CAESAR’S ENGLISH LESSON 4

Word definition serene- calm acute- sharp grotesque- distorted condescend- to patronize odious- hateful

Serene- calm (adj) Serene means calm, clear, peaceful. Serene comes from the Latin word serenus which came from the ancient Greek word xeros which means dry.

Serene When a sky is dry, it has no clouds, rain or storms; it is clear and peaceful----calm.

The mountains were reflected clearly in the serene waters of the river.

Kenneth Grahame, in The Wind in the Willows, described “the moon, serene and detached in a cloudless sky.”

A person’s face can be calm as when Thomas Hardy wrote of his character’s “serene Minerva-eyes”

When we are deeply at peace in our hearts, this internal calm can be called serene.

WHAT WOULD A SERENE COUNTENANCE LOOK LIKE?

The serene countenance of the Buddha.

Acute means sharp (adj) Acute can be traced all the way back to the ancient Romans where acus meant needle in Latin. There are acute angles in math.

When someone has a sharp mind, we call that acute, too; In Jonathan Swift’s story, Gulliver’s Travels, someone has a “most acute judgment.”

You can also have an acute pain.

Do you think someone’s mind could be both profound and acute Do you think someone’s mind could be both profound and acute? Could it be acute and serene at the same time?

Grotesque- distorted (adj) We use the adjective grotesque to describe things that are physically weird looking, such as in novelist John Gardner’s Grendel, where he describes “grotesquely muscled shoulders.”

In Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain wrote that “He kept up this grotesque foolishness.” H.G. Welles in War of the Worlds wrote” huge, black shapes, grotesquely strange, moved busily to and fro.”

Grotesque- distorted (adj.) Grotesque comes to English from the Italian Renaissance, where workers that were digging a foundation suddenly had the ground fall away from them, and a great hole opened up.

When they peered into the opening, they could see that it was not a natural cavern but a ruin. They were staring down into ancient rooms!

Grotesque- distorted (adj) Soon they realized that they had discovered the long-buried remains of Roman Emperor Nero’s great palace, which later emperors had destroyed. When artist Rafael heard about the find, he raced there and had himself lowered into the hole on a rope.

He carried a torch, and when he held out the torch, he could see strange, distorted artwork all over the walls.

Grotesque- distorted (adj) Rafael saw weird animals, twisted human faces, creepy, exaggerated shapes. For the Italians, this weird, distorted style became known by the underground grotto where it was found. It was grotto-esque, and our word grotesque is the result.

Grotto-esque

What are some other examples of grotesque things that you think of? In what way is grotesquely shaking hands similar to grotesquely muscled shoulders? What are some other examples of grotesque things that you think of?

Condescend (v) Condescend (v) means to act superior to someone else, treats others as though they are beneath them.

Condescend is one of the oldest words in the English language Condescend is one of the oldest words in the English language. From the Latin condescendere, it was even used in 1385 by Geoffrey Chaucer in his great poem The Canterbury Tales.

What do you think Thackeray meant in Vanity Fair when he wrote that “even great English lords and ladies condescended to speak to persons whom they did not know”? Could someone condescend serenely? What would that mean?

Odious(adj) refers to something that is repulsive, or hateful Comes from the Latin word odiosus. We are disgusted by odious things, that can be odious in appearance, in sentiment, or in many other ways.

In The House of the Seven Gables, Nathanial Hawthorne wrote, “Why do you keep that odious picture on the wall?”

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, we read “Pray do not talk to that odious man.” Could something be odious and grotesque at the same time? Could something be profoundly odious?

Word definition serene- calm acute- sharp grotesque- distorted condescend- to patronize odious- hateful

Review What does bi mean? What are words with bi in them?

bi means two

What does sub mean? What are words with sub in them?

sub means under

What does de mean? What are words with de in them?

de means down

What does pre mean? What are words with pre in them?

pre means before

What does super mean? What are words with super in them?

super means over

What does countenance mean? How can you use it in a sentence?

countenance means facial expression

What does profound mean? How can you use it in a sentence?

profound means deep

What does manifest mean? How can you use it in a sentence?

manifest means obvious It is manifest that these horses are hungry!

What does prodigious mean? How can you use it in a sentence?

prodigious means huge

What does languor mean? How can you use it in a sentence?

languor means weakness

What does un mean? What are some words that have the stem un in them?

un means not

What does inter mean? What are some words that have the stem inter in them?

inter means between

What does semi mean? What are some words that have the stem semi in them?

semi means half

What does dis mean? What are some words that have the stem dis in them?

dis means away

What does sym mean? What are some words that have the stem sym in them?

sym means together