English 9 vocab

1. titanic (adj)

• Greek; Titans were lawless, powerful giants who once ruled Earth. Cronus was the leader, and he was overthrown by his son, Zeus.

Definition – of enormous strength, size, or power

Arachnid (n)

• Origin- Greek; After the story of Arachne, a woman who challenged Athena to a weaving contest. Arachne won but humiliated the gods, so Athena turned her into a spider.

Definition- A type of small animal with eight legs and a split body.

martial (adj

• Origin – Roman; from Mars, God of war (Ares in Greek)

• Definition – warlike; pertaining to war

odyssey (n)

• Origin- Greek; The word odyssey comes from the poem The Odyssey written by Homer, it describes the journey of the Greek war hero Odysseus returning home to Ithaca. 

• Definition - An odyssey is a long, wandering, and adventurous journey filled with heavy trials, changes, and challenges.

panic (n)

• Origin- Greek; originates from the Greek God pan, the god of shepherds and wild places. Pan was known for his ability to instill panic or fear into people.

• Definition- sudden, irrational fear

jovial (adj)

• Origin- Roman word jovialis meaning Jupiter Roman god (greek god Zeus)

• Definition: Super cheerful, jolly, and full of high spirits

lethargic (adj)

• Origin-Greek, from Lethe, river in Hades whose water caused forgetfulness of the pass

• Definition: Sluggishness, drowsiness or lack of energy

chronology (n)

• Origin - Greek; Chronos was the name of a Greek personification of time (different from Cronus, the Titan).

• Definition - The arrangement of events in the order they happened in.

ambrosial (adj)

• Origin-Greek;Derived from ambrosia meaning "immortality" or the mythical food of the Greek gods.

• Definition-exceptionally pleasing to the taste or smell, delicious, or worthy of the gods./

labyrinthine (adj)

Origin:  It originates from the Greek word labyrinthos. It also comes 

                                    from the Latin word labyrinthus. An example is when Daedalus 

                                    was the first human labyrinth to hide the monotaur.

                Definition:  This word is often used when something is complex or confusing.                   

accept/except

• Accept - to take or receive something offered, to agree to an invitation, or to believe and recognize something as true

• Except - mainly functions as a preposition or conjunction meaning “excluding”, “leaving out”, or “other than”. It shows that one person, thing or event is not part of a general statement

• Way to remember:

  • Accept = Agree → Both start with A.

    • “I accept your apology.” = I agree to receive it. 

  • Except = Exclude → EXclude and EXcept both start with EX.

    • “Everyone came except Jake.” = Jake was excluded.

allusion/illusion

• Allusion – an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference

• Illusion – Something that looks, sounds, or feels like something it is not, or a false idea that a person believes is true

• Way to remember:

  • Allusion = Actual; allusions are from actual references (stories, events, people, etc)

  • Illusion = Imaginary; illusions are tricks (magic tricks, visual tricks, etc)

complement/compliment

• Complement - Something that makes something else better. Enhances, completes, makes perfect.

  • Trick to remember: Complement has an E instead of an I. The E is for enhances.

• Compliment - A polite remark or action that says something nice about somebody.

  • Trick to remember: Compliment has an I instead of an E, I is for I compliment someone