Grade 6 College Vocabulary, Week 14

Definition: wastefully spending money or goods; reckless with what one has been given.

From the reading: "This must be some prodigal who hath sold his father's land, and would fain live merrily while the money lasts."

KJV link: The "prodigal son" of Luke 15 "wasted his substance with riotous living" (Luke 15:13). The word prodigal is not in the verse; it comes from the chapter heading tradition.

Synonyms:

wasteful, extravagant, spendthrift

Antonyms:

thrifty, frugal, careful

Root:Latin prodigus, "wasteful," from prodigere, "to drive away, squander" (pro- "forth" + agere "to drive").

Definition: a person who spends money foolishly and wastefully.

From the reading: "...it was but a scurvy trick to beguile a poor spendthrift youth in this way."

Synonyms:

prodigal, wastrel, squanderer

Antonyms:

miser, saver, economizer

Root:English spend + thrift (old meaning "savings, wealth"): one who spends his savings.

Definition: careful and sparing with money or food; not wasteful.

Context (KJV idea): "There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up" (Proverbs 21:20). The wise man here is frugal.

Synonyms:

thrifty, economical, prudent

Antonyms:

prodigal, lavish, wasteful

Root:Latin frugalis, from frux, frugis, "fruit, produce": one who makes good use of his harvest.

Definition: given or spent in great, even excessive, amounts.

Context: Robin spread a lavish feast for the Sheriff in the greenwood, but the Sheriff soon learned who would pay for it.

Synonyms:

sumptuous, abundant, extravagant

Antonyms:

meager, scanty, frugal

Root:Old French lavasse, "a downpour of rain": something poured out.

Definition: sharp and clever in judging people and situations, especially in business.

From the reading: "I trust not one that driveth so shrewd a bargain."

KJV link: Christ tells His disciples to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16): shrewd, yet without guile.

Synonyms:

astute, canny, sharp

Antonyms:

naive, gullible, foolish

Root:Middle English shrewed, "wicked, cunning," from shrew. The word has softened from "evil" to "clever."

Definition: sly or cunning deceit; trickery.

From the reading: "For thus men sometimes overreach themselves through greed and guile."

KJV: "Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile" (Psalm 32:2).

Synonyms:

deceit, craftiness, cunning

Antonyms:

honesty, candor, sincerity

Root:Old French guile, "deceit," probably from a Germanic word related to wile (a trick).

Definition: to trick or deceive, often by charm; (also) to charm or pass the time pleasantly.

From the reading: "...a scurvy trick to beguile a poor spendthrift youth in this way."

KJV: "And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat" (Genesis 3:13).

Synonyms:

deceive, dupe, mislead; (second sense) charm, enchant

Antonyms:

enlighten, undeceive; (second sense) bore, repel

Root:be- (thoroughly) + guile: to work guile upon someone.

Definition: to try to do or get too much and so fail; to defeat oneself by being too greedy or too clever.

From the reading: "For thus men sometimes overreach themselves through greed and guile."

Synonyms:

overextend, overstep, go too far

Antonyms:

hold back, restrain oneself

Root:over- + reach: reaching past what one can grasp.

Definition: extreme greed for money or riches. One of the seven deadly sins in the classical Christian tradition.

Context: The Sheriff's avarice made him eager to buy the "prodigal's" cattle for a song, and it led him straight into Sherwood.

Synonyms:

greed, covetousness, cupidity

Antonyms:

generosity, liberality, contentment

Root:Latin avaritia, from avarus, "greedy," from avere, "to crave."

Definition: to desire eagerly something that belongs to someone else.

KJV: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house" (Exodus 20:17). "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15).

Synonyms:

crave, envy, lust after

Antonyms:

renounce, be content with

Root:Old French coveitier, from Latin cupiditas, "desire," from cupere, "to desire."

Definition: A bill or account to be paid; a time of judgment when wrongs are punished or debts are settled.

From the reading: "We keep a merry inn here in the greenwood, but whoever becometh our guest must pay his reckoning."

Synonyms:

bill, account, tally; (second sense) judgment, retribution

Antonyms:

(second sense) pardon, reprieve

Root:Old English gerecenian, "to explain, count." "Day of reckoning" means the day the account is settled.

Definition: the right to give orders and make decisions; (also) a person or group that holds that right.

From the reading: "...those in authority being very wroth with him."

KJV: "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matthew 7:29).

Synonyms:

power, command, jurisdiction

Antonyms:

powerlessness, subjection

Root:Latin auctoritas, from auctor, "author, originator": the one who starts something has the right to direct it.

Definition: the state of being kept shut in or restricted.

From the reading: "At last he began to fret at his confinement; so one day he took up his stout cudgel and set forth to seek adventure."

Synonyms:

restriction, captivity, imprisonment

Antonyms:

freedom, release, liberty

Root:Latin con- (together) + finis (boundary, end): kept within boundaries.

Definition: Cheerful and carefree; careless, not showing proper concern (tests often check this second sense).

From the reading: "...strolling blithely along until he came to the edge of Sherwood."

Synonyms:

merry, lighthearted; (second sense) heedless, casual

Antonyms:

gloomy, morose; (second sense) careful, concerned

Root:Old English blithe, "joyous, kind."

Definition: polite and respectful in manner.

From the reading: "Right courteously have ye used me..." (the Sheriff, thanking his hosts before he knows the price).

KJV: "...love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous" (1 Peter 3:8).

Synonyms:

polite, gracious, civil

Antonyms:

rude, discourteous, impolite

Root:Old French corteis, "having court manners," from cort, "court."

Definition: To open a cask to draw out liquid; to bring up a subject for discussion (the common modern and test sense).

From the reading: "...others still broached barrels of sack and Malmsey and good stout ale."

Context (sense 2): Only after the feast did Robin broach the subject of the bill.

Synonyms:

(sense 2) raise, introduce, bring up

Antonyms:

(sense 2) avoid, suppress, drop

Root:Old French brochier, "to pierce," from broche, "a pointed tool, spit."

Definition: a joke or playful remark; to speak in fun.

From the reading: "...the leafy aisles ringing with merry jests and laughter."

Synonyms:

joke, quip, witticism

Antonyms:

seriousness, earnest

Root:Latin gesta, "deeds" (as in old tales of deeds); later "an idle tale," then "a joke."

Definition: the character or force that opposes the main character in a story.

Context: In "Robin Hood Turns Butcher," the greedy Sheriff is the antagonist.

Synonyms:

opponent, adversary, foe

Antonyms:

protagonist, ally

Root:Greek antagonistes, "rival," from anti- (against) + agon (contest).

Definition: the reason that moves a person to act.

Context: The Sheriff's motive is greed; Robin's motive is to shame him, not to harm him.

Synonyms:

reason, purpose, incentive

Antonyms:

(none exact) aimlessness

Root:Latin motivus, "moving," from movere, "to move."

Definition: a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens, or between what is said and what is meant.

Context: It is irony that the Sheriff, who thought he was the hunter, was the one being caught.

Synonyms:

incongruity, reversal

Antonyms:

(situational) fulfillment of expectations

Root:Greek eironeia, "pretended ignorance," from eiron, "one who says less than he means."