Lesson 7: Creature Comforts

Let's build our vocabulary starting with words from the Latin root DOMUS, meaning "house." These words relate to homes and family life.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• The family's official domicile was listed as an apartment in the city, even though they spent summers in the countryside.
• While dogs are domestic animals, wolves are wild and not suited for living in a human household.

🧠Memory Trick

• The homeowner wanted to create a peaceful domicile for her domestic pets.

Now, let's look at words from DOMINUS, the Latin word for "master" or "lord." These words are all about control, power, and territory.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• The manager was firm but careful not to domineer over the new employees, instead offering guidance.
• The queen's dominion extended across the entire continent, covering a vast area of influence.

🧠Memory Trick

• The king's dominion was his entire domain, and he would often domineer over his subjects.

Feeling sleepy? The root DORMIO, DORMIRE means "to sleep," giving us a word for things that are inactive or resting.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• The volcano had been dormant for centuries, so the villagers were shocked when it began to show signs of activity.
• Her talent for drawing lay dormant until she took an art class and rediscovered her passion.

🧠Memory Trick

• During the winter, the bear's creative abilities remained dormant as it slept soundly in its cave.

Like DORMIO, the Latin root SOMNUS also means "sleep." These words describe sleepiness and actions done while sleeping.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• After the big holiday meal, a somnolent feeling crept over the entire family, and many dozed off on the couch.
• The parents installed a gate at the top of the stairs to protect their child, who had a tendency to somnambulate at night.

🧠Memory Trick

• The somnolent patient, feeling very drowsy, began to somnambulate quietly down the hospital hallway.

Time to clean up our vocabulary with words from LAVO, LAVARE, the Latin root for "to wash."

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• In many cultures, performing a ritual ablution is a way to cleanse oneself before a religious ceremony.
• When the new video game was released, the servers were hit with a deluge of traffic from eager players.

🧠Memory Trick

• After the sudden deluge soaked him in mud, the camper performed a quick ablution in the nearby stream.

Let's get dressed with words from the Latin root VESTIS, meaning "garment." These words relate to clothing, ceremony, and having a special interest.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• The school play was a travesty of the original story, with a nonsensical plot and forgotten lines.
• Upon entering office, the mayor had to divest herself of her shares in the company to avoid a conflict of interest.
• Everyone in the town has a vested interest in keeping the local parks clean and safe.

🧠Memory Trick

• It would be a travesty if the new judge, at his formal investiture, decided to divest himself of the traditional black vestment, a symbol of his vested authority.