Roots: Crim : Latin : for "fault or crime" or "accusation"

 

Criminology: the study of crime, criminals, law enforcement, and punishment.

Criminologist: one who studies crime, criminals, law enforcement, and punishment.

The Movie "The Town" (2010, Directed by Ben Affleck) is about Charlestown, a neighborhood of Boston. Charlestown would make a good criminology study.  As depicted in the movie, Charlestown is notable mainly for its ability to churn out armed robbers, generation after generation.  Upon further research, there may be some real life truth to these allegations. Throughout the 1960s, all the way until the middle 1990s, Charlestown was infamous for its Irish Mob presence.  Most notorious of these gangsters were the McLaughlin Brothers.

Decriminalize: to remove or reduce the criminal status of.

In the late 1980s, many upper-middle class professionals moved to Charlestown, drawn to its proximity to downtown and its stylish colonial, red-brick, row-house housing. This gentrification process; some would say, marked the beginning of end of Charlestown as it was and its eventual decriminalization. Today the neighborhood is a mixture of classes- yet a working class Irish-American demographic and culture is said to still be predominant.  Given this setting, the central theme of the movie The Town is plausible, however the movie could also be depicted as a symbolic tribute to the decriminalization of the actual town.  Ben Affleck, the tainted protagonist Doug MacRay, plays a lower class Irish bank robber that falls in love with an upper class bank teller (Claire), portending his hidden desire to leave a life of crime (decriminalize), and thus his family, friends, and the town he has known since childhood.  In this battle between the old and the new, the bad and the good, the ugly and the beautiful, all the boundaries are unclear, except one: the code of silence.   

Incriminate: to show evidence of involvement in a crime or a fault.

While the center of the movie is about Doug MacRay's inner struggle, the exterior is wrapped in a typical action robbery caper, in which the annoying FBI, bound by duty to law,  attempt to capture and incriminate a group of bad, yet well constructed, clever, and lovable criminals.

Recrimination: An accusation in retaliation for an accusation made against oneself; the make of such an accusation.

As the story goes, in Charlestown criminals depend on a code of silence- those caught serve their time rather than turn in their friends, family, and neighbors- thus avoiding a slippery slope of recrimination in which one would turn another in, and in turn another would turn one in, in the end destroying all.  Immune from recrimination Doug MacRay (Affleck), James Coughlin, Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan and Desmond Elden, the four life long friends and criminals, are able to do many robberies without getting caught. However, everything changes when during a dicy bank job the four take an attractive bank teller (Claire) hostage to escape, only later to learn that she is a new resident of their very own town.  Thus as a new resident she is not a part of the towns history, therefore is not a criminal, knows not the code of silence, and thus owes no loyalty to them.  For fear that she might have seen or heard something that might reveal their identities and incriminate them, Doug (being the least thuggish, most attractive and clever) contrives to meet her to ensure she doesn't know who they are.  Doug follows her to try to find out what she knows.  But Doug falls for her, as she does for him. As the story proceeds to tangle, Doug needs to try and keep his true identity from her, keep the fact that he is seeing her from his friends, keep his friends happy, keep the mobsters who pull the strings happy, all the while remain true to his love for Claire and his desire to leave "The Town" with her.

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Roots: Plic : Latin : meaning "to fold"

Complicated: (many folds) 1. composed of elaborately interconnected parts. 2. difficult to analyze, understand, explain, untangle..

The movie Salt, a spy mystery thriller, is intentionally complicated; the plot has many folds to disguise whether or not the main character  Evelyn Salt (played by Angelina Jolie) is the protagonist or antagonist until the end of the movie.

Implicated: (wrapped up) 1. to show to be also involved, usually in an incriminating manner: to be implicated in a crime. 2. to fold or twist together; intertwine; interlace.

After shooting the Russian President, Salt is implicated with a plot by a Russian defector/spy Orlov to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Russia, putting into question  her allegiance to the CIA or to some other power.

Supplication: a humble and earnest request or prayer.  This word is usually used in the context of Religion; in a religious context all supplications are a declaration of allegiance to God.  

In the movie Salt, there is a flashback that shows us a group of Russian children being raised with the intention of manufacturing super spies with total allegiance to Orlov and his "Day X" plan. There are several scenes where the children, and then later adults, are shown kissing the ring of Orlov, apparently to demonstrate complete submission. Kissing a ring is a symbolic ritual of supplication.  Historically this kind of act was reserved for believed emissaries of God; Kings and Popes.

Explicit: (unwrapped, revealed) Fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied; unequivocal: explicit instructions; an explicit act of violence; explicit language.

Salt is Rated: PG13, because of explicit violence.

The movie begins with Salt captured by some Middle East government stretched out in her underwear and tortured to reveal her real identity and mission.  While this scene reveals nearly everything about her physically, it reveals nothing about who she is and what she has done or intends to do, foreshadowing the audiences journey with Salt through this movie and the primary mystery.

Implicit: (wrapped up in) 1. understood though not clearly put into words. 2. Being without doubt, absolute.

In shooting the Russian President Salt implicitly declares her allegiance to Orlov's plan to destroy the United States.

Explicate: (unfold) 1. to explain in detail. 2. to analyze logically and clearly.

Following the scene when Salt shoots the Russian President she has the opportunity to shoot a CIA agent to escape being captured and she doesn't. By explicating this situation in his mind over and over again, the CIA agent forms a hypothesis that by not taking the opportunity to shoot Salt was implicitly declaring allegiance to the CIA.

Replicate: to copy or reproduce.

I couldn't help but notice that by using the theme of an unknown, unpredictable spy the movie Salt replicated elements of another spy thriller; Bourne Identity.  The similarity implies to me the film company may want to replicate the prior success with the Bourne movies, as opposed to create, while disguising this mission with a female lead.  Whether or not the apparent repetition implicates the film company in a plot to extract easy money from audiences may be the more difficult and interesting mystery of this spy thriller.  It is said that Tom Cruise originally secured the lead role, but the script was re-written for Angelina Jolie. Very mysterious...

Budget	$110 million
Gross revenue	$293,500,614

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Roots: Rect : Latin: from "rectus" which meant "straight" or "right"

Rectangle: four sided figure whose parallel, straight sides meet at right angles.
In between fighting the young men set down their guns and dug a ditch and rocks and dirt into a rectangle enclosure that would become their makeshift home for more than a year.

Correct: to make it right.
The young men named a hard won strategic position Restrepo after one of the boys in their platoon who died on their deployment- the first- hoping that naming the outpost with his name could somehow correct, make right, or make the death of their beloved friend more meaningful.

Rectitude: 1. moral integrity. 2. correctness of procedure.
Despite facing difficult and cruel circumstances, including seeing their friends die, American soldiers are asked to act with rectitude to win the hearts and minds of the locals, which is believed to help them ultimately in their war against "bad guys".  The men of Restrepo soon learned the difficulty of identifying good guys and bad guys, and the right things to do in a situation as messy as war.

Rectify: 1. to set right. 2. to correct by removing errors; revise.
After the American soldiers killed a local cow, the locals asked the men of Restrepo to set the situation right by providing them with $500. Being unable to bring the cow back, or provide the locals with money, the soldiers offered the locals food the weight of the cow.

Rectilinear: 1. moving in or forming a straight line.  2. having many straight lines.
When in a gun fight, usually you don't want to travel in a predictable rectilinear way- usually it is advisable to zig zag.


Rectus: from Latin rectus musculus, may refer to any of several straight muscles, such as those of the abdomen. In one scene in Restrepo a soldier retells the story of how he was shot below his bullet proof vest (presumably through the Rectus muscles of his abdomen) and a moment later had a rocket fired at him, yet still managed to escape with his life.  Even when sometimes it seems nothing is going right, sometimes things just unpredictably do.  Sometimes the average (or lucky) soldier lives and the best soldiers die. The details of war are not linear or predictable- war is erratic.


Rector: 1. a clergyman in charge of a church or parish.
No one uses the word rector, however the role of a  rector (clergyman in charge) is  to help other people understand situations, actions, decisions, and consequences to either put their minds at ease, and in some cases help them do right more often than wrong in future situations.

While I have a great deal of admiration for the men and women who fight for the interests of their country, sometimes I question rectitude of fighting in Afghanistan or anywhere near the middle East.  I am not sure there is anything we can accomplish there that will rectify former atrocities or prevent future atrocities.  I hope I am wrong.  Respectfully, Restrepo does not attempt to answer this question but may put this question front and center in your mind.

Roots: AM / IM : Latin : from amare, "to love"

The easiest way to remember the root AM is to think of your best friend, because most of us know that Amigo is spanish for friend. When every you see AM there is something friendly there.  -- Hold on I will come back to this--  But for now, for example, Amiable means "friendly or good natured."

Amicable: friendly, peaceful.  The best people I have known are those that behave amicably in all company regardless of variance in lifestyle, viewpoint, or language even if at odds with their personal preference or opinion.

Inimical: hostile, unfriendly, or harmful.  The "in-" prefex negates the meaning of the root "-im-".  Hence, Inimical means "not friendly".  Eminem?  Em (not) em =  them ems nobody, he's slim shady.  Regardless, Eminem, Marshal Mathers, impact has been to grow larger audience for the music genre Rap by telling stories through lyrics at a cadence that can be understood - also by drawing a white audience, regardless of social stratus, into a domain that was previously the exclusive domain of minorities.  While he is held inimically by many for being just another rap bad boy; I argue he is just misconstrued; you just don't understand him

Speaking of of misconstrued.  Emma, Em ma (ma; am in reverse) by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women while creating a lively 'comedy of manners' among her characters.  However, before she began writing Emma, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like." In the very first sentence she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." As the novel proceeds we learn Emma is spoiled; vows to never marry (because she doesn't need to); she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is as blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives as she is to the men in her life and the impact of her actions on others.  Yet, as the story proceeds Austen successfully demonstrates how or views of anyone can change as she transforms Emma into someone lovable. Does Emma find love?  You will have to read the story to find out.

Enamored: charmed or fascinated; inflamed with love.  At this point you are probably wondering if I am more enamored with Jane Austen or Eminem. I assure you the relationships are merely Platonic.

Paramour:  a lover.  The "Par-" prefix means "by or through."  So it means an attachment by or through love, as opposed to by social custom or ceremony.  Ironically it has come to mean a lover in secret.  Personally, I believe there are too many marriages driven by what is presumed to be the universally correct sequence of events of life, without enough thought about one's place in this world, objectives, or the consequences of one's actions- which reminds me of Eminem and Emma?  Is there hope for us yet- can we find true love? That's all we want, isn't it?

In one of the most famous quotes in the Torah/Bible, when asked who is, God said, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh" (Hebrew), which is interpreted in English to mean I am that or who I am. Which if I may intrude, using my new found Latin root, this could mean "I love that I love" or "I am love because I love", or just "I am love". Or maybe he was just trying to illusive. Real Torah scholars say that this divine name is mysterious just as God is mystery. It is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name, and hence it better expresses God as what he is - infinitely above everything that we can understand or say: he is the "hidden God", his name is ineffable (not understandable), and yet by producing this name he is the God who makes himself close to men. And we get all that from 3 letters: I AM.

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Roots: Hosp / Host : Latin : from hospes, hospit- meaning "host" and "guest"

Hospital: if you study the history of this word it was once a house for religious pilgrims and travelers, then a home for old people, and finally now a place where sick people go.  We all know this word.

Hospitality: what a good host or hostess offers a guest. We don't all know this word.

Hospice: a place or program to help care for the terminally ill.  Actually, you would be surprised how few people know this word. Some families of people who are told to transfer their elderly grandmother or grandfather to a "Hospice" don't realize the doctor is telling them that they have given up and their beloved is going to die.  I love the people who work at Hospices- these are real heros. A doctor, fireman, or police officer don't expect to go into work every day to find death and carnage- you expect to find it occasionally and mostly to prevent it.  People who work in hospice go into work knowing what they must face- the mortality of human life.

Hostel: an inexpensive, supervised place for young travelers to stay overnight.  This is like the closest thing to a dollar bill found in an old jacket that you are going to get.  Suppose you are barely graduated from high school or college (maybe not yet) and you have a few hundred dollars to live on for a couple of months. You want to see Europe. On one side of the street you see a, I don't know, Hilton. On the other, a place where you can stay for $20 where they have bunk beds and vintage 1960 sofas where you can hang out with people who are well traveled, aspiring writers, hippies, and/or occasional ax murders. Still, I would opt for the Hostel.

Inhospitable: 1. not welcoming or generous.  2. Providing no shelter or food - i.e. think desert or life raft in the middle of the ocean.  While if one has a life threatoning condition for which there is no current explanation one might want to go see Dr. Gregory House the brilliant, unconventional, yet misanthropic doctor in the T.V. series "House", his character is about as inhospitable to patients as he could be.  As the story goes, they keep him around because he is effective, not polite.

Hostage: a person given or held to ensure that an agreement, demand, or treaty is kept or fulfilled.  As recently as Oct. 2010 a $750,000 ransom was paid to release a British couple taken hostage by pirates. Not a lot is know about the person who paid the ransom; the British government previously released this statement: "The government will not make substantive concessions for hostage takers, including the payments of ransom." British officials said negotiating with hostage takers would only encourage more kidnappings. Meanwhile, for a year this poor British couple were forced to sit around with bearded men drinking rum, playing cards, while occasionally being forced to cook or clean the deck for them. What a terribly inhospitable life.  Thank god they were rescued.  Hargh.

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This or That? : Incipient or Insipient

InCipient.  Incipient means emerging, developing, or initial.  Usage: “Don’t be a hater; this blog is still only in an incipient state.”

Not to be confused with:

InSipient.  Insipient means stupid or foolish.  Usage: “Mike, quit playing around with your insipient blogs and get down here” (My wife Lisa says this nearly every day)

Insipient is based on Insipid, with means “dull or without flavor”.  Usage: "My 1 year old rambunctious Labrador, Frieda, refuses to eat her dog food, which she considers to be insipid; she prefers instead whatever it is that I am eating"   

Which reminds me, Cip and Cep, which take the same meaning as cap and capt are English word roots based on the Latin word Capio, which means "hold," "take," "seize."  When writing you want to capture, or "seize", your audiences imagination or thought process. This may be perfectly legitimate, whereas deception is a similar word that indicates you have "taken" them by fraud.  Good con artists know how to captivate their mark (unsuspecting victim), that is they "hold" them with charm. 

The movie Inception, with Leonardo DeCaprio, is based on the premise that the protagonist has a method to travel into his target's mind through a shared dream, where he is free from the normal restraints of time and space, to plant an idea, to manipulate an action in the "real" world, to capture a prize.  In this movie the use of "Inception" is the ultimate form of deception, however we learn this space poses as great a risk to the deceiver as to the deceived, for the very reason that it is effective in the first place- it is shared. 

Are you as confused as I?  We must "take hold" of some fixed object to remind us where we are so so we can return to "reality." For me that object is my handy dictionary, which brings me back.

According to Webster's Dictionary, Inception means, "an act, process, or instance of beginning (alpha, birth, dawn, genesis)," and this will blow your mind: objective means, "relating to or existing as an object of thought without consideration of independent existence" or "relating to, or being an object or phenomenon in the realm of sensible experience independent of individual thought and perceptible by all observers : having reality independent of the mind." 

I guess all I need to do is find a way to convince my puppy that her dog food is objectively tasty.

The movie is long, however it is worth it- it is definitely not insipid.

Roots : Dis / Dif : Latin : meaning "apart"

In English its meanings have expanded to include, "do the opposite of" "deprive of" "exclude or expel from" the opposite or absence of" "not" and "completely". Ironically we have taken a concise Latin meaning and broken it apart.


Diffraction: 1. the bending or spreading of a beam of light. (applies to anything that travels in waves)
"fract" means "broken". So diffraction means broken apart.

Disseminate: to spread widely.
"seminare" means "to sow".  Seminare in turn comes from the laten "semen" which means "seed".   So Disseminate means to sow by spreading widely apart.  Imagine a primitive farmer scattering seeds by tossing handfuls.  I would suggest that our influence on the world can be extended in two ways: through the children we procreate and through the ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. we disseminate.  As I naturally think about the meaning of life; I see this is karma and/or metaphysically how we live after death.  We were born of those who came before us; their flesh AND their ideas, and we will in turn pass something on to the future. So be careful of your words- they are like your children.

Dissention: disagreement in opinion.  Do you agree or disagree with my words above.  Disagreement would be Dissension.  You dissent from either my description of the word or the meaning of life. It's o.k.

Distracted: having attention diverted.

"Tract" means "drag or draw."  So distracted means drawn away or drawn in different directions.

I blame distraction for long periods of neglect of this blog; and also my inability to complete any of my various projects. I'm a good starter, not a good finisher- my many interests distract me- pull me in different directions.

Dissipate.  1. to cause to spread out to the point of vanishing. 2. to spend wastefully or foolishly; squander.

Dissipate suggests a gradual disintegration as if by crumbling or breaking apart into tiny pieces.  Think of tiny excited molecules bumping into each other, spreading outward until there are so many bumps the excitement is reduced.  This is heat.  If you are in a cold environment you need to bundle in dense material to try to contain the heat; to try to get those molecules to stay in one place and keep bumping into each other.  You don't want to allow your heat to dissipate completely or in other words, waste it.  You, and your time are dissipating like the universe.  You want to make the most of it- don't fritter it away- focus.

Reflection II from Datdatdat / A. N. Fischer on Vimeo.

Roots: Err: Latin : from errare, means "to wander" or "stray"

Error: wandering or straying from what is correct or true.

Erratum: a mistake in a book or publication.

Aberrant: straying or differing from the right, normal, or natural type.

Errant: 1. wandering or moving about aimlessly. 2. straying outside proper bounds, or away from a an accepted or pattern or standard.

Erratic:  1. having no fixed course. 2. lacking consistency.

Erroneous: mistaken, incorrect.

Roots : Art : Latin : from "skill" or "cleverness"

Artful: 1. Skillful. 2. Wily, crafty, sly.

Have you noticed my attempts to be artful in my selection of movie posters for this blog?

Artifact: a simple object, such as a tool or ornament, made by human workmanship or modification.

Some anthropologists believe that the ability to produce and use artifacts are what make us human. (and also successful)

Artifice: 1. Clever skill. 2. Clever Trick.

There is a secret part of me that admires the artifice of an intelligent criminal.

Artisan: a skilled worker or craft person.

Kevin Spacey displayed that he is a true artisan actor in The Usual Suspects.

Artless: 1. ignorant, unskillful. 2. Free from guile, or stratagem.  

"So full of artless jealousy is guilt, it spills itself in fearing to be spilt." William Shakespeare

Roots : Cur : Latin : from curare, meaning "care for"

Manicure: care of the hands.

Pedicure: care of the feet.

Have you noticed that after 1 million years, Dinosaur skeletons are badly in need of a manicure and pedicure?

Curative: having to do with curing diseases.

Curator: someone in care of something where things are on exhibit, such as an art collection or a zoo.

Curators must have a wide variety of knowledge regarding the objects of their specialty, be it antiquities or animals.  They wish to put together an enlightening display or show for people.

Procure: to get possession of, to obtain.

Museum curators, procure art and artifacts for the museum- they purchase or borrow objects, and in so doing, keep them pristine and accessible to the public.

Sinecure: a job or position requiring little work but usually providing some income.

With Latin prefix sine, "without", it means "without care."   The scarecrow in the musical 'Wicked' (based loosely on the Wizard of Oz) might be described as a sinecure.  People of royalty are true sinecures.  Ben Stiller's character in the Movie, "Night at the Museum" thought being a security guard at a museum would be a sinecure; it turned out to be just the opposite.

Roots : Luc : Latin: from lux for "light" and lucere "to shine"

Lucent: 1. giving off light. 2. easily seen through.

Lucid: clear in meaning. As if light were shining through it.

I hope the definitions I provide in my vocabulary blog are lucid.

Lucubration: 1. hard and difficult study. 2. the product of hard study.

Lucubration is a word that initially meant, 'study by lamplight'. You had to be pretty motivated to keep studying after dark in a time before electricity, hence its meaning, "hard study".  If you know anyone who has studied for the bar they could explain. 

Translucent: partly transparent.  i.e. light can partially shine through.  

A good thief, con-artist, or criminal of any type would NOT be translucent although would attempt to appear as such.  

Elucidate: to clarify by explaining. Explain.  "to shed light on"

Let me elucidate the name Lucifer.

Lucifer: "light-bearer" or the name Satan had before he fell from heaven.

Myth holds that Satan was once God's right hand man, whose job it was to bring light, but he was eventually thrown from heaven because of his insubordinate pride.  When I think of something that produces light I think about the sun. The sun seems pretty important: it holds our planet in place, produces much of the light we see, enables all living things on this planet to survive, and has even occasionally been worshiped as a God.  Similarly Lucifer, a creation of God, thought he was more important than God.  Demonstrating poetic irony, God damns Lucifer to hell, the hottest and most fiery place in the universe.  I don't know what images this conjures for you but this reminds me of the sun.

Roots : Popul : Latin : "People"

Population: the people of an area.
The Census is a national government survey that attempts to determine the actual size and characteristics of the population.  A census survey is one that goes to an entire population. A random sample survey only goes to a random selection of individuals.  For most scientific questions random sample surveys have proven to predict the response of the larger population within 1 to 5% points of error and they cost a lot less money.


Popular: 1. liked by many people. 2. relating to the general public.
I was never popular in school.  I kept to myself and typically went to work immediately after school or wrestling practice, depending on the season.  My first party I attended was the summer after I graduated from High School.  Very untypical I was not popular by any definition.

Popular culture: the culture of the general public.
Popular culture comes and goes.  Just ask, Brett Michaels.

Populist: A believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people.
Once it was its own political party, now it seems everyone wants to get in on the Populist game.  Democrats and Republicans trade barbs that the other is not as Populist as they are.  "I'm more populist than you are!"

Populace: 1. the common people or masses. 2. population.
The populace requires large amounts of sports programming, sitcoms, and reality t.v. to lull it into complacency or it will could break out into pandemonium.

Populous: numerous, densely settled, or having large population.
New York City is populous, Casper Wyoming is not.

Vox Populi: the voice of the people. From the latin "vox pouli, vox Dei" or "the voice of the people is the voice of God".Vox populi is an important underpinning of democracy.

Roots : Pac / Peas : Latin : "Agree" and "Peace"

Pacify: 1. to sooth anger or agitation. 2. to subdue by armed action.

Gandhi and his followers could not be pacified; they eventually won India's freedom from British rule.

Pacifist: a person opposed to war or violence, especially someone who refuses to bear arms or to flight, on moral or religious grounds.

Clearly Gandhi was a pacifist; his tactics were peaceful non-violent protests and moral persuasion.

Pact: an agreement between two or more people or groups; a treaty or formal agreement between nations to deal with a problem or resolve a dispute.

The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is an agreement between the 16 members of the European Union (EU) that take part in the Eurozone, to facilitate and maintain the stability of the Economic and Monetary Union.  

Appease: to make peaceful and quiet; to calm, satisfy.

Appeasing usually involves giving something, whereas pacifying can refer to anything from rocking a baby to using armed force to stop an uprising.

Roots : Bell : Latin: "war"

Antebellum: existing before war.  [In the U.S. we think about this as the period before the Civil War.]

Bellicose: warlike, aggressive, quarrelsome.

Our youngest cat, Sawyer, is often bellicose with the other animals that live in our home, including but not limited to: Milo (our old grey blind deaf clawless cat), Frieda (our rambunctious 9 month old black lab), Lisa, myself, and anything else that moves, or doesn't move, or is covered with fur (including sofas).

Belligerence: aggressiveness, combativeness.

Our old cat, Milo, while not prone to belligerence, can become a warrior of amazing powers when rebellion breaks out in the household.  He is the enforcer of peace and equanimity.

Rebellion: open defiance and opposition to a person or thing of authority.

While Lisa and I currently laugh at Frieda's attempts at rebellion, we are concerned we might be lulled into a sense of complacency by a relatively easy antebellum period prior to her imminent increase in size.

[Bellona was the goddess of war, her husband Mars was the god of war.]

Roots : Vest : Latin : from vestire, "to clothe" or "to dress"

Also, vestis, noun, "clothing or garment"

Divest: 1. to get rid of or free oneself of property, authority, or title. 2. to strip of clothing, ornaments, or equipment.

I was grateful to divest myself completely from real-estate as I saw Arizona real-estate values decline with no abatement in sight (30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%...).  Homes declining 70%, huh?  Is this the stock market?

Investiture: The formal placing of someone in office. Term originally referred to the new clothing placed upon someone taking office symbolizing power.  Picture kings, popes, bishops, etc.

Transvestite: a person who wears the clothing and adopts the mannerisms of the opposite sex.

Begins with the prefix "trans," meaning "cross",  thus in Latin transvestite is literally "cross dresser".

Travesty: 1. an inferior or distorted imitation.  2. a broadly comic imitation in drama, literature, or art that is grotesque and ridiculous.

Like transvestite, however less specific, it means "to disguise" in Latin.  The Daily Show by John Stuart specializes in Political Travesty.  I occasionally hear people use tragedy and travesty interchangeably- for the record, travesty does not mean tragedy and tragedy does not mean travesty.  9/11 was not a travesty- the guy caught on an airplane years after this event with a bomb in his underwear was a travesty.

Roots : Umbr : Latin : from umbra, "shadow"

Umbrella: "little shadow".

Adumbrate: 1. to give a sketchy outline or disclose in part. 2. to hint or foretell. Foreshadow.

The first two novels/movies of the Twilight series only adumbrate the relationship of Bella and Edward.

Penumbra: 1. the partial shadow surrounding a complete shadow, as in an eclipse. 2. the fringe or surrounding area where something exists less fully.  Penumbra can be used to describe any gray area where things are not black or white.

Stephanie Meyer, the author of the twilight series, keeps the interest of her audience by moving in and out of  penumbra with Bella's emotions and her relationship with her male intrigues.

Umber: a darkish brown mineral containing manganese and iron oxides used for coloring paint. Produces a color that is greenish brown to dark reddish brown.

The blue green waters of the sea turn umber as a thick oily fluid bled to the surface adumbrating some monster below.

Umbrage: a feeling of resentment at some slight or insult, often one that is imagined rather than real.  A shadowy suspicion.

Being rather emotionally dumb, the male species often have no idea how to deal with their female counterparts many umbrages.

Roots : Ut / Us : Latin : from uti "to use, make use of, employ"

Also related Latin adjective utilis, "useful fit"

Useful: 1. serviceable for an end or purpose. 2. of value.

Abuse: improper use.

Reuse: to use again.

Usefruct: 1. the right to use or enjoy something. 2. the legal right of using or enjoying the products or profits of something that belongs to someone else. Originally "usus et fructus, meaning, "use and enjoyment"

In the movie Office Space, Peter Gibbons, attempts to explain his plot to defraud Initech out of money by suggesting it was simply like using those spare pennies that are placed in front of a cash register for usefruct.

Example: the best situation in the game Monopoly is to trade an opponent property for something you need, but in addition requiring usefruct (ability to land on the property rent free) for the remainder of the game.

"The earth belongs in usufruct to the living." Thomas Jefferson.

Usury: the lending of money with a fee charged for its use, especially lending for an unusually high fee.

Controversial for over 3600 years, way to go Moses:

Leviticus 25:35-37 — And if thy brother become poor, and impoverished with thee, then thou shalt relieve him; yes, even if he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money with usury, nor lend him thy food for increase.

Utilitarian: 1. aiming at usefulness rather than beauty. 2. useful for a specific purpose or end

Milton's red stapler must have been more symbolic than utilitarian.

However, I like this definition from Wikipedia: Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its utility in providing happiness or pleasure as summed among all sentient beings.  



I would argue that a subplot of Office Space was the exploration of utilitarianism through Peter Gibbon's life, company, and work.  For example, was it more utilitarian to destroy the office printer than to have the office continue using it?  

Utility: 1. usefulness. 2. a government-regulated business providing for a public service.

Roots : Fac / Fec / Fic : Latin : from Facere "to make or do"

Benefactor: someone who does good. Bene = good. Benefactor is a Good-do-or.

Manufacture: to make (usually in a factory). People in factories do things- they manufacture.

Confection: 1. a sweet food. 2. a piece of fine craftsmanship. A confection is confected- skillful combination of several ingredients. You do this and you could get a tasty piece of cake.

Facile: 1. easily accomplished. 2. shallow, superficial. "low hanging fruit" is a nice way of saying facile. In the business world they are always looking for "low hanging fruit". Example. Having exhausted all the facile public ideas to stop the oil from leaking into the Gulf, BP put their hope in the more time consuming and difficult process of drilling 'relief wells'.

Olfactory: having to do with the sense of smell. Ol is derived from olere, meaning "to smell". There are people that get paid for their olfactory ability.

Proficient: skilled in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge. You need to do something a lot to become proficient in it. In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell, argues that if you want to become really proficient at something you just need to spend at least 10,000 hours doing it.

Root: Volu / Volv : Latin : from Volvere "to roll, wind, turn around or twist"

Revolve "turn in circles"

Devolution: 1. the transfer of rights, powers, property, or responsibility to others, especially from the central to local government. 2. evolution toward an earlier or lower state. I do not like it when my closet devolves from organized system to a heap of dirty and crumpled clothing on the floor.

Evolution: a process of change from a lower, simpler, or worse state to one that is higher, more complex, or better.

 "There is nothing sadder in this world than the waste of human potential. The purpose of evolution is to raise us out of the mud, not have us grovelling in it." Northern Exposure, Cicely, 1992.

Voluble: speaking readily and rapidly; talkative.

I am typically a man of few words but my friends and colleagues know that when presented with the certain topics I can be quite voluble.

Convoluted: 1. having a pattern of curved winding. 2. involved, intricate.

 Speech that winds from this way to that is convoluted. My career is convoluted.

Root: Turb : Latin : from turbare, "to throw into confusion or upset"

Latin, turba = "crowd" or "confusion"

Preturb: to upset, confuse or disarrange. Watching the news for more than 15 minutes is more likely to preturb you than enlighten you.

Turbine: a rotary engine with blades made to turn and generate power by a current of water, steam, or air. A turbine is essentially a mechanical device to harness seemingly chaotic energy. I often wonder what types of chaotic energy stand before our eyes that we fail to see how to harness.

Turbulent: stirred up, agitated. Stirring up unrest, violence, or disturbance. The middle east is a bit turbulent.

Turbid: thick or murky, especially with churned-up sediment. Unclear, confused, muddled. U.S. Politics have become nearly as turbid as the Gulf of Mexico, as of late. You have the party of old energy, small government, and deregulation is accusing the party of tree huggers, big government, and regulation of not playing a sufficient role in the activity of oil companies. WTF.

...get it? I'm perturbed. :-)