by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, German, Latin, Visual Latin
I received this inquiry: “If we strive for passing the NLE Level 2, which I am hope translates to a level 2 language equivalent in French, Spanish, etc (?), what additional materials may be necessary, if any, once a student has completed your Lesson 60? I have...
by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
I am working on the live online classes today! If you stop by, you will notice changes hourly. Trying to work out all of the issues. Feel free to contact me if you spot any problems!
by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Greek, Visual Latin, Vocabulary
Metaphor: a short similitude; a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object. For example: The soldier was a lion in combat. From Greek μεταφερω (to transfer), which further derives from μετα (over) and φερω (carry). Mixed metaphors are fun. ...
by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Abate: To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as pain abates; a storm abates. Once upon a time, this word meant, ”to put an end to, or to destroy” Over time, abate came to represent something diminishing in power, or diminishing in strength. Abate passed...
by Dwane | Feb 26, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Acrophobia: fear of heights. There is nothing to fear, but fear itself. And heights. And public speaking. And spiders… especially spiders. Acrophobia comes from Greek ἄκρον (height, summit, peak), and and φοβία (fear).
by Dwane | Feb 26, 2015 | Ebook, English, Latin, Vocabulary
When Latin went out of business, many Latin prepositions got jobs as prefixes in English. For instance, the Latin preposition “ad” meaning, “to, toward” became the English prefixes ac-, ad-, af-, ag-, al-, an-, ap-, ar-, as-, at-. This process...
by Dwane | Feb 26, 2015 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
I received this inquiry: I previewed your Visual Latin program. I really like what I see. We are in Classical Conversations and will be doing Henle starting in the Fall. What is your recommendation to help us as we go through Henle with Challenge A? Getting Visual...
by Dwane | Feb 25, 2015 | Latin, Visual Latin
I received this email: Dear Dwane, “My son has fallen behind in your online Lingua Latina class. I didn’t realize how far he’d fallen behind until late last week. He’s working hard to catch up, though. I’m going to have him continue...
by Dwane | Feb 25, 2015 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Agony – extreme physical or mental suffering. Or… A one armed man, with an itch, hanging from a cliff. Or… a waiting room with one tv looping old episodes of the Knight Rider. Or… Learning Latin from most textbooks. From Greek ἀγωνία...
by Dwane | Feb 25, 2015 | English, Latin, Vocabulary
Adult: a person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle. From Latin adultus (mature, ripe, fully grown).
by Dwane | Feb 24, 2015 | Latin
I received this inquiry: Hello Dwane, “Your class is awesome and my 8th grade daughter is still with it! We are close to completing your first 30 lessons and are considering the NLE to gauge how we’re doing. My hope is that she will complete at least...
by Dwane | Feb 24, 2015 | Education, Greek, Latin, Vocabulary
Learn Latin, Greek, or English vocabulary derived from Latin and Greek. That is a mouthful. Online class enrollment begins this Friday! Just like HealthCare.gov, enrollment will remain open for a while. UnlikeHealthCare.gov, I will not force you to join a class...
by Dwane | Feb 24, 2015 | English, Latin, Vocabulary
Acuity: sharpness of thought, vision, or hearing. The ability to think accurately and clearly. Penetrating intelligence. Acuity is insight, perception, sagacity, or astuteness. Pronunciation: Acuity We often use this word in the phrase “mental acuity.” In idiomatic...
by Dwane | Feb 24, 2015 | English, Greek
Pedagogue: A teacher of children; one whose occupation is to instruct young children; a schoolmaster. These days a pedagogue carries a negative connotation. A pedagogue is a strict teacher, or a pedant. Dolores Umbridge. Pedagogue comes from the Greek παιδαγωγός...
by Dwane | Feb 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
by Dwane | Feb 23, 2015 | Education, Motivation, The Future
My16 year old linked this article to me this morning. I found it helpful. Thought you all might enjoy it as well. Incidentally, I sometimes hear from readers that I ought to stick to Latin and Greek. I disagree, and I will let author Robert Heinlein help me with...
by Dwane | Feb 23, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Acute Oh, man. There are so many definitions for this word. Here we go… 1. Sharp at the end. An acute angle in geometry, is one which is less than a right angle, or less than ninety degrees. An acute angled triangle is one whose three angles are all acute,...
by Dwane | Feb 23, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Exodus: a mass departure. Exodus is also is the name of the second book of the Bible, which, of course, describes a mass departure. Sick of lousy working conditions, the Hebrews head for the beach. Exodus comes from the Greek ἔξοδος, pronounced éksodos, which further...
by Dwane | Feb 21, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Dozen: The number twelve of things of a like kind; as a dozen of eggs. Dozen comes from Old French dozaine, meaning: a dozen. Dozaine derives from and earlier word doze, meaning: twelve. Doze is from Latin word for twelve, duodecim. Duodecim is a combination of duo:...
by Dwane | Feb 21, 2015 | Greek, Vocabulary
Parable: A story in which a lesson is expressed in terms of something else. A story illustrating a lesson using analogy. A short story that teaches a lesson. A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson. Parable comes from a combination of two Greek...
by Dwane | Feb 21, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Latin, Vocabulary
Some time ago, my interest in Latin took a sharp turn. Actually, I ran of the road. Instead of studying Latin, instead of reading books in Latin, instead of reading books about Latin… I started tracking down the English words that had come from Latin. On...
by Dwane | Feb 21, 2015 | Tip of the Week
Do you spend a lot of time in the car? According to Anne Lutz Fenandez in her book, Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile and its Effect on our Lives, Americans spend eighteen and a half hours a week in their cars! That’s more than two and a half hours in the car…...
by Dwane | Feb 20, 2015 | Education, English, German, Vocabulary
Sledding: the perfect disruption of productivity. It has snowed here in middle Tennessee for the first time in forever. I don’t mind, since the cold never bothered my anyway. My productivity, though, has plummeted. There are five kids living in my house, some...
by Dwane | Feb 19, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Cui bono: A Latin phrase meaning “to whose gain,” or “for whose good”. If someone stands to gain from a crime, or a government stands to gain from war, someone else may question their motivation with a short, “Cui bono?”
by Dwane | Feb 19, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration of overstatement. Hyperbole derives from the Greek ὑπέρ: above and βάλλειν: to throw. A figure of speech which express much more, or much less than the truth, or which represents things much more or much less, much better or worse than...
