Vocabulary #2Definitions, Part of Speach, Synonyms, Etymology

labyrinth (LAB uh rinth) • Noun• complex, intricate network of passages,

complicated situations: maze• Synonyms: maze, tangle, conundrum (kuh

NUN drum)A large maze built to hold the Minotaur; perhaps related to Lydian labrys "double-edged axe," symbol of royal power, which fits with the theory that the labyrinth was originally the royal Minoan palace on Crete and meant "palace of the double-axe”

Machiavellian - (make e uh VEL ee un) • adjective• unprincipled and crafty• Synonyms: cunning, crafty, deceitful, guileful

(GYLE ful)

• Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Florentine statesman and author of "Del Principe," a work advising rulers to place advantage above morality.

laconic - (luh KON ik) • Adjective• brief, concise• Synonyms: brief, to the point, concise, terse

(TURS)

• Lakonia, the district around Sparta in southern Greece in ancient times, whose inhabitants were famously proud of their brevity of speech:• Ex: When Philip of Macedon threatened them

with, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground," the Spartans' reply was, "If."

Lethargic - (Luh THAR jik)

• adjective• lazy, sluggish, lacking energy• Synonyms: drowsy, torpid (TOR pid)

• Latin lethargia; Greek lethargia originally "inactive through forgetfulness," from lethe "forgetfulness"

ostracize (OS truh size)

• Verb• exclude from society, refuse to associate with,

banish• Synonyms: reject, isolate, shun (SHUN)• a method of 10-year banishment in ancient Athens, by

which the citizens gathered and wrote the names of men they deemed dangerous to the state on potsherds or tiles, and a man whose name turned up often enough was sent away.

• From Gk. ostrakismos," related to osteon "bone," ostreion "oyster".

Root Words• junct – to join

• Conjunction, adjunct

• graph – to write• biography, autograph

• cid – to kill• Homicide, insecticide

• aud – to hear• Audio, audience

• here, hes- to stick• Adhere, adhesive