Unit 1

							   ANTE
definition: before
         anteroom

(n.) a room
you pass
through
before you
get to the
main room.
antebellum

     (adj.) Describes a
     time before a war
     (usually the Civil
     War).
     anti (before) +
     belli (war)
          ante
(v.) – to place chips or
money “in the kitty” before
a poker hand is played.
              Word play
• Now that you know what ante means,
  what do you suppose meridian means, as
  in the abbreviation a.m. (11:00 a.m.)?
                Answer
• Meridian means noon or midday, so ante
  meridian (a.m.) means before noon.
ANTHRO, ANTHROP
  definition: man, mankind
      philanthropy
(n.) Goodwill towards mankind.
philo (friend) + anthrop (man)
      anthropology
(n.) The scientific study of the
origins and culture of man.
anthrop (man) + logo (thought)
                Word fun
• In science fiction, what is an android?

• Think of other words ending in oid.

• What might the suffix oid mean?
               Answers
• An android is a robot resembling a human.
• Other words using the oid suffix are
  humanoid, asteroid, factoid.
• Oid means resembling or like
 BELLI
definition: war
          belligerent
(adj.) Warlike; given to raging
war.
belli (war) + gerere (to conduct).
         rebellion
  (n.) War or resistance to
authority, control, or tradition
                 Word fun
• In the past, some words in our language
  formed their female form with the suffix
  trix. For example, aviatrix is an old term for
  a female pilot. Executrix is an old term for
  a woman who manages an estate.

What is an old term for a female warrior?
                   Answer
    • An old term for a female
    warrior is bellatrix (latin for
female warrior). Bellatrix is the
   name of a bright star in the
 Orion constellation. In Greek,
      the same star is named
     Amazon, after a group of
  mythological female warriors
who loped off one breast to be
    able to shoot arrows more
                      effectively.
   COUNTER
definition: against, opposite
            counteract
(tr. v.) to act in opposition to; frustrate by
              contrary action.
       counter (against) + act
          counterintelligence
       (n.) the activity of an
           intelligence service
  employed in going against
    the efforts of an enemy's
intelligence agents to gather
        information or commit
                      sabotage
               Word play
• Name a concept that is counterintuitive.
                 Answer
• Until you study Boolean logic, it might
  seem counterintuitive that when you add
  the word “and” to a Google search, you
  end up with fewer hits rather than more.
  CRED
definition: believe
              incredible
(adj.) hard to believe; unbelievable.
in (not) + cred (believe) + able (able to)
            credence
(n.) belief as to
     the truth of
     something.
               Word play
• A credenza is a table, shelf, sideboard, or
  cabinet used in a church, office or home. It
  owes its name to its former use as a place
  for holding a lord’s food for a servant to
  taste to make sure there was no poison in
  it—taking the concept of belief to a whole
  new level.
CULPA
definition: fault
       culpability
(n.) deserving blame or censure.
          mea culpa
 Through my fault; my fault (used as an
acknowledgment of one's responsibility).
               Word play
• Using your knowledge of culpa, what is the
  definition of a culprit?
                  Answer
• A culprit is one who is thought to be at
  fault.
 DERM
definition: skin
      hypodermic
(adj.) introduced under the skin .
   hypo (under) + derm (skin)
       dermatitis
 (n.) inflammation of the skin.
derm (skin) + itis (inflammation)
              Word play
• What does a dermatologist do when
  he/she administers dermabrasion?
                 Answer
• Dermabrasion is a procedure of improving
  skin by scraping the skin (abrasion) and
  allowing new skin growth to correct faults.
DUC, DUCT
 definition: lead
                aquaduct
(n.) a bridgelike structure that carries a water
conduit or canal across a valley or over a river.
           aqua (water) + duct (lead)
                 air duct
(n.) an enclosure, usually of sheet metal, that
     conducts heated or conditioned air.
                Word play
• Originally, duct tape held ducts together.
  What’s the most unusual use you’ve heard
  of for duct tape?

• Please note, it’s not spelled duck tape.
             DYS
definition: hard, ill, with difficulty
              dysfunction
(n.) malfunctioning, as of an organ or structure
                 of the body.
               dys (ill) + function
                dyslexia
(n.) A learning disorder marked by impairment
  of the ability to recognize and comprehend
                   written words.
               dys (ill) + lexi (word)
              Word play
• Probably everyone knows the symptoms
  of dysentery. What do you suppose enteric
  means?
• What are other words that use variations
  of enteron?
                 Answer
• Enteric means intestines.
• Other words using this root are entrails,
  gastroenterologist.
   EGO
definition: I, self
             egomaniac
(n.) One who is obsessively preoccupied with
                    the self.
        ego (self) + mania (madness)
                  egocentric
(adj.) regarding the self
 or the individual as the
   center of all things
   ego (self) + centric
       (middle of)
               Word play
• If alter means other, what is an alter ego?
                 Answer
• An alter ego is another self you take on
  when it suits your purpose.
     FAC
definition: do, make
        manufacture
(tr. v.) to make or produce by hand or
  machinery, esp. on a large scale.
    manus (hand) + fac (make)
              factory
(n.) A building in which goods are made;
               a plant.
     fac (make) + tory (relating to)
               Word play
• A high school is dependent on trained
  teachers who can do a variety of things.
  Another named for a combined group of
  teachers is a f _ _ _ _ _ _.
            Answer
• faculty