by Dwane | Apr 14, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Hexapod: a creature with six feet. Any arthropod of the class Hexapoda. In other words, an insect. Though he only has two feet, Marvel has brought a “hexapod” hero to the big screen: https://youtu.be/xInh3VhAWs8 Hexapod comes from the Greek word ἑξαποδία...
by Dwane | Apr 11, 2015 | English, Latin, Vocabulary
Pedestrian: a walker; someone who journeys on foot. As an adjective, something pedestrian describes a going on foot; walking; made on foot; as a pedestrian journey. Interestingly, pedestrian also means boring, mundane, banal, prosaic, or commonplace. When we use the...
by Dwane | Apr 9, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Chiropodist: a podiatrist. The word chiropodist has essentially dropped from English. It lost its job to podiatrist. A chiropodist was a hand and foot doctor. The word comes from the Greek words for hand, χείρ (pronounced, kheir) and foot, ποδός (pronounced,...
by Dwane | Apr 9, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Pedestal: In architecture, the lowest part of a column or pillar. The pedestal sustains a column and serves as its “foot.” A pedestal is a support structure, a base. We can use the word pedestal figuratively as well. When we put someone “on a pedestal,” we are...
by Dwane | Apr 7, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Pedal: A foot-operated lever. We use pedals all the time. We use them to power bicycles, vehicles, and other machines. Pedals also control sewing machines, pianos, and organs. Come to Nashville and you will even see “Pedal Taverns.” Pedal Taverns are bicycle...