The Greek & Latin Roots of English (31 page)

Living Well Is the Best Revenge

Leading a healthy lifestyle is all very well and good, but perhaps the French
bon vivant
who is leading the Italian
la dolce vita
has a better time. Of course one could just shrug one's shoulders and say, “
C'est la vie
.” What is the Latin root of these words, and what do these expressions mean?

Ave Atque Vale!

The Roman equivalent of “have a good day” was the phrase
avē atque valē
. Although both imperative forms mean “be well” or “strong,” they also came to be used as a word of greeting or of good-bye. Thus, the phrase is often translated as “Hail and farewell!”

aveo-avēre
= be well

Of course, not everyone was so joyful about saying goodbye. Gladiators about to enter into the arena faced the emperor and declared, “
Ave, Imperator. Nos morituri te salutamus
.” (“Hail, Emperor. We who are about to die salute you.”)

An Ounce of Protection

Although modern medicine emphasizes the prevention of disease through immunization, diet, and good health habits, many things can go wrong with the human body. The medical profession, however, offers a variety of approaches to diagnose, treat, and cure illness, or at least to alleviate it.

Holy Cow!

For millennia, smallpox was a dreaded disease that caused hundreds of millions of deaths in every part of the world. In 1796, the English physician Edward Jenner tested the common opinion that dairymaids who had contracted cowpox, a much milder disease, from the infected udders of cows, had immunity to smallpox. In what was a perhaps medically unethical experiment, he inoculated a small boy with cowpox; the boy recovered rather quickly, with no lasting effects. Two months later, Jenner inoculated the boy with pus from a smallpox lesion, but the child did not develop the disease.

vacca, vaccae
= cow

NAME _______________________________________________________________________

A. Answer each question or fill in the blanks with the literal meaning of the underlined word or part of the word. Make sure that the sentence is grammatically correct. If you are unsure of the meaning, check your unabridged dictionary
.

1. A
sanguivor
ous animal __________ __________.

2. What is the Latin cognate of
sympathy
? __________

3. A
corpuscle
is a__________ __________.

4. An
ossuary
is__________ __________are kept.

5.
Psychosomatic
medicine examines the interaction of the __________ and__________.

6. What are the literal meanings and current usages of the following words?

7. A
subcutaneous
injection is given__________ __________.

8. A
corpulent
individual is __________ __________.

9. The doctor said he could not detect my
vital
signs, but I was sure I was still __________.

10. A
patient
is supposed to __________ his illness.

11. If you move to a
salu
brious climate, you hope that it will bring you __________.

12. What are the following medical specialties?
 
     dermatology ____________________
 
     hematology ____________________
 
     neurology ____________________

13. A
sanitarium
is __________ an individual hopes to become __________.

14. The Latin cognate of
hypodermic
is __________.

15. If an individual's beliefs have become
ossified
,they have been __________as hard as __________.

16. A
misanthrope
is a person who __________ __________.

17. Is it possible that the Roman poet P. Ovidius
Naso
had a prominent __________?

18.
Binoculars
enable us to see with __________ __________.

19. Someone who is
cerebral
uses her __________.

20. What is the distinguishing feature of the following:

21. What skill does a
multilingual
individual possess? __________ __________What is the Greek cognate of multilingual? __________

22.
Rhinoplasty
is an elegant name for a __________.

23. An electro
encephalogram
is __________ about the activity of the __________.

24. A
pulmonary
function test measures the capacities of your __________.

25. A
cap
tain is the __________ of a military unit.

26.
Cord
ial feelings arise in the __________.

27. A
periodontist
takes care of the area __________ __________.

28. A
gastronome
is __________ his __________.

29. What is the aural/oral method of learning a foreign language? ___________________________________________

30. What is the literal meaning of
anemia?
__________ __________ What is its current medical usage? ____________________What is its meaning in the following sentence: The stock market's performance today was
anemic
. ____________________

31. An
androgynous
creature displays characteristics of both __________ and __________.

32. A
mortuary
is__________ __________.

33. A
traumatic
experience is one that __________ you.

34.
Odontalgia
is an elegant word for __________ __________.

35. The nineteenth-century American poet William Cullen Bryant wrote a work entitled
Thanatopsis
. What was its theme? __________ __________

36. A
prognosticator
thinks he can __________the future __________it happens.

37.
Iatrogenic
illness is __________ the __________.

38. A
manuscript
is a document that has been __________ by __________.

39. If your teacher's lecture acts as a
soporific
, it may __________ you __________.

40. An
agnostic
says the proof of the existence of an ultimate cause of the universe is __________ able to be __________.

41. A
post mortem
examination is done __________ __________.

42. If you agree to an
encephalectomy
, your __________ will be __________.

43. A
mall
eable metal can be __________ into a shape. What does the word mean when applied to an individual? __________

44. A
valedictory
address is one that __________ __________.

45. “To be in the arms of
Morpheus
” is an elegant way of saying that you are __________.

46. A
gerontologist
__________ the behavior and health of __________.

47.
Senility
is a disease of __________.

48. While I watched in horror, that well-behaved child suddenly
morphed
into a monster. What is the Greek root of this word and what is its meaning in this sentence? ________________________________________________________

49. His
puerile
behavior made me realize that although he was a grown man, emotionally he was still a __________.

50. My re
muner
ation for the job was so small that I did not feel __________ for my work.

51. His
viru
lent remarks against me made me feel as if I had been __________.

52. A
somniloquist
__________ while he is __________. What does a somnambulist do? ____________________

53. Although the politicians said the law would be a
panacea
for our problems, I knew it would not be a __________.

54. A
muscle
supposedly resembles a __________ __________in its movement.

55. What is the ordinary usage of the word
morbid?
__________ In medical terminology, what is its usage? __________

56. When my mother threatened to
decapitate
me if I did not clean my room, I knew she would take my__________ __________ my body.

57. What is the difference in meaning between
sanguine
and
sanguinary?
___________________________