Ch 2.2: Unit 5

Let's start with some fun—this group comes from the Latin root JOC, meaning "joke."

Key Words

Example Usage

• The teacher's jocose comments about the quiz helped to ease the students' anxiety before the test began.
• My normally serious uncle becomes surprisingly jocular whenever we play card games together.

Word Spark

• jocose: Think of a group of old friends laughing loudly together over a shared memory.
• jocular: Like your dad making a series of silly puns at the dinner table just to see everyone smile.

Get ready to celebrate, because this group is built on the Latin root FEST/FET, meaning "festive."

Key Words

Example Usage

• For the spring festival, the entire town square was festooned with colorful streamers and paper lanterns.
• The winning team was feted by the city with a parade and a grand celebration in their honor.

Word Spark

• festoon: Imagine hanging strings of popcorn and lights all over a Christmas tree.
• fete: Think of a company throwing a huge, fancy dinner party for its most successful employee.

This group of words comes from BACCHUS, the Roman god of wine and wild celebration.

Key Words

Example Usage

• The neighbors called the police to complain about the bacchic noise coming from the graduation party next door.
• What started as a small get-together devolved into a chaotic bacchanal that lasted until dawn.

Word Spark

• bacchic: Picture a concert where the crowd is dancing with wild, unrestrained energy.
• bacchanal: Think of a New Year's Eve party that has gotten completely out of control, with loud music and people everywhere.

Now for a change of mood, these words come from the Latin root PLAINT, meaning "to lament."

Key Words

Example Usage

• The lost puppy let out a plaintive cry, hoping its owner would hear it.
• The knight's plaint was a song about his lost love and the sorrow it brought him.

Word Spark

• plaintive: Like the lonely, high-pitched whistle of a train passing in the middle of the night.
• plaint: Think of a sad poem someone writes after a painful breakup, full of their feelings of loss.

This final group of words explores sorrow through the Greek root ELEG, meaning "song of lament."

Key Words

Example Usage

• At the funeral, the poet read a moving elegy she had written for her grandfather.
• His speech had an elegiac quality, as he remembered the happy days of his youth that were now gone forever.

Word Spark

• elegy: Imagine a beautiful, sad song played on a cello to honor a hero who has passed away.
• elegiac: Think of looking through an old photo album and feeling a sweet sadness for the moments that are gone.