1. Vocabulary List 6b

2. indolent (IN duh lunt) lazy
Synonyms: idle, inactive, slothful (SLAWTH ful)

3. indolent
Indolentia Latin for freedom from pain in (not) + dolens (feeling pain)
Describes the harmony attained when one is indifferent to the pleasures and pains of the world
Today, instead of indifference to pain, it relates to an indifference to work

4. meander (mee AN dur) follow a winding course, wander idly or aimlessly
Synonyms: roam, rove, ramble, digress (dye GRES)

5. meander A city in Asia Minor, founded by the Greeks, called Miletus
Miletus was at the mouth of the River Meander, known for its winding, twisting, turning course

6. precocious (prih KOH shus)
advanced beyond one’s age (especially in mental aptitude)
Synonyms: smart, brilliant, gifted, characterizing a child prodigy (PROD uh jee)

7. Precocious
Latin: prae (before) + coquere (cook), so praecoquere meant cook or ripen beforehand
Originally applied to fruit or flowers that ripened early
Now we apply this to children who “ripen” before most

8. scapegoat (SKAPE goat)
someone blamed for the faults of others
Synonyms: victim, whipping boy

9. scapegoat
Jewish tradition: the high priest Aaron, brother of Moses, prepared one goat as a sacrifice for the Lord and symbolically put the sins of the Hebrews on a second goat, which was released into the wilderness.
The goat that escapes is called a “scapegoat” in the King James Version of the Bible (Leviticus), “scape” being short for escape

10. shibboleth (SHIB uh luth)
password, slogan, or custom characteristic of a certain group and used to distinguish that group; empty, outworn expression or doctrine
Synonyms: peculiarity, catchword, watchword, platitude (PLAT uh tood)

11. shibboleth
War between Gilead and Ephraim; to prevent soldiers from Ephraim from using Gilead’s bridge, they made all who wanted to cross say “shibboleth” because people from Ephraim could not pronounce “sh” and the word came out “sibboleth” and they would not be allowed to cross

12. We used the same method
WWII: US soldiers used passwords like “unintelligible” or “lollipop” to reveal Japanese who were posing as friendly Chinese because whereas the Chinese do not have difficulty in pronouncing “l” sounds, the Japanese do

13. Root Words Vor – to eat Epi – on, upon Carn – flesh Vinc – to conquer
devour, omnivore
Epi – on, upon
Epicenter,
Carn – flesh
Carnal, carnivore
Vinc – to conquer
invincible
Corpor – body
corporation, corporal