also a adjective)
Definition: To pass on or discuss an idea or rumor casually; to exchange words, especially in a quarrel.
Context (original sentence): The servants bandied rumors about the master's guest.
Root:perhaps French bander, to hit a ball to and fro.
Part A. Words in context (2 points each). Choose the meaning of the word as used in the sentence.
1. "Infuriated at the self-command of the captive, the woman placed her arms akimbo; and, throwing herself into a posture of defiance, she broke out anew, in a torrent of words that no art of ours could commit successfully to paper." Here akimbo most nearly means
A) Growth or increase by the gradual accumulation of additional layers or matter B) With hands on the hips and elbows turned outward C) To precede in time D) Conforming to or following what is currently popular and fashionable
2. "It was a song that imitated the measure of beating upon iron, and was a mere lyrical excuse for the introduction of Old Clem’s respected name." Here lyrical most nearly means
A) Relating to a transitional or initial stage B) Looking or sounding sad and dismal, often in an exaggerated way C) To provide or supply food or other goods as one's business D) Expressing the writer's emotions in an imaginative and beautiful way
3. "Centuries of accretion had buried the Roman road beneath the town." Here accretion most nearly means
A) To precede in time B) Relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land C) Growth or increase by the gradual accumulation of additional layers or matter D) To pass on or discuss an idea or rumor casually
4. "She wore a modish bonnet from Paris to church." Here modish most nearly means
A) To treat a person as a celebrity B) To provide or supply food or other goods as one's business C) To precede in time D) Conforming to or following what is currently popular and fashionable
Part B. Sentence completion (1 point each). Each sentence comes from this week's entries; supply the word in the form used there. Word bank: august, bandy, agrarian, apropos, lugubrious, acme, rambunctious, limber, aegis, beatific
5. The cathedral marks the ______ of Gothic building in England.
6. "But surely it is in no wise possible for another god to go beyond or to make void the purpose of Zeus, lord of the ______."
7. "Now this was written at a time when the black ______ bone of the Greenland or Right whale was largely used in ladies’ bodices."
8. The servants ______ rumors about the master's guest.
9. "It is quite the contrary, an observation ______ of the style occurred to me that is by no means irrelevant as things stand."
10. A ______ smile lit the old saint's face.
11. Before the railroads came, the county was entirely ______.
12. "The Trojan chief appear’d in open sight, ______ in visage, and serenely bright."
Part C. Synonyms and antonyms (1 point each).
13. Synonym of liminal: (transitional / lugubrious / akimbo)
14. Antonym of antedate: (picturesque / apropos / follow)
15. Synonym of purvey: (august / supply / bandy)
16. Antonym of picturesque: (modish / ugly / antedate)
Part D. Analytical sentence (6 points). In two or three sentences, make a claim about this week's reading, quote it once, and use at least three of these words correctly: lugubrious, rambunctious, atrophy.
1. B 2. D 3. C 4. D
5. acme 6. aegis 7. limber 8. bandied 9. apropos 10. beatific 11. agrarian 12. August (distractors: lugubrious, rambunctious)
13. transitional 14. follow 15. supply 16. ugly
Part D scoring: 2 for a clear claim, 2 for an accurate quotation, 2 for three week words used correctly. (8 + 8 + 4 + 6 = 26.)