September 2004 Vocab

Front 1

noun
: an established preference for something

Back 1

predilection

Hint 1

comes to us through French, but it's based on the combination of the Latin "prae-" and "diligere" (meaning "to love"). Together they form "praediligere," a Latin verb meaning "to love more" or "to prefer." "Diligere" is also the root of English "diligent" and is based on the Latin verb "legere," which means "to gather" or "to read."

Front 2

verb
: to change or alter greatly and often with grotesque or humorous effect

Back 2

transmogrify

Hint 2

Latin prefix "trans-" means "across" or "beyond"

Front 3

noun
1 a : work especially of a painful or laborious nature : toil b : a physical or mental exertion or piece of work : task, effort *c : agony, torment
2 : labor, parturition

Back 3

travail

Hint 3

from "trepalium," the Late Latin name of an instrument of torture. from the Latin "tripalis," which means "having three stakes" (from "tri-," meaning "three," and "palus," meaning "stake"). From "trepalium" sprang the Anglo-French verb "travailler," which originally meant "to torment" but eventually acquired the milder senses "to labor" and "to journey."

Front 4

adjective
1 : emptied of or lacking content
*2 : marked by lack of ideas or intelligence : stupid, inane
3 : devoid of serious occupation : idle

Back 4

vacuous (missile)

Hint 4

shares the same root as "vacuum"—the Latin adjective "vacuus," meaning "empty."

Front 5

verb
*1 : to abolish by authoritative action : annul
2 : to treat as nonexistent

Back 5

abrogate

Hint 5

comes from the Latin root "rogare," which means "to propose a law," and "ab-," meaning "from" or "away."

Front 6

adjective
*1 : reserved, modest
2 : affectedly modest, reserved, or serious : coy

Back 6

demure

Hint 6

part of the French cultural exchange; etymologists think it may have derived from the Anglo-French verb "demurer," meaning "to linger.

Front 7

verb
: to call together to a meeting

Back 7

convoke

Hint 7

Latin verb "vocare" ("to call") and the noun from which it comes, "vox" (meaning "voice")

Front 8

noun
: adherence to the highest principles and ideals : uprightness

Back 8

probity

Hint 8

descends from Latin "probus," meaning "honest," implies tried and proven honesty or integrity.

Front 9

verb
: to instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge; also : enlighten, inform

Back 9

edify

Hint 9

aedes," meaning "house" or "temple," is the root of "aedificare," a verb meaning "to erect a house." used to mean "to build"

Front 10

verb
*1 : to check or stop the flow of; also : to stop the flow of blood from (a wound)
2 a : to stop or check in its course b : to make watertight : stop up

Back 10

stanch

Front 11

verb
1 : to beat with or as if with a short heavy club
*2 : to criticize severely

Back 11

fustigate

Hint 11

when it first appeared in the 17th century, originally meant "to cudgel or beat with a short heavy stick," a sense that reflects the word's derivation from the Latin noun "fustis," which means "club" or "staff."

Front 12

verb

*1: to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation
2: violate, betray

Back 12

traduce

Front 13

noun

: laborious or intensive study; also : the product of such study — usually used in plural

Back 13

lucubration

Hint 13

from the Latin verb "lucubrare," meaning "to work by lamplight" (yes, that Latin root is related to "lux," the Latin word for "light"); imagine one who studies late at night by the lamp :D