English Vocabulary and Etymology(Week14)

Prefix/Root/Suffix

pro-: in favor of

proponent (n.)  a person who argues in favor of something
example: Jane is a proponent of  gender equality.

protagonist (n.) the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work
example: She created a handsome young man as the protagonist of her new novel.

omni-: all

omniscient (adj.) having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding; perceiving all things
example: The novel has an omniscient narrator.

omnipotent (adj.) almighty or infinite in power, as God
example: Jeson is an omnipotent man because he is good at anything.

-potent / -petent: power

potentate (n.) a person who possesses great power, as a sovereign, monarch, or ruler
example: The potentate in the city is an abominable person.

competent (adj.) having suitable or sufficient skill, knowledge, experience, etc.
example: Is Mary competent as a teacher?

astro-: star

astrology (n.) the study of the motions and relative positions of the planets, sun, and moon, interpreted in terms of human characteristics and activities
example: My sister devotes herself to Astrology.

astronaut (n.) a person engaged in or trained for spaceflight
example: My brother's dream is being an astronaut.

astronomy (n.) the science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth's atmosphere
example: Astronomy, as distinct from astrology, is an exact  science.

ver- / vir-: truth

verdict (v.) the findings of a jury on the issues of fact submitted to it for examination and trial; judgment
example: My wife's verdict on my cooking was very favourable.

virtual (adj.) having the essence or effect but not the appearance or form of
example: He is in a state of virtual slavery.

-nov-: new

novice (n.) a person who is new to the circumstances, work, etc.
example: I'm a complete novice at skiing.

novel (n.) an extended work in prose, either fictitious or partly so, dealing with character, action, thought, etc, esp in the form of story
example: The novel is very interesting.

innovation (n.) something new or different introduced
example: The innovation is perfect.

hetero-: different

heterosexual (adj.) Biology. pertaining to the opposite sex or to both sexes
example: The handsome, nice and heterosexual men are married.

antonym: homosexual

* Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing was born on 23 June, 1912. He was a mathematician, cryptanalyst and the father of computer science. His pioneering work in the 1930s cracked the Nazi’s Enigma codes in World War II, and led to the invention of the modern computer. Turing died in 1954 of cyanide poisoning, two years after he was convicted for homosexual activity and branded a security risk


homo-: same

homogeneous (adj.) of the same kind or nature; essentially alike
example: Japan has a largely homogeneous population.

Vocabulary

analogy (n.) a comparison made to show such a similarity
example: I try to draw an analogy between two pictures.

commencement (n.) the ceremony of conferring degrees or granting diplomas at the end of the academic year
example: I don't join the commencemont of senior high school

petite (adj.) (of a woman) short and having a small, trim figure; diminutive
example: Tina is a petite girl.
 
cinnamon (n.) a tropical tree, the spice obtained from the bark of this tree, used for flavouring food and drink
example: I don't like cinnamon.

onomatopoeia (n.) the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent
example: The onomatopoeia is a common phenomenon both in English and Chinese.

scrape(= skyscraper) (n.) a very tall multistorey building
example: The scrape is too tall to see the top of it.

computer illiterate (n.) a peron who doesn't know how to use computer
example: Peter is a computer illiterate.

cabinet (n.) 1. a piece of furniture with shelves, drawers, etc., for holding or displaying items
                    2.  a council advising a president, sovereign, etc., especially the group of ministers or executives responsible for the government of a nation
example: 1. The cabinet is beautiful.
                2. The cabinet is an organization in the government.

theorem (n.) a rule or law, especially one expressed by an equation or formula
example: Geometrical theorems grew out of empirical methods.

Dead Poets Society "O Captain! My Captian"

Keating is fired and Nolan takes over teaching the class. Keating interrupts the class to collect personal articles; before he leaves Todd shouts that all of them were forced to sign the letter that resulted in his dismissal and that Neil's death was not his fault. Todd stands on his desk and salutes Keating with the words "O Captain! My Captain!". Over half the rest of the class does the same, ignoring Nolan's orders to sit down until he gives up. Deeply touched by their gesture, Keating thanks the boys before departing.

O Captain! My Captian

"O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written in 1865 by Walt Whitman, about the death of American president Abraham Lincoln. The poem was first published in the pamphlet Sequel to Drum-Taps which assembled 18 poems regarding the American Civil War, including another Lincoln elegy, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd". It was included in Whitman's comprehensive collection Leaves of Grass beginning with its fourth edition published in 1867.

Walt Whitman

 An American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.

James Madison 

 An American statesman, political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States (1809–17). He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for being instrumental in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution and as the key champion and author of the Bill of Rights. He served as a politician much of his adult life.
After the constitution had been drafted, Madison became one of the leaders in the movement to ratify it. His collaboration with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay produced The Federalist Papers (1788). Circulated only in New York at the time, they would later be considered among the most important treatises in support of the Constitution. He was also a delegate to the Virginia constitutional ratifying convention, and was instrumental to the successful ratification effort in Virginia. Like most of his contemporaries, Madison changed his political views during his life. During the drafting and ratification of the constitution, he favored a strong national government, though later he grew to favor stronger state governments, before settling between the two extremes late in his life.

 Nihilism

A philosophical doctrine that suggests the lack of belief in one or more reputedly meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.Moral nihilists assert that morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. Nihilism can also take epistemological or ontological/metaphysical forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, knowledge is not possible, or that reality does not actually exist.