STEMS/ROOTS, DEFINIT IONS, AND ASSOCIAT ION WORDS

Vocabulary Unit 15

Phos (light)

Phosphorus: a nonmetalic element of the nitrogne family that produces light Phosphorous is known to be a light-producing

element.

Gon (angle)

Pentagon: a polygon having 5 angles and 5 sides The Pentagon, located in Washington, D.C., has very

unique architecture.

Lite (mineral)

Perlite: a volcanic glass Melissa brought me a perlite ornament from her trip

to Mount Saint Helen’s.

Vor (eat)

Voracious: craving or consuming large quantities of food Margie’s voracious reading caused her to make many

trips to the library.

Holo (whole) Caust (burn)

Holocaust: a great or complete devastation or destruction; the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II During the Holocaust, many Jewish bodies were

burned in crematories.

Haplo (single)

Haploid: single; simple; pertaining to a single set of chromosomes Kristen’s biology teacher taught her that haploids only

have one set of chromosomes.

Ef (out) Ent (full of)

Effluent: flowing out or forth The wastewater plant malfunctioned, thus allowing the

effluent to flow into a stream.

Rub (red) Ium (Element)

Rubidium: a silver-white, metallic, active element used in photoelectric cells If you place rubidium over an open flame, the flame

will turn red.

Dicho (in two parts) tomy (cut)

Dichotomy: division into two parts; diversion into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups The teacher said that Ben exhibits a dichotomy

between what he tells his mother and his efforts in school, meaning that he says one thing but does another.

Saur (lizard)

Dinosaur: any chiefly terrestrial, herbivorous or carnivorous reptile from the Mesozoic Era, some of which are the largest known land animals. When Johnny was a little boy, he loved dinosaurs, and

how he owns seven lizards.

Calli (beauty) graph (writing)

Calligraphy: fancy penmanship, especially highly decorative handwriting with many flourishes Most wedding invitations are written in calligraphy.

Macro (large) cephalo (head)

Macrocephalic: being or having a large head. My friend jokes that her son is macrocephalic.

Chiro (hand)

Chiromancy: the art or practice of telling fortunes and interpreting character from the lines and configurations of the palm of a person’s hand I always wanted to have my fortune told, so I finally

visited a chiromancy shop.

Terr (land)

Territorial: of or pertaining to territory or land; restricted to a particular district or land; defending an area against intruders Colonizers were often very territorial people, which

led them to acquiring lots of land.

Jur (Swear)

Jurisdiction: the right, power, or authority to administer justice by hearing and determining controversies; power, authority, or control; the extent or range of judicial law enforcement or other authority; territory over which authority is exercised The police officer was sworn in and agreed to protect

the people in his jurisdiction.

Flu (flow)

Fluency: spoken or written with ease Mr. French, the French teacher, asked his students to

work on their fluency by practicing outside of class.

Sine (without)

Sinecure: an office or position requiring little or no work, especially one yielding profitable returns Many students wish to find a sinecure position in

order to study at work.

Here (stick)

Incoherent: without logical or meaningful connection; disjointed; rambling Jamie’s mother argues that Jamie’s arguments are

incoherent and should be better organized.

Counter (against) pos (put)

Counterpose: to offer or place in opposition, response, or contrast Political debates often depend on each opponent’s

ability to counterpose the other’s opinions.

Mund (world)

Mundane: common, ordinary, banal, or unimaginative The football team thought that last year’s plays were

too mundane, making it easy for other teams to figure them out quickly.

cracy (government)

Democracy: government by the people; a form of government which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system Although the USA is a democracy, it has many

characteristics of a republic.

Assignment

Choose five association words and complete the following activity – it is due on Friday, when you take your test: Sentences: You will write five sentences each using one

association word and both of the following: the grammar concept a topic from any piece of literature we have studied

*In the end, your sentences will contain vocabulary, grammar, and literature.Example (my vocab term is “retribution”): In the play Medea, Medea gains retribution for Jason’s betrayal by killing their children.

*All work must be neat and the association words must be used correctly!