Grade 6 College Vocabulary, Week 24

Definition: faithful in doing what one ought to do; obedient and respectful.

From the reading: "...freedom is not a feeling; it is a duty kept every day, even when no one is watching."

KJV: "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Synonyms:

faithful, conscientious, obedient

Antonyms:

neglectful, disobedient, remiss

Root:duty, from Old French deu, "owed," from Latin debere, "to owe" (as in debt): a duty is something we owe.

Definition: done regularly, by settled custom; usual.

From the reading: "I thought it was only a habit. It took me a long time to learn that it was a lesson."

Synonyms:

customary, regular, routine

Antonyms:

occasional, rare, unusual

Root:Latin habitus, "condition, way of holding oneself," from habere, "to have, hold."

Definition: using very few words; brief and to the point in speech.

From the reading: "My grandfather never talked about the war unless someone asked him a question, and then he answered it and stopped."

KJV: "He that hath knowledge spareth his words" (Proverbs 17:27).

Synonyms:

terse, brief, curt

Antonyms:

wordy, talkative, long-winded

Root:Greek Lakonikos, "of Laconia," the land of the Spartans, who were famous for short answers. When a king warned them, "If I enter Laconia, I will destroy you," they wrote back one word: "If."

Definition: a ceremony or set of actions always done in the same way and order.

From the reading: "But every Saturday he raised the flag on the pole by the mailbox, and every Saturday he folded it again at sundown, the same way, thirteen folds, without a wrinkle."

Synonyms:

ceremony, rite, observance

Antonyms:

improvisation, irregularity

Root:Latin ritualis, from ritus, "rite, religious custom."

Definition: Something said or done to show honor, thanks, or respect; in older use, a payment owed to a ruler.

From the reading: "...tribute to whom tribute is due..." (the lesson's Scripture).

KJV: "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due" (Romans 13:7). A Patriot’s Pen essay is a written tribute.

Synonyms:

honor, homage, praise

Antonyms:

insult, disrespect, contempt

Root:Latin tributum, "a thing paid," from tribuere, "to assign, pay," at first "to divide among the tribes" (tribus).

Definition: to honor the memory of a person or event with a ceremony, a day, or a monument.

From the reading: "Before the workshop: why America keeps Veterans Day."

KJV: Israel set up twelve stones from the Jordan: "these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever" (Joshua 4:7).

Synonyms:

honor, observe, memorialize

Antonyms:

forget, ignore, neglect

Root:Latin com- (together) + memorare, "to bring to mind," from memor, "mindful."

Definition: deeply moving; touching the heart with sadness or tender feeling.

From the reading: "His uniform jacket lies on the ground; he swings the scythe through golden wheat." (Homer's painting of a soldier home from war)

KJV: Many saw in the painting Isaiah's words: "they shall beat their swords into plowshares" (Isaiah 2:4).

Synonyms:

moving, touching, stirring

Antonyms:

unmoving, dull, trivial

Root:Old French poignant, "pricking," from Latin pungere, "to prick, pierce" (as in puncture): a poignant scene pierces the heart.

Definition: honest and genuine; meaning what one says.

From the reading: "Give honor to whom honor is due. A good essay honors a veteran truthfully."

KJV: "...that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:10).

Synonyms:

genuine, heartfelt, honest

Antonyms:

false, insincere, hypocritical

Root:Latin sincerus, "pure, whole, unmixed."

Definition: to correct or discipline someone in order to make him better; (also) to make humble.

Context: In Little Britches, when Ralph does wrong, his father corrects him firmly but in love, because he means to raise an honest man.

KJV: "...as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee" (Deuteronomy 8:5). "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" (Hebrews 12:6).

Synonyms:

discipline, correct, humble

Antonyms:

spoil, indulge, pamper

Root:Old French chastier, from Latin castigare, "to correct," from castus, "pure": to chasten is to make pure.

Definition: what people generally believe about someone's character; one's good (or bad) name.

Context: Ralph's father teaches him that a good name is built slowly, by honest work and kept promises, and can be lost quickly.

KJV: "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" (Proverbs 22:1). Of a man who nearly died in the Lord's service, Paul wrote: "hold such in reputation" (Philippians 2:29).

Synonyms:

name, standing, character

Antonyms:

disgrace, dishonor, infamy

Root:Latin reputatio, "a reckoning, a thinking over," from re- (again) + putare (to think, count).

Definition: determined to have one's own way; stubborn and hard to guide.

Context: On the ranch, Ralph learns that a headstrong horse and a headstrong boy must both learn to answer the rein.

KJV: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise" (Proverbs 12:15).

Synonyms:

willful, obstinate, unruly

Antonyms:

obedient, docile, teachable

Root:head + strong: strong in one's own head, like a horse that will not answer the bit.

Definition: acting from firm moral rules of right and wrong.

Context: Ralph's father is a principled man who would rather lose money than give up his honesty.

Synonyms:

honorable, upright, ethical

Antonyms:

unscrupulous, dishonest, corrupt

Root:Latin principium, "beginning, foundation," from princeps, "first": a principle is a first truth on which a life is built.

Definition: to supply land or crops with water through ditches, pipes, or channels.

Context: On the dry Colorado ranch in Little Britches, crops grow only when ditch water comes to irrigate the fields, so every share of water is precious.

KJV: "...thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (Isaiah 58:11).

Synonyms:

water, flood, moisten

Antonyms:

dry out, drain, parch

Root:Latin in- (into, upon) + rigare (to water, wet).

Definition: extremely tiring and demanding.

Context: Haying under the summer sun is grueling work, yet young Ralph does his share beside the grown men.

KJV: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread" (Genesis 3:19).

Synonyms:

exhausting, punishing, arduous

Antonyms:

easy, effortless, light

Root:from gruel, thin porridge; old English slang "to give someone his gruel" meant to punish him severely.

Definition: careful with money and goods; using what one has wisely.

Context: The Moody family has little money, so they must be thrifty, mending, saving, and making every dollar stretch.

Synonyms:

economical, sparing, prudent

Antonyms:

wasteful, extravagant, spendthrift

Root:Old Norse thrift, "prosperity," related to thrive: the thrifty household is the one that thrives.

Definition: careful to do one's work well and to do what is right; guided by conscience.

Context: Ralph learns to finish a job properly even when no one will check it, like the grandfather in this week's model, who kept his duty "even when no one is watching."

KJV: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Colossians 3:23).

Synonyms:

diligent, careful, scrupulous

Antonyms:

careless, negligent, slipshod

Root:Latin conscientia, "knowledge within oneself," from con- (with) + scire (to know).

Definition: a true written account of events from the writer's own memory and experience.

From the reading: "This essay is an argument and a memoir together."

Synonyms:

recollection, reminiscence, life story

Antonyms:

fiction, invention

Root:French mémoire, "memory," from Latin memoria, from memor, "mindful."

Definition: the main subject or central idea of a piece of writing or art.

From the reading: "The topic every entry must address."

Synonyms:

subject, topic, central idea

Antonyms:

digression, side issue

Root:Greek thema, "something set down," from tithenai, "to put, place."

Definition: saying much in few words; brief but complete.

From the reading: "Essays must be 300–400 words..." A 412-word draft must be made more concise: "No; cut at least 12 words."

KJV: "...therefore let thy words be few" (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

Synonyms:

brief, succinct, compact

Antonyms:

wordy, rambling, verbose

Root:Latin concisus, "cut short," from con- (thoroughly) + caedere (to cut).

Definition: to act according to a rule, command, or request; to obey.

From the reading: "Get the official entry form from vfw.org or a local Post and follow every rule on it."

Synonyms:

obey, conform, follow

Antonyms:

disobey, defy, violate

Root:Italian complire, from Latin complere, "to fill up, fulfill" (as in complete).