Vocabulary Workshop Level G Unit 9

bucolic

(adj.) characteristic of the countryside, rural; relating to shepherds and cowherds, pastoral Comes from the early Greek word boukolos and bous meaning herdsman and ox respectively

chary

(adj.) extremely cautious, hesitant, or slow (to); reserved, diffident Comes from the Old English word cearig meaning sorrowful or anxious

redolent

(adj.) fragrant, smelling strongly; tending to arouse memories or create an aura Latin prefix red- (meaning 'again') + olere (meaning 'smell')

vituperative

(adj.) harshly abusive, severely scolding comes from the root word vituperation which is a noun that means harsh or bitter language

imperturbable

(adj.) not easily excited; emotionally steady Derives from English word, perturb - to be disturbed and the negative prefix 'im'

unremitting

(adj.) not stopping, maintained steadily, never letting up, relentless un is the prefix which means not to and the latin root of remitting is remettere

refulgent

(adj.) shining, radiant, resplendent Latin prefix re + fulgere (to shine out)

paltry

(adj.) trifling, insignificant; mean, despicable; inferior, trashy derives from English word, pelt - originally meaning trash, small amount

tyro

(n.) a beginner, novice; one with little or no background or skill In Medieval Latin, a tyro was a new recruit

dilettante

(n.) a dabbler in the arts; one who engages in an activity in an amateurish, trifling way; (adj.) superficial From Italian word dilettare meaning to delight

pedantry

(n.) a pretentious display of knowledge; overly rigid attention to rules and details root of the word pedant came from pædagogus

acclamation

(n.) a shout of welcome; an overwhelming verbal vote of approval Comes from the Latin root acclamtio meaning shout in approval

paroxysym

(n.) a sudden outburst; a spasm, convulsion medieval Latin from Greek paroxusmos, from paroxunein 'exasperate,' from para- 'beyond' + oxunein 'sharpen'

shibboleth

(n.) a word, expression, or custom that distinguishes a particular group of persons from all others; a commonplace saying or truism Hebrew origin - originally meaning ear of corn, the word was used as a test of nationality because of its difficult pronunciation

mandate

(n.) an authoritative command, formal order, authorization; (v.) to issue such an order Latin: manus - hand; dare - give mandatus - command

increment

(n.) an enlargement, increase, addition increscere - to grow (Latin)

collusion

(n.) secret agreement or cooperation From the Latin word colludore meaning to have a secret agreement

peregrination

(n.) the act of traveling; an excursion, especially on foot or to a foreign country late middle English word peregrinacioun which meant to travel abroad

calumniate

(v.) to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously Comes the latin word calumnia meaning trickery, cunning, or a fallacy

vacillate

(v.) to swing indecisively from one idea or course of action to another; to waver weakly in mind or will comes from the latin root vacillat which means swayed