by Dwane | Aug 19, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Anesthetic: a drug that numbs feeling; and agent causing loss of feeling, or sensation. From the Greek αν (not; without) and αἰσθητικός (sensitive, feeling). Whenever people pine for the good old days, I remind them of one word… dentistry....
by Dwane | Aug 15, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, 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. It’s...
by Dwane | Aug 14, 2014 | Greek, Latin, Vocabulary
Aerosol: a pressurized substance, released as a fine spray, by means of a propellant. Aerosol contains small particles, liquid, or solid. These tiny particles are suspended in a gas. The word may also mean the container itself. Aerosol, first used in 1919, comes...
by Dwane | Aug 6, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Latin, Vocabulary
English vocabulary is made up of 60% Latin words and 10% Greek words. This means, that, by learning those old Greek and Latin roots, you will possess the key to 70% of the language that your fellow students do not possess. – Rita McNamera, in 14 Basic Roots:...
by Dwane | Aug 4, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Latin, Latin in Literature
Lucius Malfoy, in the Harry Potter series, is the father of Draco Malfoy. In the last post about J.K. Rowling’s famous series, we looked into the meaning of Draco’s name. In case you weren’t paying attention, Draco is Latin for dragon, or snake....
by Dwane | Jul 29, 2014 | Education, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Motivation
Ten things you can do to get smarter everyday by Jessica Stillman You might be under the impression that intelligence is a fixed quantity that is set when you are young and unchanging thereafter. But research shows that, if so, you’re wrong. How we approach...
