{"id":701,"date":"2016-07-29T20:43:57","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T00:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/?post_type=chapter&p=701"},"modified":"2016-12-01T14:05:48","modified_gmt":"2016-12-01T19:05:48","slug":"%c2%a756-interesting-words","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/chapter\/%c2%a756-interesting-words\/","title":{"raw":"\u00a756. Interesting Words","rendered":"\u00a756. Interesting Words"},"content":{"raw":"

Depending on your taste, you may prefer Latin derivatives like formula<\/i>, which have remained pure and pristine, or others like libel <\/i>and veal<\/i>, which have been modified or wholly transformed. An example of the former group is calculus<\/i>, \u201csmall stone,\u201d \u201cpebble\u201d (< calx<\/b>, calc-is<\/b>, \u201c[lime-]stone,\u201d a word we met in \u00a716<\/a> as the source of E chalk<\/i>). Calculus<\/i> is not only a branch of mathematics, pioneered by Sir Isaac Newton; the word is also applied in medicine to a kidney- or a bladder-stone. In a later chapter, we\u2019ll see exactly how the words calculate<\/i> and calculation<\/i> came into being. Another pure Latin word in English is uvula<\/i>, that \u201clittle grape-cluster\u201d that hangs down at the back of your mouth, to help you gargle and pronounce your French r<\/i>\u2019s. Have you looked at your fingernails recently? See if you can find your cuticle<\/i> (L cuticula<\/b>, \u201clittle skin\u201d) and lunula<\/i> (L lunula<\/b>, \u201clittle moon\u201d). The word molecule<\/i> is from molecula<\/b>, a modern Latin diminutive of moles<\/b>, \u201cmass.\u201d An ovule<\/i>, \u201clittle egg\u201d (L ovulum<\/b> < ovum<\/b>), gives rise to ovular<\/i> and ovulate<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n

The neuter noun vas<\/b> (\u201cvessel\u201d) appears in English as vase<\/i> and vas<\/i>\u2014the vas deferens<\/i> is the sperm duct from the testicles.[footnote]A testicle<\/em> (L testiculus<\/strong>) is a \u201clittle witness\u201d (< testis<\/strong>), proof of one\u2019s virility. Without the diminutive suffix, testis<\/strong> had the same anatomical meaning; the comic poet Plautus puns on the double force of testis<\/strong>, \u201cwitness\u201d and \u201csexual witness.\u201d The English word testes<\/em> is a 3rd declension Latin plural.[\/footnote] A \u201clittle vessel\u201d was a vasculum<\/b>, a word still used by botanists for the small tin box in which plants are collected. More familiar, however, is the adjectival derivative vascular<\/i> (L vascularis<\/b>), pertaining to the blood vessels.<\/p>\r\n

Sometimes English may perfectly reflect a Latin diminutive adjective, but show no trace of the diminished noun from which it stems. Latin jocus<\/b> (iocus<\/b>) is the source of English joke<\/i>. We make no direct use of its diminutive joculus<\/b>, but we have adopted the derived adjective jocularis<\/b> as English jocular<\/i>, \u201cin the manner of a little joke.\u201d[footnote]The word juggler<\/em> was derived ultimately from joculator<\/strong>, \u201ca person who does funny little things.\u201d The Latin word is an agent noun from a denominative verb\u2014a form explained in Chapter 11, \u00a776<\/a>.[\/footnote] Another example is jugular, <\/i>L jugularis<\/b>, \u201cpertaining to the collarbone\u201d (jugulum < jugum<\/b>, \u201cyoke\u201d). Actually, jugulum<\/b> is the old Latin word for the collarbone; today we call it the clavicle <\/i>(L clavicula<\/b>, \u201clittle key\u201d).<\/p>\r\n

There is probably a weird link between the English words oral<\/i> and oscillate<\/i>, though the Latin etymology is not certain. The regularly formed diminutive of os<\/b>, oris<\/b> (N.) was osculum<\/b>, a \u201clittle mouth\u201d that carried the special meaning of a \u201ckiss.\u201d The English words osculate<\/i> and osculation<\/i> refer to kissing, usually with pedantic humour. Latin also had an itty-bitty form oscillum<\/b>, a double diminutive that was applied to a tiny mask or litle face of Bacchus that was hung from a tree and allowed to swing back and forth in the breeze. This is the likely source of the Latin HOMOGRAPH oscillum<\/b>, which denoted a more general kind of swing. From this curious origin arose the English words oscillate<\/i> and oscillation<\/i>, descriptive of actions that swing back and forth.<\/p>\r\n

A fascicle<\/i> or fascicule<\/i> (both forms exist in English) is a \u201clittle bundle\u201d (< L fascis<\/b>)\u2014for example, an unbound segment of a large book. In ancient Rome, the plural fasces<\/b> denoted the bundle of rods that symbolized consular power. In 20th century Italy, that symbolism was revived, and gave rise to the political label Fascist<\/i> .<\/p>\r\n

If you prefer the transformed and disguised kind of derivatives, English can roll out a fine supply. That four-letter word roll<\/i> (both verb and noun) conceals the Latin diminutive rotula<\/b>, \u201clittle wheel\u201d (rota<\/b>). A doublet for module<\/i> (< L modulus<\/b>) is mould<\/i> (US mold<\/i>), in the sense of \u201clittle measure\u201d; the mouldy kind of mould<\/i> is an entirely different word. Your un<\/i>cle <\/i>is descended from Latin avunculus<\/b>, literally a \u201clittle grandfather\u201d (avus<\/b>); if he\u2019s kind and jolly, like all good uncles, we\u2019ll describe him as avuncular<\/i>. A carbuncle<\/i> is an unrelated little piece of coal (carbo<\/b>)\u2014and one guaranteed cause of a sore foot. From the Latin adjective cavus<\/b> (\u201chollow\u201d) comes cavea<\/b> (\u201ccage,\u201d \u201ccoop\u201d); a \u201clittle cage\u201d is a *caveola<\/b>, source of our word jail <\/i>(which the British still spell as gaol<\/i>, a form that is slightly closer to the Latin). A seal<\/i> (the kind that you affix to a document) is derived from sigillum<\/b>, the diminutive of signum<\/b> (\u201csign,\u201d \u201cseal,\u201d etc.).<\/p>\r\n

There are two English homonyms, buccal<\/i> and buckle<\/i>, which are both derived from the same noun, though they are not exact doublets. Bucca<\/b> was the classical Latin word for the human cheek, though it wandered chinward to become the mouth in French (bouche<\/i>) and Italian (bocca<\/i>). One can predict the adjective form buccalis<\/b>, \u201cpertaining to the cheek\u201d; its English derivative, buccal<\/i>, is a common word in dentistry, applied to the part of the tooth that is nearest the cheek (as opposed to lingual<\/i>, on the side of the tongue). The medieval Latin diminutive buccula<\/b> denoted the \u201ccheek-strap\u201d of the helmet and the boss of a shield; it was not too obscure a progression for the word to become generalized as any type of buckle<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n

<\/i>If your appetite for Latin diminutives is undiminished, you can look up some of the following: bottle, bugle, chapel, charter, model, novel, panel, pommel, pupil <\/i>(two kinds), <\/i>scruple, trestle, <\/i>and vanilla<\/i>. The etymology of that last word may make you blush. If you are a French scholar, look up soleil, chapeau, oiseau, abeille, oreille, <\/i>and genou.<\/i><\/p>\r\n

<\/i>Let us end with a quiet note of warning. Just when you think that you can spot a Latin \u201clittle word\u201d at ten paces, you will learn that there is a deceptively similar group of nouns derived from verbs. In a later chapter we\u2019ll meet such English words as curriculum, vestibule, cubicle, vehicle, miracle, oracle, obstacle, <\/i>and spectacle<\/i>\u2014with not a diminutive in the bunch. Language study wouldn\u2019t be any fun if it were too easy.<\/p>","rendered":"

Depending on your taste, you may prefer Latin derivatives like formula<\/i>, which have remained pure and pristine, or others like libel <\/i>and veal<\/i>, which have been modified or wholly transformed. An example of the former group is calculus<\/i>, \u201csmall stone,\u201d \u201cpebble\u201d (< calx<\/b>, calc-is<\/b>, \u201c[lime-]stone,\u201d a word we met in \u00a716<\/a> as the source of E chalk<\/i>). Calculus<\/i> is not only a branch of mathematics, pioneered by Sir Isaac Newton; the word is also applied in medicine to a kidney- or a bladder-stone. In a later chapter, we\u2019ll see exactly how the words calculate<\/i> and calculation<\/i> came into being. Another pure Latin word in English is uvula<\/i>, that \u201clittle grape-cluster\u201d that hangs down at the back of your mouth, to help you gargle and pronounce your French r<\/i>\u2019s. Have you looked at your fingernails recently? See if you can find your cuticle<\/i> (L cuticula<\/b>, \u201clittle skin\u201d) and lunula<\/i> (L lunula<\/b>, \u201clittle moon\u201d). The word molecule<\/i> is from molecula<\/b>, a modern Latin diminutive of moles<\/b>, \u201cmass.\u201d An ovule<\/i>, \u201clittle egg\u201d (L ovulum<\/b> < ovum<\/b>), gives rise to ovular<\/i> and ovulate<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The neuter noun vas<\/b> (\u201cvessel\u201d) appears in English as vase<\/i> and vas<\/i>\u2014the vas deferens<\/i> is the sperm duct from the testicles.[1]<\/sup><\/a> A \u201clittle vessel\u201d was a vasculum<\/b>, a word still used by botanists for the small tin box in which plants are collected. More familiar, however, is the adjectival derivative vascular<\/i> (L vascularis<\/b>), pertaining to the blood vessels.<\/p>\n

Sometimes English may perfectly reflect a Latin diminutive adjective, but show no trace of the diminished noun from which it stems. Latin jocus<\/b> (iocus<\/b>) is the source of English joke<\/i>. We make no direct use of its diminutive joculus<\/b>, but we have adopted the derived adjective jocularis<\/b> as English jocular<\/i>, \u201cin the manner of a little joke.\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/a> Another example is jugular, <\/i>L jugularis<\/b>, \u201cpertaining to the collarbone\u201d (jugulum < jugum<\/b>, \u201cyoke\u201d). Actually, jugulum<\/b> is the old Latin word for the collarbone; today we call it the clavicle <\/i>(L clavicula<\/b>, \u201clittle key\u201d).<\/p>\n

There is probably a weird link between the English words oral<\/i> and oscillate<\/i>, though the Latin etymology is not certain. The regularly formed diminutive of os<\/b>, oris<\/b> (N.) was osculum<\/b>, a \u201clittle mouth\u201d that carried the special meaning of a \u201ckiss.\u201d The English words osculate<\/i> and osculation<\/i> refer to kissing, usually with pedantic humour. Latin also had an itty-bitty form oscillum<\/b>, a double diminutive that was applied to a tiny mask or litle face of Bacchus that was hung from a tree and allowed to swing back and forth in the breeze. This is the likely source of the Latin HOMOGRAPH oscillum<\/b>, which denoted a more general kind of swing. From this curious origin arose the English words oscillate<\/i> and oscillation<\/i>, descriptive of actions that swing back and forth.<\/p>\n

A fascicle<\/i> or fascicule<\/i> (both forms exist in English) is a \u201clittle bundle\u201d (< L fascis<\/b>)\u2014for example, an unbound segment of a large book. In ancient Rome, the plural fasces<\/b> denoted the bundle of rods that symbolized consular power. In 20th century Italy, that symbolism was revived, and gave rise to the political label Fascist<\/i> .<\/p>\n

If you prefer the transformed and disguised kind of derivatives, English can roll out a fine supply. That four-letter word roll<\/i> (both verb and noun) conceals the Latin diminutive rotula<\/b>, \u201clittle wheel\u201d (rota<\/b>). A doublet for module<\/i> (< L modulus<\/b>) is mould<\/i> (US mold<\/i>), in the sense of \u201clittle measure\u201d; the mouldy kind of mould<\/i> is an entirely different word. Your un<\/i>cle <\/i>is descended from Latin avunculus<\/b>, literally a \u201clittle grandfather\u201d (avus<\/b>); if he\u2019s kind and jolly, like all good uncles, we\u2019ll describe him as avuncular<\/i>. A carbuncle<\/i> is an unrelated little piece of coal (carbo<\/b>)\u2014and one guaranteed cause of a sore foot. From the Latin adjective cavus<\/b> (\u201chollow\u201d) comes cavea<\/b> (\u201ccage,\u201d \u201ccoop\u201d); a \u201clittle cage\u201d is a *caveola<\/b>, source of our word jail <\/i>(which the British still spell as gaol<\/i>, a form that is slightly closer to the Latin). A seal<\/i> (the kind that you affix to a document) is derived from sigillum<\/b>, the diminutive of signum<\/b> (\u201csign,\u201d \u201cseal,\u201d etc.).<\/p>\n

There are two English homonyms, buccal<\/i> and buckle<\/i>, which are both derived from the same noun, though they are not exact doublets. Bucca<\/b> was the classical Latin word for the human cheek, though it wandered chinward to become the mouth in French (bouche<\/i>) and Italian (bocca<\/i>). One can predict the adjective form buccalis<\/b>, \u201cpertaining to the cheek\u201d; its English derivative, buccal<\/i>, is a common word in dentistry, applied to the part of the tooth that is nearest the cheek (as opposed to lingual<\/i>, on the side of the tongue). The medieval Latin diminutive buccula<\/b> denoted the \u201ccheek-strap\u201d of the helmet and the boss of a shield; it was not too obscure a progression for the word to become generalized as any type of buckle<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/i>If your appetite for Latin diminutives is undiminished, you can look up some of the following: bottle, bugle, chapel, charter, model, novel, panel, pommel, pupil <\/i>(two kinds), <\/i>scruple, trestle, <\/i>and vanilla<\/i>. The etymology of that last word may make you blush. If you are a French scholar, look up soleil, chapeau, oiseau, abeille, oreille, <\/i>and genou.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/i>Let us end with a quiet note of warning. Just when you think that you can spot a Latin \u201clittle word\u201d at ten paces, you will learn that there is a deceptively similar group of nouns derived from verbs. In a later chapter we\u2019ll meet such English words as curriculum, vestibule, cubicle, vehicle, miracle, oracle, obstacle, <\/i>and spectacle<\/i>\u2014with not a diminutive in the bunch. Language study wouldn\u2019t be any fun if it were too easy.<\/p>\n

  1. A testicle<\/em> (L testiculus<\/strong>) is a \u201clittle witness\u201d (< testis<\/strong>), proof of one\u2019s virility. Without the diminutive suffix, testis<\/strong> had the same anatomical meaning; the comic poet Plautus puns on the double force of testis<\/strong>, \u201cwitness\u201d and \u201csexual witness.\u201d The English word testes<\/em> is a 3rd declension Latin plural. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. The word juggler<\/em> was derived ultimately from joculator<\/strong>, \u201ca person who does funny little things.\u201d The Latin word is an agent noun from a denominative verb\u2014a form explained in Chapter 11, \u00a776<\/a>. ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":20,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"Chapter 7: Latin Diminutives","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[52],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-701","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":583,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1955,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/701\/revisions\/1955"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/583"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/701\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=701"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=701"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}