Vocab 7/8 Speaking

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affable

Back 1

adj. Easy to speak to; approachable; polite, friendly.

His kind and affable nature makes Mr. Chips, the schoolmaster of James Hilton's Good-Bye, Mr. Chips, a beloved institution of Brookfield School.

affability, n.

Front 2

ineffable

Back 2

1. adj. Beyond discription; indescribable
The ineffable charm of Diane de Poitiers so conquered the young King Henry II that she virtually ruled France from 1547 until his death in 1559.

2. Not to be uttered; taboo.
Because Orthodox Jews respect the ineffable name of the supreme being, they write G-d rather than use the complete word.

Front 3

dictatorial

Back 3

adj. Domineering; autocratic, like a dictator.

Mrs. Danvers, the dictatorial housekeeper by Manderly, intimidated her new timid mistress by comparing her with Rebecca, the glamorous first wife of Paul De Winter.

dictatorialness, n.

Front 4

diction

Back 4

n. 1. Choice of words in speech or writing.

Use a thesaurus for more variety in your diction.

2. A person's manner of uttering or pronouncing words.

During WWII the NY diction of FDR became familiar to Americans through his "Fireside Chats" on national radio.

Front 5

dictum

Back 5

n. An authoritative expression of opinion.

The Taliban ruler handed down a dictum regarding appropriate clothing for women.

Front 6

ditty

Back 6

n. A simple song.

Most kindergartners learn the ditty "The Eensy Weensy Spider."

Front 7

edict

Back 7

n. A decree or proclaimation issued by an authority.

In Orwell's Animal Farm the pigs change their original edict, "All animals are equal," by adding "but some animals are more equal than others."

Front 8

indict

Back 8

tr. v. 1. (legal) To issue a formal charge of a crime.

The judge who arraigned and indicted Grace Newton for cattle rustling was so offended by her profane language that he temporarily adjourned the case.

2. To accuse.

The enviornmental study indicted the company for many instances of pollution.

indictment, n.

Front 9

indite

Back 9

tr. v. To write; to compose.

Although Margery Kempe indited her life story, the oldest autobiography in English, in the fourteenth century, it was only discovered and printed in 1934.

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interdiction

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n. A prohibition; the act of forbidding

Following the Russian revolution the Supreme Soviets issued an interdiction against the use of noble titles, declaring that all citizens should be addressed a tovarish, or "comrade."

interdict, v.; interdictive, adj.; interdictor, n.

Front 11

jurisdiction

Back 11

n. 1. Control and authority, especially to interpret and exercise the law.

The governing council of each New Mexican pueblo has full jurisdiction over its people and lands.

2. The specific area of someone's or something's control or authority

National parks and monuments are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior, but state parks are cared for by individual states.

jurisdictional, adj.

Front 12

malediction

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n. A curse.

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio dies uttering the malediction, "A plague o' both your houses."

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valediction

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n. A bidding farewell; a leave-taking; a farewell speech.

In his famous valediction to military services, General Douglas MacArthur referred to a British Army war song when he said, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."

valedictorian, n.; valedictory, adj.

Front 14

gloss

Back 14

1. n. An explaination of a difficult expression in a text.

Because readers found the allusions in "The Waste Land" so obscure, T.S. Eliot provided a gloss to accompany his poem.

2. tr. v. (with over) To explain away.

In promoting its "all-new" soap powder, the company glossed over the fact that the previous formula had caused rashes and skin irritations.

Front 15

polyglot

Back 15

n. A person who knows several languages well.

Although she never went to school, Mary Antisarlook was a polyglot, whose fluent Russian, English, and Inupaq enabled he to facilitate importing reindeer from Siberia to Alaska during the nineteenth century.

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FATEOR, FARI, FASSUM

Back 16

LATIN "to speak," "to confess," "to admit"

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DICO, DICERE, DIXI, DICTUM

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LATIN "to say," "to tell"

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GLOSSA, GLOTTA

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GREEK "tongue," "language"