{"id":490,"date":"2014-02-08T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2014-02-08T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.princetontutoring.com\/?p=490"},"modified":"2014-01-31T22:53:52","modified_gmt":"2014-01-31T22:53:52","slug":"studying_root_words_with_fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/studying_root_words_with_fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Studying Root Words: Your Favorite Works of Fiction are Rooted in Root Words"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_609\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.princetontutoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Grimoire_spell_book_by_moxylyn.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-609\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-609\" alt=\"Use some of your favorite fictitious words to unlock real words' meanings.\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.princetontutoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Grimoire_spell_book_by_moxylyn-300x265.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Grimoire_spell_book_by_moxylyn-300x265.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Grimoire_spell_book_by_moxylyn-624x552.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Grimoire_spell_book_by_moxylyn.jpg 844w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-609\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Use some of your favorite fictitious words to unlock real words&#8217; meanings.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Many of our favorite authors use their knowledge of root words, Old English, and Germanic and Romantic languages to create meaningful names for fictitious people, places, and things. An understanding of words parts is essential to developing a great vocabulary, so delve into some of your favorite science fiction and fantasy to practice finding and decoding meaningful word parts!<\/p>\n<p>Read on to see how some of your favorite words from Harry Potter, Pokemon, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars can help you on your next vocabulary quiz!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Harry Potter Spells and Word Roots<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Did you notice the root words in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hp-lexicon.org\/magic\/spells\/spells.html\">the commands for spells in Harry Potter<\/a>?<br \/>\nStudy up on wizardry to really bring some magic to your vocabulary studying!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Expelliarmus<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;expel&#8221; combines two word parts &#8220;ex&#8221; meaning out or from and &#8220;pel&#8221; meaning to drive or push and the root; &#8220;arma,&#8221; refers to weaponry\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: excel, excellence, excite, exclude, exit, expect, excavate, exception, extend,\u00a0pulse, compulsive, propel, impel, dispel, impulsive, repulsive, propulsion, expulsion,\u00a0armada, army, armour, armistice, armory, armament<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Wingardium Leviosa<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;wing&#8221; and &#8220;arduus&#8221; means high or steep and &#8220;levo&#8221; means raise up or levitate and sometimes refers to things that are light\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: \u00a0arduous, alleviate, levity, alleviate, levy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Petrificus Totalus<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;petrificare&#8221; means to make into stone + &#8220;totalis&#8221; means entire\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: petrify,\u00a0totalitarian<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cruciatus Curse<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;crucio&#8221; means to torment\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: excruciating,\u00a0crucible, crucify, crucial<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Imperius Curse<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;impero&#8221; means to order, govern, command\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words<\/strong>:\u00a0imperious, imperative, imperial, imperium<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Liberacorpus<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;liber&#8221; means to free and &#8220;corpus&#8221; means body\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words<\/strong>:\u00a0liberate, libertine, liberty, liberalize, libertarian, deliverance, deliberate, corporation, corpse, corporal,\u00a0corpulent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Locomotor Mortis<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;loc&#8221; means place, &#8220;mot&#8221; or &#8220;mov&#8221; means motion, and &#8220;mortis&#8221; means death\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: location, local,\u00a0locality, dislocate, allocate,\u00a0locomotion, mobilize, motive, demote, promote, motivate mobile, momentum, motor, move, immortal, immortalize, mortality, mortuary, remorse,\u00a0mortician, mortuous, post-mortem<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Engorgio\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.714285714; font-size: 1rem;\">&#8211; in Old French &#8220;gorge&#8221; means throat and &#8220;engorgier&#8221; means to\u00a0fill to excess (often referring to eating)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong style=\"line-height: 1.714285714; font-size: 1rem;\">Related Word:\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.714285714; font-size: 1rem;\">gorge, engorge, disgorge, regorge<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Reducto\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.714285714;\">-&#8220;reducere&#8221; combines the Latin prefix &#8220;re,&#8221; meaning back or\u00a0again,\u00a0and the Middle English word &#8220;ducere,&#8221;\u00a0meaning to bring or lead. This eventually turned into a similar word for to diminish.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong style=\"line-height: 1.714285714; font-size: 1rem;\">Related Word:\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.714285714; font-size: 1rem;\">reduce, reductions,\u00a0irreducible, nonreducing, reductional, reductants<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are some<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sentiaeducation.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/19\/charm-your-way-to-a-perfect-score-harry-potter-and-latin-roots\/\" target=\"_blank\"> more charms and spells to help you study for the SAT<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pokemon and Word Roots<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Have you noticed the connections between<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/0B5p_9XJI-TYWMmV2U2c5cmFrT28\/edit?usp=sharing\"> these roots and the Pokemon that use them<\/a>? You don\u2019t have to catch\u2019em all, but your vocabulary would certainly evolve if you did!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Graveler <\/span>&#8211; &#8220;grav&#8221; means heavy\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: gravity, gravitas, aggravate, grave<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Snorlax<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;lax&#8221; means not tense\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words:<\/strong> relax, laxative<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Doduo<\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Zapdos<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;du&#8221; means two\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words:<\/strong>\u00a0duplicate, duplicity, double, duality,\u00a0diverge<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Dodrio<\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Dugtrio<\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Moltres<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;tri&#8221; means three\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: triangle, triathlon, trilogy, tripod, triceratops<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Victreebel\u00a0<\/span>&#8211; &#8220;vic&#8221; and &#8220;vinc&#8221; means\u00a0conquer and &#8220;vic&#8221; or &#8220;vicis&#8221; can mean to change\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words:<\/strong>\u00a0victor, victimize, convince, invincible,\u00a0evict, convict,\u00a0vicarious, vicar, vicissitude<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Voltorb<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;orb&#8221; means circle\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words:\u00a0<\/strong>orbit,\u00a0exorbitant,\u00a0circumorbital<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Regigigas<\/span> &#8211; &#8220;regi&#8221; means of or relating to royalty\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: regicide, regime, regiment, region<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Larvitar<\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Pupitar<\/span> &#8211; <span style=\"font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.714285714;\">\u2018tardus\u2019 means slow<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related Words:\u00a0<\/strong>tardy, retarder, ritard<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>For more meaningful Pokemon names, you can look forward to <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.princetontutoring.com\/?p=601\" target=\"_blank\">my next post<\/a>\u00a0with more Pokemon name origins!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lord of the Rings and Old English Words<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For RRL Tolkien fans, many of the <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.oxforddictionaries.com\/2012\/12\/tolkiens-etymologies\/\">names and places in Lord of the Rings are based on Old English words<\/a>. Training your eye on meaningful word parts will help you when encountering new words on tests and while reading, so take a look at some of these interesting uses of Old English words.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Hobbit<\/span> comes from the Old English word &#8220;holbytla&#8221; or &#8220;hole-builder&#8221;<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Beorn<\/span> (the name of the skin-changer in the Hobbit) means\u00a0\u00a0\u201cman,\u201d \u201cwarrior,\u201d or \u201chero.\u201d<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Ent<\/span> (the name for the giant trees) means &#8220;giant&#8221; and often was associated with creatures of great and mysterious power<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Smeagol<\/span> (also known as Gollum) means &#8220;burrowing&#8221;<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Frodo<\/span> contains the word &#8220;Frod&#8221; which meant &#8220;wise&#8221;<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Samwise<\/span> means \u201chalf-witted\u201d<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Hamfast<\/span>, Sam&#8217;s father, uses the Old English word hamf\u00e6st, which means \u201cstay-at-home\u201d<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Theoden<\/span> (the name of the King who is manipulated) is the Old English word for &#8220;ruler&#8221; or &#8220;lord.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Edoras<\/span> (where King Theodon lives) means a number of things relating to &#8220;dwellings&#8221; and &#8220;enclosures&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Shadowfax<\/span> combines two Old English words &#8220;sceadu&#8221; and &#8220;f\u00e6x&#8221; means &#8220;shadow-hair.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Orthanc,<\/span> the tower\u00a0where Saruman lives is\u00a0an Old English word meaning \u201cskill\u201d or \u201ccleverness\u201d<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Isengard<\/span> combines the Old English words for \u201ciron\u201d and \u201cenclosure\u201d<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Shelob<\/span>, the spider that attacks Frodo, uses the Old English word &#8220;lobbe,&#8221; meaning \u201cspider\u201d, so her name means \u201cshe-spider.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Game of Thrones and Old English, French, German, and Latin Words<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If you are obsessed with HBO\u2019s Game of Thrones or if you\u2019re a die-hard Song of Ice and Fire fan, you\u2019ll see how <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gameofthrones.tv\/forum\/general-talk\/name-origins-of-got-characters\/\" target=\"_blank\">George RR Martin crafts his character names from archaic words<\/a>\u00a0that can help you study for tests.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The Starks&#8217;<\/span>\u00a0name is especially appropriate. It comes from Old English, &#8220;stearc&#8221; meaning <em>stiff\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0<em>firm<\/em>, which relates to the German word, &#8220;stark&#8221; meaning strong. The word today can refer to a strong, willful man (as with Eddard Stark), a barren landscape (as the scenery at Winterfell can often be described), something plain or not glamorized (perhaps as Eddard&#8217;s post as the Warden of the North was not glamorous), or something stiff (as Eddard&#8217;s attitude sometimes verges on). It can also be used as an adjective to describe something that is completely or utterly (perhaps similar to Eddard&#8217;s utter commitment to his principles).<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: stark<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Baratheon<\/span> combines the French word for &#8220;untamed,&#8221; &#8220;theon&#8221; and the French word for a belligerent or deceptive person. Robert Baratheon demonstrates these traits with his temper and obstinate personality. It may also relate to the Old French word &#8220;barat&#8221; for &#8220;to barter.&#8221; It may also relate to the Old English name &#8220;Barr&#8221; which indicates a person who guards a gateway.<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words<\/strong>: barrage, barricade, bar<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The Lannisters&#8217;<\/span>\u00a0name may be derived from &#8220;Lannis,&#8221; a name related to &#8220;Atlantis,&#8221; which may indicate something great that has since disappeared. This perhaps relates to Tywin&#8217;s preoccupation with his legacy and maintaining the greatness of his family name. It may also relate to an Old English word for a <em>long hilltop<\/em> or <em>ridge<\/em>, a Germanic word for a <em>lance<\/em> or <em>spear<\/em>, or a Latin word fro a <em>bay leaf<\/em> or <em>laurel<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Star Wars Name Origins<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">If you geek-out for Star Wars, check out some of these\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.starwarsselect.com\/wordorigins.html\">name origins<\/a>:<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Jar Jar Bink<\/span>&#8216;s name may relate to the word &#8220;jar,&#8221; irritating or making an irritating sound, which is appropriate since many believe he is fairly annoying. Binks sounds like the word &#8220;jinx,&#8221; which is associated with bad luck.\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words:\u00a0<\/strong>jarring, jinx<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Darth Maul<\/span> relates to the German word for (an animal&#8217;s)\u00a0<em>mouth<\/em>, &#8220;maul,&#8221; which is appropriate since he is beastly and rarely speaks. This may also relate to the French and Spanish word for bad, &#8220;mal.&#8221;\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words<\/strong>:\u00a0dismal, malady, malaria, malefactor, malevolent, malice, malignant, malnourished,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Anakin\u00a0Skywalker<\/span>&#8216;s first name came from the film director, but &#8220;kin&#8221; refers to family or to a child (as in Kindergarten). Combine this with the prefix &#8220;an,&#8221; which means without, and this creates a name that means &#8220;without family,&#8221; which makes sense for this character since he has no father and must leave his mother.\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words<\/strong>:\u00a0kindergarten, kinfolk,\u00a0achromatic,\u00a0apolitical, atheist, anarchy, anonymous, apathy, aphasia, anemia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Han Solo<\/span>&#8216;s name is fairly straightforward. &#8220;Solo&#8221; means <em>alone<\/em>, and &#8220;Han&#8221; in Swedish means <em>he<\/em>.\u00a0If you combine this together, he is a man who is alone, which is appropriate since his a bit of a lone-wolf.\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Related Words<\/strong>:\u00a0desolate, solitary, solitude,\u00a0solo,\u00a0soliloquy, solitaire, isolate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you&#8217;re looking for more tips on how to study vocabulary, check out <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.princetontutoring.com\/?p=475\" target=\"_blank\">my last blog post<\/a> about some entertaining and research-supported methods to study for your next quiz!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many of our favorite authors use their knowledge of root words, Old English, and Germanic and Romantic languages to create meaningful names for fictitious people, places, and things. An understanding of words parts is essential to developing a great vocabulary, so delve into some of your favorite science fiction and fantasy to practice finding and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,51],"tags":[67,15,52,66],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":615,"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions\/615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}