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1. Mentor - noun
Pronounciation: men-tawr
Meaning: a wise and trusted counsellor or teacher
Date: 1750
Facts: from Gk. Mentor, character in the "Odyssey," friend of Odysseus, adviser of Telemachus (often actually Athene in disguise), perhaps ult. meaning "adviser," since the name appears to be an agent noun of mentos "intent, purpose, spirit, passion"
2. Peace - noun
Pronounciation: pees
Meaning: an agreement or treaty between warring or antagonistic nations, groups, etc., to end hostilities and abstain from further fighting or antagonism
Date: 1140
Facts: from Anglo-Norm. pes, from O.Fr. pais (11c., Fr. paix), from L. pacem (nom. pax) "treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of war" (cf. Prov. patz, Sp. paz, It. pace), from PIE *pak- "fasten," related to pacisci "to covenant or agree" (see pact). Replaced O.E. friš, also sibb, which also meant "happiness." Modern spelling is 1500s, reflecting vowel shift. Sense in peace of mind is from c.1200. Used in various greetings from c.1300, from Biblical L. pax, Gk. eirene, which were used by translators to render Heb. shalom, properly "safety, welfare, prosperity." Sense of "quiet" is attested by 1300; meaning "absence or cessation of war or hostility" is attested from 1297.
3. Intrigue - verb
Pronounciation: in-treeg
Meaning: to arouse the curiosity or interest of by unusual, new, or otherwise fascinating or compelling qualities; appeal strongly to; captivate:
Date: 1612
Facts: from Fr. intriguer, from It. intrigare "to plot, meddle," from L. intricare "entangle" Meaning "to plot or scheme" first recorded 1714. The noun is from 1647. Intriguing "exciting interest" is from 1909.
4. Calculate - verb
Pronounciation: kal-kyuh-leyt
Meaning: to determine or ascertain by mathematical methods
Date: -
Facts: Comes from calculus, the Latin word for pebble. In Ancient Rome, as in Ancient Greece, pebbles were used in the abacus or counting frame in order to carry out basic arithmetic computations
5. Apple - noun
Pronounciation: ap-uhl
Meaning: usually the round, red or yellow edible fruit of a smalll tree
Date: -
Facts: These words, which all mean the same thing, should be explained one at a time, as they come from different sources. In regard to apple, all European languages other than the Romance languages, ie., the great majority of Indo-European languages, including the Celtic tongues, use a word with a root ap, ab, af or av for apples and apple trees: aballo (Celtic), apple(Eng.), Apfel (Germ.), aeppel (Old Eng.), abhal (Irish Gaelic), epli (Icelandic), afal (Welsh), jabloko (Russian), and jablko (Polish). In regard to pomme, this French term comes from the Latin pomum, which originally referred to all fruit. Before Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire some time in the 4th. Century, the Latin word malum (melon in Greek) meant "apple." After the adoption of Christianity, however, and due to the important symbolism of the apple in the bible (ie, the Garden of Eden), the general term pomum, "fruit," was used to describe the apple as "the fruit of fruits." In regard to manzana, this Spanish term comes from the Iberian pronunciation of matiana, a Gallo-Roman translation of the Latin word matianum, which was a scented, golden apple first raised by and named after Matius, a friend of Caesar's who was also a cookbook author ["Apple" Footnote: The French village of Avallon (in the Yonne area), where there are a lot of apple trees, received its name from the legend of the sacred island of Avalon or Abalon, meaning "Apple Orchard"--incidentally, the "-on" suffix is an "augmentative" and explains the origin of the name of the Pacific shellfish "Abalone"--that is, "big apple."].
6. Cantaloupe - noun
Pronounciation: kan-tl-ohp
Meaning: a variety of melon
Date: -
Facts: From "singing wolf." It seems the melon was first grown in a town in Italy called Cantaluppi. The town was once a summer residence of the popes.
7. Carnival - noun
Pronounciation: kahr-nuh-vulh
Meaning: a tavelling amusement show
Date: -
Facts: Literal meaning: "Flesh, farewell." The "val" ending does not derive from Latin "vale". Modern Italian "carnevale" comes from Old Italian "carnelevare"; levare = raise, put away, remove. Carnival originally refered to the traditional, pre-Lenten feast (like Mardi Gras) after which people usually fasted.
8. Candidate - noun
Pronounciation: kan-di-deyt
Meaning: a person who seeks an office, honor
Date: -
Facts: From the Latin Candidus word meaning, "bright, shining, glistening white." The ancient Roman candidates for office would wear bright white togas. This same word also gave rise to "candid," which candidates rarely are.
9. Beserk - adjective
Pronounciation: be-zurk
Meaning: violently or destuctively frenzied
Date: -
Facts: most likely comes from the Old Icelandic "berserkr," meaning "bear shirt." This refers to Scandinavian warriors who wore, quite literally, bear shirts which they thought would render them invincible. I believe the Icelandic term evolves from Scandinavian, "bjorn sherkr,"
10. Escape - verb
Pronounciation: i-skeyp
Meaning: to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint
Date: -
Facts: In Latin, escape means "out of cape." The ancient Romans would often avoid capture by throwing off their capes when fleeing.
11. Essay - noun
Pronounciation: es-ey
Meaning: a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative
Date: -
Facts: The English noun essay comes from the French verb "essayer," to try. Early intellectuals believed their papers to be only a modest attempt to put their I deas on paper.
12. Jeans - noun
Pronounciation: jee-nz
Meaning: clothing
Date: -
Facts: Genoa-called "Gene" by sixteenth-century Europeans--was the first city to make denim cloth for jeans. The pants were named after the city.
13. Library - noun
Pronounciation: lahy-brer-ee
Meaning: a place set apart to contain books, periodicals, and other material for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference, as a room, set of rooms, or building where books may be read or borrowed.
Date: -
Facts: From the Latin word, Liber-with a long I-meaning, "to peel," which would refer to the inner bark of a tree. Early manuscripts were writen on these bark, and from this bark we get the modern word "Library."
14. Malaria - noun
Pronounciation: muh-lair-ee-uh
Meaning: Pathology. any of a group of diseases, usually intermittent or remittent, characterized by attacks of chills, fever, and sweating: formerly supposed to be due to swamp exhalations but now known to be caused by a parasitic protozoan, which is transferred to the human bloodstream by a mosquito of the genus Anopheles and which occupies and destroys red blood cells
Date: -
Facts: From the medieval Italian "mal'" (bad) and "aria" (air), describing the miasma from the swamps around Rome in the summer months, believed to be the cause of fevers.
15. Money - noun
Pronounciation: muhn-ee
Meaning: any circulating medium of exchange, including coins, paper money, and demand deposits.
Date: -
Facts: From the Latin word "moneta" which originally meaning, "warning."
16. October - noun
Pronounciation: okt-oh-ber
Meaning: the tenth month of the year containing 31 days
Date: -
Facts: From the Latin octu(m), meaning "eight," and imber, meaning "rain." Same "imber" in September.
17. Parliament - noun
Pronounciation: pahr-luh-ment
Meaning: the legislature of Great Britain, historically the assembly of the three estates, now composed of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal, forming together the House of Lords, and representatives of the counties, cities, boroughs, and universities, forming the House of Commons.
Date: -
Facts: From the French, "Parler," meaning, "to speak." Thus, we can not complain when our politicians do little other than "speak."
18. Abacus - noun
Pronounciation: ab-uh-kuhs
Meaning: a device for making arithmetic calculations
Date: -
Facts: Comes from the Greek word abax, which means "sand tray." Originally, columns of pebbles were laid out on the sand for purposes of counting
19. Addict - noun
Pronounciation: ad-ikt
Meaning: to cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on
Date: -
Facts: Slaves given to Roman soldiers to reward them for performance in battle were known as addicts. Eventually, a person who was a slave to anything became known as an addict.
20. Assasin - noun
Pronounciation: uh-sas-in
Meaning: a murderer, esp. one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.
Date: -
Facts: From the old Arabic word "hashshshin," which meant, "someone who is addicted to hash," that is, marijuana. Originally refered to a group of warriors who would smoke up before battle.
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