The Greek & Latin Roots of English (38 page)

Computers may have affected every aspect of modern existence, but like all machines, they have their limitations. Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we made an error in our lives all we had to do was hit the delete or backspace key and erase our mistake?

ISLAMIC SCIENCE

The spread of Islam through North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia brought the medieval Muslim world in contact with the intellectual traditions of not only Greece and Rome but of ancient Mesopotamia, Persia, and India as well. Muslim scholars were very much interested in ancient Greek science and played a decisive role in preserving much of that knowledge, which otherwise would have been lost, through the translation of Greek scientific texts into Arabic. When they found a word that had no Arabic equivalent, they transliterated it and placed the Arabic definite article,
al-
in front. Hence, alchemy is a hybrid word; the article is Arabic, but the base of the word is Greek.

These scholars also did much original research, especially in the fields of astronomy and mathematics. Perhaps the greatest mathematician of the medieval period was the ninth-century Persian al-Khwarazmi, whose treatise on linear and quadratic equations,
The Compendium on Calculation by Completion and Balancing
, laid the cornerstone of that branch of mathematics called algebra (
al-jabr
= completion). In this work, al-Khwarazmi employed a Hindu system of number notation that we now call Arabic numerals. Translated into Latin in the twelfth century, the
Compendium
introduced into Europe the notational system that is universally used.

Al-Khwarazmi inadvertently gave his name to another mathematical term:
algorithm
, a set of ordered steps for solving a problem, is a corrupted form of al-Khwarazmi.

NAME _______________________________________________________________________

Answer the question, or fill in the blank 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.

Introduction

1. A
microbe
is a __________ form of __________.

2. I want to study
epistem
ology because then I will know how I __________anything.

3. What is the literal meaning of
technocracy
? __________ __________ What is its current usage? __________

4. What is the literal meaning of
artifice
? __________What is its current usage? __________

5. A
qualify
ing exam determines __________ knowledge you possess.

6. An
omniscient
being __________ __________.

7. What is the literal meaning of
expostulate?
__________ __________. What is its current usage? ____________________

8.
Innate
characteristics are those that are __________ __________ an individual.

9. In arithmetic, the
quotient
represents __________ times one quantity can be divided by another.

10. What is the literal meaning of
specious?
__________ __________ What is a
specious
argument? ____________________

Biological Sciences

A. Botany

11. An
arbor
etum is a place where __________are cultivated.

12. A
portfolio
contains __________ that can be __________.

13.
Dendrochronology
is the __________ the rings of __________ to determine the __________ of past events.

14. The
philodendron
plant is so named because it __________to wrap itself around__________.

15. If I describe his complexion as
florid
, what do I mean? __________ If I describe her prose as
florid
, what do I mean? __________

16. When a disease has been
eradic
ated, it has been taken __________by the __________.

17. He wanted to admire the stillness of the
sylvan
setting, but he was afraid to go into the __________.

B. Zoology

18. A person with a
bovine
appearance resembles a __________.

19. What animal races in a
hippo
drome? __________

20. The
pithecanthropus
displayed characteristics of both __________ and __________.

21. The chief characteristic of
rept
iles is that they __________.

22.
Formicide
is a substance that is used to __________ __________.

23. A person who engages in the
pisc
atorial art enjoys __________

24.
Protozoa
are considered the __________ forms of __________.

25. What does it mean when we call someone a
rara avis?
____________________

26. The
hippopotamus
got his name because it resembled a__________ who lives in a __________.

27. What is the literal meaning of
pterodactyl?
__________ __________ How did it get its name? ___________________

28. His
feline
grace as he danced made him resemble a __________.

29.
Marine biology
is __________ __________that exists in the __________.

30. What is the difference between
etymology
and
entomology?
________________________________________________

31. What is a
toreador?
__________ What is the Latin root of this word? __________

32. If I say that the situation is
mutable
, I mean that it is subject to __________.

33. How did the word
genial
come to mean cheerful and pleasant? ____________________

34. When we call someone a
genius
, we mean he is very smart. How did the word come to have this present meaning? _________________________________________________________

35. To
dissect
a problem is to __________ it __________.

Astronomy

36. An event of
cosmic
significance affects the __________.

37.
Helio
tropic plants turn toward the __________.

38. During a
lunar
eclipse, the light of the __________ is obscured.

39. What is the difference between
cosmology
and
cosmetology?
__________________________________

40. What is the literal meaning of
cosmopolitan?
__________ __________ What is its current usage? __________

41. A
solarium
is a __________we can enjoy the__________.

42. His
stellar
performance made him shine like a__________.

43. The
planets
seem to __________ through the heavens.

44. An
asteroid
is a heavenly body that __________ __________.

45.
Lactose
is a __________ found in __________.

46. She told me, “I get up in the morning, I make my bed, I get on the subway and go to work. I hate my mundane existence.” What was she complaining about? _____________________________

Chemistry

47. The chief component of
ferric
oxide is __________.

48. What is the literal meaning of
stereotype?
__________ __________What is its current usage?____________________

49.
Sacchar
ine is an artificial __________. If an individual is described as having a
saccharine
personality, what is she like? ____________________

50. An
aquifer
is a geologic formation that __________ __________.

51. As I got off the airplane, I said, “Am I glad to be on
terra firma
!” Where was I? ____________________

52. Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond novel
Goldfinger
, must have studied Latin as a boy since he gave this archvillain the first name
Auric
. What was the joke? ____________________

53. If you are suffering from
hyperglycemia
, you have __________ amount of __________ in your __________.

54. A
pyrogenic
substance is one that __________ __________.

55. What is the meaning of the verb
tantalize?
__________ Why is the word based on the myth of Tantalus? If you do not know why, check a reference work on classical mythology. _______________________________________

Physics

56. When she said that the
synergy
of apple pie and ice cream was extraordinary, what did she mean? ________________________________________.

57.
Thermal
underwear helps you to keep __________.