Words About Words Flashcards
acronym
A word made up of the first letters of other words it describes. Examples: SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), UFO (unidentified flying object)
adjective
A word that serves as a modifier of a noun to denote a quality of the thing named. Examples: happy, strong, thin, green.
adverb
a word serving as a modifier of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, etc., which often but not always ends in -ly. Examples: slowly, sadly, well, often.
alliteraton
Repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence. Example: “Veni, vidi, vici.”-Julius Caesar
anagram
A word that is formed when the letters of a word or phrase are rearranged. For example, Minnesota is an anagram of nominates.
article
One of a small set of words or affixes (a, an, and the) used with nouns to limit or give definiteness to the application. English has an indefinite article (a, an) and a definite article (the).
conjunction
A word that joins together sentences, clauses, phrases, or words. There are two kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions (such as and and or) and subordinating conjunctions (such as although and because).
consonance
Recurrence or repetition of consonants, especially at the end of stressed syllables without the similar correspondence of vowels. Example: stroke of luck.
diaeresis
( ¨ ) Two dots placed side-by-side over a vowel (like an umlaut), indicating that the vowel is considered a separate vowel, even though it would normally be considered part of a diphthong. Example: coöperation.
diphthong
A gliding, monosyllabic speech item that starts at or near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves to or toward the position for another (as the vowel combination that forms the last part of toy).
hyperbole
Exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect.
intransitive verb
A verb that does not act on an object (unlike a transitive verb). For example, sleep is intransitive. I sleep. I do not sleep it.
irony
Expression of something that is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another.
metaphor
Implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the word is used not inits literal sense but in one analogous to it. Example: “Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage.”-Shakespeare, Macbeth
noun
A word that is the name of something (as a person, animal, place, thing, quality, idea, or action).
onomatopoeia
Use of words to imitate natural sounds; accommodation of sounds to sense. Examples: hiss, whack, hum, cough, scratch.
oxymoron
Apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another. Examples: jumbo shrimp, random order.
palindrome
A word spelled the same forward as backward. Examples: radar, kayak.
plural
More than one, often (but not always) indicated with the letter s at the end of a word. Examples: stars, dogs, boxes, geese, mice.
paradox
An assertion seemingly opposed to common sense but that may have some truth to it.
person
A segment of discourse that pertains to the speaker (first person), to the one spoken to (second person), or the one spoken of (third person).
portmanteau
A word created by blending two words together to form a new word that is related to both of the original words. Example: brunch = breakfast + lunch.
possessive
A grammatical case that denotes ownership or a relation analogous to ownership. Example: owner’s manual. Examples of possessive pronouns: hers, his, my, mine, your, yours, our, ours, their, theirs, its, whose.
predicate
The part of a sentence or clause that expresses what is said of the subject and that usually consists of a verb with or without objects, complements, or adverbial modifiers. The predicate excludes the subject itself.
preposition
A (usually small) word that combines with a noun, pronoun, or noun equivalent to form a prepositional phrase that modifies part of the sentence. Examples: after, at, before, by, for, with.
prepositional phrase
A phrase that starts with a preposition. With a preposition is a prepositional phrase.
pronoun
A word that is used as a substitute for a noun or noun equivalent, takes noun constructions, and refers to persons or things named or understood in the context. Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.
simile
An explicit comparison between two things using like or as. Example: “Let us go then, you and I, / While the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table…“-T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
subject
The part of a sentence that indicates what acts upon the verb. It is always a noun, pronoun, or noun clause. For example, Skiing is the subject of the sentence “Skiing is one of my favorite activities.”
superlative
The degree of grammatical comparison that denotes an extreme or unsurpassed level or extent, denoted usually by an -est ending. Examples: best, worst, fastest, smartest.
tautology
Repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence. Example: “Cease and desist that activity.”
transitive verb
A verb that can act upon an object. One might say that a transitive verb is one that is object oriented. Examples: see, buy (I saw my friend when I bought a bagel.).
verb
A word that expresses an action, occurrence, or mode of being. It is the grammatical center of a predicate. For example, make is a verb in the sentence “It is possible to make a verb out of any noun.”
