1. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each
of the following pairs. In each blank of the illustrative sentences insert
the word appropriate in meaning.
<Ability, capacity.> ____ to receive knowledge. ____ to impart
knowledge.
<Abstain, refrain.> He ____ from laughter. He steadfastly ____ from
evil courses.
<Abstinence, temperance.> Though he always displayed ____, he did not
carry it to the point of ____.
<Accept, except.> I shall ____ most of the suggestions, but must ____
the one made by Mr. Wheeler.
<Accept, receive>. When the package was ____ at the local post
office, Bayard refused to ____ it.
<Ache, pain>. The dull ____ of his head. A sharp ____ below
shoulder-blade. I have known the ____ of cold hands. "My heart ____, and
a drowsy numbness ____ My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk."
<Address, tact>. With firmness and ____ he set about reconciling the
factions. Her ____ enabled her to perceive that something was amiss.
<Adhere, cohere>. The magnetized iron filings ____. The cold iron
____ to the boy's tongue.
<Adherence, adhesion>. The ____ of the heated particles to each other
was instantaneous. Amid these trials their ____ to the cause was unshaken.
<Admission, admittance>. His ____ to the room was forced. He obtained
____ into a fraternal order.
<Admit, confess>. When he ____ that he had a weapon, he practically
____ that he had slain the man.
<Adverse, averse>. He was ____ to going. Their answer was ____.
<Advice, counsel>. In this emergency he sought ____. He asked my ____
as to the best place to hang the picture.
<Aggravate, irritate>. To let these mishaps ____ you is to ____ your
suffering.
<Allusion, illusion>. It is an ____ to suppose that I made any ____
to you.
<Allusion, reference>. It was more than a possible ____; it was an
unmistakable ____.
<Amateur, novice>. Though we call him a(n) ____, he is in skill by no
means the ____ you might think him.
<Ambiguous, equivocal>. You are unintentionally ____. These words are
deliberately ____.
<Anticipate, expect>. Since we ____ the enemy to advance, would it
not be wise to ____ him?
<Appearance, aspect>. He was handsome in ____. The ____ of the sky
was ominous.
<Apprehend, comprehend>. "Lovers and madmen have such seething
brains, Such shaping fantasies, that ____ More than cool reason ever
____."
<Ardor, fervor>. The ____ of the worshipers. The ____ of the
soldiers.
<Artist, artisan>. The ____ who was decorating the walls called to an
____ who was mixing mortar.
<Ascent, ascension>. We easily made the ____ of the slope, and from
the summit witnessed the balloon ____.
<Ascent, assent.> He gave his ____ when I proposed that we wait for
the others to complete the ____ to this point.
<Ascribe, impute.> I ____ it to you as a fault rather than ____ it to
you as an honor.
<Assembly, assemblage.> It was an informal ____. The ____ considered
the matters it had been called to discuss.
<Assent, consent.> When told that the measure would advance his
interests, he ____; but he would not ____ to it.
<Avenge, revenge.> The injury was slight, but he ____ it with
unsparing malice. "____, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints."
<Avocation, vocation.> The lawyer, besides his regular ____, had the
collecting of birds' eggs as his ____.
<Aware, conscious.> Though not ____ of the seriousness of his malady,
he was ____ of the pain it caused him.
<Balance, remainder.> Darrell added the ____ of the coins, but not
even they brought about the ____ he sought between assets and obligations.
<Bashful, modest.> Though ____ socially, he was not what you would
term a ____ man.
<Behavior, conduct.> His ____ in this time of trial was exemplary.
She praised the ____ of the children at the party.
<Belief, faith.> He possibly had ____, but not an active ____.
<Benignant, benign.> Her social manner was ____. The ____ influence
of sunlight.
<Beside, besides.> ____ his personal friends, many people he had not
even met stood ____ his sickbed.
<Blanch, whiten.> At this threat the face of the heroine ____. With a
pail of cheap paint he ____ the dingy wall.
<Blessing, benediction.> After telling his parishioners to be mindful
of their ____, the clergyman pronounced the ____.
<Blockade, siege.> Daily attacks on exposed redoubts marked the
progress of the ____. The fleet lay there in silent ____ of the port.
<Bravery, bravado.> The incident proved that his ____ was not founded
in real ____.
<Bring, fetch.> When you come, ____ the official documents with you.
____ me the scales you will find in the granary yonder.
<Broad, wide.> A man with ____ shoulders stood in the ____, open
doorway.
<Bury, inter.> After they had solemnly ____ their comrade, they ____
the treasure. They also ____ their comrade's dog.
2. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members of each
of the following pairs. Determine whether the words are correctly used in
the illustrative sentences. (Some are; some are not.)
<Can, may.> Can I stay at home this afternoon, papa? Because of the
floods, the train beyond doubt may not get through.
<Character, reputation.> His character among them was very good. A
man's reputation can never be taken from him.
<Childish, childlike.> Your conduct is peevish; it is childishly so.
Her innocence was childlike.
<Cite, quote.> He was always citing snatches of Tennyson. We might
quote Hamlet's soliloquy on suicide as an example of Shakespeare's ability
to go to the heart of deep questions.
<Claim, assert.> He claimed that Jefferson was our third President.
He asserted that bears sleep through the winter.
<Clothing, costume.> At the masquerade ball we each wore special
clothing. The mariner who had swum from the wreck to the desert shore had
not a shred of costume.
<Comfort, ease.> Comfort after labor. The ease of owning a home.
<Commercial, mercantile.> Petty commercial transactions. A mercantile
treaty.
<Common, mutual.> This pavilion was the common play-house for the
children of the neighborhood. Ward and Aker held this property as their
mutual possession.
<Complement, compliment.> This addition is the complement of our
quota. He paid his dancing partner a compliment.
<Complement, supplement.> His downrightness is the complement of his
uprightness. As a supplement to his wages he received an occasional bonus.
<Complete, finish.> He put in the completing touches. He had finished
the task.
<Composure, equanimity.> His composure was not to be shaken. After
this inner tumult came equanimity.
<Comprehensible, comprehensive.> Numbers of such magnitude are
scarcely comprehensible. That men by the million should die for a cause is
a thing not really comprehensive.
<Compulsion, obligation.> Who does not feel within him a compulsion
to help the weak? It was through obligation, through having slave-drivers
stand over them, that these wretched folk built the pyramids.
<Congratulate, felicitate.> I congratulated my friend on his
appointment to the commission. I also felicitated the stranger on his
appointment.
<Consecutive, successive.> Three consecutive convictions proved the
ability of the prosecuting attorney. The quiet passing of successive
summer days.
<Contemptible, contemptuous.> Its size was insignificant, even
contemptible. He won the prize by a contemptuous trick.
<Continuation, continuance.> The investigator was surprised to find
the tradition of such long continuation. We waited impatiently for the
continuance of the story in the next issue.
<Corporal, corporeal.> I am more and more amazed at the perfection of
man's corporal frame. His corporeal vigor was unusual.
<Correct, rectify.> A man may correct many of his false judgments on
current affairs by studying history. The mistake is ours; it shall be
rectified.
<Cozy, snug.> The cozy fit of a garment. A snug place by the fire.
<Crawl, creep.> We crawled forward at dawn to surprise their
outposts. In his humility he fairly crept on the earth.
<Credible, creditable.> I do not doubt it; it is entirely credible.
The success of the antidote seemed scarcely creditable.
<Credit, accredit.> Though he is the official and credited
ambassador, his assertions are not accredited.
<Cure, heal.> I cured the dog's wounds. The physician declared he
could heal leprosy.
<Custom, habit.> "A custom more honor'd in the breach than the
observance." Is it your custom to watch the clock while you eat? The habit
in that region was to rise at cockcrow.
<Decided, decisive.> A decided battle. A decisive fault in manners.
<Definite, definitive.> We still await a definite edition of this
author's works. His answer was so definitive that we no longer doubted
what he meant.
<Demesne, domain.> Clive added India to the British demesne.
The king went riding through his personal domain.
<Deprecate, depreciate.> The German mark has deprecated in value. He
depreciated the praise they were lavishing upon him.
<Descent, dissent.> They tied themselves together with a rope in
order to make their dissent safer. The dissent to a lower plane of
conversation was what he most desired.
<Discovery, invention.> The discovery of the wireless telegraph is
Marconi's chief claim to remembrance. The invention of a water passage
between Tierra del Fuego and the mainland was the work of Magellan.
<Discriminate, distinguish.> He could not discriminate individuals at
that distance. Any man can distinguish right from wrong.
<Disinterested, uninterested.> His course was entirely generous and
disinterested. Most visitors to art galleries have an uninterested manner.
<Disposal, disposition.> This disposal of the matter is
authoritative, final. His disposition of his forces was well-considered.
<Dissatisfied, discontented.> Though the colonists were dissatisfied
for the moment, they could hardly be called discontented.
<Distinct, distinctive.> The distinct quality of his character was
aggressiveness. There were four separate and distinctive calls.
<Dramatic, theatrical.> An affected, dramatic manner. A truly
theatrical situation.
<Dry, arid.> A dry plain. An arid place to sleep in.
<Dumb, mute.> The man stood dumb with surprise. Always be kind to
mute animals.
<Durable, lasting.> Our joy is durable. Oak is a lasting wood.
3. Consult the dictionary for the distinction between the members
of each of the following pairs. Frame sentences to illustrate
the correct use of the words. (Some of the words in this list,
as well as some in other parts of the chapter, are considered in
larger groups in the chapters following.)
earth, world efficiency, efficacy
egoism, egotism eldest, oldest
elemental, elementary elude, evade
emigrate, immigrate enough, sufficient
envy, jealousy equable, equitable
equal, equivalent essential, necessary
esteem, respect euphemism, euphuism
evidence, proof exact, precise
exchange, interchange excuse, pardon
exempt, immune expect, suppose
expedite, facilitate
facsimile, copy familiar, intimate
fancy, imagination farther, further
feeling, sentiment feminine, effeminate
fervent, fervid fewer, less
fluid, liquid first (or last) two, two first (or last)
food, feed foreign, alien
force, strength forgive, pardon
gayety, cheerfulness genius, talent
gentle, tame genuine, authentic
glance, glimpse grateful, thankful
grieve, mourn
hanged, hung happen, transpire
happiness, pleasure healthy, healthful
hear, listen heathen, pagan
honorable, honorary horrible, horrid
human, humane
illegible, unreadable image, effigy
imaginary, imaginative impending, approaching
imperious, imperial imply, infer
in, into inability, disability
ingenious, ingenuous intelligent, intellectual
insinuation, innuendo instinct, intuition
involve, implicate irony, sarcasm
irretrievable, irreparable
judicious, judicial just, equitable
justify, warrant
lack, want languor, lassitude
later, latter lawful, legal
lax, slack leave, let
lend, loan liable, likely
libel, slander lie, lay
like, love linger, loiter
look, see loose, lose
luxurious, luxuriant
majority, plurality marine, maritime
martial, military moderate, temperate
mood, humor moral, ethical
moral, religious mutual, reciprocal
myth, legend
natal, native nautical, naval
near, close necessaries, necessities
needy, needful noted, notorious
novice, tyro
observance, observation observe, perceive
obsolete, archaic omnipresent, ubiquitous
on, upon oppose, resist
opposite, contrary oppress, depress
palliate, extenuate passionate, impassioned
pathos, pity patron, customer
peculiar, unusual perspicuity, perspicacity
permeate, pervade permit, allow
perseverance, persistence pertain, appertain
pictorial, picturesque pitiable, pitiful
pity, sympathy pleasant, pleasing
politician, statesman practicable, practical
precipitous, precipitate precision, preciseness
prejudice, bias prelude, overture
pride, vanity principal, principle
process, procedure procure, secure
professor, teacher progress, progression
propitious, auspicious proposal, proposition
tradition, legend truth, veracity
quiet, quiescent
raise, rear raise, rise
ransom, redeem rare, scarce
reason, understanding reasonable, rational
recollect, remember regal, royal
reliable, trustworthy requirement, requisite
restive, restless reverse, inverse
ride, drive rime (or rhyme), rhythm
sacred, holy salutation, salute
scanty, sparse scholar, student
science, art scrupulous, conscientious
serf, slave shift, expedient
sick, ill silent, taciturn
sit, set skilled, skilful
slender, slim smart, clever
sociable, social solicitude, anxiety
stay, stop stimulus, stimulation
strut, swagger suppress, repress
termination, terminus theory, hypothesis
tolerate, permit torment, torture
tradition, legend truth, veracity
unbelief, disbelief unique, unusual
varied, various variety, diversity
venal, venial vengeance, revenge
verse, stanza vindictive, revengeful
visit, visitation visitant, visitor
wander, stray warn, caution
will, volition wit, humor
witness, see womanish, womanlike
worth, value
<Parallels>
Pairs of the third type are made up of words parallel in meaning. This
class somewhat overlaps the second; many terms that are frequently
confused are parallels, and parallelism is of course a cause of confusion.
Parallels are words that show likeness in meaning. Likeness, not sameness.
Yet at one time actual sameness may have existed, and in many instances
did. Nowadays this sameness has been lost, and the words have become
differentiated. As a rule they still are closely related in thought;
sometimes, however, the divergence between them is wide.
Why did words having the same meaning find lodgment in the language in the
first place? The law of linguistic economy forbids any such happening, and
only through sheer good fortune did English come to possess duplications.
The original Anglo-Saxon did not contain them. But the Roman Catholic
clergy brought to England the language of religion and of scholarship,
Latin. Later the Normans, whose speech as a branch of French was an
offshoot of Latin, came to the island as conquerors. For a time,
therefore, three languages existed side by side in the country--Anglo-
Saxon among the common folk, Latin among the clergy, and Norman-French at
the court and among the nobility. The coalescing of the three (or of the
two if we count Latin in its direct and indirect contributions as one) was
inevitable. But other (mostly cognate) languages also had a part in the
speech that was ultimately evolved. The Anglo-Saxon element was
augmented by words from Dutch, Scandinavian, and the Germanic tongues in
general; and Latin was reinforced by Greek. Thus to imply, as is
sometimes done, that modern English is simply a blend of Anglo-Saxon and
Latin elements is misleading. _Native_ and _classic_ are the better
terms to use, provided both are used broadly. _Native_ must include not
only Anglo-Saxon but the other Germanic elements as well, and _classic_
must include French and Greek as well as Latin.
The welding of these languages made available two--in some instances more
than two--words for a single object or idea. What became of these
duplicates? Sometimes one of the words was dropped as needless.
Oftentimes, however, both were retained--with such modifications in
meaning that thereafter they designated, not the same object or idea, but
different forms or aspects of it. Thus they became parallels, and the new
language waxed rich with discriminations which neither of the component
tongues had possessed.
Scott in _Ivanhoe_ gives the basis upon which the unification of the
languages proceeded. The jester Wamba in conversation with the swineherd
Gurth explains how the Anglo-Saxon term took on the homelier, rougher,
more workaday uses and left the more refined and fastidious uses for the
Norman-French. A domestic animal, says Wamba, was cared for by the
conquered people, and in consequence bore while living a "good Saxon"
name--swine, ox, or calf; but it was served at the tables of the
conquerors, and therefore when ready for consumption bore a "good
Norman-French" name--pork, beef, or veal. "When the brute [a sow] lives,
and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes
Norman and is called pork, when she is carried into the castle hall to
feast among the nobles.... He [a calf] is Saxon when he requires tendance,
and takes a Norman name [Monsieur de Veau] when he becomes matter of
enjoyment."
Let us see how Scott's contention fares if we extend his list of terms
relative to animal life. As throughout the rest of this chapter, with the
single and necessary exception of List B, the first word in each pair is
native, the second classic:
<LIST A>
sheep, mutton deer, venison horse, equine
cow, bovine bull, taurine sheep, ovine
wolf, lupine hog, porcine bear, ursine
fox, vulpine cat, feline dog, canine
fish, piscatorial mouse, vermin rat, rodent
mankind, humanity man, masculine woman, feminine
childish, infantile boyish, puerile
A glance at this list will show that, at least as regards animal life, the
native word is likely to be the more familiar and unpretentious. But we
must not leap to the conclusion that, taking the language as a whole, the
simple, easy word is sure to be native, the abstruse word classic. In the
following list one word in each pair is simpler, oftentimes much simpler,
than the other; yet both are of classic origin. (In some instances the two
are doublets; that is, they spring from the same stem.)
<LIST B>
boil, effervesce plenty, abundance force, coerce
clear, transparent sound, reverberate echo, reverberate
toil, labor false, perfidious prove, verify
join, unite join, annex try, endeavor
carry, convey save, preserve save, rescue
safe, secure poor, pauper poor, penurious
poor, impecunious native, indigenous strange, extraneous
excuse, palliate excusable, venial cannon, ordnance
corpse, cadaverous parish, parochial fool, stultify
fool, idiot rule, govern governor, gubernatorial
wages, salary nice, exquisite haughty, arrogant
letter, epistle pursue, prosecute use, utility
use, utilize rival, competitor male, masculine
female, feminine beauty, esthetics beauty, pulchritude
beautify, embellish poison, venom vote, franchise
vote, suffrage taste, gust tasteful, gustatory
tasteless, insipid flower, floral count, compute
cowardly, pusillanimous tent, pavilion money, finance
monetary, pecuniary trace, vestige face, countenance
turn, revolve bottle, vial grease, lubricant
oily, unctuous revive, resuscitate faultless, impeccable
scourge, flagellate power, puissance barber, tonsorial
bishop, episcopal carry, portable fruitful, prolific
punish, punitive scar, cicatrix hostile, inimical
choice, option cry, vociferate ease, facility
peaceful, pacific beast, animal chasten, castigate
round, rotunda imprison, incarcerate bowels, viscera
boil, ebullient city, municipal color, chromatics
nervous, neurotic pleasing, delectable accidental, fortuitous
change, mutation lazy, indolent fragrance, aroma
pay, compensate face, physiognomy joy, rapture
charitable, eleemosynary blame, blaspheme priest, presbyter
coy, quiet prudent, provident pupil, disciple
story, narrative pause, interval despise, abhor
doctor, physician fate, destiny country, rustic
aged, senile increase, increment gentle, genteel
clear, apparent eagle, aquiline motion, momentum
nourishment, nutrition pure, unadulterated closeness, proximity
number, notation ancestors, progenitors confirm, corroborate
convert, proselyte benediction, benison treasury, thesaurus
egotism, megalomania
Sometimes the native word is less familiar than the classic:
<LIST C>
seethe, boil loam, soil fare, travel
abide, remain bestow, present bestow, deposit
din, noise quern, mill learner, scholar
shamefaced, modest hue, color tarnish, stain
ween, expect leech, physician shield, protect
steadfast, firm withstand, resist straightway, immediately
dwelling, residence heft, gravity delve, excavate
forthright, direct tidings, report bower, chamber
rune, letter borough, city baleful, destructive
gainsay, contradict cleave, divide hearten, encourage
hoard, treasure
Again, the native word is sometimes less emphatic than the classic:
<LIST D>
fly, soar old, venerable flood, cataclysm
steep, precipitous wonder, astonishment speed, velocity
sparkle, scintillate stir, commotion stir, agitate
strike, collide learned, erudite small, diminutive
scare, terrify burn, combustion fire, conflagration
fall, collapse uproot, eradicate skin, excoriate
hate, abominate work, labor bright, brilliant
hungry, famished eat, devour twisted, contorted
thin, emaciated sad, lugubrious mirth, hilarity
Despite these exceptions, the native word is in general better known
and more crudely powerful than the classic. Thus of the pair
_sweat-perspiration_, _sweat_ is the plain-spoken, everyday member,
_perspiration_ the polite, even learned member. The man of limited
vocabulary says _sweat_; even the sophisticated person, unless there
is occasion to soften effects, finds _sweat_ the more natural term.
No one would say that a horse perspires. No one would say that human
beings must eat their bread in the perspiration of their faces. But
_sweat_ is a word of connotation too vigorous (though honest withal)
for us to use the term in the drawing room. A questionable woman in _The
Vicar of Wakefield_ betrays her lack of breeding by the remark that she
is in a muck of sweat.
The native word, besides being in itself simpler and starker than the
classic, makes stronger appeal to our feelings and affections. In nearly
every instance the objects and relationships that have woven themselves
into the very texture of our lives are designated by native terms. Even if
they are not so designated solely, they are so designated in their more
cherished aspects. We warm more to the native _fatherly_ than to the
classic _paternal_. We have a deeper sentiment for the native
_home_ than for the classic _residence_.
That the native is the more downright term may be seen from the following
words. (These pairs are of course merely illustrative. With them might be
grouped a few special pairs, like _devilish-diabolical_ and
_church_-_ecclesiastical_, of which the first members are
classic in origin but of such early naturalization into English that they
may be regarded as native.)
<LIST E>
belly, stomach belly, abdomen navel, umbilicus
suck, nurse naked, nude murder, homicide
dead, deceased dead, defunct dying, moribund
lust, salacity lewd, libidinous read, peruse
lie, prevaricate hearty, cordial following, subsequent
crowd, multitude chew, masticate food, pabulum
eat, regale meal, repast meal, refection
thrift, economy sleepy, soporific slumberous, somnolent
live, reside rot, putrefy swelling, protuberant
soak, saturate soak, absorb stinking, malodorous
spit, saliva spit, expectorate thievishness, kleptomania
belch, eructate sticky, adhesive house, domicile
eye, optic walker, pedestrian talkative, loquacious
talkative, garrulous wisdom, sapience bodily, corporeal
name, appellation finger, digit show, ostentation
nearness, propinquity wash, lave handwriting, chirography
waves, undulations shady, umbrageous fat, corpulent
muddy, turbid widow, relict horseback, equestrian
weight, avoirdupois blush, erubescence
The word of classic origin in many instances survives only or mainly in
the form of an adjective; as a noun (or other part of speech) it has
completely or largely disappeared. This fact may be observed in lists
already given, particularly List A. It may also be observed in the
following words:
<LIST F>
moon, lunar star, stellar star, sidereal
sun, solar earth, terrestrial world, mundane
heaven, celestial hell, infernal earthquake, seismic
ear, aural head, capital hand, manual
foot, pedal breast, pectoral heart, cardial
hip, sciatic tail, caudal throat, guttural
lung, pulmonary bone, osseous hair, hirsute
tearful, lachrymose early, primitive sweet, dulcet,
sweet, saccharine young, juvenile bloody, sanguinary
deadly, mortal red, florid bank, riparian
hard, arduous wound, vulnerable written, graphic
spotless, immaculate sell, mercenary son, filial
salt, saline meal, farinaceous wood, ligneous
wood, sylvan cloud, nebulous glass, vitreous
milk, lacteal water, aquatic stone, lapidary
gold, aureous silver, argent iron, ferric
honey, mellifluous loving, amatory loving, erotic
loving, amiable wedded, hymeneal plow, arable
priestly, sacerdotal arrow, sagittal wholesome, salubrious
warlike, bellicose timely, temporary fiery, igneous
ring, annular soap, saponaceous nestling, nidulant
snore, stertorous window, fenestral twilight, crepuscular
soot, fuliginous hunter, venatorial
The fact that English is a double-barreled language, and that of parallel
terms one is likely to be native and the other classic, is interesting in
itself. Our lists of parallels, however, though (with the exception of
List B) they are arranged to bring out this duality of origin, have other
and more vital uses as material for exercises. For after all it matters
little whether we know where a word comes from, provided we know
thoroughly the meaning and implications of the word itself. The lists
already given and those to follow show the more important words actually
yoked as parallels. Your task must be to ascertain the differences in
import between the words thus joined.