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 hospes meaning “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