British Literature

British Literature Vocabulary List

Unit One • Bell – from the Latin for “war” • Antebellum – existing before a war • Bellicose – warlike, aggressive, quarrelsome • Belligerence – aggressiveness, combativeness • Rebellion – open defiance and opposition to authority

Unit One • Pac/Peas – from Latin for “agree” and “peace” Pacific ocean • Pacify – to soothe anger or agitation, subdue armed action • Pacifist – a person opposed to war or violence and refuses to fight • Pact – an agreement between two or more people or groups; treaty or formal agreement • Appease – to make peaceful and quiet; to calm, satisfy

Unit Two • Hosp/host – comes from Latin word hospesmeaning “host” and “guest” • Hostage – a person given or held to ensure that an agreement, demand, or treaty is kept or fulfilled • Hospice – a place or program to help care for the terminally ill • Hostel – an inexpensive, supervised place for young travelers to stay overnight • Inhospitable – not welcoming or generous, unfriendly, providing no shelter or food (desert)

Unit Two • Am/Im comes from Latin word “amare” meaning “to love” • Amicable – friendly, peaceful • Enamored – charmed or fascinated; inflamed with love • Inimical – hostile, unfriendly, harmful • Paramour – a lover, often secret, not allowed by law or custom

Unit 3 • Crim – Latin for “fault or crime” or “accusation” • Criminology – study of crime, criminals, law enforcement, etc. • Decriminalize – to remove or reduce criminal status of • Incriminate – to show evidence of involvement in a crime or fault • Recrimination – an accusation in retaliation for an accusation made against oneself

Unit 3 • Prob/prov – “prove or proof” “honesty or integrity” • Approbation – formal or official act of approving, praise • Disprove – refute, show something is not what it has claimed • Probity – absolute honesty and uprightness • Reprobate – a person of thoroughly bad character

Unit 4 • Grav – Latin for “heavy, weighty, serious” • Gravid – pregnant or enlarged with something • Gravitas – great or very dignified, seriousness • Gravitate – to move or be drawn toward something • Gravity – weighty importance, seriousness, dignity

Unit 4 • Lev – Latin for “light” • Alleviate – to lighten, lessen, relieve • Elevate – lit up or raise, raise in rank or status • Leavening – something that lightens and raises, something that modifies, eases, animates • Levity – frivolity, lack of appropriate seriousness

Unit 5 • Cicerone – a guide, especially one who takes tourists to museums, monuments, etc. • Hector – to bully; to intimidate • Hedonism – an attitude or way of life based on the idea that pleasure or happiness should be the chief goal • Nestor – a senior figure or leader in one’s field • Spartan – marked by simplicity and often strict self-discipline or self-denial

Unit 5 • Stentorian – extremely loud, often with a richness of sound • Stoic – seemingly indifferent to pleasure or pain • Sybaritic – marked by a luxurious or sensual way of life

Unit 6 • AG Latin for “do, go, lead, drive” • Agitate – to move something with an irregular, rapid, violent action • Litigate – to carry on a lawsuit • Prodigal – recklessly or wastefully extravagant • Synagogue – Jewish temple

Unit 6 • VEN/VENT – Latin for “come” • Advent – a coming or arrival • Provenance – origin or source • Venturesome – inclined to seek out risk • Venue – a place of a trial or event

Unit 7 • Cap/cep/cip – to take or seize (Latin) • Reception – social gathering where guests are welcomed • Incipient – starting to become evident or come into being • Perceptible – noticeable • Susceptible – open to influences

Unit 7 • Fin – Latin for “end” or “boundary” • Affinity – sympathy; attraction • Definitive – authoritative and final • Infinitesimal – extremely small • Finite – having definite limits

Unit 8AMBI/AMPHI • Ambi – Latin • Amphi – Greek • Means “on both sides” or “around” – think ambidextrous • Ambiguous – doubtful or uncertain especially from being obscure or indistinct, unclear, understandable in more than one way • Ambient – existing or present on all sides

Unit 8 • Ambivalent – holding opposite feelings and attitudes at the same time; continually wavering • Amphitheater – an oval or circular building with an open area ringed by rising tiers of seats

Unit 8Ep/Epi • Greek means “upon” “besides” “attached to” “over” “outer” “after” • Ephemeral – lasting a day only; lasting a very short time • Ephiphyte – a plant that obtains its nutrients from the air and the rain and usually grows on another plant for support • Epitaph – an inscription on a grave or tomb in memory of one buried there • Epithet – a descriptive word or phrase occurring with or in place of a name of a person or thing; an insulting or demeaning word or phrase

Unit 9hypo/hyp/therm • Under, beneath, down, below normal • Hypodermic needle • Hypochondriac – a person unduly concerned with health and often suffering from delusions of physical disease • Hypocrisy – a pretending to be what one is not or to feel what one does not really feel • Hypothermia – subnormal temperature of the body • Hypothetical – involving an assumption made for the sake of an argument or investigation

Unit 9 • Therm/thermo – Greek for warm • Think thermometer • Thermal – of relating to or caused by heat; designed to insulate in order to retain body heat • Thermocline – region in a body of water that divides the warmer (oxygen-rich) from colder (oxygen-poor) region • Thermocouple – device for measuring temperature that makes use of the way different metals respond to heat • Thermonuclear – of or relating to changes in the nucleus of atoms with low atomic weight that require high temperature to begin (hydrogen)

Unit 10poly/prim • Poly – Greek for many • Think polygamy • Polychromatic – showing a variety or change of colors; multicolored • Polyglot – one who can speak or write in several languages • Polymer – a chemical compound formed by a reaction in which two or more molecules combine to form larger molecules with repeating structural units • Polyphony – music consisting or two or more independent but harmonious melodies

Unit 10 • Prim – Latin for first • Think primer or primate • Primal – original or primitive; first in importance • Primiparous – bearing a first offspring • Primogeniture – an exclusive right of inheritance belonging to the eldest son of a single set of parents • Primordial – first created or developed; existing in/from the very beginning

Unit 11hom/dis • Hom/homo – Greek for same • Think homosexual • Homonym – one of two or more words pronounced and/or spelled alike but different in meaning (pool/of water; pool/game) • Homogeneous – of the same or a similar kind; uniform structure or composition • Homologous – developing from the same or a similar part of a remote ancestor • Homophone – one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling (wood/would)

Unit 11 • Dis – Latin for apart/opposite of/deprive • Think disenfranchise • Diffraction – the bending or spreading of a beam of light (or other wave – like sound) especially when it passes through a narrow opening or is reflected • Dissention – disagreement in opinion • Disseminate – to spread widely • Dissipate – to cause to spread to the point of vanishing

Unit 12 • Latin Phrases • Ad hoc – formed or used for a particular purpose or immediate need • Ad hominem – an attack against an opponent’s character rather than issue • Alter ego – a trusted friend/personal representative or opposite side of personality • De facto – being in practice or effect but not formally recognized

Unit 12 • De jure – by right of law • Ex post facto – done, made, or formulated after the fact • Modus operandi – a usual way of doing something • Modus vivendi – a practical compromise or arrangement that is acceptable to all concerned/a way of life

Unit 13vor/carn • Vor – Latin “to eat” • Carnivorous – meat-eating/flesh-eating • Herbivorous – plant-eating • Omnivorous – feeding on both plants and animals/intensely interested in everything • Voracious – having a huge appetite/very eager

Unit 13 • Carn – Latin for “flesh” • Carnage – great destruction of life/slaughter • Carnal – having to do with bodily pleasures • Carnival – season of merrymaking before Lent/traveling group that presents merriment • Incarnation – a particular physical form or version of something/person showing a trait to a marked degree

Unit 14Cred/fid • Cred – Latin “to believe” • Credence – mental acceptance of something as true or real • Creditable – worthy of praise • Credulity – readiness or willingness to believe on the basis of little evidence • Creed – statement of basic beliefs of a religious faith

Unit 14 • Fid – Latin “faith” • Affidavit – sworn statement made in writing • Diffident – lacking confidence, timid, cautious • Fiduciary – confidence or trust or held in trust for another • Perfidy – faithlessness, disloyalty, treachery

Unit 15curr, curs/ped • Curr/curs – Latin for “to run” • Concurrent – happening or operating at the same time • Cursory – hastily and often carelessly done • Discursive – passing from one topic to another • Precursor – one that goes before and indicates the coming of another

Unit 15 • Ped – Latin for “foot” • Expedient – suitable for bringing about a desired result (often without regard for what is fair or right) • Expedite – to speed up the process or progress of • Impediment – something that interferes with movement or progress • Pedestrian – commonplace, ordinary, or unimaginative

Unit 16flect,flex/post • Flect/flex – Latin “to bend” • Deflect – to turn aside, especially from a straight or fixed course • Flexor – a muscle that bends a part of the body such as arm or leg • Genuflect – to kneel on one knee and then rise in an act of respect • Inflection – a change in pitch, tone, or loudness of the voice

Unit 16 • Post – Latin for “after” or “behind” • Posterior – situated toward or on the back; rear • Posthumous – published after the death of the author; happening after one’s death • Postmodern – the architectural and literary movement that is a reaction against modernism • Postmortem – occurring after death/ following the event

Unit 17Words from Mythology • Calypso – a folk song or style of singing of West Indian origin • Odyssey – a long, wandering journey full of trials and adventures; a spiritual journey or quest • Palladium – a precious, silver-white metal used in electrical contacts • Penelope – a modest domestic wife

Unit 17 • Procrustean – ruthlessly disregarding individual differences or special circumstances • Protean – displaying great versatility or variety • Sibyl – a female prophet or fortune-teller • Siren – a woman who tempts men with bewitching sweetness

British Literature