Unit 1

BENE

BENE is Latin for “well.” A benefit is a good result or effect. Something beneficial produces good results or effects. The Latin root can be heard in other languages as well: “Good!” or “Fine!” in Spanish is “Bueno!”; in French, it's “Bon!”; and in Italian, just say “Bene!”

• benediction /ˌbenɪ'dɪkʃn/
  • A prayer that asks for God's blessing, especially a prayer that concludes a worship service.
• benefactor /'benɪfæktər/
  • Someone who helps another person or group, especially by giving money.
• beneficiary /ˌbenɪ'fɪʃieri/
  • A person or organization that benefits or is expected to benefit from something, especially one that receives money or property when someone dies.
• benevolence /bə'nevələns/
  • Kindness, generosity.

AM

AM comes from the Latin amare, “to love.” The Roman god of love was known by two different names, Cupid and Amor. Amiable means “friendly or good-natured,” and amigo is Spanish for “friend.”

• amicable /'æmɪkəbl/
  • Friendly, peaceful.
• enamored /ɪˈnæmərd/
  • Charmed or fascinated; inflamed with love.
• amorous /'æmərəs/
  • Having or showing strong feelings of attraction or love.
• paramour /'pærəmʊr/
  • A lover, often secret, not allowed by law or custom.

BELL

BELL comes from the Latin word meaning “war.” Bellona was the little-known Roman goddess of war; her husband, Mars, was the god of war.

• antebellum /ˌænti'beləm/
  • Existing before a war, especially before the American Civil War (1861–65).
• bellicose /'belɪkoʊs/
  • Warlike, aggressive, quarrelsome.
• belligerence /bə'lɪdʒərəns/
  • Aggressiveness, combativeness.
• rebellion /rɪ'beljən/
  • Open defiance and opposition, sometimes armed, to a person or thing in authority.

PAC

PAC is related to the Latin words for “agree” and “peace.” The Pacific Ocean—that is, the “Peaceful Ocean”—was named by Ferdinand Magellan because it seemed so calm after he had sailed through the storms near Cape Horn. (Magellan obviously had never witnessed a Pacific typhoon.)

• pacify /'pæsɪfaɪ/
  • To soothe anger or agitation.
  • To subdue by armed action.
• pacifist /'pæsɪfɪst/
  • A person opposed to war or violence, especially someone who refuses to bear arms or to fight, on moral or religious grounds.
• pact /pækt/
  • An agreement between two or more people or groups; a treaty or formal agreement between nations to deal with a problem or to resolve a dispute.
• pace /peɪs/
  • Contrary to the opinion of.

CRIM

CRIM comes from the Latin words for “fault or crime” or “accusation.” It's obvious where the root shows up most commonly in English. A crime is an act forbidden by the government, which the government itself will punish you for, and for which you may be branded a criminal. A crime is usually more serious than a tort (see TORT), a “civil wrong” for which the wronged person must himself sue if he wants to get repaid in some way.

• criminology /ˌkrɪmɪ'nɑːlədʒi/
  • The study of crime, criminals, law enforcement, and punishment.
• decriminalize /diː'krɪmɪnəlaɪz/
  • To remove or reduce the criminal status of.
• incriminate /ɪn'krɪmɪneɪt/
  • To show evidence of involvement in a crime or a fault.
• recrimination /rɪˌkrɪmɪ'neɪʃn/
  • An accusation in answer to an accusation made against oneself.
  • The making of such an accusation.

PROB

PROB comes from the Latin words for “prove or proof” and “honesty or integrity.” A probe, whether it's a little object for testing electrical circuits or a spacecraft headed for Mars, is basically something that's looking for evidence or proof. And probable originally described something that wasn't certain but might be “provable.”

• approbation /ˌæprə'beɪʃn/
  • A formal or official act of approving; praise, usually given with pleasure or enthusiasm.
• probate /'proʊbeɪt/
  • The process of proving in court that the will of someone who has died is valid, and of administering the estate of a dead person.
• probity /'proʊbəti/
  • Absolute honesty and uprightness.
• reprobate /'reprəbeɪt/
  • A person of thoroughly bad character

GRAV

GRAV comes from the Latin word meaning “heavy, weighty, serious.” Gravity is, of course, what makes things heavy, and without it there wouldn't be any life on earth, since nothing would stay on earth at all. This doesn't stop us from yelling in outrage when the familiar laws of gravity cause something to drop to the floor and break.

• grave /ɡreɪv/
  • Requiring serious thought or concern.
  • Serious and formal in appearance or manner
• gravitas /'ɡrævɪtɑːs/
  • Great or very dignified seriousness
• gravitate /'ɡrævɪteɪt/
  • To move or be drawn toward something, especially by natural tendency or as if by an invisible force.
• aggravate /'æɡrəveɪt/
  • To make (an injury, problem, etc.) more serious or severe.
  • To annoy or bother.

LEV

LEV comes from the Latin adjective levis, meaning “light,” and the verb levare, meaning “to raise or lighten.” So a lever is a bar used to lift something, by means of leverage. And levitation is the magician's trick in which a body seems to rise into the air by itself.

• alleviate /ə'liːvieɪt/
  • To lighten, lessen, or relieve, especially physical or mental suffering.
• elevation /ˌelɪ'veɪʃn/
  • The height of a place.
  • The act or result of lifting or raising someone or something.
• cantilever /'kæntɪliːvər/
  • A long piece of wood, metal,etc., that sticks out from a wall to support something above it.
• levity /'levəti/
  • Lack of appropriate seriousness

Words from Mythology and History

• cicerone /ˌsɪsə'roni/
  • A guide, especially one who takes tourists to museums, monuments, or architectural sites and explains what is being seen.
• hector /'hektər/
  • To bully or harass by bluster or personal pressure.
• hedonism /'hedənɪzəm/
  • An attitude or way of life based on the idea that pleasure or happiness should be the chief goal.
• nestor /ˈnɛstɚ/
  • A senior figure or leader in one's field.
• spartan /ˈspɑrtn/
  • Marked by simplicity, avoidance of luxury, and often strict self-discipline or self-denial.
• stentorian /sten'tɔːriən/
  • Extremely loud, often with especially deep richness of sound.
• stoic /'stoʊɪk/
  • Seemingly indifferent to pleasure or pain.
• sybaritic /ˌsɪbə'rɪtɪk/
  • Marked by a luxurious or sensual way of life.

MANIA

MANIA in Latin means “madness,” and the meaning passed over into English unchanged. Our word mania can mean a mental illness, or at least an excessive enthusiasm. We might call someone a maniac who was wild, violent, and mentally ill—or maybe just really enthusiastic about something. Too much caffeine might make you a bit manic. But the intense mood swings once known as manic-depressive illness are now usually called bipolar disorder instead.

• kleptomania /ˌkleptə'meɪniə/
  • A mental illness in which a person has a strong desire to steal things.
• dipsomaniac /ˌdɪpsə'meɪniæk/
  • A person with an extreme and uncontrollable desire for alcohol.
• megalomaniac /ˌmeɡələ'meɪniæk/
  • A mental disorder marked by feeling of great personal power and importance.
• egomaniac /ˌiːɡoʊ'meɪniæk/
  • Someone who is extremely self-contered and ignores the problems and concerns of others.

PSYCH

PSYCH comes from the Greek word psyche, meaning “breath, life, soul.” Psychology is the science of mind and behavior, and a psychologist treats or studies the mental problems of individuals and groups. Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with mental and emotional disorders, and a psychiatrist (like any other doctor) may prescribe drugs to treat them.

• psyche /'saɪki/
  • Soul, personality, mind.
• psy