Understanding Word Origins

The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:

21st Century Skills—You will employ online tools for research and analysis and use critical-thinking skills.

Directions

Please save this document before you begin working on the assignment. Type your answers directly in the document. ______

Self-Checked Activities

Read the instructions for the following activities and type in your responses. Click the link to the Student Answer Sheet at the end of the lesson. Use the answers or sample responses to evaluate your own work.

1.  Word Research

a.  Using the resources listed here, or reference books in your classroom or library, locate information about the word can. Write your answers, and the resources you used to locate each answer, in the chart.

·  dictionary

·  online thesaurus

·  etymology dictionary

·  book of quotations

·  acronym dictionary

Sample answer:

The Word can /

Your Answer

/ Resource(s) Used
definition(s) / a cylindrical vessel, a container or jar, to be able to do / dictionary
etymology / Middle English canne, from Old English; akin to Old High German channa / dictionary, etymology dictionary
synonym(s) / able, preserve, dismiss, terminate / thesaurus, dictionary
slang / to end the employment of, a place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention / dictionary, thesaurus
quotation(s) containing the word can / One can never read all the books in the world, nor travel all its roads. (unknown)
We ought to do our neighbor all the good we can. (Bidpai) / book of quotations
acronym(s) / Canada, cost account number, Clean Air Now, controller area network / Possible answers include:
acronym dictionary

b.  Choose three words that you would like to know more about and write them in the chart. Then use a standard dictionary and an etymology dictionary to record etymological information for each word. An example has been completed for you.

Sample answer:

Answers will vary but should resemble the example provided in the chart.

Word /

Dictionary

/ Etymology Dictionary
code / Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin caudex, codex “trunk of a tree,” document formed originally from wooden tablets / c. 1303, from Old French code “system of laws,” from Latin codex, earlier caudex “book, book of laws,” literally “tree trunk,” hence, wooden tablet for writing. The sense in “secret code” is 1808. Codify first attested c.1800.

c.  How is the etymological information about the words you selected different in each of these two resources? How is the information similar? Which resource provides a greater depth of information about the words you selected? In what situations would you prefer to use a dictionary to research a word? Why? In what situations would you choose an etymology dictionary? Why?

Sample answer:

A standard dictionary and an etymology dictionary both help in tracing the origins of the words. A standard dictionary gives only a brief description of word origins, whereas an etymology dictionary gives more detailed information, for example the date of the first recorded use of a word. A dictionary is more useful if I am interested in the origins of a word as well as its detailed meaning. I would refer to an etymology dictionary if I wanted to learn about the detailed history of a word.

d.  Select an unfamiliar or interesting word from a novel or story that you have read. Using the most appropriate reference resources, conduct a word study to find this information about the word:

·  definition(s)

·  etymology

·  synonyms

·  popular quotations using the word

·  slang usage

·  other interesting information you locate


Sample answer:

Answers will vary but should resemble the following.

Your word: amend
definition(s) / to put right, to change or modify for the better, to alter especially in phraseology
etymology / Middle English, from Anglo-French amender, modification of Latin emendare, from e, ex “out” + menda “fault”; akin to Latin mendax “lying,” mendicus “beggar,” and perhaps to Sanskrit mindā “physical defect”
synonym(s) / correct, emend, mend, rectify, redress, reform, remedy, right
quotation(s) / Amend your ways and your doings. (from Jeremiah 7:3 and Jeremiah 26:13)
slang / The word amend is not used in slang expressions.
other / The French verb amender also has the same sense.

e.  Just as understanding word origins can help you in science and mathematics, it can also help you in history and political science.

1.  Research the meanings of the words listed in the chart.

Sample answer:

Words /

Meanings

aristocracy / government by the best individuals or by a small privileged class
autocracy / government in which one person possesses unlimited power
democracy / government by the people
bureaucracy / government characterized by specialization of functions, adherence to fixed rules, and a hierarchy of authority
socialism / an economic system based on public ownership of enterprises
communism / a theory advocating elimination of private property
McCarthyism / opposition to alleged subversives through defamation of character
capitalism / an economic system based on private ownership of enterprises
pluralist / a person who advocates pluralism
plurality / the state of being plural
E pluribus unum / “out of many, one”

2.  What do the words in each set have in common? What differentiates them from each other? How can understanding this help you decipher information when you read or discuss historical or political issues?

Sample answer:

The words in the first set share the suffix –cracy; the words in the second set share the suffix –ism; and the words in the third set have the common morpheme plur. The meanings of the words in the first set are related to government. The meanings of the words in the second set are related to beliefs and ideologies. The meanings of the words in the third set are related to the word plural, meaning “more than one.” Understanding the etymology of these words makes it easier to predict the meaning of unknown political or historical words that originate from different combinations of the roots of these words.

f.  Find three political or historical terms that share morphemes and write a short paragraph in which you discuss the terms and how they are related.

Sample answer:

Answers will vary but should resemble the following.

The words alchemist, colonist, and communist all share the common suffix -ist. An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy, a colonist is an inhabitant of a colony, and a communist is a person who advocates or supports communism. All the words suggest a single person or a group of people related to the particular field, idea, or theory indicated by the preceding part of the word (alchemy, colony, communism).

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