Grade 7 College Vocabulary, Week 33

Definition: to die, especially by violence or hardship; to be destroyed or come to an end.

From the reading: "...shall not perish from this earth."

KJV: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Synonyms:

die, expire, vanish

Antonyms:

survive, endure, flourish

Root:Latin perire, "to pass away, be lost," from per- (away) + ire (to go).

Definition: Without success or result; useless; too proud of one's looks or achievements.

From the reading: "...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain..."

KJV: "...forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Synonyms:

futile, fruitless, useless; (second sense) conceited

Antonyms:

fruitful, successful; (second sense) modest

Root:Latin vanus, "empty." Labor in vain is labor that comes back empty-handed.

Definition: using very little of something; careful not to use too much.

From the reading (the lesson): "The rules let you use quotations “sparingly” if they are plainly marked..."

Context: A Patriot's Pen writer is sparing with quotations so that most of the 400 words are his or her own.

Synonyms:

frugal, economical, restrained

Antonyms:

lavish, generous, excessive

Root:Old English sparian, "to spare, hold back."

Definition: to make holy; to set apart for a sacred purpose.

Context: Lincoln said the crowd at Gettysburg could not hallow the ground, because the soldiers who fought there had already set it apart.

KJV: "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it" (Genesis 2:3). "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17).

Synonyms:

consecrate, hallow, bless

Antonyms:

profane, defile, desecrate

Root:Latin sanctificare, from sanctus (holy) + facere (to make).

Definition: to leave property to someone in a will; (more broadly) to hand something down to those who come after.

From the reading: "No wonder, then, that the generations of William Tell and Arnold Melchthal bequeathed a resolute purpose of resistance to their descendants."

Context (sense 1): Yonge also tells that "pious persons frequently bequeathed sums of money for the ransom of the poorer captives."

Synonyms:

leave, will, hand down

Antonyms:

inherit, receive; (loosely) withhold

Root:Old English becwethan, "to declare," from be- + cwethan (to say; compare quoth). A will is a formal saying.

Definition: to send or pass something from one person, place or generation to another.

From the reading: "This reply the Grand Master transmitted to the garrison, and it nerved them to fight even with more patience and self-sacrifice."

Context: During the siege of Malta (1565), the Grand Master of the Knights passed along the promise that a relief fleet was coming.

Synonyms:

convey, relay, pass on

Antonyms:

withhold, keep, retain

Root:Latin transmittere, from trans- (across) + mittere (to send).

Definition: a short inscription on a tomb, or a brief saying in memory of someone who has died.

From the reading: "...where most of them might have used the same epitaph as the old Italian leader: 'He rests here, who never rested before'."

Context: Many headstones at Gettysburg carry no long epitaph, only a name, a regiment, or the word "Unknown."

Synonyms:

inscription, memorial line, eulogy (loosely)

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Greek epitaphion, from epi- (upon) + taphos (tomb).

Definition: to fix an idea or habit firmly in someone's mind by repeating it and teaching it often.

Context: Israel set up twelve stones by the Jordan to inculcate in each new generation the memory of what God had done.

KJV link: "We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done" (Psalm 78:4). "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

Synonyms:

instill, implant, impress

Antonyms:

neglect, (loosely) erase

Root:Latin inculcare, "to tread in," from in- + calcare (to trample, from calx, heel): pressed in, as a footprint.

Definition: bold courage, especially in battle or danger; (also) polite attention, especially a gentleman's courtesy.

From the reading: "...their lives saved by his gallantry."

Context: A soldier may receive a medal for gallantry when he risks his life to save his comrades.

Synonyms:

bravery, valor, heroism

Antonyms:

cowardice, timidity

Root:Old French galant, "lively, bold," from galer, "to make merry."

Definition: To turn away (one's eyes or thoughts); to prevent something bad from happening.

From the reading: "...and thus averted what might have been the most terrific disaster that could have befallen our army."

Context: Captain William Jones carried burning embers, one by one, out of a church full of loose gunpowder.

Synonyms:

prevent, forestall, ward off

Antonyms:

cause, invite, provoke

Root:Latin avertere, from a- (ab, away) + vertere (to turn).

Definition: to free someone or something from a trap, a tangle or a difficulty.

From the reading: "They disregarded the generous cry, and used every effort to extricate him..."

Context: The engineer William Ingram stayed at his post to reverse his engine and was pinned in the wreck.

Synonyms:

free, release, disentangle

Antonyms:

entangle, trap, ensnare

Root:Latin extricare, from ex- (out of) + tricae (perplexities, tangles).

Definition: severe pain or suffering of body or mind.

From the reading: "...but even in that extremity of anguish he called out to those who came round to help him to keep away, as he expected the boiler would burst."

KJV: "...she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world" (John 16:21).

Synonyms:

agony, torment, distress

Antonyms:

relief, comfort, joy

Root:Latin angustia, "narrowness, distress," from angere, "to squeeze, choke."

Definition: to slow down or block progress; to get in the way.

From the reading: "...the lopping off the long-peaked toes of the boots that the gentlemen wore chained to their knees, and which would have impeded them on foot..."

Context: Before fighting the Swiss on foot, the knights cut off the fashionable points of their boots.

Synonyms:

hinder, obstruct, hamper

Antonyms:

aid, assist, expedite

Root:Latin impedire, "to shackle the feet," from in- + pes, pedis (foot).

Definition: To overcome a difficulty or obstacle (the usual test sense); to stand on top of something.

From the reading (sense 2): "Then came a straight wall, rising to a considerable height, and surmounted by a broad platform..."

Context (sense 1): Yonge's heroes surmount fear, hunger and pain to do their duty.

Synonyms:

overcome, conquer, rise above; (sense 2) top, crown

Antonyms:

yield to, succumb to

Root:Old French surmonter, from sur- (over) + monter (to climb).

Definition: to stir people up to action, usually to violence or wrongdoing.

From the reading: "...the infuriated mob of Paris had been incited by the revolutionary leaders to rush to Versailles in pursuit of the royal family..."

Synonyms:

provoke, instigate, stir up

Antonyms:

calm, pacify, restrain

Root:Latin incitare, from in- + citare (to set in motion, rouse).

Definition: causing disgust and hatred; morally detestable.

From the reading: "...the whole scene was all that was abhorrent to a pure, devout, and faithful nature, most full of terror to a woman."

Context: St. Genevieve walked into the wild feast of King Hilperik and pleaded for the prisoners.

Synonyms:

detestable, repugnant, loathsome

Antonyms:

admirable, delightful, appealing

Root:Latin abhorrere, "to shrink back in horror," from ab- (away) + horrere (to bristle, shudder).

Definition: To give money or property to provide a lasting income; to provide someone with a quality or ability.

From the reading: "At the same time Leo was endowed with lands, which raised him to the rank of what the Franks called a Roman proprietor..."

Context (sense 2): Our Creator has endowed every person with gifts to use in His service.

Synonyms:

grant, bestow, furnish

Antonyms:

deprive, strip, divest

Root:Anglo-French endouer, from en- + douer, from Latin dotare (to give a dowry).

Definition: Gentle and kind; harmless (a benign tumor is not dangerous).

From the reading: "A thankful sign to Heaven benign, / That spared the sapling oak."

Context: In the poem, the rescued boys give thanks to a kind Providence for their escape.

Synonyms:

kindly, gracious; (sense 2) harmless, mild

Antonyms:

malevolent, hostile; (sense 2) harmful, malignant

Root:Latin benignus, from bene (well) + genus (born): well-born, and so good-natured.

Definition: (noun) a sign or warning of something to come; (verb) to foretell or point ahead to.

From the reading: "...the old tales that were founded on the decay and revival of nature in winter and spring, and with a presage running through them of sacrifice, death, and resurrection."

Context: Yonge saw in the old pagan story of Alcestis a faint foreshadowing of the Gospel.

Synonyms:

omen, portent, foreshadowing; (verb) foretell, herald

Antonyms:

(none exact) aftermath

Root:Latin praesagium, from prae- (before) + sagire (to perceive keenly).

Definition: to take away a loved one, especially by death; to leave someone grieving.

Context: Families who lost a soldier in war are bereaved, and a nation owes them honor and care.

KJV: "Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away" (Genesis 42:36).

Synonyms:

deprive, rob, leave desolate

Antonyms:

restore, comfort

Root:Old English bereafian, from be- (thoroughly) + reafian (to rob; compare reave).