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ABCTE - English Standard > Vocabulary > Flashcards

Vocabulary Flashcards

1
Q

Homophone

A

Two or more words that have the same pronunciation but also different meanings, origins or spellings. (Example: There, their and they’re)

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2
Q

Synonym

A

Two or more words that have the same meaning. (Example: happy, joyful)

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3
Q

Bubonic Plague

A

Pushed English language up the social ladder. Killed 1/3 of population

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4
Q

Pejoration

A

Semantic change for the worse or with a less respectable meaning over time. (Example: Idiot = Private person in Greek)

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5
Q

Sisyphen task

A

A laborious task requiring continual and ineffective effort

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6
Q

Analogy

A

A comparison of two things

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7
Q

Euphemisims

A

A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

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8
Q

Participle Adjective

A

Adjectives with “-ed” or “-ing” endings

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9
Q

Adjective

A

A word or phrase naming an attribute

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10
Q

Participle

A

A verb used as a noun or adjective (compound verb)

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11
Q

Connotation:

A

Idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal definition or primary meaning

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12
Q

Narrowing

A

A language change process by which the meaning of a word becomes very specific (Example: Hound/dog)

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13
Q

Modus Operandi:

A

A Latin term for having a certain way something must be done. It is also known as the Socratic Method.

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14
Q

Jejune

A

Dry or uniteresting

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15
Q

Inkhorn

A

A period in English language history when scholars coined new words from Greek and Latin terms.

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16
Q

Denotations

A

The meaning of a word according to its literal definition

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17
Q

Metephor

A

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things

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18
Q

Metephor

A

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things

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19
Q

Similies

A

Sentences that use “like” or “as” to compare.

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20
Q

Linguistics

A

when a word with a concrete meaning gains an abstract meaning.

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21
Q

Figurative sense:

A

A word or expression used with an abstract or imaginative meaning compared to the literal one.

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22
Q

Antonyms

A

Words with opposite meaning

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23
Q

Homonym

A

Words that are spelled and pronounced the same but have different meanings (Example: Fair)

24
Q

Homograph

A

Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and pronunciations. (Example: Bass = Fish / Bass = Instrument)

25
Language Analogies
Tend to be written like equations Homophone: Synonym :: Sound: Meaning
26
Dictionary
Describes rather than prescribes how we use language. They offer: - Pronunciations - derivations (derivatives) - contextual examples - spellings - etymologies
27
Thesaurus
Offers synonyms and Antonyms
28
Glossaries
specialized definitions used in a particular book
29
Oxford English dictionary
The most useful dictionary. Includes British pronunciations
30
Merriam-Webster
American English Dictionary. Uses earliest definition first
31
American Heritage Dictionary
American English Dictionary. Uses most common definition first.
32
Brewers dictionary of phrases and fables
A resource for common idioms and adages
33
King Alfred the Great
West Saxon king, the first recognized King of England. He unified the country and expelled the Danes.
34
Norse
Used Interchangeably to identify both the language and its speakers. Refers to the Scandinavians who invaded and settled in the Eastern half of England.
35
Danelaw
A political demarcation established by King Alfred the Great. It kept the Western half of England sovereign and protected the rights of Anglo-Saxons in the east.
36
William the conqueror, Duke of Normandy
Conquered England in 1066. Historians use this invasion to mark the change from Anglo-Saxon to Middle English (French speaking).
37
The Great Vowel Shift
A shift in pronunciation that linguists often use to separate Middle English from Modern English (Cause unknown)
38
William Caxton
Brought the printing press from Cologne, Germany to England. This initiated the standardization of English. (First book was a french romance: Recuyell of the historyes of Troye)
39
Inkhorn:
a derogatory term for a word coined from Greek or Latin roots. No obscure, roughly synonymous with Pedantic.
40
Taboo Words
Words that are perceived as dangerous and replaced with euphemisms.
41
Calques
words or phrases that are translated word-for-word from a foreign language.
42
Semantic Shift
The meaning of a word changes over time.
43
Ethnonym
A language change process in which a word that identifies a group or nation to others becomes the word that they are called. (Example: Latino, hispanic, African American)
44
Generalization
A language process by which a very specific word gains a more general meaning
45
Loss of motivation
A language process by which the original words loose their form because speakers no longer remember their significance (Example: Lord = Loaf Keeper).
46
Amelioration
The process by which a word's meaning improves over time.
47
Idioms
A phrase where significance comes from general usage rather than it's literal meaning (Example: Couch potato).
48
Smorgasbord
A Swedish word meaning "buffet" or "varying mixture".
49
Delectation
meaning delight or pleasure, from the Latin word "delectare".
50
Le mot juste
A French word meaning "just right word".
51
Soupcon
A french word meaning "Small amount".
52
Tantalyzing
meaning to Tempt. From the Greek myth about Tantalus.
53
Rubric
A Roman word meaning category
54
Prodigal
meaning wasteful. From the Biblical story of the prodigal son.
55
Denotions
The literal meaning of words found in dictionaries.
56
Connotations
The meaning suggested beyond the literal definition.

ABCTE - English Standard (2 decks)

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