11/4(WEEK 9)

1.absurd: extremely silly, foolish, or unreasonable : completely ridiculous

*origin:Middle French absurde, from Latin absurdus, from ab- +surdus deaf, stupid

*example:The charges against him are obviously absurd.

2.breed:to keep and take care of animals or plants in order to produce more animals or plants of a particular kind

*origin:Middle English breden, from Old English brēdan; akin to Old English brōd brood

*example:He got into the business of breeding cattle.

3.peer:a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else

*origin:Middle English, from Anglo-French per, from per, adjective, equal, from Latin par

*example:He was respected and admired by his peers.

4.plunge: to fall or jump suddenly from a high place

*origin:Middle English, from Anglo-French plunger, from Vulgar Latin*plumbicare, from Latin plumbum lead

*example:The stock market plunged yesterday.

5.wriggle: to twist from side to side with small quick movements like a worm

*origin:Middle English, from or akin to Middle Low German wriggel nto wriggle; akin to Old English wrigian to turn

*example:The children wriggled and squirmed in their chairs.

11/5

1.enthusiastic: feeling or showing strong excitement about something : filled with or marked by enthusiasm

*origin:1603

*example:They were enthusiastic supporters of the president.

2.rapture:a state or feeling of great happiness, pleasure, or love

*origin:Latin raptus

*example:We listened with rapture as the orchestra played.

3.delicate: easily broken or damaged

*origin:Middle English delicat, from Latin delicatus given to self-indulgence, fastidious, subtly pleasing, not robust; akin to Latin delicere to allure

*example:He has a delicate stomach and often gets sick when traveling.

4.decisive: able to make choices quickly and confidently

*origin:1611

*example:You must be decisive and persistent to succeed in this competitive field.

5.interpose: to place (someone or something) between two or more things or people

*origin:Middle French interposer, from Latin interponere (perfect indicative interposui), from inter- + ponere to put

*example:The new system has interposed a bureaucratic barrier between doctors and patients.

 

11/6

1.glance: to look at someone or something very quickly

*origin:Middle English glencen, glenchen

*example:Glancing down, she noticed her shoe was untied.

2.stumble:to hit your foot on something when you are walking or running so that you fall or almost fall

*origin:Middle English, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect stumle to stumble

*example:I stumbled on the uneven pavement.

3.bonnet:a hat that ties under the chin

*origin:Middle English bonet auxiliary sail, kind of cap, from Anglo-French, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old Saxongibund bundle, Old English bindan to bind

*example:He lifted the car's bonnet to check the engine.

4.scandal:an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong

*origin:Middle English, from Late Latin scandalum stumbling block, offense, from Greek skandalon trap, stumbling block, offense; akin to Latin scandere to climb

*example:There was a major scandal involving the mayor's ties with the Mob.

5.reluctant: feeling or showing doubt about doing something : not willing or eager to do something

*origin:Latin reluctant-, reluctans, present participle of reluctari to struggle against, from re- + luctari to struggle

*example:We were reluctant to get involved.

 

11/7

1.hazy:partly hidden, darkened, or clouded by dust, smoke, or mist : hidden by haze; also : having or filled with haze

*origin:origin unknown

*example:We had only a hazy view of the mountain.

2.distort:to change the natural, normal, or original shape, appearance, or sound of (something) in a way that is usually not attractive or pleasing

*origin:Latin distortus, past participle of distorquēre, from dis- +torquēre to twist

*example:Her face was distorted by pain.

3.slender:thin especially in an attractive or graceful way

*origin:Middle English sclendre, slendre, from Anglo-Frenchesclendre

*example:She has a slender figure.

4.pluck: to pull (something) quickly to remove it

*origin:Middle English, from Old English pluccian; akin to Middle High German pflücken to pluck

*example:My sister plucked a white hair from my head.

5.incessant: continuing without stopping : not stopping

*origin:Middle English incessaunt, from Late Latin incessant-, incessans, from Latin in- + cessant-, cessans, present participle of cessare to delay

*example:The incessant noise from an outside repair crew was a real distraction during the test

 

11/8

Class notes(Midterm)

 

New words:

1.innumerable:too many to be counted : very many

*origin:Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin innumerabilis , from in- + numerabilis numerable

*example:There are innumerable errors in the book.

2.feminine: of, relating to, or suited to women or girls

*origin:Middle English, from Anglo-French feminin, from Latin femininus, from femina woman; akin to Old English delunipple, Latin filius son, felix, fetus, & fecundus fruitful, felareto suck, Greek thēlē nipple

*example:The book examines the subject from a feminine perspective.

3.hover: to float in the air without moving in any direction

*origin:Middle English hoveren, frequentative of hoven to hover

*example:Watch as the hummingbird hovers over the flowers.

4.shrill: to make a very loud, high-pitched sound

*origin:Middle English; probably akin to Old English scrallettan to resound loudly

*example:The mud-splattered bystanders were shrilling with outrage at the inconsiderate motorist

5.languid:showing or having very little strength, energy, or activity

*origin:Middle French languide, from Latin languidus, from languēreto languish

*example: They proceeded at a languid pace.