by Dwane | Jan 22, 2024 | Uncategorized
Last year I wrote a book on goal setting. I am now in the process of editing that book. As I edit, I will post excerpts here on my blog. This is from chapter four: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Why...
by Dwane | Jan 22, 2024 | Uncategorized
Exhaust: to drain; to deplete. This morning, in a Latin class, we came across the Latin verb exhaurire. Exhaurire is Latin for drawing out, emptying, or draining. Exhaurire itself is a combination of the preposition ex, meaning ‘out of’ and haurire,...
by Dwane | Dec 23, 2023 | Uncategorized
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. All during the season of Christmas, we celebrate the most famous birthday of them all, the birthday of Jesus Christ. The question is, did it really happen? Did the son of the Creator come to our planet? Did he live, die, and then live...
by Dwane | Dec 21, 2023 | Uncategorized
Snow: small, soft, white flakes of ice falling from the sky. This word has been in our language since the beginning. In Old English, snow was snaw. English is a Germanic language. Finding similar words in the Germanic languages, then, comes as no surprise. German:...
by Dwane | Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
Santa Claus: the legendary patron saint of children The name Santa Claus first shows up in American English in 1773. Before then, Santa Claus was known as Sante Klaas, which itself comes from the old Dutch name for the saint: Sinter Niklaas. Today, in Holland, he is...
by Dwane | Dec 19, 2023 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Calendar: a system for measuring the days and months of the year. Calendar comes from the only word in Latin that uses the letter K, Kalendae. The Kalendae, to the Romas, was the first day of the month. It was also the day debts were due and accounts were reckoned....
by Dwane | Dec 18, 2023 | Education, English, Vocabulary
December: the twelfth and final month of the year December comes from the same root word that gives us the English decade (a period of ten years), decennial (occurring every ten years), decimal (to the tenth place), and dime (ten cents). December means: the tenth...
by Dwane | Dec 16, 2023 | Spanish, Tip of the Week
Like never before, I am attempting to level up in Spanish. Compass classroom and I want to produce some thing like Visual Latin, for Spanish. It’s been a dream for sometime. Unfortunately, my Spanish skills are the hold up. I still have a much to learn. One...
by Dwane | Dec 13, 2023 | Education, English
Noel: the period from December 24 to January 6. I have to admit, I did not know this was the definition of Noel until I did some research for this word. Noel came up the other day in a French class I am taking. The teacher was telling us about the French ‘Santa...
by Dwane | Dec 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
In my never-ending quest for alternatives to college, I recently discovered the No Degree podcast. In the podcast, the host interviews people who opted out of college, and found success. If you decide to check it out, I recommend this episode...
by Dwane | Dec 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
Advent An awaited arrival; an important arrival. The season or period of the Christian calendar between Advent Sunday and Christmas. The word advent comes from the Latin word adventus. Adventus, in Latin, is an arrival, an approach, a visit, or an appearance....
by Dwane | Dec 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
Last year I wrote a book on goal setting. I am now in the process of editing that book. As I edit, I will post excerpts here on my blog. This is from chapter four: _______________________________________________________________________________________________...
by Dwane | Dec 9, 2023 | Uncategorized
This week, in a French class I attend, another student wanted to know how to say “cookie” in French. I expected the teacher to respond with le biscuit. Instead, he responded with le petit gateau. In French, the word for cake is gateau. A cookie, then,...
by Dwane | Dec 8, 2023 | Uncategorized
Last year I wrote a book on goal setting. I am now in the process of editing that book. As I edit, I will post excerpts here on my blog. This is from chapter four: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ What...
by Dwane | Dec 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
Not long ago, in a German class, we learned the German word for iron, Eisen. Railroad, for example, in German is Eisenbahn. Eisenbahn, a combination of Eisen (iron) and Bahn (road, or way) is the iron road. I thought of the name of one of our former presidents,...
by Dwane | Nov 27, 2023 | Uncategorized
Confetti: small pieces of paper thrown into the air during celebrations. This word came up in a Latin class this morning. A student wanted to know if confetti came from confitieri, the Latin word for confession. It does not. Instead, confetti comes from the Italian...
by Dwane | Nov 23, 2023 | Uncategorized
Today, in America, we celebrate Thanksgiving, a time we use to reflect upon all the blessings in our lives. Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude. Gratitude: thankfulness; a feeling of appreciation. The word came to English via Medieval Latin. The word for...
by Dwane | Nov 22, 2023 | Uncategorized
Quixotic: Idealistic, yet impractical. Visionary. Quixotic comes from the name Don Quixote in the famous tale by Miguel Cervantes. I try to post a word a day on my site and on Facebook. Judging by my record, this may be a quixotic goal on my part. Oh well. ...
by Dwane | Nov 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
Like most of you, I love learning. I spend much of my free time learning. Over the years, I have subscribed to the site formerly known as The Great Courses. These days, the site goes by the name Wondrium. I still call the site, The Great Courses. Honestly, the...
by Dwane | Nov 8, 2023 | Uncategorized
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a word of the day. Back. At least for today. This morning, in a Latin class, we learned the word Vita. Vita, in Latin, means life. From vita, English gleans multiple words. A bunch of them showed up in Word up: Volume...
by Dwane | Oct 7, 2023 | Uncategorized
Recently, I discovered the book, The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz. I recommend the book. Among many other good suggestions, Mr. Schwartz recommended taking college classes for the rest of you life. Schedule it in. Plan on taking at least one class a...
by Dwane | Oct 6, 2023 | Education, French, Italian, Latin, Motivation, Spanish
I received this question. It sparked a short correspondence between us Good afternoon and thank you for your resources! What is the most important/significant material to glean from Virgil’s Aeneid, from a grammar and/or rhetoric perspective? I am leading a...
by Dwane | Oct 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
Just found out today that the Old English/Anglo-Saxon work for wealth and prosperity is… thrift. From now on, I refer to thrift stores as wealth stores. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Almost every...
by Dwane | Oct 5, 2023 | Education, Motivation
I received this comment from an online student: Hi Magister, This was triggered by “If you come to Latin class every day for 30 minutes you will learn Latin…” I heard an interesting quote on a different definition of intelligence. The speaker did not...
by Dwane | Oct 4, 2023 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Ultracrepidarian: someone giving opinions on something beyond their knowledge. The habit of talking constantly about subjects you know little or nothing about. From the Latin word ultra (beyond) and crepida (slipper, or sandal). According to legends, a famous Greek...
