August 2004 Vocab

Front 1

:verb
to make somebody or something weak

Back 1

debilitate

Hint 1

from Lation "debilitare" meaning to weaking

Front 2

:noun
1)intoxicated, drunk;
2)excited, exhilarated

Back 2

inebriation

Hint 2

from Latin "inebriare" meaning "to make drunk in," from "ebriare" = "to make drunk"

Front 3

verb
1 a : to renounce upon oath b : to reject solemnly
*2 : to abstain from : avoid

Back 3

abjure

Hint 3

rom Latin "jurare," which means "to swear" (and which in turn is based on the root "jus," meaning "law"), plus the prefix "ab-," meaning "away."

Front 4

noun
: lethargy, dullness

Back 4

hebetude

Hint 4

from Late Latin "hebetudo," which means pretty much the same thing as our word. It is also closely related to the Latin word for "dull"—"hebes," which has extended meanings such as "obtuse," "doltish," and "stupid."

Front 5

adjective
: marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness : serene

Back 5

imperturbable

Hint 5

from the Latin "perturbare," also meaning "to throw into confusion," which in turn comes from the combination of "per-" and "turbare," which means "to disturb."

Front 6

verb
1 : to lower in rank or reputation : degrade
*2 : to speak slightingly about : belittle

Back 6

disparage

Hint 6

Disparage" derives from the Anglo-French "desparager," meaning "to marry below one’s class." "Desparager," in turn, combines the negative prefix "des-" with "parage"("equality" or "lineage"), which itself comes from "per," meaning "peer."

Front 7

adjective
*1 : characterized by straightness or moral integrity
2 : piously self-righteous

Back 7

recitudinous

Hint 7

from the Late Latin "rectitudin-" (English added the "-ous" ending), which is, in turn, ultimately derived from the Latin word "rectus," meaning both "straight" and "right." (There are other "rectus" descendants in English, including "rectitude," of course, and "rectilinear," "rectangle," and "rectify.")

Front 8

noun
: peanut

Back 8

goober

Hint 8

It's a regional term, used mainly in the southern and east-central part of the United States. But the plant didn't originate in the U.S.; it's actually native to South America. It was taken from there to Africa, where the local people gave new names to the high-protein legumes.

Front 9

noun
*1 : whatever makes something the type that it is : essence
2 a : a trifling point : quibble b : crotchet, eccentricity

Back 9

quiddity

Hint 9

the Latin pronoun "quis," which is one of two Latin words for "who" (the other is "qui"). "Quid," the neuter form of "quis," gave rise to the Medieval Latin "quidditas," which means "essence"

Front 10

noun plural
: jitters, nervousness

Back 10

jimjams

Front 11

adj.
:extremely unhappy and discouraged

Back 11

despondent

Front 12

verb
1 a : to renounce upon oath b : to reject solemnly
*2 : to abstain from : avoid

Back 12

abjure

Hint 12

Latin "jurare," which means "to swear" (and which in turn is based on the root "jus," meaning "law"), plus the prefix "ab-," meaning "away."

Front 13

adjective
: equivalent in value, significance, or effect

Back 13

tantamount

Hint 13

from the Anglo-French phrase "tant amunter," meaning "to amount to as much;" "tant," meaning "so much" or "as much," and "amounter," meaning "to ascend" or "to add up to." also, in Spanish, tanto means "as much"

Front 14

adjective
1 : utterly finished, defeated, or destroyed
*2 : unable to function : useless
3 : hopelessly outmoded

Back 14

kaput

Front 15

adjective
: habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition

Back 15

froward

Hint 15

opposite of toward = go away... in Middle English; aka to & fro

Front 16

noun
1 capitalized : a native or inhabitant of a vast historical region in Asia and Eastern Europe roughly extending from the Sea of Japan to the Dnieper
*2 capitalized : a person of irritable or violent temper
3 : one that proves to be unexpectedly formidable

Back 16

tartar

Hint 16

came from the Eurasian people known as the Tartars = decendants of the Mongols who were "ferocious"

Front 17

adjective
1 : of or relating to a sensory threshold
*2 : barely perceptible
3 : of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between, transitional

Back 17

liminal

Hint 17

from the Latin noun "limen," meaning "threshold." closely related to subliminal = below what is conscious

Front 18

verb
: report, rumor -- usually used with "about"

Back 18

bruit

Front 19

noun
: a fit or state of indignation

Back 19

dudgeon

Front 20

adjective
: having or expressing little or no sensibility : unemotional

Back 20

stolid

Hint 20

from "stolidus," a word that means "dull" or "stupid" in Latin

Front 21

noun
: a formal acknowledgment of personal fault or error

Back 21

mea culpa

Hint 21

means "through my fault" in Latin, comes from a prayer of confession in the Catholic church; it's an exclamation of apology or remorse that is used to mean "It was my fault" or "I apologize." "culpa" has been used to mean "guilt" in English = culprit

Front 22

noun
1 : a sprinkling with water especially in religious ceremonies
2 *a : a false or misleading charge meant to harm someone's reputation b : the act of making such a charge : defamation; innuendo

Back 22

aspersion

Hint 22

from the Latin word "aspersus," itself a derivative of the verb "aspergere," which means "to sprinkle" or "to scatter."

Front 23

adjective
: notably polite or polished in manner

Back 23

urbane

Hint 23

to the Latin "urbs," meaning "city"

Front 24

noun
: regions or countries lying to the west of a specified or implied point of orientation

Back 24

Occident

Hint 24

from Latin "occidere," meaning "to fall," once referred to the part of the sky in which the sun goes down; used to refer to western Europe and the west half of the Roman Empire; it's opposite is "Orient" which comes from Latin "oriri" meaning "to rise" and therefore Japan is an Oriental country because it is the land of the rising, morning sun :D