Chapter 8 words

Zealous• Def: Extremely active, eager, devoted• “Zealous” comes from the Greek word zelos

meaning intense and passionate. During the first century A.D. there was a group of Jews called Zealots, who actively opposed Roman rule.

Example: Political extremists who hi-jack airplanes are zealots who threaten passengers’ lives.

• Synonyms= euthusiastic, passionate, intense, ardent

Candid • Def.: honest, truthful, straightforward• Word History: The ancient Romans had two

words for white- candidus for shining white. Candidus was also associated with spotlessness and purity, as when referring to one’s character.

Example: We hope that our political candidates are candid with us.

• Synonyms: sincere, frank, forthright, uninhibited

Posthumous

• Def: Occurring after death• Posthumous comes from Latin postumus

meaning very last. Since an after-death occurrence is one which is the very last, postumus came to mean “after death”.Example: Herman Melville’s short novel Billy Budd was published posthumously in 1924.

• Synonyms: after-death, post- mortem

Enthrall

• Charm, fascinate, please greatly• Originally thrall meant slave in English. To

“enthrall” a person was to make that person a slave.

Example: Sights such as India’s Taj Mahal, Japan’s sacred Mount Fuji, and Egypt’s awesome pyramaids enthrall tourists.

• Synonyms: spellbind, thrill, enchant, captivate• Related words: mesmerize

Parasite• Def: Plant or animal that lives on or in another

and feeds off this other’s body, a person receiving support without giving anything useful .

• Parasite derives from Greek para “beside” + sitos “food” or “grain”.

Example: Parasite refers to an organism that lives off of another, such as the fleas and worms that are parasites of dogs.

• Synonyms: freeloader, sponger, sycophant• Related words: leech

Chagrin

• Humiliation, disappointment, irritation• We know that “chagrin” entered the English

Language from the French chagrin “distressed”.

• Example: Much to my chagrin, I saw all my proposals rejected by the committee.

• Synonyms: shame, distress, embarrassment, mortification

Cant

• Insincere talk, special language of a social class, trade or profession

• Cant drive from Latin cantus “song”; people believed that some of the medieval clergymen who chanted their prayers were dully repetitious and insincere.

• Example: Be wary of the cant of politicians. • Synonyms: insincerity, phoniness, empty talk

slang, jargon

Ephemeral

• Short lived, fleeting, lasting a very short time• Ephemeral derives from Greek epi “upon” and hemera

“day” referring to something that lasts only one day. • Synonyms: momentary, brief, temporary, fading,

transitory • Example: The fame of best-sellers is ephemeral; most

of us forget the names of best-sellers of only a few years ago

• Related words: impermanent

Dexterous

• Skillful, clever• Dexterous comes from Latin dexter “right”

“right-handed”. • Synonyms: skilled, nimble, adroit• Example: Surgeons and pianists have manual

dexterity.• Related words: agile

Sinister

• Threatening , wicked, evil• “Sinister” comes from Latin sinister “left” on

the left-hand side.• Synonyms: menacing, frightening, villainous,

malevolent• Example: Lord Acton noted the sinister nature

of power, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

• Related words: vile

Bilingual: able to speak two languages equally, or nearly equally

Bigamy: marriage to two people at the same time

Biped: two-footed animal

Bilateral: having or concerning two sides, parties, countries, etc.

Bifocals: eyeglasses with lenses that have two sections for correcting both

close and distant vision. • Confidence