Lesson 1

Question 0

Appellation

Answer 0

Noun. A name, title, or designation

• It is not clear how Indiana got the appellation “Hoosier State.”

Question 1

Annotation

Answer 1

Noun. A critical or explanatory note

• the annotations in my edition of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities explain words that are no longer used.

Verb. Annotate - the food critic annotated annotated her list of recommended restaurants with comments about her favorite dishes.

Question 2

Eponym

Answer 2

Noun. A person whose name is, or is thought to be, the source of the name of something

• William penn is the eponym of Pennsylvania.

Adjective. Eponymous - sportswriters coined the eponymous word Jordanesque, meaning “incredibly athletic, acrobatic and graceful,” after basketball star Michael Jordan.

Question 3

Linguistics

Answer 3

Noun. The study of nature, structure and variation of language

• research in the field of linguistics can shed light on the history of human migration by tracking variations in language over time.

Adjective. Linguistic - the Czech and Slovak languages are part of the same linguistic family.

Noun. Linguist - the linguist studied the influence of African languages and speech patterns on American English.

Question 4

Malapropism

Answer 4

Noun. Ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by confusing it with one of similar sound

• I’m pretty sure it was malapropism, and not a deliberate joke, when she said, “he’s the apple of my pie.”

Question 5

Neologism

Answer 5

Noun. A new word, expression, or usage

• modern technology has brought us neologisms including byte, software, and download.

Question 6

Parlance

Answer 6

Noun. A particular manner of speaking

• In business parlance, downsizing means laying off workers in order to decrease a company’s size and expenses.

Question 7

Patois

Answer 7

Noun. A regional dialect, especially a nonstandard one that has no written tradition

• The cockney patois of London includes colorful expressions such as have a butcher’s (have a look) and on your tod (on your own).

Question 8

Polyglot

Answer 8

Adjective. Using several languages

• Do many professional translators and interpreters grow up in polyglot neighborhoods?

Noun. A person who speaks several languages

• The linguistics professor was a true polyglot, fluent in five languages and almost a dozen dialects.

Question 9

Vulgar

Answer 9

Adjective.
A. Of or related to the language of common people
- The vulgar name for the creatures that scientists call arachnids is spiders.

B. Crude; indecent
- The play’s vulgar dialogue was effective, but offended some people.

C. Offensively excessive in the display of one’s self or one’s wealth
- the gold-plated window sills were both ugly and vulgar.

Noun. Vulgarity - The vulgarity of his speech shocked listeners.