1. Caesar’s English II
Lesson XV

2. culp (blame) culprit, culpable, exculpate
CULP means blame.
We blame the culprit; to be culpable is to be guilty; and to exculpate someone is to free them from blame!
Spanish…culpable

3. pugn (fight) pugnacious, pugilist, oppugn
PUGN means fight.
A pugnacious person is combative; a puglilist is a fighter; and to oppugn something is to attack or resist it!
Spanish…pugnaz

4. URB (city) urban, suburb, urbane
URB means city.
An urban environment is a city environment; the suburbs are the neighborhoods around the city; and an urbane person is sophisticated and citified!
Spanish…urbano

5. numer (number) numeral, enumeration, supernumerary
NUMER means number.
A numeral is a number; to enumerate is to list; and supernumeraries are extra people!
Spanish…enumeración

6. acr (sharp) acrid, acerbity, acrimony
ACR means sharp.
An acrid smell such as ammonia is sharp; acerbity is sharpness of temper; and acrimony is a sharp and heated dispute!
Spanish…acrimonia

7. Advanced Word: Pugnacious
The adjective pugnacious comes from the stems pugn, fight, and ous, full of. To be pugnacious is to be combative, ready to fight anyone. Pugnacious people are aggressive and ready to challenge. Sometimes they seem insulting, with a chip on their shoulder. In 1974 E.L. Doctorow wrote, in his novel Ragtime, that “This caused him to tile his chin upwards in order to see, giving him a pugnacious look.” In Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22 a character “thundered pugnaciously in a voice loud enough to rattle the whole building.”

8. Caesar’s English II Lesson XV
Stem meaning Example
culp blame culprit
pugn fight Pugnacious
urb city urban
numer number Numeral
acr sharp acrid

9. PUGILIST : PUGNACIOUS ::
urban : suburban
culprit : culpable
exculpate : innocent
enumerate : items

10. PUGILIST : PUGNACIOUS ::
urban : suburban
culprit : culpable
exculpate : innocent
enumerate : items

11. OPPUGN : SANCTION ::
pugilist : glove
city : suburb
supernumerary : extra
exculpate : convict

12. OPPUGN : SANCTION ::
pugilist : glove
city : suburb
supernumerary : extra
exculpate : convict

13. Find the best opposite.
ACRIMONY
pugnacity
verisimilitude
urbanity
harmony

14. Find the best opposite.
ACRIMONY
pugnacity
verisimilitude
urbanity
harmony

15. PUGNACIOUS
mollifying
oppugning
enumerating
exculpating

16. PUGNACIOUS
mollifying
oppugning
enumerating
exculpating

17. The gladiators were trained as expert ___________.
culprits
pugilists
supernumeraries
interlocutors

18. The gladiators were trained as expert ___________.
culprits
pugilists
supernumeraries
interlocutors

19. Prisoners captured in Gaul were rarely ____________.
exculpated
oppugned
disputed
enumerated

20. Prisoners captured in Gaul were rarely ____________.
exculpated
oppugned
disputed
enumerated

21. The spectacles in the Colosseum required a great many ______________.
acrimonies
numerals
exculpations
supernumeraries

22. The spectacles in the Colosseum required a great many ______________.
acrimonies
numerals
exculpations
supernumeraries

23. The Grammar of Vocabulary: pugnancious, an adjective.
The pugnacious Gauls were no match for the legions.
________________________________________

24. Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
From Frederick Douglass’s Narrative
I would allow myself to suffer…rather than ______________ myself.
enumerate
oppugn
exculpate
impute

25. Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
From Frederick Douglass’s Narrative
I would allow myself to suffer…rather than ______________ myself.
enumerate
oppugn
exculpate
impute

26. From James Watson’s The Double Helix
Rosy and Gosling were ___________ assertive.
urbanely
acrimoniously
culpably
pugnaciously

27. From James Watson’s The Double Helix
Rosy and Gosling were ___________ assertive.
urbanely
acrimoniously
culpably
pugnaciously

28. From Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
They treated her with coldness and ___________.
enumeration
acrimony
pugnacity
urbanity

29. From Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
They treated her with coldness and ___________.
enumeration
acrimony
pugnacity
urbanity