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, 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 | 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...
