Vocab 1

Front 1

cognate

Back 1

1. Related by blood; having a common ancestor.
2. Related in origin, as certain words in genetically related languages descended from the same ancestral root; for example, English name and Latin n men from Indo-European *n -men-.
3. Related or analogous in nature, character, or function.

Front 2

inflection

Back 2

1. The act of inflecting or the state of being inflected.
2. Alteration in pitch or tone of the voice.
3. Grammar.
a. An alteration of the form of a word by the addition of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form of a base, as in English spoke from speak, that indicates grammatical features such as number, person, mood, or tense.
b. An affix indicating such a grammatical feature, as the -s in the English third person singular verb form speaks.
c. The paradigm of a word.
d. A pattern of forming paradigms, such as noun inflection or verb inflection.
4. A turning or bending away from a course or position of alignment

Front 3

orthography

Back 3

1. The art or study of correct spelling according to established usage.
2. The aspect of language study concerned with letters and their sequences in words.
3. A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling

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paradigm

Back 4

1. One that serves as a pattern or model.
2. A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb.
3. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

Front 5

philology

Back 5

Literary study or classical scholarship.

Front 6

phonology

Back 6

1. The study of speech sounds in language or a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit rules governing pronunciation.
2. The sound system of a language: the phonology of English

Front 7

rejoinder

Back 7

an answer

Front 8

rhetoric

Back 8

a. The art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.
b. A treatise or book discussing this art.
2. Skill in using language effectively and persuasively.
3.
a. A style of speaking or writing, especially the language of a particular subject: fiery political rhetoric.
b. Language that is elaborate, pretentious, insincere, or intellectually vacuous: His offers of compromise were mere rhetoric.
4. Verbal communication; discourse.

Front 9

succinct

Back 9

1. Characterized by clear, precise expression in few words; concise and terse: a succinct reply; a succinct style.
2. Archaic. Encircled as if by a girdle; girded.

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syntax

Back 10

a. The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences.
b. A publication, such as a book, that presents such rules.
c. The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language.
d. Such a pattern in a particular sentence or discourse.
2. Computer Science. The rules governing the formation of statements in a programming language.
3. A systematic, orderly arrangement

Front 11

bellicose

Back 11

Warlike in manner or temperament; pugnacious. See Synonyms at belligerent.
Censure
1. An expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism.
2. An official rebuke, as by a legislature of one of its members.

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Censure

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1. Given to contention; quarrelsome. See Synonyms at argumentative. See Synonyms at belligerent.
2. Involving or likely to cause contention; controversial: “a central and contentious element of the book” (Tim W. Ferguson

Front 13

contentious

Back 13

1. A scarce supply; a lack: “the dearth of uncensored, firsthand information about the war” (Richard Zoglin).
2. Shortage of food; famine.

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dearth

Back 14

Having a harmful effect; injurious: the deleterious effects of smoking.
Enervating
1. To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: “the luxury which enervates and destroys nations” (Henry David Thoreau). See Synonyms at deplete.
2. Medicine. To remove a nerve or part of a nerve.

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deleterious

Back 15

Having a harmful effect; injurious: the deleterious effects of smoking.

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enervating

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1. To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: “the luxury which enervates and destroys nations” (Henry David Thoreau). See Synonyms at deplete.
2. Medicine. To remove a nerve or part of a nerve.

Front 17

ephemeral

Back 17

1. Lasting for a markedly brief time: “There remain some truths too ephemeral to be captured in the cold pages of a court transcript” (Irving R. Kaufman).
2. Living or lasting only for a day, as certain plants or insects do.

Front 18

florid

Back 18

1. Flushed with rosy color; ruddy.
2. Very ornate; flowery: a florid prose style.
3. Archaic. Healthy.
4. Obsolete. Abounding in or covered with flowers

Front 19

hackneyed

Back 19

Overfamiliar through overuse; trite.

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tableau

Back 20

1. A vivid or graphic description: The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life.
2. A striking incidental scene, as of a picturesque group of people: “New public figures suddenly abound in the hitherto faceless totalitarian tableaux” (John McLaughlin).
3. An interlude during a scene when all the performers on stage freeze in position and then resume action as before.
4. A tableau vivant.

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anomaly

Back 21

1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.
2. One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify: “Both men are anomalies: they have... likable personalities but each has made his reputation as a heavy” (David Pauly).
3. Astronomy. The angular deviation, as observed from the sun, of a planet from its perihelion

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tableau

Back 22

1. A vivid or graphic description: The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life.
2. A striking incidental scene, as of a picturesque group of people: “New public figures suddenly abound in the hitherto faceless totalitarian tableaux” (John McLaughlin).
3. An interlude during a scene when all the performers on stage freeze in position and then resume action as before.
4. A tableau vivant.

Front 23

august

Back 23

1. Inspiring awe or admiration; majestic: the august presence of the monarch. See Synonyms at grand.
2. Venerable for reasons of age or high rank.

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sibilance

Back 24

Of, characterized by, or producing a hissing sound like that of (s) or (sh): the sibilant consonants; a sibilant bird call.

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myriad

Back 25

1. Constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable: the myriad fish in the ocean.
2. Composed of numerous diverse elements or facets: the myriad life of the mtropolis.
3. n.
1. A vast number: the myriads of bees in the hive.
2. Archaic. Ten thousand.

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penurious

Back 26

1. Unwilling to spend money; stingy.
2. Yielding little; barren: a penurious land.
3. Poverty-stricken; destitute.

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portentous

Back 27

1. Of the nature of or constituting a portent; foreboding: “The present aspect of society is portentous of great change” (Edward Bellamy).
2. Full of unspecifiable significance; exciting wonder and awe: “Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity” (Herman Melville).
3. Marked by pompousness; pretentiously weighty

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travail

Back 28

1. Work, especially when arduous or involving painful effort; toil. See Synonyms at work.
2. Tribulation or agony; anguish.
3. The labor of childbirth.

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approbation

Back 29

1. An expression of warm approval; praise.
2. Official approval.

Front 30

vanquish

Back 30

a. To defeat or conquer in battle; subjugate.
b. To defeat in a contest, conflict, or competition.
2. To overcome or subdue (an emotion, for example); suppress: “She had had to wrench herself forcibly away from Katharine, and every step vanquished her desire” (Virginia Woolf). See Synonyms at defeat.