APLIT Vocab Exam!

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dichotomy

a division between two different things or ideas that people see as being spread; a pair of opposites; a binary

orign of dichotomy

it started in Greece, where dikho meant “in two parts” and tomia meant “to cut”

liminality

the inbetween phase of a transition or two distinct ideas or states of being; liminal as in liminal space

origin of liminality

it started in Latin where the word “limen” meant threshold (the doorway between two spaces), which is why threshold is often used as a metaphor for liminality

metonymy

a figurative device where a single associated element or something is used to stand for the larger concept

origin of metonymy

from Greek where metonomia meant “a change of name”

synecdoche

a figurative device where a part of a thing is used to represent the whole thing; a more specific version of metonymy

origin of synecdoche

from Greek where synekdokhe meant “to take up together”

ikigai

a person’s reason for being; the convergence of a person’s personal passions, beliefs, values, and work

origin of Ikigai

comes from Japanese where it means “the value of being alive”; iki means life and -gai means work values

raison d’etre

the most important reason of purpose for something or someone’s existence

origin of raison d’etre

from french where it means the reason to be

crone

an old woman that is thin and ugly; may be characterized as malicious or sinister and is often associated with supernatural that makes her helpful

spinster

an unmarried woman, typically an elder woman, beyond the usual age of marriage

origin of crone

from Middle Dutch/ old Northern French, related to words like carcass or carrion

origin of spinster

from English, means the one who spins; the idea is that an older unmarried woman is having to provide for herself, it has a sexist undertone

demur

to object to something, especially because you are morally opposed to it

origin of demur

from French/Latin, “demorari” meaning to linger/to delay

demure

describing a person as shy, describing someone’s clothign as modest

origin of demure

from French/Latin’s “demorari” but the word evolved into English and took a different meaning

jovial

describing a mood or behavior as cheerful and friendly

origin of jovial

from Medieval Latin, used for the king of the Roman goods, Jove, being born under the sign of Jove makes the person cheery

saturnine

describing a mood that is sluggish and gloomy; a person who is mysterious and wears dark colors

origin of saturnine

from Medieval Latin, if you were born under the sign of Saturn, you are likely to be sad and gloomy

fathom

a unit of depth equal to about six feet; to measure the depth of water up to 6ft; to understand a difficult problem after thinking it through as “unfathomable”

origin of fathom

from the Old English word delfar which means to dig

hubris

excessive pride or self-confidence

origin of hubris

from Greek, is associated with mythology that relates to defiance to the gods with consequences

chutzpah

shameless audacity, extreme confidence, impudence

oriring of chutzpah

from Yiddish, originally based on a Hebrew word that meant insolence

tempest

a violent and windy storm

origin of tempest

from Latin; tempus means time or season; went from a weather word to refering to a dangerous storm

maelstrom

a powerful whirlpool in the sea or river; a situation of confusing motion or violent chaos-like a huge crowd

origin of maelstrom

from early Dutch where malen means grind/whirl and stroom means stream; according to a legend, there was a giant whirlpool in Norway that destroyed ships in viking times

prelapsarian

describing or pertaining to any innocent or carefree period; referring to a time before things got bad

origin of prelapsarian

from Latin; “before fall”, referring to the Biblical fall and grace from the expulsion from the Garden of Eden

antediluvian

belonging to ancient times; old fashioned or outdated

origin of antediluvian

from Latin, ante meaning before and delivium meaning flood; the word is a reference to the Biblical Great Flood

sylvan

related to the woods/forest

origin of sylvan

from the Roman god Sylvanus’ name, the protector of the forest and cattle; has a magical connotation

bucolic

relating to the pleasant aspects of the country life

origin of bucolic

from Latin where bucolius meant a herder of cows; has a light and pure connotation

egregious

shockingly bad; standing out as negative

gregorious

very sociable, extroverted

origin of egregious

from Latin; ‘out from” and meaning “flock” as in a flock of sheep

origin of gregorious

from latin; greg meaning flock, a flock of people

labyrinthic

like a maze or labyrinth; irregular and twisting; intricate and confusing

origin of labyrinthic

from the word labyrinth as in the labyrinth of Crete which was built to house the mighty Minotaur

circuitous

describing a path or journey that is longer than the most direct path; an indirect way of saying something

origin of circuitous

“the way around”, relates to circles and circuits

psychopomp

a mythical figure who guides souls of dead into the underworld

origin of psychopomp

from Greek; psycho means soul and pompus means guide

chtonic

relating to mythological underworldsf

origin of chtonic

from Grek; khtlon means beneath the earth

rule of three

a principle of writing that states that audiences find things instictively more satisfying in pairs of three than when they occur in other numbers

origin of rule of three

Aristotle is the first scholar that observed and recorded the rule of three in “The Rhetoric”, the concept applies to trios, slogans, essays, etc.

macguffin

an object in a story that is necessary to motivate characters in the plot, the nature of the object itself is not that important and may not even be identified

origin of macguffin

Hitchcock popularized the term and technique; it has been used in Legends of King Arthur and the Quest for the Holy Grail

sanguine

optimistic or positive especially in an appreantly bad or difficult situation

origin of sanguine

ancient scholars believed that people’s blood and illnesses were all determined by the balance of bodily fluid called the 4 Humours; comes from sangue (Latin) which means blood

phlegmatic

describing a person with an unemotional and calm disposition

origin of phlegmatic

comes from the 4 Humours; if you had a predominance of phlegm in your body, it mad eyou behave calmly

abyss

a deep or seemingly bottomless pit; depths or the ocean; the regions of Hell

origin of abyss

from Greek where a- means without and busous means depth

inferno

a large fire that is dangerously out of control; hell (reference from Dante’s Divine Comedy)

origin of inferno

from Latin, refers to Hell

hecatomb

a massive loss of life for some purpose; an intentional sacrifice of a large number of living things

origin of hecatomb

metaphor that comes from Greek; a massive loss of life for some purpose; an intentional sacrifice of a large number of living things; hexaton means hundred and bout means bull; in Ancient Greece, important events requires a large sacrifice to the gods

diaspora

a community of people who are scattered away from their original homeland; people in exile

orign of diaspora

from Greek where dia means across and sperein means to scatter→ to dispere

cataclysm

a largescale destructive event usually in the natural world; a major natural disaster the scale of an extinction

origin of cataclysm

from Greek where kata means down and kluzan means to wash _> to wash down; the Greek word for deluge is kataslums

apocalypse

an event including destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale

origin of apocalypse

from Greek apokaluptein means to uncover or remove the veil, it used to refer to meaning to uncover the great truth

futile

unable to produce meaningful results; pointless, useless

origin of futile

from Latin where futilis means leaky; has a metaphorical orgin

sisyphean

describing a task that can nver be completed; a repetive task that has to be done over and over again; a job that feels pointless

origin of sisyphean

Sisyphus was a trickster in Greek mythology that tried to cheat death; the gods punished him by forcing him to push up a rock up a mountain that was cursed to make him repeat it

narcissist

a person that is obsessed with themselves

origin of narcissist

comes from ROman god Narcissus, who was cursed byt he gods for having loved himself too much and rejecting a nymph over himself, he was cursed to fall in love with himself and drowned after trying to kiss a reflection of himself in the water

sycophant

a person who sucks up to a more powerful person in order to gain an advantage

origin of sycophant

from Greek sukon means fig and phairein means to show; a person who shows you a fig

vagabond

a person who wanders from place to place without a home/job; has a romantic connotation

origin of vagabond

from Latin, vagari means to wander; has the same root word as vague which means confused

lothario

a person, usually a man, who behaves irresponsibly in sexual relationships; uses his partners but doesn’t treat them with respect

origin of lothario

comes from a 1703 play called The Fair Persistent, lothario in that play was a seducer

ingenue

an innocent or unsophisticated young woman, especially in a work of fiction; may be a damsel in distress

origin of ingenue

from French, originally meant to be native-bornwhich xenophobes believed to be pure and innocent

cynic

a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons; a person that follows the philosophy of cynism

origin of cynic

cynism is a school of thought in Ancient Greece founded by Antisthenes inthe 3rd Century BC.

bloviate

to talk for a long time about something kind of empty or pointless

origin of bloviate

started as a slang term in the 1800s related to blow (people that talk too much); popularized by President Warren G harding

harangue

to lecture someone for a long time in ana agressive way; a long and agressive speech

origin of harangue

from Old Italian aringo is a public square where people give public speeches at, even angry speeches; related to hring (a ring or circle)

numinous

supernatural; having an atmosphere of spirituality, presence of divinity

origin of numinous

from Latin, numen meaning divine will and a good of the head

ineffable

too great ti be described in words; unspeakable

origin of ineffable

from Latin, ineffibillis means not and effabillis means capable of being expressed