by Dwane | Sep 2, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Abscond: to escape; leave hurriedly and secretly; run away; hide. From Latin abscondere (to hide; to conceal). Example: The marmot absconds in the winter. Another example, from a lousy chapter in my own life: He absconded with the funds.
by Dwane | Sep 2, 2014 | Latin, ScreenCasts
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by Dwane | Sep 1, 2014 | ScreenCasts
by Dwane | Sep 1, 2014 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Otalgia: a pain in the ear. From Greek ώτο (ear), and ἄλγος (pain, suffering). This is a medical term. Unfortunately, you cannot use the word to describe popular teenage boy bands.
by Dwane | Sep 1, 2014 | English, Vocabulary
September: the ninth month of the year. September follows August, and precedes October. September was the seventh month of the Roman year. Under the old Roman calendar, the year began in March. Now, instead of celebrating the new year in March (which is quite...
by Dwane | Aug 30, 2014 | Latin, ScreenCasts
There are certain prepositions in Latin that automatically drive the next word into the Ablative case. This often confuses my students, and perhaps it confuses you as well. No...
by Dwane | Aug 30, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Uncategorized
Nostalgia: a longing for home; a longing for better days. From νοσταλγία (nostalgia), which further derives from νόστος (a return home), and ἄλγος (pain, suffering).
by Dwane | Aug 30, 2014 | Education, English, Italian, Spanish, Vocabulary
A cheval: by horse; on horseback. In mountaineering, à cheval is a climbing method. The climber straddles the ridge, placing hands on the crest of the ridge. From the French phrase à cheval (on horseback). The French phrase derives from the Latin caballus (horse,...
by Dwane | Aug 29, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Onager: the wild donkey of Asia. From Greek όνος (donkey, ass) and άγριος (wild). Άγριος derives from ἀγρός (field). Onager is also the name for a Roman siege weapon, a type of ballista, which threw stones from a bag or wooden bucket. Evidently, this weapon had...
by Dwane | Aug 29, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Ab ovo: From the beginning; complete; thorough. The literal translation of this Latin phrase is “from the egg”. The Romans used a phrase, “ab ovum usque ad malum” to describe a complete process. The phrase means, “from the egg to the apple”. It describes a complete...
by Dwane | Aug 28, 2014 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Agriology: the study of wild, primitive tribes. From Greek άγριος (wild, living in the field). Άγριος derives from ἀγρός (field). The suffix of the word agriology derives from Greek λογός (word, the study of).
by Dwane | Aug 28, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Ab irato: From anger. Ab irato is a legal phrase. It describes decisions made in anger. Such decisions (based on hatred, or anger) are frequently detrimental. Fortunately, heirs have recourse. They can file a suit against rash action. The suit is an “ab irato”...
by Dwane | Aug 27, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Agronomy: the study of crops and the soil they love; the science of soil management. From Greek ἀγρός (field) and νόμος (law). Agronomy is literally, “the law of the field”.
by Dwane | Aug 27, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Ab initio: from the beginning; from the start. In law, ab initio may refer to the time a legal document becomes, well, legal. In science, ab initio points to first principles, or basic laws. Ab initio is a Latin phrase, meaning (you guessed it), from the beginning....
by Dwane | Aug 26, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Latin, Vocabulary
Acre: a plot of land equal to 4,840 square yards. In Old English, an æcer was simply a “tilled field”. Later, the word described the amount of land plowed by oxen in a single day. This is an old word. Variations show up in many ancient European languages. In Latin,...
by Dwane | Aug 26, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Aversion: an intense dislike; opposition of mind; disinclination; reluctance; hatred. Derived from Latin ab (away) and vertere (to turn), the literal meaning of this word is: to turn away. Example: She had a deep aversion to broccoli.
by Dwane | Aug 25, 2014 | Education, Latin
I received this email recently: I’m totally confused. During the last school year I purchased Latin 1 and my son started to slowly work through it. (He just finished lesson 10.) At that point I didn’t have a teacher’s guide, tests, or vocabulary...
by Dwane | Aug 25, 2014 | Education
College, for me, was a waste of time. I naively did what I was told. I did what every high school graduate was supposed to do. I went to college. It was a four year delay of game. There is more information out there now. It is getting harder to keep the truth...
by Dwane | Aug 25, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Abstraction: Dealing with ideas rather than events. Abstraction is also a state of mind occupied by abstract ideas. When we consider the branch of a tree by itself, or the color of leaves, as separate from their size or shape, the act is abstraction. When we...
by Dwane | Aug 22, 2014 | Latin
I received this question today: I am currently lesson planning Visual Latin I for my HS sophomore. Your VL/Lingua Latina schedule does not begin combining the two until lesson 17 or so, but your sample Week 12 lesson already has the student doing chapter 2 of Lingua...
by Dwane | Aug 22, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Meteor: a shooting star; a space rock passing into Earth’s atmosphere, appearing as a bright light in the sky. From Greek μετέωρον (the thing high up). Mετέωρον further derives from μετα (among, between, over) and ἀείρω (to lift, to rise...
by Dwane | Aug 22, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Abstain: to withhold oneself; to refrain from voluntarily; to refrain from indulgence. I attempted to abstain from chocolate and coffee once. Ah… to be young and foolish again. Abstain comes from Latin ab (away) and tenere (to hold).
by Dwane | Aug 21, 2014 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Aorta: The great artery, or trunk of the arterial system. It proceeds from the left ventricle of the heart, giving origin to all the arteries, except the pulmonary arteries. It first rises, when it is called the ascending aorta; then makes a great curve, when it gives...
by Dwane | Aug 21, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Absent: gone, not there, not present physically, or not present mentally. Absent derives from Latin absunt, which means, they are not here. Absunt itself derives from Latin ab (away) and the infinitve esse (to be). With the condition of American schools these days,...
by Dwane | Aug 21, 2014 | Ebook, Education, Latin
Recently, I received this question: I have a 17 year old daughter who has done Visual Latin through lesson 45, but hasn’t read Lingua Latina. She is planning on finishing through lesson 50. I noticed your on line classes use the book along with the DVD. I was...
