{"id":782,"date":"2016-07-30T14:21:39","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T18:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/?post_type=chapter&p=782"},"modified":"2016-11-30T15:00:35","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T20:00:35","slug":"%c2%a795-interesting-words","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/chapter\/%c2%a795-interesting-words\/","title":{"raw":"\u00a795. Interesting Words","rendered":"\u00a795. Interesting Words"},"content":{"raw":"

The verb sistere<\/b>, status <\/b>(\u201ccause to stand\u201d), in its combining form -stit-<\/b>, provides the key to solstice<\/i> (< L sol-stit-ium<\/b>), the \u201csun-standing\u201d that occurs when the sun seems poised over the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn at the beginning of summer and winter. (For the -ium<\/b> suffix, see \u00a774<\/a>) Did you realize that there is also a lunistice <\/i>when the moon is farthest north or south each month? The end of a war brings about an armistice<\/i>, a \u201cstanding of weapons.\u201d From inter-stit-ium<\/b>, a \u201cstanding between,\u201d English gets interstice<\/i> (usually pluralized as interstices<\/i>).[footnote] As a postgraduate exercise, you can tackle Samuel Johnson\u2019s celebrated definition of NETWORK, in his Dictionary <\/em>of 1755: \u201cAny thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections.\u201d[\/footnote] The seasonal opposite of a solstice<\/i> is an equinox <\/i>(L aequ-i-nox<\/b>)\u2014not to be interpreted as an equine ox!<\/p>\r\n

English has a set of descriptive compounds that use the noun base forma <\/b>(\u201cshape\u201d). For instance, multiform<\/i> (L mult-i-form-is<\/b>) is \u201cmany-shaped,\u201d while cruciform<\/i> is \u201ccross-shaped.\u201d Ancient cuneiform<\/i> writing uses symbols shaped like wedges. From cancer<\/b>, cancri<\/b>, \u201ccrab,\u201d comes cancriform<\/i>; from caper<\/b>, capri<\/b>, \u201cgoat,\u201d comes capriform<\/i>. The constellation Capri<\/i>corn <\/i>(L Capr-i-corn-us<\/b>), mentioned just above, means \u201cgoat-horned.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Perhaps the greatest achievement of Roman engineering was the aqueduct<\/i> (L aquae-ductus<\/b>), a \u201cleading of water.\u201d The English spelling reflects the Latin genitive case, since this compound is a grammatical unit. Our word viaduct<\/i> is a modern coinage; if it had existed in Latin, it would likely have been \u201cviae-ductus<\/b>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Several manu-<\/b> compounds are also syntactical units, where the ablative form man\u016b<\/strong><\/b><\/b>- <\/b>means \u201cby hand.\u201d We\u2019ve seen manufacture<\/i>; we can add manuscript<\/i> (originally manu<\/b> scriptus<\/b>), and manumit \/<\/i> manumission, <\/i>the formal act of freeing a slave. Our French loan-word manoeuvre<\/i> (U.S. maneuver<\/i>) goes back to manu operari<\/b>, \u201cwork by hand.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

If you firmly associate mitigate<\/i> with the adjective mitis<\/i> (\u201cgentle,\u201d \u201cmild\u201d), you won\u2019t make the mistake of confusing mit-ig-ate<\/i> (\u201cdrive gentle\u201d; i.e., \u201csoften,\u201d \u201cmollify\u201d) with milit-ate<\/i>, \u201cto soldier.\u201d The commonly heard expression \u201cmitigate against\u201d is nonsense.<\/p>\r\n

The verb caedere<\/b>, caesus<\/b> (\u201ccut,\u201d \u201ckill\u201d) appears in matricide<\/i> (L matr-i-cid-ium<\/b>), \u201cmother-killing\u201d and homicide<\/i> (hom-i-cid-ium<\/b>), \u201cmanslaughter.\u201d There were two different Latin nouns\u2014hom-i-cid-ium<\/b>, the act of manslaughter, and hom-i-cid-a<\/b>, the person committing the act; English dictionaries show two parallel words homicide<\/i>. So we get parricide<\/i>, regicide<\/i>, tyrannicide<\/i>, infanticide<\/i>, and the like. Curiously enough, the word suicide<\/i> is a modern coinage that does not follow Latin linguistic rules. The Romans certainly knew all about self-killing, an act praised by Stoic philosophers. However, if Seneca heard the word su-i-cid-ium<\/b>, he would likely interpret it to mean \u201cpig-slaughter\u201d (< sus<\/b>, su-is,<\/b> \u201cswine\u201d).<\/p>\r\n

This astonishing possibility may cause us to wonder whether there are other Latinate words in English that an ancient Roman might misunderstand. The problem of equator<\/i> (a mysterious horseman?) was mentioned in \u00a726<\/a>. Julius Caesar would surely think that edification<\/i> (aed-i-fic-at-io) <\/b>referred to house construction.[footnote] The noun aedes<\/strong> meant house, as did its compound aed-i-fic-ium<\/strong> (E edifice<\/em>). Our word edify<\/em> acquired its modern metaphorical meaning in the 16th century.[\/footnote] Might he suppose that rati<\/i>fication<\/i> meant raft-building?[footnote] In Latin, ratis<\/strong> is the noun \u201craft\u201d; ratus<\/strong> (from the verb reri<\/strong>, ratus<\/strong>) is \u201cfixed,\u201d \u201csettled.\u201d Neither word was combined with any form of facere<\/strong> in classical Latin.[\/footnote] There\u2019s little doubt that he would take mortify<\/i> to mean \u201ckill,\u201d since Latin mortificus <\/b>conveys only one idea\u2014\u201cfatal.\u201d All this just reminds us, once again, that words do undergo semantic change, and that a knowledge of etymological meanings does not guarantee absolute linguistic control.<\/p>","rendered":"

The verb sistere<\/b>, status <\/b>(\u201ccause to stand\u201d), in its combining form -stit-<\/b>, provides the key to solstice<\/i> (< L sol-stit-ium<\/b>), the \u201csun-standing\u201d that occurs when the sun seems poised over the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn at the beginning of summer and winter. (For the -ium<\/b> suffix, see \u00a774<\/a>) Did you realize that there is also a lunistice <\/i>when the moon is farthest north or south each month? The end of a war brings about an armistice<\/i>, a \u201cstanding of weapons.\u201d From inter-stit-ium<\/b>, a \u201cstanding between,\u201d English gets interstice<\/i> (usually pluralized as interstices<\/i>).[1]<\/sup><\/a> The seasonal opposite of a solstice<\/i> is an equinox <\/i>(L aequ-i-nox<\/b>)\u2014not to be interpreted as an equine ox!<\/p>\n

English has a set of descriptive compounds that use the noun base forma <\/b>(\u201cshape\u201d). For instance, multiform<\/i> (L mult-i-form-is<\/b>) is \u201cmany-shaped,\u201d while cruciform<\/i> is \u201ccross-shaped.\u201d Ancient cuneiform<\/i> writing uses symbols shaped like wedges. From cancer<\/b>, cancri<\/b>, \u201ccrab,\u201d comes cancriform<\/i>; from caper<\/b>, capri<\/b>, \u201cgoat,\u201d comes capriform<\/i>. The constellation Capri<\/i>corn <\/i>(L Capr-i-corn-us<\/b>), mentioned just above, means \u201cgoat-horned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the greatest achievement of Roman engineering was the aqueduct<\/i> (L aquae-ductus<\/b>), a \u201cleading of water.\u201d The English spelling reflects the Latin genitive case, since this compound is a grammatical unit. Our word viaduct<\/i> is a modern coinage; if it had existed in Latin, it would likely have been \u201cviae-ductus<\/b>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several manu-<\/b> compounds are also syntactical units, where the ablative form man\u016b<\/strong><\/b><\/b>– <\/b>means \u201cby hand.\u201d We\u2019ve seen manufacture<\/i>; we can add manuscript<\/i> (originally manu<\/b> scriptus<\/b>), and manumit \/<\/i> manumission, <\/i>the formal act of freeing a slave. Our French loan-word manoeuvre<\/i> (U.S. maneuver<\/i>) goes back to manu operari<\/b>, \u201cwork by hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you firmly associate mitigate<\/i> with the adjective mitis<\/i> (\u201cgentle,\u201d \u201cmild\u201d), you won\u2019t make the mistake of confusing mit-ig-ate<\/i> (\u201cdrive gentle\u201d; i.e., \u201csoften,\u201d \u201cmollify\u201d) with milit-ate<\/i>, \u201cto soldier.\u201d The commonly heard expression \u201cmitigate against\u201d is nonsense.<\/p>\n

The verb caedere<\/b>, caesus<\/b> (\u201ccut,\u201d \u201ckill\u201d) appears in matricide<\/i> (L matr-i-cid-ium<\/b>), \u201cmother-killing\u201d and homicide<\/i> (hom-i-cid-ium<\/b>), \u201cmanslaughter.\u201d There were two different Latin nouns\u2014hom-i-cid-ium<\/b>, the act of manslaughter, and hom-i-cid-a<\/b>, the person committing the act; English dictionaries show two parallel words homicide<\/i>. So we get parricide<\/i>, regicide<\/i>, tyrannicide<\/i>, infanticide<\/i>, and the like. Curiously enough, the word suicide<\/i> is a modern coinage that does not follow Latin linguistic rules. The Romans certainly knew all about self-killing, an act praised by Stoic philosophers. However, if Seneca heard the word su-i-cid-ium<\/b>, he would likely interpret it to mean \u201cpig-slaughter\u201d (< sus<\/b>, su-is,<\/b> \u201cswine\u201d).<\/p>\n

This astonishing possibility may cause us to wonder whether there are other Latinate words in English that an ancient Roman might misunderstand. The problem of equator<\/i> (a mysterious horseman?) was mentioned in \u00a726<\/a>. Julius Caesar would surely think that edification<\/i> (aed-i-fic-at-io) <\/b>referred to house construction.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Might he suppose that rati<\/i>fication<\/i> meant raft-building?[3]<\/sup><\/a> There\u2019s little doubt that he would take mortify<\/i> to mean \u201ckill,\u201d since Latin mortificus <\/b>conveys only one idea\u2014\u201cfatal.\u201d All this just reminds us, once again, that words do undergo semantic change, and that a knowledge of etymological meanings does not guarantee absolute linguistic control.<\/p>\n

  1. As a postgraduate exercise, you can tackle Samuel Johnson\u2019s celebrated definition of NETWORK, in his Dictionary <\/em>of 1755: \u201cAny thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections.\u201d ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. The noun aedes<\/strong> meant house, as did its compound aed-i-fic-ium<\/strong> (E edifice<\/em>). Our word edify<\/em> acquired its modern metaphorical meaning in the 16th century. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  3. In Latin, ratis<\/strong> is the noun \u201craft\u201d; ratus<\/strong> (from the verb reri<\/strong>, ratus<\/strong>) is \u201cfixed,\u201d \u201csettled.\u201d Neither word was combined with any form of facere<\/strong> in classical Latin. ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":20,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"Chapter 14: Compound Words in Latin","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[52],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-782","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":589,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/782","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":6,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1928,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/782\/revisions\/1928"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/589"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/782\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=782"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=782"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}