GLOSSARY OF COMMUNICATION-RELATED TERMS
GLOSSARY OF COMMUNICATION-RELATED TERMS
Virgil Warren, PhD
The Glossary of Communication-Related Terms describes terms and expressions used with language structure, usage, and writing. It highlights biblical and theological studies, hence, the numerous references to Greek, Latin, English, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Usages beyond these languages exist, of course, but they do not usually appear in these entries. This subject has fuzzy edges because language itself bleeds across into content—into the surrounding that it is used to talk about; besides, truth itself is holistic. Language, oral and written, involves linguistics, hermeneutics; specific languages like English, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew and their grammars; some issues in New and Old Testament textual criticism; rhetoric, and writing. With such a breadth of interest, the material presented stretches at times in the direction of an encyclopedia.
Words preceded by an asterisk (*) are given a main listing elsewhere in the glossary in perhaps greater detail, usually in a main alphabetical heading. (+) indicates a word to click on that will bring up fuller treatments of subjects like zero endings, clauses, and conditional sentences in Greek or in Latin. VW Words preceded by asterisks could have a panel open up when they are clicked on, a panel showing the full treatment and also the same pop-ups as would appear when clicked on from other documents in the total system.
Where applicable, word meanings include a comment “in contrast to.” Ideas are clearest when seen in contrast to their parallel alternatives. For that reason, we have so entered them here.
Alphabetized entries that are part of a set have the other members of that set noted beneath them in parentheses.
Derivational origin and the word picture in a term should be given perhaps at the end of the entry as in many dictionaries
Need to indicate part of speech for each type of usage
Entries are not capitalized unless they are proper nouns or proper adjectives.
Entries within entries are entered alphabetically
See further is the link to more specific application of a general entry, a way of trying to avoid duplication. Another, more frequently used, device for avoiding undue duplication is a pop-up for long entries that apply in more than one place. The procedure is to give a few examples of the point involved and then enter the pop-up panel (designated [insert panel]) that a person can click on in each of the entries to get the full list of relevant items.
Use (1), (2), (3) for different sets of application of words
The “glossary” contains the following subtopics:
“figures of speech” (litotes, metaphor, simile, zeugma, metonymy, trope)
textual criticism,
hermeneutics
linguistics
types of literature (poetry, prose)
pronunciation, spelling, writing
The “Glossary” contains also the following per-entry items where applicable: derivational entries, part of speech, “in a set with,” duplicate pop-ups that apply to more than one entry,
Under a potentially huge entry, subsets can be indicated See __ or*__ . In large entries like case or clauses, the attempt is made to indixcate characteristic of the matter at the level of the over-all term with *__ in the comments. The specifics of each case or each clause are then given alphabetically under the clause name.
Notations about Greek, Latin, Hebrew, though worded in present tense, do not necessarily describe modern Greek and modern Hebrew. Notations about Greek distinguish classical from Hellenistic where they differ, preference being given to the language as it exists in biblical studies.
On words that have many current English usages, only those that are related to communication are included in this glossary.
abbreviate/abbreviation: used in writing to shorten a word by using (1) some of its initial letters followed by a period: ave., st., Abbreviations may also be (2) a collection of prominent sounds plus period—blvd. for “boulevard”; fnt. for footnote; EGD for esophagogastroduodenoscopy. In a set of words, the abbreviation may choose initial letters without a period, as in aka for “as known as.” The presence or absence of periods after each letter or after the whole set varies from type to type by custom of usage. All caps for acronyms commonly do not use periods within or after: NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization; EMAW, Every Man a Wildcat (a KSU slogan).
An older, less common, form of abbreviating (3) puts the first and last letters together with a line above them: θΣ theta + sigma for theos, the Greek word for “God/god.” Medical terminology sometimes uses a superscript line for abbreviations: pc with a line above it for post cibum, “after a meal, after eating, taken with food”; also c for cum (with); pp for post prandial (after a meal); s for sine (without). First and last letters also are used in ca. (circa, about).
(4) Plural abbreviations sometimes use a doubled letter: c. = copy, cc = copies; f. = and the following verse, ff. = the following verses; ms. = manuscript, mss. = manuscripts; p. = page, pp. = pages;
PS = post script(um), PPS = a second post script; v. = verse, vv. = verses;
(in a set with *acronym, *acrostic, *backronym, *short)
(4) An occasional abbreviation uses a slash with prominent letters of a word: w/ for with; w/o for without.
abecedary: a listing of the letters of an alphabet
abecedarian: one who studies or teaches alphabets; by extension, one who is just learning the “a,b,c’s” of something.
ablative case: a grammatical case that implies separation. Ablative appears in Latin after prepositions implying location or separation. Latin also uses it instead of the accusative after some verbs that imply separation: examples. In Latin there is an ablative of attendant circumstance with cum clauses Wh 310
and an ablative of degree of difference wh 333.
Ablative case is not identified separately in the Greek five-case system, but it is in the eight-case analysis. Ablative value gets split up between the genitive and dative cases in the simpler analysis.
ablative absolute: Latin uses an *ablative absolute construction, which consists of the subject in the ablative case with the verb idea covered by an ablative participle in the same number and gender as the ablative subject. (in a set with *genitive absolute, *nominative absolute, accusative absolute, dative absolute)
ablative of *degree of difference: the amount of difference between two things in regard to time, space, weight, etc. and most of the time involving a *comparative degree adjective or adverb: “He is six years older.” Latin puts “six years” in the ablative case with no accompanying preposition; the idiom would come into English most nearly as, “He is older by six years”. Greek follows the same pattern, using the dative case. *Degree of difference calls for no special construction in English. Instead it is covered by an adverb-adjective combination or by using by plus the measurement: “He was six years older”; “he is older by six years.”
(in a set with *dative of degree of difference, *degree of difference)
ablative of manner: In Latin, a noun in the ablative preceded often, but not necessarily, by cum; if the object of cum has a modifier, the cum may be omitted. Even in this circumstance, however, the author can keep the cum to make clear that manner is meant rather than means. The “means” construction does not have cum ahead of the ablative noun.
absolute constructions: (1) Absolute constructions are “absolute” in that they have no grammatical tie to the main clause. Absolute clauses can replace *adverbial clauses. The condition for using such a construction is that the subject of this dependent element does not appear in the main clause—or at least not appear as subject of the main clause.
There is a reason for limiting the condition of usage to cases where the subject of the dependent element does not appear in the main clause. If the subject did appear in the main clause, then it would not need to be re-expressed in the dependent portion of the sentence; the participle, put in the correct number-gender-case, would connect to the proper actor in the main clause.
“That said, “I want to explain the problem.”
(2) a verb, adjective, or pronoun that does not have its normal accompanying words, as in the case of an unexpressed/implied direct object of a *transitive verb, an adjective without its accompanying/implied noun, or a pronoun whose noun referent is not given.
(in a set with *ablative absolute ([Lat.]; *genitive absolute [Gr], *accusative absolute [Gr], *dative absolute [Gr], *nominative absolute [Eng.])
absolute time: the tense of a verb form viewed from the standpoint of a sentence’s speaker in contrast to the time of a dependent verb form relative to the main verb in a sentence. Another term for *sequence of tense.
(in a set with *relative time, sequence of tenses)
accent: emphasis or stress on a syllable or word; longer English words may have a secondary accent as well.
English accent rules. Words ending in –tion are accented on the preceding syllable. Two-syllable suffixes are usually accented on the preceding connecting vowel: thermómeter. But -itis words are always accented on the *penult; -plasty words carry accent as far toward the beginning as possible: stómatoplasty; -péxy gets penult accent.
Greek accent rules: “Accents” in Greek are really tone marks, with acute being a rise tone, grave being a fall tone, and circumflex being a rise-fall tone. Since these “accents” are actually tone marks, they are always written over the vowels of a Greek syllable—in contrast to being written after/above the last letter or before the first letter of a syllable as in English dictionaries. Accents are considered part of a word’s spelling, and so are indicated in typical writing—at least in modern reproductions of ancient documents. On *diphthongs, the accent appears above the second vowel. On the front of all Greek words, there were also *breathing marks. If an accent and breathing mark appear together, the breathing mark precedes the acute or grave and is written under a circumflex.
Fundamental to the placement of Greek accents is vowel length. The long vowels are eta (η) and omega (ω); the short ones are epsilon (ε) and omicron (ο); alpha (α), iota (ι), and upsilon (υ) can be long or short depending on the word. All diphthongs are always long except final -οι and -αι outside the *optative (and in the one word oikoi in classical Greek).
*Acute accent in Greek was a rise tone that could appear on any of the last three syllables. Acute accent could sustain accent for three syllables, and so could appear on any of the last three syllables pending further considerations. It could appear on the *antepenult only if the *ultima (last syllable) contained a short vowel and did not end in a double consonant; it could appear on the *penult (next-to-last syllable) only if the conditions for a circumflex were not present, circumflex taking precedence. It could occur on the *ultima only if punctuation or an *enclitic followed.
*Grave accent was a fall tone that appeared in Greek words only on the last syllable and only if there were words immediately following that were not enclitics. Grave accent could sustain accent for only one syllable.
*Circumflex accent was a rise-fall tone in Greek that could appear only on long vowels and only on the last two syllables. Circumflex accent could sustain accent for two syllables, and so could appear on either of the last two syllables, pending further considerations. For circumflex to appear on the next-to-last syllable, the last syllable had to be short and not end in a double consonant. For circumflex to appear on the last syllable, the syllable had to be long. Since acute (and grave) could also appear on the ultima, the circumflex could appear on genitive and dative, but not on nominative or accusative unless a vowel contraction had called for a circumflex there (see below under contract rules).
Thus, the length of the ultima was the main determining factor for Greek accenting patterns
Add diagram of accent rules?
Accents in Greek were either *persistent accents or *recessive accents. They were persistent on nouns and adjectives generally and recessive on finite verbs. Persistent meant that the accent stayed on the same syllable (as counted from the beginning) throughout its inflection unless the rules for accent placement caused it to move. Strictly speaking, counted from the beginning is a refinement of the rule because some words picked up a syllable on the end after passing from the *dictionary form.
There were some exceptions to the persistent-recessive generalizations. The –ma nouns of the third declension were recessive in the nominative and then persistent thereafter. Monosyllable nouns of the third declension picked up another syllable outside the nominative singular, and formed a pattern with acutes on the last syllable of genitives and datives and acutes on first syllable of nominatives, accusatives (and vocatives). Nouns of the first and second declension that have accented ultimas bear a circumflex on the genitive and dative singular and plural and bear an acute (to grave shift) on nominative, accusative, and vocative.
*Finite verbs (and most *infinitives and *participles) had *recessive accents, meaning that the accents moved as much as three syllables toward the front of the word—as far as the length of the ultima would allow. Many infinitives and participles used recessive accents as well, but some were distinctive—as the second aorist active infinite, which bore a circumflex on the ultima (-εῖν); the perfect active infinitive, which bore an accent on the *penult (-κέναι); or the aorist passive infinitive, which bore a *circumflex on the *penult (-θῆναι). Since infinitives and participles are kinds of adjectives and nouns, departures from the recessive accent rule on some of those forms does not really stand at odds with the basic generality.
Baritone
Baroxitone
Accent could not precede *augment, a feature occasioned by prepositions prefixed to verbs: πάρειμι, but παρῆν. Indeed, most of the time, an accent does not move back onto the prepositional prefix regardless of augment. Exceptions include ἔξεστιν
In instances of vowel contraction, accents are first figured on the uncontracted form. If basic accent rules put an acute on the contract vowel, the resulting contraction bears a circumflex. In the other contract situations, the accent is retained accordingly after contraction.
Enclitics are words pronounced with the preceding word. As a result, if they can, they throw their accent away; if they cannot thrown it away, they throw it back onto the ultima of the preceding word; if they cannot thrown it back, they keep it. The accent they throw back is an acute, regardless of what the accent would have been on the theoretical form.
Basic to figuring out how enclitic accenting works is the ability of each kind of accent to sustain accent. An acute can sustain for three syllables; a circumflex for two; a grave for one. If the accent on the preceding word can sustain through the enclitic, the enclitic has no accent. If the preceding accent cannot sustain accent that far, then the enclitic’s accent can throw back an acute onto the ultima unless doing so puts acutes on successive syllables, in which case, the accent stays on the enclitic. If an enclitic appears first in its clause, it keeps its accent (since there is no preceding word to receive it). One exception to the enclitic accent rule is the practice in editions of the Greek Bible of allowing a previous ultima circumflex to sustain accent through a two-syllable enclitic (Acts 5:39). Normally the ability of that circumflex to sustain accent would carry it through only the first syllable of the subsequent enclitic.
The enclitic εστίν becomes ἔστιν (first syllable accent) if it is first in the sentence, if it signifies existence or possibility (vs. being a linking verb), or if it follows ei, ouk, kai, touto, or hoos.
The New Testament enclitics are μου/mou, μοι/moi, με/me σου/sou, σοι/soi, σε/se; τις/τι//tis/ti; ποτε/pote, που/pou, πω/poo, πως/poos; γε/ge, τε/te; all the present indicative forms of the verb to be except second singular (ει/ei); and the present indicative forms of φημι/pheesi (all of them?).
*Proclitics have no accent of their own; they are pronounced with the following word. They can have an accent only if they appear last in their clause (that is, before punctuation) or if an enclitic follows. If a proclitic is followed by an *enclitic, encliltic rules take precedence; a proclitic can receive an accent from an enclitic, but not vice versa. If two or more proclitics appear together, none of them bears an accent. New Testmanet Greek proclitics are eis, en, ek/ex (preps.), ho/hee/hoi/hai (the nom. mas & fem sg art), ou/louk/ouch (neg.), ei hoos (conjs.).
Latin accent rules: The penult of a word with three or more syllables drew the accent if it contained a long vowel or led into the next syllable with two or more consonants—including the double consonant x. Otherwise, accent went back to the antepenult if there was one.
Thus, the length of the penult was the main determining factor for Latin accent patterns.
Hebrew accent rules: Hebrew words bear primary accents only on the last two syllables with accenting most frequently on the last syllable. Segholate nouns—those with a seghol (short e) in the penult—carry an accent on the penult. Verbs with pronominal suffixes likewise have penult accents, and nouns with possessive pronominal suffixes have penultimate accents in most situations—except for the “heavy” endings of masculine and feminine second and third person plural. This same last pattern occurred with inseparable prepositions that carried pronominal suffixes.
*Disjunctive accents (WG 251) in the pointed text of the Hebrew Bible indicate separation or pause. *Conjunctive accents indicate continuation and unity (phrasing) between words.
accentuated verse:
acceptance speech: an elected or selected candidate’s traditional public response to being chosen for an office of important position. (in a set with *concession speech)
accidence: the structural *inflection of words short of alterations that would change the *part of speech or create *cognates; hence, changes relative to number, gender, and case (*nouns and *adjectives); *person, *number, *tense, *voice, *mood, and *aspect (verbs). The kinds of changes that take place within a word’s complete *paradigm. Contrasts with *vocabulary, *syntax, and *word building. A subdivision of morphology. (in a set with *morphology, *morpheme. *paradigm, *synopsis)
accusative case: *Accusative case is the terminology used in Greek and Latin for the objective function.
Same as the objective case in English-language terminology, the case that is used after all *prepositions and *transitive verbs. English, however, analyzes as direct objects words in Greek that involve relationship (follow, hepomai, akolοutheo)
(in a set with *nominative case, *genitive case, *dative case, *instrumental case, *locative case, *ablative case, *vocative case)
account: a record of a real event. Account implies the actuality of the event in contrast to *story
accusative absolute: a rather rare Greek construction in the New Testament that uses an accusative-noun plus *participle as the *absolute construction. It occurs in Acts 26:3; Rom 8:3; 1 Cor 16:6; Eph 1:18.
accusative case: Accusative case equals objective case in English terminology. Accusative is used for (1) *direct objects of most verbs, (2) *objects of all prepositions in English and many Latin and Greek prepositions, especially those implying destination; as (3) subjects of *infinitives (= English, Greek, Latin), (4) on time words to indicate duration of time, and on space words to indicate extent of distance. In its use to indicate extent of time or space in English, Greek, or Latin no accompanying preposition is needed: “He walked (for) four miles”; “he walked (for) four hours.” Accusative case applies as well to (5) a *“retained object,” that is, the noun left over when an indirect object becomes the subject of the passive transform: “She gave the poor dog a bone“; the equivalent passive transform is “The poor dog was given a bone [RO]” (See also *accusative absolute, adverbial accusative, *double accusative). Accusative case applies to (6) an objective (OC) as in “They elected him president.”
accusative of extent of time: In Greek and Latin the accusative case on a time word indicates extent of time.
accusative of extent of space: In Greek the accusative case on a distance term indicates the extent of distance.
accusative pendens: a “hanging” construction that double-references the direct object in the main clause: “What the Fates bring—we will endure it with a calm mind.” WH 215 #11.
acknowledgements: a listing of people or companies whose assistance the author appreciates in producing a published work
acronym: a sequence of letters formed by the first letter of a series of words such as the name of an organization. Acronyms are written in all caps without spaces: FEMA. The government and the military have many such acronyms for identities within the system. OSHA “stands for” Occupational Safety and Health Administration. UNUS NAUTA is a helpful acronym for remembering the group of nine Latin adjectives that decline irregularly with –ius in all three genders of the genitive singular, –i in all three genders of the dative singular, and may show –ud in the neuter nominative singular.
(in a set with *abbreviation, *acrostic, *backronym, *short, *stand for)
acrostic: a sequence in which the first part of each element begins with a successive letter of a word, name, motto, or the alphabet. Songs like M-O-T-H-E-R and C-H-R-I=S-T-M-A-S illustrate the idea. Cp. Ps 119, other OT examples
act: a major division of a play, one level above scene
acts: a chronicle of a person or related group of persons. In the New Testament, Acts of the Apostles is the second volume in Luke’s two-volume work on the origins of Christianity. The second document (Acts/Praxes) became a *genre copied by sub-apostolic writers as in the case of The Acts of Paul and Thecla.
action verb: a verb that refers to action in contrast to one that equates or indicates identity.
active verb: a verb that shows action; a verb in the active voice
active voice: the kind of verb where the subject does the acting in the verb. Contrasts with a verb whose subject receives the action (passive voice) and with a *state-of-being verb (a “to be” verb), which does not deal with action at all but with linking/identification.
(in a set with *middle voice, *passive voice; *fientive verb; *stative verb; *state-of-being verb = *equative verb = *copulative verb = *linking verb = *to be verb)
actual result: the result that in fact came from the action in the main verb.
(in a set with *tendential result)
acute accent: a mark slanting up to the right ( ´). It occurs on some English words to show that a final e is a separate syllable and that in any position the e has an ay sound as in day: attaché, blasé, café, cliché, communiqué, consommé, crudités, distingué, enceinté, entrée, exposé, fiancé, fiancée, habitué, née, outré, passé, risqué, touché; adélie (penguins),détente, éclat, élan, précis. Two acutes appear on résumé, protégé, décolleté, déclassé.
In Greek spelling, an acute indicates a rise tone, which could appear on any of the last three syllables of a word, conditions permitting. For a full layout of Greek accent rules, see *accent. The same symbol can mark a long vowel (Czech), an accented vowel (Spanish), or a vowel that is close or tense (French). WB
(in a set with *grave accent, *circumflex accent; *diacritical marks)
ad feminam: appealing to an irrelevant personal consideration when talking about women webster. Same as *ad hominem but in a circumstance that deals with a woman.
ad hominem argument: An argument “to the man” plays on consistency with what the other “man” has previously said in an argument and does so in a way that supports the respondent’s position; a kind of consistency argument. Appealing to some personal consideration when speaking rather than to reason or logic (Webster) Lk 19:22-23, “I will judge you out of your own mouth” (Parable of the Pounds; cp. Parable of the Talents, Mt 25:26-27)
ad lib (cp. *extemporary, *off-the-cuff) short for ad libitum
ad verbum: word for word, verbatim [Latin: “to the word”]
adage In a set with *proverb, *maxim, saying*)
address: (1) to speak to an audience in a deliberate way. (2) to speak to a person using a formal name. (3) As a noun, address can be used as a more general term alongside *speech , *sermon, and the like. (in a set with *sermon, *speech)
adenoidal: having the sound of someone who has enlarged adenoids
adjective: a word that modifies a substantive—a noun; a word in Latin and Greek that is tied to a noun by sharing its number, gender, and case. Since English does not *decline its adjectives, placement determines the fact that a word is in fact an adjective. Adjective slots are before nouns and on the other side of linking verbs and modify the subject. An adjective that appears immediately after a *direct object is called an *objective complement: “The experience left her sad.”
English adjectives and nouns, for the most part, are not declined for number, gender, case. That fact has set up the possibility of putting what are normally nouns in slots that are used for adjectives: “That piece of guitar music takes lots of practice.” Linguistically guitar serves as an adjective even though it is thought of basically as a noun. Such a use of “nouns” can actually be double or tripled: “The double-glass living room picture window is six feet by three and a half.” The growing tendency to use “nouns” this way creates an air of greater sophistication in communication.
Adjectives in Latin and Greek have endings that identify them by number, gender, and case. These three factors have to *agree with the noun they modify so the hearer/reader can know they are in fact modifying that noun.
Hebrew adjectives are tied to nouns by appearing after them and by sharing the article with articular nouns. In classical Hebrew, adjectives were not plentiful; so that role was compensated for by putting a noun in the construct, followed by another noun that covered the idea an adjective would have carried: a man-of God = a godly man.
(in a set with *attributive adjective, *attributive position [Gr], *predicate adjective, *predicate position [Gr], reflexive-possessive adjectives, *substantive adjective, *interrogative adjective, *possessive adjective, *comparison of adjectives)
adjectival clause: a clause that modifies a noun in the same way that an adjective does. Most relative clauses are adjectival as are Latin’s relative clauses and *relative clauses of characteristic.
adjective complement: a modifier that immediately follows a direct object: “Drink your milk; it will make you strong.”
adverb: a word that can modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb. In English sentence structure, the place before the subject is adverbial and so can the place be before the verb.
Associated with adverbs are time, means, manner, cause, condition, concession, attendant circumstance, aspect, purpose, result, accompaniment, location; that is, they are associated with what characterizes action.
Adverbs often have no recurrent endings and usually have endings distinctive from other parts of speech. Frequently adverbs of manner are derived from adjectives. English adds –ly to adjectives to make corresponding adverbs of this sort: quick < quickly, etc.
Not all -ly words, however, are (always) adverbs: bodily, brotherly, churchly, comely, costly, courtly, cowardly1 (lion), creaturely, daily, dastardly (deed), (daughterly), earthly, easterly, elderly, fatherly, friendly, gamely, gangly, ghostly, godly, grandfatherly, grandmotherly, gravelly, heavenly, homely, hourly, husbandly, kingly [crown], leisurely, lively, lonely, lordly, lovely, maidenly, manly, matronly (air), miserly, monthly, motherly, neighborly, nightly, northerly, orderly, portly, priestly, princely, quarterly, queenly [pose], saintly, scholarly, shapely, sickly, sisterly, southerly, stately, unearthly, ungodly unseemly, unsightly, unworldly, weekly, westerly, wifely), wizardly, (womanly), worldly, yearly. Most adjectival –ly words are based on nouns.
Some –ly words can be adjective or adverb: cowardly, daily, early, hourly, monthly, only, quarterly, weekly, yearly. Many of this type are time words.
In fine, -ly makes nouns into adjectives and adjectives into adverbs.
In Greek, adverbs of manner can be the same as the accusative neuter singular of the corresponding adjective in comparative degree and the accusative neuter plural of the superlative degree. In the positive degree especially, Greek often uses an adjective’s or participle’s neuter genitive plural neuter with –oon changed to –oos. Neuter accusative singular of the positive-degree adjective is also used for the adverb. The dative case form can be adopted as a form for adverbs as well: λάθᾳ (Mt 1:19). Greek sometimes uses adjectives in places where English expects adverbs:
Latin often forms *positive degree adverbs from corresponding adjectives by dropping the #/g/c ending of first-second declension adjectives and replacing it with ē: bon-us <ben-ē, pulcher < pulchrē; tarde < tardus, male < malus. The adjective *superlative ending –issim-us does the same thing, becoming –issimē. Positive-degree adjectives of the third declension can become adverbs by adding –iter to the base: grav-is < grav-iter. (If the base ends with –nt, only –er is added: sapiens > sapienter.) Third-declension comparative adjectives can be turned into comparative adverbs by re-using the neuter accusative singular: gravius < gravius.
adverbial accusative: In classical Greek, a word or phrase in the accusative that is not a direct object of the verb may have an adverbial value (C & Shafer, 142) “ I want to go home.”
adverbial clause: a clause that connects conceptually with, or modifies, the main verb. English introductory adverbial clauses are examples because the slot before the main subject is an adverbial one. Other examples are *adverbial clauses, *adversative clauses, *causal clauses, *circumstantial clauses, *conditional clauses, *concessive clauses, *fear clauses, *proviso clauses, *purpose clauses, *result clauses, *temporal clauses.
adverbial conjunction: a word that serves both to connect main clauses in a compound sentence and to modify the verbal sense of the sentence. Also *adverbial connective or *transitional expression.
adverbial connective: an alternate term for adverbial conjunction.
adverbial noun: a noun or adjective-noun combination modifying an adjective: “six inches taller”; “He went home.”
adversative clause: another term for *concessive clause
advice/advise: a directive based in the nature of things rather than in the authority of the essential author. As a result, it may be a general guideline rather than an absolute requirement or prohibition.
(in a set with *commandment, *proverb)
affectionate term: An expression indicating a feeling of closeness. In English there are Bab(y), Babe, Bud(dy), Hon(ey), Honey bunch, Sug(ar), Suger Pie, Sweets, Sweetie Pie, Same as *endearment term.
affix: an addition to a word that adjusts its meaning as to number, tense, person (in a set with *prefix, *infix, *suffix, *epenthesis, *morpheme)
afterthought: an expression attached to the end of a sentence: so to speak. An afterthought may be a longer statement at the end of a person’s main presentation. Gregg 17
agency: An agent is a person that causes something to happen. Agency contrasts with *means in that the latter is the instrument by which the former brings about the result.
(1) Agency can be expressed by the subject of an active verb.
(2) Agency can be expressed by the object of a preposition in a passive verb construction. In English, by fulfills that role: “The book was written by my wife.” In Latin, ab + the ablative case does the same thing (*ablative of agent). In Greek, hypo + the genitive is the most common construction although apo + genitive also appears in the New Testament (Acts 4:36). Especially under the influence of Hebrew idiom, dia + genitive occurs with persons for agency (as well as with things for *means). In so doing, it parallels the Hebrew idiom min + noun.????? In the King James translation, the hypo + genitive construction is translated of + accusative, a rather unnatural phrase in modern English: EXAMPLE
(3) Agency in Latin is covered by a dative-case noun (*dative of agent) when used with the passive periphrastic construction (*gerundive).
(4) Agency is also expressed by suffixes in English (-er), Latin (–tor), and Greek (-tes). In English –ist can be reserved for a specialist, as in a medical field. Such a thing happens particularly if there can be an –er and –ist in the same area of work: radiographer vs. radiologist.
Agency is often limited to personal agency (especially in Latin, George Washington), which then contrasts with “means” for impersonal instrument (hatchet): “The cherry tree was cut down by George Washington with a hatchet.”
agenda: a list of items to be addressed, especially in a committee meeting
agglutinative/agglutination: the formation of words from morphemes that retain their original forms and meanings when combination. An agglutinative language that splices *morphemes, together with little or no change in the process.
(in a set with *inflectional language, *incorporative language, *isolating language)
agreement: Agreement, or *concord, shows that words belong together. Agreement and *government are the two kinds of inflectional indicators for relationship between words. Government causes another word to take a required form; agreement makes two forms alike. As to agreement, there is concord (1) between adjective and noun, shown by shared number, gender, and case. There is also concord (2) between subject and verb in person and number (and gender in Hebrew second- and third-person verbs).
Adjective-noun. In general, English does not show (1) adjective-noun agreement , or concord, by using inflection, or form, to connect them. Instead, it uses position, or distribution; certain slots in certain formats indicate that a word is an adjective and that it connects with (*modifies) a certain noun in each format: (a) immediately before the noun (*attributive adjective): the red boat, a red boat; she has given serious effort to preparing this report. (b) on the other side of a *linking verb (*predicate adjective): the boat is red; a cow is four-legged; money is precious. (c) as a *subject complement: The bird sat there fat and sassy. (d) as an objective complement: Traveling eight hundred miles made us tired.
English demonstratives afford the one exception to the rule that English does not inflect adjectives: this/these boat/boats, that/those boat/boats. The alteration of forms with possessive adjectives [my/mine, our/ours, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, their/theirs] is not a matter of agreement, but distribution: the first in each pair is an *attribute adjective (my book) while the second is a predicate adjective (The book is mine). Older English usage is used as of word meaning—in this case number and/or gender reference.
Subject-verb. Agreement between (2) English subject and verb is shown again by position/distribution for the most part. Modern English verbs have lost person-number endings except for third person singular present indicative active: -s, as in “He works.” Older English personal endings are commonly found today only in the King James Bible (and other old translations) and in Shakespeare:
1sg -- 1 pl --
2sg –est 2pl --
3sg –eth 3pl --
The verb “to be” has retained special inflection in the present and past indicative. Personal pronouns have special inflection as well; so it makes sense to think about *concord in the limited circumstance of pronoun subjects and this main linking verb:
I am we are
you are (thou art) you are (ye are)
he/she/it is they are
I was we were
you were (thou wert) you were (ye were)
he/she/it was (wast) they were
Cases of *hendiadys in the subject position normally carry singular verbs: “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is a God of love” (cp. 1 Th 1:3).
In linking-verb sentences, the subject, not the predicate noun, determines the number and person in the verb: “Books are my security blanket”; “the distance is seven miles.” “The perfect and imperfect “tenses” in Hebrew are really completed and uncompleted action.”
In Latin, Greek, and English, a plural *word used as a word has a singular verb and singular modifier: “This foolish ones describes the monkeys.”
A compound singular subject carries a plural verb: “Jim and Alecia were married Thursday.”
Since not all words ending in s are plural, we say, “Linguistics is a fascinating study.”
Collective nouns in American English take singular verbs: “The committee is meeting now.”
Greek has formal indicators for adjective-noun and subject-verb agreement. (1) Adjective-noun agreement calls for shared *number, *gender, *case. Number is singular or plural (or *dual in classical Greek poetry). Gender is masculine, feminine, or neuter. Greek, in the *five-case analysis/system, has nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and vocative. (*Eight-case analysis/system identifies nominative, genitive, dative, instrumental, locative, ablative, accusative, and vocative.) Since adjectives and nouns each use more than one ending set for their own number-gender-case indicators, agreement does not necessarily mean that the letters of the endings will be the same as the modified noun; it means, rather, that the number-gender-case agreement, however indicated by either the adjective or the noun, will exist even if the two use different spellings for it.
Since all nouns have grammatical gender, a “problem” arises if two nouns of different genders are modified by the same adjective. In that case, since the adjective cannot have both genders at once, it takes the gender of the nearest noun. (An alternative solution may be to invoke the principle that masculine takes precedence.) A similar “problem” comes up if one adjective modifies two nouns of difference number. Again, the adjective takes the number of the nearest noun. This later situation appears in Acts 5:21: “The high priest, coming, (mas/sg/ptc) and the-ones with him assembled the Sanhedrin.” Cp. Latin: your great vaults and treachery: magna vitia (acc/neut/pl) insidiasque (acc/f/pl) tuas (acc/f/pl).
Some Greek adjectives cover the masculine and feminine gender with the same form and use a separate form for the neuter. All the *alpha private adjectives (a-/an-) are this way: agamos, agenealogeetos/on, agnoostos/on, agrammatos/on, adeelos/on, adiabatos/on, adiakritos/on, adialeiptos/on, adikos/on, adokimon/on, adunatos/on, adusbastoktos/on, azumos/on, athemitos/on, atheos/on, athesmos/on, atheeios/on, aidios/on, (aischros/ee/on = exception?), aiphnidios/on, aioonios/on, akarthrtos/on, akakos/on, akarpos/on, akatagnoostos/on, akatalustos/on, akatastatos/on, akeraios/on, akoimeetos/on, akratos/on, alaleetos/on, alalos/on, alogos/on, (amarantinos/ee/on?exception), amarantos/on, amartupos/on, amachos/on, amemptos/on, amerimnos/on, ametathetos/on, a,atekrineetos/on, ametanoeetos/on, ameetoop, amiantos/on, amoomeetos/on, amoomos/on, anaitios/on, , anamarteetos/on, anantirreetos/on, anaxios/on, anapologeetos/on, anarithmeetos/on, anegkleetos/on, anekdieegeetos/on, aneklaleetos/on, anekleiptos/on, aneleeemoon/on, aneleos/on, anendektos/on, anexerauneetos/on, anepaischuntos/on, anepileemptos/on, aneuthetos/on, aneemeros/on, aniptos/on, anoeetos/on, anomos/on, anosios/on, antitupos/on, anudros/on, anupokritos/on, anupotaktos/on, aopatos/on, apaideutos/on, aptaistos/on, osaparabatos/on, aparaskeuastos/on, apatoor, apeirastos/on, apeiros/on, aperantos/on, aperitmeetos/on, apistos/on, apobleetos/on, aprositos/on, aproskopos/on, araphos/on, arreetos/on, asaleutos/on, asbestos/on, aseemos/on, asitios/on, asophos/on, aspilos/on, aspondos/on, aseeriktos/on, astorgos/on, asumphonos/on, asunetos/on, asunthetos/on, ascheemoon/on, ataktos/on, ateknos/on, atimos/on, atomos/on, atopos/on, authairetos/on, aphantos/on, aphthartos/on, aphilogathos/on, aphilarguros/on, acharistos/on, acheiropoieetos/on, achreios/on, achreetos/on, apsuchos/on.
Greek third-declension adjectives are two-ending adjectives. One group of these is -ees/es: agenees/es, aischrokerdees/es, aklinees/es, akribees/es, aleethees/es, alusitelees/es, amathees/es, anoophelees/es, apeithees/es, asebees/es, asthenees/es, asphalees/es, authadees/es, autarkees/es, aphanees/es, apsudees/es; note also arseen/en. Another group of third-declension Greek adjectives is –oown/on, many of which are comparative-degree: soophroon/on, aphroow/on, elassoon/on, kreissoon/om, pleioon/on, meizoon/on, eessoon/on, cheiroon/on
In addition to third-declension adjectives, some, but not all (agapeetos/ee/on, diabatos/ee/on) adjectives created from the sixth principal part of verbs show –tos/-on, whether alpha-privative or not: apodektos/on, apokrupos/on, artigenneetos/on,
Greek has (2) person-number ending sets on its verbs, endings that have to agree with the person of the subject in each case. Verbs of the first and second person singular and plural usually do not also have subjects expressed. (If they do have them expressed, the subjects are pronouns in agreement with the number and person in the verb and imply emphasis). Most of the time, verbs in the third person, however, have separately expressed subjects, which have to agree with the number in the verb. All nouns have a third person reference; consequently, if a noun subject is used, the verb needs to be a third-person form in the correct number. There are times, of course, when third-person verbs have no noun subjects. In such cases, the ending on the verb can be translated with an English pronoun.
The classical rule for neuter-gender words was that they always used singular verbs, whether the nouns were singular of plural. That practice is not uniform in the New Testament, but there are places where neuter plural nouns have singular verbs: Acts 5:12 has two neuter plural nouns tied to a singular verb.
A *collective noun in the singular may take a plural verb: Lk 19:37
*Compound subjects may take verbs in the number of the nearest noun rather than a plural verb at all times (as in English), but note Mt 6:19 (also so worded in English translation: “thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory…”; the verb comes before the subjects in the Greek and the English here); Jn 19:26; 1 Cor 3:8.
Latin has indicators for adjective-noun and subject-verb agreement. Adjectives are singular if they modify two or more singular nouns, but verbs are plural with two or more singular subjects. There is an exception to this rule noted in Martial 8.1, where two singulars have a singular verb: Lector et auditor nostros probat, Aule, libellos.
Adjectives of the third declension use the same form for the masculine and neuter.
Hebrew does not have case, just number and two genders: masculine and feminine).
Hebrew also has gender in verbs of the second and third person.
A singular subject takes a singular verb; two singular subjects take a plural verb in English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. There are some departures from the pattern in the Greek of the New Testament. Acts 4:32 has two singular subjects with a singular verb. The same thing happens in 1 Pet 4:11 (see NASV).
Same as *concord. (in a set with *government)
aka: abbreviation/acronym for “also known as.” (in a set with *alias, *pen name, *pseudonym)
Aktionzart: another word for *aspect. (in a set with *tense, *voice, *mood, *number, *person)
album: see webster
alcaic stanza type of poetic meter wh 340
aleph: the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Sometimes said to be silent, it is really a glottal stop, equivalent to the smooth breathing in Greek and the h in honor, heir, etc.: א
alexandrine: a line of English verse in iambic hexameter with a caesura after the third foot. A line of French verse with twelve syllables and a caesura after the sixth syllable. Webster quote
alias: whereas alias refers to an assumed name without further limitation, *pen name is associated with claims of written authorship; the same can be said for the most part about *pseudonyms, except that pseudonym may imply an intent to deceive. (in a set with allonym, *pseudonym, *pen name, *aka)
all caps: spelling a word or *acronym with all capital letters instead of using a capital as first letter and *small letters thereafter. (in a set with *capitals, *upper case, *lower case, small letters, *higher case; see also majuscules, minuscules)
allegorize a comparison: to carry the parallels between image and fact farther than the author intended
allegory: a story whose elements parallel closely the parts of some lesson. The effort is to establish some point of comparative meaning with each aspect of the story. Faery Queen is an extended allegory. The Parable of the Tares approaches the nature of an allegory (Mt 13:24-30, 36-43). (in a set with *parable, *fable)
alliteration/alliterative/alliterate: having the same noticeable sound in successive or nearly successive elements. The recurrent sound may be at the beginning, middle, or end of close words or on the front of first words in an outline or poem: “How about that big baby boy in the bassinet.” “Pat has been praised, pampered, and appreciated way too long.”
allocution: a formal, authoritative speech. (in a set with) Webster
allograph: (1) alternative ways of making the same letter (capital Q and like a 2); (2) two *digraphs for the same sound (f, gh, ph)
allomorph: a parallel or equivalent form of a morpheme. allonym: a writer’s name assumed from another historical person (webster)
(in a set with *alias, *aka, *pen name, *pseudonym)
allophone: a patterned sound variant like initial t’s and p’s (top and pot), which are aspirated in English, in contrast to their unaspsirated medial equivalents (t’s and p’s as in stop and spot. The letter n represents both the n sound and the ng sound, depending on circumstance: ”fungus [ng], but funji [n]. Ahead of gutturals (g as guh, k, c as k, ch as k) it has an ng value, a velar nasal; elsewhere it is n, a dental nasal: ran but rank/rancor/fungus. Voiced and unvoiced letters often represent each: t and d (ripped), b and p, k and g, th for th and dh (bath and bathe), c covers k and s sounds
Greek gamma has a regular guh sound in all cases except where it appears ahead of another velar (κ, γ, χ, ξ,), where it becomes an ng sound.
Latin urbs b is p before terminal s.
allusion/allude: a light or indirect reference to another written, or perhaps oral, source. An allusion contrasts with a quotation by picking up only some of the verbiage or by using entirely different terms for the event or concept. (in a set with *citation, *quotation, *reference)
alpha: first letter of the Greek alphabet: α/Α, transliterated ’
alpha privative: the prefix a- (an-before vowels) that negates the root: adiaphora (indifferent matters), amoral, asymtomatic, *asyndeton, atemporal, atheist, amoral, anion; anhydrous, anisocytosis.
alphabet: the set of letters/symbols used to represent the sounds of the language. The number of letters/symbols is not the same as the number of sounds in a language. English has forty-some sounds but only twenty-six letters. Classical Greek had twenty-four letters with one variant form () but thirty?? sounds. Classical Latin had ??? sounds, but only ??? symbols. Classical Hebrew had twenty-two letters with five variant forms () but over thirty sounds.
(a) Some letters can cover more than one sound when there are systematic shifts (*allomorph), as with the English consonant n (in ran/rank) and the variant values of all the vowels and diphthongs. The same goes for Greek γ (g[uh] or ng before *velars) and its long/short vowel variants in α, ι, and υ. Latin b (b, but p before s and t). (b) Sometimes a letter can represent more than one sound at the same time, as with *double consonants like English and Latin x, or Greek ζ, ξ, and ψ. (c) Sometimes there are *digraphs, which use two symbols to cover one sound, as with English ch, dg (= j), gh (as f), ph, rh/rrh, th. (d) Sometimes the same sound is represented in more than one way. English writing is especially complex in this regard both with consonant and vowels. (e) The Hebrew alphabet was consonantal, i.e., having signs only for the consonant sounds of the language (vowels were added later as “points”). The Cherokee alphabet was (g) *agglutinative, representing syllables. (get reference RD). ??? We start departing the idea of alphabet with (e) pictographic as with hieroglyphics. Likewise, (g) Japanese and Chinese “characters.”
(in a set with *consonantal alphabet, *agglutinative alphabet, *manual alphabet)
alphabetize: organize by putting in the sequence of the alphabet
alphanumeric: using a mixture of all the symbols used in written communication: symbols, letters, numbers, punctuation marks
amanuensis: An amanuensis writes what someone else dictates, whether a letter or a more formal work. That vocation in ancient times could involve taking down dictation in a kind of short-hand and then recopying it into final form. There may also have been some smoothing out or rephrasing depending on the skill level of the amanuensis—done, of course, with the approval and confirmation of the author. A *scribe, however, also copied *manuscripts; hence, a scribe was engaged in a wider range of work.
(in a set with *scribe, *stenographer)
ambiguity: lack of clarity because of insufficient information, multiple meaning of words, or variant connections between words and context.
Variant connections with context include *squinting modifier, of phrases, adjective-noun sets, participles, etc.. From the listener’s side, ambiguity comes from expressions unknown to the hearer.
Crossword clues play on such problems. “Bad fighter” could be a fighter who is a bad person (hood), who/what fights what is bad (good, e.g.), or someone who is not good at fighting (awkward).
Noun + of phrases. Love of God: get other example.
The idea is sometimes advanced that the New Testament was written in Greek because it was such a precise language. Actually, every language is sufficient for its circumstance. It has to be; otherwise it could not serve its purpose and would get modified or corrected. Every language has places that are not as clear as they are in other languages. Greek—and Latin—can be ambiguous in its use of the genitive case simply to tie one noun to another. From experience, the listener has to connect the *referents properly. Greek loves participles, which can substitute for a whole range of adverbial and adjectival values. There seems to be no marker for distinguishing *restrictive and *non-restrictive clauses. The influence of Hebrew usage can be seem in quite a few places. Being an ancient text, Greek—and Hebrew even more so—uses term, expressions, and structures that are not always clear to modern reader in a different culture.
amend: to alter a written document to make it clearer. (in a set with *emend, *edit)
ampersand: a symbol representing and (&); a blending, or *crasis, of and per se and.
ana: the record of proceedings in a committee or open meeting
anacoluthon: “an abrupt change within a sentence to a new construction inconsistent with the first” (Webster)
anachronism: a representation of something as occurring in the wrong time frame, especially presenting a kind of thing as occurring earlier than it could have
anacrusis: a set of unstressed syllables that precede the place in a line of verse where the reckoning of meter begins.
anadiplosis (webster): a rhetoric device that, at the beginning of the next sentence, repeats the word or words that closed the previous one.
anagoge/anagogy: the mystical interpretation of biblical texts that finds allusions to heaven and the afterlife in passages that do not ostensibly dals with those matters.
anagram/anagrammatize: a word or phrase created by the rearrangement of all the letters in another word or phrase.
analphabetic: not in alphabetical order (Gr. a[n] + alpha + beta)
analogy: a comparison whether by description or by a story, as with Jesus’ introduction to certain parables: “the kingdom of God is like . . . .” Analogies are used to visualize and thus more easily remember the principle involved; it can add an affective dimension to the issue at hand:
analytical language learning: a style of learning that highlights syntactical analysis and word *inflection (in a set with *saturation language learning):
analytical lexicon: a lexicon that gives the meaning of a word and also analyzes given specific forms of the word as to number-gender-case or tense-mood-person-number-voice-aspect-dictionary form, particularly in instances where the form is irregular.
anapest: a metrical foot consisting of two short syllables followed by a long, as in on a boat.
(in a set with *trochee)
anaphora: a figure of speech that repeats the same word at the beginning of a series of like constructions
anarthrous noun: not having an article. In English, having no article draws attention to the kind of thing that the noun is; it emphasizes quality. Greek puts the same value on its anarthrous nouns—quality vs. identity.
(in a set with *articular)
anastrophe (Webster): the reversal of the normal syntactical order of words: “+Great is your reward in heaven.”
anathematize: to proclaim someone to be unacceptable for fellowship; to excommunicate
anecdote: a short account for illustration or entertainment
anglicize: to adjust a foreign word to the features of the English language. That may be done, for example, by using English terminations for plurals in place of the ones used by the feeder language, or by adjusting the pronunciation of sounds to fit the English sound inventory. (1) Amoebas may supplant amoebae over time. (2) Unusual consonant combinations on the front of words automatically get adjusted to related sounds native to the language: gn-, kn-, kt-, pn--, ps-, pt-, wr-. Double *fricatives will get adjusted to stop + fricatives (diptheria < diphtheria; dipthong < diphthong). People say garage like they say rage rather than say garazh.
anglicism (in as set with *Hellenism, *Aramaism, *Latinism, *Hebraism)
anagogue: a mystical interpretation of a passage or some feature of a text that makes unfalsifiable meanings out of a text. (in a set with *fourfold interpretation, *analogical interpretation, *allegorical interpretation, *spiritual interpretation; see *interpretation, *text)
annals: a chronological record of a year’s events; a history; a journal that chronicles the events of a field of learning or the accomplishments of a ruler or leader
annotated bibliography: a bibliography with explanatory notes or evaluations of the works listed
annotation: explanatory material that describes a word cited in a *bibliography or *footnote
announcement: a public statement to let people know about some occurrence
annual: some publication issued on a yearly basis, particularly a book put together each year to describe and picture a year of high school or college life
anointing with oil: the pouring of olive oil on the head of someone being appointed to a duty or office, as a prophet, a king. (2) Also associated with a prayer for healing in James 5:14-15.
(in a set with *gesture, *laying on of hands)
anomaly: a baffling feature of inflection or syntax that has no apparent parallel or background
anonymous/anonymity: a designation for something whose authorship is not know. [“no name”]
antecedent: the word that a *pronoun refers back to. In distinction to *referent, the reality a word refers to, and *proleptic pronoun, the as-yet unmentioned noun that a pronoun anticipates.
(in a set with *proleptic pronoun, *referent)
antepenult: the third syllable from the end of a word. [Lat. ante/before + paene/almost + ultima/last]
anthem: a hymn of praise. Biblical words set to music.
anthology: a collection of perhaps previously published writings by various writers on the same subject. Similar to *compilation.
authorial intent: what the writer or speaker meant to communicate as distinguished from inferences beyond it or applications of it. (in a set with *interpretation, *hermeneutics)
anthropocentric viewpoint: recounted through the eyes of man instead of God’s eyes. (in a set with *geocentric viewpoint, *omniscient viewpoint)
anthropomorphism/anthropomorphic: a figure of speech that applies human characteristics to what is not human, that is, to animals, plants, objects, God. The wings of the cherebim, the wings of morning and fly to the uttermost , God rising up early and , trees clapping their hands
anthropopathism/anthropopathic: attributing human feelings to what is not human. A biblical case may be the statement ___ “It ‘repented’ God that he had made man.”
antinovel: a fictional work that does not incorporate the features of a regular novel. Webster—like plot
antiphon: a liturgical text sung responsively to a psalm or canticle Webster
antiphonal: pertaining to a text sung alternatively as by a choir and congregation, men and women, etc.
antiphonary: a collection of antiphons/antiphonies
antiphony: same as antiphon
antiphrasis: an expression used humorously in a way different from its usual meaning. “Old Ruthie decided she’d had enough of that cushy job; she’d been praised, pampered, and appreciated way too long.”
antistrophe: the second, fourth, sixth, etc., stanza that uses the same meter in contrast to the other stanzas that use a different meter. (in a set with *strophe)
***antithesis: a contrasting statement put next to a first one
antonomasia: the substitution of a proper name for a group that could be designated by a common noun. “He is an Einstein.”
antonym: the opposite of another word: tall vs. short; a term in a set of paired opposites.
(in a set with *synonym)
auto-pen: a device that can be used for signed official documents without the official being on site.
aorist: simple action, snapshot action, factitive vs. progressive, iterative, cyclical, emphatic, and other aspects of action. Gr. a + orizoo, without horizons.
aorist tense: the simple past tense classification in Greek (punctiliar) in contract to imperfect tense (linear). The aorist tense equals one of the uses of the Latin *perfect tense; another term for preterit/preterit tense.
(in a set with *epistolary aorist, ingressive aorist)
aoristic present: Among the possible *aspects that a Greek present-tense verb can cover is simple action, also called factitive action. In such a case, the action is not being thought of as in some way linear. (in a set with *aspect, Aktionzart, *factitive action, *present tense, *simple action)
aphaeresis/apheresis: an elision of a sound from the front of a word: ‘possum for opossum; ‘tis for it is.
aphesis: the loss of a sound from the front of a word, usually an unstressed vowel: ’possum < opossum, ’cuz < because, bout, ‘round, ’til < until, The opposite of *prothesis, which is the meaningless addition of a sound to the front of a word..
(in a set with *contraction, *elision; *prothesis)
aphorism: a short statement of an idea: “well begun, half done”; an *adage
apocalypse: a kind of writing filled with visions and symbolic figures used in prophesying the near destruction of the world.
Apocalypse: another name for the Book of Revelation, a name based on the Greek name for the book: Apocalypsis.
apocalyptic:
apocalyptic literature: literature like Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation in the Bible. It is characterized by animal symbolism, end-time epic conflict between good and evil,
apocopate/apocopated/apocopation: a shortened form of something
apocope: the loss of a sound at the end of a word: paradigm < paradigm-os (Gr); victory < victori-a; sing < sing-en; Webster
Apocrypha: the set of xx books added to the Old Testament canonical books and included in the canon in Roman Catholic Bible (Old Testament Apocrypha). The New Testament apocrypha include writings from after the apostolic period. By word picture “hidden-from (writings”) (in a set with *pseudepigrapha and *canonical writings)
apocryphal: of questionable authority or authenticity
apocryphon:
apodosis: the independent clause in an if-sentence, or *conditional sentence; the consequence clause
(in a set with *protasis)
apologia: an apology, that is, a defense of some concept or belief.
apologue: a moral fable that has inanimate or animal characters in it (webster)
apology/apologia: a formal defense
apophasis: an allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned (Webster)
aposiopoesis (sp): a construction that does not complete its format: “if you only knew . . . ”; a trailing off without finishing the comment. In the New Testament, A-class conditional clauses may be used alone in this way to mean “not”: Mk 8:12; Heb 3:11; 4:3, 5; 3:18.
apostrophe: a mark like a raised comma (’) with a space under it that in written English is used (1) under it to indicate possession (sg. mother’s; pl. mothers’) so as to distinguish possession from plurals (mothers). It is also used (2) as an elision mark in spelling contractions (’tis, don’t, we’re, ev’ry) or (3) certain abbreviations (nat’l, con’t); (4) to help spell the plural of words as words or letters as letters (“There are two t’s in little”; “there are two the’s in that sentence”).
Greek uses the same mark to indicate *elision (καθ’ ἡμέραν) with a space under and after it and a similar mark to indicate *crasis but with no empty space under or after (κἀκεῖ, κἀκεῖθεν, κἂν, τοὐναντίον, τοὔνομα); it looks like a *smooth breathing mark. *Compounds use neither apostrophe nor spacing (ὡσεί)
(2) a rhetorical device in which an actor addresses someone or something not present
apothegm: a *maxim, a short, witty, instructive statement; a saying (Webster’s)
appelation wh 218
appelative noun (in a set with *attributive noun)
appendix: one or more additions at the end of a book that gathers together items that might be spread throughout the work itself. Examples include the list of lyricists and composers in the back of a hymnal, an alphabetical listing of sources for the music, a metrical index, and the like.
appositional or: Or can introduce an element that restates in different words what has been said rather provide a thing alternative to it. It has the value of “or, to put it another way . . . .” The medical term for drooling” is ptyalorrhea, or ptyalism.
appositive: renames a noun; it is a different word for the same thing
An appositive relates to the noun to which it is appositional in the same way a subject relates to a *predicate noun and the way a *direct object relates to an *objective complement. One is the particular and the other is the class—as a smaller circle inside a larger one. In English punctuation, it is best in most cases not to set the second noun off in commas if the particular appears before the class. If the class appears before the particular, then set the second noun of in commas. “My brother John is a teacher.” But, “John, my brother, is a teacher.” If the appositive is long, however, it helps the reader’s eye to set it off in commas regardless of whether class or particular comes first. When or is used appositionally, it is best to set it off in commas because the two terms are fully parallel; if that is not done, the reader is left with supposing that or is introducing another thing rather than another term.
(in a set with *prepositive, *postpositive)
appositive genitive: also called genitive of apposition, where English uses of to equate the two nouns involved and where Latin and Greek use the genitive case on the second noun for the same purpose: “the city of Cincinnati,” the gift of tongues.
approximate numbers: an assertion that does not intend to be exact and so an assertion that is not erroneous or intentionally misleading in its inexactness. “I started to mow the lawn yesterday at two o’clock”; the exact time was 2:10 (more exactly, 2:10:06, when “I” started the mower). The degree of precision is determined by the purpose of the statement. Since most numbers could be more precise, the real issue is proper order of magnitude relative to the subject matter and purpose of communication.
This observation on approximate language probably applies to 1 Kg 7:23, when the text says that the molten sea in Solomon’s temple was ten cubits across and three cubits around—off by a factor of one-twenty-second.
English can say “a little less than ___,” “a little more than ___,” “about ___,” “almost ___,” “as many as ____,” “approximately ___,” “-ish” (as in sixish), “less than ___,” “more than ___,” “nearly ___,” “no more than ___,” “roughly ___,” “something like ___.” There may be no “formula” at all: “There are sixty cars in the race—well, actually 59.”
Latin said
Greek said hos + ____ ( ) or heis/mia/hen + ___ ( ). Also used was hoosei + ____ (Lk 22:41) and hos apo + ___ (Acts 7:14; note also Jn 11:18; 21:8)
(in a set with *round number)
arabic numbers: the normal numbers used in modern numerical notation in contrast to *Roman numerals, *Greek numbers, *Hebrew numbers, and the like.
Aramaism: lema (why?) (in a set with *Hebraism,*Latinism, *Hellenism, *Anglicism; *solecism)
archaism/archaic: a word, expression, or meaning of such that is no longer used by speakers of the language (in a set with *barbarism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *curse, *formal term, *informal term, *malaprop, *oath, *obsolete *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *street talk, vulgarism)
argument: a debate on some disputed item, often implying an emotional element
argumentative: having the nature of an argument or discussion
argumentive: having a tendency toward arguing, arguing with “attitude”
(in a set with *polemical)
arsis: the unaccented part of a metrical foot in quantitative verse or the accented part of a metrical foot in *accentual verse. Webster)
article: English has *definite article, *indefinite article (singulars only), and *anarthrous usage (no article with the noun). (a) Definite refers to a particular example in a certain class: “The liberty we have in America is better than it is in many countries.” (b) Indefinite refers to any example in a certain class. By extension, since it does not matter which example, so to speak, indefinite can also draw attention to the kind of thing it is. It is in this class of things, not that one: “There is a liberty that enslaves.” (c) Having no article on a *common noun draws attention to the kind of thing it is: “Liberty is a wonderful thing.”
Since *proper nouns are already definite by nature, English does not use articles with names. Under some circumstances, it is possible to have a definite or indefinite article with a proper noun because more than one such person, etc., might exist: “There was a Dmitri Breshnikov in our small town’s telephone book.” “The John I meant was John the apostle.”
A given noun may not be able to illustrate all three possibilities: “The tree has not lost its leaves yet,” that is, the one in our front yard. “There is a tree in our front yard,” one out of many examples of such a plant. Anarthrous usage will not work with tree: “treeness” would be the idea, but there is hardly a likelihood of needing to say such a thing.
Money works differently. “The money I laid on the table is gone.” “It is important to have money” (anarthrous). “A money” is not a meaningful expression.
In the plural, English has the option of using definite articles or no articles. “The pronouns in this paragraph are all third-person.” “Pronouns replace nouns.”
Latin has no articles at all—definite or indefinite, but ille sometimes approaches the value of a definite article, especially in identifications like “Magnus Ille Alexander,” Alexander the Great. Unus sometimes approaches the value of the indefinite article. These two points about ille and unus are connected to the fact that their derivatives provide respectively the definite and indefinite articles in French, Spanish, and Italian. In rendering Latin into English, a translator automatically supplies the definite article, the indefinite article, or no article on the basis of the nature of the case.
Greek has article—articular and no article—anarthrous nouns, distinguishing identity or quality rather than definite and indefinite. English article usage calls for definiteness in many places where Greek calls for identity; so, “the” is frequently used in translation where ho/hee/to appears in Greek. But, strictly speaking, the two ideas are not the same. English also can use the *indefinite article to indicate quality, especially with a *noun typical of its class; so the Greek anarthrous noun can often be translated a/an. The main thing to remember in translating Greek articles is that the English the does not necessarily equal the Greek article, and a/an does not necessarily equal the Greek anarthrous noun.
In a circle that represents “pronouns,” there are ex’s that represent individual pronouns. A particular pronoun (x) is definite; so English has an article. Greek also has an article because it identifies this x in contrast to any of the other x’s. So, both languages use articles but for different reasons. The English indefinite article means that any x serves the purposes of this statement. If a second circle is added that represents, say, nouns, then Greek puts an article (identity) with pronouns because Greek is thinking of one circle in contrast to the other (identity again), this time at the group level. But, English uses no article here if it is looking at pronouns as one kind of thing in contrast to nouns as another kind of thing. So, the English anarthrous usage in the plural differs from Greek articular usage in the plural, and articular Greek is translated to anarthrous English.
Enter circle diagrams with ex’x inside for illustrative purposes.
Since Greek articles mark identity rather than definiteness, it is apparently a matter of taste or perhaps emphasis whether the article appears with a *proper noun. In Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, the article does not appear with the ancestor who begets, as in “Abraham begat.” But the article does appear with the one begotten, as in “begat Isaac.” When Isaac (the begotten) is repeated in “Isaac begat” (the begetter), the article is omitted. That pattern holds throughout the genealogical list. In Luke’s account there is an article with each name—which is unrepeated—perhaps because of the implied “son of” between each name.
Relevant biblical examples: Jn 1:1 does not mean, “In a beginning was the word and the word was with the God and the word was a God.” Without a Greek indefinite article, the centurion’s outcry in Mt 27:54 is somewhat unclear: “Truly God’s son this (man) was”; or Truly, this (man) was God’s son/son of God/a son of God/the Son of God.” With no article on God or son, the question is whether the outcry was about the kind of man he was (quality) or indefiniteness. It depends to some extent on the level of the centurion’s acquaintance with the claims of Jesus and with the Jewish understanding of monotheism.
Hebrew has a definite article only, which is prefixed to both the noun and its attributive adjective modifier. If the article is omitted on the adjective, the construction is treated like a *linking-verb sentence that has a *predicate adjective
(2) A written piece of moderate proportions within a larger work like a newspaper or magazine.
(in a set with *articular, *anarthrous)
(in a set with *definite article, *indefinite article)
articular: having an article, in contrast to *anarthrous, having no article. The terminology is used particularly in the study of Greek, where the only two options are having the article and not having the article. With three possibilities in English, “articular” is ambiguous as to whether definite or indefinite article is meant.
(in a set with *anarthrous)
articulăte: adj., able to put ideas into words; able to express oneself clearly. articulāte, v. to put into words
articulation: a producing of words orally
aside: a comment somewhat off the subject, but thrown in for interest, color, or perhaps comic relief.
aspect: the manner in which action is looked at in contrast to tense, voice, mood, number, and person.
Linear action has translations that include was/were/is/are working; used to work; would work; kept working. In past time, Latin and Greek use the imperfect for linear action in past time. English uses auxiliaries plus present participle: was/were working.
Inchoative/ingressive/inceptive: the beginning of an action; covered by the *imperfect tense in Latin but by the *aorist tense in Greek.
Iterative: “The grandfather clock chimes every hour.” “It will chime every hour.” “It chimed every hour.”
Cyclical: “The cam turns at a thousand RPM’s.” “It turned at a thousand RPM’s.” “It will turn at a thousand RPM’s.”
Progressive: is working, was working, will be working
Characteristic action: “She works at Walmart” (present). She would work at Walmart during the day and go to college in the evening” (past). “She will work at Walmart, not K-Mart” (future). English simple past often covers characteristic action in past time, especially if linear indicators are present: “She often worked at Walmart in the daytime and went to college in the evening.”
Punctiliar action is also called simple action, aoristic action, factitive action, snapshot action. “I say to you, you will get out till you have paid the last farthing/cent/quadrans” (Mt 5:26, present). “I said that you would not get out” (past). “I will say this again tomorrow” (future).
Ingressive action is the beginning of an action. In Greek, ingressive action was covered by the aorist tense; in Latin it was covered by the imperfect tense. Inchoative/inceptive/ ingressive action is both punctiliar and linear in that its inception is a point but its continuation is linear; thus Greek’s use of the aorist (punctiliar) and Latin’s use of the imperfect (linear) to cover it.
Conative action is attempted action: “On account of which work of these are you stoning me (trying to stone/getting ready to stone)?” (Jn 10:32, present); “were you trying to stone me”; will you be trying to stone me?” The Latin and Greek imperfect can cover the conative idea.
Perfect is action completed before some point in time:
Strictly speaking, Hebrew verbs have only aspect. The perfect and imperfect “tenses” are really completed or uncompleted action. That is why there is no present tense form in the finite verb.
(in a set with *person, *number, *tense, *mood, and *voice as possible features of verb forms) (in a set with *linear, *punctiliar/*factitive/simple, *perfect)
aspiration: adding an “h” sound to the front of a vowel or end of a consonant. The initial p and t in English words have a puff of air after them; when preceded, for example, by s, however, the aspiration is lost: pit vs. spit; pat vs. spat; pend vs. spend; pot vs. spot; putter vs. sputter; tar vs. star; ted vs. stead; till vs. still; top vs. stop; tub vs. stub.
The Greek rho originally had an h sound preceding it. English derivatives pronounce the rh simply as h: rhododendron, Rhoda.
assimilate/assimilation: a kind of euphony that changes the theoretical sound—often created by inflection—into another that is the same as or phonologically related to the subsequent one: syndicate, but sym- before lip letters (*labials) as in symphysis; syl- before l’s as in syllogism; cum becomes con-, com- before labials, col- before “l” words (collate), cor- before “r” words (corregenda). In Greek we have gamma changing value to *velar *nasal (-ng-) before velars (gogguzo/gonguzo); nu changing to ng represented by gamma in compounds (egkasivizo/engkaivizo/to inaugurate)
(in a set with *elision, *contraction)
assonance/assonant: having the same vowel sound as is Disney’s Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
asterisk: a symbol (*) for drawing attention to some special feature in the written situation—a footnote, an omission, an irregularity; also more recently called *star.
aspirate: having a puff of air associated with it, as with initial p’s, t’s, and c/k’s in English. Also a designation used in older Greek grammars for the fricatives phi, chi, theta. Initial rho had a rough breathing on it; thus the transliteration rh in English derivatives. In Latin ph was probably an aspirate rather than a *fricative.
asyndeton a pattern of *syntax that does not connect grammatical items together with conjunctions as would normally be done: “That car is large, expensive, different; I am not impressed.” (in a set with *hypotaxis, *parataxis)
asyntactic: not following recognizable syntax.
atony: without accent
attainable wish: a wish that refers to the future. In classical Greek, it was covered by the optative mood preceded by ei gar or eithe C & SH 102)
Attic reduplication: a kind of reduplication found in Greek verbs like the change from ago to egagon (to lead), in going from first to third principle part.
attraction of case: With relative pronouns in Greek, attraction of case means that the case of the antecedent is used instead of the case implied by usage within the clause; this happens especially if the clause function would have been accusative. Latin follows a similar pattern. (in a set with *attraction of gender)
attraction of gender: In Greek, attraction of gender means that the subject *relative pronoun takes the gender of the upcoming *predicate nominative rather than the *gender of the *antecedent.
(in a set with *attraction of case)
attributive adjective: an adjective positioned next to the noun it modifies instead of being on the other side of an expressed or implied *linking verb: “he is a tall man” vs. “that man is tall.”
In addition to adjectives, with personal possessive adjectives English makes a vocabulary distinction between *attributive and *predicate adjectives. My, our, your, her, and their stand immediately ahead of the noun they modify. Mine, ours, yours, hers, theirs stand only on the other side of linking verbs. “My plate is on the table”; but “the plate on the table is mine.” There is no predicate-position form for its.
In Greek there are *first attributive adjectives, which appear between article and noun, as well as *second attributive adjectives, which appear after the repeated article: article noun article adjective.
(in a set with *predicate adjective, *first attributive position, *second attributive position)
attributive noun: (in a set with *appelative noun)
attributive adjective
audiolingual: a type of language learning that is derived from the oral nature of language, hence, an emphasis on speaking and listening.
augment: In Greek, augment adjusted the front of roots in *secondary tenses of the *indicative mood as part of the sign for these tenses. (1) *Temporal augment applied to words beginning with vowels was basically a matter of lengthening the vowel: alpha to eta, epsilon to ei- or ai-, iota to long iota, omicron to omega, upsilon to long upsilon. Omega and eta, of course, could not lengthen further. Diphthongs followed the same pattern as single vowels: ai- eta w/ subscript, ei to eta w/ subscript, etc. New Testament verbs starting with eu- usually did not lengthen the eu- to eeu- in the secondary tenses. New Testament Greek often omitted the augment for pluperfects. Note: whereas temporal augment was a matter of lengthening; *contraction was a matter of combining, which also created a long vowel sound of some kind.
(2) *Syllabic augment added an epsilon to words starting with a consonant. Additionally, initial rho became err-, including the augment, that is, by doubling the rho before adding the epislon.
(in a set with *syllabic augment, *temporal augment, *tense formative, *tense sign)
auricular confession: in the Roman Catholic Church, the practice of confessing sins to a priest as an intercessor to God on the sinner’s behalf. It is a confession into the “ear” of the priest, especially since the confessional booth somewhat separates the confessor from the priest visually (Lat. auris).
(in a set with *priest, *prophet, *intercessor)
authentic: actually written by the one it claims to have been written by
author: in a setting that involves music, author refers to the word; *composer refers to the music; outside that setting, composer may refer to the poet or writer in general. (in a set with *lyric, *lyrics, *lyricist, *libretto)
authorial intent: what the speaker/writer/communicator means into the communication in contrast to what the hearer/reader may make out of it.
autobiography: an account of one’s life written by the person himself. [Gr. autos, self; bios, life; graphein, write] (in a set with *biography, *gospel):
autodafé: the public announcement of a sentence that was imposed by the Inquisition Webster
autograph: (1) a person’s signature, the name personally written; (2) an author’s first-hand ancient writing in contrast to subsequent copies of it made by others.
autography: writing something in a person’s own handwriting
auxiliary verb: also called *helping verb, one that accompanies the verb root in a verbal phrase: “am going,” “are going,” “is going,” “has been going,” “have been going,” “had been going,” “will have been going,” “should go,” “should be going,” “were going,” “was going,” “will/shall go,” “will be going,” “would go,” “may go,” “might go,” “can go,” “could go,” “kept going,” “used to go,” “tried to go,” Consequently, auxiliary verbs create phrase verbs, progressive verbs, and other *aspects in verbs. A feature of the English language that gives it greater precision of verbal expression than many languages have. The use of auxiliaries contrasts with using inflected forms on the verb itself.
axiom: an obviously true principle, especially a statement of such. (in a set with *adage, *apothegm, *proverb)
ayin: the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ע; transliterated ‘
backhand: handwriting that slants to the left, a characteristic more often associated with lefthanded writers.
backslash (in a set with *slash)
back talk: (= *sass)
backronym: an acronym whose letters came first and then what they stood for was figured out later: JOY for Just Old Youth, or for Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.
balanced construction: English uses a comma between short parallel phrases/clauses; a long-time principle of rhetoric that maintains balance in oral or written presentation. Greek used ho men . . . ho de to mark a set of evenly weighted clauses; likewise ou monon . . . alla kai. Latin has non solum . . . set etiam.
ballad: as poem that tells a story, written with a view to being sung
ballad stanza: Webster
barbarism: the use of language in an incorrect or uninformed manner, representing the kind of misuse of term or syntax that a “foreigner” would make. (in a set with *archaism, *colloquialism, *catch phrase, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, malaprop, *oath, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *street talk, *vulgarism)
banner: a headline or slogan, often written on a pennant
bar code: a system of short vertical line of varying widths that identify merchandise and prices that are read by a scanner in stores. (in a set with *QR code, *language, *semaphore)
barbarism: an expression that represents the kind of mistake in speaking that someone not very well acquainted with the language would make; the kind of incorrectness a “foreigner” would make.
baritone: kind of Gr accent???
base: the unaltering part of a word, to which suffixes, etc., are added. Also called *stem, *root.
beatitude: a statement about blessedness. The “beatitudes” usually refers to the initial statements in Jesus Sermon on the Mount in Mt 5-7 or to the corresponding entries at the beginning of the Sermon on the Plain in Lk 6:20-23.
belles-lettres: literature regarded as beautiful for its form and sound more than for its content
benediction: the closing prayer at a religious service; a closing expression of blessing pronounced on a congregation by the leader of the service. well + said
bestiary: a collection of stories about animals that gives moral interpretation of their behavior
bet/beth: the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ב
beta: second letter of the Greek alphabet: β/Β
Bible: the Christian scriptures comprised of Old and New Testaments and in Roman Catholicism inclusive of the Apocrypha. It serves as the authoritative base for belief and practice of the faith.
biblical: (1) originating in the Bible; (2) not in conflict with biblical teaching despite not originating there
bibliography: a list of books, articles, and other resources that pertain to an area of inquiry, items on which the present work is based, or sources of additional information
(in a set with *annotated bibliography)
bibliolatry: excessive devotion to the Bible. Often a pejorative term used against those who take a high view of scripture’s reliability and authority, as with the belief in *inerrancy. [Gr. biblion, book + latreuo, worship]
bibliotheca: a library, a collection of books, a catalog of books
bill of sale: a document verifying the purchase and ownership of personal property
bilingual: able to speak two languages; written in two languages as a bilingual catalog
(in a set with *monolingual, *trilingual, *multilingual)
bilingual dictionary: a dictionary that defines the words of one language in the words of another language, as with an English-German dictionary. (in a set with *dictionary, *lexicon)
binomial nomenclature: the system of scientific identification of plants and animals that has first a Latin noun for the species followed by an adjective for differentiation from others in the same species
bio: short for biography
biography: an account of a person’s life written by someone else
(in a set with *autobiography, *gospel)
billetdoux: a love letter
bill of sale: a document that serves to prove ownership as a result of purchase
blagging: informal talk among men in a public place (Webster)
bleep: to remove objectional material or words from a presentation; so called from the sound television put in place of words not deemed appropriate for general audiences
blend: a word produced by blending other words together: smog < smoke + fog Webster
blessing: a statement of well-wishing. In newer versions, the Greek word translated “blessed” has been translated “happy” (makarios) as in the beatitudes (cp. Latin beatus; beatitudo ??) of Mt 5:3-12 (cp. Lk 6:2-23). Such a rendering loses the interpersonal element in the original Hebrew word picture (baruch), which stresses the action of one person upon other. Happy describes simply the condition of a person in a favorable condition, a condition that could issue from something besides a favorable attitude pronounced by one person pronounced on another.
In the Bible there are several formal blessings, including the following:
The blessing of Moses: Num 6:24-26
blurb: an explanatory note about the author or writing at hand; often serving as a caption under a relevant picture or included on the dust jacket of a book
body: the body of a book in contrast to preliminary and subsequent features (in a set with *preface, *introduction, *acknowledgements, *propogue, *epilogue, *bibliography, *corregenda, *excursis, *indices)
body language: unconscious movements, stances, facial expressions that reveal a person’s thoughts and feelings (in a set with *gestures, *non-verbal communication)
body of doctrine: a complete statement of belief by an author or religious community
body of theology: another expression for *body of doctrine
body of work: the full set of an author’s or composer’s creative output.
(in a set with *opus, *opuscule)
bold face lettering: thicker, blacker letters than normal type
(in a set with *italics, *underlining)
bon mot: a *witticism
book: (1) a *codex form of writing; put together like a modern book instead of rolled up like a scroll; (2) a division of a work between *chapter and *volume; (3) one level of division used in citations of larger ancient works like those of Augustine and Josephus. The full *citation has three levels: 4:5:1, i.e., book, and paragraph. Individual documents within the Bible as a whole.
(in a set with *verse, *chapter, *paragraph, *part, *volume)
(in a set with *scroll, *codex)
bookends: a pattern of presentation that uses the same imagery or statement at the end of the piece as at the beginning in order to give a sense of unity and completeness.
bork: to attack for political gain
borrow: to use words from another language (in a set with *loan word)
bound construction: a set of words that cannot be rearranged, taken apart, or given inserts without interfering with its meaningfulness. Examples are prepositional phrases, article-noun relations, English adjective-noun connections.
bound form: an element that never stands alone. The Hebrew article and inseparable prepositions are a case in point as well as English suffixes like –ness, -ity, -ism, etc.
boustrophedon: a writing that runs the text alternately in both directions
brachiology: conciseness in speaking
brackets: used for insertions within material being quoted or for insertions with parentheses.
break: what a voice does when it changes suddenly or slips into crying; the experience a young man has when his voice is changing
breathe: to speak in *voiceless exhalation
breathing marks: On all Greek words that begin with a vowel, one of two “breathing marks” is added to indicate proper pronunciation. The “smooth breathing” corresponds to the English h in honor; the “rough breathing” corresponds to the English h in home. As such, they represented respectively a glottal stop and a glottal *fricative. Therefore, all Greek words—like all Hebrew and English words—begin with a consonant. Additionally, all words beginning with rho have a rough breathing mark.
Breathing marks are written ahead of capitals, over the second member of a *proper diphthong (even if the first vowel is capitalized), before acute or grave accents, and under a circumflex. If an *improper diphthong happens to be capitalized (Hadees), the iota subscript comes up on the line after the capital but the breathing mark appears before the capitalized vowel (and also before any accompanying acute or grave accent and under a circumflex since accents also have to be put ahead of the capital). In this rather infrequent case, the iota subscript is treated as if it did not exist.
bulletin: a brief message such as would be placed on a bulletin board, an announcement. A general warning placed through police communication channels; an APB.
buzz word: a new expression that “catches on” as a way of saying something that comes up often in conversation. “Ask your doctor if xxx is ‘right for you.’” (in a set with *buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, *obsolete *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *street talk, *vulgarism)
by-laws: an agreed-upon set of rules of operation by an organization. In a religious context, by-laws differ from a *creed by avoiding doctrinal matters—at least as much as possible—and by sticking purely to matters of procedure. (in a set with *statement of faith, *scripture, *creed)
by-word: a proverbial expression; an often-used word; an *epithet; an object of notoriety
Byzantine text: a late text form of the Greek New Testament; also called the *majority text (in a set with *majority text, *neutral text,*western text)
cacophony: harsh, dissonant words in a literary work
call letters: the capital letters used to designate a particular radio or television station. (in a set with *handle)
calligraphy: beautiful, ornate writing [<Gr kalos + grapho]
canon: the authoritative body of literature that serves as the measure of orthodoxy for a particular religion. In Christianity, the New Testament canon has traditionally been limited to (1) writings by apostles or those who served as extensions of the apostolic office—in contrast to those written later and later anonymous writings (apostolicity). (2) writings that were universally received—in contrast to those that appeared in one corner of the Mediterranean (catholicity), and (3) writings that harmonize with the previous two principles (orthodoxy).
(in a set with *deutero-canonical)
canticle:
Canticles: alternate term for *Song of Solomon, or *Song of Songs)
capital letter: the form of an alphabetical letter that is larger than *lower case. Also called *upper case. It is the size and shape of the letter that is written with a computer’s shift key pressed down: A B C D E F G H IJ K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
capitalization: In English and Latin, capital letters are used (a) on the front of the first word of a sentence, (b) on proper nouns, (c) on names of deity, and (d) on personal pronouns for the Judaeo-Christian deity. Some writers in English have extended this last usage to relative pronouns, reflexive pronouns, intensive pronouns, and beyond; but the practice has not become standard because it seems cumbersome and because there is no clear stopping place beyond nouns and personal pronouns. The difference between common nouns and proper nouns in English occasions some uncertainty about capitalizing certain nouns associated with the Judaeo-Christian faith. Bible, the Books of the Bible, for example, can be considered proper nouns. On the other hand, in an effort to show respect, writers sometimes capitalize too many things The words scripture, church, should be left uncapitalized because they refer to kinds of things rather than to one entity vs. another within a shared class. In the final analysis, consistency becomes the bail-out in ambiguous cases.
Capitalizing *proper adjectives is a related question. The word biblical is best left as a lower case adjective. The word catholic is capitalized or not depending on whether it is in reference to the Roman Catholic Church but left in lower case if a *synonym for “universal”—the church catholic.
Capitalizing the ahead of the name for an institution depends on whether it is part of the official title. Thus, it is The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary but not the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. ?????example
German has followed the practice of capitalizing *nouns and *substantive adjectives in a sentence.????
Hebrew does not distinguish capital and *lower case.
Capitalization in New Testament Greek applies to proper nouns, the beginning of paragraphs (but not sentences), and the beginning of *quotations (*direct discourse): Acts 1:6, 7, 11, 16, 203, 24; 2:7, 12, 14, 17, 25, 34.)
Since the original New Testament manuscripts were written in all caps (*uncials), interpretation and translation can be affected. One recurrent issue is with the word pneuma, which can mean “wind,” “breath,” “spirit” (as a part of humankind), the “intent/meaning” of a communication, the “attitude” of a person, or “the Holy Spirit.” Editors of the New Testament have chosen never to capitalize the Greek term for Spirit or Holy Spirit because of this ambiguity of usage. As a result, readers of the New Testament have to decide which idea fits the flow of thought.
A word is clearest when set in contrast to parallel possibilities. The principle is called the law of opposition, the law of contrast, the law of negation. Applied to this situation, the rule suggests that pneuma is not the Holy Spirit if it contrasts with flesh as in Gal 5:16-26. Likewise, it is not the Holy Spirit when it contrasts with letter of the law (Rom 7:6). Acts 6:10 poses an interesting dilemma when it says that the fellow-members of the Hellenistic synagogue in Jerusalem could not withstand the wisdom and the pneuma by which/whom Stephen spoke. The NASB (1995) capitalizes Spirit but then says “by which” (instead of by whom). The law of harmony suggests that spirit fit in the same category as wisdom as something in the man. His detractors were not able to resist his wisdom or his demeanor. Since, however, the Holy Spirit correlates with the proper attitude, the spiritual (Gal.), the intended meaning (Rom.), the issue does not end up creating a crucial difference.
(in a set with lower *case, *uncials, *spelling)
caps: short for capitals, especially in the expression all caps, where the whole word or entry is capitalized.
caption: a short notation under a picture or drawing that identifies the picture
cardinal number: a number that does not imply rank or sequence: one, two, three, four, five, etc. (in a set with *ordinal number)
caret: an inverted v-shaped mark used along the bottom of the line of writing to indicate the place for an insertion, which is then written above the existing writing.
case (1) The size of letters as to whether they are capitals (*upper case) or *lower case;
(2) The function that a noun or adjective has in a sentence. Nominative case contrasts with the *oblique cases, the cases other than the nominative. Case is a matter of function (relationship to other words in a sentence); *case form indicates what the function is.
English has three cases: *subjective, *possessive, and *objective. The first is for the (1) *subject of the sentence (and its *appositive), (2) a *predicate noun (and its appositive), (3) a noun of *direct address, and (4) a *word used as a word. (1) “Ruth Ann, my wife, is 5´2".” (2) “That year I married Ruth Ann, my wife.” (3) “Ruth Ann, will you marry me?” “I wrote Ruth Ann on the valentine.”
There are more cases than case forms in English, Greek, and Latin. To illustrate, Greek *nominative and *vocative have the came form (with only one exception); Latin follows the same nominative-vocative pattern. Greek and Latin neuters always use the same form for nominative and accusative. Additionally, Latin dative and ablative plural are always the same, and dative and ablative singular are alike in second declension. In Latin second and fourth declensions, nominative plural and genitive singular masculine and feminine are the same. In first declension, nominative plural is the same as both genitive and dative singular. In third, fourth and fifth declensions the plural nominative and accusative are the same in all genders.
(in a set with *case endings, *declension)
case form/case endings: the form that a word takes to indicate its function (*case) in a sentence. Thus, English may be said to have *case, but it is limited in the use of case form, which exists only in the possessive case and with pronouns. For the most part, English uses placement in the sentence (*distribution) and accompanying prepositions to show a word’s grammatical role.
English’s three case are *subjective, *possessive, and *objective; so it has case but little in the way of case form. First of all, English nouns are nouns because of where they can be put in a sentence: subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition. Then, the case of such nouns is specified by which noun slot they occupy. Accusative case is what appears in the object-of-preposition slot, the direct object slot, and the indirect object slot. Subject case is what appears in the subject slot. Possessive case occupies adjective slots (*attributive and *predicate); and, except for pronouns, has a case form that adds an s(/z) sound to the end.
So, only the possessive case in English has a distinctive case form, usually ’s for singular possession and s’ for plural possession. Even here, the singular-plural distinction exists only in writing, because the ’s and s’ sound the same. There are no distinctive possessive forms for personal pronouns. Instead, there are possessive adjectives, and none of them have the ’s or s’ termination: my/mine, our/ours, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, and their/theirs. Forms after slashes are *predicate adjectives (The book is mine); the others are *attributive adjectives (my book).
With the demise of case-form in English, typical speakers have, to an appreciable extent, lost a sense of case form. That deficiency shows itself in mistaken usage of pronouns, which do still have case form. A typical error occurs in compound objects of prepositions: “between you and I” instead of “between you and me.” Part of the problem stems from thinking of you and I as a set expression, which is then used as a unit without further regard for grammatical considerations. Another circumstance is with predicate nouns, which should be nominative: “It’s me.” In fact, “It is I” sounds pedantic and contrived to the contemporary ear. The usage illustrates the tendency for *distribution to take over the role of case form. Anything that in terms of distribution appears after a verb gets objective form. If it is deemed important to avoid such an irregularity, rewording is advised: “It’s Virgil”; “this is Virgil”; Virgil, here.”
Latin identifies six cases: *nominative, *genitive, *dative, *accusative, *ablative, and *vocative (and *locative).
Classical and Hellenistic Greek studies historically have identified five case forms: *nominative, *genitive, *dative case, *accusative, and *vocative. An alternative analysis uses an eight-case system: *nominative, *genitive, *ablative, *dative, *instrumental, *locative, *accusative, and *vocative. The five-case layout generally corresponds to the number of different case forms in the language.
Over time, prepositions took over case endings by themselves as indicators of grammatical function. What in classical Greek was indicated by a case form only, came to be accompanied by reinforcing prepositions in the New Testament and later Greek.
Hebrew does not identify case form except for a few old accusatives (–ah); it does use eth- as an object sign ahead of the noun as distinguished from case form on the word itself.
(in a set with *case, *distribution)
(in a set with *case form, *nominative, *genitive, *dative, *accusative, *ablative, *vocative, *instrumental, *locative)
(in a set with *gender and *number for *“locating” a *noun or *adjective in its full *paradigm)
catalectic/catalexis: lacking a syllable in the last foot of a poetic line
catechesis: oral instruction, especially when arranged in question-answer form and dealing with religious doctrinal matters. Luke tells Theophilus that he is writing his gospel so Theophilus can know for certain the things in which he had already been orally instructed (Lk 1:4).
catachresis: the misuse of a word or set of words (In the KJV, Eve is a help meet, not a help mate.) or a *mixed metaphor.
catalog(ue): a publication that lists the items (for sale usually) in a certain sphere of interest
catch phrase: a nifty, expressive, memorable way of saying something, a *”buzz word that “catches on” like the newer expression “right for you.”
(in a set with *archaism, *buzz word, *colloquialism, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, *obsolete term, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *street talk, *vulgarism)
catch word: an expressive term for a common idea; a slogan; a memorable way of saying something
catechesis: (oral) instruction in the basics of religious matters
catechism: a book for religious instruction in the fundamentals of the Christian faith
catechist: one gives catechetical instruction
catechize: to instruct orally in question-answer format regarding religious doctrine
catechumen: one receiving catechetical instruction in the Christian faith
causal clauses: An adverbial clause that gives the reason for what happens in the main clause: “Because he ate green apples, he got the stomach ache.” English has no distinct formula for such clauses. Latin may use the subjunctive mood after conjunctive cum in such a clause.
Greek uses the formula FORMAT In Latin the clause is created by cum plus subjunctive.
causative: giving causal meaning, as a suffix like –ize and –fy in English, -izo in Greek.
cedilla: the subscripted addition to certain letters to signal altered pronunciation: façade, garçon.
cento; a literary word comprised of writings from various authors
chapter: a major division in the text of a large work. In an especially long work, there may be volumes, then parts, above the chapter divisions. In biblical references, chapters are the largest breakdowns of the text. (in a set with *book, *volume, *part, *paragraph, *verse):
chapter and verse: an expression used in Christian circles for an exact place where some authoritative evidence occurs in the *Bible.
character: a letter of an alphabet, a letter or mark in a writing system
chapter: a major division in a book. In biblical usage, the largest division of Old and New Testament books with the exception of Obadiah and four short New Testament books that have no chapter divisions: Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
chetubim: the Hebrew term for “writing,” one of the three basic divisions of Old Testament literature and including Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. (in a set with *Torah and *Nebiim)
chi: twenty-second letter of the Greek *alphabet: χ/Χ. Pronounced like the ch in Bach.
chiasmus: a figure of speech that involves a rhetoric inversion of the second of two parallel structures” p 242WB
chiastic concord: WG 242
choliamb/choliambic meter: a metrical foot that has a trochee plus an iamb Webster (Wh 292
chorus: contrast with verse
christen: to name someone (or something), particularly at the baptism
chronicle: a record of events (in a set with *biography, *autobiography, *gospel, *history)
cipher: a message written in code by substituting or transposing letters in a predetermined way. (2) the number zero (0)
circumflex: an inverted arc placed above a vowel and representing in Greek a rise-fall tone only on long vowels or *diphthongs of the last two syllables. Also shaped ã in some Greek texts.
A third form ( ^ ) is used in English for spelling a few words and phrases: bête noire, entrecôte, entrepôt, maître d’hôtel, papier-mché, pâté, raison d’être, table d’hôte, tête-à-tête,
(in a set with *acute accent, *grave accent; *diacritical marks)
circumlocution: a “speaking around” something; a wordier way of saying something. The practice exists either when the language does not have relevant *technical terminology, because circumlocution may soften a potentially offensive matter, or because the extra wording creates a *euphemism.
circumstantial clause: an adverbial dependent clause that indicates the attendant circumstance with the main clause: When/while he was shoveling snow, he had a heart attack.” Latin has a specific formula for the idea: cum + subjunctive.
citation: a reference to a passage or a location of a passage without quoting its words (in a set with *reference, *quotation)
clause: a set of words distinguished from *phrase by having a *finite verb instead of an *infinitive, *participle, or no verbal at all. As such there are many kinds of clauses in various languages:
*independent clause/*insubordinate clause, *dependent clause/*subordinate clause;
*noun clause, *adjectival clause, *adverbial clause;
*adversative clause, *circumstantial clause, *conditional clause, *concessive clause, *consequent clause, *elliptical clause, *fear clause, *if-clause,
*indirect discourse, (called *indirect statement in Latin), *indirect question, *jussive noun clause [Lat],
*object clause [Gr], *proviso clause, *purpose clause, *relative clause, *relative clause of characteristic (L.), *result clause, *temporal clause,
coalesce: to serve two functions at once ???? In Hebrew, the holem and the dot above a *sin indicates sin vs. shin and at the same time indicates the o-sound that follows it.
code word: a term or expression that stands for more than it says. An “insider” expression that hides its meaning from the general populace (in a set with *technical term)
codex: a writing bound together in leaves like a modern *book in contrast to a *scroll (in a set with *scroll)
cognate accusative: An accusative direct object after verb that is a related word: shoot a shot, sing a song, “I have fought a good fight” (2 Tim 4:7).
in a set with *cognate)
cognate subject: A situation where the subject and the verb are related words: “Peter’s shadow might overshadow any one of them” (Acts 5:16).
cognate words: words that have the same or a similar base: write, writer, writ, a writing, handwritten, underwrite
cognomen: one’s *surname, last name; a family name. In Roman names it was the third name, which marked the individual’s family name. (in a set with *nickname, *nomen, *praenomen)
cohortative: the terminology used in Hebrew grammar for what is called *hortatory subjunctive in Greek and *jussive in Latin, a first-person plural verb form for urging action. In Hebrew and Latin grammar it is called the jussive because of its correspondence with third-person usage. Greek covers the third-person idea with the imperative mood.
coin a word/expression: make up a new term or phrase: normalcy is said to have been coined by President Coolidge???? A *neologism.
collate: bringing together sources that deal with the same thing so as to produce a complete or more accurate picture. Textual critics collate *manuscripts to access variant *readings at certain points in the text or at times to fill in missing parts in a defective copy of an ancient writing.
collective noun: a noun that refers to a group of individuals: clergy, committee, company, enemy, entourage, family, flock, group, herd, public, seed, staff, task force, team.
Paul observes that zera, the Hebrew word for seed in the promise to Abraham (Gen 13:15; 17:8) is a collective noun—for kind of seed rather than kernel of seed—that is to be identified with the “Christ” kind—seed by promise, not with the individuals that comprised Abraham’s lineage (Gal 3:15-16, sperma [Gr], semen [Lat]). Acts 7:6 uses the singular collective seed and them has a plural verb in 7:7; Jerome uses plural pronouns (enos) referring back to seed within the same verse.
(See also *agreement)
colloquialism/colloquial: a word or expression used in conversational language between friends and would not likely appear in a public presentation, address, or writing. (in a set with *archaism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, *oath, *regionalism, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *vulgarism)
colloquium: a forum for the exchange of ideas, often part of the structure for a doctorate program so that members of the group can entertain each other’s sometime tentative proposals for debate and evaluation.
colon: a mark of punctuation that equals the value of “that is,” i.e.; “here’s an example.” Colons separate chapter and verse in biblical references: Jn 3:16.
column: a block of print less than a page wide in which newspaper articles and the like are written. By metonymy, it is an article in such a publication.
combining form: the form of a root that is designed to combine with a subsequent word element. The splicing letter, or connecting vowel, is most frequently –o- in English. If the next element begins with a vowel, in which case no connecting vowel is necessary: ot/o/rrhea but ot/algia. Even when the next element begins with a vowel, a connecting vowel is sometimes used especially when the next letter is an a: psychoanalysis, The letter –i- occasionally serves as a connecting vowel: algesimeter, noct/i/philia, noct/i/phobia, rach/i/schisis, venipuncture,
comedy: a play or written piece characterized by humor and leading to a happy ending
(in a set with *tragedy)
comma: a *punctuation mark that subdivides a sentence following certain rules of usage. In English, commas (1) separate *co-ordinate clauses—unless they are short enough the eye can see the full sentence;
(2) set off *appositives (with double commas) unless the sequence of appositives is class- then-particular (my brother John), where they are optional;
(3) set off parenthetical expressions added in for color or balance (double commas);
(4) set off introductory *infinitive phrases (always), *clauses (always), *prepositional phrases (unless short and no difficulty is created), or *adverbs (unless no difficulty is created);
(5) set off *non-restrictive clauses;
(6) separate items in a series of three or more and then only if coordinate conjunctions are not used.
Occasionally, a comma can be used to (7) identify a break, say, between subject and verb in a complicated structure that greatly separates the subject from the verb. It is better to rework the construction to avoid the extra comma. Besides, modern English usage does not prefer the long, complex, Germanic sentence form where *subjects are overly distant from *verbs and verbs are overly distant from *direct objects.
Additionally, to (8) separate very short sentences, a comma may suffice in place of a semi-colon (or period) without being considered a *comma splice: “Illative correlates, causal causes” (as in distinguishing two meanings of therefore).
Over time, the more precise rules of comma usage have shifted in English. For example, the King James Version uses (double) commas to set off all adverbial and adjectival clauses: introductory adverbial clauses and those at the end a sentence, *restrictive and *non-restrictive adjective clauses, and all relative clauses:
It uses commas between just two items in a set: “We have here but five loaves, and two fishes” (Mt 14:17); “he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying” (Mt 5:2). Contemporary usage does not insert commas until there are at least three members in the set and does so even then only when coordinate conjunctions are not used.
TKJV uses colons in places where commas appear now: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3).
Examples
Various editions of the KJV handle these cases differently. So modern readers have to keep those adjustments in mind when using the King James and other older versions.
The Greek comma is shaped like English comma, but its use does not follow the same rules of usage. For one thing, Greek syntax can be rearranged to break up what would be set off with commas and the surrounding text: Acts 5:5, for example.
Another complicating factor in biblical studies is that Old Testament Hebrew and Aramaic and New Testament Greek manuscripts originally had little if anything in the way of punctuation. Punctuation in the English Bible, therefore, represents the judgment of translators and textual critics.
Latin also uses commas, but again the rules of usage differ from English custom. The Vulgate, for example, often inserts commas between two members of a set, something Old English did (KJV) but modern usage does not do until there are three or more parts to the set.
(in a set with *comma splice, *serial comma, *run-on sentence)
comma splice: the joining of two independent clauses with a comma instead of a semi-colon or a period plus capitalization. “We knew it was going to be a battle, obviously it was exactly that.” Man Merc Sunday 9, 2012, p. 23,.
command: a directive given by one person to another; commonly called *imperative in grammar. Commands can use (1) the imperative mood in English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Commands can also be made (2) by infinitives in Greek ( ), and rarely in the New Testament (3) by participles ( ). (4) The future indicative sometimes carries a command force in English, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. In New Testament Greek, the prevalence of this “*imperatival” future may reflect a Hebrew usage of its *imperfect tense.
Commands are frequently softened by putting them in the form of vague request: “Would you mow the lawn?” Similarly, “I’d like for you to mow the lawn.” “Let me help you.”
(in a set with *command form, *imperative mood, *imperatival future)
command form: a verb form that gives a directive, advises, requests, or entreats. Same as *imperative *mood. (n a set with *advice)
commandment: a wording that tells someone what to do. In biblical studies it has to do with speaking authoritatively on divine, Christian matters, where ideally no exceptions exist in the kind of circumstance in view. Not doing a commandment is disobedience; not doing advice is taking a risk. Both ideas may come in the form of a commandment.
(in a set with *advice)
comment: a brief *statement often of an evaluative or explanatory sort
commentary: a presentation that evaluates or explains; a work that systematically explains the meaning of a *text in accordance with the layout of the text.
commercial: a paid advertisement aired on radio or television, promoting a product or service.
commission: a directive aimed at accomplishing some significant undertaking
Commission, The Great: Jesus’ directive to his apostles as recorded in Mt 28, Lk, Jn, and Acts.
common: not having a distinctive form for masculine vs. feminine (1st per Heb verb). Pronouns in English are common except for third singular; hence, the growing tendency to use their for this purpose: “In an academic area like mine, it is unusual for someone to remain that long at the same institution, let alone their alma mater.”
common noun: a noun for a person or thing at the class level as distinguished from a particular one. Proper nouns are not so much for meaning as they are for designation. Man is a common noun; John is a *proper noun. English convention calls for capitalizing proper nouns and using lower case on common nouns (except, of course, at the beginning of sentences). Same as *lower-case noun. (in a set with *proper noun)
communication: human communication can take place through sounds (language), movements (*gestures, *sign language, *kinesics, *facial expressions, “body language”), and symbols (*semaphore, *logos, *writing, *pictographs)
communiqué: official announcement WB
comparative degree: the form of an adverb or adjective that identifies a quality as being present in greater *degree here than in another case.
(in a set with *degree, *comparison of adjectives, *comparison of adverbs)
comparative linguistics: alternate label for *comparative philology. Comparative linguistics draws correlations between the target language and related contemporary languages. *Historical linguistics looks at the flow of a language’s development as a way of elucidating seemingly aberrant features of the language. *Descriptive linguistics makes a complete analysis of a language at a particular stage of its development in contrast to *historical linguistics and *comparative linguistics.
(in a set with *descriptive linguistics, *historical linguistics; same as *comparative philology)
comparative method: a technique for working out the similarities between languages so as to discover the common origin. Cp. *comparative philology.
comparative philology: the study of a language in light of its historical and geographical connections with previous families of languages and surrounding cultures. It is done in the context of all the linguistic understanding available on language as such. An alternate label for *descriptive linguistics.
comparison: (1) Comparison, or analogy, exists in several figures of speech. Figures of speech compare the point of interest to something that has notable elements of likeness to it. This is particularly true when the point of interest is abstract; the comparison gives tangible reference for the abstract idea.
(2) carrying adjectives and adverbs through their three *degrees of comparison.
(in a set with *degree, *comparison of adjectives, *comparison of adverbs)
comparison of adjectives: “Comparison of adjectives” means carrying adjectives through the three possible “degrees of an adjective.” The positive degree is the basic adjective idea as used with no specific contrasts or comparisons in mind: “he is tall.” The comparative degree of an adjective contrasts or compares the example at hand with one other example: “he is taller than his sister.” Superlative degree compares or contrasts the one at hand with all the others in some frame of reference: “he is the tallest person (in his family).” Elative comparison does not have a specific second example in mind: “he is rather tall.” Elative superlative does not have specific others in mind: “he is very tall.”
Each adjective that is capable of degrees has a different form for each degree of the comparison. In English, (1) -er and –est can be added to the positive degree adjective to create the comparative and the superlative degrees respectively. One- and two-syllable adjectives normally form comparatives and superlatives this way: big/bigger/biggest, pretty/prettier/prettiest [insert panel]
English can also use (2) more and most ahead of the positive-degree form to create the other two degrees. Adjectives with three or more syllables usually form their other two degrees in this way: more constructive/most constructive: more infantile/most infantile [insert panel]
Exceptions to this generalization occur with *disyllables sometimes according to the speaker’s taste—some going one way, some the other way, and some either way, depending on its effect on the ear: more eager, more normal. Two-syllable, positive-degree adjectives ending in –y almost always add –er: bossier, crazier, dopier, easier, filthier, gutsier, happier, itchier?, junkier, loftier, moodier, nastier, oilier, prettier, sloppier, tackier, uglier, wittier, zanier. (But more achy, more itchy/itchier?more lengthy?).
*Disyllables with –ful normally use more/most: [insert panel] more awful (but awfulest), more bashful, more careful, more doubtful, more frightful, more grateful, more helpful, more mournful, more needful, more playful, more restful, more shameful, more tactful, more wasteful. Disyllables in –ous use more/most: more boisterous, more callous, more jealous, more monstrous, ,
Disyllables in –less, -ose,
In English, elative comparison can use a doubled adjective before the noun: “He is a good, good man”; or good and (“Dig the hole good and deep”), pretty (“That tree is pretty tall”).
comparison with adjectives/constructions: (put also under *degrees of comparison)
Latin can use (1) quam + same case on the second noun: [insert panel]
Latin can use (2) ablative on second noun: [insert panel]
Greek uses (1) eta + same case on the second noun: [insert panel] Jn 4:1
Greek can use (2) genitive on the second noun: [insert panel] Mt 27:64; Jn 5:20; 14:28; Rev 2:19;
Greek can use (3) para or hyper + accusative on the second noun. In the New Testament, comparative degree usually covers for superlative. It does so by lumping all the other examples into a group and then doing a comparison between the one group (with one example in it) and the rest. Superlative degree is left to have an elative value in all but a very few cases: .
Hebrew min + noun: Hebrew has few adjectives to start with, but has no comparative or superlative adjectives at all.
English than plus same case (However, in current usage English speakers are more and more treating than as a preposition followed by the accusative case instead of a conjunction followed by the same case).
(in a set with *degrees of comparison, *first degree, *second degree, *third degree, *positive degree, *comparative degree, *superlative degree, *than constructions)
comparison of adverbs: check comparison of adjectives
In Greek and Latin, comparison of adverbs of manner builds on the formation of comparison of adjectives
In Latin, ablative of comparison with adverbs is limited to poetry
compendium: a complete summary ideally of all the information on a subject—like Greek grammar. Pictures as situation in which information on some subject has existed in multiple places disconnected from each other, but now is being drawn together and organized in one resource.
compensatory lengthening: the lengthening of the immediately preceding vowel to make up for the loss of a subsequent sound. The Greek nominative masculine singular present and second aorist active participle shows –oon because of the loss of the ts in the theoretical –onts. The same thing happens in the aorist aorist active participle, which theoretically is –sants in the nominative singular masculine but becomes –sās. In Hebrew if a letter is assimilated, the following letter is doubled (except for gutturals and resh) with dagesh forte to compensate for the loss. In Latin,
compilation: a bringing together of articles from various sources to create an anthology on a given subject. Same as *anthology.
complement: word or words that follow a verb in order to fill out its meaning
complementary infinitive: an infinitive that necessarily follows and “completes” the meaning of the main verb and shares its subject, which is not re-expressed: “I want to go home.” The infinitive amounts to a direct object. Not every verb has a meaning that naturally leads to a complementary infinitive. English examples include care to go, dare to go, decide to go, demand to go, desire, to go, have to go, hope to go, intend to go, ought to go, prefer to go, refuse to go, seek to please, try to go, want to go.
Latin verbs that can be followed by complementary infinitives include audeo, debeo, malo, nolo, opto, possum.
Greek verbs
complete sentence: one that is not a phrase, *dependent clause, or *sentence fragment. It expresses an idea clearly without addition or modification.
(in a set with *sentence fragment, *phrase, *dependent clause; *aposiopoesis)
complex sentence: a sentence structure comprised of one independent clause and at least one dependent clause (in a set with *compound sentence, *compound-complex sentence)
complimentary close: a polite expression at the end of a letter above the author’s signature. Examples are “sincerely yours,” “best wishes,” “in our common calling.”
(in a set with *inside address, *salutation, *signature, *postscript)
composite verb: a verb that shares some of its principal parts with another verb. Latin has fi, fieri, factus, where the last principal part has been borrowed from facio, facere, feci, factus.
(in a set with *defective verb, *deponent verb, *regular verb, *suppletive verb)
composition can be (1) a short written piece, but compose is specialized into musical composition where there are both words and music. Especially is the distinction maintained with composer. (2) the *compounding of two separate complete words to make a new word: homeland, homework.
Following A. T. Robertson is the analysis of compounding in Greek that has (a) proper composition, where one root is connected to the main word by a connecting vowel and the main root is the only one inflected. Second is (b) the joining of two words without alteration of either. Thirdly, (c) an already compounded word is further joined to another element to create a tripartite term (A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, p.161).
English uses type 2 composition frequently in simply putting words together without alteration and no space between the parts in written form: heartburn, homework,
compositum: a compound word. Pl. composita
compound: made up of more than one part. Also called *compositum. The process of compounding is called *composition. (in a set with *compound words, *compound subject, *compound noun, *compound verb, *compound adjective, *compound object of a preposition, *compound preposition)
compound adjective: a set of adjectives modifying the same noun.
compound noun: A compound noun may be written together (lifestyle), may be hyphenated (show-off), or may be written separately as two entries (book review)
compound object of a preposition: A compound object of a preposition has more than one object of the preposition.
compound preposition: a set of prepositions with the same object: *over and above his normal work load”; “above and beyond the call of duty.”
compound sentence: a structure that is composed of two or more independent clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjunction or a semi-colon. (in a set with *complex sentence, *compound-complex sentence)
compound subject: A compound subject has two or more subjects of the same verb: “Jim and John are brothers.” (see also *agreement)
compound verb: a set of two or more verbs with the same subject(s) or a verb made up of more than one root ().
compound word: A word created by putting together two or more roots (phonograph), a root and a prefix (acromegaly), a root and a suffix (angi-itis), or a combination of all such elements (encephalomyelopathy). Depending on the constituent parts, the words may be spelled in English with a hyphen or perhaps a dieresis, but most commonly, with neither (*solid). Some compounds can become quite lengthy: laparohysterosalpingo-oophorectomy, cholangiopancreatography;
GR. hyomneemoneumata, deisedaimonesterous (Acts 17); Examples include Greek words formed from two prepositions plus a verb: apo/kat/allassoo.
German religions-geschichte;
Latin sapientissimasque.
Same as *agglutination.
compound-complex sentence: a sentence with more than one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
conative: attempted (action): “They tried to stone him ( ). Conative action in past time can be covered by the *imperfect tense in Latin, by the *aorist tense in Greek, and by the “tried-to/try-to phrase in English.
concession speech: an elected or selected candidate’s traditional public response to losing the bid for an office of important position. (in a set with *acceptance speech)
concessive clause: a dependent adverbial clause introduced by “although”: “Although he passed for 483 yards, the team (nevertheless) lost the football game.” Latin uses cum + subjunctive for this idea; tamen in the main clause often helps distinguish it from other cum clauses that have subjunctive verbs (*temporal clauses, *causal clauses). It translates as “although . . . , (nevertheless).” Also called *adversative clause.
concord: *agreement between parts of a grammatical set showing that items belong together. Examples are agreement in number-gender-case between adjective and noun, person-and-number between subject and verb. Another term for *agreement.
(in a set with *government; singular, plural; *number, *gender, *case)
concordance: a book alphabetically arranged that lists all the occurrences of the words or phrases in a work or set of works
condensed books: books shortened by editorial subtraction, especially by removing sections while leaving the remaining material untouched.
conditional clause includes various kinds of *if-clauses. (in a set with *consequent clause)
conditional sentence: An if-clause plus main clause together
In Greek and Latin, conditional sentences follow certain over-all formulae involving the indicative mood in some cases and subjunctive mood in others. The particle an is also present in Greek contrary-to-fact conditional sentences.
as shown below with accompanying translations.
Greek conditional sentences
present/past particular, nothing implied
ei + present/ past indicative, any form
If he is crossing the bridge, he is breaking the treaty.
If he crossed the bridge, he broke the treaty.
present general
ean + subjunctive, present indicative
If he (ever) crosses the bridge, he breaks the treaty.
contrary-to-fact
ei + secondary indicative, an + secondary indicative (an is sometimes omitted in the New Testament: Jn 9:33; 15:122; Acts 26:32; 1 Cor 12:172, 19)
If he were crossing (impf ind) the bridge, he would be breaking (impf ind) the treaty. [present contrary-to-fact]
If he had crossed (aor ind) the bridge, he would have broken (aor ind) the treaty. [past contrary-to-fact]
vivid future/future more vivid
ean + subjunctive, any future form (imp , subj, opt)
If he crosses the bridge, he will break the treaty (subj).
If he crosses the bridge, break the treaty (impr).
If he crosses the bridge, he might break the treaty (opt).
vague future
ei + optative, an + optative
If he would cross the bridge, he would break the treaty.
future most vivid:
ei + indicative, + future indicative
If he will cross the bridge, he will break the treaty.
Greek conditional sentences (second analysis, particularly for New Testament Greek)
Real conditions
Contrary-to-fact conditions
Greek *mixed conditions appear in the New Testament, and are so-called because they do not follow strictly the form for a regular conditional sentence. The *protasis rules in classifying conditional sentences.
Latin conditional sentences
Simple fact present: si + present indicative in both clauses [nothing implied]
If he crosses the bridge, he breaks the treaty.
Simple fact past: si + past ind in both clauses
If he crossed the bridge, he broke the treaty. [nothing implied]
Contrary to fact present: si + imperfect subjunctive in both clauses (for present
time)
If he were crossing the bridge, he would be breaking the treaty.
Contrary-to-fact past: si + pluperfect subjunctive in both clauses (for past time)
If he had crossed the bridge, he would have broken the treaty.
Simple fact future (future more vivid): si + future indicative in both clauses
If he crosses the bridge, he will break the treaty.
Future less vivid: si + present subjunctive in both clauses [or any fut form in the
second]
If he should cross the bridge, he would break the treaty.
If subordinate conjunctions replace the “if” word, a temporal conditional clause is created. If a relative pronoun or indefinite relative pronoun replaces the “if” word, an indefinite relative clause is created.
(in a set with * particular conditional sentence [Gr]/*simple fact conditional sentence [Lat], *contrary-to-fact conditional sentence,
*vague future conditional sentence [Gr]/*future less vivid conditional sentence [Lat],
*vivid future conditional sentence [Gr]/*future less vivid conditional sentence,
*future most vivid conditional sentence [Gr],
*simple fact future [Lat]
conflate/conflated/conflation: mixed together in such a way that the original parts may be unretrievable as separate items. The expression could be used of an account that blends items of two accounts into one inclusive presentation as with the accounts of Jesus’ life, the three accounts of Paul’s conversion in Acts, the parallel entries between Samuel-Kings and Chronicles. One example of conflation occurs on Christmas cards that picture the shepherds and wise men together at the stable; the Magi came to a house sometime later than the night of Jesus’ birth (Mt 2:11). Mt 24-25 conflate the destruction of Jerusalem and the Lord’s Second Coming (Mk 13; Lk 21)
conjugation/conjugate: carrying verbs through their various possible forms; declension carries nouns and adjectives through their possible forms.. The possible forms of verbs can indicate *person (1, 2, 3), *number (singular, dual, plural), *gender (in Hebrew second and third persons), *tense, *voice, *mood (*indicative, *imperative,*subjunctive,*optative, *infinitive), *aspect, *participles, and *infinitives. (in a set with *declension; *verbals)
conjugations: sets of endings for specific verb types within a language
English does not conjugate its verbs for person except for the -s/z sound for third person, singular, present, indicative active. Latin has four conjugations, whose present infinitives end in -are, -ēre, -ere, -ire. Hebrew has seven *stems through which its verbs may be carried. Greek has omega verbs, omega contract verbs (-aoo, -eoo, -ooo), and –mi verbs.
conjunction: a word that grammatically ties parts of a sentence together
Co-ordinating conjunctions tie equal elements together whether words, phrases, clauses, or sentences: and, but, nor, or; et, sed (Lat.); kai, alla (Gr.)
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjoining words: both . . . and; neither . . . nor; either . . . or; not only . . . but also.
Subordinating conjunctions tie grammatically unequal elements together, particularly dependent and independent clauses. English examples are *temporal conjunctions after, before, since, when as well as conjunctions with other values like if, although, because, whereas.
(in a set with *concession, *coordinating conjunction, *correlative conjunction, *subordinating conjunction)
conjunctive accent: *Conjunctive accents indicate continuation and unity (phrasing) between words in a Hebrew text.. As such, they contrast with *disjunctive accents (WG 251) indicate separation or pause between words in the pointed text of the Hebrew Bible. (in a set with *disjunctive accent)
conjunctive adverb: a word that joins two sentences together and so is usually preceded by a semi-colon: “He did not take the semester test; so, he flunked the course.” Other examples are otherwise, so, consequently.
conjunctive relative pronoun: WH306#17 309#84 308#68
connecting vowel: since language usually alternates *consonants and *vowels, vowels are often inserted between forms to make words pronounceable. (1) It can happen between roots and personal endings on verbs (L. habe + [o] -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt; the Greek -o/e- variable for the same purpose in the present, future, and imperfect, and second aorist forms of *omega verbs. The absence of added connecting vowels in the Greek perfect middle/passive created a fairly complex set of alterations on the final consonant of the root because those root consonants were jammed up against the mu, sigma, tau, and –nt of the personal ending set. (2) Vowels serve as splices between roots in compound English words. Most frequently –o- fulfills this role: therm-o-meter, Graec-o-Roman. Sometimes –i- is used: ven-i-puncture, alges-i-meter. German invokes the ess sound for the same purpose: religion-s-geschichte.
(in a set with *theme vowel, *epenthesis)
connectives: a term that covers types of words that “connect” syntactical segments. They consist chiefly of *conjunctions, *prepositions, and some *particles.
connotation/connote: the additional meaning of a word beyond its basic factual meaning, derivational meaning, or *word picture. Connotation comes from typical associations in present time irrespective of historical or linguistic associations. Connotation includes negative-positive implication, humor, social class connections, intensity. Notion and idea, though synonyms in general, differ in that notion connotes a weak or false idea.
The connotation of a word is not necessarily shared across the board with other members of the word family. Creature comes from Latin creo, to create; but it has gained the sense of something dangerous or at least mysterious. It has lost its connection with being created. Secretary is a word whose meaning has been determined by specialized usage for someone who assists another person, particularly in an office situation. It has lost conscious connection with keeping secrets.
(in a set with *denotation)
consequent clause: the main clause of any conditional sentence: “If he crosses the bridge, he breaks the treaty.” Same as *apodosis. (in a set with *if-clause)
consonant: a speech sound made by stoppage, restriction, or other manipulation of the air flow through the oral and nasal cavities. Consonants include *stops, *fricatives, *flaps, *trills, and *plosives, together with voicing and not voicing each and ingressive/exgressive air flow.
(in a set with* vowel)
consonantal alphabet: a set of letters that represent only the consonants of a written language—Hebrew, for example.
consonant cluster: a group of two or more consonants with no vowels between them: pl, pr, sp, st, str, spl, tr, br, cr, cl, dr, etc., in English. From an English standpoint, Greek’s consonant clusters were sometimes unusual: bd, ps, pn, pt, kt, gn, mn, chth, phth, thn, others?????
(in a set with *diphthong; *glide)
construct noun: a Hebrew noun whose vowel pointing has been weakened to show its connection with a subsequent noun, to which it is tied by a makeph.. The two nouns relate like that of a noun plus genitive noun in Greek and Latin or like a noun plus “of-noun” expression in English. The difference is that the first noun, not the second, is the one altered. In addition, the two form a bound construction, i.e., one that cannot be separated by other elements; hence, any possessive suffix must be added to the end of the set as in “the wife of his youth” (Mal 2:14), for “his young wife.” The idiom seems to affect Greek usage in the NT Ephesians. Examples = =
construction: usually referring to a set of words arranged according to formula (*syntax) for the expression of particular concepts: indirect-discourse construction {insert panel] ablative absolute construction, absolute constructions, accusative absolute construction, adversative clause construction, agency with active voice, agency with gerundive, agency with passive voice, appositive construction, causal clause, circumstantial clause, clause, commands, complementary construction, complementary infinitive, complex sentence, compound sentence, compound-complex sentence, concessive clause, conditional clause constructions, construct state, contrary-to-fact conditional sentence, cum clauses, dative absolute construction, dative of possession, deliberative construction, exhortation, fear clause, fused verb, future less vivid conditional sentence, future vivid conditional sentence, genitive absolute, gerundive construction, indirect discourse, indirect question, infinitive absolute construction, infinitive phrase, jussive noun clause, manner constructions, merged verb, nominative absolutes construction, object clause, objective complement, participial phrase construction, passive periphrastic construction, passive transform, periphrastic construction, periphrastic verb, phrase, phrase preposition, phrasal verb, phrase verb, prepositional phrase, present/past particular conditional sentence, progressive verb, prohibition, proviso clause, purpose clause, purpose clause, relative clause, result clause, relative clause of characteristic, sentence, subjective complement, temporal clause constructions, “than” construction, time constructions, transform, vague future conditional sentence, vav consecutive construction, wish construction.
(in a set with *clause, *phrase, *syntax)
conspectus: a gathering together of related information for the purpose of easier comparison. Ex. A conspectus of Greek mood usages. (in a set with *synopsis, *model)
contingent action: action the depends on another action, one action that is a function of another action. The type of action often covered by the subjunctive mood in Latin and Greek
construction: the arrangement of words into sets that expresses various degrees of complete thoughts.
context: the surrounding subject matter that qualifies and limits the conceivable meanings of more statements within it. < con (with) + text.
contract adjectives:
contract nouns:
contract rules: Greek used a standard set of rules for contraction between short vowels before vowels of any length (long vowels + long vowels did not contract):
epsilon-contract rules: e + o = ou;
e + e = ei;
e + a = eta;
ee + anything else = the anything else (that is, e + a long vowel
= the long vowel
alpha-contract rules: a + o-sound = omega (with subscript if an i-diphthong involved;
a + e-sound = long alpha (with subscript if i-diphthong involved);
a + a = long alpha
omicron-contrct rules: o + i-diphthong (*proper or *improper) = oi;
o + naturally long vowel (eta or omega) = omega;
o + anything else = ou.
contract verbs: Greek has three types of verbs with three different weak vowels on the end of their stems in the first principal parts: alpha contracts, epsilon contracts, and omicron contracts. These vowels “contract” with the o/e variable that connects the root with the endings for persons, participles, and infinitives. These contract vowels lengthen before the tense signs in the other principal parts.
Contract verbs are the most regular Greek verbs because their principal parts are almost always predictable: they lengthen the contract vowel (epsilon to eta, alpha to eta, omicron to omega) and then add the tense signs for future, first aorist, first perfect active, and first aorist passive principle parts. The regularity shows also in that they all have first aorists and first aorist passives, and do not have *semi-deponents.
(in a set with *contract rules)
contraction: any of various ways of shortening words or word combinations.
Spoken English uses many examples of what may also be called *crasis, but they are often given in full in written dialogue. Contractions are usually not used in formal writing; they are used in friendly communication to strike a relaxed tone. They are written with no periods and no spaces, and usually have an apostrophe in place of the missing letter(s): ain’t, b’come, ’burbs, can’t, c’mon, con’t, couldn’t, couldn’t‘ve, could’ve, dep’t, doesn’t, don’t, e’en, e’er, ‘em, ‘er (as in fill ‘er up), gov’t, he’d, he’ld, he’ld’ve, he’ll, he’s; how’d, howe’er, how’ve, I’ll, isn’t, I’ve, I’d’ve; we’ll; it’s, it’ll, it’d, it’ld’ve; let’s, m’f’g, li’l, mustn’t, needn’t, needn’t‘ve, ne’er, ne’er-do-well, nor’easter, nothin’ (reallym, all such spellings of –ing words swap one nasal for another), o’clock, rock ‘n’ roll, she’s, she’d (she had, shed would), she’ll, she ’ld; she’ld’ve; shouldn’t, shouldn’t‘ve, should’ve, s’mores, s’pose, ‘taint (it ain’t), that’ll; that’s, they’ll, they’re, they’ve, they ’ld, they’ld’ve; what’s, what’ll; we’d (we had), we’ve; so’s;’tis; we ’ld (we would); we’re, weren’t, whate’er, what’s, whene’er, where’er, whoe’er, who’re, who’ll, who’d, who’s, who’ve, who ’ld, who’ld’ve; won’t, wouldn’t, wouldn’t’ve, would’ve, you’d, you’ld, you’ld’ve, you’ll, you’re, you’ve; up and at ‘em, why’d, zwounds (by God’s wounds);
As a term, contraction especially refers to a shortening within a word; crasis most particularly refers to blending a word with the word after it; aphesis is a shortening by an omission—usually a vowel—on the front of a word.
In Greek, contraction occurred with *contract adjectives, *contract nouns, and *contract verbs. Additionally contraction occurred when *intervocalic sigma fell out between vowels, which then contracted.
Greek has three types of “contract verbs,” verbs that have a weak vowel on the end of the root of the first principal part. In the process of conjugation, when these epsilon-contract, alpha-contract, and omicron-contract verbs have those weak vowels exposed to the o/e variable before the personal endings per se; they combine with the o/e variable by standard rules to make another, long sound. See *contract rules.
In Latin poetry, contraction could occur with perfects to accommodate the demands of meter (WH 314#122)
(in a set with *aphesis, *crasis, *elision, *syncope)
convention: the features of language are arbitrary rather than innate (inborn) or rooted in the nature of things (inherent). Human convention determines the meaning of sounds/words, syntactical relationships, punctuation symbols, etc. The conventional nature of language does not imply that there is no need to learn the oral or written conventions of punctuation and the like. For the most part, these devices have been developed to afford clarity in the oral and written forms of the language. Not knowing or using them implies lack of competence generally.
The observation about convention also does not imply that there is no need to learn the spoken conventions. Admittedly, some fine distinctions are more precise than necessary for most purposes, and in such matters *language drift occurs in greater degree. Ignorance of such matters usually lies underneath much of the change that occurs, and it can do so without confusion. If it caused confusion, the drift would not be able to “catch on.”
Attempting to by-pass conventions and indulge in simplification (a) often leads to ambiguity. (b) Not learning the conventions can also mark a speaker as unreliable as to ideas as well. Other people read off of one’s departure from norm such things as ignorance, which disqualifies his ideas from serious consideration.
(c) The choice of which set of conventions to follow tends to categorize a communicator. There are formal and informal usages of a language (*diglossia). There are *slang words and *provincialisms. There are standard and conversational styles of speaking, and it is expected that a person shape his communication to the setting—*verisimilitude. Speaking and writing in a highly educated manner among every-day people, for example, is a turn-off t; they are likely to see it as pride more than ability. This speaking “above people’s heads” is considered pedantic. Speaking “beneath” people can imply ignorance of the speaker or lack of respect for the audience.
coordinate clause: a clause that is grammatically parallel to, or equal to, another clause; one of two independent clauses joined by a *conjunction
coordinating conjunction: a word that joins two grammatically equal elements in grammar whether nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, clauses: and, but, or, nor. Contrasts with *subordinate conjunction, which introduces grammatically unequal elements like subordinate and insubordinate clauses: when, if, although, since, and the like.
Greek coordinating conjunctions are kai, alla.
Latin coordinating conjunctions are et, sed.
Co-ordinating conjunctions tie equal elements together whether words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.
(in a set with *subordinate conjunction)
copula: a verb whose meaning is not to convey action—as an *action verb, but to indicate identity. (in a set with *action verb)
copulative verb: a verb that indicates being rather than action; another term for *linking verb, *to be verb, *equative verb, *state-of-being verb. Note also *fientive verb and *stative verb.
corpus: a “body” of writings on the same subject or of the same sort.
correlative(s): terms that share a common larger category and therefore are to be understood in a way that honors that commonality. Father and son as correlative terms, in the same context, are both meant physically or spiritually rather than one taken physically and the other spiritually.
correlative conjunctions: Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjoining words: both . . . and; neither . . . nor; either . . . or; not only . . . but also.
correlative terms: (1) terms that belong together in a construction, as with correlative conjunctions: both . . . and; neither . . . nor; either . . . or; not only . . . but also. (2) terms that are customarily used together even though other second members of the pair would make sense: question/answer, problem/solution, big/small (little), yes/no, (3) related words as in neither/nor, either/or. Latin has pairs like uter/neuter, umquam/numquam, ullum/nullum. (4) common sense between two terms—as in figurative or literal on both sides of the pair: father/son (physical or spiritual, but not mixed). (5) correlative adjectives so much as, so great as, for such a[long time].
correspondence: written personal messages exchanged between parties
correspondent: one who corresponds, n.; corresponding to, adj.
corrigendum/corrigenda: a list of errors in a book and their corrections
corruption/corrupt: a significant modification of a term or expression that belies its origin: cuss < curse, cuz < because. In reference to a text, a change deliberate or otherwise that destroys a text’s original meaning or makes that meaning unrecoverable.
count noun: Webster unclear
countersign: a add a second signature to a legal document as an assurance that the responsibilities of the first person will be carried out by the second if the first defaults.
couplet: a two-line piece in poetry (in a set with *triplet)
courtesy title: terms like sir, -san (Japanese), ma’am, señor, señora, señorita, segnor that imply respect rather than legal standing or right (in a set with *honorific)
covenant: an agreement between persons for some kind of ongoing relationship. There were two kinds of covenants in the ancient Near East: between equal partners and between unequal partners get the names for these
covenant, suzerainry: a covenant between unequals. The Pentateuch? Can be analyzed as a kind of extended suzerainty covenant.
covenant, between equals
cowrite: to collaborate in the production of a piece
cradlesong: a *lullaby
crasis: the blending of a word with a subsequent word; similar to *contraction (don’t) and *elision; a mixing of two words. For English examples, see *contraction.
Greek examples include ho aner, which becomes haner; to heteron becomes thateron; kai egoo becomes kagoo; kai ekeivos becomes kakeivos; kai ekei then becomes kakeithen; to onoma becomes tounoma; ta auta becomes tauta, ??tounantion, ei + an becomes ean. The blending may be marked by an *apostrophe. D & M, p.22.
Latin does the same thing with ne + volo to get nolo; note also videre licet (“to see is permitted”) as videlicet, an introduction to examples or lists.
creed: a formal, authoritative summary of convictions that a communicant must be able to affirm for inclusion in a specific religious entity. The objection to creeds has lain in this displacement of authority from scripture to secondary literature. (in a set with *statement of faith, *by-laws, *scripture)
creole:
crossword puzzle: a word game that gives brief clues for word entries across and down
cryptic: intentionally having secret, mystifying, hidden, or undecipherable meaning
cryptogram: something written in secret code
cryptograph: a system of written secret code
cryptographer: one who specializes in writing secret code
cryptography: the process of writing secret code
cryptology: the study of written secret codes
crude: a way of speaking that is offensive, disgusting, impolite, vulgar
cue:
cuneiform: having a small wedge-shaped characters as used for writing ancient Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, or Sumerian texts.
curated document: one that has been heavily edited and revised in route to its present form
curse formula: a stylized expression that pronounces a curse on someone for doing something, as an inscription on a tomb that pronounces a curse on grave robbers for disturbing the remains of the one buried there. forbidden
curse word/curse/cuss: (in a set with *oath, *swear; *archaism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *informal term, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *vulgarism)
cursive: a flowing form of writing that joins letters together in contrast to putting them down separately by printing; an easier form of writing that enables the scribe to keep the writing utensil on the page instead of picking it up after each letter entry
(in a set with *block lettering, *printing, *writing)
custom of usage: Two languages may share certain language features, but they do not necessarily use them in the same situations. An example may be Latin’s usage of the imperfect tense in different circumstances from where English does. English uses the simple past if there are accompanying adverbs to indicate linear action: always, usually, daily, etc. Latin’s omission of possessive adjectives in cases where possession is clear from other facts in the sentence. English very much wants to say his, their, her, our, etc. English uses a futuristic present in if-clauses of the future; Latin and Greek use the future tense in such situations. Greek has relative clauses, but they are not used as frequently as in English because Greek likes participles.
cut: a *slam, an *insult, a *slur, an overt negative evaluative comment to a person; differs from *innuendo and insinuation by being direct rather than implied and thus inferred.
dactyl: in poetry a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables, one long syllable followed by two short ones
dactylic hexameter: Wh 289
dactylology: the use of the fingers to communicate with the deaf using a *manual alphabet
(in a set with *signing, *sign language))
dagesh forte: a dot in the center non-guttural ???? Hebrew letters that indicates doubling.
dagesh lene: a dot put in the center of six Hebrew letters (beth, gimel, dalet, kaph, phe, tav) that shifts them from fricatives to corresponding voiceless stops. In modern pronunciation, gimel and dalet are always pronounced as stops regardless of the written form.
daily: n. short for daily *newspaper, one that comes every day, every day but one, or every weekday but not on weekends
dalet/daleth: the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ד
dangling participle: an introductory participle that does not modify the subject of the main clause: “Looking at the rest of the schedule, there are four home games left and two away.” A similar lack of proper connection exists when a preposition-gerund combination begins the sentence: “By driving the nail into a stud, it was strong enough to hold the heavy picture.” The actor in the *gerund should also be the actor in the main verb: “By driving the nail into a stud, I kept the heavy picture from pulling it out.”
dative absolute: one possible use of the dative case for an absolute construction in the New Testament is ________.
dative case: Dative case most basically indicates relationship. In that role there is *dative of possession, *indirect object, dative case after certain verbs implying relationship or attitude (Gr & Lat), dative nouns with certain verbs implying relationship. There is also *dative of degree of difference, *dative of reference, *dative of separation (Lat).
In Greek, the dative case appears after certain kinds of prepositions, especially those that imply location (note *locative case). The case also appears after certain Greek and Latin verbs that imply relationship.
Latin has appropinquo, to draw near to/approach near; credo, to believe; ignosco, to pardon/forgive; impero, to command; invideo, “to envy”; nosceo, to harm; nubo, to marry; parco, to spare, pareo, to obey; persuadeo, to persuade; placeo, to please; servio, to serve; studeo, to study; as well as compounds that may govern the dative: adsum, to support; obsequor, to obey; praesto, to surpass.
dative of agent: the case used on a noun for agency with gerundive (fut. passive ptc.)
dative of degree of difference: “He was older by six years.” Greek puts “six years” in the dative case with no accompanying preposition. (Latin follows the same pattern, using the ablative case.) Degree of difference calls for no special construction in English. Instead it is covered by an adverb-adjective combination or by using by plus the measurement: “He was six years older”; “older by six years.” (in a set with *degree of difference, *ablative of degree of difference)
dative of interest: same as *dative of reference WH326
dative of possession: appears in linking-verb Greek and Latin sentences to indicate the “owner”: “There is a lid to the box.” (wh 349#6) Acts 4:32 says, “No one was saying that anything of-the-things being to-him was his-own.”
dative of purpose: Latin uses dative on nouns that can indicate purpose: WH 53: Vitae discimus (“We learn for life”). WH330
dative of reference/interest: (Wheelock p. 270). In Greek an expression like “Ananias by” (Ananias onamati, Acts 5:1).)
dative of relationship: Dative case appears on nouns connected to adjectives that imply the manner of relationship introduced by English “to”: “He was hostile to his father [father = Greek and Latin dative case with no accompanying preposition].” The dative case on nouns is used also in place of accusative in Latin and Greek verbs that imply relationship: to follow (Gr), trust (L), persuade (L), serve (L), etc. More specifically the usage is dative or personal relationship.
dative of separation: Wh 307#13 306#23 242 Latin
Decalog(ue), The: a designation for the ten commandments found in Jewish law (Ex 20:1-17; Deut 6:6-21). [Gr deca + logos]
decipher: to figure out a *cipher; to determine the meaning of a message written in code, to figure out what is unclear, as with someone else’s sloppy handwriting, an enigmatic *notation, or partially destroyed *inscription
declamation: the delivery of a memorized piece written by another; an vehement presentation marked by strong feeling; a tirade
(in a set with *oration, *speech, *reading)
declaration: a formal announcement delivered in writing or orally; a statement of goods taken along when entering another country
declarative sentence: a sentence that is simply stating something in contrast to asking, exclaiming, or commanding it; hence, it is punctuated with a period and does not use the *imperative mood: “He is going home.” (in a set with *exclamatory sentence, * interrogative sentence, *imperative sentence)
declension: n. (1) the type of *inflection used on nouns and adjectives (2) a set of endings for specific nouns and adjectives that indicated number, gender, and case
English does not decline its nouns except for singular and plural and for “possessive,” but English pronouns do have different forms for subjective, objective, and possessive usages.
Greek has three main declensions with six subdivisions in the first declension, two subdivisions in the second, and several subdivisions in the third. Latin has five declensions with three subdivisions in the second (populus, magister/liber, concilium); five subdivisions in the third; and two subdivisions in the fourth. In general, Hebrew does not decline its nouns and adjectives for case. It does decline for number (sg/pl) and gender (mas/fem).
There is a general correlation between declensions and grammatical gender. Greek first-declension nouns are feminine in four subsets (-ee, -ā, a/a) and masculine in the last two subsets (-ees, -ās). Second declension noun in –os are mostly masculine (except for ) and –on nouns are all neuter. The third declension, also called the consonant declension, has nouns that are masculine and feminine sharing declension patterns and neuter nouns that use a set with the same genitive and dative forms as the masculines and feminines.
First-declension nouns in Latin are feminine except for agricola (farmer), auriga (charioteer), conviva (dinner-guest), incola (inhabitant), nauta (sailor), pirata (pirate), poeta (poet). Second-declension nouns in –us are masculine (except for abyssus, feminine) or neuter words in –um. Third declension uses the same ending set for masculine and feminine, and has neuters that are like them except in the nominative/vocative and accusative. Fourth declension has mostly masculines together with some feminines that use the same ending set; there are a few neuters that are like the first subdivision except for nominative/vocative and accusative. Fifth declension nouns are all feminine except for the word dies (day).
(in a set with *case [nouns/adjectives], *conjugation [verbs]; *declinable nouns, *indeclinable nouns, *inflection [n/adj, v]; *dictionary form)
declinable nouns: Most nouns have a set of case forms in Greek and Latin, but a few have only one form: nihil, satis (L) (in a set with *indeclinable nouns or *indeclinable adjectives)
decrypt/decryption: to *decode, *decipher a *cryptogram. To change from a special code to an understandable message; to figure out the meaning of what is obscure or unreadable
deed: n. a statement of ownership particularly landed property????? (in a set with *title, *writ)
defective spelling: the shorter form of a Hebrew word that does not have a doubled last consonant with inserted vowel letter between the duplicates (in a set with *plene spelling)
defective verb: a verb that does not have all its principal parts or lacks some forms within a conjugation set. The Latin inquit appears mostly in third singular present and less frequently in first or second singular, but does not have a full conjugation; also memini, meminisse; (in a set with *composite verb, *deponent verb, *regular verb, *suppletive verb)
definiendum: the word or expression being defined (Lat neut gerundive < definire)
(in a set with *definiens)
definiens: the word(s) used to define another word (Lat nom/mas/sg/pres/act/ptc < definire)
definite article: In English, the is the definite article; it is pronounced “thee” before vowel sounds and “thuh” before consonant sounds. The pattern is an oral one; consequently, the variant pronunciation of the is relative to sound, not writing. For example, people say thuh before eu-/u words that have a y sound pronounced on the front: thu eulogy, the euphemism/eulogy/union, etc., (insert panel: eucane, eucakyptol, eucalyptus, eucharist, euchire, euchromatin, eudemonism, eugenic, eugenol, euglena, euhermerism, eukaryote, eunuch, eunonymous, eupatrid, eupepsia, euphonium, euphony, euphorbia, euporia, euphotic, euphuism, euplastic, euphold, eupnea, eureka, euripus, europium, eurybathic, euryhaline, euryterid, eurythermal, eurythmics, eurythmy, eurytopic, eustachian tube, eustasy, eustele, eutectic, euthanasia, euthenics, eutherian, eutrophic; upsilon, user).
Thuh occurs before a few o- words with a w sound on the front. People say, “He is not thuh one”; “she gave it thuh once-over.”
On the other hand, people say thee honor because the h represents a glottal stop (as it does in heir, honest, hour, and humble for some speakers). (All other h words have thuh: hassel, hearth, hit, hook, hut, hydrant.) The h on the special words has the same value as the *glottal stop that is actually on the front of all English words written with a first vowel; they really begin with a glottal stop, the sound represented by the h of honor, etc. There is just no written symbol used. Thus, apple is (with the h of honor) really happle, egg is hegg, it is hit, owe is howe, under is hunder; all eu-u- words, though, that pronounce a y on the front replace the h glottal stop with that y. (All English as well as Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, words begin with a consonant in point of sound.)
One refinement in English definite article use is whether two definite nouns have an article with each one or one article ahead of both. The difference is that two articles enter the nouns separately into the sentence and give them equal attention. One article ahead of both enters them into the sentence as a combination.
Latin has no articles at all, but ille sometimes approaches the value of a definite article, especially in identifications like “Magna Ille Alexander,” Alexander the Great.
Greek’s articles do not distinguish between definite and indefinite, but between quality and identity. English article usage calls for definiteness in many places where Greek calls for identity; so, the frequently translates ho/hee/to. But, strictly speaking, the two ideas are not the same. English also can use the *indefinite article to indicate quality, especially with a *noun typical of its class; so the Greek anarthrous noun can often be translated with a/an. The main thing to remember in translating Greek articles is that the does not necessarily equal the Greek article and a/an does not necessarily equal the Greek anarthrous usage. Ex. Jn 1:1 does not mean, “In a beginning was the word and the word was with the God and the word was a God.”
(in a set with *indefinite article)
degrees of comparison: an expression that applies to adjectives and adverbs in English, Latin, and Greek. The first degree is called the *positive degree, the second degree is the *comparative degree, the third degree is called *superlative degree. Adjective comparison: quick/quicker/quickest or dignified/more dignified/most dignified; adverb comparison: quickly, more quickly, most quickly.
Hebrew does not have distinctive forms for comparative adjectives and adverbs. Instead, the idiom is as follows: “First noun of the comparison is adjective + from (min) second noun of the comparison: “He is tall from his brother.” (in a set with *positive, *comparative, *superlative)
degree of difference: the amount of difference between two things in regard to time, space, weight, etc., most of the time involving a *comparative degree adjective or adverb. English covers the idea by putting the measurement ahead of the adjective as a kind of *adverbial noun (“six inches taller”; “four minutes faster”; two ounces lighter”) or by using by plus the measurement (“taller by six inches”; “faster by four minutes”; “lighter by two ounces”).
Greek puts the measure in the dative case ().
Latin puts the measurement in the ablative case (). (in a set with *ablative of degree of difference, *dative of degree of difference)
Hebrew has no comparative- or superlative-degree adjectives. Consequently, it has no construction for degree of difference and must rely on some kind of *circumlocution to express the idea.
deictic: pointing out directly, demonstrating
dele: remove from the text in contrast to *stet, “let it stand.”
deliberative questions: questions that imply uncertainty: “What are we going to do?”
deliberative subjunctive: the use of the subjunctive mood in Latin and Greek for questions that imply uncertainty. Same as *dubitative subjunctive. (in a set with *deliberative question)
delta: fourth letter of the Greek alphabet: δ/Δ
demonstratives: pronouns or adjectives that point out
demonstrative adjective: an adjective that points out: this book, that car. In English, Latin, and Greek, demonstrative adjectives are the same as demonstrative pronouns, the differences being whether there is an accompanying noun.
The Greek demonstrative adjectives are houtos (this), ode (this), ekeinos (that). Demonstrative adjectives in Greek always take predicate position, i.e., not between article and noun but before article or immediately after noun.
Latin’s demonstrative adjectives are hic/haec/hoc (this), iste/ista/istud (that as of second person), ille/illa/illud (that as of third person), is/ea/id (that), and idem/iadem/idem (the same). They all are capable also of standing alone as *demonstrative pronouns (or substantive adjective, if a person prefers so to call them).
demonstrative pronouns: pronouns that point out: “this” and “that.” The English demonstratives this/these are near demonstratives and that/those are distant demonstratives.
In contrast to English’s two demonstratives, Latin has three, each one corresponding to the persons in verbs: hic/haec/hoc for this near me/us, ille/illa/illud for that distant to both speaker and hearer, and iste/ista/istud for that associated with the hearer/s. In addition, Latin has two other demonstratives that cover third-person references. Is/ea/id is a less emphatic demonstrative than ille. Is/ea/id can stand alone as a third-person pronoun parallel to ego/nos and tu/vos (you), and it can modify nouns as a demonstrative adjective. The suffix –dem can be added to is/ea/id to make a word that means the same (one/thing). Some adjustments in spelling are involved for ease of pronunciation. Final m on is/ea/id shifts to n, a dental nasal before a dental stop (eundem, etc.). The theoretical nominative masculine singular isdem becomes īdem, losing sibilant s before a dental and showing *compensatory lengthening on the i.
It may be a matter of taste whether lone demonstratives are called pronouns or substantive adjectives. The difference is whether they are thought of as being primarily alone and then used as adjectives or vice versa.
(in a set with *demonstrative adjective; *near demonstrative, *distant demonstrative, *aforementioned demonstrative, *to-be-said demonstrative pronoun)
demotic: an offshoot of *hieroglyphics, a simplified form of hieroglyphics, as something more usable by the common person; also modern colloquial Greek (Gr deemos>deemotees> deemotikos, people)
(in a set with *hieratic, *hieroglyphics)
denominative: formed from a noun as muscular from muscle (n > adj) or memorize from memory (n. > verb).
denotation/denote: the straightforward, factual meaning of a term; perhaps its derivational meaning or word picture; the original meaning from which specializations may have developed
(in a set with *connotation)
dentals: sounds that are made with the teeth: t, d, th, dh, n: (in a set with *labials, *labio-dental, *velars/*palatals, *liquids, and *glottals)
dependent: an element that can stand on its own to express a complete thought; some grammatical feature that does not need another element in order to stand. (in a set with *independent)
dependent clause: Also called *subordinate clause. A dependent clause is a one that does not stand by itself because it is not perceived to express a complete thought.
dependent verb: the verb in a *dependent clause of a *complex sentence; a verb whose clause cannot stand by itself.
(n a set with independent verb; *leading verb, *main verb)
deponent verb: a Greek or Latin verb that lacks an active voice form. Consequently, its (*middle voice or) *passive voice form is translated into English as active voice. English does not have deponent verbs
Latin deponents include adhortor, adloquor, adsequor/assequor, aggredior, apricor, deponents include admiror, arbitror, colloquor, commoror, complector, confiteor, conor, consector, consequor, convivor, egredior, emorior, experior, fateor, for, fruor, hortor, iaculor, imitor, infitior, ingredior, intueor, loquor, meditor, mentior, mereor, miror, moderor, molior, morior, nascor, nitor, obsequor, opinor, osculor, patior, peregrinor, persequor, piscor, polliceor, precor, proficiscor, profiteor, profor, queror, regredior, rusticor, sector, sequor, suspicor, testor, tueor, utor, vagor, vereor.
Greek deponents increased in number from classical into the koine, especially in the case of intransitive verbs. Greek deponents include agoonidzomai, haireomai, aisthanomai, aischunomai, akaireomai, anaballomai, anagnooridzomai, analogidzomai, anatassomai, anatithemai, anemidzomai, anerchomai, anechomai, anthomologeomai, antagoonidzomai, antapokrinomai, antechomai, antidiatithemai, antikeimai, antiparechomai, antistrateuomai, antitassomai, apagchomai, apallotrioomai, aparneomai, apaspadzomai, apekdechomai, apeipameen, apekduomai, aperchomai, apoginomai, apodechomai, apokeimai, apokrinomai, apologeomai, apomassomai, apotassomai, apophtheggomai, apophortidzomai, aspadzomai, asphalidzomai, aulidzomai, aphikneomai, aphistamai, achreioomai, bdelussomai, bouleuomai, genealogeomai, gi[g]nomai, daimonidzomai, diabebaioomai, diadechomai, diakatelegchomai, dialogidzomai,dismarturomai, diamachomai, diaponeomai, diaporeuomai, diapriomi, diastrellomai,diatarassomai, diatithemai, diacheiridzomai, dienthumeomai,dogmatidzomai, drassomai, dunamai, dooreomai, egkauchaomai, egkomboomai, egkrateuomai, eisdechomai, eiserchomai, eiskaleomai, eisporeuomai, ekdapanaomai, ekdechomai, ekdidomai, ekdioeegeomai, ekthambeomai, ekkaiomai, ekkechumai, eklanthanomai, eklegomai, ekluomai, ekpleessomai, ekporeuomai, ekstrephomai, ektithemai, enantioomai, enarchomai, endeiknumai, endoxadzomai, enthumeomai, entellomai, entrephomai, enupniadzomai, enootidzomai, exaiteomai, exaporeomai, exerchomai, exeegeomai, exeecheomai, epaggellomai, epagoonidzomai, epathroidzomai, epaischunomai, epakroaomai, epanapauomai, epanerchomasi, epanistamai, epeiserchomai, epekteinomai, ependuomai, eperchomai, epiginomai, epidechomai, epidiatassomai, epilambanomai, epilanthanomai, epimeleomai, epiporeuomai, epickeptomai, episkeuadzomasi, eponomadzomai, ereugomai, ereemoomai, erchomai, hessoomai, eulabeomai, eudoomai, euporeomai, ephallomai, ephikneomai, heegeomai, heessaomai, heetaomai, thambeomai, thermainomai, thumoomai, iaomai, hilaskomai, katheemai, kakoucheomai, katabaptidzomai, katabasrunomai, ktagoonidzomai, katakaluptomai, katakauchaomai, katakeimai, katanusomai, kataontidzomai, kataraomai, katasophidzomai, katachaomai, katergadzomai, katerchomai, katioomai, katoprtidzomai, kausoomai, kauchaomai, klydoonidzomai, koimaomai, kollaomai, krataioomai, ktaomai, kuliomai, logidzomai, lutroomai, manteuomai, marainomai, marturomai, masaomai, mataioomai, methuskomai, metaballomai, metakaleomai, metamelomai, metamorphoomai, metatempomai, meteoopidezomai, meekunomai, mimeomai, mimneiskomai (subscript), mneesteuomai, moichaomai, moomaomai, nomotheteomai, nosphidzomai, xuraomai, odunaomai, homeiromai, hoplidzomai, optanomai, orgidzomai, oregomai, orcheomai, ochleomai, paraboleuomai, paraginomai,paradechomai, paraiteomai, parakathedzomzai, parakaluptomai, parakeimai, paralegomai, paralogidzomai, paraluomai, paramutheomai, paraporeuomai, paraeiserchomai, parechomai, paroichomai, paroxunomai, parreesiadzomai, racchunomai, peipaomai, periblepomai, periergodzomai, perierchomai, perikeimai, repileipomai, peripoieomai, perispaomai, perpereuomai, petomai, pimpramai, pistoomai, politeuomai, poreuomai, pragmateuomai, proaitiaomai, proginomai, proenarchomai, proepaggellomai, proerchomai, proeuaggelidzomai, proechomai, proeegeomai, prokaleomai, prokeimai, promarturomai, proporeuomai, prosapeileomai, prosdechomai, prosergadzomai, proserchomai, proseuchomai, proskaleomai, proskleeroomai, prosklinomai, proskollaomai, proslambanomai, prosormidzomai, prospoieomai, prosporeuomai, protithemai, protrepomai, procheiridzomai, ptoeomai, pturomai, punthanomai, puroomai, ripidzomai, ruomai, rupainomai, roonnumai,sebadzomai, seleeniadzomai, seemeioomai, skotidzomai, skotoomai, spaomai, spendomai, splagchnidzomai,stellomai, stenochooreomai, strateuomai, sugkakoucheomai, sugkatapseephidzomai, sugchraomai, sullogidzomai, summeridzomai, summorphidzomai, sumparaginomai, sumparakaleomai, sumporeuomai, sumphuomai, sunagoonidzomai, sunalidzomai, sunanakeimai, sunanapauomai, sunantilambanomai, sunapagomai, sunapollumai, sunarmologeomai, susauxanomai, sundeomai, sundoxadzomai, suneiserchomai, sunepitithemai, sunepomai, sunerchomai, suneuoocheomai, suneedomai, sunthaptomai, sunthlaomai, sunkekerammaisugkekeramai, suntithemai, sunupokrinomai, sustauroomai, suscheematidzomai, teekomai, tracheelidzomai, turbadzomai, tuphomai, tuphoomai, huperairomai, huperekchunnomai, hupodeomai, hupodechoami, hupokeinomai, phantadzomai, pheidzomai, phtheggomai, phobeomai, charidzomai, cheimadzomai, chraomai, chreesteuomai, psuchomai, ooneomai, ooruomai.
Deponents in Greek and Latin are not necessarily deponent in all parts. Some are active or middle depending on the principal part: erchomai-eleusomai-eelthon, gnoosko-gnoosomai, isthioo-phagoo, kaioo, lambanoo-leepsomain, piptoo-pesoumain,
(in a set with *first deponent, *second deponent, *semi-deponent)
(in a set with *composite verb, *defective verb, *regular verb, *suppletive verb)
derivation: another term for *etymology, the descent that a present term reflects. Derivation can explain the difference in pronunciation between spellings that look just alike. Mētro- and mētro- have long e and short e respectively because the former comes from a Greek word with eta (mētra, uterus) and the latter comes from another Greek word with short e (metron). Similarly, ped- is pronounced with long e in words having to do with child (pēdiatrician) because it comes from the Greek word for child (paid-) , whose ai over time went from ai, to ae, to ē. Pĕd- comes from the Latin root ped-, which has a short e (pedal).
Derivation also explains why some odd consonant combinations appear in words that are no longer pronounced with all those sounds in them, especially words that have weird consonant combinations on the front: pt-, pn-, kt-, thch-, -thph-, rrh /rh, gn-, gh, w(rung).
Derivation maintains spelling patterns from feeder languages in the receiver language. Abdomen changes the e to i when additions occur (cp. nomen <nominis, etc.). Dexter (right) drops the last e and becomes dextrad when suffixes are added. Two consonants normally indicate a short previous vowel because that is the way Latin spelling worked.
Derivation explains why words that do not look like they are related are nevertheless related. Agent (leader) and actor (doer) are related in that they come from different principal parts of the same Latin verb: ago, agere, egi, actus.
Derivation explains pronunciation patterns that create “silent letters.” Science and related words have lost the k sound that was in the Latin verb scio. English has developed a pattern of pronunciation that makes the letter c say s ahead of e, i, or y. So resuscitation, science, and the like end up losing the k sound altogether; two esses sound the same as one ess. For additional examples, see under *silent letters and *spelling.
Derivation lies behind the less usual ways of forming English plurals. –on becomes –a (protozoon > protozoa, Gr.), -um becomes -a (datum > data, L. & Gr.), -is becomes –ēs (crisis > crises, L. & Gr.), -us becomes –i (alumnus > alumni, L.), -a becomes –ae (amoeba > amoebae, L.), -ma becomes –-mata (stigma > stigmata, Gr.), -ex becomes –ices (cortex > cortices), -ix becomes -ices (appendix > appendices), -ax becomes –aces (thorax > thoraces, Gr.), -nx becomes ngēs (menix > meninges; phalanx > phalanges, Gr.), # becomes –en (ox > oxen).
Derivation shows what letters of a root surprisingly may be kept when additions are made to the word. The general rule is that is the vowel on the end of a root was part of the root—and therefore invariant, that vowel stays when suffixes are added or compounds are made: tachyphagia, tracheotomy, audiology,
All Greek prepositions ending in a vowel—with the exception of amphi, peri, and pro—threw away that vowel when prefixed to a root beginning with a vowel. That same pattern—with exceptions—obtains in English compounds involving those prepositions.
derivative: a word descending from an earlier word in another language; a *paronym. Words taken from Latin and Greek often lose their original n/g/c ending: victori-a < victory; Sometimes they are brought over without change from the dictionary form:
descriptive clause: alternate term for *nonrestrictive clause
descriptive genitive: the use of the Latin or Greek genitive case to tie a descriptive noun to another noun—corresponding to an “of” phrase in English: “a man of honor,” meaning “an honorable man.” WH333#16
descriptive grammar a grammar that simply shows how a language works without attempting to set standards for its usage (in a set with *prescriptive grammar)
descriptive linguistics: the complete analysis of a language at a particular stage of its development in contrast to *historical linguistics and *comparative linguistics. Historical linguistics looks at the preceding (and succeeding aspects) of a language’s development as a way of elucidating features of the language. Comparative linguistics draws correlations between the target language and related contemporary languages.
(in a set with *comparative linguistics, *historical linguistics)
descriptor: a term or phrase that describes, or modifies.
determiners: words that limit or restrict the number of those in a class: *definite articles, *demonstratives, *possessive adjectives, and words like any, all, both ahead of the nouns they delimit. Almost always, English omits the when other determiners accompany the noun. Greek keeps the article with demonstratives (houtos, hode, ekeivos), always putting them in *predicate position.
deutero-canonical: having a secondary place of honor in the authoritative literature of a religion. In Christianity there are some books of the New Testament itself that some scholars consider *deutero-canonical because they have decided on literary, historical, or doctrinal grounds that they are not like what they consider the “received” literature within the canon.
(in a set with *canonical)
deutero-Pauline: secondarily Pauline; i.e., written by someone besides Paul, but following the sentiments of the apostle. They may be said to be “in the Pauline school” or in the Pauline tradition.
deverbative: a word formed from a verb in the same language rather than in terms of its ancestral origins: runner, commandment, adoration, carriage. (in a set with *denominative)
devotion: a short, light presentation intended to encourage the hearers’ “devotion” to God and to spiritual things
diacritical mark: a mark used within a word to mark certain phonetic features, in contrast to *punctuation marks to show relationship between words. As such, the category includes the accent mark (fiancé), diëresis (the double dot [¨]), an umlaut (¨), the *cidella (as under the c of façade), the grave accent (à al mode), or the *circumflex (bête noire).
diagonal: another term for slash. a line rising to the right (/) used between entries for different parallel realities: “I/We must take care of the problem.” Similar in value to and/or. The idea contrasts from appositional or, which gives alternate names for the same thing; it means “another way of saying,” “to put it another way.”
example (in a set with *backslash)
diagramming: a technique of analyzing sentence structure so as to picture the relationship of subjects to verbs to direct objects to indirect objects, the relationship of subordinate parts to independent parts, the relationship of modifiers to phrase heads, the relationship of adverbial clauses to main verbs. The process requires the student to determine consciously these kinds of syntactical features. It facilitates the analytical method of interpretation. It does not so much teach the things involved as require concentration on them. After all, a person has to know the relationships to choose how to picture them. Append a diagram of Hebrews 1:1-4
dialect: an adaptation of a general language in a certain locale or in a certain community of speakers. The kinds of things that occur are things like in African-American English, where there is a tendency to drop the third singular final “s” on present tense indicative active verbs, not pronouncing final consonants, developing new meanings for words, and new words for things.
dialog/dialogue: a discussion back and forth between two or more people about some issue; contrasts with *monologue. (in a set with *monologue, *soliloquy)
Diatessaron: an early Christian work that combined the four gospels into one narrative of the life of Jesus Christ. Any work of that nature.
diatribe: an abusive denunciation of someone or something; a *rant
dictaphone: the trade name for an instrument that records *dictation that can later be retrieved in manageable segments by a typist or stenographer.
dictate: to word out a communication for someone who writes down what is said.
dictation: a wording out of a message to another person who is responsible for taking it down and putting it into a form that can be sent to the addressee.
dictation theory of inspiration: a view of divine-human co-operation in the production of scripture that pictures the writer as taking down God’s words *verbatim. The idea surely caricatures the belief that scripture is the word of God in contrast to containing the word of God or becoming the word of God. The actual view of verbal inspiration is that the wording freely chosen by the original human author is protected from error. The Ten Commandments written by the finger of God might indeed qualify as an example of dictation theory.
(in a set with *dynamic inspiration, *infallibility, *plenary inspiration, *verbal inspiration; *inerrancy)
diction: the choice of words in speaking; distinctness, or clarity, of pronunciation in speaking or singing. It deals with avoiding the choice of words with the wrong connotation for the circumstance, with the wrong word out of a set that are similar—like effect/affect. (in a set with *elocution, *enunciation, *pronunciation, *saying, *slur)
dictionary: an alphabetical listing of words in a language (in a set with *lexicon)
dictionary form: the customary form of a word’s entry into a lexicon, dictionary, encyclopedia, or glossary, which is organized by alphabetical sequence.
With Latin and Greek verbs, the dictionary form is first person, singular, present, indicative active. For English verbs, the entry is the infinitive form (without to). For Hebrew and Aramaic verbs, it is the third person masculine singular of the Qal stem. Lexicographers list
Greek contract verbs in their uncontracted form so the reader will know for sure what kind of contract verb it is. Impersonal verbs, as they are called, appear in their third-person singular form, because they are “impersonal” in that infinitives are their subjects. That infinitive subject gets covered over by typically translating the construction with the expletive it: “It is necessary to obey in everything”: note ἀδυνατεῖ, ἀνήκει, δεῖ, διαφέρει, δοκέω, ἔξιστιν, ἐπιτρέπει, ἔστιν, καθῆκεν, μέλει, πρέπει, συμφέρει in Greek.
For English, Greek, and Latin nouns it is the nominative singular—followed by the genitive singular. These two case forms are always enough to show which declension they are in.
For Greek and Latin adjectives it is the nominative masculine singular form, followed in order by feminine and neuter forms (or perhaps only the variable terminations for those genders). Dictionaries for Greek, Latin, and English may also give the forms for the comparative and superlative degrees of an adjective, sometimes separately, sometimes put along with the positive degree of that word. In Greek, some adjectives have one form for masculine and feminine and another for neuter: such as alpha-privative adjectives with first-second declension endings; third-declension adjectives
Adverbs, interjections, prepositions usually one form. In cases where a preposition, e.g., has a different form before vowels, its standardized form is entered alphabetically.
The dictionary form is basically the simplest form of the word.
dictionary of slang: a resource that organizes together the informal terms and expressions in every-day use that are not normally included in a regular dictionary, as in a Dictionary of American Slang.
didactic literature: content intended to teach, particularly religious teaching found in the New Testament.
dieresis: two side-by-side dots placed above a second vowel that immediately follows another vowel (¨) to show that the two vowels are pronounced separately instead of together as in a diphthong or vowel glide: coöperate, gastroïntestinal, naïve, psychoanalysis. In familiar words like “cooperate,” the dieresis is usually omitted.
Greek examples include the word periïsteemi,
The same symbol is used in phonetic spelling to indicate the “ah” sound for an a (ä).
The symbol is also used as an umlaut (¨) in spelling German words with *rounded vowels. An alternate way of indicating this feature of pronunciation is to put an e after the other vowel.
(in a set with *punctuation marks)
digamma: same as *stigma, the Greek symbol for 6.
digest: a shortened and perhaps simplified form of a longer writing. It is a process that can involve removing of sections not as essential the presentation without altering the remaining material.
diglossia: a situation where two levels of a language are used for different functions in a society: high and low German ???, formal and familiar French, standard and informal/conversational English
diglot: a book with more than one version, or language, of a text often in parallel columns [Gr] (in a set with *polyglot):
digraph: two letters for one consonant sound: ch, (dh), ph, gh, rh, sh, th, zh. The term could be used to include writing the same consonant twice without any difference from writing it once: hiss, buzz. (Often using two of the same consonants together is done to indicate a short vowel ahead of the double letter. Two letters for one vowel sound is usually called a *diphthong in English. Note: in linguistic notation, placing an h after another consonant often indicates a *fricative. (in a set with *double consonant, *vowel glide, *spelling)
digression: a leaving of the subject at hand to discuss a perhaps related matter but in such a way as to focus on it for its own sake. Then the speaker returns to the original subject.
diminutive form: a form that means smaller than what the original term meant. Latin added an –l- + case endings to a previous root for this purpose: ocellus for oculus (L) wh 306, misellus for miser, the r being assimilated Wh 306, anulus < anus “ring” wh 218
Greek has iota-diminutives: amnos/amnion (lamb),
In English –ette often has that value: major, majorette (in a set with *iota-diminutive) WH306#6 333#13 322 #7#12
diphthong: In English spelling, the term covers two kinds of things: (1) two vowel letters that form one sound (writing) and (2) two vowels that cover two sounds where there is a glide from one vowel to another (sounding). The former is like the vowel letters in feat, insert panel feet, foot, taunt, bought, goal, grieve, groove. suit. The latter is like the vowel glide in real. Insert
panel, bail, boil, bout, Sometimes a diphthong in point of sound is represented by only one letter in point of writing: I, butte, made.
In Greek, the written diphthongs represent vowel glides to high front (i) and high back (u). Consequently, all its diphthongs end in iota or upsilon, and the list of diphthongs can be generated simply by starting at each of the other vowels and gliding to iota or to upsilon.
(in a set with *digraph, *vowel glide, *monophthong; see also **pronunciation)
disputation: (1) argument about whether something is true; (2) a formal, perhaps learned discussion in which the two sides give organized presentations for the view being defended; a debate
disquisition: a formal discourse on a subject of importance
disuade: opposite of persuade; to discourage someone from a certain course of action
distych: an ancient hinged writing tablet with two panels
direct discourse: a quotation that gives the purported words of the original speaker. In Greek of the New Testament the conjunction hoti appeared before the quoted material even though in classical Greek hoti was used to introduce *indirect discourse.
direct object: answers the “what” question after a verb: “The bat hit [what?],” i.e., “The bat hit [the ball].” Direct objects are a kind of *verbal adjunct that appear after action verbs whether finite, infinitive, participial, or gerund. Hebrew uses –eth as a direct object sign. Latin and Greek use the accusative case to do so. English has certain placements for direct objects to indicate that role int he sentence.
direct question: a question that purports to quote the very words *verbatim that a questioner has used. Contrasts with *indirect question, which reproduces only the idea in the original quotation.
(in a set with *question; * informational question)
directory: an alphabetical listing of individuals, companies, etc., compiled along with relevant information for each one.
discourse: an oral presentation in public that includes *speeches and *addresses as well as *sermons, which take place in religious settings. In the New Testament, the gospels and Acts provide narratives with a significant number of discourse interludes, which can be loosely classified as sermons, speeches, or informal addresses, depending on preference in terms.
From a grammatical standpoint, discourse pertains to a construction that deals with another person’s words. There is *direct discourse, which gives the purported words of the speaker, and indirect discourse, which gives idea the speaker expressed.
In Latin the verb idea in indirect discourse is covered by an infinitive.
In English it is covered by a finite verb.
In Greek it was usually covered by a finite verb in koine while classical Greek could use finite verbs, infinitives, or participles, depending on the leading verb. Indirect discourse occurs after verbs of speaking, mental action, or the senses: say/retort/exclaim/indicate/show that; think/suppose/believe/imagine that; feel/feel/sense/see that.
In Greek, “indirect discourse” labels what can cover indirect statement as well as indirect question because the same formula applies to both. In Latin, however, indirect statement covers the verb with an infinitive, but in indirect question is covered by the subjunctive with the clause introduced by an interrogative word or –ne added to the first word of the clause.
(in a set with *sermon, *speech, *address)
disjunctive accent: Hebrew disjunctive accents space, separate, or show slight pauses between words. Such accents contrast with *conjunctive accents, which indicate continuation and unity (phrasing) between words. (in a set with *conjunctive accent)
dissertation: a formal writing that closely examines some topic; such a writing that results from original research and is usually required for earning a doctoral degree.
distant demonstrative: a demonstrative that points to something/someone thought of as distant from the speaker: “that/those.” Latin had two, what could be called, distant demonstratives, one associated with the hearer (iste/ista/istud) and another for distant to both speaker and hearer (ille/illa/illud). (in a set with *near demonstrative)
distant future: a verb form that indicates action to take place after a good while.
(in a set with *near future, or *immediate future; *temporary future, *permanent future)
distant past: a verb construction that indicates action that occurred a good while ago.
(in a set with *near future, or *immediate past)
distinctive: related in sound yet signifying difference in meaning: hit vs. hid (vocalization); dine vs. nine (nazalization); pat vs. fat (fricativization)
distribution: placement in a sentence; one of the factors in defining *parts of speech.
(in a set with *inflection for defining “parts of speech”, alternative to *case form)
distributive: in contrast to collective. Considering the members of a set individually: each/every vs all as in “every good boy does fine”; “each good boy does fine”; or vs. “all good boys do fine.” Every is distributive singular in that it looks at the members of a set one by one; so every has *concord with a singular verb.
Greek and Latin use the same word for distributive and collective, the singular for distributive and the plural for collective: pas/pantes (Gr); omnis/omnes (Lat). Greek also has hekastos (“each”) for distributive. All three words can be pronouns or adjectives.
disyllable/disyllabic: a word having two syllables
disyllabic enclitic: a two-syllabic enclitic. Greek examples are eisin, estin, esmen, eimi, este? and all the non-interrogative forms of tines < tis/ti
dithyramb: a case of wildly enthusiastic speech-making. A Greek troupe’s frenzied hymn and dance used in the worship of Dionysius.
Ditto: (1) a double vertical mark above the line of writing to indicate repetition of the item directly above it in a list ("). On typewriters the ditto was the same key and shape as double quotation marks, which in turn were the same before and after a quotation. With the advent of computers and their extra possibilities and “smart quotes,” the ditto can be supplied from a specialty list.
(2) “Ditto”/dittos” has become a *short for “I agree with you.” Cp. “roger that.”
dittography: a case of writing something twice. In ancient manuscript copying, a word or set of words might have been put down twice where they originally appeared once (say, “verily, verily” instead of just “verily”). In today’s circumstance, it happens when a word like the is typed twice on a computer and a red saw-toothed line shows up under the second entry.
(in a set with *haplography, *homoioteleuton, *metathesis as types of *scribal errors)
ditty: a short, light-hearted, simple song or verse
doctrine/doctrinal: the general teaching on a important subject, especially religious or political. A doctrine refers to one specific belief within a whole “body of doctrine.” As a general reference, doctrine is something conceptual in contrast to *history, *exhortation, etc.
(in a set with *indoctrinate, *didactic literature)
document: a written piece serving as a formal source of information
documentary: a presentation that reviews an important even or major issue
dogma: an authoritative principle dealing with morality or belief associated with a particular religious community or system of thought
dot: the term for a *period when it is used in an e-mail address or web site
double accusative: Some a verbs can carry two objects, one of the person and one of the thing
double consonant: a single letter for two sounds at once the English -x (ks), the Greek zeta, xi, and psi (note Acts 5:5, exepsuxen—three in one word) ; the Hebrew tsade.
double meaning: (1) the usage of one word with two meanings simultaneously. Perhaps Joseph did not want to make Mary a public example because he thought her story was conceivable. On a 19° day, when my wife was glad that the sun was shining bright, I exclaimed, “Cool!” Jokes often play on such usage—especially “groaners”/*Tom Swiftys.
Other, more serious types of double meaning have arisen. (2) Fourfold interpretation of supposed that divine revelation in scripture carried more than the literal, straightforward meaning. Hidden to the uninitiated eye lay figurative, spiritual, and analogical meaningscheck this out. Philo of Alexandria was an early proponent of this view of divine revelation, a notion about multiple meanings that continued down into the time of the Reformation. In fact, one triumph of the reformation was discarding this fanciful notion about language. The rejection of this false principle is capsulized in Calvin’s famous dictum: “The meaning of scripture is one.”
A vestige of the multiple-meanings notion remains in the concept of (c) *double reference prophesy. It is an interpretation device that seeks to justify apparent New Testament misapplication of Old Testament predictions. In general, the answer lies elsewhere in class prediction (which is particularized to a given case), original application is a type of a similar case that better embodies the crucial element involved, etc. The use of 2 Sam 7:14 in Heb 1:5 is a case in point (class prediction—elaborate).
double negative: “I’m not doing nothing.” In English, grammarians sometimes claim that double negatives cancel each other out. That is not really what happens, though, when such a proscribed construct is actually used. It just isn’t considered standard usage. For fun, there are even titles that spoof this issue: “Don ‘t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News.”
Certain kinds of “double negatives” are allowed, as in certain kinds of *litotes where not combines with a negative prefix: not infrequently. Though, strictly speaking, it is a double negative, people commonly use the expression “I can’t help but think” rather than “I can’t help thinking.” Unaccepted double negatives include expressions like “can’t hardly.”
In Latin and Greek doubling—or even tripling—negatives stresses the negativity. Ou mee occurs regularly in Greek with this value.
double signal: two entries for the same item in a segment of syntax. Examples include a nominative pronoun plus a person-and-number verb termination (“she works), a prepositional prefix plus the same preposition placed independently (intruded into the proceedings). Double signals often give emphasis.
(in a set with *redundancy)
double-space: having two strokes of the space bar on a typewriter or computer. The spacing used after a *colon, *exclamation mark, *period, or *question mark (usually). (2) an empty line between lines of type; typed on every second line
(in a set with *single space, *space, *triple space, *space-and-a-half)
double subject: Saying the subject of a sentence two different times: “The times, they are a-changin’.” (in a set with *nominative pendens)
double talk: talking with intent to obscure, to keep the hearer from understanding correctly, talking in a way that does not make sensible communication
double negative: two negatives used together, a practice shunned in formal English writing and speaking. In Greek and Latin, double (and even triple) negatives pile up to emphasize the negation rather than to cancel each other out.
doxology: a short Christian hymn of praise to God often sung in response to an offertory. Aside from a musical setting, doxology is used as a descriptor for certain eloquent passages in praise to God: Rom 11:33-34; 16:25-27; (2 Cor 9:15); Eph 3:20-21; Jude 24-25
drift: the general line of thought
dual forms: some languages have distinctive noun, adjective, pronoun, and verb forms for two of something or someone. Hebrew uses the termination –ayim for both masculine and feminine duals. Classical Greek had duals forms for verbs that were used in poetry.
(in a set with *singular, *plural):
dubitative subjunctive: same as *deliberative subjunctive; the use of the subjunctive mood in Latin and Greek for questions that imply uncertainty, inexactness, or tension created by such as circumstance (in a set with *deliberative questions)
duplicate: in two copies, an expression that was used when typewriters were in general use and the typist made a carbon copy at the same time as the original (in a set with *duplicate)
dynamic inspiration: a view of divine assistance in the speaking of human prophets where God gives heightened abilities in contrast to dictated words, implanted ideas, planted experiences, or granted offices (2 Sam 7:3-17).
(in a set with *dictation theory of inspiration, *verbal inspiration, *plenary inspiration, *inerrancy)
echolalia: the involuntary repetition of words just heard
eclectic text: a text like the Nash papyrus that evidently chooses variant New Testament Greek readings and conflates them into its ongoing reading
eclogue: a pastoral poem in the form of a dialog between shepherds
economy of expression: efficiency in expression, getting a lot said in few words (in a set with *terse)
ecstatic utterance: speaking that takes place in an altered state of consciousness, hence, not necessarily having *linguisticality and not necessarily understood or remembered even by the speaker. cp. the utterances of the priestess at the Delphic oracle and the utterances of an aged woman in the Sibylline oracles. Sometimes equated with “tongue speaking in the New Testament (in a set with *glossolalia, *speaking in tongues, *xenoglossia)
edict:
edit: to correct, size down, or otherwise improve an original manuscript (in a set with *amend, *emend)
editorial
editorial we: the use of we for I to avoid taking undue credit or appearing proud.
elaboration: giving more information, “fleshing out” the picture. Elaboration can be done by giving examples, reading a poem or scripture, telling a story that embodies the point, fill in the accompanying feature of the situation, filling in more details of the topic, showing how it connects to other things or differs from them.
elative: not having a specific other referent in view (*comparative degree adjective) or not having specific other individuals in a group/class (*superlative degree adjective)
elative adjectives: elative comparative (“rather __”)
Elative superlative (“very __”); English also uses expressions like “good, good man”; “good “n” deep hole”; “it is powerful cold”; “it is a big-time cold”; “it was mega cold”; “it was super cold”; and other *slang expressions.
elegiac couplet wh 301
elision/elide: elision drops out a sound for ease of pronunciation, etc. In Latin and Greek dentals cannot stand before sibilants. One way to solve the “problem” in the process of inflection, etc., is to elide one or the other sound. A similar thing happens in English when seemingly awkward consonant combinations appear on the front of words that derive from Greek: pneumonia. It happens on the ends of words like paradigm; when the –os or –ma was lost, the g could no longer be pronounced with the preceding syllable; so it has been elided and the g becomes a *silent letter. The pronunciation becomes paradigm. The “contraction” of do not to don’t, etc. is another kind of elision. Dropping consonant sounds on the end of French words is another illustration.
Greek words whose vowel ending bumps up against a vowel beginning on the next word, may elide the first vowel: tout’ estin.
(in a set with *aphesis, *contraction, *crasis; *ellipsis; *assimilation, *euphony)
ellipsis/elliptic: an omission perhaps from a quotation marked in writing by three double-spaced periods or asterisks ( . . . ). In repetitive wording, the omission may be marked with a comma. In Latin poetry, prepositions were often omitted to help conform to the demands of meter.
Example *Elision is usually applied to an omission within a word; ellipsis is applied to omissions within a group of words.
Ellipses happen in the New Testament Greek text. In Luke’s genealogical list for the Messiah, he omits the noun before “of ___” (3:23-38). The direction of the genealogy runs backwards in time; so son goes ahead of the next proper name. Other contexts may call for supplying father, if the sequence is running forward, or brother, if the context is contemporaneous. The word for to be is often omitted in proverbs or *aphorisms, and other cases where to be does not have a time reference *linking verb).
(in a set with *elision, *elliptical, *assimilation, *euphony)
elliptical clause/sentence: a clause that omits words that would normally appear in a full sentence as sometimes happens with *sayings in order to give them greater “punch”: “What a bummer!” “Well begun, half done”; “Penny wise, pound foolish.” gregg23
elocution: use of language in a form well-suited to public speaking
eloquence: elegant, powerful, persuasive discourse
elucidate: to cast light on some statement by another person or in a text of scripture (in a set with *ambiguity)
emend/emendation: an emendation amounts to a correction of an obvious error in a writing, especially an ancient one (in a set with *amend, *edit)
emphasis: Stress sets up contrast with parallel alternatives. Emphasis is achieved (1) by saying something louder or more deliberately, (2) by gestures that accompany the speaking, (3) by underlining it in writing; (4) by putting it in a prominent position like the front, the end, or an otherwise unusual place in a sentence; (5) by assigning two elements to it as in *hendiadys or double signal (as kind of redundancy), (6) by making the word bigger as by adding a prefixed preposition (Latin and Greek compounds) or lengthening the word from, say, ou (not) to ouchi (surely not) in Greek. (7) Adding other words creates emphasis: “I certainly am.”
Latin and Greek have verb endings that indicate person and number; so pronouns in the nominative create a (8) double signal, thus, stressing the subject in a way akin to underling it in writing.
Emphasis has been done also (9) by using an unusual form: in classical Greek, after a past-tense main verb of fearing, an optative verb covered the action in the fear clause; to emphasize the object of fear, however, the subjunctive could be used—as it was in clauses after primary tenses in the leading verb. The same optative-to-subjunctive shift could occur in purpose clauses after leading verbs in a secondary tense. C&S192 (10) Hebrew used an infinitive absolute plus the same root in finite form to say “certainly do”: Is 6:9-10. General communication may use (11) exaggeration for emphasis: “He’s as big as a barn.”
At the word level, accent marks indicate the emphasis, stress, accent a syllable with the word has. Stress and emphasis indicate emphasis within a sentence or paragraph.
Emphasis, however expressed, most of the time, sets up contrast with parallel alternatives; simply indicating something without stress does not have parallel alternatives consciously in mind.
Exaggeration is a form of emphasis of content.
(in a set with *accent, *secondary accent, *stress, *accent, *double signal, *intense)
emphatic form: a word that by its meaning shows emphasis. In English verb forms, using do as an auxiliary verb creates an emphatic form in the present and past tenses: I do like classical music”; “I did finish my homework.” Emphatic future has to rely on stressing the auxiliary verb will, which is a second way in English to create emphasis: “I will do my homework; just let me watch the game first.”
The emphasis effect may also be achieved by making the words bigger (#6 under *emphasis). Latin example include exoro < oro, namque < nam;
emphatic negative: ou mee in Greek for either questions or statements
enchiridion: a handbook on some subject
enclitics: particularly common in Greek—as well as in Latin, words pronounced with a preceding word; as such, enclitics do not bear their own accent if they can avoid it. In Greek, the enclitic threw away its accent if it could; if it could not throw it away, it threw it back—as an acute on the *ultima of the preceding word. If it could not throw it back, it kept the accent.
In Latin the suffixed -ne on the first word of a sentence makes a question out of the sentence. Latin also has the intensive enclitic –ce Wh 310
English enclitics include situations like “Go, get ’em.”
(in a set with *proclitics)
encode: to write a message using special symbols that are not known by outsiders
encomium: a tribute, a formal expression of praise, eulogy.WH320
encrypt: to put a message into a secret code so the information is not so likely to fall into the wrong hands
encyclical: a writing intended for circulation. In the New Testament, Paul sent Galatians to the churches of Galatia (1:2). Colossians was evidently intended for such use (Col 4:16) as well as a Letter to the Laodecians (Col 4:16), which may be the same as our Ephesians. The General Epistles were encyclicals in Asia Minor (James 1:1; 1 Pet 1:1; 2 Pet 3:1; Jude 17). Revelation was to circulate among the seven churches of Asia (Rev 1:4). Even Romans was circulated among household churches within Rome (16:5, 14, 15).
In more modern usage, papal letters to the hierarchy of the Catholic church have been called encyclicals. (in a set with *personal letter)
encyclopedia: usually a multi-volume work alphabetically arranged on major topics (in a set with *dictionary)
endearment term: same as *affectionate term.
ending: a termination on a word, such as one that signals singular or plural on nouns and verbs, or person on verbs. A *morpheme found in this location. (*in a set with *zero ending)
endnote: serves the same purposes as a *footnote but is located at the end of the article or chapter. The practice replaces footnotes because of the greater ease of arrangement.
(in a set with *footnote, *marginal note, *marginalia, *sidebar, *sidenote)
endorse: to apply one’s signature to a check; to recommend a candidate for office
enigma/enigmatic: an unclear presentation, often intentionally so, that challenges the hearer to figure out the mystery; a *riddle. Something that cannot be figured out because crucial information has been lost.
enthymeme (sp)
entitle/entitled: having a *title, or *heading as on an essay or other written piece
enunciate/enunciation: Enunciation stresses clarity of *pronouncing a sound within a word; hence, it deals with phonemes. Enunciate contrast with *slur. Pronunciation stresses saying the sound of the whole word; hence, it deals with part of what is meant by *morphemes. Diction stresses the choice of words. Elocution stresses the expressing phraseology—sets of words; hence, it deals with tagmemes. check this out As a result, enunciation, pronunciation, and elocution have to do with the sounds, while saying can include the meaning involved—as with diction. (in a set with *articulation, *pronunciation, *elocution, *diction, *saying, *slur)
epenthesis: the insertion of a sound in the middle of a word but without a view to altering meaning, as it is with *infix. In some short verbs, Greek inserts a corresponding nasal ahead of a final root consonant in order to build up the basic root—shown in the aorist—into a form for the first principal part. Some of these verbs also double the aorist’s initial root consonant with an iota between them: elabon < lambanoo, elthon < lanthanoo, elipon < limpanoo, elachon < lagchanoo, emathon < manthanoo, emneesa < mimneeiskoo, epleesa < pimpleemi, enepreesa < empimpreemi, epreestheen < pimpramai, eputhon < punthanoo, ethigon < thigganoo,
In addition to this set, there are other instances of similar alterations that could be called epentheses. The o/e- variable is a set of connecting vowels that joins root and personal endings in the present, imperfect, and future tenses. Hudoor is the nom sg that has no vowel between delta and rho in the rest of the declension. Greek does not like the rho-sigma sequence that the nom sg would theoretically carry. It looks like an omega was inserted to solve the impossible pronunciation hydr.
The variant form of the English indefinite article a/an affords many examples of a thing similar to epenthesis in English even though it is between words rather than within them. An- occurs before vowels and a- before consonants (except *glottal stops and a few glottal fricatives). Since language is always a matter of sound before it is a matter of writing, the n appears relative to sound, not writing. English says a when a spoken y consonant sound actually precedes the written eu-/u-: euphemism/eulogy/union, etc., (insert panel: eucane, eucakyptol, eucalyptus, eucharist, euchire, euchromatin, eudemonism, eugenic, eugenol, euglena, euhermerism, eukaryote, eunuch, eunonymous, eupatrid, eupepsia, euphonium, euphony, euphorbia, euporia, euphotic, euphuism, euplastic, euphold, eupnea, eureka, euripus, europium, eurybathic, euryhaline, euryterid, eurythermal, eurythmics, eurythmy, eurytopic, eustachian tube, eustasy, eustele, eutectic, euthanasia, euthenics, eutherian, eutrophic.
Also note u- words with with y pronounced on the front: (insert panel) ubiety ubiquitous, ufology, ukase, ukuklele, unanimity, una voce, uniaxial,unicameral, unicorn, unicellular,uniform, unify, unilateral, unilinear, unilingual, unilocular, uninucleate, union, unipolar, unique, unisex, unison, unitard, unite, universal, univocal, uraes, uranium, urea, unredinium, ureter, urethane, urethra, uric, urinal, urochord, uropod, uroscopy, use, usurp, usury, utensil, utilitarian, utopia, utricle, uvarovite, uvea, uxorious.
Likewise people say an honor because the h represents a glottal stop (as it does in heir, honest, hour—and humble for some speakers). There is some variation ahead of the glottal fricative h: anhydrous, but a hassle, a hearth, a hit, a hook, a hut, a hydrant.
A similar issue arises with a few o words that are actually pronounced with the consonant w sound on the front. People say, “There is not a one that is righteous”; “this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The pattern obtains with the *a- privative in Greek. It is plane a- before consonants including glottal fricatives, that is, rough breathing marks: aorist (a- + horizoo). Before smooth breathing, the prefix is an-: English derivatives generally preserve this pattern: agenesis, amoral, atheist,
Latin does something similar to Greek by building up words that differ between third and first principal part. Words like vinco show vici in the perfect active stem; it is a question whether the nasal is added to the first root or dropped from the third (cp. Gr lambanoo/elabon). Cp. cerno/crevi, contingo/contigi, contundo/contudi, corrumpo/corrupi, desino/desivi, pono/posui, profundo/profudi, relinquo/reliqui, sperno/sprevi, tango/tetigi,
(in a set with *affix, *infix, *suffix; *morpheme, *epenthesis, *excrescence; *allomorph)
ephemeral paper: a publication that is not intended for long-term relevance or use; something that, being subject to ongoing time, is apt to be supplanted by further developments.
ephemeron: an example of printed material that has temporary interest
epigram: a short, concise, witty poem or paradoxical statement
epigraph: another term for *inscription. A short introductory statement of a topic
(in a set with *inscription; epigram)
epigraphy: the study of *inscriptions, the writing on utensils, pottery, and the like [<Gr. epi + grapho, to write]:
epilogue: a brief statement to the audience after a play or to the readership at the end of a book. Epilogue and *prologue deal more with the historical setting (prologue) and consequent occurrences (epilogue) than with conceptual and ideological matters per se.
(in a set with *prologue, *preface, *introduction)
epistle: a more formal writing than letter. Epistle connotes a letter-form that emphasizes explanatory, narrative, etc., content. Inasmuch as letters and epistles are “sent,” they are called “missives.” In the New Testament, epistles designate the writings Romans through Jude in contrast to the gospels, Acts, and the Apocalypse/Revelation.
(in a set with *letter, *missive)
episode: one installment in a series of segments that make up a continuing, usually fictional, story as with soap operas or series of shows with the same actors doing similar things as in crime scene investigations.
(in a set with *prequel, *sequel)
epistolary: the adjective for epistle; having to do with an epistle
epistolary aorist: the use of a past tense for the present in anticipation of the reader’s point in time. New Testament examples probably include Acts 23:30; Phil 2:28; Col 4:8.
epitaph: an *inscription on a tombstone; a short piece about a deceased person intended for long-term expression
epitasis: the middle section of a play that leads to the catastrophe
epithalamium: a poem of praise for a groom and his bride on the occasion of their marriage
epithet: a term, often derogatory, for describing a person, possibly used in place of the person‘s name. (in a set with *name calling, *by-word)
eponymy: the derivation of the name of something from an individual, as Bayer aspirin, Marriott hotel,
eponym: someone whose name is supposedly the person a city or place was named from: Edom, Moab, Israel, Dan.
epopee: a lyric, epic poem as a literary genre
epos: a group of poems that address the same important theme
epsilon: fifth letter of the Greek alphabet: ε/Ε Short e, paired with eta, the long e.
equal sign: a mathematical symbol equation (=)
equative verb: a verb that indicates being rather than action; another term for *copulative verb, *linking verb, *state-of-being verb, *to be verb; cp. *fientive verb and stative verb. (in a set with *active verb, *middle-voice verb, *passive verb)
eristic: having the character of a disputation, argumentation, polemics; a polemical writing or argument
errata: errors; a notice placed variously that identifies typos or printing mistakes discovered in the body of the work
esoteric: suitable for use by “insiders,” those prepared to understand its import; beyond the reach of normal persons (in a set with *exoteric)
essay: a *theme, a written explanatory treatment of some topic
eta: seventh letter of the Greek alphabet: η/Η. Long “e,” paired with epsilon, short “e.”
ethogram: a catalog that summarizes pictorially the behavior of animals
etiology the backstory for some term, idea, or custom; their origin
etymology: the study of the origin of words; also called *derivation
etymon: the earlier form of a word or *morpheme whether in the same language, an earlier language, or another contemporary language. (in a set with *loan word)
eulogy: a speech given at a funeral or memorial service, praising the accomplishments, etc., of the deceased.
euphemism: a polite or respectful way of saying something otherwise unpleasant. Euphemisms often deal with death, bodily elimination, the place names for such processes. Death is called “sleep.” A place for defecation or urination may be called a restroom, men’s room, water closet, someone’s facilities. “Covering the feet” evidently has that meaning in the Old Testament.( ).
In the discussion about the elements in the Lord’s supper, it has been proposed that “fruit of the vine” is a euphemism for wine. The comment is in response to the idea that “fruit of the vine” is so worded because it was not intended to be fermented wine. Wine, however, is not likely to be considered a word or thing that someone would seek a euphemism for.
(in a set with *crude)
euphony/euphonic: “well” + “sound”; a way of making something seemingly easier to pronounce. English speakers, for example, routinely say “dipthong” or “diptheria” instead of diphthong or diphtheria. The adjustment is from sequential fricatives to stop plus fricative. Greek makes the opposite change: when a stop-fricative sequence is created by inflection, word building, or word sequence, Greek shifts the stop to a fricative to produces a fricative-fricative sequence. English changed the Greek root pne- to “neumonia” rather than pneumonia. The same happens to kt- and other “odd” consonant combinations. Some of these are considered “standard”; others are considered _____
The practice in English of voicing through intervocalic consonants as in “ladder” for “latter”; “udder” for “utter.”
Adjusting voicing in clusters: rex < regs to recs to rēx, “king” (Latin).
Sequencing words like Donna Michelle rather than Michelle Donna makes it easier to say.
Latin: irregularities in the irregular verb fero: ferris for feriris (2nd pl pass ind pres) check other places.
Various kinds of *assimilation, or modifications that make sounds “alike,” (1) during compounding: col-late (< con + late); syl-labus (<syn + ), sym-bol (syn + bol); efficio (< ex + facio). It happens also (2) in creating *cognates: scrib-o becomes scrip-tor when the agent ending –tor is suffixed to the root scrib. There are examples across (3) *principal parts: scrib-o to scrip-si, when the *voiceless s is added to the root after voiced b to help create the perfect active; likewise ag-o becomes actus in the fourth principal part. (4) Sequencing of words creates the same result: haf to for have to.
Greek, like Latin, in general does not tolerate dental-sibilant sequences. Syn (with) + zao (to live) becomes syzao (to live with) by *eliding the nu.
Latin pot-sum > possum; per becomes pel- when prefixed to roots beginning with l.
Hebrew examples
English does not write the oral differences in nearly so many circumstances as does Greek especially and to a lesser extent Latin. For that reason, an English-speaking student of Greek senses that Greek presents an extremely large number of changes across principal parts, inflection, word-building, and word sequencing. Most of these “irregularities” are no more irregular than what occurs in English, but they seem more so because they are written. The English habit of voicing through voiceless consonants is one of those unwritten practices that create difficulties for Spanish speakers, for example, because their first language does not do this unexpected thing; consequently, they will say sāys instead of sez.
So, when undesirable sound combinations come about in *inflection, principal parts, *word-building, or word sequencing, various changes relieve the “difficulty,” or foster ease of pronunciation, efficiency of expression, or sound more pleasant to the ear. (1) The first letter is omitted. The Latin scribients becomes scribiens (nom mas sg present act participle); elsewhere in the declension the nt participle morpheme shows up fully. In Greek, the tau in thapto falls out in the future (thapso) and first aorist (ethapsa). Likewise with sodzo. Greek words in a sequence—one ending with a vowel and the next beginning with a vowel—may *elide the first vowel: apo archees kata oikon becomes ap archees kat oikon; dia autou becomes di’ autou, kata oikon becomes kat’oikon, oude an becomes oud an.
(2) The second letter is discarded: Latin shows amor for the theoretical amors of the third declension nom mas sg. Greek *elides the sigma from the first aorist sign after roots ending in lambda (*liquid aorists): angello > eengeila.
(3) Both letters may disappear. Greek shows agōn for theoretical agonts in the nom mas sg pres act ptc (The elided t exposes the s to the n so that the s is also lost; the previous o lengthens to *compensate for the double loss). In Latin also, dental-sibilant sequences are not allowed, but n is not included in the dental-sibilant category (agens).
(4) A vowel may be interfixed to separate the “offending” letters: example. A consonant is frequently interfixed to separate vowel-plus-vowel sequences. The English indefinite article varies from a to an, depending on whether the next word starts with a consonant or vowel. The same applies to the negating prefix a(n), which produces atheist and then anion. Greek adds k to ou ahead of words beginning with vowels (ouk echousin) and within a word adds a k to the ou + eti combination to make ouketi. (5) There may be a shift to a more acceptable consonant combination. The Greek ouk becomes ouch before words that start with a fricative. Nu becomes mu before *labials. Voiced consonants become unvoiced before unvoiced consonants and vice versa. Non-nasals become nasals before *nasals. (6) *Metathesis may take place to undo the undesirable combination. In English dialect, ask becomes ax (aks): “I’m not gonna ax you agin.” Hebrew does this with the hithpael stem when a sibilant begins the root that hith comes up against.
In most of these examples the influence is backwards onto the preceding sound.
(in a set with *elision, *ellipsis, *elliptical, *elision, *assimilation, *metathesis)
evangelistic sermon: a sermon whose purpose is to urge audience members to accept the Christian “good news” about salvation through Christ; *outreach sermons
exact rhyme: repeats the end sounds exactly: crime, thyme. (get other examples) (in a set with *eye rhyme, *perfect rhyme, *near rhyme, etc.)
exaggeration: saying something in a more extreme way than the situation really is; a device sometimes used deliberately for emphasis instead of deception. A common characteristic of humor.
(in a set with *overstatement, *understatement)
exception: what does not follow the standard pattern. In language there are innumerable exceptions to the very great number of patterns. They occur in the sound value a certain letter or digraph may have (especially in English!), how a verb is carried through its principal parts, how a verb is conjugated through its person and number, how adjectives and nouns decline through their n/g/c, how adjectives move through their degrees, and the like
excerpt: a portion lifted from a larger writing or speech
exclamation: another term for *interjection. Latin interjections include vae (), opi (ouch)!, heu, alas)
exclamation mark: a mark (!) used for added emphasis. It usually appears after *interjections.
exclamatory sentence: a sentence that expresses strong feeling in contrast to just saying it, asking about it, or commanding it: In a huff he said, “I’m going home!” (in a set with *declarative sentence, *imperative sentence, *interrogative sentence)
excrescence: a superfluous addition in the sense that it does not add meaning. An example is grammatical “gender” when added as a feature of words for sexless things.
(in a set with *epenthesis)
excursus: a separate essay perhaps tangential to the topic of a book but added in the back to flesh out a matter of related interest in a fashion that would interrupt the body of the work as a digression.
exegesis/exegetical: careful explanation that strives to get accurately the author’s meaning out of the text (in a set with *exposition/expository)
exegete: one who does *exegesis
exegetical sermon: a sermon that ties closely to a text and endeavors to cover the same ground as that portion of scripture includes. (in a set with *evangelistic sermon, *expository sermon, *outreach sermon, *textual sermon, *topical sermon, *theme sermon)
exhortation: A sentence that says, “Let’s . . . or Let us . . . .” Latin and Greek use first person plural subjunctive to express exhortation. In Latin it is part of the *jussive among independent subjunctive usages, a usage that also applies to the first singular and to the third person: “Let him do his own work”; “let them do their own work.” In such cases let does not mean “allow.” (The Latin second person jussive is rare except in poetry, the *imperative mood fulfilling that role in normal cases.) As a result, Latin does not distinguish hortatory subjunctive because it is part of the jussive, a larger division of subjunctive usage.
Greek separately identifies *hortatory subjunction because the jussive idea for third (or second) person in Latin is replaced by third-person imperative mood in Greek. (Latin has no third-person imperative.)
The idea is called *cohortative in Hebrew.
exoteric: suitable for public use in contrast to what would be appropriate for insiders; contrasts with *esoteric
expletive: a word with no meaning in itself. It is used (1) to signal the fact that the subject comes later. Two common English expletives are it and there, one from pronoun origin and the other from adverb origin. “For full credit, it is necessary to complete the assignment” (to complete is the subject); “There are monsters under my bed” (monsters is subject). (2) Expletives can fill out the structure of a sentence: “It is raining outside.” (3) a synonym for *curse word.
explosive: a lengthened form of *plosive, a linguistic term for an “explosive” sound like the ch in chuck.
exposé: the unveiling of some topic, especially if it needs to be discredited
exposition/expository: explanation that stresses bringing out the idea for a listener’s benefit
(in a set with *exegetical/exegesis)
expository sermon: a kind of sermon that takes significant elements of a scripture portion and forms them into a coherent sequence without necessarily trying to equal the full range of subject matter the text contains.
(in a set with *evangelistic sermon, *exegetical sermon, *outreach sermon,*textual sermon, *topical sermon, *theme sermon)
express: to put ideas into words
expurgate: to purge objectionable material from a publication or telecast; to “bleep” certain vulgar, obscene, or simply false items or words.
extemporary: presented orally without organized notes or extensive immediate preparation (in a set with *ad lib, *off-the-cuff)
extent of space: Classical Greek used the accusative case on distance terms without an accompanying preposition. Hex stadia edramen”; “He ran six stades.”
extent of time: In Greek and Latin, extent of time is covered by the accusative case on the time word with no accompanying preposition: “He worked (for) six hours.” The idea can be diagrammed as an arrow: . English may or may not use for with the time word.
(in a set with *time, *time when, *time during/time within which)
extinction: the process of passing out of existence as in the case of a language that no longer has native speakers
eye rhyme: what on a page looks like it would rhyme, but doesn’t: home/come; tomb/comb. The phenomenon can occur in English because the same sound may be spelled in more than one way, and the same spelling can indicate more than one sound. (get different examples)
fable: a story with a moral point to it. It does not have to be as true to life like Jesus’ *parables, and so uses plants and animals anthropomorphically in narrative form to make a proverbial point. Jotham’s Fable of the Bramble Bush (Jud 9:8-15) is an example.
(in a set with *parable/parabolic, *story, *morality play)
facetiae: “factitious” writings; humorous, lighthearted sayings
factitive: (1) a type of verb that can govern a direct object plus objective complement as in “They chose him governor.” (2) a descriptor for *aoristic action, or simple action, action that is simply referred to as a fact in any tense without linear, perfect, conative, or ingressive implication: “I worked at the store,” “I see the results already,” vs. “I used to work,” “I was working,” “I tried to work,” “I began to work,” “I work at the store,” “ I am working,” “I have worked all night,” “I have the work done,” I will be working.” Factitive action is punctiliar or snapshot rather than motion picture.
(in a set with *aspect, *aktionsart; *verb; *tense)
familiar address: a manner of speaking as to equals, using first names; contrast with *polite address. (in a set with *honorifics)
farce: a play with an improbable plot and exaggerated character with actions designed to be funny; like the skits by The Three Stooges. An absurd, slap-stick, ludicrous, ridiculous play.
fascicle (also fascicule): a work published in sections as available and then often published complete as one volume when all the parts have been prepared
fear clause: a kind of *object clause that appears after a leading verb of fear. In classical Greek it called for a special formula: me + subjunctive after *primary tenses; and me + optative after secondary tenses. Using the subjunctive after secondary tense stressed the object of the fear. Latin had the same construction.
feminine ending: a declension ending on nouns or adjectives that indicates whether the word is grammatically feminine instead of *masculine or *neuter.
(in a set with *masculine ending, *neuter ending)
feminine rhyme: a rhyme pattern that does not accent the last syllable mother/brother.
festschrift: a collection of essays in honor of a scholar, written by colleagues, by well-known persons of the same discipline, or by former students.
fiction: a *genre of writing in story form that does not purport of tell about actual persons and events. (in a set with *non-fiction)
fientive verb: verbs found in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew that correspond to an English linking verb plus predicate adjective: Latin salver, to be safe; sapere, to be wise; valeo, to be strong; Greek chalepaino, to be angry; heetaomai, to be inferior; Hebrew katon, to be small. Also sometimes included in *stative verbs.
(in a set with *active verb, *middle-voice verb, *passive verb; *stative verb; *copulative verb, *equative verb, *linking verb, *state of being verb, *to be verb)
figurative: having to do with the usage of a word or phrase where the thing meant is referred to as something else or in other than a straightforward manner. Contrasts with *literal.
(in a set with *literal; *figure of speech)
figure of speech: any of a number of ways of saying something in other than a straightforward fashion; a *trope. Some kind of comparison between the thing intended and the word/words used is often involved.
Allegory/allegorical: allegorizing the comparison
Anaphora
chiasmus
*Hendiadys
irony
Metaphor: calls one thing something else
Metonymy: calls the whole by a part (“metonymy of the whole”) or calls the part by the whole (“metonymy of the part”)
*Parable of tares and of sower close to allegories
Simile uses like or as in comparing one thing to another.
zeugma
Euphemism: a polite way of referring to something distasteful, something in poor taste; or personal, private, sensitive
(in a set with *euphemism, *hendiadys, *irony, *metaphor, *metonymy, *mixed metaphor, *simile, *zeugma)
filibuster: prolonged speechmaking intended to delay the legislative process at least until such time as the side doing the filibuster has driven away enough of the opposition to gain a victory in the voting (in a set with *talkathon)
filler words: words used to fill time during speaking so the speaker can thinks of what to say next: er, uh, you-know, like.
fine print: details of a contract or written agreement that are tucked away in an ambiguous place—or print size—so the signator will tend not to notice the objectionable clause in the document.
finite verb: a type of verb that has person; hence, limited to a certain grammatical person Contrasts with infinitives, participles, and gerunds (and Latin gerundives) as possible kinds of verb forms
(in a set with *verbals;
first aorist: In Greek, first aorist verbs use sigma-alpha as part of the tense sign for aorist active and middle voice—the verb’s third principal part. (in a set with *second aorist)
first aorist passive: In Greek, first aorist passive verbs used theta-eta as part of the sign for the aorist passive/future passive tenses—the sixth principal part. (in a set with *second aorist passive)
first Asclepiadean wh 290 a type of poetic meter
first attributive position: in Greek the placement of an adjective between article and its noun--in contrast to *second attributive—after a noun’s repeated article. In addition to adjectives, first attributive modifiers can be genitive nouns or prepositional phrases—in short, anything that can have an adjectival value except a relative clause.
(in a set with *attributive adjective, *predicated adjective, *second attributive position)
First Great Commandment, The: the “shema” of Deut 6:4-5 (cp. Mt 22:34-40): The first great commandment is to love God without restraint.
first deponent: In Greek, a verb that lacks the active voice, but has middle and passive voice. A first deponent will not have a fourth principal part because only the perfect active is built on that root. So, the remaining five principal parts are represented, but they are entered in the lexicon with a middle-voice ending in the first three parts. (in a set with *deponent, *second deponent, *semi-deponent).
first perfect: In Greek, first perfect verbs uses k(a) as part of the sign for the perfect active voice—fourth principal part. (in a set with *second perfect).
first person: the one/ones speaking, in contrast to the one/ones spoken to or the one/ones spoken about
(in a set with *second person, *third person)
flapped r: (in a set with *trilled r)
font
foot: in poetry a set of syllables grouped by a pattern of accented-unaccented syllables, long-short syllables; a metrical foot
footnote: an entry at the “foot” of a page that elaborates (content footnote) or gives reference(s) for the claim made in the text above (in a set with *endnote, *marginal note, *marginalia, *sidebar, *sidenote)
foreword: usually the first entry, often not written by the author, that prepares the reader for what is to be said in the book. It often explains the historical factors that prepared the way for the writing and highlights the writer’s experience and qualifications for the undertaking.
(in a set with *introduction, *chapter, *part, *epilogue, *appendix, *index)
form: (1) form in language contrasts with function and meaning. (2) A form is a particular possibility a word may have that identifies it by number, tense, and the like.
(in a set with formant, *formative)
form letter: a letter that is the same for every addressee with only those items changed that are peculiar to a particular recipient.
formal equivalence: a type of translation that endeavors to provide word-for-word correlation with the original language.
formal term: a term used in academic or elite circumstances (in a set with *archaism, buzz word, *informal term, oath, *obsolete term, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *technical term, *vulgaris)
formant: an element added to a root in inflected languages to indicate *tense, *person, *mood, *number, *voice, *aspect; *gender, *case. (in a set with *morpheme; *form, *formative)
formative: an element added to roots to make connection with additions to the word: connecting vowels, tense signs; signs for number, gender, and case. *Form looks at the whole word with all its combined elements of meaning and usage. *Formant is a morpheme that contributes one added element of meaning to the *root, such as a *tense formant. *Formative can be a splicing mechanism that ties root and formant together, as a *connecting vowel. A morpheme is any meaning unit including the root itself and those units that change the part of speech.
(in a set with *morpheme; *form, *formant)
formulaic: having a set wording as on ancient bills of sale, funerary curses, repeated verbal religious rituals, etc.
four-letter word: a way of referring to a curse word since many such words have four letters.
fragment sentence: a sentence that does not have all the parts needed for expressing a complete thought. Fragment sentences happens mostly in written communication because the written medium is not one in which some people habitually operate; and it is slower to put down, which sets a person up for omitting something important to the thought. See also *sentence fragment.
frame of reference: the intended range of topic. An example of issue is the use of Rom 5:12-21 to argue that there was no such thing as death in the animal kingdom before Adam and Eve sinned; by implication animals did not eat other animals; there were no carnivores, only herbivores. The apostle, however, is talking about humankind and sin reigning in death even over them that had not sinned like Adam did (5:14). “Over-interpreting” it to apply more widely loses apostolic authority for that further claim. One might think accordingly that animals will be resurrected because the text goes on to say that by man (the Man) came will come eternal life (5:21).
free verse: so-called because it is “free” of the typical forms associated with poetry. Instead of rhyme scheme and meter, free verse may strive only for heightened imagery, *balanced construction, or *elliptical expression. (in a set with *poetry, *prose)
frequentative form: Latin added –t- to a root to indicate frequently doing the action indicated by the root WH 292, 307). In Greek, –izo verbs originally had a frequentative, or repetitive, value.
free-standing: considered a separate word and so written in contrast to existing only as an affix or *combining form in other words. The word all in contrast to –tion.
fricative: a sound made by restricting the air flow at variouis pronunciation points: f/ph, v (bh, *bilabial *voiced); th (thin), dh (then); ch (Bach), gh (voiced *palatal/*velar); h (honor; Greek smooth breathing [’], Hebrew aleph).
function word: preposition, conjunction, and article Goetchius, 25)
funerary inscription: an inscription placed at a burial sight
fused verbs: another term for *merged verb or *phrasal verb.????
fused sentence: another term for *run-on sentence
(in a set with *comma)
fusillade: n. a rapid barrage of insults
future tense: (a) English will (shall for emphatic), (b) “going to __ this job.” The older will-shall distinction no longer holds: shall for first person and will for second and third person, their being reversed for emphasis. Most of the time in spoken English, emphatic future stresses the auxiliary word, but a pattern has been developing in written English of underlining the auxiliary or using shall for emphasis.
(in a set with *imperatival future, *near future, *distant future, *futuristic present)
future perfect: a tense that indicates action completed before some future point in time: will have done it, will have it done. The latter option indicates a *stative idea. A tense formed by combining will have with the past participle (the third principal part of the English verb). Greek and Latin have equivalent forms.
futuristic present: In if-clauses and other introductory adverbial clauses, English can use the present tense with future force: “If he goes to college, he will be more likely to succeed.” “Wherever he works, he will need to learn to get out of bed in the morning.” New Testament examples include Mt 7:41, 42, 52; Jn 14:18.
galley proofs: the pages of a book as they come from type set or computer-generated copy. Any typographical mistakes found by the author or other proof readers are noted and corrected before final publication.
(in a set with *galley sheets, *proof reader))
galley sheets: another expression for *galley proofs.
gamma: third letter of the Greek alphabet: γ/Γ
gazette: a newspaper or official journal
gazetteer a geographic index or dictionary Webster)
gender: Gender is a grammatical category that could in most cases as easily be called x, y, or z. In grammar issues, gender is not *sex reference. While languages that have grammatical gender usually do use masculine for male referents and feminine for female referents, sexless items may be masculine, feminine, or neuter. In form, English has sex-reference only, and then only in pronouns and possessive adjectives of the third person singular. With pronouns there are *masculine, *feminine, *neuter, and *common. Gender distinction exists in third-person singular reference (he/she/it), but not in first or second person or in third-person plural. Outside third singular, pronouns and possessive adjectives are “common” (I/me/my; we/us/our; you/your; they/them/their). Third person personal pronouns are limited to he/she/it. The same is true of *reflexive and *intensive pronouns: himself, herself, itself.
In popular usage outside the realm of grammar, the word gender has come to have sex reference as in social-cultural contexts. That leaves sex for biological contexts.
In grammatical gender, the rule in Greek, Latin, and traditional English has been that masculine takes preference in ambiguous, mixed, or indifferent situations. With the abandonment of grammatical gender in favor of sex-reference only, modern English usage of third singular pronouns has posed an issue of late. Current practice has started using the third plural common possessive their (and even pronouns they and them) for singular ambiguous, mixed, and indifferent situations. So, comments are made like “this one,” “their,” “a person.” These are considered less cumbersome than the “he or she,” “he/she,” “s/he” phraseology or alternating “he” and “she” for indifferent references in an ongoing text.
Latin and Greek customarily used neuter for ideas or general reference: Nobiscum versari iam diutius non potes; id patiar”; “You are no longer able to stay with us now; I will not permit it.”
Masculine gender
Feminine gender
Neuter gender does not exist in Hebrew.
Common gender is a feature of many English pronoun types and of the first person endings on Hebrew verbs, which distinguish masculine and feminine gender in the other persons.
(in a set with *number and *case for *“locating” a *noun or *adjective)
(in a set with *masculine, *feminine, *neuter, *common)
genealogy/genealogical lists: In the Old Testament, the historical connection of persons to the past is maintained by genealogical lists; they keep track of inheritance issues and authority/responsibility lines. The two genealogies in the New Testament trace the origins of Jesus. Matthew’s list presumably traces his genealogy through Joseph, while Luke’s trace his genealogy through Mary, replacing Mary’s name with Joseph’s in the immediately previous generation. These lists converge in two different sons of David/Solomon.
generalization: a statement that speaks of a category while meaning less than the category. It is an instance of the difference between form of statement and meaning of the statement. “American are money-hungry” probably indicates the speaker’s belief that a sizeable portion of American people have that characteristic.
generative grammar: in the case of previously unwritten language, linguists attempt to analyze the language systematically, discover its rules of operation, and delineate them in organized fashion. In so doing, the linguist is “generating” a grammar that can enable a new speaker to communicate in the language.
genitive absolute: Greek used the genitive case for the subject and participle of an *absolute construction; hence, it is called a genitive absolute. Classical Greek often widened the condition for usage by specifying that the subject of the dependent element not appear as the subject of the main clause rather than the subject not appear at all in the main sentence.
genitive case: Genitive case equals the *possessive case in English terminology. Most often genitive case ties one noun to another, the nature of the case determining the exact way the genitive-noun *referent relates to the *phrase head: “to the carrying away of-Babylon.” The carrying away was to Babylon, but the Greek merely ties Babylon to the preceding noun (Mt 11:1, 12). Consequently, the hearer must be more actively involved by needing to figure out that real connection. Greek and Latin genitive case is handled in English with a possessive case (’s or s’) or an “of” prepositional phrase.
The genitive case can express the part of the whole: “he conquered part of the city.” See *descriptive genitive, *genitive of apposition, *genitive of material, *genitive of possession, *objective genitive, *partitive genitive (genitive of the whole), *genitive of value, *subjective genitive. In Greek the genitive case appears after certain prepositions, especially those implying separation. Many genitive usages in Greek and Latin correspond to “of” expressions in English.
genitive of apposition: same as appositive genitive; the genitive case renames the noun it is attached to: “the city of Cincinnati.” In most places where English uses “of,” Greek and Latin use the genitive case, and Hebrew has a *construct form on the phrase head.
genitive of indefinite value: WH354#10
genitive of measure: Greek uses the genitive case on measurement words to indicate amount. Acts 4:22: “The man on whom this sign of healing occurred was of over forty years [etoon pleioon tessarakonta)? “Did you sell the land for so much? (Acts 5:8, “of-so-much”). Latin: Arma sunt parvi pretii (“The weapons are of little value” WH 231#2); akin to *genitive of value.
genitive of value wh 216
genre/literary genre: a category of literature like *history, *prophecy, *wisdom literature, *gospel, *apocalyptic, *acts, *novel, *poetry, *didactic.
gentilic: a termination that indicates someone as being a resident of or in the nation of; often translated in scripture from Hebrew –i as –ite; cp. biblical and modern terms Bangladeshi, Canaani, Irani, Iraqi, Israeli, Kuwaiti, Pakistani, Uzbekistani, Waorani, Yemeni. Other endings of similar import are (Mexic)an, (Egypt)ian, (New York)er, (Scots)man, (Chin)ese.
geocentric viewpoint: events viewed from the standpoint of the earth rather than of heaven of God or from an omniscient perspective. The beginning of Genesis starts with an omniscient viewpoint (1:1, “heavens and the earth,” universal reference), moves to a geocentric viewpoint (1:2-2:3), narrows to an anthropocentric viewpoint (2:4ff.). Thence it narrows further to Seth’s descendants, to Noah’s family, to Seth, to Abraham, to Isaac ( vs. Ishmael), to Jacob ( vs. Esau). The result is a document that provides the setting that zeroes in on place of National Israel in the scheme of things. (in a set with *anthropocentric viewpoint, *omniscient point)
gerund: In English, a gerund is a verbal noun with an –ing termination: “Giving is more blessed than receiving.”
In Latin,
(in a set with *finite verbs, *infinitives, *participles)
gerundive: in Latin, another name for the future passive participle, a passive verbal adjective often uised to express obligation or necessity
geschichte: German for history (sp)
gesticulate: to use bodily motions to indicate or reinforce ideas expressed while speaking
gesture: visual indicator of some message: (1) a sign or signal: bowing, curtsying, holding one’s hand up (as if to answer), holding one’s hand out with the palm facing toward someone (meaning stop), nodding, pointing with the chin, rolling the eyes, rub one’s stomach, shaking the head, *shrugging, snapping the fingers, squinting the eyes, sticking out the tongue, thumbing the nose, winking, etc.; (2) an act of kindness by which a person communicates goodwill with perhaps the implication of willingness for further efforts toward a meeting of minds or change of procedure.
Biblical gestures in the first sense include (1) shaking the dust off your feet at someone ();
(2) putting one’s hand under another man’s thigh accompanying a legal agreement ();
(3) spitting in someone’s face as a gesture of contempt (Num 12:14; Job 17:6; 30:10; Is 50:4);
(4) removing a shoe and spitting in the face of someone who does not want to fulfill the Levirate marriage responsibility (Deut 25:5-10; Ruth 4:7-9);
(5) sitting in sackcloth and ashes as a gesture of repentance ();
(6) rending one’s garments as a gesture of abhorrence ();
(7) stretching forth the hand to signal attention to what a person is about to say to a group of people ();
(8) prostrating oneself before another as a sign of total submission and the complete abandonment of personal dignity, in the style of Muslim prostration in worship.
(9) “wagging the head,” (moving the top of the head back and forth?) or shaking the head (moving the front of the face from side to side as in the current American gesture?); kinoutes (Gr) means moving in general; so unclear): Mt 27:39 = Mk 15:29; cp. Job 16:4; Ps 22:7; 109:25; Lam 2:15; Zeph 2:15; ).
(10) hissing: Jer 19:8; Zeph 2:15.
(11) the laying on of hands in connection with appointment to a duty or office; the bestowal of a blessing, the transmission of supernatural gifts, the bestowal of healing
(12) anointing with olive oil in connection with appointment to a duty or office: the appointment of a prophet (), a king ()
(13) using third person for second person as a sign of respect when speaking to a dignitary (Num 27:15-17)
(in a set with *kinesics, *anointing with oil, *laying on of hands)
ghost writer: the person who actually wrote the book even though the name of another person appears as official author. A practice sometimes followed when the subject of the article or book is not particularly skilled in written communication even though his or her life or ideas provide the subject matter for the writing.
Similar to the phraseology “by __________ with _____,” where the second person actually put the article or book together on the basis of information supplied by the first through interviews.
gibberish:
gimel: the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ג
given name: the “first” name, which distinguishes one person from others within a related group (in a set with *surname)
glossary: a collection of terms belonging to a field of study or thought, usually placed after the body of a book.
glossolalia: a “speaking in tongues,” which some Christians equate with ecstatic utterance but others with xenoglossia, as descriptions of the New Testament phenomenon. (in a set with *ecstatic utterance, *xenoglossia, “speaking in tongues):
glottals (in as set with *labials, *dentals, liquids, and *velars)
glyph: a carved symbol for a meaning or sound, usually incised/engraved rather than raised; a figure like an arrow or a human on a sign that gives information
glyptics: the art of engraving on precious stones
glyptograph: an engraving on precious stones
go-between: an *intermediary, as a prophet or priest in divine-human relations
(in a set with *prophet, *priest, *intercessor, *intermediary)
gonzo: highly unconventional, subjective, exaggerated style in journalism; similar to *yellow journalism
gospel: as a literary unit, gospel refers to canonical, uncanonical, and pseudepigraphical (1)accounts of the life of Christ. Over time, a gospel came to be thought of also as (2) a literary form. It was a specialized biography that focused on the years of his ministry and stressed the final week of that ministry. Prior to the beginning of Christ’s ministry, the canonical gospels tell only about events surrounding his birth (Matthew and Luke) and a set of incidents when he was twelve at his dedication in the temple.
Uncanonical and pseudepigraphical gospels tried to fill in the gaps from those earlier years. Gospel thus became a type of literary *genre in post-apostolic times in which to indulge the imaginations of writers and put their own ideas into the mouth of Jesus.
In *lectionaries, gospel refers to (3) a reading from the gospels in contrast to one taken from the epistles.
(in a set with *biography, * autobiography):
govern/government is in a set with *concord to form the manner of connection between parts of an expression. Governance refers to what one word requires another to be like. That can happen (1) between a preposition and its object as in English, where prepositions require their objects to be in the objective case. Greek prepositions require their objects to be in the genitive case (especially if the preposition implies separation), dative case (especially if the preposition implies location), or accusative (especially if the preposition implies destination). Latin prepositions call for objects in the ablative case (especially if the preposition implies separation or location) or the accusative case (especially if the preposition implies destination).
Governance also refers to (2) what a verb requires its object to be. After most English, Latin, and Greek verbs the accusative case appears. In some instances where Latin and Greek verbs imply relationship, the “object” is in the dative case, a type of *dative of relationship. In some Latin verbs that imply separation, the “objects” appear in the ablative case. In some instances where the verb affects only some of the object, the genitive case appears. Comparable to “eat of the fruit of the tree.” The Hebrew equivalent of this last construction uses min + maqef. (in a set with *concord)
grace: prayer at a meal
grammar: (1) collectively, the devices that show the relationship between parts of a sentence.
(2) A book, or text, that describes the workings of a language. An instructional grammar is designed to introduce students to the language; so it sequences aspects of the language for learning purposes. Vocabulary sets and exercise become part of the grammar. Larger items like subjunctive mood will probably get spread out across different chapters. By contrast, a descriptive grammar, or reference grammar, presents in one place everything the author wants to say about each feature of the language.
grammarian: one who deals with grammar
grammatical: having to do with the syntax and perhaps the inflectional forms of a language (in a set with *syntax, *inflection; * declension, *conjugation)
grammatical gender: the gender assigned somewhat arbitrarily to nouns in inflectional languages—and to verbs sometimes. Since adjectives in such languages must agree in gender with their nouns, adjectives also have gender, but not in themselves.
English grammatical gender is almost non-existent except for an occasional usage of she for a ship and the like. She is typically used in Iceland for the volcanoes that are there, and may be so called when brought into English. Masculine and feminine genders usually correspond with male and female sex, but neuter things and abstractions are assigned various genders. Latin, for example, often class abstractions as feminine. Other classifications are correlated with certain nominalizing *morphemes: -al, -e, -ar (neuter), -or, -tor (masculine). Greek is similar in this regard.
*Common gender means that a form lacks gender distinction in an otherewise inflectional set—like English first and second person pronouns and possessive adjectives and third person plural pronouns and possessive adjectives: I, me, my, mine; we, us, our, ours; you, your, yours; they, them, their, theirs; but he, his; she, her, hers; it, its. Hebrew, which uses gender in its second- and third-person verbs, has common gender in first person.
Hebrew has only masculine and feminine (and common) grammatical gender while Greek and Latin have also neuter. As noted above, English has virtually no grammatical gender and so, for the most part, has common nouns.
Grammatical gender gets involved in the translation process when pronouns whose Greek or Latin *antecedents are a different gender from what is appropriate in English. On such case of interest pertains to the Holy Spirit. If a person first concludes for the personality of the Spirit, then He is the appropriate pronoun reference in English even though Greek uses a neuter pronoun is to match the antecedent. Acts 8:16 refers to the Spirit (neuter) of 8:15, but the ASV of 1901 says “it fell on none of them,” a matter corrected in the NASB: “He fell on none of them.” Examples of neuter pronouns for the Holy Spirit include Jn 14:17; 15:26.
(in a set with *gender; *masculine, *feminine, *neuter, *common; *translation; *capitalization)
graph: a letter of the alphabet, the spelling of a word,
grapheme: a letter of the *alphabet; all the alternative forms (letters, *digraphs, or *consonant clusters) for representing the same sound/*phoneme. English includes the following:
Consonants
c1 [generally before a, o, u as in coat], k [leukocytopenia], ch [school], ck [black] for the phoneme /k/
f, ph, gh [enough] for the *phoneme /f/
g1 [generally before a, o, u as in goat], gg [] for the phoneme /g/
g1 [regime], s [measure and with most medial –si- words like derision], ss1 [fission] for the phoneme /zh/
h1 [honor], # [zero symbol, i.e., no letter, but a *glottal stop pronounced as in apple] for the phoneme/א/
j, g1 [generally before e, i, y as in ginger] for the phoneme /j/
ch1 [church], tch [batch] for the plosive phoneme /ch/
ng, n [before all *velars as in rancor, lingo, rank, conch] for the phoneme /ng/
s1 [silent], ss1 [missing], sc [scythe and all others sc followed by e, i, or y] for the phoneme /s/
sh1, sch [bu], ss1 [mission], ti [fiction], si [], ci for the phoneme /sh/
t, d1 [ripped], th [thyme] for the phoneme /t/
w, # [zero symbol, i.e., no written letter as on _one] for the phoneme /w/
x, cks [racks], ks [] , cs [sacs] for the phoneme /ks/
y, # [zero symbol, i.e., no written letter as often on the front of words with u- or eu- as in _union and _euphoria] for the phoneme /y/
z, s1 [rids and most cases where preceded by a vowel or *voiced consonant] for the phoneme /z/
To this list theoretically could be added most cases of single and doubled consonants: b/bb, c/cc, d/dd, f/ff, g/gg, l/ll, m/mm, n/nn, p/pp, r/rr, s/ss, t/tt, v/vv, z/zz. The qualification, however, is that several of these consonants as singles have other values besides the one they share with their doubles.
Vowels
a, ay for /ā/
e, ea, ee, ey, -y, i [regime] for /ē/
i [line], igh [blight, fight, high, might, nigh, plight, sigh, thigh] for /ī/
o [lone], oa [loan], for /ō/
u, -eau- [beauty] for /ū/
(in a set with *pronunciation, *spelling)
grave accent: an accent mark that slants up to the left (`). In English spelling the grave accent appears on a few words and phrases of French origin, though often not actually written except in formal settings: à la carte, à la mode, cause célèbre, crèche, pièce de résistance, pied-à-terre, vis-à-vis, voilà.
In Greek spelling, the grave accent represents a fall tone and appears only on the last syllable. (in a set with *acute accent, *circumflex accent; *diacritical marks)
greater Asclepiad: kind of meter Wh 337
greeting: (a) an address to someone when they meet.
(b) the opening address to the recipient(s) of a letter. Paul, James, Peter, John, Jude begin all their letters in this way: Luke includes his greeting to Theophilus in his introductions to the gospel (1:30 and Acts (1:1): Rom 1:1-7; 1 Cor 1:1-9; 2 Cor 1:1-2; Gal 1:1-5; Eph 1:1-2; Phil 1:1-2; Col 1:1-2; 1 Th 1:1; 2 Th 1:1-2; 1 Tim 1:1-2; 2 Tim 1:1-2; Tit 1:1-4; Phil 1-3; James 1:1; 1 Pet 1:1-2; 2 Pet 1:1-2; 1 Jn 1:1-4; 2 Jn 1-3; 3 Jn 1; Jude 1-2; Rev 1:4-7.
(in a set with *introduction, *salutation)
Grimm’s Law: a pattern of consonant change from Indo-European to Germanic correspondents. In general, the alterations stay within the same pronunciation points: labial, dentals, and velars. The changes mean that p, t, k became f, th, h (voiceless stops became voiceless fricative); b, d, g became p, t, k (voiced stops lost voicing); and bh,dh, gh became b, d, g.
(voiced fricatives became voiced stops)
“groaner”: a bad joke (but not *risqué), a *Tom Swifty, often taking advantage of the multiple meanings of a word (in a set with *Tom Swifty, *double meaning,)
guideword: the words at the top of a dictionary page that show the first and last word entered alphabetically on that set of pages; guidewords make it faster and easier to see whether the desired word falls on those pages
gutturals: Hebrew aleph, he, heth, ayin
hackneyed: an trite, overused expression that marks the speaker as uneducated
Haggadah: the part of the Talmud that deals with historical material in contrast to legal concerns
Hagiographa: “holy writings”; one of the three basic divisions of Old Testament literature: “The Writings” along with “the Law” and “the Prophets.” Same as the Hebrew term Chetubim.
(in a set with *Torah, *Nebiim )
Hagiography: literature, often idealizing, about the lives of saints
handbook: a *manual brief summary of subject matter associated with a special field of operation (in a set with *manual)
handle: the name or expression used by Cbers to identify themselves.
(in a set with *call letters)
hapax legomenon/hapax legomena: once-used word within some category, whether in all the literature of that language, in a certain work, in a certain writer, in a given time frame, and the like. [Gr once + said]
haplography: an omission, especially of repeated elements, a kind of copyist error
(in a set with homoioteleuton, dittography, metathesis as types of scribal errors)
haplology: the dropping of a repeated element in a word. An examples is cephalgia as a short for cephalalgia, the more original word being comprised of cephal- (“head”) and –algia, a suffix for pain. Latin has nutrix from nutritrix, (“nurse”).
harangue:
he: the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet
he directional/directive: the old Hebrew accusative ending –ah appended to an appropriate noun can signal direction toward, as with mitsraimah for “toward Egypt.”
he interrogative: prefixed to the front of the first word of the sentence to show that a questiion is being asked.
He locale: in Hebrew language study, an older designation for direction. (*He directive)
heading (In a set with *title)
headline: a summarizing set of words over an article in a newspaper, magazine, or other *ephemeral paper
heavy endings: in Hebrew, the pronominal endings for second and third person plural verbs and possession
Hebraism: a distinctive manner of expression found only in Hebrew, but translated word-for-word into Greek or English. (in a set with *Hellenism, *Latinism, *Aramaism, *Anglicism) Dana & Mantey, Manual Grammar, pp. 14-15.
hellenism (in a set with *Hebraism, *Aramaism, *Latinism, *Anglicism)
helping verb: another term for *auxiliary verb, separate words that combine with the verb in contrast to inflectional changes to the verb itself
hendecasyllabic: having eleven syllables
hendiadys: a figure of speech in which appear two nouns, two entries, two *word pictures for the same thing. It is kind of “acceptable” redundancy. So, two nouns joined by and say what could be said by an adjective-noun combination. NT examples.
Hendiadys raises the well-known question in Gen 1:26 as to what the difference is between the imago dei and the similitudo dei. Whereas it may be possible to imagine some plausible distinction between the two phrases, they may be nothing more than two words pictures for the same general idea of likeness to God.
hermeneutics: a more formal word for interpretation that includes the discipline of *interpretation as such as well as the process of integration that carries all the way up to *worldview. (in a set with *authorial intent, *interpretation)
het/heth: the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ח
hexameter: a line of verse containing six metrical feet
(in a set with *trimeter, *tetrameter, pentameter)
hieratic: an offshoot of hieroglyphics (in a set with *demotic)
hieroglyph: a pictograph; a pictorial symbol that represents meaning or sounds [Gr hieros, holy + glyphein, to carve]
High Priestly Prayer, The: The extended prayer of Jesus recorded in Jn 17.
hint: a kind of implication that deliberately requires the listener to infer some further point. Hint differs from *innuendo and *insinuation by having a neutral connotation; it differs from *slam and *cut by being indirect.
historical linguistics: Historical linguistics looks at the preceding (and succeeding stages of a language’s development as a way perhaps of elucidating seemingly aberrant features of the language. *Comparative linguistics shows the similarities between contemporary related languages. *Descriptive linguistics focuses on a certain stage of a language without concerning itself with historical backgrounds or other contemporary related languages.
(in a set with *comparative linguistics, *descriptive linguistics)
historical present: a present tense verb used for relating a past event. Also called *vivid narration: “Last week I was walking along the railroad tracks, and this six-foot-long black snake crawls across the gravel about five yards ahead of me, and starts over one of the rails just before a freight train comes barreling down on us.”
history (in a set with *storie, *saga, *epic, *historie, *novel, *novelle, *geschichte)
homily: a sermon, a presentation in a religious setting (in a set with *sermon, *sermon types , , , )
homiletics: the discipline of sermon preparation.
homoioteleuton: a kind of copying error that omits the material between a recurrent element in a segment of text. (in a set with *metathesis, *haplography, *dittography as types of *scribal errors)
homolegoumena: books of the Bible that everyone accepted as canonical in the early years of the church
homograph: a word spelled like another word but with different pronunciation and different meaning, a two-pronunciation word: abuse, aged, attribute, bases, bass, blessed, boule,bow1, 2, 3/bowed/bower, buffet, business, close (v, adj), closer (n, adj), concrete, content, contrary, crooked, desert, divers, do, does, document, dogged/doggedly, dove, drawer, excess, excuse, expose, fine, fragment, glower, grease, house (n, v), implement, infinite, insurance, invalid, lead, learned, legged, live, lives, minute, moment, moped, mouse (-s or –z), mouth, mow/mowed/mower, number1, nun (Hebrew letter), offence, overage, pan, peaked, perfected, (Polish/polish), read, refuse, regress, route, row, separate, sewer, shower, (sine/sine), sow, striped, supplement, tender, tear, tier/tier, tow, tower, use, wicked, wind, windy, wound. Note also decent/descent.
A large group of words ending in –ate can have a verb—always in –āte—and a corresponding adjective or agent-noun in –ăte. [insert panel-also under pronunciation] advocate, aggregate, animate, approximate, articulate, associate, consummate, coordinate, correlate, delegate, deliberate, deviate, document, duplicate, elaborate, expatriate, graduate, initiate, intimate, moderate, officiate, palp, pan1, 2, 3, personate, precipitate, predicate, profligate, regenerate, ruminate, separate, streaked, subordinate, syndicate.
The –ate with adjectives and nouns may have a long a if there is no related verb. [insert panel-also under pronunciation]
Many two- or three-syllable words can be verbs or nouns, spelled the same way but often accented on the first syllable as nouns or adjectives and on the second syllable for verbs: [insert panel-pronunciation] absent, addict, address, appropriate, attribute, cement, collect, combat, combine, commune, compact, console, construct, consummate, content, contest, converse, convert, convict, defect, desert, digest, entrance, envelope, impact, import, incline, increase, intimate, liver, object, perfect, pervert, predicate, present, proceed, produce, progress, project, rebel, recall, record, refuse, regress, reject, reprint, retread, separate, (shit), subject, suspect, transfer,
(in a set with *homonym, *homophone)
homonym: a word sounding like another word with the same spelling but different meaning
aircraft, alert, beat, bid, bison, bit/bit, bound, burst, clad, cost, craft, cut, deer, drove, elk, felt, fish, flounder, founder, fry, ground, hit/hit, hurt, knit, let, lit/lit, live, luster, miss, mouse, muff, muffle, mug, mule, mull, mum, mummy, mush, nag, nap1, 2, 3, 4, nave, net, nit, nix, nog, noodle, novel, nun, pant, parr (sg & pl), peck, pen, perch, peer, pet, put, quit, rid, rifle, rose, saw, set, shed, sheep, [shit], sounder, spit, split, spread, stern, stole, stranger, swallow, sweat, tales, tote, trailer, wet, wilt, you/ your (sg $ pl), .
Depending on how broadly homonym is defined, there is a large number of places in Latin and Greek where the same form within a word covers more than one place in the inflection. Latin and Greek both use the same form for nominative, vocative, and accusative on neuter words. In Latin the nominative plural and genitive and dative singular are the same in the first declension (-ae). Second-declension –us nouns have the same ending for nominative plural and genitive singular (-i). The same pattern applies to fourth declension masculines with the accusative plural also the same -ūs. Fifth declension nominative singular and plural are alike with the accusative plural also the same (-ēs). Third declension masculines and feminines use the same ending for nominative and accusative plural (–ēs). Except for the singular of second declension –us nouns, which use –e for vocative, vocatives for nouns in any gender are the same as the nominative, -ius nouns and -mi excepted (-i). Dative and ablative plurals are always the same. Third conjugation first singular verbs are the same in future indicative and present subjunctive (faciam, e.g.). Third declension adjectives are the same for masculine and feminine.
Greek has about the same array of common forms within inflections.
With a broad definition of homonym, English homonyms are much more frequent because of the paucity of distinctive inflectional forms to distinguish case, gender, number, tense, voice, etc., in nouns, adjectives, and verbs. English’s high number of feeder languages creates the same end product beginning at entirely different starting points.
(in a set with *homonym, *homophone)
homophone: a word that has the same sound as another with different spelling and different meanings
a lot/allot, ā/aye/eh, a while/awhile, ad/add, adds/ads/adze, ade/aid/aide, adherence/adherents, adieu/ado, aerial/ariel, aid/aide, ail/ale, air/aire/e’er/err1/eyre/heir, aisle/isle/I’ll, all ready/already, all together/altogether, all ways/always, allowed/aloud, ante/auntie, altar/alter, antecedence/antecedents, any one/anyone, any way/anyway, apothegm/apothem, arc/ark, ar/are/hour1/our, arras/auras, ascent/assent, assistance/assistantzs, ate/eight, auger/augur, aught/ought, aw/awe, away/aweigh, awed/odd, awful/offal, awn/on, ax/acts, axel?/axil/axle, aye/eye/I, baaed/bad, bade/bayed, bail/bale, baited/bated, balks/box, ball/bawl, balogna/baloney, band/banned, bands/banns/bans, bard/barred, bare/bear, bass/base, bat/batt, baubles/bobbles, bazaar/bizarre, be/bee, beer/bier, beat/beet, beau/bow1, beaut/butte, bell/belle, berry/bury1, berth/birth, besot/besought, better/bettor, bight/bite, billed/build, bird/burred, birr/burr, bite/byte, blew/blue, bloc/block, boar/bore, board/bored, boarder/border, bode/bowed1, bold/bowled, bole/boll/bowl, boos/booze, born/borne, bot/bought, bough/bow1, bouillon/bullion, bought/bow1, bouy/boy, braid/brayed, braise/brays/braze, brake/break, breach/breech, bread/bred, breeze/bries, brewed/bfrood, brews/bruise, bridal/bridle, brisle/bristle, broachbrooch, brood/brewed, brouse/brows, brr/burr, burro/burrow, but/butt, buy/by/bye, cache/cash, calculous/calculus, calendar/calender, caller/collar, callous/callus, can not/cannot, cannon/canon, cant/can’t, canvas/canvass, capital/capitol, carat/caret/carrot/karat, cast/caste, caucus/coccus, caught/cot/qat, cause/caws, cawed/cod, cedar/seeder, cede/seed, cee/sea/see, cees/seas/sees/seize, ceiling/sealing, cel/cell/sell, cellar/seller, censor/sensor, cent/scent/sent, cents/sense/scents, cereal/serial, cession/session, chance/chants, chased/chaste, chaulk/chock, cheap/cheep, check/Czech, chews/choose, chic1/chick, chick1/sheik, chili/chilly, chime/chyme, chord/cord/cored, chou/chow, chute/shoot, cine?/sign/sine, cirrus/serous, cist?/cyst, cite/sight/site, cleave/(clove), cleek/clique1, clew/clue, click/cliquer, climb/clime, close1/clothes, cocks/cox, coarse/course, coat/cote, coax/cokes, coign/coin, colonel/kernel, complement/compliment, conger/conjur, coo/coup, coop/coupe, cor/core/corps, correspondence/correspondents, cot/caught, council/counsel, counselor/councillor, coy/koi?, craft/kraft, crews/cruise, croc/crock, crone/krone, cue/queue, currant/current, curser/cursor, cymbal/symbol, dais/diedye, dam/damn, Dane/deign), dawn/don, days/daze, deal/dele, dental/dentil, descent/dissent, desert1/dessert, dew/do1/doo/due, die/dye, dier/dire/dyer, disc/disk, discreet/discrete, do1/doe/dough, doc/dock, does1/dos/doughs/doze, done/dun, ducked/duct, dyeing/dyer/dying, dier/dire/dyer, earn/ern(e)/urn, ease/ees, eek/eke, ensure/insure, er/err, every day/everyday, every one/everyone, ewe/euw?/yew/you, ewes/use1/yews/(yous), exercise/exorcise, expatriates/e-patriots, eyed/I’d, eyer/ire, facts/ faqs (on-line help pages)/FAX, fain/feign, faint/feint, fair/fare, fat/phat, fate/fete, faun/fawn/phon, fawned/fond, fays/faze/phase, fee/fie/phi1, fends/fens, file/phial, fined/find, fir/fur, fish/phish, fisher/fissure, flack/flak, flair/flare, flea/flee, flew/flu/flue, flier/flyer, flocks/flox/phlox, floe/flow, flour/flower, foaled/fold, foehn/phone, for/fore/four, forbear/forebear, forego/forgo, foreword/forward, forth/fourth, foul/fowl, friar/fryer, freeze/frieze, fro/froe(frow), gaff/gaffe, gage/guage, gait/gate, gays/gaze, gibe/jibe, gilled/guild, gilt/guilt, gnave/nave, gnaw/nah, gnawed/nod, gneiss/niece, gnome/nome, gnu/knew/new/nu, gofer/gopher, gored/gourd, gorge/gourge, gorilla/guerilla, grade/grayed, graded/grated, graft/graphed, grate/great, grays/graze, groan/grown, guessed/guest, guise/guys, ha/haw, hail/hale, hair/hare, hall/haul, hanger/hanger, hardy/hearty, hark/heark, hart/heart, have/halve, hay/hey, hays/haze, he’d/heed, heal/heel/he’ll, hear/here, heard/herd, hears/here’s, heron/heroine, hew/hue, hi/hie/high, hide/hied/highed?, higher/hire, him/hymn, ho/hoe, hoar/whore, hoard/horde/whored, hoarse/horse, hoes/hose, hole/whole, holy/holey/wholly, hoop/whoop, hostel/hostile, hour/our, house1/how’s, Hon/Hun, humerus/humorous, idle/idol/idyl, ileum/ilium, I’ll/isle, immanent/imminent, incidence/incidents, indict/indite, installation/instilltion, instants/instance, intense/intents, its/it’s, jam/jamb, jewel/joule, knap/nap, knave/nave, knead/kneed/need, knee/nee1, knicks/nix, knight/night, knit/nit, knob/nob, knock/nock, knoll/noll, knot/not/naught/nought, knotty/noughty/naughty, know/no, knows/nos/nose, lac/lack, lacks/lax, lade/laid/leid, lain/lane, lam/lamb, lama/llama, laps/lapse, lase/lays/laze/leis, lay/lei, leach/leech, lead/led, leak/leek, lean/lien, leased/least, lends/lens, (lentil/lintil), less/loess, lesser/lessor, lessen/lesson, levee/levy, lewd/lude, liar/lier/lyre, lichen/liken, lie/lye, lightening/lightning, lime/limn, links/lunx, literal/littoral, lo/low, load/lode/lowed, loan/lone, loath/loathe, locks/lox, looks/luxe, loos/lose, loot/lute, (lower/lore), ma/maw, made/maid, mail/male, main/mane, maize/mays/maze, mall/maul, manner/manor, mantel/mantle, many/mini, mare/mayor, marry/merry, marshall/matial, massed/mast, mat/matte, mauls/mawls, maw/mow1(mō), mean/mien, meat/meet/mete, medal/meddle/metal/mettle, mead/meed, mews/muse, might/mite, mil/mill, mina/myna, mined/mind, miner/minor, missal/missle, missed/mist, misses/missis(missus), missed/mist, misses/missus(Mrs.), moan/mown, moat/mote, mode/mowed1, mold/mould, mood/mooed, moose/mousse, morn/mourn, /more/mower), morning/mourning, mucous/mucus, murderess/murderous, muscle/mussel, mussed/must, nap/nappe, narc/nark, naval/navel, nay/nee1/neigh, nicks/nix, none/nun, O/oh/owe, oar/o’er/or/ore, odder/otter, ode/owed, odeum/odium, one/won, oohs/ooze, ordinance/ordonance, oriel/oriole, oui/we/wee, overdo/overdue, pa/paw, paean/paeon, pas/pause/paws, paced/paste, packed/pact, pail/pale, pain/pane, pair/pare/pear, palate/palette/pallet, pan/penne, par/parr, pard/parred, parish/perish, pas/pause/paws, passed/past, patience/patients, (pauper/popper), pawed/pod, pea/pee, peace/piece, peak/peek/pique, peal/peel, pearl/purl, pec/peck, pedal/peddle/petal, peer/pier, penance/penants, pencil/pensile, pend/penned, pendant/pendent, penman/penmen, per/purr, pew/phew, pi/pie, pica/pika, picks/pix, pigeon/pidgin, pistil/pistol, pixy/pyxie, plack/plaque, plain/plane, plait/plate, pleas/please, plum/plumb, pocks/pox, pod/pawed, pois/poise, poke/polk, pole/poll, poor/pore/pour, populace/populous, praise/prays/preys, pray/prey, precedence/precedents, presence/presents, presser/pressor, pride/pried, pries/prise/prize, principal/principle, prior/pryer/pryor, private/privet, profit/prophet, pros/prose, psi1/sigh, psychosis/sycosis, quarts/quartz, rabbet/rabbit, rah/raw, raid/rayed, rail/rale, rain/reign/rein, raise/rays/raze, rap/wrap, rapper/wrapper, rapped/rapt/wraped, read1/reed/rede, read1/red/redd, real/reel, rec/wreck, reek/wreak, recede/reseed, reckless/wreckless, reek/wreak, relaid/relayed, residence/residents, rest/wrest, retch/wretch, rheum/room, rho/roe/row, rho/roe/row1, rhos/rose/rows, rhyme/rime, rigger/rigor, right/rite/wright/write, rime/rhyme, ring/wring, ringer/wringer, right/rite/wright, road/rode/rowed, roil/royal, role/roll, roo/rou/roue/rue, rood/rude/rued, roomer/rumor, root/route1, rose/rows1, rot/wrought, rote/wrote, rough/ruff, rouse/rows1, rout/route1, rum/rhumb, rung/wrung, rye/wry, ryes/rise, sac/sacksacs/sacks/sax, sail/sale, sandhi/sandy, sands/sans, sane/seine, saver/savor, (sawed/sod), scat/skat, scene/seen, scend/send, scent/sent, scull/skull, sea/see/si, seal/seel, seaman/seamen/semen, sear/seer, seas/sees/seize, secs/seks/sex, senser/sensor?, seraph/serif, serf/surf, serge/surge, set/sett, sew/so/sow1, sew/so/sow1, sews/so’s/sows1, sewer1/sower, sewer1/suer, sheer/shir, she’ll/shiel, shear/sheer/shirr, shert/shirt, shier/shire, shoe/shoo, shoed/shooed, shone/shown, sic/sick, side/sighed, sigher/sire, sighs/size, sign/sine, sink/sync, slay/sleigh, sleight/slight, slew/slue, slices/slises?,soak/soke, sloe/slow, soar/sore(sower), soared/sword, socks/sox, sol/sole/soul, sold/soled, some/sum, son/sun/sunn, sone/sown, sorted/sordid, sot/sought, spade/spayed, specks/specs, stade/staid/stayed, staff/staph, stade/staid/stayed, stair/stare, stake/steak, stalk/stock, stationary/stationery, steal/steel, steersteere?/stere, step/steppe, stich/stick, stile/ztyle, stoop/stoup/stupe, straight/strait, sty/stye,subtler/sutler, succor/sucker, suite/sweet, summary/summery, superintendence/superintendents, sutplice/surplus, tacked/tact, tacks/tax, tael/tail/tale, taint/’taint, talks/tocks/tox taper/tapir, ’tard/tarred, tare/tear1, tarry/terry, tau1/taw, taught/taut/tot, taupe/tope, team/teem, tear1/tier, teas/tease/tees, tel/tell, tense/tents, tenuis/tenuous, tern/turn, the1/thee, their/there/they’re, there’s/theirs, tern/turn, therefor/therefore, throes/throws, threw/through, throne/thrown, thyme/time, tic/tick, tidal/title, tide/tied, tier/tire, ‘til/till, timber/timbre, to/too/two, toad/toed/towed, tocsin/toxin, toe/tow, toed/towed/toad, toke/toque, tole/toll, told/tolled, tole/toll, ton/tun, tool/toule, toon/tune, tor/tore/torr, tort/torte, toughed/tuft, track/tract,trade/trayed, tromp/trompe, troop/troupe, trooper/trouper, turban/turbine, undo/undue, use/yews, vain/vane/vein, vale/veil, vary/very, vealer/velar, venous/Venus, verses/versus, vet/vette, vice/vise, vial/vile/viol, viral/virile, vocalize/vocalize, waddy/wadi, wade/weighed, waist/waste, wait/weight, waive/wave, waiver/waver, walk/wok, wand/wanned, want/wont, war/wore, ward/warred, ware/wear, warn/worn, waive/wave, wart/wort, watt/wot), wattle/waddle, waver/waiver, way/weigh, ward/warred, ware/wear, wares/weirs?, weak/week, weave/we’ve, we’d/weed/we’ld, we’ll/weal, which/witch, whoa/woe, who’s/whose, wind1/wined, winds/winze, wood/would, yack/yak, y’all.yawl, yawn/yon, yawned/yond, yoke/yolk, yore/your/you’re, you’ll/yule,
(in a set with *homograph, *homonym)
honorific: a title standing alone or put ahead of a person’s name to indicate respect, especially in reference to a social superior. These may be stand-alone terms like Your Honor, Reverend, Doctor; or titles of public office (Mayor Johnson, Senator Riggs, President Lincoln; or to the *titular system of countries that have such a system (Lord Mills, Queen Mary)
hortatory: the adjective for exhort/exhortation in contrast to narration or explanation
hybrid verb: a verb whose principal parts come from different roots. Also called *suppletive verb.
hymn (in a set with *ode, *paean): a song of praise or gratitude to God
hype: exaggerated praise or claims of greatness, importance, and the like. Hype can show up in advertisements, which often exaggerate need and the advertised solution to need.
hyphen/hyphenation: a one-space horizontal line used (1) to join two words into one whole. It is used to join words, for instance, that together make a unit of modification attached to the next word: a superlative-degree adjective. In this example, superlative modifies degree and the two in turn taken together modify the next term. To say “a community-church building” is not the same thing as to say “a community church-building.” A hyphen helps the eye distinguish, say, a noun (stick-up) from a phrase (stick up the bank). Consistency is hard to discern in the hyphenation pattern for two words, hyphenated words, and joined words. It is really a matter of time where the left-to-right stages of the pattern has developed to.
It may make a difference in hyphenation where the word set appears: “That is a big-time win for us” (attributive adjective) vs. “That win was big time for us” (predicate adjective).
Hyphens are not used to join adverbs to adjectives that in turn modify nouns: “a quickly written note.” Such a set of words usually stand out well enough not to confuse a reader. Sometimes an adjective-noun combination makes such an obvious combination that a reader’s eye connects the two words naturally without using a hyphen: a second declension noun, a First Temple sarcophagus.
(2) Hyphens also mark the break in a word that is too long to fit on the line of writing.
(3) In telephone numbers, a hyphen separates the exchange from the specific number: 539-5031.
(4) A similar usage applies to lengthened area codes: 66502-2314.
(5) Finally, a hyphen appears as part of the standard spelling of words made up of two parts, especially if not using the hyphen would create a diphthong or unpronounceable letter combination: co-operation, pick-up [truck], co-ordinating, semi-colon, salpingo-oophorectomy. Since custom drives usage, words that were formerly hyphenated are now considered one word to the extent that the hyphen is considered no longer needed: cooperate. Writing conventions sometimes take a while to catch up with the spoken realities. For instance, rain check has the same accent and pitch pattern as homework, rainbow, railroad, etc., but dictionaries still list it as two words. About all a writer can do is consult a dictionary to see how far convention has carried a particular word.
(in a set with *dash, *dieresis).
hypotactic/hypotaxis: the pattern of subordinating clauses and phrases to other clauses and phrases rather than making them grammatically parallel: “She stayed and helped with the clean-up”; vs. “She stayed to help with the clean-up.” NT ex. Acts 5:19 (in a set with *paratactic; note also *asyndeton)
iambic pentameter (note other forms of poetic *meter)
iambic trimeter wh 343
iambic dimeter wh 217
ibidem: a Latin term that means “in the same place” as the previous reference. (abbreviated ibid. in *footnote/* and endnote references
identical rhyme: the full repeat of the word: home, home (get other examples) (in a set with *exact rhyme, *eye rhyme, *imperfect rhyme, *rime riche, *suspended rhyme)
idiom: an expression that carries a meaning not easily associated with the normal meaning of its words and a meaning that would not convey its idea if translated by word picture into another language. English ex. “ I don’t give a hoot.” The meaning of an idiom lies at the level of the whole expression instead of at the level of its combined constituent parts.
if-clause: the dependent part of any *conditional sentence: “If he crosses the bridge, he breaks the treaty.” Same as *protasis.
illative: a continuation of an idea without exactly involving the precise meaning of the connecting word: inerrancy is the word of God written and therefore inerrant in the autographs. It is one thing to say that because scripture is the word of God written, it will have no mistakes in it; it is another thing to say that in keeping with the fact that scripture is the word of God written, it is inerrant. One causes (causal), the other correlates (illative); therefore can be used both ways.
illiterate: unable to read (in a set with *literate)
immediate future: a verb construction for action in the *near future. Same as *near future. (in a set with *distant future).
immediate past: a verb construction for recent action. (in a set with *distant past). Same as *near past.
immediate prohibition: Hebrew distinguishes immediate prohibition from *permanent prohibition by using lo + imperfect (rather than al + shortened imperfect). (in a set with *permanent prohibition):
imperatival future: the future tense used to express a command. In English such a usage often has an intensive value: “Yes, you will.” Particularly under the influence of Hebrew idiom, the future indicative in New Testament Greek may carry an imperatival force: Acts 1:8.
In Latin the same possibility existed: “you shall not steal.” (L, ex. Wh 319, 320)
imperatival infinitive: an infinitive that has the value of a command:
imperatival participle: In Greek, a participle that has the value of a command. The Great Commission says, strictly, “Having gone, make-disciples.” An aorist participle depending on an imperative ends up also being imperatival. See possible imperatival participles in Romas .
imperative mood: The imperative mood gives a command, advice, request, or entreaty.
Additionally, there are some cases of idiomatic usages: Jesus says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it” (). Paul says, “Be angry, and do not sin” ().
The idea of “permissive imperative,” identified in some New Testament Greek grammars, may misunderstand the “let” idea as “allow” in English. “Let” doesn’t mean that in English idiom either.
In Greek the imperative second plural always has the same form as the corresponding indicative.
(in a set with *indicative, *subjunctive, *optative, and *infinitive moods; *commands)
imperative sentence: a sentence that gives a command—uses the imperative mood—in contrast to simply declaring it, asking about it, or emotionally saying it: “It’s late, John; go on home.” (in a set with *declarative sentence, *exclamatory sentence, *interrogative sentence)
imperfect rhyme: Only some of the sounds match: cat, cot; hop, cup. Get other examples. Also called *near rhyme. (in a set with *eye rhyme, *perfect rhyme)
imperfect tense: In Latin and Greek, the imperfect tense is a past tense that looks at action as being in motion, as motion picture vs. snap shot, linear vs. *punctiliar, *progressive vs. *factitive. Linear can be continuous, iterative, *characteristic, *progressive, *cyclical, *tendential/*conative.
The imperfect tense can be translated was working (progressive action), would work (characteristic action), tried to work (*conative/*tendential action), used to work (action no longer occurring).
In Latin, the imperfect tense also covers *inceptive/*inchoative/*ingressive action in past time, an aspect associated with the *aorist tense in Greek.
Since Hebrew does not have tense, strictly speaking, but completed vs. uncompleted action, its “imperfect” tense corresponds more closely with the future tense: will work, will be working, etc.
(in a set with *present tense, *past tense, *aorist tense, *future tense, *perfect tense, *past perfect tense/*pluperfect tense, *future perfect tense)
impersonal verb: a verb that regularly is used only in the third person singular because it typically uses an infinitive as its subjects and is typically translated into English with the expletive it: Greek dei (“it is necessary”); chree (“it ought”); Latin: licet (“it is permitted”).
improper diphthong: a Greek diphthong comprised of a long vowel plus iota. Such an iota does not affect pronunciation, a fact shown by subscripting it under the long vowel. If, however, the long vowel gets capitalized, the iota comes back up on the line after it and any accents or breathing marks are written ahead of the capital: Hadeees.
imply/implication: an unsaid idea that follows from what has actually been said. A speaker implies; the hearer infers. (in a set with infer/inference, innuendo)
inceptive action: an aspect of verbal action that refers to the start of an action. Same as *inchoative and *ingressive. approaching something wh 312 = ingressive?
inchoative action: an aspect of verbs that refers to the beginning of an action; also called *ingressive or *inceptive action.
(in a set with *continuous action, *cyclical action, *iterative action, *linear action, *progressive action)
inclusive language: the attempt to avoid terminology that uses grammatical gender in situations that are not specifically male or female. The practice sets aside the pattern descending from Hebrew and the classical languages of masculine taking preference in mixed or ambiguous situations. In part, the perceived difficulty is a function of English’s loss of grammatical gender; so all that is left for pronoun usage is sex reference. To remedy the situation, writers and speakers resort to saying “he or she” or even alternating he and she in the same segment of writing. The first procedure seems awkward; the second creates ambiguity and grates on expectancy. Returning to the use of the indefinite pronoun one resurrects the stilted connotation that word has picked up. “A person” may work better. At least in deference to feminist sensitivities, some kind of restructuring or *circumlocution seems preferable to the first three.
Inclusive language has been brought into speech about the Judaeo-Christian God. Although there are a few cases where he is pictured as fulfilling a role normally associated with female, He is revealed to us, and talked about, as male despite the obvious point that God, being spirit, is neither male nor female. That matter is in stark contrast to, and surely deliberately different from, the conceptualizations of deity/deities in surrounding Near Eastern cultures. It is clear, then, that the reason for usage is to indicate something besides sexuality. That reason must have to do with projecting greater power and final authority. The issue comes down, then, to agreeing or disagreeing with the fundamental idea that there is absolute equality between men and women as to roles, a viewpoint that scripture denies in favor of division of labor and complementary roles. That point is different from equality of worth—unless a person is prepared to claim that being higher in authority means greater in worth.
At any rate, in the translation of scritpture, it is the translator’s role to translate what the text says rather than to make it say what the translator prefers to have it say. (in a set with *politically correct)
incorporative language: a language that compounds sentence parts into one unit. (in a set with *inflectional language, *isolating language, *agglutinative language)
indeclinable: In inflected languages, a noun or adjective without case forms like the other words do: Latin examples include centum (adj., hundred),nihil (n. nothing), satis (n., enough), necesse (adj., necessary). English nouns and adjectives are not declinable except for the apostrophe “s” for possessive case. Since that general feature exists in the language, speakers get tangled up in the use of pronouns, which are still declinable for the most part. As a result, people misuse pronouns in places like the compound object of prepositions: “ between you and I” instead of “between you and me.” As evidence that declension is continuing to disappear from English, note the current practice of avoiding whom lest the phraseology sound pedantic: “Who are you talking to?” instead of “To whom are you talking?”
In the New Testament, Greek brings most of the Hebrew names over as indeclinable nouns. The Greek infinitive also can be called an indeclinable noun; if its case is important to identify, the neuter singular article may accompany it.
Greek has the indeclinable adjective perix (Acts 5:16).
Latin has the indeclinable adjective quot (how many).
indefinite article: In English, a/an is used before consonants and vowels respectively to indicate one of something where there is no specific example in mind. The a form of the indefinite article is pronounced “uh,” not ā, and is treated much like a *proclitic, pronounced with a light accent and attached to the next word.
Latin does not have articles, although unus sometimes approaches that value.
Greek article vs no-article does not distinguish between definite and indefinite, but between quality and identity. However, heis/mia/hen seems to approach the value of an indefinite article in some New Testament cases: Mt 9:18; 12:11; 25:60; Acts 28:
(in a set with *article, *definite article, *determiner)
indefinite pronoun: someone, something; anyone, anything; “a person”; one; “you” used advisedly; “they” with indefinite reference: “Well, that’s what they say.”
indefinite relative pronoun: whoever, whomever, whosever [whosoever], whatever [whatsoever]
indentation: a spacing to the right in the first line of a paragraph, traditionally a half-inch. English customarily calls for six spaces in writing/typing/printing.
independent: said of clauses that carry the main thought of the sentence, a clause to which other clauses grammatically attach. Same as insubordinate. (in a set with *dependent)
independent clause: a clause that can standing alone because it is conceived of as being complete—as making sense without further explanation. Also called an *insubordinate clause.
independent verb: *same as main verb or *leading verb in a *complex sentence; the verb in a clause that can stand by itself .
(in a set with *main verb, *leading verb ; *dependent verb)
independent nominative: same as parenthetic nominative, where the nominative noun does not serve as subject of any verb.
index: a unit in the back of a book that lists items within the work as a whole: scripture references cited, *excerpts or quotations from ancient authors cited (as NT quotations of OT texts), *allusions and verbal parallels to the Old Testament found in the New, manuscripts consulted as in the original text of the Bible, abbreviations used, pages where various specific subjects are covered, etc.
indicative mood: the *mood of a verb that simply “indicates” action in contrast to commanding action (*imperative mood) or “suggesting” action. *contingent action (*subjunctive mood), or—as in Greek—uncertain action (*optative mood). The last mood is missing in English and Latin. So its values get absorbed into the subjunctive in Latin or covered by *circumlocution. Likewise, the subjunctive has virtually disappeared from English, its usages being absorbed into the indicative.
(in a set with *imperative mood, *subjunctive mood, *optative mood, *infinitive mood)
indictment
indirect /imperative/command: The dative-case noun or pronoun in the main clause is the same referent as the subject of the subjunctive verb in the dependent cluase. Copnsequently, English can translate the construction with an infinitive phrase: example Several Latin verbs can be followed by *jussive clauses in the subjunction: hortor, impero, moneo, oro, persuado, peto, quaero, rogo (as well sometimes as malo, nolo, volo). WH ch. 36 314#123 334#20 (in a set with *indirect discourse, *indirect question, *indirect statement)
indirect discourse: a dependent construction that gives the idea in a speaker’s original wording in contrast to *direct discourse, which gives the purported words that were used to say something. Depending on how the term is used, “indirect discourse” can make a statement or ask a question (*direct question). Not every verb can introduce indirect discourse. It follows verbs of speaking (say, tell), mental action (hope, think, believe, suppose), and the senses (feel, see, hear, sense).
English usually uses a finite verb, but it can use an infinitive if the subject in the indirect discourse part is the same as that of the main verb. English uses that to introduce indirect discourse, but that is often omitted: “My son said ( ) he was going to take a nap.”
Since Latin uses an infinitive construction for *indirect statement, it needs to be categorized separately from *indirect question within indirect discourse; it is, strictly speaking, a phrase in that language.
Classical Greek likewise could use participles and infinitives in addition to *finite verbs, depending on the identity of the leading verb; those cases should be classified under phrases as well. New Testament Greek usually used a finite verb with hoti as the introductory conjunction. (in a set with *indirect statement, *indirect question; *direct statement, *direct question, *quotation)
indirect object: the person or thing to whom or for whom the verb operates on the *direct object. Consequently, there can be no indirect object without a direct object. If to appears where no direct object exists, it does not indicate an indirect object: “I went to town”; I was bored to tears”; “I was important to him”; “I raised the bid to $10”; “I wanted to go.”
The indirect object in English is indicated by the preposition to if it comes after the direct object. If it precedes direct object, to does not appear: “she gave the poor dog a bone”; or “she gave a bone to the poor dog.”
In Latin and Greek, the dative case without a preposition indicates the indirect object. Hebrew uses the *inseparable preposition ﬥ prefixed to a noun or a pronominal suffix to show indirect object: he directive.
(in a set with *direct object)
indirect question: a dependent grammatical structure that conveys the idea that was in a direct question rather than the very words originally used. The leading verb will mean ask, question, wonder, tell. It can be introduced by interrogatives (how, when, who/what/which, why), by whether/if, and the like. To introduce the dependent construction, Greek uses introductory interrogatives and ei (if/whether). Latin likewise uses interrogatives (cur, quam, quando, qui/quae/quod, quis/quid, ubi, unde), uter, utrum . . . an), -ne (on the first word of the dependent clause). Latin uses subjunctive mood on the verb inside the indirect question.
(in a set with *indirect statement, *indirect imperative/command)
indirect reflexive: WH315#170
indoctrinate/indoctrination: to teach someone, usually with the negative implication that the teaching is done in such a way as not to allow the student to know or understand and evaluate alternative viewpoints (in a set with *doctrine)
ineffable: Not able to be uttered because of its great dignity; applied to the *tetragrammaton, the four-consonant personal name for the Hebrew God. Based on the commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain, a Jewish tradition developed of not saying the name at all. Since the Hebrew alphabet had consonants only, the original vocalization was lost. The New Testament follows the *Septuagint in not challenging this custom, using Lord (kyrios) where the personal name of God would appear. That choice of substitution coincides with the Hebrew practice of saying “my Lord” (adonai) instead of God’s proper name when the tetragrammaton appears in the Old Testament text. See also *Jehovah.
inerrancy: a term used in Christian circles for the belief that scripture does not err relative to the intended content of scripture as such. As such, it is not meant to include a reader’s misinterpretation, scribes’ transmissional errors, mistakes of form or grammar, substitution of synonyms (spelling, diction, etc.).
(in a set with *dictation theory of inspiration, *dynamic inspiration, *infallibility, *plenary inspiration, verbal inspiration)
infallible: a view of the nature of scripture originally synonymous with *inerrant. With the rise of the “inerrancy debate in the late twentieth century, infallible shifted toward meaning “able to accomplish that whereunto it was sent” (cp. Is 55:10-11). That more functional emphasis left open the question of whether there might be errors of content in the Bible that in fact everyone has to use—transmitted, conflated, and the like. it would not, in this view, have to be accurate in certain kinds of information—science, history, geography—that lay outside the purpose of divine revelation: human-divine behavioral relationship. Such a view has been criticized for putting the nature of scripture beyond confirmation, beyond the realm of verifiability and falsifiability.
infallibility: Infallibility pictures inspiration as an operation relative the purpose of revelation, which entails God’s word not returning to him void, but fulfilling the purpose for which he sent it (Is 55:10-11). Matters of science, history, geography could conceivably lie outside this purpose and therefore not be subject to the *inerrancy principle. *Plenary inspiration and *inerrancy are terms invoked to contrast with this looser definition.
(in a set with *dictation theory of inspiration, *dynamic inspiration, *plenary inspiration, *verbal inspiration; *inerrancy)
infer/inference: the drawing of a further idea out of what someone has said. The hearer infers; the speaker *implies. (in a set with *imply/implication, *innuendo)
infinitives: Infinitives are “infinite” in that they are not limited by person. They are not *inflected except for voice and tense. In verb *paradigms, they parallel *moods and *participles. Infinitives can fill *noun slots, adjective slots, or adverb slots. If infinitives have subjects, the subjects are in *accusative case: “Dad wants me to play taps on Memorial Day.” Infinitives can have all the *verbal adjuncts used with *finite verbs: adverbial modifiers (to go soon; to go to town), *direct objects (“Dad wants me to play taps”), *indirect objects (“He went to give the cows some hay”), *objective complement (“They tried to make Jesus king”), and *retained object (“They wanted Jesus to be made king”).
English infinitives usually have to as their accompanying sign. Certain constructions, however, omit it: “Let me do it”; “she may go home”; “Could/would/should they come over tomorrow?”
Participles also are infinite in that they do not have person, but they differ from infinitives in having number-gender-case form in Greek and Latin and thereby attach to nouns as modifiers.
(in a set with *complementary infinitive, *split infinitive, *imperatival infinitive, *finite verb, *participle, *gerund)
infix: a change in the middle of words that changes the meaning. English infixes can make some nouns plural, change the tense of verbs, or create cognate words. (Entered here by sound rather than spelling since some words like break/broke have or pick up a non-syllabic –e or other feature in spelling.)
Noun plurals: foot/feet; goose/geese; man/men; mouse/mice; woman/women; this/these (omitted here are –is words that become plural by –es; the –is is an ending rather than part of the root)
Verb tenses: abide/abode, bear/bore(bare); beget/begot(begat), begin/began; behold/beheld, bid/(bade), bind/bound; bite/bit; blow/blew, break/broke; breed/bred; break/broke, breath/breathe, (bring/brang), choose/chose; cleave/clove (or cleaved/cleft; formerly clave as in KJV Gen. 34:3), come/came; dig/dug; dive/dove; draw/drew; drink/drank/drunk; drive/drove; fall/fell; feed/fed, freeze/froze; fight/fought; find/found; forbid/forbad//forbade, forget/forgot; forgive/forgave; forsake/forsook, freeze/froze, get/got(gat); grind/ground, give/gave; grow/grew; hang/hung; heave/hove; hide/hid; hold/held; know/knew; lead/led; leave/left, light/lit; may/might (maghd>might); meet/met; misread/misread, mistake/mistook, rēad/read/; ride/rode; ring/rang/rung; rise/rose; run/ran, (see/sawI, seek/sought (<seeghd>seekt>sought); shake/shook, shine/shone, shoot/shot, shrink/shrank/shrunk; shrive/shrove, sing/sang/sung; sink/sank/sunk; sit/sat; slide/slid, smite/smote, sneak/snuck; speak/spoke(spake); speed/sped; spin/spun; spit/spat; spring/spran/sprung; stamp/stomp; stand/stood; steal/stole; stick/stuck; sting/stung; stink/stank/stunk; stride/strode, strike/struck; string/strung; strive/strove, swear/swore(sware); swim/swam/(swum = swimmed); swing/swung; take/took; teach/taught (<teeghd > teacht); tear/tore; tooth/teeth, throw/threw; tread/trod; understand/understood; wake/woke, wear/wore; weave/wove; win/won; wind/wound; wit/wot, wring/wrung; write/wrote.
Sometimes infixes combine with suffixes for tense change: deal/dealt, feel/felt, flee/fled, hear/heard, mean/meant, sell/sold, tell/told, weave/woven. Latin does the same thing going from first to third principal part: venio/vēni,
Cognate words: abide/abode; bind/bond; blew/blown; breathe/breath; deep/depth, died/dead; feed/fed, give/gift (<gived); heat/hot; lift/loft, melt/molten, ride/road; shine/sheen, sing/song, sip/sup/soup?; shoot/shot, sit/seat; stamp/stump; strike/stroke; strip/stripe; sup/soup; thief/theft wind/wīnd
Greek often creates cognate words and principal parts by shift e to o: legoo/logos, pempoo/pepompha,
(in a set with *affix, *epenthesis, *prefix, *suffix)
inflected languages: languages that use endings on nouns to indicated their sentence functions, on adjectives to show what they modify, and on verbs to indicate *aspect, *mood, *number, *person, *tense, and perhaps *gender.
inflection: Inflection carries a word through its possible forms. It includes what can occur in *declension for *nouns and *adjectives and *conjugation for *verbs. (in a set with *distribution for defining *parts of speech; *indeclinable, *declinable, *declension, *conjugation)
inflectional language: a language that indicates the relationship between communication parts by the use of *affixes on roots. (in a set with *inflectional language, *agglutinative language)
informal term: an every-day term used by people who does not function in the technical field involved. (in a set with archaism, buzz word, catch phrase, curse word, *formal term, *oath, *obsolete term, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *street talk, *vulgarism)
informational question: a form of question that asks for information without implying either an anticipated positive or negative response; a straightforward question, nothing implied, but one that does anticipate response in contrast to *rhetorical question.
(in a set with *question; *rhetorical question; *question anticipating negative response, *question anticipating positive response)
ingressive action: the start of an action; also called *inceptive and *inchoative (in a set with *ingressive aorist, *inchoative, *incorporative language, *ingressive imperfect)
ingressive aorist: the aorist tense was typically used to cover past-tense ingressive action in Greek. Acts 3:8 seems to have an *ingressive imperfect, however (cp. Latin).
ingressive imperfect: Latin could use the imperfect tense to cover the beginning of an action in past time. Acts 3:8 may be a Greek example of using the imperfect rather than the usual aorist for this idea.
initial: v. to put ones *initials on something to indicate approval of its contents
initials: the combination of the first letters of a person’s name.
(in a set with *abbreviation, *acronym)
innuendo: an indirect *put-down, *insinuation, subtle derogatory remark; *hint
instrument: also means; refers to the “tool” used for accomplishing something: “he cut down the cherry tree with a hatchet.” Latin uses the ablative case on the noun involved with no preceding preposition. Greek uses the dative case for this concept—also without a preceding preposition. New Testament Greek often adds en (“in”) ahead the dative-case noun for the instrument.
instrumental dative: the dative case in Latin and Greek used to indicate the means ( vs. personal agency) by which something is accomplished. In New Testament Greek, en often precedes the noun.
instrumental case: in the eight-case analysis of Greek, the instrumental dative is separated out as a case function by itself.
inscription/inscribe: a writing on some object like a coin, sarcophagus, pottery, or a wall.
inseparable prefixes: prefixes that exist only in combination with roots; they are not free-standing. Greek has a(n)-, a prefix meaning “not”; archi-, ; dus-, ; nee-, ;
inseparable preposition: In Hebrew certain prepositions that do not stand alone, but are prefixed to their “object”: le- (to), be- (in), ke- (as/like), (and me < min [from]).
inseparable suffixes: Latin used several additions on the ends of words, additions that did not appear free-standing and were not part of the suffix system on nouns, adjectives, verbs, and cognate-noun creators: -ne (attached to the first word of a clause to indicate that a question is being asked if there is no interrogative that would otherwise so indicate), -ve (attached to the second element in a list to mean “or”), -que (attached to a word in a list that meant “and”), -dem (added to the regular third-person personal pronoun to make an indefinite pronoun -is to isdem),
Older English had the directional suffix –ward as in usward for “toward us. Modern English still uses afterward, toward, heavenward, homeward; leeward; southward, northward, eastward, westward; inward, outward; upward, downward; onward, wayward; forward, frontward, backward; untoward. Another directional suffix is –ad: caudad, toward the tail, cephalad, toward the head, dextrad, toward the right, sinistrad, toward the left
(in a set with *separable suffixes, *suffixes)
inside address: The date, name, and address of the recipient are repeated from the envelope on the letter itself to avoid confusion if the letter gets separated from its envelope.
(in a set with *salutation, *body, *complimentary close, *signature, *post script as parts of a letter)
insinuation/insinuate: a negative comment not directly said, an expression that expects the hearer to infer the intended negative connotation. Insinuation and *innuendo differ from *cut, *slam, and *insult by being indirect. It differs from *hint* by being negative.
instructional grammar: a grammar designed to introduce a student to a language. Its layout involves exercises, vocabularies, units sequenced to inform on a graduated basis. (in a set with *manual grammar, *reference grammar, *descriptive grammar)
instrumental dative: In Greek the dative case without accompanying preposition can be used on a noun to indicate the thing someone used to accomplish a result. In places, the New Testament uses en ahead of such a noun.
insubordinate clause: a clause that can stand alone because it is considered to express a complete thought. Also called an *independent clause. Contrasts with *subordinate clause, or *dependent clause.
insult: a direct negative comment to a person that either “stretches the truth” or intentionally misrepresents his character. A *cut, *a slam. An insult differs from *innuendo and *insinuation by being direct. It differs from hint by being negative.
intense/intensive: Prepositional prefixes in Greek and Latin words were sometimes simply intensifiers. Eathioo in Greek means “to eat”; katesthioo means “to hog it down, to gluttonize.” The Piel? (active) and Pual? (passive) stems in Hebrew are intensive stems. There are intensifiers that can be added to Greek and Latin verb roots in order to intensify the meaning of the root.
(in a set with *emphasis)
intensive pronoun: In English, -self pronouns restate a noun. Historically intensive pronouns were placed immediately after the associated noun. The modern habit is to make it *postpositive at the end of the clause if the intensive restates the subject: “John himself did it” vs. John did it himself.”
To create intensive pronouns, English uses the –self/-selves suffix on my-, our-, your-, him-, her-, it-, them- (but not on I/me, we/us, you, he/his/she/its, or they/their). The –self *morpheme does not combine with *nominative/*subjective forms of pronouns. More complicated is that fact that in first and second persons, –self/-selves is added to the possessive pronoun form, but in the third person –self-selves is added to the objective/accusative form of the pronoun rather than the possessive. As a result, it is considered ungrammatical to say meself, or hisself, theirselves; and itself is not spelled itsself, which would be a possessive form attached to –self.
singular plural
1 myself ourselves
2 yourself yourselves
3 himself/herself/itself themselves
In Greek, autos serves as the intensive pronoun for all persons if it is in *predicate position, that is, if it stands before the article or after the noun. If autos stands in *attributive position (between article and noun or after the article repeated), it means “same.” Standing alone outside the *nominative, it is a *personal pronoun for the *third person. If it does appear alone in the nominative, it emphasizes the subject expressed in the ending on the verb; in doing so, it is comparable to underlining the pronoun in written English: “He crossed the bridge.”
In Latin, ipse/ipsa/ipsud are the nominative forms of the intensive pronoun for all persons.
intercede/intercession: to be the “go between” on someone else’s behalf. *Intercessory prayer is on behalf of someone else.
intercessor: a go-between, especially from man and God. A priest intercedes for men to God; a prophet is a *spokesman for God to men.
(in a set with *intermediary, *priest, *prophet; *auricular confession)
intercessory prayer: prayer on behalf of someone else. In liturgical church, a *priest’s role as intercessor is signaled by his facing away from the congregation—in the same direction as the congregation—when offering the pastoral prayer.
interfix: to add a sound between undesirable sound sequences to make them pronounceable.
interject: to insert something into a speech or perhaps previously prepared text being now delivered orally as at a scholarly conference.
interjection: a word or phrase, not part of the syntax of the sentence, that expresses emotion: alas! boy! hot dog! ho hum! hurrah! man! ole! ouch! pah! pash! (short for passion), pshaw! oyez oyez! rah! ugh!, wahoo, whee, Some words said to animals offer further examples: click click (to a horse), git (to a dog), hey (to a cow), scat (to a cat), shoo (to a chicken), sooey (to a pig).
Latin: hui (boy, whee)
Greek: idou (behold),
intermediary: a *go-between, an *intercessor like a *priest or *prophet in divine-human relations.
In some societies, important business is carried through an intermediary as a sign of respect rather than transacted face to face, the latter being consider too forward, too presumptuous, too “in your face.” The practice is seen in Gen 32, when Jacob returns to Canaan to meet his brother Esau. Similarly, at the behest of Nathan the prophet, Solomon’s mother approaches David about having Solomon succeed him as king of Israel (1 Kg 1). In the New Testament, James and John evidently have their mother approach Jesus about having them sit on the right hand and on the left in His kingdom. Since it was really James and John who were making the request, Mk 10:35-41 can present it as their approach to Jesus while Mt 20:20-24 reports it as their mother approaching Jesus with the request.
interpolate/interpolation: A copyist might correct his work by interpolating a previous omission (*haplography). A *copist, *editor, or *redactor may add an explanatory note, one entered into the text line rather than in a footnote or in the margin. The concern is that a marginal note, taken by a later copyist as a previous omission, was added into the regular line of writing.
Gen 35:6; Josh 1:10, 11, 23 illustrate the kinds of things that might constitute interpolations.
interpretation: ideally, coming to understand the author’s meaning; as a term it is often used to include a reader’s inferential application beyond *authorial intent.
interrogative: having to do with asking a question. Asking a *question is done in a number of ways. (1) There are *interrogative words, words that by their very meaning ask a question: why, who, where, what when, how (on the front of a sentence); Latin: cur/why, ubi/where; Greek tis/ti (with acute on first syllable = who/what/why). (2) a suffix on the end of the first word: -ne on the first word of a Latin *informational question whose word order is identical to the wording of a statement. (3) rearrangement of words in English: “Are you coming?” as a transform of “You are coming.” (4) distinctive pitch pattern: raised pitch at the end of an English sentence makes a question even with the same wording as in a statement: “You are coming?” (5) helping words in the English verb form: “Did you look?” vs. “You looked.” (6) Hebrew uses an interrogative ha- prefixed to the first word of an informational question, whether direct or indirect question. (7) punctuation in a written language: English (?); Greek (;). In English, Latin, and Greek, interrogative pronouns, interrogative adjectives, and adverbs may indicate questions.
So, there are interrogative pronouns (“Who stole my book?”), interrogative adjectives (“Whose book did he steal?”), or interrogative adverbs (“Where did he stash the stolen book?”), “When did he steal the book?” “Why did he steal the book?” “How did he steal the book?”).
In all these languages indicators for interrogation tend to come first in their clauses.
(in a set with *direct question, *indirect question, *informational question, *rhetorical question, *question anticipating a negative response, *question anticipating a positive response).
interrogative adjective: question-asking adjectives that modify nouns: which, what in initial position: “What (book) are you reading?” “Which (book) are you reading?” The interrogative adjectives are adaptations of interrogative pronouns, which are among the question words that stand alone.
interrogative adverb: when, where, how in initial position as a question in English.
interrogative conjunction: Latin has an Wh 232
interrogative pronoun: who/whom/whose, what in initial position
Gr
Lat
interrogative sentence: a sentence that asks a question in contrast to simply saying something, commanding something, or emotionally expressing something: “When will you be going home?”
(in a set with *informational question; *question anticipating positive response, &question anticipating negative response; *declarative sentence, *exclamatory sentence, *imperative sentence)
interrogative words: words that always ask a question. Certain English words always ask questions if they appear first in the clause: Who/whom/whose, what; when, while, where; which.
Greek interrogative words include tis/ti with acute accent on the first syllable; it is usually first in clause, but not necessarily (Jn 21:12),
Latin interrogatives include cur (why),
interrogatory: another term for *interrogative
intervocalic: between vowels. English tends to vocalize intervocalic voiceless *consonants.
intervocalic sigma: Greek developed a practice of eliding intervocalic sigmas when inflection placed sigma after a short vowel and before another vowel of any length; exposed vowels then contracted according to the same rules of contraction. The phenomenon shows up in the genitive plural of the second declension; the ending was originally –asoon, which became -oon circumflexed: -asoon > oon (gephurasoon > gephuroon);
wherever –sai occurs as the second singular middle/passive: -esai > eei (luesai > lueei)
wherever –so occurs as the second singular middle/passive: eso > ou (lueso > luou)
(note also *contraction)
intonation: the use of pitch to distinguish questions from statements rather than depending on some syntactical transform or additional wording to do so: “You are happy?” vs. “Are you happy?” (2) akin to *modulation
intransitive verb: a verb that does not have a direct object in a given sentence. Intransitiveness has to be figured on a per-sentence basis because a given verb may be used transitively or intransitively depending on the sentence, in “He worked yesterday” vs. “He worked the clock.” Consequently, a dictionary can give only general information on this aspect of a verb’s usage.
A verb like drink may change meaning in the different usage. Intransitively, drink means drink alcohol; transitively can be used for drinking anything.
(in a set with *transitive verb; *linking verb/*equative verb/*to be verb/*copulative verb)
introduction: a standard element in longer writings, such as a book, that states the purpose of writing, the method of research that underlies it, the scope of the presentation, and any distinctive viewpoints taken or notable structure of presentation, the manner of presentation for optimum benefit to the reader. In ancient literature, there are New Testament examples at the beginning of Luke’s gospel (Lk 1:1-4) and his Acts of the Apostles (1:1-2ff).
(in a set with *acknowledgments, table of contents, *epilogue, *greeting, *preface, *prologue)
invective: a denunciation, an abusive discourse
inveigle: to win over by coaxing
inverted pyramid: a structure of writing in newspaper articles that starts with the main idea and works down to more detailed matters as the piece proceeds.
inverted sentence: a sentence that places the subject after the verb: “Here are two examples of my writing.” “My objections to the proposal are these.”
invocation: a prayer at the beginning of a public gathering, especially one of a religious nature
iota: ninth letter of the Greek alphabet¨: ι/Ι
iota-diminutive: in Greek terminology iota was sometimes added to a root to create a word to indicate something in smaller form: biblos > biblion, biblaridion, teknion < teknon, paidon (< pais), chorion < chera, (the added iota gets the accent)
iota subscript: The Greek iota is written under a long vowel since it does not in that case affect pronunciation—as in the dative singular of the first two declensions or as the result of contraction in contract verbs and elsewhere. The iota “subscript” is written on the line after the main vowel if all capitals are used or if the long vowel is capitalized in c and lc; subscripts are not written under capitals (Aidees).
ipsissima verba: the exact words, the very words of another; the words themselves [Lat]
irony: a figure of speech that says the opposite of what is meant and does so in a way that makes the real meaning clear. “He’s a great man,” said in a way that denies that he is great. The opposite, intended meaning is indicated by an opposing context, by tone of voice, by a contradictory facial expression or some other accompanying gesture.
Paul evidently meant his words ironically in 2 Cor 12:13: “How were you inferior to the other churches except that I was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!”
irregular: an case of not following expected pattern, whether for making a plural, for moving through the principal parts of a verb, for moving through the degrees of an adjective or adverb, for the formation of *cognate words, or even for moving through the declension of a specific noun or verb. Latin uses a different dative and ablative plural for dea, goddess. By pattern it should be deis in those spots; but since deus, god, would be the same thing in those places, Latin reaches over into third declension to get substitute endings de–a-bus to supply a form that is distinguishable from the masculine word deis. The nominative masculine plural of deus should be dei, but as time went on di replaced it.
(in a set with *regular) (*defective verb, , *deponent verb, *impersonal verb, *irregular verb, *suppletive verb).
ironic: characterized by *irony. Ironic can describes incongruities, adverse effects, surprise consequences.
irregular adjectives: In Latin, there is a group of nine first-and-second declension adjectives that among themselves are alike but differ from the other adjectives in this group by having –ius in the genitive singular of all three genders and –i in the dative singular of all three genders. Additionally, they may show –ud in the neuter nominative/accusative singular.
irregular nouns:
irregular verbs: a verb whose conjugation is unusual in some way. In many languages, the verb “to be,” for example, is irregular. That may result from the fact that the forms of this verb are so often used. In English, there are am, is, and are in the present tense and was, were in the past. Besides, with singular you belongs were even though everywhere else were is a plural form.
In Latin there volo (vis, vult, etc) does not move through its person-and-number format in the normal way. Some words exist only in the third person, sometimes called *impersonal verbs: inquit? (Lat); deoo? chree (Gr)
In Greek
In Latin,
(in a set with *regular verb; *composite verb, *defective verb, *deponent verb, *suppletive verb)
irregular comparison of adjectives: Irregular comparison of adjectives means that the roots of the three *“degrees” of the adjective do not come from the same root; they are like the English “good, better, best.”
irregular comparison of adverbs: the roots of the three *“degrees” of the adverb do not come from the same root. Latin Greek In Latin and Greek, since adverbs of manner are usually built on corresponding adjectives, the irregularity of adverb comparison parallels the irregularity of the corresponding adjective comparison.
isolating language: a language that does not use inflection to indicate the association of language parts, using instead *distribution/*word order, pitch pattern, etc., for that purpose. Contrasts with *agglutinative language, which uses separable affixes to indicate relationship, and *inflectional language, which uses terminations to convey connections, and *incorporative language, which combines sentence elements into one compounded form. (See Dana & Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, p. 5.
itacism: the tendency for other Greek vowels to move in the direction of short iota, starting in the fourth or fifth century A. D.
italic/italics, italic script: a type style that is more slanted than the normal type (in a set with *underlined and *bold-faced)
iterate: to repeat
iterative action: action that occurs repeatedly. The type of action originally indicated by -Izo verbs in Greek.
itization (sp)
jargon: every-day special words and phrases associated with a certain subject or field of activity. Jargon has more of a down-to-earth ring to it than *technical terminology. (in a set with *technical terms)
jeer
Jehovah: an artificial personal name for the Hebrew God. It is formed from the consonants of His ineffable name and the vowel points from adonai (“my Lord”), which in the standardized Hebrew Old Testament text the Masoretes put on the four consonants of the tetragrammaton as a reminder not to say the divine personal name itself.
jingle: a saying that is short, light-hearted, memorable, perhaps musical, and used frequently in advertising (in a set with *catch phrase)
jot: the smallest Hebrew letter, the yod/yodh, called an iota (Mt 5:18), the closest Greek equivalent letter: י
journal: (1) a scholarly *periodical published usually each quarter.
(2) a *diary
(3) a record of travel
jussive: equivalent to a command form but for first and third persons. Latin uses the independent subjunctive for this idea. Greek has a third person imperative that is equivalent in value and is translated “let” just like the Latin jussive.
jussive noun clause: a Latin construction that indirectly reports a command or entreaty. It is comprised of a leading verb that implies urging to action, a pronoun object and ut/ne + subjunctive: Imperavit eis ut hoc facerent (“He commanded them to do this).” English covers the idea with an infinitive verb and no re-expression of the subject since it is the same as the leading verb. WH 253 (Cp. *object clause in Greek.)
kana: Japanese syllabic writing used alongside kanji for noting inflection, particles, function word WB
kaph: the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet: כ with ך as its terminal form
kappa: the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet: κ/Κ
kenning: a figuratively, compound expression used in place of a noun or name. A storm of swords is a kenning for battle.
key: the answers to a test
kinesics: movements and gestures that are used to convey meaning—to reinforce or elaborate accompanying verbal communication: raised eyebrows, rolling the eyes, a shrug, a wink, snap of the fingers.
kappa: tenth letter of the Greek alphabet
kethibh: what is “written” in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament in contrast to what is to be “read.” (in a set with *qere):
koph: the nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, also qoph: ק
koppa: Greek symbol for ninety: κ
labio-dental: sound made by the lips and teeth in combination (usually the top teeth and the bottom lip): f/ph, v. (lab-, cp. lip)
labials: sounds that are made with the lips: p, b, f/ph, v, m, along with bilabial fricative, bilabial trill
(in a set with *dentals, *velars, liquids, and *glottals)
lallation: the substitution of the phoneme /l/ for /r/, a speech shift associated with orientalσ speaking English
lambda: eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet: λ/Λ
lamed/lamedh: the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ל
lament: an expression of grief; a * lamentation
lamentation: a writing that is sorrowful about current or anticipated circumstances; a *lament
language: a conventional sound-symbol system for transferring information from one mind to another. Written language is subsequent to spoken language inasmuch as it merely indicates by symbols the speech-sounds that already exist. Sign language uses gestures in place of sounds to convey thought.
Human language has a number of basic features. It is hierarchical, meaning that it has systems within systems—inflection of word forms within clauses, within sentences, within paragraphs, etc. Language is conventional, i.e., it is arbitrary as to what sounds have what *referents; it does not need to be inherently the way it is, and it is not in-born (innate); it is learned rather than inherited. It is subject to change, or drift; it is virtually impossible to keep a language from changing its features over time. Language is productive in that it develops new utterances and features. Language is displaceable in that it does not need to be in the presence of what it describes. Language has specialization; it is culture specific. It has all the features that are necessary for covering what needs to be covered within its culture surrounding. Finally, language is interchangeable. The same one person can both send and receive messages.
As a result of the characteristics, it is not appropriate to speak of one language as “better” than another. Every language, in fact, takes care of everything its culture needs to talk about. Some languages do have more developed, or replete, verb systems, for example. English has an especially elaborate verb system that by form can distinguish more tenses and aspects than most language can. Its vocabulary is also quite extensive. Lastly, as a matter of practical fact, English has a highly developed terminology for all the technical and scientific things that have come into usage in the modern world.
Furthermore, it is not appropriate to blur the distinction between human language and animal communication systems. With rare exceptions, its particulars are innate. They may be iconographic, as the dancing of bees to tell where honey is. They are one-level rather than hierarchical, and the like.
Language drift/linguistic drift: Over time, various influences cause a language to change in vocabulary, inflection, grammar, and sound. English has a rather extreme example in meaning drift on the word let, all the way from “prevent” to “allow”! In the King James Version (1611) of Rom 1:13, Paul says that he wanted to come to the Romans many times, but he “was let” hitherto; that is, he was prevented previously. The word bad has come to mean very good” in the sense that someone is difficult to outdo. Same as *linguistic drift. (in a set with *meaning)
last word: the practice of trying to say the last thing in a discussion or argument to create the impression that in so doing a person has won the day.
lateral: having to do with a sound made by pass air along one or both sides of the tongue, as in the lateral s or l
lateral “s”: the sound for a bilateral “l” put in place of the expected ess sound. The tip of the tongue is not cupped downward with air moving only through that restricted path. Instead, it is cut off at the alveovelar ridge and has voiceless air moving around it, as with the first l in the double l’s (Lluwellyn sp?) of Welch names.
Latinism: (in a set with Hebraism, Aramaism, Hellenism, Anglicism) See Dana & Mantey Manual Grammar, p. 15; A. T. Robertson, Grammar of the Greek NT, 108-11.
laying on of hands: (1) a *gesture for appointment to an office or duty. New Testament examples include the appointment of the seven to serve tables (Acts 6:1-6). The formal setting aside of Paul and Barnabas by the church in Antioch for the first missionary journey of Paul (Acts 13:1-3). The appointment (and endowment?) of Timothy for ministry with Paul by “the presbytery” and Paul (1 Tim 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6). In the Old Testament there was the appointment of the Levites before the Lord (Num 8:10) and the appointment of Joshua as Moses’ successor (Num 27:15-23; Deut 34:9),
(2) a gesture accompanying the transmission of supernatural gifts (Acts 8:17-19).
(3) a gesture associated with supernatural healing (????)
leading verb: same as independent clause or *main verb of a sentence, but tends to be used when talking about a subsequent *subordinate clause. (in a set with *independent verb, *main verb)
leaf/leaves: the sheet of material that make up a book/*codex (in a set with *pages)
lection: what is to be read in contrast to what is on the page. A reading, especially one that is part of an arranged series or readings used to cover the Bible in an ecclesiastical year.
lectionary: a book comprised or religious texts arranged to correspond to events in the religious year.
lecture: a formal presentation by a notable speaker or one offered by a professor in formal education as part of a college course-for-credit; contrasts with recitation course, practicum, colloquium, reading course, directed study .
lectureship: a series of college-level presentations outside the regular curriculum and usually open to the college or university generally.
legend: (1) kind of person in the past; a type of record of some significant event not able to be verified; in a class with folklore. Often a label used for someone particularly outstanding and well known as in the expression “He was a legend in his own time.” Differs from *myth in that the latter does not intend to be taken as partaking in real history.
(2) a written collection of symbols used in an accompanying document
lene (in a set with *dagesh lene, *dagesh forte)
lesser Asclepiad: type of poetic meter wh 342
letter: an alphabetic symbol that represents a sound, set of related sounds, or *allomorphs in a language. The different values of the letter get sorted out by circumstance or are simply known by the speakers of the language.
(2) Letter can also be a relatively short communication usually without an official implication. Less formal than a *missive or an *epistle. The difference between a letter of the alphabet and a letter to communicate is signaled in Latin by using the singular on littera for the former and the plural for the latter.
(in a set with *character, *grapheme; *consonant, *vowel; *digraph, double consonant; *diphthong, *spriant letter, vowel glide)
(in a set with *epistle, *missive)
(in a set with *enunciation, *pronunciation)
lexeme: the basic form of a word; its dictionary form on which other forms make adjustments. Sing is the lexeme for sing, sang, sung.
lexical meaning: the meaning given in a dictionary in contrast to *structural meaning, meaning based on alterations of the word (*form), *distribution/word order/position, and *intonation.
lexicology: the study of the components of a language
lexicography: the work of gathering together the words in a language and giving their various meanings in written form usually in alphabetical order
lexicon: an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language; a term used more for ancient languages in contrast to a dictionary of modern languages Lexicon may imply a greater degree of presentation and examples of usage than what a dictionary might contain. Lexicons and dictionaries deal with words whereas an *encyclopedia deals with topics.
(in a set with *bilingual dictionary, *dictionary, *encyclopedia)
lexis: the full set of complete words contained in a language
library: a collection of books and other writings
libretto: the words of a musical work, especially those of an extended work like Handel’s Messiah or of a dramatic musical work like an opera.
(in a set with *lyrics, *lyricist, *writer, *author; *composer)
lie: to intentionally say what is not true; to *prevaricate
limerick: a whimsical anapest poem with five lines and a rhyme scheme aaba.
line: (1) a piece of writing that goes all the way across the page; a *stich. (2) a statement that gives a standardized representation of things, which may not be the speaker’s real conviction, but is nevertheless said in order to mislead the hearer; the party line. (3) a pick-up statement or presentation that is designed to gain another person’s trust or even romantic involvement; a pick-up line. So, line often implies that there is something wrong motive.
(in a set with *spin, *party line)
lines: the lines of text that comprise a written work, especially those that make up a poem. (in a set with *stichoi)
lingo: an informal, lighthearted term for the way of talking about a subject (cp. *jargon) or a way of talking within a group of speakers (insider talk).
lingua franca: the language that serves a wide area where many local languages serve as first languages. In the modern world, English has become the nearest thing to a universal language. Greek and Latin held that role for centuries around the Mediterranean area. Earlier, Aramaic served that purpose for a number of centuries in the ancient Middle East.
lingual: a sound whose production involves the use of the tongue as with t, d, th,dh; j, s, sh,zh; l, r; c/k, g, gh, (Ba)ch; in contrast to p, b, f/ph, v, h(onor), h(at); that is, *dentals, *sibilants, *liquids, and *velars, but not *labials and *glottals.
linguist: one who specializes in language analysis
linguistic atlas: a map of the areas where the various languages are spoken
linguistic drift: same as *language drift, the pattern of change that occur unofficially over time
linguisticality: having the character and characteristics of actual human language in contrast to disorganized utterance, *ecstatic utterance (as when in a trance), *noise, *glossolalia
linguistics: the study of language as such in contrast to the study of a language. Formerly called *philology.
lining out: a pattern of delivery sometimes used in teaching the words to a song or poem. The leader says a line and the audience repeats it. (in a set with *antiphonal)
linking verb: a verb that indicates being rather than action; another term for *copulative verb, *equative verb, *state-of-being verb, *to-be verb; cp. also *fientive verbs, non-action verbs use adjectives (or nominative-case nouns/pronouns) after them instead of adverbs:
to be (good),
become (good),
get (good at what he does),
seem (good), feel (good, not “well” unless feel means act of feeling),
look (good, unless look means act of looking ),
sound (good), taste (good, unless taste means ability to taste),
smell (good, unless smell means ability to smell).
stands (complete)
Linking verbs are also created by passive transforms of sentences with direct objects plus objectives complements, where the former direct object becomes the subject of the equivalent passive sentence: “[Joseph] found Mary pregnant” appears in Matthew 1:18 in passive form: “Mary was-found pregnant,” the construction for pregnant being in the nominative case. The O. C. can be either a noun, adjective, or participle; when transformed it becomes nominative becomes the equivalent of “Mary was pregnant.” The phenomenon occurs in English, Latin, and Greek.
liquid future: a kind of Greek verb that ends its root with lambda or rho. Sigma, the sign for future tense, does not easily follow those sounds; so an epsilon is interfixed between the root and the tense sign. Then the intervocalic sigma rule comes into play; so the sigma drops out and the epsilon contracts with the o/e variable of the ending according to regular contraction rules.
liquids: sounds that may be thought of as between vowels and consonants: r and l.
liquid aorist: A kind of Greek verb whose root ends in a lambda or rho. Sigma alpha (-sa), the sign for first aorist, does not easily follow those sounds—sigma not at all; so the sigma drops out and the rest of the conjugation remains the same as regular first aorists. (in a set with *aorist tense, *first aorist, *second aorist)
liquid verb: In Greek, a verb whose root ends in lambda or rho.
lisp: a sound that substitutes the voiceless “th” for the ess sound: “I mith my big brother.”
litany: a liturgical prayer, that is, a prayer used in public worship in which the leader recites a series of petitions to God followed by fixed responses by the congregation
literal: a rather imprecise term for things like word picture or strictly taken in contrast to figurative interpretation (in a set with *figurative)
literally: in a straightforward way
literary: having to do with literature, with written works in contrast to oral communication.
literate: able to read
literati: literary intellectuals literary intelligentsia
literatim: letter for letter, similar to word for word, but applicable to a kind of copying that would be done by someone who does not know the meaning of the things being copied or someone who thinks of his efforts aside from understanding what he is reading. A way of reproducing by hand a previous work with such exactness that no editorial or redactional amending or emending is considered appropriate. (in a set with *verbatim)
literature: a body of written material, perhaps from a certain author, a given time frame, a certain geographical area, or on a given topic. Writing that lies above the level of a particular writing. It is a kind of thing more than a thing, and implies a quality of treatment worthy of attention.
litotes: a construction that denies the negative as a way of affirming the position: Tarsus was “no mean city” (Acts 21:39). Litotes amounts to the same thing as the *obverse.
(in a set with *metaphor, *metonymy, *simile, *zeugma)
loan word: a word introduced from another language because perhaps the new language lacks a term with that precise meaning or connotation: aloha, luau.
locate: identify the place of a form in a word’s inflection set, in its *paradigm
Declension inflection (for nouns and adjectives)
Conjugation inflection (for verbs)
locative case: the form of a word that indicates place where something occurs. In Greek there is ahead of such nouns a preposition (usually *governing the *dative) that implies location (in contrast to separation or destination).
In Latin, the ablative case fulfills this same role with an accompanying preposition. With the names of cities, towns, and small islands, however, along with the three words domus, rus, and humus, location is indicated without a preposition. In these latter situations, the locative case-form replicates the genitive on place-nouns of the first and second declension; elsewhere it is the same as the ablative.
locus classicus a prime text for studying an important issue. Plato’s Gorgias is a source for asking whether desire goodness more than we seek our own advantage. Imprimis, newsletter of Hillsdale College, June 2023. A general work dedicated to surveying such matters is Great Ideas: A Syntopicon, Britannica, 1952.
locution: a person-specific manner of speaking or *phraseology.
logion: a supposed saying of Jesus from outside the canonical gospels but is found in early apocryphal writings. Pl. logia.
logo: a symbol that stands for a company or business. (in a set with *symbol, *trademark),
logogram/logograph: a symbol for a word, something written that does not use letters to indicate its sound (&, numbers for their words in a line of writing)
logogriph: a word puzzle or a code enmeshed in an otherwise innocuous missive.
(in a set with *anagram)
logomachy: an argument that turns out to be a dispute over terms instead of referents.
Lord’s Prayer, The: also called *The Model Prayer (Mt 6:9-13) and *Pater Noster, the Latin name.
logorrhea: verbosity, excessive use of words
longueur: a tedious, protracted passage in a work of performing ar or literature.
lower case: the smaller size of letters in contrast to capitals (in a set with *capitals, *upper case; *minuscules, *majuscules)
lucid: easily understood relative to language expression; clear-headed relative to a person’s thinking
lullaby: a cradlesong, a song for babies or young children
LXX: the Roman numerals for seventy used as a shorthand reference to the Septuagint, the standard Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament in use at the time of Christ. Seventy translators were credited with the work.
lyric: a kind of expression especially in poetry that stresses the subjective, the affective, the psychological, how a person fells about the matter addressed.
lyricist: one who writes the words for a musical piece
(in a set with *lyric, *lyrics, *writer, *libretto, *author)
lyrics: the words to a song (in a set with *lyric, *lyricist, *writer, *libretto)
macron: a short, horizontal mark placed above a vowel in phonetic spelling to show that it is long rather than short or otherwise pronounced.
magazine (in a set with *periodical)
maiden name: a woman’s last name before she marries and adopts her husband’s last name. When her full name is given later, she is said to be “*nee (maiden name).” Nee equals French for “born.” (in a set with *name, *nee, *cognomen, *first name, *last name, *middle name, *surname)
main clause: In a *complex sentence or *compound-complex sentence, the main clause is the one that could stand by itself and be considered a complete thought. It is the *independent clause, or the *insubordinate clause, on which the other clause(s) depend(s): “If he crosses the bridge, he breaks the treaty.” “If he does not cross the bridge, and if he has no weapons, he does not break the treaty.”
main verb: the finite verb in the *main clause of a complex or compound-complex sentence.
majestic plural: a Hebrew usage of the plural to indicate great degree. The idea has been associated with the word for God, ( אלהים ), a plural form (-im) nevertheless used with a singular verb for the one God of Israel.
magic square: see Lat III T & Q’s folder in the back
majority text: the text form of the New Testament that has the greatest number of manuscript witnesses. They are largely *minuscules from dates later than the *uncials.
(in a set with *Textus Receptus, *Byzantine text, *neutral text, , *uncials, *western text)
majuscule: a *capital letter; and *upper case letter (in a set with *minuscule)
malaprop/malapropism: a misused word that sounds similar to the correct one
mandate: a requirement issued by someone with authority to do so (in a set with *edict, *proclamation)
manner: the “way” in which something is done
Adverbs are used for this concept: “he worked quickly.”
Prepositional phrases are likewise used: “he worked in earnest.”
Participles can cover the idea of manner.
A noun in the Latin ablative (with or without the preposition cum) can mean manner; in Greek a dative-case noun does the same thing. In the New Testament en often precedes the dative noun).
manual: a small *handbook that tells how to do something, operate something, or use something (in a set with *handbook)
manual grammar: a grammar that is constructed in a such a way that it may be used as a reference resource on a given language. In so doing it assembles all the material on each aspect into one place in its layout, in contrast to a sequencing of material that serves to introduce the student to the language. (in a set with *descriptive grammar, *reference grammar, * instructional grammar)
manuscript sermon: a sermon read that is read rather than given spontaneously (in a set with *spontaneous delivery)
Masoretic text: the standardized text of the Hebrew Old Testament prepared cir.
mass noun: compare *collective noun
manual alphabet: an alphabet signaled by manipulation of the fingers, as used in deaf communication (in a set with *alphabet, *dactylology, *sign language, *signing)
manuscript: used especially for ancient writings done by hand; more recently applied to the original copy of a work submitted to a publisher (in a set with *scroll, *codex)
marginal note: an explanatory note that enlarges on something in the text that could be unfamiliar to the typical reader (in a set with *endnote, *footnote, *marginalia, *side bar, *side note)
marginalia: notations made in the “margin” of a writing to clarify or expand something in the text (in a set with *endnote, footnote, *marginal note, *sidebar, *sidenote)
masculine ending: (in a set with *feminine ending, *neuter ending)
maxim: an *apothegm; a short, witty, instructive *saying
means: The instrument that an agent uses to accomplish something. While agency is personal, means is impersonal. Both concepts, however, can be covered in the New Testament by Greek constructions like dia + genitive: Acts 5:12. Same as *instrument. (in a set with *instrumental dative)
meaning: Society ( vs. nature or birth) determines the general meaning of words in a language’s vocabulary. Meaning indicates what by convention a word refers to; so its meaning is determined by usage.
Within this framework, in a given case, precise meaning of a word or passage is determined most exactly by the author’s intent rather than by the reader’s input. Precise meaning is determined by authorial intent rather than by word picture, by derivation, by general usage, by its meaning with other topics, or as used in some other circumstance. That meaning is retrieved (interpretation/hermeneutics) by giving attention to contextual considerations—by what fits with the topic as treated by this author (law of harmony, nature of the case).
The basic meaning of a word is its *denotation; its feel or implication from accompanying factors is its *connotation. The *word picture is its meaning based on derivation.
Meaning development, or proliferation, involves several factors that arise from usage. In scientific *nomenclature, (1) deliberate effort has systematically “coined” two-term *descriptors for plants and animals. The *terminology comes from Latin vocabulary and consists of a *noun followed by an adjective. The term plays on some distinctive feature of the living thing; so it is not an exhaustive description, but one designed simply for identification purposes.
(2) A description for one thing gets applied to other things that have a similar feature of the original usage but do not have its main feature. “Weigh in” comes from the boxing and wrestling scene, where participants are asked to weigh officially to verify that they belong to the correct weight class before they can engage in the bout. The situation involves getting started, special persons qualified to take part, “expressing themselves” by the weighing-in process, and the actual weighing. The last, main feature gets dropped when someone is asked to “weigh in” on the discussion of some topic. The person is asked to get involved; the person is someone whose viewpoint is apt to be helpful; but there is no weighing.
“Rain check” went from being a note that allowed a fan to attend a later rematch of an outdoor sport that was rained out. Now, a shopper gets a rain check for a sold-out sale item; the shopper can return later and buy the item for the sale price even after it is no longer on sale. Rain has nothing to do with it.
(3) “Specializing” takes a general expression and reducing its application to one possibility or reduces the . It has become a technical term. A grocery store can sell thousands of items every day, but today coffee is “on sale.” The expression has narrowed to an item that is being sold at a price lower than usual; lower than normal is a new specific that has been added within the general idea of selling. Find example
(4) Words and expressions, especially less-used words, can “sharpen” their meaning by people getting in the habit of using them for some recurring topic. “Right for you” becomes something of a set phrase for personalized application—correctness in light of individual person’s differences..
(5) The overuse of a word like awesome tends to dull its meaning over time so that it does not have the punch in may have had originally.
(6) Spreading from one application to something related. The Greek preposition para first of all meant “beside.” It drifted from meaning beside (parallel) to “near” (paralegal), then to near on the other side—“beyond” (paranormal).
(7) Several *prepositions illustrate the process of going from concrete to abstract. “She went into the living room”; “she went into politics.” Pro can apply to space, then to time, then to logical sequence.
The reason multiple meanings can exist for the same word is that each meaning is sorted out by context. That is the reason the advice to young readers works: read the whole sentence and the meaning of an unfamiliar word may become clear. A word like run, for example, can have enough multiple meaning that it takes two columns in a standard dictionary to outline its usages.
The similar meaning of different words (synonyms) involves getting the words sorted out by what subjects they apply to: small, wee, tiny, little, infinitesimal, microscopic, short, etc., are not exactly interchangeable. Summation and summary may differ in that the former is used in courtrooms for a lawyer’s closing arguments; summary does not sound right in that circumstance. Some words are more formal while their equivalents are informal, whimsical, slang, archaic, regional, provincial, vulgar.
Whereas in English there is seldom any thought about the meaning of names—excepts perhaps nicknames, ancient Hebrew as well as Greek held the meaning of names closer to the surface. Instead of their being for identification only, they were descriptive as well, at least in their origination.
(in a set with *referent, *reader response theory, *interpretation, *hermeneutics, *semantics, *word picture)
media: the typical public sources of information like television, radio, and newspapers.
medial form: the distinctive form of a letter that is used on the front or in the middle of a word. Hebrew examples in square script are kaph, mem, nun, pe, tasde. The Greek sigma had a distinctive terminal form. (in a set with *terminal form)
meditation n. a short, light piece intended to make the audience thoughtful about some serious matter.
mem: the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: מ with ם as its terminal form
meme: a unit of cultural information, belief, or idea that is often repeated; it “catches on” as people assume its truth because they hear it often. An example may be the off-expressed idea that ancient Israel was chauvinistic or misogynist because it was patriarchal. The wise men did not go to the Bethlehem stable despite the recurrent pictures on Christmas cards—a *conflation of birth-narrative items for completeness sake (?).
memo: short for *memorandum
memorandum: a short reminder often distributed within an office, a company, or government agency
merged verb: a main verb plus a subsequent *particle that can be in immediate succession or separated (split): “I have to take out the trash”; or “I have to take the trash out.”
(in a set with *fused verb, *phrasal verb)
message: a short communication however transmitted
metaphor: a figure of speech that directly calls one thing something else because the two are similar in some way. Jesus called Peter “Satan” in Mt 16:23. He calls Herod Antipas “that fox” in (Lk 13:32). Paul calls the high priest a “whited wall” in Acts (Acts 23:3). Jesus calls conversion a new “birth” (Jn 3:3; cp. 1:13). Paul calls our body the temple of the Holy Spirit () and a vessel (). Paul speaks of his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:7). Jesus calls the new life in him a new birth (Jn 3:3ff.). Jerusalem is called a “widow” (Lam 1:1).
(in a set with *name calling, *epithet; *figure of speech, *metonymy, *simile, *zeugma)
metaphrase: to deliberately change the wording of a text as in paraphrasing, recasting poetry into prose; even to translate into another wording as from formal to slang.
metaphrast: one who deliberately alters the wording of a text
metathesis: a type of scribal error that switches the order of (letters or) words in the text being copied.
In a linguistic application, metathesis also occurs deliberately in the hithpael stem of Hebrew verbs whose roots begin with a sibilant after the hith- prefix. Occasionally an English name is actually pronounced with reversals of what the spelling would call for: Fiensy, pronounced Finesy. Little children sometimes do a reversal in pronouncing words new to them: aminal, elphanants, merember, basketti,
(in a set with *haplography, *homoioteleuton, *dittography)
(in a set with *assimilation, *elision, *euphony)
meter: the pattern of accented and unaccented syllables and the number of such standard patterns in poetry. (in a set with *rhyme scheme; iambic pentameter, etc.)
metonym: a word used in a *metonymy
metonymy: a figure of speech in which a part of the whole is put for the hole (*metonymy of the whole) or vice versa (*metonymy of the part); the part becomes a symbol of the whole
metonymy of the part:
metonymy of the whole:
metrical foot:
metrify: to put into poetic *meter
mezuzah/mezuza: a small Hebrew copy of Deut 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. The first of these texts by itself is also called the shema, the Hebrew word for its first word: “hear.”
(in a set with *shema)
-mi verbs: Greek verbs that have –mi as their dictionary form rather than –oo. They differ from each other only in forms that come from the first principal part. During the koine period several of the former –mi verbs were regularizing into –oo verbs. (in a set with *–oo verbs, *contract verbs)
middle voice: a voice form in Greek where the subject of the verb acts on itself (direct reflexive) or the subject acts through the verb on an object in such at way that the effect redounds to itself (indirect reflexive).
(in a set with *active voce, *passive voice)
middle-voice verb: an action verb in the middle voice (in a set with *active verb, *passive verb; *fientive verb; *stative verb; *copulative verb, *linking verb, *state-of-being verb, *to be verb)
Midrash: Hebrew commentary material written from A. D. 400-1200 on the Old Testament text containing “take-offs” on characters and events.
minimal pairs two words that are just alike except for some feature. Collecting such cases help linguists figure out how a language makes plurals, changes person and number, alters tense, and the like.
minus sign: a mathematical symbol for subtraction (-)
minuscules: cp. *lower case: small Greek letters or the kinds of manuscripts written in such letters. (in a set with *uncials)
minutes: the written record of meeting
misconstruction: a grammatical construction that does not follow the rules of usage between words or within phrases, clauses, and sentences.
mislabel: to call something by the wrong word or name, especially to do so deliberately
misnomer: a wrong or unsuitable word or name for something (or someone); noun equivalent of *mislabel.
misplaced modifier: a modifier whose location in the sentence connects with the wrong word: (in a set with *modify, *squinting modifier)
misplaced “only”: Ideally the word “only” should immediately precede the verb or adjective it modifies, but English idiom has developed a habit of separating it from the adjective it modifies: “The football team has only allowed two sacks and committed six turnovers all season.” The same pattern can happen with “just”: “They just committed eight turnovers all season.”
mispronounce: to pronounce a word incorrectly—in an uninformed manner: ablā´tive rather than áblative, dătive rather than dātive, etc.; “Let’s get goin’.”
misread: to mispronounce a word in reading out loud, as when saying read (rēd, present tense) for read (rĕd, past tense), the verb lead (lēd)for the noun lead (lĕd), brought for bought, etc.
missal: a book containing all the prayers and responses of the mass for the whole liturgical year in the roman Catholic Church; a prayer book
misspoke: originally meaning “spoke out of turn,” “did not say it the way I meant it,” “did not say it the way I should have,” “gave erroneous information.” By extension the term has come to be a *euphemism for “lied.”
mixed condition: a conditional sentence, particularly in the New Testament, that does not fully conform to a regular *conditional sentence format. In Greek, it can happen especially in present particular conditions by putting any verb form in the *apodosis, and by putting any future form in the *apodosis of a *vivid future condition: Acts 5:29).
mixed metaphor: an expression that contains two metaphors to the same thing: “mixed row road to hoe.”
mode: an older designation for “mood” of verbs
Model Prayer, The: also called *The Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-13) and *Pater Noster, its Latin name from the opening two words “Our father.”
modal: pertaining to mode, or mood, as a feature of verbs
model verb: a verb that serves to illustrate a certain pattern of complete conjugation: luoo in Greek, qatal in Hebrew; laudo/moneo/ago/audio/capio in Latin.
modify: to make the meaning of another word more specific by adding the meaning of another word to it; to add meaning to the bare term by connecting another word to it. *Adjectives modify *nouns; *adverbs modify *verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and *prepositions: big man, ran quickly, a very happy mother, way beyond the fence. *Prepositional phrases can be adjective or adverbial modifiers: “The horse pulled the sleigh over the river and through the woods” [adverbial, modifying pulled]”; “The little brown church in the vale.”
*Clauses can also be adjectival and adverbial. Relative clauses are (usually) adjectival—clauses with who, which, or that: “The young man who mowed our lawn . . . .” Adverbial clauses are dependent clauses that connect with the main verb: “When I saw the signal, I ran as fast as I could” [the introductory clause connects to ran].
Modifiers in a series
Two modifiers for one phrase head. If a modifier precedes two phrase heads, it is most natural to connect it with both: “The tall man and woman live up the street.” The likelihood is that a reader/listener will suppose that both people are tall. If that is not the case, the writer needs to place second the noun it does modify and put the modifier immediately before it: “The woman and tall man up the street.” Another option is to say, “The tall man and the woman up the street.”
This same pattern applies to the ahead of more than one noun in a series. If two nouns are being thought of separately, the appears twice: “The man and the woman.” If they are being thought of as a set, the appears once—ahead of first noun only: “The man and the woman.”
Since Latin has no indefinite or definite articles; the placement of adjectives is even trickier. Adjectives usually follow nouns. If there are two nouns ahead of the modifier, the question becomes the same as above in the English examples: does it modify both nouns or just the last one? Even if the adjective follows the first noun, it may still be meant to connect with the second one as well.
Modifiers of words used as words are singular in Latin, Greek, and English: “This foolish ones is translated fools.”
(in a set with *agreement, *misplaced modifier, *punctuation, *serial comma, * serial modifiers, *squinting modifier, *double meaning)
modulation: the inflection of the voice as to pitch, timber, volume while speaking; in contrast to speaking in a monotone (in a set with *monotone)
moniker: *nickname
monoglot: a person that knows only one language
monogram: a person’s initials, or first letters of first, middle, and last name; especially so-called when the letters are put on a public document, pennant, and the like.
(in a set with *abbreviation, *initials)
Monograph: a scholarly writing of book length on a specific, limited subject
monolingual: able to speak one language only. (*bilingual, *trilingual)
monolog(ue): a presentation by one speaker vs. a discussion between two or more people; part of a play where one actor gives a more lengthy segment. A segment spoken by one person between musical segments of a cantata. Normally associated with telling about persons and events rather than about scholarly, conceptual matters
(in a set with *dialogue)
monophthong: (1) one vowel sound represented by two vowel letters as ea in beat. (2) a vowel sound that does not glide from one vowel to another, as in met. A characteristic of Italian vowels, which makes it particularly suitable for operatic singing.???????
(in a set with *diphthong; *vowel glide)
monosyllabic/monosyllable: having one syllable: Greek: pous (foot), ek (out of); Latin: ars (art), ab (away from); Hebrew:
monotone: speaking at the same pitch, speed, timber, and volume
(in a set with *modulation)
mood: also “mode,” in earlier usage; the manner in which an action is meant
Indicative mood simply indicates action.
Imperative mood commands action, including request, advice, and entreaty [English, Greek, Latin, Hebrew]
Subjunctive mood “suggests” action [Greek, Latin, English rarely]. Subjunctive is used in *contingency clauses, where the actions is dependent on some other action.
Optative mood “supposes/wishes” action [Greek]
Infinitive: [older English]
*contingent action (*subjunctive mood), or—as in Greek—uncertain action (*optative mood). The optative mood is missing in English and Latin and reduced in New Testament Greek. So its values get absorbed into the subjunctive in Latin or covered by *circumlocution. Likewise, the subjunctive has virtually disappeared from English, many of its usages being absorbed into the indicative.
The various moods are indicated in inflectional languages by signs. Greek signals subjunctive mood by lengthened connecting vowels—lengthened o/e variable. The optative sign is an i-diphthong in the connecting vowel position.
Latin signals the subjunctive by switching connecting vowels of the four classes of verbs. Instead of –ā-, -ē -, -ĕ-, and –ī- in the first, second, third, and fourth conjugations respectively, there is –e-, -ea, -a-, and –ia- (we fear a liar/let’s eat caviar).
(in a set with *person, *number, *tense, *voice, and *aspect as possible features of verb forms)
mood sign: In Greek the sign for the subjunctive mood is the lengthened connecting vowel—the o/e variable lengthened to omega/eta. The Greek sign for optative mood is an iota diphthong in the connecting vowel position, either –oi, -ai, or -ei.
In Latin the sign for the present-tense subjunctive mood is switched connecting vowels. In the layout according to customary mood numbering, –are, -ēre, ere, -ire verbs have their vowels switched according to the jingle “We fear a liar” or “Let’s eat caviar.” The basic idea is to use an a vowel in the connecting-vowel position in place of the vowel that the last three conjugations have there. Since the first conjugation has an a vowel in that position already, it uses an e vowel.
morality play:
morph: an allomorph
morpheme: the smallest unit of meaning at the word or sub-word level. Morphemes are used to create one part of speech from another in a set of *cognate words; to indicate singular and plural, person, tense, aspect, voice gender in verbs; case, number, gender in nouns.
(in a set with *tagmeme, *phoneme)
(in a set with *suffix, *prefix,* infix, *affix, *word roots, and the like)
mophemics: the specialty that deal with *morphemes, entailing identification, description, and classification of meaning units per language
mot: a witticism, a witty or insightful remark
morphology: the study of the indivisible units of meaning that indicate inflection, derivation, and word formation
morphophonemics: the study of the pronunciation changes caused by neighboring sounds during inflection, derivation, or grammatical relations
mother tongue: one’s *native language, or first language; “the language wherein we were born” (Acts 2)
motto: a saying that highlights a concept that group members consider their guide for operation.
movable: a letter, usually a consonant on the end of a word, that is added to separate vowels: the a/an variant for the English indefinite article, the a/an variant on the Greek negating prefix as in anion, atheist.
The n-movable in Greek appeared after all –si endings if the next word started with a vowel or if there was punctuation. It appeared after third singular endings in plain e (rather than –ei). It was used also after esti(n), etc. The New Testament affords innumerable examples of using the nu movable before consonants as well. So the rule is breaking down from the pattern in classical Greek. Other examples of movables in Greek are houtoos ( vs. houtoo) before vowels, ouk ( vs. ou) before non-fricative consonants (ouch appeared before fricatives) and οὐξ before vowels, achris ( vs. achri) before vowels. GET EXAMPLES
In Latin , the same thing happens when e before vowels becomes ex, a becomes ab,
mu: twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet: μ/Μ
muddy the waters: confuse the issue by bringing in irrelevant considerations, examples that are not parallel, and the like.
multilingual: using more than one language, using many languages
(in a set with *monolingual, *bilingual, *trilingual)
musical: a play or movie that has dialogue interspersed with musical passages.
mute: synonym for a *stop; the letters p, b; t, d; c/k, g(uh).
myth: a fictitious or largely unhistorical narrative that pictures an ideology or attempts to explain some natural phenomenon that is improperly understood or difficult to describe clearly. It historicizes or gives eventness to recurrent principles at work in man’s interaction with his environment
name: The noun that someone or something is called to distinguish it from others.
(in a set with *alias, *appellation, *attributive name, *cognomen, *first name, *given name, *last name, *maiden name, *middle name, *nee, *nickname, *nomen, *proper name, *surname)
name calling: Calling someone something derogatory as when Jesus called Peter Satan in Mt 16:23. He calls Herod “that old fox” in Lk 13:32. Paul calls the high priest a “whited wall,” and then apologizes (Acts 23:3). (in a set with *epithet)
name dropping: using the name of a well-known or important in such a way as to imply personal relationship and therefore the importance of the speaker.
namesake: the person someone is named after or the person named after the other person; someone who has the same name.
narrative:
nasal: a sound made by moving air through the nose instead of the mouth. Different kinds of nasal sounds are created by closing off the air at different pronunciation points in this process. A labio-nasal (m) cuts off air at the lips; a dental-nasal (n) cuts it off behind the teeth; a velar nasal (ng) cuts it off at the back of the soft pallet.
nasalize: to say a sound, particularly a vowel, in a way that runs the air through the nasal cavity instead of the oral cavity.
native language: same as *mother tongue, one’s *first language
near future: a form of the verb that indicates something fairly soon to happen. Same at *immediate future.
near demonstrative: a demonstrative that points out something/someone thought of as near the speaker: “this/these.” Classical Greek had two near demonstratives, which distinguished “aforesaid” (houtos) from “to be said” (hode). The distinction is not maintained in the New Testament. (in a set with *distant demonstrative)
near past: a verb construction that indicates that the action took place recently. Contrasts with *distant past. Same as *immediate past.
necessity: In classical Greek, necessity could be expressed by an impersonal verbal (C & S 178). In Latin it could be expressed by gerundive (future passive ptc); “Plus novisti quid faciendum sit” (You have learned more what must be done wh 224#4AS).
negation: indicating that something is not so. Greek A-class conditional clauses may be used alone as a kind of *aposiopesis to indicate negation: Mk 8:2; Heb 3:11; 4:3, 5; cp. 3:18.
negatives: words or word-elements that deny an assumed reality; in western languages there is a strong association of initial n with negation: German nein, Russian nyet; English no, not, un- (untrue), in-/im-/il/ir- (invalid/impersonal/illogical/irreverent), non- (nondenominational), never ( vs. ever), none ( vs. one), nobody ( vs. somebody), nor ( vs. or), neither ( vs. either), nothing ( vs. thing), no one ( vs. someone), nil, null, no-no, nah, and the word negate, etc.
Some nuances between these words can be subtle. Non- can mean having no reference to (non-denominational, having no reference to denominationalism); un- means not (undenominational, not denominated).
Latin prominently uses the n sound, especially an initial n sound, for negation: nolo (ne + volo), non, nonne, numquam ( vs. umquam), neuter ( vs. uter), nullus ( vs. ullus), nescio (not to know vs. scio), nemo (no one), nisi (if not vs. si, if), neque/nec . . . neque/nec (neither . . . nor), nonnumquam (never), nego (to deny), nihil (nothing), nihilum (nothing), nimis/nimium (excessively, exceedingly), nisi (if not) vs. si (if); nondum (not yet vs. dum while), necesse (unnecessary), num (introduces indirect questions that anticipate a negative response), ne (negative with subjunctives in dependent clauses), neve (nor, used for continuing ut or ne + subjunctive).
Latin tends to negate the direct object in places where English negates the verb: Nullam pacem habere poteramus (“We were able to have no peace”); quoniam tyrannus copias ducit, nullam pacem habebimus (“Since the tyrant is leading the troops, we will have no peace.” Note a similar thing in Greek when Paul writes to the Galatians: “Christ will profit you nothing” instead of “Christ won’t profit you any” (5:2).
Greek has two negatives and their cognates: ou and mee: ouchi; ouketi/meeketi; oὔ; oude/meede, oudeis/meedeis, oudepote/meedepote, oupww/meepoo, oute/meete; ou mee equals emphatic negative (certainly not). As a general pattern in New Testament Greek, ou and its cognates go with the indicative mood; and its cognates go with other verb forms.
Hebrew has two negatives: לא, אל
neoplastic ????
neologism/neologize/neology: a new word, expression, or new meaning for an old one. To create a new word; same as *coin a term. Several words were coined for Lord of the Rings: halfling, hobbit, ork,, (in a set with *nonce, *coin a word)
neuter: In English, gender corresponds almost completely with sex reference; so neuter refers to sexless things vs. person or animals. In Greek and Latin, neuter is used for some sexless things, but masculine and feminine are also used for them; it is therefore a grammatical category. Greek may be said sometimes to use neuter for *common, as in the case of *brephos (baby), paidion (little child), teknon and teknion (child and little child). This practice could also be viewed as applying to those of such age that gender is irrelevant.
In older English idiom, feminine gender (she) was occasionally applied to ships, countries, cities; but the practice has almost completely fallen out of usage.
(in a set with *feminine, *masculine; *gender)
neutral text: (in a set with *majority text, *western text, *Byzantine text)
newsletter: a regular communique from an organization that is sent out ot its supports or those interested in its work. It tell “news” about events instead of dealing with ideas as such. A kind of *ephemeral paper.
newsmonger: a person fixed on telling other people what is happening as a way of feeling important; a gossip.
newspaper: designed primarily to help the readership keep up on events
(in a set with *magazine, a *daily, a *weekly; *periodical)
newspeak; a deliberately unclear way of speak as a way to manipulate and mislead speak.
(in a set with *double talk)
nickname: a familiar, unofficial name given by others in popular use as a replacement of the person’s real, or given, name; a *moniker. It may be a term based on some noticeable trait or it may be a short like the letters of a first and middle name—like J.T. Ex. Joseph, called Barnabas by the apostles (Acts 4:36). WH333#11
night letter: a telegram sent at night for a lower cost to be received by the next morning.
Neviim: Hebrew word for “prophets” and a designation for one of the three basic divisions of Old Testament literature. (in a set with *Chetubim and *Torah)
nod: to make a gesture meaning “yes” by moving the head up and down
(in a set with *gesture)
noise: sounds that do not have linguisticality
nom de guerre: a fictitious name, a pseudonym
nom de plume: French for “*pen name,” the *alias that a writer writes under to hide his identity for some reason or to help set some air of humor or seriousness that would not be created by the use of his real name. Fearing that her words would not be taken as seriously as they should, a woman in previous times might use a pen name or mere initials to sign her work. A writer may fear that his message would be dismissed as insignificant because of who he is known or thought to be. (in a set with *aka, *alias, *pen name, *pseudonym)
nomen: the middle name in the Latin three-name system (in a set with *praenomen, *cognomen)
nomenclator: a person involved in developing the terminology for a discipline
nomenclature: a set of special, often systematic terminology associated with a particular discipline or area of interest.
nominal: (1) having to do with proper names; (2) having to do with nouns (in a set with *verbal, *prepositional, adverbial, *adjectival)
nominative absolute: English has a nominative absolute that corresponds to the Greek genitive absolute and the Latin ablative absolute: “that being said, I still do not think he will succeed.” As with all absolute construction, the subject of the dependent element cannot appear in the main clause or at least as subject of the main clause.
As an expression, *nominative absolute can be used to cover for certain Greek *hanging constructions (*pendens) that do not replace the pendens with a subsequent pronoun. (Lk 21:6 D & M 70)
nominative case: same as subjective case in English grammatical terminology. Nominative case serves (1) as the subject of a finite verb: “I love chocolate.”
(2) for *predicate nominative in a linking-verb sentence: “She is my mother.”
(3) on a *word used as a word (*nominative of appellation; Jn 13:13): He wrote I on the chalkboard.”
(4) as the noun, adjective, or participle after a passive-verb transform of an active-voice sentence that had a direct object plus *objective complement: “They elected him president” transformed to “He was elected president by them.” This last instance is really an extension of the predicate noun idea since it amounts to saying, “He became president” (Note Lk 2:21; 19:2)
(5) New Testament Greek shows some examples of *independent nominative, or *parenthetic nominative, a “hanging” noun in the nominative that is not the subject of any verb (Lk 21:6; Mk 8:2; Eph 4:15, etc. D&M70).
Finally, (6) the *nominative of exclamation is a noun with no verb and carries an exclamatory intent (Rom 7:24; Mk 3:4; Rom 11:33).
(in a set with *nominative of appellation, *parenthetic nominative, *subject)
nominative pendens: a “hanging” construction in the nominative case. It consists of a lead-in that is then replaced with a pronoun to sum it up before the speaker continues with the thought. Akin to *“double subject”: “The dead—they also are fortunate.” (in a set with *accusative pendens, *double subject, *independent nominative)
nomothetic: having to do with the writing laws
nonce: a term created for a special occasion; a kind of *neologism
non-distinctive: a *phonemic difference that does no change the meaning; the kinds of variants that exist in regionalism of in the systematic mispronunciations that speakers make in a second language
non-fiction: a genre of writing in story form that recounts actual events.
(in a se with *fiction)
non-literate: pertaining to a society that does not have a written form of the language
non-restrictive: not limited to one item within a class. In English punctuation, non-restrictive clauses and participial phrases are set off with commas, but non-restrictive adjectives and prepositional phrases are not marked in this way. Also called nonessential to the grammatical structure within which they appear. Non-restrictive clauses are also called *descriptive clauses.
examples of non-restrictive phrases and adjectives:
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor 6:14). The point is not that it is okay to be equally yoked together with them. Rather, Paul is concerned about believers being connected with unbelievers, which is an unequal situation that may put them in compromising situations.
Not being greedy of “filthy lucre” does not mean it is okay to be greedy of clean lucre. (Tit 1:7, 11; 1 Tim 3:3, 8; 1 Pet 5:2). The non-restrictive element in the English translation is meant to emphasize rather than contrast the “filthiness” of greediness.
“You, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children” (Mt 7:11). Jesus does not mean to say that “the ones of you who are evil” know how to give good gifts to you children”; others do not. “Being evil” characterizes everyone in his audience, and so is not restricted to some.
(in a set with *restrictive)
non-verbal: communication other than through words; hence, gestures as well as unintentional, unconscious cues people give that show what they are thinking or how the feel.
(in a set with *body language)
normalize: to alter peculiar or unusual features of a language in a way that conforms them to standard patterns of inflection, pronunciation. To standardize; in the case of English usage of words originating elsewhere, to anglicize. Using amoebas for the plural of amoeba, hippopotoamuses for hippopotomi.
normative grammar: an approach to grammar that calls for following conventions already established; contrasts with descriptive grammar, which merely tells how people actually use their language aside from any consideration of what is proper or improper.
notary: a public official authorized to witness the legality of public records
notice: an announcement; a formal or even legal warning
noun: a part of speech that can stand before the; a word that can be made plural by adding s/(z) or other some other suffix or infix indicating plurality; it can occupy *subject, *direct object, *indirect object, and *object of the preposition slots.
(in a set with *construct noun [Heb], *abstract noun, *appelative noun, *attributive noun, *collective noun, *common noun, *predicate noun, *proper noun, *noun typical of its class)
noun clause: A clause that fills a noun slot: subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition. Examples are the *indirect discourse section of a sentence (but Latin uses an infinitive phrase), *indirect question, *object clauses of different sorts. In older English usage seldom occurring now, a relative clause could fill a noun slot: “Whom the gods love dies young.” (in a set with *adjectival clause, *adverbial clause *jussive noun clause [L]):
noun typical of its class: usage of a noun in the singular in such a way that it stands for all the members of the group it is in. In English, a definite article was used with such a noun until more recently. In more modern usage, an indefinite article customarily appears: “the artist should have a thorough understanding of human anatomy”; vs. “an artist should have a thorough understanding of human anatomy.” In Greek, the article appears with a noun typical of its class.
noun slots: subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition
nu: thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet: ν/Ν. Nu was a movable letter after third singulars in plain –e, after all words ending in -si, after esti(n), eisi(v). In the New Testament the movable nu was always attached, regardless of circumstances, to third singulars of the imperfect and second aorist indicatives. The movable was inserted if there was upcoming punctuation or if the next word began with a vowel.
nuance: a subtle adjustment of a word’s meaning to adapt it to the demands of a new subject. cp. *connotation)
number (grammatical number)
Used on nouns, verbs and adjectives in Greek, Latin and English. Only *demonstrative adjectives (this, that) in English distinguish singular and plural by form.
Singular
Plural
Dual: in classical Greek, especially in poetry, there were distinctive dual forms ? in the verbs and nouns???
In Greek, Latin, and English, *word used as a word are considered singular: “This foolish ones describes the monkeys.” The same goes for *hendiadys: “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is” (1 Th 1:3).
(in a set with *gender and *case for *“locating” a *noun or *adjective)
(in a set with *person, *tense, *mood, *voice, *aspect [*Aktionzart] as possible verb forms)
numbers: Greek, Latin, and Hebrew have words for numbers, just as English does. In addition, Greek and Hebrew used letters of the alphabet for numbers. When so used in Greek, the letters had a horizontal line above them or a short slanted line upward to the right after the letter. Using the same symbol to the lower left multiplied the number by one thousand. They could be added together to form numbers between the tens i(a´). note sampi, san, koppa, digamma stigma in the scheme.
Cardinal numbers: “There was one horse in the corral.”
Ordinal numbers are adjectives: “Blackie was the first horse to get in the corral.”
In sets, English can say “two by two” or “two at a time.” Greek used kata + a number for this idea: for example, kata duo = two by two: Mk 14:19; Jn 8:9; 21:15; Acts 21:19; Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 14:31; Eph 5:33; Rev 4:8. Greek could also put numbers side by side for this purpose: For example, duo duo = two by two: Mk 6:7.
(in a set with *arabic numbers, *approximate numbers, *round numbers; *ordinal numbers, *cardinal numbers; *Roman numerals)
nun: the fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ with ן as its terminal form
oath: (1) a commitment not to lie in a legal proceeding; (2) coarse, impolite language expressed in anger (in a set with *archaism, *buzz word, *coarse talk, *colloquialism, *curse/cuss, *swear; *archaism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *form term, *informal term, &obsolete term, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *vulgarism)
obelisk/obelize: a reference mark shaped like a dagger or cross
obelus: a mark like a dash or division sign (– or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to indicate that a passage may be spurious (not original), incorrect, or uncertain in some way.
obfuscate/abfuscation: intentionally to hide the meaning rather than unveil it; to make difficult to understand by using highly complex grammatical structures, by unexplained technical vocabulary, by confused or meaningless expressions and inappropriate grammatical connections.
(in a set with *ambiguity)
obituary a brief article announcing the death of a person and giving an outline of her life, relatives, major events, and achievements.
object: a word grammatically governed by another word. A *direct object is governed by the verb and so is put in the objective, or accusative, *case.
An *indirect object likewise comes off of a verb that also governs a direct object; in English indirect objects are objective case after the preposition to if placed after the direct object or in the objective case without to if preceding the direct object. In Latin and Greek, the dative case without a preposition indicates the indirect object. Hebrew uses the *inseparable preposition ﬥ prefixed to a noun or a pronominal suffix to show indirect object.
The *object of a preposition is governed by the preposition. English always uses objective case after all prepositions. Greek has prepositions that govern the genitive, the dative, and the accusative cases, depending on the preposition. Latin prepositions govern the accusative or ablative case, depending on the preposition.
object clause: one of several kinds of clauses that serve as replacements for a direct object; so they have a substantive value: indirect question, indirect statement (in some Greek indirect-discourse constructions), and non-interrogative “how” clauses after verbs of striving, effecting, caring for (“He is planning how to persuade them” C & S p. 166).
objective case:
the English grammatical term for *accusative case, the case used in
English for *direct objects, *indirect objects, and *objects of prepositions. Greek
and Latin use *dative case for indirect objects; Greek and Latin use objective
case after some prepositions, especially those that imply destination.
(in a set with *subjective case, *possessive case)
objective complement: Some active-voice verbs can govern (a) two objects (*nouns, *substantives): one of the person, the other of the thing: “they elected him president.” That second noun “complements” the *direct object him. The relationship of direct object and objective complement is the same as the relationship between a subject and a *predicate nominative, the same as the relationship between a noun and its appositive, and the same as the relationship between the subject and predicate noun in the passive transform of a sentence that had an objective complement. “They elected him governor”; “He was governor”; “He, the king, led forth in battle”; “He was elected governor.” In each case, the more narrow-reference substantive is the class; the other is the particular—like a circle within a circle. Verbs typically involved in objective-complement constructions are call, choose, consider, deem, elect, find, name, think.
Objective complement can happen also with (b) adjectives. Passive transforms of objective-complement adjectives occur in Acts 5:39, “And you-be-found (to be) God-opposing-(ones).”
Mt 25:38:“When did we see you a strange-(one) and naked?”
An objective complement can be a (c) participle: Mt 25:37, 39; “Whenever he saw anyone poorly clothed , . . .” (WH Latin grammar). They found the prison locked; they found the guards standing (Acts 5:23).
The English examples above have parallels in Greek and Latin as well. Acts 5:31 says, “This one God raised up (as) leader and savior.” Acts 13:5; 1 Jn 4:14;
Sometimes Greek adds hoos ahead of the objective complement in a fashion similar to the English as in the translation of Acts 5:23 above: “They regard him as [hoos] a prophet” (Mt 14:5). Another, equivalent format uses eis to introduce the complement: “They regarded him unto [being] a prophet” (Mt 21:46). What of einai?
An adjective objective complement occurs in 1Tim 6:1:
A participial objective complement occurs in Mt 24:30:
objective genitive: In Greek and Latin, objective genitive involves a noun tied to an action noun by the genitive case. The genitive-case noun refers to the object of the action that is in the other noun: “the love of God,” meaning “love for God,” as in “the love that I have for God.” Objective genitive contrasts with *subjective genitive: “the love of God,” meaning “love by God,” as in “the love that God has for me.” Note the situation in Rom 8:35, (37), 39. English can use an “of” construction for either idea.
(in a set with *subjective genitive)
oblique cases: as a set, the cases outside the *nominative
obloquy: abusive language address at a person in order to disgrace him; calumny
obscenity: a vulgar expression, a curse word, a swear word, an oath; a “*four-letter word”; often intended to show disrespect, hurt someone’s feelings; words often used in times of stress, fear, and anger. On the eve of the crucifixion, Peter’s reaction the second time he was accused of being one of Jesus’ followers (Mt 27:74).
obsolete term: a term no longer used or a meaning no longer used with that word. People may understand the meaning of an obsolete word, but archaic tends to refer to a meaning no longer in memory.
(in a set with *archaism, buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, *oath, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *technical term, *vulgarism)
ode: a poem of praise, a rhyming tribute (in a set with* hymn, *paean, *psalm)
octosyllable: a line of verse containing eight *syllables
off script: speaking other than the official position taken by the group the speaker represents; speaking in a way, instead, that reflects the speakers own convictions. Contrasts with *on script.
off-color: terms, expressions, or jokes with sexual inuendo.
“off-the-cuff”: without forethought, preparation, or careful weighing of pertinent information; cp. *ad lib, *extemporary;
omega: twenty-fourth letter of the Greek alphabet: ω/Ω. Long “o,” paired with omicron, short “o.” [o + mega, big “o”]
omega verbs: Greek verbs that have –oo on the end of their dictionary forms rather than –mi. They differ from each other only in forms that come from the first principal part. (in a set with *–mi verbs, *contract verbs)
omicron: fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet: ο/Ο. Short “o,” paired with omega, the long “o.” [o + micron, small “o”]
omniscient viewpoint: an account told from above, or outside, the events rather than through the eyes of a character in the episode. (in a set with *anthropocentric viewpoint, *geocentric viewpoint, *omniscient viewpoint()
on script: speaking in a way that represents the groups standard claim (standard “line”) rather than the position the speaker personally believes. Contrasts with *”off script. (in a set with *spin, *line)
oneiromancy: the interpretation of dreams, especially as an aid to prediction
onomastics: the study of the origin and form of proper names or specialized terms in a certain field together with the patterns of formation through which such items pass in the process of word building
onomatopoeia: the formation of words that sound like what they mean. English has buzz, clunk, hiss, boom, crash, murmur, splash, ululate (lament loudly), zip. All the “words” for animal sounds: arf, baa, caw, cheep, cluck, meow, moo, neigh, oink, peep, quack, ruff, woof, yap, yip; these are “words” in that they are stylized sounds that do not exactly reproduce the sound the animal makes, and they are subject to *inflection for number, case, tense, person, and the like/
Greek has some examples of anonmatopoeia as well: gogguzoo (grumble), thalassa/thaattal (sounds vaguely like the waves of the “sea”), ptuoo (to “spit”).
op. cit.: abbreviation for “opus cited”; that is, a work referred to earlier in the text or previous footnotes.
opposition: the contrast in a language between two phonemest that create meaning differences or systematic ways of changing parts of speech: English read/read, lead/led, Greek uses o/e to distinguish verb and noun roots and principal parts of verbs: gennaoo/goneus (to beget/a parent), legoo/logos (to speak/word), leipoo/loipos, menoo/hupomonee (to remain/perseverance [“remain under”]), speiroo/spora (sow/seed), speudoo/spoudee (hasten/zeal), temnoo/temos (o cut/incision), trepoo/tropos (turn/a turn), tremoo/tromos (tremble/a trembling), trephoo/trophee (nourish/nourishment), pheroo/phortion (to bear/burden); rempoo/pepompha (1st/3rd principal parsts of “send”), peitho/pepoitha/epepoitheiv (1st vs. 3rd and 4th principal parts, “persuade),
optative mood: a mood in Greek verbs used for expressing a wish and other types of more vague and uncertain action. It often replaced the subjunctive in subordinate clauses after *leading verbs in past tenses. The mood is tending to fall out by the time of New Testament Greek, appearing about 120 times. In Latin the function of the optative is taken over by the subjunctive. English also lacks the mood as a verb form, but covers its ideas by *circumlocution or the subjunctive mood.
(in a set with *indicative, *imperative mood, *subjunctive mood, *infinitive mood)
(in a set with *attainable wish, *unattainable wish)
oracle: a person through whom God gives answers, commands, or predicts; the revelation itself, especially an enigmatic and therefore mysterious directive or prediction. Its ambiguity makes it easier to equate with a subsequent event that it purports to envision. An example like the famous oracle of Apollo at Delphi.
oracular: adjective for *oracle.
opus: a creative “work,” whether musical or literary, that is part of an author’s or composer’s larger output. (in a set with *body of work)
opuscule: diminutive of opos, a lesser item in an author’s or composer’s *body of work.
oracle: the response of a medium who reiterates a message from a deity
oral communication: communication by spoken sound in contrast to *written communication, sign language, semaphore, signals, and gestures. (in a set with *written composition)
orate/oration: the delivery of a piece composed by the speaker in a polished, artistic, formal manner. (in a set with *declamation, *speech, *reading)
orator: one skilled in oratory
oratory: (1) the art of delivering orations; (2) a place for prayer, a chapel
ordain/ordination: to appoint to a religious office or duty, especially in connection with the laying on of hands. New Testament examples include the appointment of the seven to serve tables (Acts 6:1-6). The formal commissioning of Paul and Barnabas by the church in Antioch for the first missionary journey of Paul (Acts 13:1-3). The appointment (and endownment?) of Timothy for ministry with Paul by “the prebystry” and Paul (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6).
In the Old Testament the laying on of hands was used in the appointment of the Levites before the Lord (Num. 8:10), the appointment of Joshua as Moses’ successor (Num 27:15-23; Deut 34:9).
Anointing with olive oil was another gesture of appointment (????)
ordinal number: a number that implies rank or sequence: first, second, third, fourth, etc.
(in a set with *cardinal number)
orthoepsy: proper pronunciation, the standard, informed way of saying a word, as in ab´lətive rather than ab´lātive; dātive, not dătive. (in a set with *pronunciation)
orthography: the study of standard spelling; the method of expressing the sounds of a language in written letters. Orthography is an issue in English spelling more than in most languages because of the wide variety of foreign and derivational influences that have been brought to bear on the language. (1)Several ways exist for notating the same sound, and (2) the same notation can cover more than one sound. There are many (3) *silent letters to contend with as well.
(in a set with *spelling, *silent letters)
outcry: a loud protest, a protest made by many people
ovation: loud, prolonged applause of approval or welcome
overpersuade: to induce someone to act contrary to personal conviction by continued or intense urging
overstatement: saying something in a way that is more extreme than the situation really is; exaggeration. (in a set with *understatement, *exaggeration)
oxymoron: an incongruous or contradictory combination of words, often adjectives plus nouns: (Webster, “deafening silence”); a revealing cover-up; “upward fall,” an expression someone might use who does not believe in the historic fall of Adam and Eve; it becomes a picture of learning from one’s mistakes. Other examples are the following: “the more you spend, the more you save”; “He died that I might live”; a male mare; a legitimate excuse.
oxytone: having an acute accent on the *ultima, the last syllable
paean/pean: a song of exuberant joyful praise or exultation, especially in classical Greek tribute to Apollo.
paeon: in quantitative verse, a foot of one long syllable and three short syllables occurring in any order (webster) (in a set with *hymn, *ode, *anapest, *trochee)
page: the numbered faces of the leaves of a codex. (in a set with *leaf)
palatals: an earlier name for velars, sounds made off the soft-palate in the back of the mouth
paired opposites: a set of words or word parts that make *antonyms and are conventionally contrasted with each other: ab-/ad-, before/after, big/little, brady-/tachy-, do’
do’s/don’t’s, dys-/eu-, ebb/flow, good/bad, hypo-/hyper-, iso-/aniso-, large/small, micro-/macro-, -osis/-penia, -phobia/-mania, poly-/oligo-, pre-/post-, pro/con, proximal/distalto/fro, top/bottom, up/down
palatal: another term for *velar, a consonant sound made by placing the tongue against the soft palate: k/c, g(uh), (Ba)ch, gh (*voiced fricative), velar *trill voiced or unvoiced.
paleography: the study of ancient writing, particularly the shape of letters used with a view to determining thereby, if possible, the antiquity of the sample
palimpsest: a re-used manuscript on which a second writing has been written over an earlier, faded one
palindrome: a word, phrase, sentence that reads the same way backwards as forwards: “Able was I ere I saw Elba.” “Ma’am, I’m Adam.” ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΝΟΜΗΜΑ ΜΗ ΜΟΝΑΝ ΟΨΙΝ (“Wash (your) sins, not only your face.”) Individual words can be palindromic: ana, Bob, dud, gag, mom, noon, nun, pop, rotor, sis, toot, wow. [Gr run + again]
pamphlet: a brief, unbound treatment designed often for manual distribution; its purpose is to introduce the issue rather than give exhaustive information.
(in a set with *book, *reference book, *monogram, *tract)
pan: to give severe criticism in a review as of a movie, book, performance, or some other creative or artistic effort
pantomime: a form of silent communication that uses gestures and bodily movements to convey the message
paper: a formal, scholarly presentation intended for an audience already basically familiar with the subject; a lighter assignment perhaps for high school or college course.
paper, ephemeral: a presentation not meant to have lasting usage
parable: The use of the word varies in the New Testament. Most familiarly a parable is a story with a point, particularly in the *synoptic gospels. It is generally true-to-life rather than fanciful, like a *fable. It is a story form with usually one moral lesson, and unlike an *allegory does not have a point-by-point correspondence between the lesson of the story. The word picture in parable (parabolee) is “to throw alongside.” Hence, a comparison.
Another word translated “parable” occurs in John’s gospel (), but it is a more general term that draws attention to a comparison for the sake of interest and clarification. Word picture
In older versions of the Old Testament, parable translates the Hebrew word () in Balaam’s “parables” ( Num 23:7-10, 18-24; 24:3-9, 15-24)
Jotham’s “parable” of the bramble bush (Jud 9:8-15) qualifies as a *fable because of its unreal character.
FINISH OUT THIS ENTRY
(in a set with *allegory, *account, *fable, *figure of speech) [<Gr. parabole, “throw alongside”]
paradigm: the layout of a word’s pattern of inflection
paradox: a contradiction of words but not of realities.
paragraph: a sub-unit of written communication consisting of more than one sentence and ideally containing a *topic sentence, elaboration, and finalizing comment. (in a set with verses, chapters, parts,* books, volumes); in a set with *words, *sentences)
parajournalism: a kind of journalism that mixes in exaggeration and fictional elements (in a set with *pesher?)
parallel: a sign indicating material presented elsewhere in a note or reference
parallelism: (1) the primary characteristic of Semitic poetry in which relatively brief statements are arranged in succession. These successive entries may say the same thing a second way (*synonymous parallelism), in a contrasting way (*antithetical parallelism), the same thing in an extended way (*synthetic parallelism).
(2) The use of parallel syntactical structures for the purposes of balance and elegance.
paralogism: a form of argument that conforms to the form of proper reason but in fact leads to an illogical conclusion. An example would be the informal fallacy of the undistributed middle.
Elephants love peanuts;
this animal loves peanuts;
therefore, this animal is an elephant.
paraph: a flourish over or under a person’s signature
paraphrase: to express something in wording that does not correspond word for word with the original quotation or translation, a re-expression that strives to maintain content but in a way the present speaker or writer would word it “from scratch.” It is like translating a sentence or paragraph at a time rather than a word at a time.
paraphrasis: noun for *paraphrase
pariphrastic: adjective for *paraphrase.
parapraxis: small error, slip of the tongue, that supposedly reveals a subconscious motives Webster)
paraprosdokian:
paratactic/prataxis: The use of parallel, independent constructions in contrast to subordinating one idea to another: “She stayed and helped with the clean-up” vs. “she stayed to help with the clean-up.” Of course, the two sentences do not make the exact same statement, but the habit of choosing the “and” format (which says less) does not make the conversation ambiguous; it just requires the listener to be more active in bringing what he knows from his own experience and adding it to what the speaker has actually said.
Parataxis also applied to parallel parts in compound words, to parallel clauses or phrases laid side by side with or without *co-ordinate conjunctions or connectors between them.
(in a set with *hypotactic; *asyndeton)
parent language: the language from which another language has descended, as Spanish and the other Romance languages have come down from Latin.
parenthesis: two vertical arcs ( ) used basically for separating its contents from the rest of the surrounding material.
In writing, the two arcs are placed (a) before and after an insertion within a line of writing, syntactically disconnected from that setting, and adding related information not directly in the flow of thought. Implies as greater disjunction from surrounding material than a double *dash does.
(b) Separates the area code from the rest of a phone number.
(c) Groups subunits in a mathematical expression.
(d) Marks off enumerated entries as in this list of parenthesis usages.
?? in the formation of words, the practice of compounding words by putting previously existing words side by side with little or no alteration.
parenthetic nominative: another term for *independent nominative, one that does not serve as subject of the upcoming verb; one not syntactically part of the sentence structure.
parenthetical clause: WH309#96
parenthetical expression: elements in a sentence that are not necessary for expressing the basic meaning and completing the required structures of a sentence. Examples are items like appositives that are set off in commas, items that are indicated between dashes, or information put inside parentheses.
parisyllable/parisyllabic: having the same number of syllables in the nominative and genitive singular. The phenomenon occurs in Latin third declension nouns like auris/auris, civis/civis, hostis/hostis, nubes/nubis, .
parlance: the terminology, wording, or way of saying something in a distinct circle of language users or in a certain frame of reference, as in legal parlance or Christian parlance
parody: a humorous reproduction of another person’s literary work; if not intentional, it is so poorly done as to seem like a mockery of the original work.
paronomasia: *word play, *pun, *Tom Swifty
paronym: a word that is derived from the same root as another word
paronomous: related to another word by being derived from the same root
paroxytone: having an acute accent on the *penult, the next-to-last syllable.
parse: to locate a form in its *paradigm; to identify the formal features of a term or set of words; to identify the role of a term in a sentence—to analyze syntax
parsing guide a tool for locating words in their paradigms. It may be organized according to an important text like the Hebrew/Aramaic Old Testament or the Greek New Testament. Note the parsing guides for OT and NT.
part: In larger works, a part is a division down from the whole work or from a volume within a multi-volume set. (in a set with verse, chapter, paragraph, book, volume).
part of speech
Part of speech is not determined by meaning, but by inflection and distribution in a given sentence of a given language. Consequently, a noun is not particularly the name of a person, place, thing, or abstraction. It is a word that carries certain formal characteristics (*inflection) and occupies certain slots (*distribution).
A noun, then, is a word that can have the put in front of it, and can be made plural in ways characteristic of the language. A verb has inflectional terminations that indicate mood, tense, person, voice, and the like. An adjective is a word that can set directly ahead of a noun, on the other side of a verb that indicates linkage, or after a noun (objective complement) that itself receives the action of a certain kind of verb (active).
Part of speech is a more stable feature of inflected language like Greek and Latin because the alterations pretty well determine whether a word is a noun or adjective. In Latin there is amicus and amica, two nouns for male and female friend. There is a corresponding adjective amicus, -a, -um, which can carry ending sets for all three genders of the root. Greek behaves in the same way.
English, however, does not have much inflectional change. Consequently, part of speech is a more fluid matter that has to be determined on a case-by-case basis. The same spelling and sound may make an adjective, noun, or verb depending on where it is placed in the sentence. It is distribution—sentence placement—that most decisively determines part of speech. Work can be a verb in the sentence, “They all work together.” It is a noun in the sentence, “Work can be fun.” It is an adjective in the sentence, “He is really a work horse.”
In the last illustration, work, which is more usually a noun or a verb, has been inserted into an adjective slot, the place directly ahead of the noun horse. As a result, it is an adjective. Over time the two words work and horse can be hyphenated and later written solid; so we end up with a compound word like workhorse. Often it is necessary to consult a dictionary to determine whether standard usage still considers it two words, a hyphenated word, or one solid word. In spoken language, work and horse get two equal accents at the same pitch. With time, the pronunciation shifts to a heavy-light accent pattern accompanied by a drop in pitch. Ideally the change would be reflected in the written form, but that is often not—or not yet—the case.
In summation, part of speech cannot be indicated by dictionary entry, but by usage in a specific cases. A dictionary only indicates a word’s predominant usage as a part of speech. Position is historically a noun; but it is a verb if it is put in a verb slot and/or given verbal *formatives: “He positioned himself to receive another promotion.” Friend has historically been used as a verb, but here of late in computerese it has become a verb on Facebook entries: “He asked if he could friend me.” Partner has become a verb: “We are partnering with another agency to solve the crime.”
(in a set with *nouns, *pronouns, *adjectives, *verbs, *adverbs, *conjunctions, *prepositions, *interjections, *determiners, *expletives, *particles)
participial phrase, introductory: for clarity’s sake, an introductory participial phrase needs to modify the subject of the independent clause of the sentence; that arrangement make the subject of the sentence also the subject of the introductory participle. Otherwise, it is called a *“dangling participle” because it may not be immediately clear who the actor is in that participle: “Leaving home at fourteen, my father had to fend for himself.”
participles: Greek and Latin participles have tense, voice, number, gender, case, aspect, and *verbal adjuncts but not person. Hebrew participles have voice and gender as well as the aspects that derive from the various *stems, which all contain participles. English active participles end in –ing and passives that end with –ed (a planned outing). Since English has additional ways of forming the passive past participle (its third principal part), there are also passive participles ending in –t (meant), -en (broken), and -n (sown). Other verbs create the past participle with an infix change (sit > sat) or a combination of alterations (flown). In a verb’s *paradigm, participles are parallel to *moods and infinitives.
Adverbal participles can cover for time (as, while, when, after, during), means (by, with), manner (as, -ly), cause (because), condition (if), concession (although), attendant circumstance (co-ordinate circumstance), purpose, result. In Latin, the *gerundive usually carries the idea of necessity. In Greek the future participle most often indicates purpose. Adverbial participles equal *circumstantial participles.
Adjectival participles connect with nouns in the same way adjectives do: “he is a working man.” Adjectival participles equal *attributive participles.
In Greek, the distinction between adverbial (circumstantial) and adjectival usage generally corresponds respectively to anarthrous and articular usage of participles. One exception can be an participle that modifies an anarthrous noun. Sometimes even with anarthrous nouns, an articular participle occurs and so guarantees it adjectival intent.
[Latin also has gerundives.]
Participles can be called infinite in that they do not have person, but they differ from infinitives in having number-gender-case form in Greek and Latin and thereby attach to nouns. English participles differ from infinitives in form and usage. As the most basic form of the verb, an infinitive is not inflected except for tense, voice, and aspect and has the accompanying to in most usages. Infinitives fill noun, adjective, and adverb slots. Participles, on the other hand, attach only to nouns.
English active participles (-ing forms) have the same form as *gerunds but the latter have only active form and occupy only noun slots: “Working is fun” (S); the weather kept us from working” (OP); “Dad always emphasized working” (DO). Participle and infinitive usages differ as follows: “Working every day in the gym, he got in shape” (ptc); “By working every day in the gym, he got in shape” (ger). Adding the preposition by creates the noun slot occupied by working. Both –ing forms do need to connect with the main subject to show who is acting (clarity), but their syntactical placements differ (grammar).
Abstract verbal ideas in English can be covered either by gerunds or infinitives, but not by participles: “Seeing is believing” or (less usual) “To see is to believe.” Thus when rendering noun Greek infinitives, the translator can use a gerund in order to fit English idiom better. [ ] Similarly, Greek participles are not rendered with English gerunds: For example, Jn 13 says, “I am the voice [f] of (one) crying [m] in the wilderness” (anarthrous *substantive participle), not “I am the voice of crying in the wilderness” (whatever that would mean).
Are there a couple gerund-usage participles in NT?
(in a set with *finite verb, *infinitive, and *gerund)
particle: a short, uninflected form that is not a normal part of speech. Webster’s cites to as an example in English. See A. T. Robertson for list in Greek. In some usages of the word particle, it can refer to short words like articles, prepositions, conjunctions, or the additions to an English phrasal verb.
In Greek, a number of light, uninflected, relatively short words that nuance meaning in ways often untranslatable.
partitive: In Latin, the genitive case was used to indicate that the action in the verb affected only part of the item: WH305#15#4 Medius in Latin was a partative adjective despite sharing number, gender, case with the accompanying noun: in medias res, “in the middle of things.”
party line: the official, public position taken on some issue by a certain group, a position that members of the party are supposed to present and defend rather than a different opinion they may have personally. (in a set with *spin, *line)
passage: a short segment of a written work
passive verb: an action verb in the passive voice (in a set with active verb, middle-voice verb; *fientive verb; *stative verb; *copulative verb, *linking verb, *state-of-being verb, *to be verb)
passive voice: the form of verb that directs the action onto the subject rather than onto a direct object. “The article was written yesterday by the editor of the newspaper” vs. “The editor of the newspaper wrote the article yesterday.”
Passive voice exists because (1) sometimes the speaker does not know who did the action. At other times, (2) the speaker/writer may not want to make a point of who the actor is. It may not matter who did it, or the speaker does not want to make known who did it. (3) Sometimes the flow of thought ties in better with the new sentence if the object of the action is mentioned first and therefore made subject.
Teachers of public speaking and writing recommend using the passive voice as little as possible. Active voice seems to have more punch; so it creates a crisper expression.
(in a set with *active voice, *middle voice; *copulative verb, *linking verb, *state-of-being verb, *to be verb; cp. *fientive verb.)
past participle: the third principal part of an English verb, as in take, took, taken. It is used in creating (1) all passive-voice forms: “am being taken, am taken, was being taken, was taken, will be taken, have been taken, had been taken, will have been taken”; (2) all actives in the perfect system: “have taken, had taken, will have taken”; along with the infinities and participles in those same sets.
past tense: action occurring prior to present time. In English that means the progressive past (was working, used to work, would work, tried to work, kept working, began to work), simple past (worked, have worked), past perfect (had worked, had been working)
Pater Noster: “The Our Father,” the Latin name for *The Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-13a; in the Latin *version lacking 13b, “For thine . . . Amen.”); also called The *Model Prayer.
patois: a regional *dialect that has not been reduced to writing, not the standard form of the language. (in a set with *creole)
patronym/patronymic: a term that is derived from the name of one’s father or ancestor
pe: the seventeenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also phe: פ
pedagogue/pedagogical material: teaching material, *didactic material
pedagogy: the art of teaching
pedant/pedantic: an outmoded or unnecessarily formal way of saying something. An example is the use of “one” as an indefinite pronoun. It is almost always avoided in favor of using someone, a person, or *you advisedly: “One does not need to sound impressive when one is talking to a child.” “You don’t need to . . . .”
pejorative: having a negative connotation or implication, especially if aimed at a person
pen name: the *alias under which an author presents his or her work, as “Mark Twain” for Samuel Clemens. It has been done to avoid prejudice, as in the case of a female author who feared that her presentation would not be given proper credence under an obviously female name. In almost the opposite vein, someone well-known and liked might hide identity so the subject matter would stand on its own merits without interference from fame and love.
(in a set with *aka, *alias, *allonym, *pseudonym)
pendens: an unattached word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence that marks the topic of conversation before proceeding to specifics; a kind of double reference that brings emphasis to the doubled element. (in a set with *accusative pendens, *nominative pendens)
pentameter: a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet; same as English *iambic pentameter
(in a set with *trimeter, *tetrameter, *hexameter)
pentastich: a poem with five lines
penult: the next-to-last syllable (in a set with *ultima, *antepenult, *pre-antepenult)
pep talk: a speech given especially by a coach to a team to fire them up before the game
perfect tense: a verb form that indicates the fulfillment of an action prior to a point in time
(in a set with present perfect tense, *past perfect tense, *future perfect tense)
performative act: an act that says something; an act by which one makes a statement: burning the flag, burning the books about magic in Ephesus (Acts 19:20). Baptism and the Lord’s supper have that value as well. Differs from a *gesture by participating in the reality instead of signaling something beyond itself.
period: a dot on the line of writing used after a complete sentence, with *abbreviations, in web site addresses and e-mail addresses (*dot), or as a decimal in numbers (*point). An abbreviation at the end of a sentence uses one period for both the abbreviation and the sentence. Greek and Latin periods are the same as those in English, but their use does not include decimals and abbreviations.
(in a set with *dot, *point)
periodical: a *magazine or *journal that tends toward learned presentations. Libraries use the term to cover a fairly wide range of items that come out on a regular basis, all the way from newspapers to scholarly journals.
periphrasis: another word for *circumlocution
periphrastic: using two or more words for an idea rather than by just one; periphrastic verbs are construction that use *auxiliaries rather than inflected forms
permanent prohibition: formed in Hebrew by al + shortened imperfect (WG 114). (in a set with *immediate prohibition, or temporary prohibition)
permissive imperative: The idea of “permissive imperative” seems to misunderstand the “let” idea for translating third-person imperatives as “allow” in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. “Let” doesn’t mean that in English idiom either.
persistent accent: accent tht stays on the same syllable (as counted from the front) throughout the inflection of the word. In Greek, accents on nouns and adjectives are generally persistent—except for –ma nouns of the third declension, where they are *recessive.
(in a set with *accent; *recessive accent)
person: the one acting in a verb. *First person is the one speaking (singular) or those standing with him (plural). *Second person is the one/ones spoken to—the one/ones addressed. *Third person is the one/ones spoken about. All nouns, therefore, are third-person references.
The use of third person for second person appears in scripture as a way of expressing respect, as when Moses approaches God, asking him to appoint a successor (Num 27:15-17).
(in a set with *number, *tense, *mood, *voice, *aspect; *gender in Hebrew verbs)
personal letter: a letter sent to a person rather than to a business. In the New Testament, Paul sent such letters originally to Timothy (1 Tim 1:1-2; 2 Tim 1:1-2), Titus (Tit 1:1-4), and Philemon (1). Similar are 2 John (1) and 3 John (1). Acts 23:26-30 preserves a letter from Claudius Lysias, a chiliarch/tribune in Jerusalem, to Felix, the governor in Caesarea, explaining his reason for sending Paul down to him.
(in a set with *encyclical; *epistle)
personal pronoun: a word used in place of a noun without further implication and occurring only in places where a noun can occur. Personal pronoun is a technical expression in that it is not limited to persons, per se; beyond references to “persons” (I, she, you, etc.), it includes things: it. Thus, a “personal” pronoun is a word that stands “for” (pro-) a noun without added qualifications. As such, personal pronouns contrast with
*differential pronouns (“Which is easier?”),
*indefinite pronouns (“any can work here”; “anyone can do this”; “anything goes”; “some can do this”; “someone can do this”; “something just fell”; “a tall one is needed here”; “he would not do a thing”; “a person can change”; “each one teach one”; “everything is different now”; “everyone has to do it”). Several of these indefinite pronouns can also serve as adjectives: any, some; each every.
*indefinite relative pronouns (“I thank whoever did this”);
*intensive pronouns (“I myself did it” or “I did it myself”);
*interrogative pronouns (“Who did this?”);
*reciprocal pronouns (“They like one another);
*reflexive pronouns (“I shot myself in the foot”);
*relative pronouns (“The woman who did this”; “the tree that blew down”),
personification: a figure of speech that ascribes personal/human characteristics to impersonal/non-personal things.
(in a set with *anthropomorphism, *anthropopathic)
persistent accent: accenting that stays on the same *syllable (as counted from the front) during inflection as long rules of accent allow. (in a set with *recessive accent)
pesher:
petition: a request for official action signed by individuals. A circulated form on which signatures are gathered to request government officials to take some course of action.
petroglyph: a symbol or figure carved or otherwise inscribed on stone by prehistoric people
Phalaecean (meter Wh309) = hendecasyllabic
phatic: having to do with speech that communicates feelings and mood in order to establish comradery and sociability rather than to convey ideas.
phe/pe: the seventeenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet:פ with ף as its terminal form
phenomenological language: language based for the way something looks rather than for the way the speaker knows it is: “the sun rises in the east.” Heartburn is more the way it feels than something that has to do with the heart (pyrosis). In scripture, death is called sleep, not only as a *euphemism, but because a person who has died looks like someone who is asleep: they are not moving; the eyes are shut. For that reason, it is not wise to allegorize the comparison between death and sleep and conclude that in the intermediate state a person is not in a conscious condition.
phi: twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet: φ/Φ.
philology: the study of language in contrast to the study of a language; a term formerly used for *linguistics
phone: a speech sound in and of itself without consideration of meaning connection or other linguistic relationship to phonemes and *allomorphs
phoneme: the smallest unit of sound that by alteration can change meaning: d and t in dot and tot.
(in a set with *allophone, *grapheme)
phonetic alphabet: a standard set of symbols that cover all the sounds of a language or of language in general.
phonetician: a specialist in phonetic notation
phonetic spelling: spelling words by the way they sound using a uniform value for letters and other symbols without regard to preserving derivational origins of the words; the kind of spelling given in dictionaries for the standard pronunciation of words
phonetics: the part of linguistics that deals with the way sounds are made, how they are combined, and how they are represented; the practice of spelling words by a standardized use of letters, diacritical marks, and symbols.
phonic: having to do with human speech sound
phonics: a method of teaching children how to read by showing them how letters and combinations of letters represent human speech sounds
phonology: the study of the sounds and combinations of sounds that make up a language
Consonants
Vowels (rounded and unrounded)
Liquids
Dentals
Gutturals
Palatals
velars
labials
liquids
nasals
stops: sounds formed by stopping the airflow at some pronunciation point; also called mutes” (in a set with fricatives, plosives, trills, nasals)
fricatives: sounds formed by narrowing the air flow at various pronunciation points; also called “mutes.” (in a set with stops, plosives, trills, nasals)
plosives (in a set with *stops, *fricatives, *trills, *nasals)
ingressive/egressive air flow
trills (in a set with stops, fricatives, plosives, nasals)
sibilants: s, sh,z, zh sounds
clicks
aspirates
phrasal verb: a verb made up of more than one word where the added word is an adverb that follows the main verb; thus, not to be confused with *progressive verbs, whose added words precede the main verb: call out, calm down, come in, shut up.
(in a set with *merged verb, *fused verb)
phrase: set of words that does not contain a finite verb in contrast to *clause, which does have a finite verb. A phrase may serve as a *noun, *adjective, or *adverb.
(in a set with *prepositional phrase, *participial phrase, *infinitive phrase)
phrase book: a handbook of foreign expressions and their translations; organized per language and dealing with sets of words rather than individual terms. Perhaps an *idiom book.
(in a set with *dictionary, *lexicon)
phrase head: the main word to which the other words in a set connect: “that great big house”; “she very quickly went home”; “The man that I met on the street turned out to be a college professor.”
phrase prepositions: Prepositions in English sometimes are thought of as having more than one word: because of, by means of, due to (though not preferred since due’s adjectival force is lost), for the sake of, in regards to, in the interest of, in accordance with, instead of, on account of, on behalf of, on the way to, owing to,
phraseogram: a *shorthand symbol that * stenographers use to cover a set of words in contrast to a letter (usually for one sound) or an abbreviation (for one word)
(in a set with *letter, *abbreviation, *acronym)
phraseograph: a phrase represented by a *phraseogram
phraseology: the turn of expression a person may use that would not have to be exactly that way
phrasing: the way an expression is worded
pi: sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
pictograph: a *hieroglyph; a picture that represents a word or idea in contrast to a letter, which represents a sound or syllable
pigeon language:
pitch: a presentation intended to get someone to accept or buy something. Used as a light, perhaps, pejorative term for such an instance.
plagiarize/plagiarism/plagiary: to present someone else’s ideas as one’s own—especially written ideas. The act or practice of so doing.
play on words: (1) a comment that “plays” on alternate meanings a word may have. “You need to learn how to ‘handle’ people”; “people have been ‘handled’ too much already.” “I’m sorry.” “You’re sorry, all right.” (2) a case of taking advantage of alternate sounds between similar words: the use of the coined expression around Halloween: “spooktacular.”
pleonstic/pleonasm: an expression that is “fuller” than it need be; a kind of hendiadys in some cases. It is a Greek phenomenon in the New Testament that was perhaps encouraged by the repetitive, or pleonastic, tendency of Hebrew idiom: cry out and say (Mt 12:44); cry out saying (Mt 8:29); ask and say (Jn 1:25); testified and said (Acts 13:21); A. T. Robertson 1136
pleasantries: positive comments made between people, especially when they first meet on a given occasion. The comments are intended to indicate a positive attitude between people by avoiding serious, sad, or controversial matters: “It’s good to see you”; “How are you?” “How have you been doing?” “You’re looking good today”; etc. A person does not normally answer “How are you?” with comments about his recent setbacks even if both people know those setbacks have occurred. If real information is meant by what could be considered a pleasantry in other situations, the speaker’s voice modulation and accompanying kinesics will make that clear.
(Note *idiom)
plenary inspiration: fully inspired in contrast to a divine inspiration limited to “religious” matters but not including scientific, historical, geographical matters. With “infallibility,” as it is called, inspiration is pictured relative the purpose of revelation, which entails God’s word not returning to him void, but fulfilling the purpose for which it was given (Is 55:10-11). If the purpose of revelation is thought of as limited to “religious concerns,” then scripture does not necessarily have to be accurate in other areas in order to meet the meet the criterion involved. Plenary inspiration has been used in contrast to that limitation.
(in a set with *dictation theory of inspiration, *dynamic theory of inspiration, *infallibility, *verbal inspiration; *inerrancy)
plene spelling: a lengthened form of a Hebrew word created by doubling the last consonant and inserting a *vowel letter between the duplicated letters. (in a set with *defective spelling)
pluperfect: another term for past perfect, a verb tense that indicates a completed action prior to a past point in time: “He had worked there for one month.”
plural, grammatical ( vs. plural by sense; plural, poetic wh 209
plural: more than one. Although English uses the s/z sounds most frequently to indicate plural (hat/hats, job/jobs), it forms plurals in several other ways particularly because of its many derivatives from Latin, Greek, and Anglo-Saxon/Germanic background:
-s(z) (work/works),
-s (where s is voiced, gram/grams);
-es (infix/infixes, where it always has a z sound),
-us/i (radius/radii),
-um/a (continuum/continua, curriculum/curricula, datum/data, microbiotum/microbiota, millennium/millennia, (asylum, by meaning, cannot be plural)
-ma/mata (schema/schemata, stigma/stigmata),
-is/ēs (basis/basēs, where the e is always long in contrast to base/basĕs),
#/-en (ox/oxen),
-a/ae (alga/algae, alumna/alumnae),
-os/oi (stichos/stichoi),
-on/a (protozoon/protozoa, logion/logia),
-nx/ngēs (phalanx/phalanges),
-ex/icēs (index/indices),
-ix/icēs (appendix/appendices),
-ax/acēs (thorax/thoracēs).
There are also several words that form plurals by using *infixes: foot/feet; goose/geese; man/men; mouse/mice; woman/women; this/these. [[see *infixes]]
Some have no distinct plural form: bison, craft (boats), deer, elk, fish, heathen, moose, sheep.
With these belong all English adjectives used as *substantives, that is, adjectives used in noun slots. They do not add s/z to the root to form plurals, often have the ahead of them, and have plural verbs: few, many, most, several, some, the dumb, the educated, the gifted, the halt, the ignorant, the lame, the maim, the poor, the weak; in the singular, in the plural.
Latin and Greek also use adjectives as substantives, but use them in both singular and plural. English translation often requires adding ones, things, people. Sometimes English happens to have a noun that can replace such substantives, as when the foolish is translated fools.
Not all English words ending in s are plurals: aerobics, apologetics, athletics, [insert panel] calisthenics (s /pl), civics, cybernetics, dynamics, economics, esthetics, ethics, eugenics, euphemics, eurythmics, euthics, fiberoptics, genetics, geriatrics, graphics, gymnastics, hermeneutics, histrionics, homiletics, kinesics, linguistics, logistics, mathematics, (Popular) mechanics, metaphysics, mnemonics, morphemics, morphophonemics, numismatics, obstetrics, optics, pediatrics, phonics, phonemics, phonetics, physics, poetics, polemics, politics, pyrotechnics, Reaganomics, robotics, series, statics, statistics1, summons, tagmemics, theatrics, Many–ics terms identify disciplines or areas of study.
For *agreement purposes, English, Latin, and Greek use singular verbs and modifiers with a *word used as word: “This foolish ones describes the monkeys.” Cases of hendiadys also have singular verbs: “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is” (1 Th 1:3).
Hebrew masculine nouns (usually) end in –im while feminine plurals usually end in –ot/-oth. Consequently, words like the following that appear in older translations are plural: Anakim [not Anakims, KJV], Anamim, cherubim, nephilim, seraphim,
(in a set with *singular, *plural by sense, *poetic plural, *word used as a word)
pi: the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet: π/Π.
plural by sense: English committee are, especially in British English
(in a set with *collective noun, *mass noun)
plural, poetic wh 209
plus sign: a symbol for addition (+)
poem: a highly structure piece traditionally with rhyme scheme and meter
poet: one who writes poetry
poesy: the art and practice of writing poetry
poetaster: someone who writer poor-quality poetry
poetic: having characteristics of poetry like *rhyme scheme and *meter; expressed in a picturesque way
poetics: a branch of literary criticism that deals with the characteristics of poetry
poetic license: departure from normal usage to meet the requirements of poetic form—rhyme scheme and meter—and to accommodate exaggeration for emphasis..
poetry: a division of literature; a form of writing that in English traditionally uses *rhyme scheme, *meter, and parallel lines. Latin and Greek poetry had meter and parallel lines. Hebrew poetry had *parallelism only and then a parallelism of ideas more than form. Thus, parallelism is the most basic feature of poetry, to which are added the other devices of form.
(in contrast to *prose, *free verse)
point: the term used for a *period when it serves the purpose of a decimal “point”
pointed text: a Semitic text with vowel “points” added to the original consonantal text
(in a set with *unpointed text)
poisoning the well: In debate, disproving an argument before the opponent has brought it into the discussion.
polemic/polemical: a confrontational, argumentive, defensive, apologetic presentation which may be so-called even when someone representing the opposing viewpoint is not present or is not involved in an interchange [<Gr polemos, “war”)
polemics: the art or practice of argumentative delivery
polite address: respectful approach as with the use of words like sir or ma’am during the conversation, the use of Mr./Mrs./Miss plus last name in contrast to using a person’s first name. Contrasts with *familiar address (Tu vs. du in GERMAN/French?)
(in a set with *honorific)
politically correct: speaking in a way that avoids any negative evaluative or prescriptive behavior. One aspect of this practice pertains to *inclusive language, the avoidance of masculine terminology in mixed, uncertain, and ambiguous circumstances. The situation involves finding substitute expressions for negative connotations in words like “retarded,” “mentally handicapped,” and the like. “Challenged,” for example, substitutes for teh negative element: “mentally challenged,” and so forth. The awkwardness of the phraseology has occasioned some interesting humor.
While the desire to avoid hurting people’s feelings is admirable, attempts to avoid terminologically anything that indicates failure, weakness, lower than norm, and the like, becomes unreal. It also seems to attribute meaning only to the use of vocabulary. The larger arena of discourse can relieve hurtful comments; and the overall attitude of a speaker is indicated by kinesics, pitch patterns, and other features of communication. In this attempt to solve the problem terminologically, there is a tendency to psychologize terms beyond what people normally mean by them. (in a set with *inclusive language)
polyglot: a book with more than one language or *version (*translation) in parallel columns, an arrangement used in modern times for several translations of the Bible put side by side for comparison purposes. (in a set with *version, *diglot, *Diatessaron)
polyphone: a written character that can stand for more than one sound in the language
polyphonic: having more than one phonetic value
polysemous: having many meanings. The meanings of a word like on are so numerous that it takes one whole column of small print in a standard dictionary just to summarize its uses.
polysyllable: a word having more than three syllables: cholangiopancreatography, laparohysterosalpingo-oophorectomy!
polysynthetic: pertaining to a language type with highly complex words created by affixes that express word relationships and meaning elements that in other languages are covered by separate words.
pony: a word-for-word translation of a text that makes it nearly possible to reconstruct the original text from the translation
possession: (1) a characteristic attached to a noun; (2) owning something
Grammatical possession and possessive does not mean ownership particularly. More broadly it means having some feature of identity connected to it: “the table’s leg was bent”; the leg of the table was bent.” The possessive case in the first instance and the of phrase in the second instance merely tie leg to table. How they relate has to be supplied by the listener on the basis of his own experience rather than the speaker’s indication. Different real connections exist in the following examples despite the fact that they use the same of expression:
love of a mother (by a mother; *subjective genitive in Greek and Latin);
love of a mother (love for a mother; *objective genitive);
the city of Cincinnati (equals; *appositive genitive);
house of sticks (made of; *genitive of material);
word of truth (description; *descriptive genitive);
distance of four miles (measure; genitive of measure);
English uses the’s/s’ or “of” expression to tie one noun to another. Though the two constructions are similar in meaning, they are not interchangeable ways of attaching a characteristic to a noun. GET A RULE FOR DISTINCTION
In Greek and Latin, possession is expressed by verbs meaning “to have,” by the genitive case that ties one noun to another, and by the dative case in linking-verb sentences.
There is a difference in idiom between English and Latin, for example, in the use of possessives. English wants to specify the possessor even if it is clear from context who the possessor is: “I wanted to my old car.” Latin is satisfied simply to say, “I wanted to sell the old car.” Ex. Ille poeta unus multa carmina de fratre beato scribebat (“That one poet was writing many songs about the happy brother” [no word for his]).
(2) The verbs have, owns, etc., covers the idea of owning something. Finally, there is the use of to after a linking verb: “There was a thrill to the experience.”
possessive adjective: adjectives that by their meaning ( vs. genitive form as with nouns) indicate possession, and like all adjectives are tied to the accompanying noun by sharing number, gender, and case.
postfix: another term for suffix, an element added to the end of a word to add to or otherwise adjust its meaning.
posthumous: published after the death of the author
postpose: to place a word or set of words after other sentence parts in order to maintain better connection, say, between the verb and an element that would not otherwise fit in the sentence or would make its connection ambiguous: “He threw some hay to the cow on the other side of the fence,” which is slightly better than “He threw the cow over the fence some hay.”
postpositive: a structure in English, Latin, and Greek where certain words do not appear first in their clause, phrase, or construction. “I say, then, that you have done well.” Traditionally, however has been used in this way, although the practice is becoming less uniform.
In Greek, there is gar, de, men, te,
In Latin, causa is accompanied by a preceding genitive: salutis communis causā, for-the-sake-of common-safety. Other examples are autem, igitur, enim
(in a set with *appositive, *prepositive; *postpositive conjunction, *postpositive particle, *postpositive preposition, *postpositive verb)
postpositive conjunction/adverb: an adverb that does not come first in its clause; it usually appears second. Previously, the word however was not put first in its clause. Then and therefore often do not begin their sentences.
postpositive particle: a particle that does not appear first in its clause. Greek had an as part of the formula for the *consequent clause of a *contrary-to-fact *conditional sentence; men in the first half of a *balanced construction that had the effect of saying “on the one hand.” It also appeared in the consequent clause of a *vague future conditional sentence, and in the *potential optative construction.
postpositive preposition: a preposition that appears after its object. In English, this can take the form of a delayed preposition: “You are the one I am thinking of”; “I just have my brief case today; so I have a free hand to carry my coffee with.” In these examples there is also an omission of the relative pronoun that would have been used in the more pedantic layout: “the one of whom I am thinking.”
Latin regularly suffixes cum (with) to a personal-pronoun object: nobiscum, etc.
Gr ex.
postpositive verb: The Latin inquit is placed after one or more words of a *direct quotation.
postscript: an added note following the signature on a letter that comments on something perhaps aside from the main text; abbreviated PS, Latin for post scriptum.
(in a set with *salutation, *complimentary close, *signature)
postvocalic: a consonant sound that follows a vowel, a suffix that occurs only after vowels.
pot shot: a critical comment made without much thought
potential: a construction for what may or can happen.
potential optative: in Greek, a vague future conditional sentence without the if-clause: “[If he would/should cross the bridge,] he would break the treaty”: [ei + optative,] an + optative.
praenomen: the first name in the Latin three-name system (in a set with *nomen, *cognomen)
praise: (c)
praxis: the pattern or “practice” done in certain circumstances.
preach: to deliver a message in a religious setting, or service. Preaching tends to imply a greater stress on behavior response and affective dimension than *teach, which stresses content and understanding. Sometimes educators and preachers do not like to make the distinction just now offered since there is content in preaching and motivation in teaching. Maybe for them, the difference is more a matter of place and circumstance than anything else. Outside a religious context, preach has become a pejorative term for overly presenting an idea in a critical or extreme way. (in a set with *teach)
predicate: The second part of a clause from the verbs to the end of the clause. It includes the verb, direct object, and indirect object together with any modifiers of these elements. (in a set with subject)
predicate adjective: an adjective on the “other side” of a linking verb and modifying the subject of the sentence. So, it is not just an adjective in the predicate, but an adjective in the predicate of that modifies the subject of a linking=-verb sentence: “The tree was tall.” The “adjective” may be a prepositional phrase: “The tree was on the hill.” Acts 4:33
(in a set with *adjective, *attributive adjective, *compound adjective, *proper adjective, *substantive adjective)
predicate genitive: In Latin, a genitive of possession used in the predicate. Latin construction WH322#67 332#69
predicate noun: a noun in the predicate of a linking-verb sentence that renames the subject. The two nouns involved have the same relationship as the two nouns in apposition and two nouns that are direct object plus objective complement.
predicate position: In Greek, an adjective that appears before a noun’s article or after the noun; it does not appear between the article and its noun. In possessive personal adjectives, English has a distinction akin to this *attributive-predicate distinction. My, our, your, her, and their stand immediately ahead of the noun they modify. Mine, ours, yours, hers, theirs are used only on the other side of linking verbs. There is no predicate-position form for its.
”My plate is on the table”; but “the plate on the table is mine.”
(in a set with *attributive position, *second attributive position)
preface: a section near the front of a work that may give historical background to the work at hand (in a set with *acknowledgements, *prologue, *introduction, *body of the work, *epilogue, *index, *table of contents)
prefix: an addition on the front of a word that adjusts the meaning of the root. As to meaning, these same elements may appear in altered form as suffixes or free-standing words; so a prefix is defined by position at a word-specific level.
If certain recurring elements appear only in first position, it may be practical to call them prefixes. In medical terminology, it is a matter of taste whether to call audio-, cranio-, etc., prefixes or common first roots of compounds. English draws on a plethora of Latin and Greek preposition, numbers, even roots to create lengthened forms. Consequently,, all the old Greek and Latin prepositions and prepositional prefixes along with numerical indicators are considered prefixes in this list of English derivatives. Initial morphemes like audio- [processes], cephalo- [body parts], xantho-, erythro- [colors], and the like have been considered first parts of compound words.
English prefixes: a-/an- (not, often without reference to rather than opposed to; cp. non-): amoral, asymetrical, atheism, aniconic, anion, anhydrous,
ab- (away from): abnormal
acro- (hill, hence a termination ono top, hence, an extremity): acrocyanosis,
ad-/ac-/af-/am-/ap-/at-,
after-,
allo- (another, having another shape or form, strange),
alter-,
ambi-,
amphi,
ana- (apart from, excessive),
ana- (Gr., again; = Lat. re-),
aniso- (compound of Gr. a[n] [not] + iso [equal]; unequal): anisocytosis
ante- (L., before),
antero- (before, front part),
apo- (Gr. away from; equals L. a[b])
anti-/ant- (Gr. against) ,
astro- (L. star; starlike structure),
atelo- (Gr. incomplete),
adio- (L. to hear; sense of hearing),
auri- (L., ear),
auto- (Gr., intensive proonoun, self),
axio- (axis),
bathy/batho- (Gr. deep): bathysphere (ocean depth)
be- (become, befall, before, befuddle, behave, behind?, belittle, betake),
bi- (two),
bio- (Gr. life; living),
brachio- (arm),
brachy- (short),
brady- (Gr., slow),
by-,
caco- (bad),
carbo- (carbon atoms),
carcino- (cancer),
cardi-/cardio (heart),
cata (down),
centi- (hundred, hundredth),
centr-/centro- (center),
chiro- (Gr., hand),
chlor- (chlorine),
chol-/cholo-/chole- (bile, gall),
cine (movement),
circa- (L., about),
circum-,
cirrho- (yellow),
co-/con-/com-/col-,
contra- (Gr., against),
counter- (L., against),
cross-,
de- (down from),
deca- (ten),
deci- (tenth),
deutero-,
dextro-,
dia- (Gr., through),
di/diplo-,
dis-,
dist/disto- (distant from),
down-,
duo-,
dys-,
ecto-,
eis-,
en-,
endo-,
enne(a),
epi-,
erythro- (Gr., red),
eso- (Gr., eis, into; inward) ,
eu- (Gr., well), ,
ex-/e-/exo-/ecto (L., out of, away from; ex “absorbs” the initial s of Latin roots): execrate (< ex + sacrare); execute (< ex + sequi); exile (< ex + sul); expatiate (< ex + spatiari); expect (< ex + spectare); expire (< ex + spiro); extant (< ex + stare); extinct (< ex + stinguere); extirpate (< ex + stirps); exude (< ex + sudare). In Latin, the s was separately written in compounds with ex.
extra- (outside of),
fore-,
gen-/
geno- (arising from, producing),
gero- (Gr., old age),
great-,
half-,
hecto-,
hemi- (Gr., half),
hemo- (Gr., blood),
hen- (Gr., one)
hetero- (Gr., another [in kind]’ cp. allo-, [another in number]),
hexa- (Gr., six; cp. L. sex) ,
homo- (Gr., same, alike),
homoi- (Gr., similar): homoioteleuton
hydro- (Gr., water),
hyper- (above normal),
hypo- (Gr., under; below normal),
hyo (u-shaped structure),
idio- (Gr., one’s own; individual),
in-/im-/il-/ir-/(L., in; cp. en/endo): inside;
in- (not; cp. un-),
in- (intense)
infero-, infra- (below),
inter- (between whole units in contrast to intra, between parts within the same whole): intercollegiate
intra- (between parts within the same whole in contrast to inter, between whole units): intramural
intro-,
iso- (equal),
kilo- (thousand),
kino- (movement),
labio- (lip),
lacto- (milk),
large- (big),
latero- (side),
litho- (stone),
loco- (in one place), lyo- (breakdown), lyso- (breakdown), macro- (long, large), mal- (bad), malaco- (softening), masto- (breast), maxi-, medio- (middle), mega-/megalo- meso-, meta-, metrio- (womb), metro- (measuring), micro- (small), mid- (middle), mel-, midi-/mid-, milli- (thousanth), mini- (small), mis-, mono- (single), multi-(many), myco- (fungus), myo-/myoso- (muscle), nano-, narco-, naso-, necro-, nemato-, neo- (new), nephro-, neuro- (nerve), nicotin-, nitro-, nomy-, non- (not), non[i](enne[a], nor-, novem-?, nucleo-. nudi-, nulli- (none), ob-, octo-, off-, ole/o-, oligo- (few), omo- (mass), on-, onto-, oo- (egg, ovum), opto- (vision, eye), ortho- (straight), osteo-, oto- (ear), out-, over-, ovi-/ovo-/ovulo- (egg, ovum), oxi-/oxo-/oxy- (oxygen), pale/o-, pan- (all), par-/para- (beside, apartment from, abnormal), paro- (birth), patho- (disease, suffering), patr/i-, pedo- (child), penta-/pente (five), per- (through, thorough), peri- (around), philo- (fondness, attraction to), pneo- (breathing), pneumo (lung, air), peumono- (lung, air), poly- (many), pre- (before), post- (after, behind), postero- (back part, behind), primi-, pro (before, favorable toward), proto-, proximo- (near), pseudo-, psycho-, pulmono- (lung), quadr-/quadra-/quadri four), quarter-, quarto-, quasi-, quint-, re- (back, again), retro- (behind, backward), rhino-,
schizo-: split, fissure, cleft: schitzophasia, schizophrenia,
self-, semi-(hemi, half), sept-/septi- (seven), sesqui-, sex- (sex), sexi-sexta(hexa, six),
shisto-: fissure, cleft, split: schistocyte, shistoglossia, shistosomiasis,
sinistro-, sono- (sound), step-, sub-/suf-/sul?/sum-/sup- (under), sui- (self), syn-/sym-/syl-/su- (with, together), tachy- (fast), tardo- (slow, late), tele- (distance), tetra- (four), thermop- (heat), toxo- (poison), trans- (across), tri- (three), ultra- (beyond), uni- (singular, not combined with), un- (not), xantho- (yellow), xeno- (foreign), xero- (dry).
super-/supero- (super refers to something “above” or “beyond” what is in another category),
supra- (may be distinguished from super in the same manner as intra is distinguished from inter; supra refers to something “above” that is parallel within a common larger category; super refers to something “above” that is in another category. In medical terminology, for instance, supra refers to something above that is within the body) , sur-, syn-/syl-/sym/syp-/sys-, tachy-, tetra-, trans-, tri-, trito-, ultra-, un-, under-, uni-, up-, xantho- (yellow), xeno-, paired opposites in these prefixes:
Greek prefixes: a(n)- (negation of the root) ; archi- (chief ___); dus-, ; heemi- (half); nee- () enter when get Greek font
Hebrew prefixes: enter when get Hebrew font
Latin prefixes:
(in a set with *affix, *suffix, infix, *epenthesis, *morpheme)
orthoepy: the study of the customary pronunciation of words, a term especially appropriate for the surprise pronunciations of words, say, with *silent letters, or variant values of the same letters. It is a relevant discipline since (1) oral language precedes written language, (2) language drifts over time so that its appropriate original spelling may no longer be used, (3 there is a tendency to assign quality of persons to certain ways of saying words.
(in a set with *pronunciation)
orthography: the study of spelling and the way letters are used to represent the oral expression of terms
prefixed preposition: In Greek, Latin, and English, free-standing prepositions may be attached to the front of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to adjust their meanings. (in a set with *prefixes, *suffixes)
prepositional prefix: in Greek and Latin, there are many compound words made by putting prepositions on the front of them. The phenomenon compares to English fused verbs. Often the cases that follow such compound verbs in Latin and Greek are the cases that would follow the prefixed preposition if it were free-standing. In these two languages there are three possibilities for verb and preposition relationship: (1) the plain verb with the preposition and its object separate. (2) the preposition prefixed and separately expressed (L. egredere ex urbe, “leave the city). (3) the preposition prefixed but not separately given.
preposition: a word that shows relationship between referents. In the classical languages, case forms were more basic than the prepositions used with them, being derived from earlier adverbs. Over time, Greek tended to use prepositions increasingly where case sufficed before. English has dropped case form almost completely in favor of prepositional constructions.
English prepositions include: before, in, of, on,
Greek prepositions include: aro, circum, epi, ek/ex, hypo,
Latin prepositions include: a/ab, in, sub, circa,
(in a set with *phrase prepositions, *prefixed prepositions [Greek, Latin, English, Hebrew], *prepositional phrase, *sequential preposition; *parts of speech; *nouns, *adjectives, *verbs, *adverbs, *conjunctions, *inseparable prepositions [Hebrew], *interjections, *particles, expletives;)
prepositional phrase: a *preposition plus its objects together with the modifiers of the preposition and its object(s).
One feature of usages bears noting. Sets of prepositional phrases in English, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew are put in series rather than in parallel: “to the praise of the glory of the grace of him” (translates a series of genitives; Eph1:6); “he ran to the top of the hill.” In each case, the next phrase modifies the object of the previous phrase. There is a breach of this principle in title of one religious organization: The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, where both phrases modify the same *phrase head.
(in a set with *phrase preposition)
prepositive: sequenced ahead of another word or prefixed to another word
(in a set with *postpositive, *appositive)
prequel: a previous episode or piece written after one already published and purports to create a history that leads up to the one already in existence.
(in a set with *episode; *sequel)
prescription: a medical doctor’s (usually written) order for drugs that are not available “over the counter”
prescriptive grammar: a grammar that tries to set norms for oral and written language usage in contrast to one that merely describes how people use the language. A prescriptive grammar describes contemporary consensus on what is considered proper, appropriate (*verisimilitude) for formal and informal situations, uneducated, regional, provincial, slang, and the like. It identifies conventions in punctuation so ideas may be best represented without ambiguity.
(in a set with *descriptive grammar)
present participle: An –ing form in English that is created from the first principal part of the verb and characterizes present active verbals in contrast to –ed (worked), -en (beaten), -n (drawn), and other forms that characterize *past participles (third principal part), which are passive voice.
“Present” participle means “present” relative to the main verb rather than present relative to the speaker of the sentence. In other words, a present participle is present in relative time rather than in absolute time. If the main verb is past tense, then a present participle (relative time) has a past-time reference (absolute time):
“Working all night, he is able to finish the job” (present-time action relative to the
speaker and the present-time main verb).
“Working all night, he finished the job” (past-time action relative to the speaker
and present time relative to the past-tense main verb).
In Greek, present participle is also the terminology used for active, middle, or passive participles, which are created from the first principal part. Again, tense in participles ais figured relative to the tense of the main verb rather than relative to the time of the speaker.
In Latin, participles in the present tense are active only, so that, as with English, “present” means contemporary with the main verb rather than contemporary with the speaker of the sentence.
(in a set with *relative time, *absolute time)
present perfect: a verb tense that refers to action completed by the present time: I have worked through the problem.” Have/has are the auxiliary verbs used to express the idea in English.
present tense: action going on at the same time as the speaker: he works (characteristic action); he is working (progressive action); he does work (emphatic present). Greek and Latin simply have present tense in that they cannot distinguish formally the difference between these aspects of the verb.
preterite tense/preterite?: past tense, especially the *simple past (*aorist tense in Greek, and one of the values of the *perfect tense in Latin)
prevaricate: to *lie, to deliberately give false information or at least evade the truth
preverb: a particle prefixed to the root of a verb, as the for- in forget (Wb ex)
priest: an *intercessor for men to God in contrast to *prophet, a *go-between from God to man
(in a set with *go-between, *intercessor, *intermediary, *prophet)
primary accent: on longer English words, one syllable may get the heaviest stress while another gets less stress, as in administration. (in a set with *secondary accent)
primary endings: personal endings used in the *primary tenses of Greek (present and future) and in the subjunctive mood. (in a set with *secondary endings)
primary tense: the present and future tenses, the perfect and future perfect tenses, so called in Greek because they shared certain inflectional characteristics: personal ending sets and lack other features found only in *secondary tenses (like augment). (in a set with *secondary tense)
primer: an elementary-level book that teaches children how to read; an entry-level text for teaching information on a certain subject.
primitive: the original form from which others developed or the one onto which inflectional adjustments are made.
principal parts: the basic forms of verbs from which its full conjugation derives. In English those are the present, past, past participle. English verbs most frequently have principal parts in #, -ed, -ed (work, worked worked). Another, albeit less frequent, format has #, (infix), -en (ride, rode, ridden). There are also *irregular verbs like go/went/gone, hit/hit/hit, sit/sat/sat,
In Greek they are the present (1ST), future (2nd), aorist (3rd), perfect active (4th), perfect middle (5th), and aorist passive (6th). From the first pp come all voices and moods of the present and imperfect tense. The second gives the base for future active and middle voice. The third give the base for aorist active and middle. Number four provides the base for perfect active, and the fifth supplies it for the perfect middle and passive. The last pp is the foundation for aorist and future passive.
Latin has present (1st), present infinitive (2nd), perfect (3rd), perfect participle (4th). The first two underlie all the forms in the non-perfect system, that is, the present, imperfect, and future. The last two give the base for all forms in the perfect system. In general, the perfect system of Latin covers the aorist and perfect tense of Greek. Latin principal parts parallel English principal parts if the first two items in the standard four-entry Latin list are combined—as they are really.
Hebrew studies do not speak of principal parts; instead they speak of stems, of which there are seven in a complete regular verb: *qal, *niphal, *piel, *pual, *hiphil, *hophal, and *hithpael.
printing: as form of handwriting that makes each letter separately from the others (in a set with *writing, *block lettering, *scribble)
privative: a prefix or suffix that negates the a root to which it is added: the alpha privative in Greek and its derivative forms (a-theist), in-/un-, non-, less.
proclamation: (1) a deliberate, public presentation of some message
(2) a public declaration about some rule of action; cp. *edict
proclitic: a word pronounced with the succeeding word; as such, it does not bear its own accent except at the end of a sentence, where there is nothing to pronounce it with.
In Greek, if a proclitic was followed by an *enclitic, enclitic rules take precedence; a proclitic can receive an accent from an enclitic but not vice versa. If two or more proclitics appear together, none of them has an accent. Greek proclitics are eis, en, ek/ex (preps.); ho/hee/hoi/hai (the nom. mas & fem sg art); ou/ouk/ouch (neg.); ei, hoos (conjs.).
(in a set with *enclitic)
proem: a preface or introduction
progressive verb: a verb form that looks at the action as in progress rather than as a fact or as characteristic, cyclical, emphatic, and other aspects of verb action: I am working vs. I work, I do work hard.
prohibition: a command not to do something
English normally uses don’t/do not + indicative verb to create a negative command. “Let him not (think)” or don’t let him (think)” are less usual formulas for third-person reference. Negative future indicatives make prohibitions as well: “You will not use the car tonight.” “You are not to” (go into their back yard).
Latin ordinarily uses non + imperative to cover prohibitions. Latin can also use nolo + a complementary infinitive. The negative future indicative can prohibit.
Hebrew never employs the imperative with a negative to mean prohibition. Instead, it uses al + shortened imperfect for *immediate prohibition and lo + imperfect for *permanent prohibition. (Weingreen, 114.)
In Greek, (a) me + present imperative third person indicates prohibition; rather infrequently (b) the aorist imperative serves this purpose in the New Testament; (c) me + aorist subjunctive: present imperative for prohibition forbids the continuation of some act (cessation); aorist subjunctive forbids starting to do it. (d) Ou plus future indicative can likewise be a prohibition. Both Greek and English may have been influenced in this regard by Hebrew practice. They may have picked up the “You shall not” way of speaking—as occurred notably in the ten commandments—because of the prominence of Hebrew idiom behind New Testament Greek and consequent literal translation of those constructions into English.
A refinement in Greek prohibitions may be that me + present imperative means to stop doing something vs. me + aorist imperative for saying not to start doing it. (Goethius, 269)
prohibitory subjunctive (in a set with *prohibition,* immediate prohibition, *permanent prohibition,
prolegomenon/prolegomena: a preliminary essay/essays that introduces a large, complex work by laying out the framework of discussion, presuppositions involved, and fundamental concepts involved in the main treatment
prolepsis/proleptic: a reference to something or some condition that has not yet been mentioned or has not yet come about: WB They drained it dry. using a pronoun before its noun has been entered in the presentation. In debate, disproving an argument before the opponent has brought it into the discussion: *poisoning the well.
(in a set with proleptic pronoun)
proleptic pronoun: a pronoun that refers to a noun not yet said
prolix: wordy, using more words than are necessary. Wordiness comes from repetition, including *redundancy, making an overly detailed presentation for the purposes at hand, including unnecessary accompanying information (“rabbit tracks”), and from using wordy constructions like *relative clauses instead of *adjectives or *participles.
prolog(ue): an introductory chapter that sets the stage for the rest of the book, novel, or play by giving the historical conditions present at the time assumed by the main writing. Prologue and epilogue deal more with historical circumstances than with conceptual frameworks and ideologies as such; preface and introduction have a broader scope.
(in a set with *epilogue, *preface, *introduction)
prolusion
pronominal suffix: Hebrew has suffixes it can put on its verbs instead of having to use direct-object forms of pronouns
pronoun: a word that stands in the place of a noun. Pronouns have no specific meaning so that it, for example, can refer to a tree, an act, a rock, an abstraction, etc. They eliminate what would otherwise be repetitious use of nouns and so create greater variety of expression.
(in a set with *demonstrative pronouns, *indefinite pronoun, *indefinite relative pronoun, *intensive pronoun, *interrogative pronoun, *personal pronoun, *proleptic pronoun, *reciprocal pronoun, *reflexive pronoun, *relative pronoun)
Indefinite pronouns: somebody/someone/something/anyone/anybody/anything; “a person,” “they-ambiguous,”: “They want to build a crematorium near the high school!” “you advisedly”: “Later you add three teaspoons of butter to the mix.” Gr Lat Heb examples
indefinite relative pronouns: whoever; also the archaic whosoever.
Greek combines the relative hos + the indefinite tis/ti to form ostis/o ti.
Interrogative pronouns: who/whose/whom? which? what?
Personal pronouns: I, we; you; he, she, it, they
Reciprocal pronouns: “one another (Gr alleloon)
Relative pronouns get case from their function within their own clause; they get number and gender from the antecedent.
In Latin, there is a conjunctive use of relative pronouns Wh 308 306 qui = et hic
*proleptic pronoun: a pronoun that refers to an as-yet unmentioned noun. “She is a great woman, my mother.”
pronunciation/pronounce: Pronunciation emphasizes making the sound of the word while saying can include the word’s meaning. With its emphasis on sound, pronounce can contrast with spelling as in all cases of *silent letters: often with its silent t, etc. “It is spelled o-f-t-e-n, but it is pronounced offen,” spelled soften but pronounced soffen.
general notation: two of the same consonants are themselves pronounced the same as if there were only one. The difference is often that the preceding vowel is not long before a doubled consonant. The spelling practice was characteristic of Latin (and Greek?) words; so words derived from those languages retain that spelling and its corresponding pronunciation.
-āte is always the pronunciation of verbs (and their related –ātion nouns): amputate/amputation, calibrate/calibration, correlate/correlation, eliminate/elimination, estimate/estimation, expectorate/expectoration, illuminate/illumination, illustrate, iterate, obfuscate/obfucation, obviate/obviation, orchestrate/orchestration, ruminate/rumination, truncate, [in sert panel] (in a set with *homograph)
-āte/-ăte: With adjectives and nouns that do not have a related *homograph *verb, the –ate is word-specific as to whether –āte or –ăte: magnāte (n), potentāte, triumvirăte, [insert panel] (in a set with *homograph)
c- followed by e, i, or y has an s sound; followed by a, o, or u, and most consonants, it has a k sound: coccus but cocci,
-cc- words usually follow the rule above that c before e, i, y = s, while before most consonants and before the vowels a, o, u it equals k. So, double –cc- words have a k sound to end one syllable followed by an s sound to start the next, hence, -ks-: [insert panel] accent, access, accidence, accidents, cocci, coccyx/coccygeal, vaccine,
Ch can have (1) a k sound, (2) a *plosive sound, (3) a sh sound, and (4) no sound (rarely). In medical terminology, ch is always k because the ch comes from the Greek chi, a *fricative that becomes a *stop—k—in English derivatives: achromophilic, chiropractor chromophilic, chromophobic, chromosome, . (insert panel). The same is true of scientific terminology generally: xanthochoid, [insert panel] All biblical names in ch are pronounced k except Rachel. These names have the Hebrew heth, which has no equivalent sound or letter in Greek, Latin, or English. [insert panel] Other words, chiefly those of Greek descent, have ch as a k sound: conch, monarch/y, orchestra, [insert panel]
In initial, *medial, or *terminal position, ch usually has a *plosive sound, as it may elsewhere: [insert panel] arch, approach, attach, bachelor, belch, besmirch, birch, bunch, cha-cha, chafe, chaff, chain, chair, chalk, challenge, chamber, champion, chance, chancel, chancellor, chapel, chaplain, chapter, char, charcoal, chariot, charge, chaity, channel, chant, charm, chart, chase, chaste, chat, chatter, cheap, check, cheek, cheer, cheese, cheetah, cherry, chert, cherub, chess, chest, chew, chick/chicken, chickory, chief, child, chime, chimney, chimpanzee, chink, chip, chirp, chisel, chive, chock, choice/choose/chose/chosen, choke, chomp, chop, chore, chortle, chow, chubby, chuck, chug, chum, church, churl, churn, churr, coach, crunch, drench, hunch, lunch, lurch, march, mooch, much, munch, niche, orchard, ostrich, parch, paunch, ponch, punch, ranch, raunchy, reach, rich, roach, scorch, search, smirch,squinch, staunch, such, tench, torch, touch, trench, wench, winch, zilch. Such words usually come from Alglo-Saxon heritage. This same sound is often spelled –tch; see under spelling [insert panel]
Ch can have a sh sound occasionally, as in chauffeur, chagrin, chalet, champagne, chamois, chandelier, charade, charlatan, chauffeur, chauvinist, chef, chivalry, chute, crochet, echelon. This value appears largely in words descending from or through French.
Ch is silent in chthonic because the initial double *fricative natural in Greek is not allowed in English.
-cq- equals plain qu because c ahead of consonants is k; so just like qu: acquaint, acquiesce, acquire, acquit,. also put under spelling
-en: more frequently pronounced like in, but often pronouced ahn in words and phrases from French influence: en bloc, en brochette, en prise, en rapport, en suite, enceinté, enclave, encore, ennui, ensemble, entrée, entourage, entente, entr’acte, entrechat, entrecôte, entremets, entrepôt, entrepeneur, envelope1, envoy
-ic adjectives receive accent on the next-to-last syllable.
-iac for one who does ___ carry accent on the third syllable back: brainiac, demoniac, hemophiliac, maniac,
-g followed by a, o, u, most consonants, and at the end of the word, has a “guh” sound:
gab, garb; goon, got; gun, gut
-g- followed by e, i, y usually has a j sound (but see –ge below): [insert panel]: coccygéal, meningitis (but meningocele);
but some other exceptions can be noted: gib, gibbon, gid, giddy, gift, gig, giggle, gilbert, gild, gill, gilt, gimbal, gimlet, gimmal, gimmick, gimp, gingham, gird, girl, girn, girth, gittern, give. Another set of words with g as guh is linger, longer, monger, stronger,
The j sound for –g applies also to words that end in those letters (except some –ge words given below under -ge): age/agent, binge, cage/cager, carnage, charge, cringe, dirge, expunge, flange, gauge, hinge, huge, image/imager, large/larger, lunge, manage/manager, massage1, plunge/plunger, rage, range/ranger, sage, singe, stage, tinge, tonnage,urge, verge, visage, wage,
To avoid the j sound, -u- is added after the g: guest, guide, marguerite, [insert panel] catalog(ue1), demagogue/demagoguery, monologue, morgue, rogue, prologue, tongue, synagogue, vague, vogue,
-g- can have a zh sound (like the s in measure) in a few words under French influence: [insert panel] gite, lingerie, menagerie1, regime
-ge at the end of a word can have a zh as in beige, collage, deluge1, entourage, garage1, luge, massage1, mirage, rouge,
-gh can be silent, or carry the f sound: cough, enough, laugh, rough, slough, tough,.
–gh is Silent in aught, blight, bough, bought, bright, brought, caught, delight, dough, drouight, fight, flight, fraught, haughty, high, height, light, might, night, nought, ought, plight, right, sigh, sight, sleigh, slight, sought, th(o)rough, though, thought, tight, through, tight, weigh/t, wright, wrought, [insert panel]
Gn- on the front of words does not pronounce the g: gnar, bnarly, gnash, gnat, gnathic, gnathite, gnaw, gnocchi, gnome, gnomic, gnomon, gnosis, gnu.
H- usually represents a *fricative in English (as in hat, hot, etc.), but in a few words it equals the Hebrew aleph and the Greek smooth breathing (’), a *glottal stop: haute, heir, herb/al, herbage, honest/y, honor/able, hour. British cockney typically substitutes glottal stop for *glottal fricative: ’orse for horse, etc.
Kn- on the front of words does not pronounce the k: knack, knap, knar, knave, knavery, knawel, knead, knee, kneel, knell, knickers, knife, knight, knish, knit, knob, knock, knoll, knop, knot, knout, know, knuckle, knur, knurl.
N has (a) its regular “ín” sound everywhere except before *gutturals/*palatals/*velars. See ng below.
N has (b) an ng sound when it is followed by c (if = k), k, g (if = “guh”), ch (if = k): [insert panel] an/ankle, ban/bank, can/canker, con/conch, Congo, dan/dank, gunk, kung fu, lawn/long/lung, man/mangle, ran/rank, rink, sin/sink/sinker, stink/stank/stunk, sun/sunk, tin/tinker, uncle, wrinkle, fungus (but fun + gi, pl., because g before e, i, or y has a j sound; so the ŋ sound becomes plain n),
N has (c) ny sound with a tilde over it (words of Spanish origin): señor, señorita, señora.
N + c (if = k), g, k, ch (if = k) [that is *velars] has an ng sound: rank (rangk vs. ran),
-ng at the end of a word has its typical sound as a *digraph (two letters for one sound; ŋ). When such words have added suffixes, the same sound usually remains: [insert panel] bang/banged/banging, cling/clinged/clinger/clinging, hang/hanger, ring/ringer/ringing, sing/singer/singing, sting/stinger, thing/thingie, wring/wringer, But note long/longer, strong/stronger
-ng names of German descent can be unclear. Is Hettinger pronounced Hettiŋer or Hettinjer? Each family or person determines whether it has be “anglicized.”
Rh- and rrh words = r: rhabdom, rhabdomancy, rhabdomyoma, rhapsody, rhatany, rhea, rhenium, rheology, rheometer, rheostat, rheotaxis, rhesus, rhetor, rheum, rheumatic, rheumatism, rhinal, rhinencephalon, rhinoceros, rhinology, rhinorrhea, rhizanthous, rhizobium, rhizocephalan, rhizogenic, rhizoid, rhizomer, rhizopod, rhizopus, rhodium, rhodochrosite, rhododendron, rhodolite, rhodopsin, rhodora, rhombencephalon, rhombic, rhombohedron, rhomboid, rhombus, rhonchus, rhubard, rhumb, rhyme, rhyolite, rhythm; -rrhea, -rrhagia, -rrhexis, -rrhaphy; catarrh, cirrhosis.
Initial bd-, gn-, kn- kt-, pn-, ps-, pt-, tl-,, have the first consonant dropped in pronunciation because English speakers perceive the combination to be unnatural. The same goes for the *digraphs ph before th (phthistic) and ch before th (chthonic)..
S = s, z, sh, or zh
-S vs. -z for plural sound, but always written s. The influence of a preceding voiced consonant (or a preceding vowel sound) carries on through the sibilant s to make a z sound: spas, jobs, raids, bees, gags, blahs, skis, balls, rims, fins, twos, bars, revs; also in plurals that add a syllable to the singular by adding a voiced e + s ( –es): bosses, bushes, prefixes,
The pattern holds for third-person singular present-tense endings: bids, chords, dubs, earns, fares, gores, has, lies, moos, nabs, pads, raids, sags, tabs, wads.
The s/z variable marks the difference between noun and verb in words like abuse, grease, house, lose(loose/loss), refuse, re-use, use
S as sh appears in scena
S ahead of u can be sh in some words: assure, censure, insure, sugar, sure,
S ahead of u can have a zh sound: measure,
sc- ahead of e is plain s: acquiesce, scenario, scend, scene, scenery, scenic, scenography, scent,scepter, septic, etc. This is so because c ahead of e, i, or y has an s sound; so, two s’s in a row equal plain s (see below un –ss).
sc- ahead of i is plain s: sciaenoid, sciatic, sciatica, science, scientiall, scientific, scientism, scientist, sci-fi, scilicet, scimitar, scincold, scintigram, scintigraph, scintilla, scintillate, scintillation, scintillator, scintiscan, sciolism, scion, scirrhus, scissile, scission, scissor, scissure, Scituate, sciurid; etc. This is so because c ahead of e, i, or y has an s sound; so, two s’s in a row equal plain s.
sc- ahead of y is plain s: Scylla (and Charybdis), scyphistoma, scyphozoan, scythe, Scythia, Scythian. But Scyros (sk-) as an alternate spelling of Skiros.
Sch has an sk sound on the front of most words: schedule, schema, schematic, schematism, schematize, scheme, scherzando, scherzo, schizocarp, schizogenesis, schizogony, schizoid, schizont, schizophrene, schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizothymia, schizy, scholar, scholarly, scholarship, scholastic, scholastic, scholasticism, scholiast, scholium; school, etc.; schooner,
Sch has the sh sound in words with the schisto- prefix in schistocyte, schistoglossia, schistorrchachis, shistothorax, as well as in [insert panel] scheelite, schefflera, schiller, schilling, schist, schistosome, schlemiel, schlep, schlieren, schlimazel, schlock, schmaltz, schmal;tzy, schmo, schmooze, schmuck, schnapper, schnitzel, schnopok, schnorrer, schnoz, schottische, schuss.
Sch is plain s in schism, schismatic,
The sh sound can be covered also by –ce- (ocean), ci, -si, -ti (patience, vitiate); -s (sugar), -ss- (mission, passion),
-sia/-tia/-cia = shuh
-si- can be zh: allusion, fusion,
-ss is usually plain s (the two-consonant rule), especially on the ends of words: as in access, across, actress, albatross, ass, assess, bass, bliss, boss, class, confess, crass, cross, cuss, dress, dross, ess, glass, gross, hiss, kiss, less, loss, mess, miss, mistriss, moss, toss, and all words with the feminine agent ending –ess (hostess, tigress, etc., see under suffix)
-ss- can be sh: confession, mission
-ss- can be zh: fission, scissure,
-ss- can be z: scissors
The th may be (a) a dental voiceless fricative: both, catheter, doth, ether, loath, myth, panther, thin, thing, thingie, thither, thug, thong, thought, thumb, with. All the words that derive from Greek theta have this same sound because theta was a voiceless sound: anthropoid, arthropathy, atheroma, catheter, catholic, euthanize, orthodontist, therapeutic,
Th may be (b) a dental voiced fricative (often spelled phonetically as dh): another, bathe, bother, brother, dither, either, father, farther, farthing, further, gather, hither, lather, lithe, loathe, mother, mouth, neither, other, rather, seethe, smooth, southern, swathe, teethe, than, that, the, thee, then, thence, there, these, thine, this, those, thou, threw, thrice, thrift, thrill, throw, thud, thunder, together, tooth, thither, weather, whether, wither, writhe.
Adding an e after a final th may changes th to dh: bath/bathe, lath/lathe, loath/loathe, teeth/teethe,
The th/dh sound variant can mark the difference between noun and verb: bath/bathe, mouth2, or just between words: lath/lathe,
Th may have (c) a silent h as in thyme. More correctly, the th is a *digraph that represents a stop (plain t) rather than a fricative (th) in this case.
x: Words beginning with x are pronounced z because ks (= x) is not an acceptable combination of initial consonants in English; so the k part is dropped and the s is *voiced to a z. The least number of English words have x as their first letter: [insert panel] xanthan gum, xanthate, xanthene, xanthochoid, xanthoma, xanthophyll, xanthous, xebec, xenia, xenolith, xenoblast, xenocryst, xenogenesis, xenon, xenophobe, xeroderma, xerography, xerosis, xerophtahlmia, xerosis, xerothermic, xi1, xiphocostal, xiphoid, xylan, xylem, xylene, xylidinie, xylophagus, xylograph, xylophone, xylose.
Unaccented vowels in English tend to drift toward *shevah/schwa (ǝ), a light vowel sound as in the word because, as examples show: calendar, miner, fakir, minor, augur, satyr.
Long e appears in words derived from Greek that have followed the –ai-, -ae-, e development: palēography (palaios), pēdiatrician (paidion), archēology (archaios), encyclopēdia (paidion)
Two vowels letters written together are often *diphthongs, that is, two letters for one sound (*monophthong) or a *vowel glide from one letter to the another, but not two syllables: fail, fault, flay; feat, feign, feud/deuce, trey; mien; foal, foil, fount, boy; sue, suit/quit, quote; buy. Diphthongs can be two of the same letter: feet (ē), fool (ooh), foot. There are cases, however, where two same vowel letters are not a diphthong, but represent two syllables with two sounds, which will be different:
-ii- in cardiits, fasciitis, angiitis ( ē + ī); coiinine a poison, oi + i); skiing, taxiing (ē + ĭ);
cooperate, oophorectomy (ō + ŏ, not the oo in fool).
-uu- in continuum, vacuum (ū + ŭ);
Double ee is always a diphthong (*monophthong) in ē. Some vowel combinations are rare or do not occur in English as diphthongs: -aa-, -ao- (but gaol, British for jail), -iy-, -ue- (a German spelling for rounded u), -uo-,
-ae occurs in limited circumstances: (1) on plurals of Latin singulars in –a (amoeba/ae), or (2) derivatives from Greek words in –ai-, which over time become –ae/-æ- (encyclopædia) then –ē- (archeology, pediatrician), as illustrated in αἰών/aeon/eon.
When vowel sequences appear that could be diphthongs, but are not, spelling sometimes—but not always (doable)—uses a *hyphen between them or a *dieresis over the second vowel: co-operate, naïve.
Some possible vowel sequences either do not occur or are two syllables rather than diphthongs:
-ia- (vial),
-io- (lion),
-iu- (???)
-eo- is a mixed bag: leopard (diphthong, ě); but leotard (2 syl), leonine (and other words built on Latin leo/leonis), geode, paleography, phraseology; archeology has the sequence by virtue of –ai becoming –ae- becoming -e-. There is one syllable in the names George (German Georg, 2 syl) and Leonard (Leonardo, 2 syl)
-oe- does occur in (1) derivatives of some Greek words in –oi-, which over time went from oi to oe (as œ) to ē: poinee > (poenology) > pēnology. Since German uses e after vowels to show *rounding, some names and other words can crop up in English with the –oe- sequence: ??? . By chance, -oe- can fall in separate syllables: orthoepy.
-ua- (dual)
-ue- (duel, suet)
-ui- is a also mixed bag. There are two syllables in ruin, but a diphthong in quit, suit, as noted above.
A rule for pronouncing some vowel combinations has limited value: “When two vowels go walking, the first takes the lead”; that is, the first, pronounced long, is the sound of both. The pattern usually applies only for –ai- (gait), -ea- (leaf), (-ee-, leek), and –oa- (boat).
*Derivatives with odd consonant combinations on the front typically lose the first of those sounds: bd- (), chth (), gn- (gnostic), kt- (), ll- (llama), mn- (mnemonic), pt- (ptyalism), wr- (wrong). Other adjustments are also made: x becomes z; rh- and –rrh/rrh-/-rrh- become r.
Finally, some words are simply pronounced according to convention without adhering closely to what the spelling—often informed by derivational transliteration—would call for. Stephen, for example, is almost always pronounced Steven. Examples of extreme conventional pronunciation include coxen (for coxswain), kernel (for colonel), fōx’il (for forecastle), gunnel (for gunwhale), Wooster (for Worchester).
British pronunciation differs noticeably from American pronunciation. (1) Some words get different accenting or vowel length: labóratory, vĭtamin,
(2) Vowel sounds are significantly adjusted. The a as in at more often has an ah sound.
(3) Final t’s are often replaced with a *glottal stop—like the h in honor.
(4) Glottal stop and glottal fricative are reversed in certain speakers: ’orse for horse.
(in a set with *accent, *enunciation, *epenthesis, *pronunciation, *diction, *elocution, *orthoepy, *sandhi, *spelling))
pronunciation guide
proofreader: one who checks through the print copies of a forthcoming publication to catch any *typos that may have crept into the copy during typesetting and the like. (in a set with *galley proof, *galley sheets)
proper adjective:
proper diphthong: a diphthong in Greek that does not involve a long vowel followed by iota. When an iota comes into play after a long vowel, it ceases to affect pronunciation and is written under the other vowel. If the long vowel happens to get capitalized, the iota comes back up onto the line after the long vowel.
proper names: nouns used for identification more than description. Names typically originate from words that have meaning.
proper noun: a noun whose usage is not to indicate meaning, but identity. A proper name designates an individual within a class or group of individuals. English, Greek, and Latin convention calls for capitalizing such words while using *lower case on *common nouns. John is my brother (proper noun, identity); John is my brother (common noun, meaning).
Hebrew did not have capital vs. lower-case letters so as to distinguish common nouns from proper nouns in writing.
Hebrew names in the Bible sometimes have derivations given with them. Moses was so named because he was “drawn from the water” (Ex 2:10). The predecessor of the Messiah was to be named John, from the Greek Iooannees, from the Hebrew Jonah, presumably because John would be given the sign of the “dove” for identifying the Messiah (Jn 1:32-34). Jacob became “Israel” because in his wrestling with the angel that night he “strived with God” (Gen 32:24-29). In the same incident, Jacob named the place of the encounter “Peniel/Penuel” because there he saw “the face of God” (Gen 32:30). Hannah named her son Samuel because she was “heard of God” (1 Sam 1:20). Abram was re-named Abraham (); Sarai was re-named Sarah (). The name Joshua came into a Greek corrupted spelling as Ieesouys, and then into the Latin and English name Jesus, who was so named because he would “save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21, 25; Lk 1:31; 2:21; cp. Jn 1:29). The Messiah was to be called “Immanuel/Emmanuel,” God (is) with-us” (Is 7:14; Mt 1:23). Messiah itself means “anointed one” (Dan 9:25; Ps 2:2), whose Greek equivalent meaning is Christos, to Latin Christus, and then to English Christ (Jn 1:41; 4:25). The Aramaic Cephas translated into the Greek Petros (Jn 1:42). Rabbi is Teacher (Jn 1:38).
*Nicknames, or *surnames, likewise have accompanying explanations as to why Joseph, for example, was called Barnabas (“Son of consolation/exhortation”). Even in these cases, once the origination of the name has taken place, the subsequent usages are not so much for description as for identity—who, more than what.
The older, more original Greek *uncial manuscripts of the New Testament were written in all capitals letters, which made capitalization a difference that could not be used to indicate proper vs. common nouns. This feature of the Greek text and its history of transmission raised questions for later copyists and for scholars who try to re-create a corrected New Testament text. That presents a question about the possible meanings of Phil 4:3, “Yes, I beseech you, true yokefellow, help these women.” Is this a reference to Clement in 4:3, or is this term another man’s name: Syzygos?
(in a set with *common noun, *lower-case noun; *capitals, *small letters; *minuscules, *majuscules)
proper pronoun: a capitalized pronoun as in reference to deity. In English usage, capitalized pronouns in reference to deity should be limited to personal pronouns and not extended to reflexive, intensive, relative, indefinite pronouns, etc.
prophet: a spokesman for God to man in contrast to *priest, who intercedes for man to God. A prophet’s speaking for God includes the full range of what can comprise divine revelation, not just predictive prophecy. (in a set with *priest, *intercessor)
prophetic literature/prophecy
prophetic history: Old Testament historical literature is prophetic history inasmuch as it makes evaluative comments on whether the king or other leader whose life is being chronicled “kept *covenant.”
proposition: (1) a proposed idea; as a verb to proposition is (2) to seek sexual favors
proscribe/proscription: to denounce or condemn
prose: (1) a presentation in regular written form in contrast to poetry; its intention is more to inform and persuade than to beautify or extol.
(2) In a context where translation is involved, prose can be used to mean translating from a person’s native language into the one being studied, in contrast to translation from the foreign to the native language.
(in a set with *poetry, *free verse)
prose poem: a writing that by passes the rhyme scheme and meter found in traditional poetry and incorporates vivid imagery and concentrated expression WB
prosody: the study of metrical structure of verse WB
protasis: the if-clause of a *conditional sentence. Also called the *antecedent in logic. The protasis without a *consequent clause is used in Hebrews as a kind of *aposiopoesis for strong prohibition ( ).
(in a set with *apodosis) [<Gr. pro, before + teinein, to stretch].
prothesis: the addition of a meaningless phoneme or syllable to the front of a word as with the Spanish e on español. WB The opposite of *apheis, the loss of a sound on the front of a word with out changing its meaning. They went a-caroling; the cattle were a-lowingan example???
proto-: a prefix denoting the earlier form of something—a language, letter form, and the like. proto-Masoretic: a form of the Hebrew text earlier than the standardized text produced by the Masoretes.
proto-semetic:
prototype: the qal stem in Hebrew is regarded as the prototype of the other stems in the verb system. It is the basic form.
protraction: the irregular lengthening of a short vowel
proverb: (in a set with *adage, *maxim, *apothegm) (1)
pro-verb; the use of only part of a phrase verb. “Are you going to cut the grass.” “ I should.” “Did you get your homework done?” I did.” “I don’t want to.”
provincialism: a term or expression used in a limited geographical area, particularly an area off the main path of the political, governmental, or social order. Similar to *regionalism. (in a set with *archaism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, *oath, *obsolete term, *regionalism, *regionalism, *slang, *technical term, *vulgarism)
proviso clause: a dependent clause connected to the main clause with the idea ”as along as,” “provided that.” Latin uses a special construction for the concept: dummodo + subjunctive. Wheelock p 223)
proxy word: a term that replaces another that is not not acceptable in polite speach. These words are often *corruptions of vulgarisms like “freakin’” for __, “son of a gun” for __; of curse words like “dadgum” for __, “darn” for __, (in a set with *perversion, *corruption)
PS: abbreviation for post scriptum, “post script,” an added notation
psalm: the words of a song, especially the words of the Psalms in the Old Testament. (in a set with *hymn, *ode)
psi: twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet: ψ/Ψ.
pseudepigrapha: by *word picture, “false writings,” *“spurious writings.” A group of writings that falsely claim to be written by Old Testament prophets finish
(in a set with *apocrypha, *canonical books)
pseudonym/pseudonymous: a pen name, or alias, used for purposes of *anonymity, particularly to pass something off as by a famous person’s writing.
(in a set with *aka, *alias, allonym, *pen name) [by word picture “false name”]
psycholinguistics: the study of psychological influences on the use and interpretation of human language
publication: broad term for what is put out for “public use”: *periodical, a *weekly, a *daily, a *monthly, an *annual, an *ephemeral paper, a *book.
pun: a *paronomasia; a *word play on different senses of the same word or on different words with similar sound. examples
punch line: a final comment that brings the preceding ones to sudden clarification; used mostly in presenting something humorous.
punctuation/punctuation marks:
Indicators beyond vocabulary that help reproduce oral language in written form. In general, punctuation marks deal with relationship between words in contrast to *diacritical marks, which deal with marks within a word. Punctuation marks often correspond to oral (1) pauses, (2) pitch patterns, or (3) emphases. At other times they indicate
(4) logical relationships not particularly marked in the spoken language.
(5) They show the relationship between words. The English *apostrophe s, s apostrophe, and plain s distinguish respectively singular possessor, plural possessor, and plain plural.
In many of these instances commas (6) simply help the eye of a reader. That is the reason a comma can be omitted between short co-ordinate clauses: “He hit the ball and John caught it.” That is also the reason introductory prepositional phrases do not always need to be separated from the main sentence: “In the morning I’ll mow the grass” but “In Greek, commas look like they do in English.”???
Period: end of sentences, end of abbreviations, as a decimal point
Comma: separates (one comma before or after) or sets off (comma before and after)
Dieresis: a double horizontal dot above a second vowel to show that it does not form a diphthong with an immediately preceding vowel.
Semi-colon: used between independent clauses that are thought of as related though not joined by a coordinating conjunction: and, but, or, nor. It is used to separate two word groups that have a comma separation within one or both of them.
Colon is used after an independent clause to indicate a brief explanatory notation. It has the force of “that is,” “here’s an example,” “to put in a clearer way.” Colon is also used between chapter and verse in biblical citations.
Hyphen joins words into one word (pick-up) or into word parts that, taken, together modify the following term (a bigger-than-life hero). Hyphens break long words into syllables in order to divide them up into what will fit on a line of writing.
a dash separates words groups that intrude into the general flow of the main sentence.
An opening dash marks the beginning of the insertion; a closing dash marks the end of the insertion.
Ditto: a double vertical straight mark above the line of writing to indicate repetition of the item directly above it in a list. On typewriters the ditto was the same key as double quotation marks, which in turn were the same before and after the quotation; consequently, in typed material (but not necessarily in handwriting) dittos and double quote marks had the same form. With the advent of computer and “smart quotes,” the ditto can be supplied from a specialty list.
Em dash
En dash
Exclamation mark: indicates the presence of a significant degree of emotional
A quotation mark may be a single quotation mark or double quotation mark. Single quotation marks (‘ and ’) are used for a quotation within a quotation. “Smart quotes” (“ and ”; ‘ and ’) are shaped in opposite curvatures at the front and the end of quotations. By convention, quotation marks follow periods and commas, precede colons and semi-colons; and follow or precede exclamation marks and question marks depending on whether the writer is quoting the question (after) or questioning the quote (before), quoting the exclamation (after) or exclaiming the quote (before).
Slash (diagonal) goes between switch-out words: and/or. A double slash isolates an infrequent usage like a phoneme: f, ph, gh are variant English spellings for the phoneme /f/.
Backslash
Brackets are used for insertions inside of quoted material.
Angle brackets ( < >) are used around e-mail addresses.
Parenthesis/parentheses
Apostrophe
asterisk
Matilda
With the advent of computers and their better range of available symbols, previous rules for some punctuation marks in typing can now be specialized. *Italics can now be used for word used as a word; *underlining, for emphasis; *bold face, for titles and headings (rather than underling), and *quotation marks for peculiar uses of words. (Italics and angle brackets were not generally available before except in type-set.)
See *apostrophe, *asterisk, *backslash, *bold (face), *brackets, *colon, *comma, *dash, *ditto, *ellipsis marks, *exclamation mark/point, *hyphen, *italics, *parentheses, *period, *question mark, quotation marks (single quotation marks, double quotation marks), *semi-colon, *slash, smart quotes, *underlining. Diacritical marks include *cidella, *dieresis, *tilde, *acute accent, grave accent, circumflex accent).
Some of these are diacritical marks
In New Testament Greek punctuation, there are periods and commas as in English. A raised period serves as the equivalent of colon or semi-colon. The question mark looks like an English semi-colon.
Hebrew punctuation: soph-pasook
The *uncial Greek manuscripts of the New Testament do not have spaces between words, no distinction by capitalization distinctions between *proper nouns and *common nouns, and no punctuation. Occasionally this latter feature of the uncial texts poses a question about sentence division. Should Jn 1:3 read, “Without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life”? (United Bible Society text) or “Nothing was made without him. What has been made in him was life”? (Westcott & Hort text).
purist: someone who retains strict rules of word usage and grammatical rules no longer observed by the general populace or rules reserved for formal writing. Splitting infinitives, e.g., may be a no-no; and certain sentence structures may be followed: “To whom do you want me to go?” vs. “Who do you want me to go to?”
purpose: the reason for doing something to bring about an effect. English can use infinitives to express purpose if the actor in the infinitive is the same as the subject of the leading: “He did it to impress his girlfriend.” After leading verbs , English can introduce a clause with “that,” “so,” “so that,” ”in order that”: “He worked two jobs that/in-order-that/so-that/so he could get married sooner.”
Latin ways of expressing purpose: acc. supine wh 331)
Gr purpose constructions: hina/hoos/hopoos + subj; infinitive (plain, with genitive article, with hoos, with hooste, with prepositions like eis and pros)
(in a set with *purpose clauses, *infinitives)
purpose clause: a subordinate clause that indicates the purpose for which the action in the main clause is done.
qere: what is to be “read” from the text of the Hebrew Old Testament in contrast to what is actually written. (in a set with *kethibh)
qoph: the nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also koph: כ
QR code: a square design that can be shot with a smart phone camera and can convey information visually in something of the same fashion as a bar code can indicate information in the field of marketing.(in a set with *bar code, *code, *language, *semaphore)
quadriliteral: having three letters
quadriliteral verb: a few Hebrew verbs have four-letter roots instead of three-letter ones.
(in a set with *triliteral root, *weak verbs, *doubly weak verbs)
quantitative verse:
quantity: the length or duration of time that it takes to pronounce a vowel; vowel length. Strictly speaking, what at first had to do with duration has bled off into systematic shifts between what are called long and short vowels even though their duration is not appreciably different. The shift from short a (ă) to long a (ā), short e (ě) to long e (ē), short o (ŏ) to long o (ō) are shifts between paired, or switch-out, sounds more than anything else.
To a lesser extent, the same goes for long and short a, i, and u in Greek and epsilon/eta and omicron/omega, although here duration is a more likely aspect of the difference.
question: a wording that asks for information.
English asks questions (1) about progressive action by reversing the auxiliary verb and the subject: “Are you working at home today?” vs. “You are working at home today.”
Questions (2) about characteristic action use the do auxiliary plus putting the subject after the auxiliary. “Do you work at home often?” In past tense, did has a *punctiliar value: “Did you work at home today?”
Questions can be asked by (3) intonation—raising pitch pattern at the end of the sentence without changing the word order from statement form: “You are working at home today?” This format is also used if the questioner is expressing amazement, but the intonation is more exaggerated at the end.
Questions can be asked (4) using *interrogative words: (a) pronouns, “Who is working at home today?” (b) adverbs, “When do you working at home?” “How do you get any work done at home?” “Where do you work at home?” (c) adjectives, “Which day do you work at home?”
In Hellenistic Greek, ou(k) + indicative implies that the speaker expects a positive response from the hearer, while mee + indicative implies he anticipates a negative response.
Latin uses for anticipated negative response and for anticipated positive response.
(in a set with *rhetorical question; *direct question, *indirect question; *informational question; *interrogative sentence)
question anticipating negative response: “You aren’t working at home today, are you?” vs. question anticipating positive response: “You are working at home today, aren’t you?”
Greek uses mee plus indicative: Jn 4:4
Latin uses
(in a set with question; *question anticipating positive response; *informational question; *rhetorical question)
question anticipating positive response: “You are working at home today, aren’t you?” vs. question anticipating negative response: “You aren’t working at home today, are you?”
Greek uses ou plus indicative for positive response:
Latin uses
(in a set with *question anticipating negative response; *informational question; *question)
question mark: the symbol (?) at the end of English sentences to indicate a *direct question. Spanish puts an upside-down question on the front of the sentence as well (¿ . . . ?). Greek uses a mark that resembles a semi-colon (;).
questionnaire: a form piece used for gathering information as when taking a survey. Sometimes used in preliminary research for doctorate degrees in certain fields like education.
quiescent letters: Hebrew letters that lose their consonantal value under special circumstances: aleph, he, heth, yod
quip: a short *comment, often with a humorous or sarcastic tone (in a set with *comment, *commentary)
quotation: a repeating of the words of another text in contrast to simply referring to its location or its idea (in a set with *citation, *reference, *paraphrase, verbatim)
radical: one of the most basic sounds in root. Hebrew, for example, has verbs with three “radicals,” meaning three root consonants on which all the forms of the word are based.
rambling: not maintain a set train of thought on the same subject
rant: a *diatribe
read response theory: an approach to interpretation that blurs the distinction between the reader’s impressions, inferences, and applications, on the one hand, and the author’s intended meaning, on the other.
reading: (1) a public reading of usually another person’s writing; (2) the wording of a particular manuscript or family of manuscripts that differ from others at a given point. (in a set with *oration, *declamation, *speech)
rebus: a representation of words in the form of a picture or non-alphabetic symbols; can be used as a kind of puzzle
recension: a critical edition of a text in order to restore the most likely reading, given the sources available.
recessive accent: an accent pattern where the accent moves back from the end of the word as far as rules of accenting allow. In Greek, recessive accent goes as far back as the length of the *ultima allows. It is an acute accent that goes back only to the penult if the ultima is long but back to the antepenult if the ultima is short, i.e., if it has a short vowel. Finite verbs generally have recessive accent as do infinitives and participles in the present tense and future active and middle voices. Elsewhere accents on infinitives and participles are not recessive. The –ma nouns of the third declension have recessive accent.
(in a set with *accent; *persistent accent)
reciprocal pronoun: English words and phrases for include each other, one another, one to another.
Greek has alleeloon; it also can use number-article-number for this value: heis ton heis (1 Th 5:11). Heautoon, originally a third-person *reflexive pronoun, can be used reciprocally: Mk 1:27; 9:10; Lk 17:3; 1 Cor 6:7; Eph 4:32; 5:19; Heb 3:13; 1 Pet 4:8; Jude 20? Mt 11:16 may use heteros reciprocally.
NOTE: alleeloon can be simply relational without being also reciprocal; that is, “one to another” rather than “to one another” : (). In the relational sense, the action may be one directional rather than both directions. The distinction comes into play in discussing Paul’s household directives for a husband-wife, parent-child, master-slave relationships (Eph 5:21).
(in in a set with *pronouns; *differential pronouns, *indefinite pronouns, indefinite relative pronouns, *personal pronouns, *intensive pronouns, *interrogative pronouns, *reflexive pronouns, *relative pronouns.
recital: a detailed account of certain events. Recital usually refers to music presentations while recitation refers to verbal presentations
recite: to *say a piece as with children at a Christmas Eve service. To take part in an academic class where the teacher/professor directs question to members of the class.
recitation: the delivery of a memorized piece. A type of class, particularly at the collegiate level where the professor and the students interact as in question-answer give and take in contrast to a lecture, practicum, colloquium, reading course, seminar.
recursive
red-letter *edition: a *version of the New Testament that puts the words of Jesus in red letters, usually a King James Version
redactor: an editor, reviser, one who prepares material for publication. In the study of ancient writings, the redactor is sometimes postulated as extending himself into the adjusting of content beyond adjusting the form of it. Such a process might involve conflating various sources of material, say, on the life of Christ.
redundant: widow woman
redundancy: unnecessarily saying the same thing twice: “ . . . but it’s a team game, though”; “irregardless”; “variety of different __”; “closely scrutinize.” A set of expressions where one element does not contribute anything beyond what would be said without it.
In the past, grammarians have considered “refer back” as redundant; but the “back” element is not any longer consciously associated with re as a word’s subunit; a person can “refer” to something on the next page. So, it is not such a mistake any more—except perhaps in formal writing. Sometimes an expression that, strictly speaking, is redundant may be used for emphasis.
Redundancy can be used for *emphasis (pronoun plus person-and-number verb ending). (in a set with *double signal, *emphasis)
reduplication: In Greek verbs, reduplication was a prefix to the root of verbs in the perfect tenses as part of the sign for those tenses. Roots beginning with a single consonant reduplicated by doubling the consonant with an epsilon between.
For roots beginning with vowels/diphthongs, reduplication equaled augment—whether before smooth or rough breathing.
Initial fricatives were reduplicated by adding the corresponding voiceless stop + epsilon. That pattern obtained because the language would not allow successive syllables to start with fricatives (except in rare cases were the successive fricatives appeared from back to front of the mouth).
Initial double consonants (xs, ps) were reduplicated by prefixing an e—like syllabic augment.
Some verbs that began with vowel + consonant reduplicated by doubling the set: ollumi <olooleka. Initial rho was reduplicated the same way as augment; the rho was doubled with e prefixed: riptoo > erripha.
In Latin, reduplication is just one of several possible additions?alterations to verb roots to create perfect tenses. The vowel between the repeated initial root consonant may be an “e” or some other vowel. A root vowel may be lengthened (sometimes as compensation for the loss of a root letter): fugio/fūgi, venio/vēni,
(in a set with *augment, *tense formative, *tense sign)
reference (in a set with a *verse, *chapter, *paragraph, *book, *volume). In biblical references there are two levels—chapter and verse except for the short New Testament books that do not have chapter divisions. In longer ancient works, there may be three levels: , book, and paragraph.
reference book/reference work: a book not intended to be read straight through. It is consulted topically for a reader’s specific interest or need at the time. It is organized alphabetically by key words or perhaps organized around some outline that gives efficient access to the matter a hand.
referent: the reality a term or expression refers to ( vs. *antecedent)
reflexive: what later in the sentence makes reference to the subject of the clause
reflexive pronoun: A pronoun that refers to the subject of the same clause; consequently, in inflected languages reflexive pronouns have no *nominative case forms. To create reflexive pronouns, English uses the –self/-selves suffix on my-, our-, your-, him-, her-, it-, them- (but not on I/me, we/us, you, he/his/she/it, or they/their). It is understandable that –self does not combine with nominative forms of pronouns because reflexives refer to the subject from elsewhere in the sentence. More complicated is the fact that in first and second persons, the –self/-selves suffix is added to the possessive pronoun form, but in the third person -self is added to the objective/accusative form of the pronoun rather than the possessive. As a result, it is considered ungrammatical to say meself, or hisself, theirselves, and itself is not spelled itsself, which would be a possessive form attached to –self.
singular plural
1 myself ourselves
2 yourself yourselves
3 himself/herself/itself themselves
Older English did not distinguish between reflexive and personal pronouns: “Now I lay me down to sleep”; “the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him [that is, upon himself] (Ezek 18:20, KJV).” Not to be confused with *intensive pronouns, which rename the noun and so exist in all cases in inflected languages.
Sometimes English speakers slip into using reflective pronouns in the place of personal pronouns: “He brought it to myself.” The mistake possibly comes from the speaker’s desire to avoid making himself sound egotistical.
Greek used heautou for third-person reflexives, seautou for second-person reflexives, and emautou for first-person reflexives. In the New Testament the third-person reflexive was sometimes used as a *reciprocal pronoun as well (). Finally, the third-person reflexives took on the value of a second-person reflexive (Acts 5:35).
reflexive pronominal adjectives: Modern English does not distinguish in form between reflexive pronominal adjectives and plain pronominal adjectives (my/mine, our/ours, your/yours, his, her, its, their/theirs) unless confusion of reference might occur. In that case, own can be added after the basic form, but doing so adds an emphasis not otherwise present: examples
Latin does not distinguish reflexive and personal pronouns of the first and second persons.
Greek uses emautou, seautou, heautou.
reflexive verb: In Latin, a verb that has the subject acting on itself: Utor Close to the Greek *middle voice and a regular Latin verb plus *reflexive pronoun.
reflexive-possessive adjective: adjectives may indicate either a reflexive or possessive idea: “Ceasar ate his lunch [that is, his own lunch],” in contrast to “Ceasar ate his lunch [that is, Cicero’s lunch].” English often does not differentiate possessive from possessive-reflexive unless confusion would result. It can add own, as in his own, their own, our own, my own, etc., to avoid misunderstanding, if need be. Adding own, however, brings emphasis into the picture, which alters the meaning somewhat.
regionalism: a usage distinctive to one area within a language’s domain
(in a set with *archaism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, *oath, *obsolete term, *provincialism, *slang, *technical term, *vulgarism)
regular: following the expected pattern for making a plurals, for moving through its inflectional forms (nouns, adjectives, and verbs), for creating principal parts (verbs), for moving through the degrees of an adjective or adverb. Contrasts with *irregular.
Irregular comparison of adjectives and irregular comparison of adverbs mean that the roots of the three “degrees” of the adjective or adverb do not come from the same root; they are like the English “good, better, best.”
Irregular verbs do not have principal parts that are predictable given the first one—like the English go, went, gone. (in a set with *defective verbs, *deponent verbs, *impersonal verbs, *suppletive verbs)
Irregular nouns, like contract nouns, and irregular adjectives, like contract adjectives or contract adjectives, also behave in some unusual way relative to regular noun and adjective forms.
(in a set with *indeclinable, *irregular comparison of adjectives, *irregular comparison of adverbs, *irregular verbs)
regular verb: verbs whose remaining principal parts are predictable from the first principal part. In English there is work, worked, worked. In Latin there is amo, amare, amavi, amatus. In Greek there is luoo, lusoo, elusa, leluka, lelumai, elutheen.
(in a set with *irregular verb; *composite verb, *defective verb, *deponent verb, *suppletive verb)
reification: the tendency to read off of a word a finite reality for the referent of the word. Akin to supposing that the number of words equals the number of things; thus body, soul, and spirit in 1 Th 5:23 does not necessarily indicate a tripartite nature for humankind. Just because we speak of a will, a mind, a conscience, and the like, we do not necessarily commit ourselves to the idea that there is a substance or otherwise-constituted part/thing in us that is a will, a mind, a conscience. Instead, the experience of choosing, feeling guilt, thinking, etc., are actions whose causes we do not know. They are simply nouns for actions, not necessarily nouns for things. Reification is the tendency to confuse reality and the language for reality.
(in a set with *hendiadys)
rejoin: to reply
rejoinder: a reply; a response in formal or public argumentation
(in a set with *surrejoinder)
relate: give a account of something that has happened (in a set with *narrate)
related words: another term for *cognates, those words that share a common *base/*root/*stem within the same language: create, creation, creative, creativity, creature, critter, procreate, procreation, recreation), across related languages that have descended from the same earlier language (amicus >amigo [Sp], ami [Fr], amicable [Eng], or a derivative and a word in some *parent language (creo [Lat] > create, etc.).
(in a set with *cognates, *derivatives; *infixes,*prefixes, *suffixes; *word building).
relative clause: a clause type that has a relative pronoun or relative adjective (“who,” “which,” “that,” whose). A relative clause usually has an adjective value, but in older English and in Greek it could have a nominal value: “Whom the gods love dies young.”
relative clause of characteristic: a relative clause type in Latin that has a general reference for the pronoun rather than a specific person or thing. The relative-clause verb is subjunctive instead of indicative, as it is with regular relative clauses.
relative clause of purpose wh 313#113
relative pronouns: Relative pronouns “relate” a noun in the main clause to some piece of added information expressed in a separate clause that has an adjective value. Depending on how they are considered, English may be said to have three relative pronouns: who/whose/whom, which/whose, and that/whose. Who applies to persons, which applies to things, and that is for either one. Which is used on the front of *non-restrictive relative clauses; that is used on the front of *restrictive ones. That is not used as an object of prepositions (except postpositive ones); which or whom replaces that in such a situation unless the construction is rephrased to put that at the end. Relative pronouns are often omitted in English: “He’s the man [that] I love”; “The man [that] I gave my book to.”
English prefers what to that which. In common speaking, who replaces whom as the accusative for direct objects and objects of postpositive prepositions (expressed or implied). Usually with postpositive prepositions, speakers substitute that for who/m in the latter circumstance.
In practice, a relative pronoun does not necessarily have the nearest previous noun as its antecedent. If the intended antecedent is obvious from context or the nature of the case, the speaker need not worry about putting the earlier noun closest to the relative. The antecedent may be the phrase head rather than, say, the object of the adjectival prepositional phrase attached to it: “She has a heart for people that shows itself in her concern for the poor.” Since Latin and Greek have declinable relative pronouns, the problem of ambiguous antecedents is virtually always eliminated because position replaces case form.
Unlike English, Greek has one relative pronoun in three genders: hos, hee, ho. Likewise, Latin has one relative pronoun in three genders: qui, quae, quod. A relative pronoun gets number and gender from its *antecedent, but case from its function within its own clause.
Latin and Greek never omit relative pronouns as English does.
With relative pronouns in Greek, there is the possibility of *attraction of case and *attraction of gender. Attraction of case means that the relative pronoun can take the case of the antecedent rather than the case called for within its own clause. It does so especially if the antecedent is *ablative (in Latin).
Attraction of gender comes up when the gender of the subject relative pronoun adopts the gender of the predicate nominative.
Hebrew’s all-purpose relative pronoun asher is used in a redundant manner: “The man that I gave the book to him.” Consequently, it is used in a looser way than relative pronouns in English, Latin, and Greek. It simply links an element in the leading clause with a dependent adjectival clause.
relative time:
A relative-time situation comes up in Greek *indirect statement and *indirect question, where the subordinate verb-time is relative to the main verb in contrast to a construction that puts both the dependent verb and the main verb in relation to the speaker’s viewpoint in time. Another way to put the matter is to say, “Never change a tense in indirect discourse [from what it would have been in the direct discourse form].” Relative time occurs in Greek and Latin with indirect statement, which uses infinitive for the verb idea. Indirect question in Latin uses a subjunctive clause and sequential tense. (also in Housa?)
Relative time contrasts with *sequence of tenses, or *absolute time, where all the verbs are figured from the speaker’s viewpoint. Lat & Gr)
(in a set with *sequence of tense, *absolute time)
release: one way of handling consonants on the end of a word. Italian tends to release the consonant lightly after forming the sound (hence, the manner of “mocking” English speakers might do with Italian). English goes to the sound and stops, creating quite subtle differences that English speakers have learned to distinguish (hip, bit, bic; bib, bad, bag; miff, myth, Bach). French tends to omit such consonants altogether unless the following word starts with a vowel it can be joined to.
render/rendering: another term for *translate/translation
resh: the twentieth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ר
reesonance: intensification of sounds while speaking
responsive reading: a reading where the leader reads one verse of a text and the congregational reads the next antiphonally (*antiphonal, *lining out)
restrictive: in contrast to *non-restrictive; also called “essential.” Restrictive elements set contrasts with other alternatives; non-restrictive elements characterize the whole class in the manner described without having other specifics in view. Restrictive identifies; non-restrictive describes.
In modern English, non-restrictive clauses are set off with commas: “Young people ought to pay attention to adults, who know what young people are up against.” The implication is that as a rule adults know what young people are up against. Restrictive clauses are not set off in commas: “young people should pay attention to adults who know what young people are up against,” the implication being that young people need to listen to that portion (restricted) of adults who do understand young people’s situation. Omitting a restrictive element changes the intended point of the writer; omitting a non-restrictive element merely reduces the amount of information given.
Which rather than that introduces English non-restrictive relative clauses (except to achieve variety in sentences that would otherwise produce too many that’s.
Non-restrictive prepositional phrases are not set off by commas in English: xxxxxx. Non-restrictive adjectives also exist.
Restrictive vs. non-restrictive is a distinction that cannot be expressed in ancient written Greek, Latin, or Hebrew. The idea has to be handled by a *circumlocution, and the interpretation of modifying elements in these languages has to be figured out on the basis of the nature of the situation.
(in a set with *non-restrictive)
result clause: a subordinate clause that indicates the consequence of action in the main sentence.
Classical Greek could distinguish between *actual result, which came from hoste + an indicative-mood verb, and *tendential result, which came from hoste + infinitive. The difference could be expressed in English by in order that/so that/so for the former and “so as to” for the latter.
Latin formula
résumé: a write-up of a personal information provided in an application to a prospective employer. It typically includes previous experience in the target area, educational background, achievements, statements of interests, family status.
retained object: the accusative/objective form left over when an active-voice sentence is *transformed into a passive-voice sentence with the former indirect object as the new subject: “She gave the poor dog a bone”; “the poor dog was given a bone.
retort: a sharp response intended to negate another person’s comment or express strong disagreement with it
retroflexed: with the tongue bent upward and backward as in the Hebrew letters samech and tet.
revise/revision: to prepared a new edition of a text, which may consist of clarification, addition, deletion, rearrangement, and the like.
rhetoric: in the ancients rhetoric covered both oral and written effective speaking
rhetorician: a specialist in effective oral or written communication
rhetorical question: a question in form but not in meaning. Rhetorical questions do not call for an answer; they are meant to fix attention on the point at issue: “Are you serious?”
Biblical examples: “A man cannot enter into his mother’s womb a second time and be born again, can he?” (Jn 3:4)
(in a set with *informational question; *question anticipating negative response, *question anticipating positive response)
rho: seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet: ρ /Ρ.
rhyme (or rime): patterned like sounds. Rhyming can be classified in descending order of likeness in sounding: *identical rhyme, *exact rhyme, *imperfect rhyme/*near rhyme, *suspended rhyme, *rime riche, *eye rhyme. (in a set with *feminine rhyme)
rhyme scheme: abab, abba, etc., where the terminal sound of the last word matches the terminal sound of one of the subsequent lines in a patterned way. (in a set with *meter; *poetry)
riddle: a short, enigmatic saying intended to challenge the hearer to figure out its meaning, a meaning that may be associated with a subsequent course of action. Biblical examples are Samson’s riddle in Judges 14:14 and the Lord’s riddle in Ezek 17.
(in a set with *enigma)
rime riche: the rhyming of homonyms: to, too, two (get other examples)
Roman numerals: a system of numbering in which I = 1 (II + 2, III = 3, IV = 4), V = 5 (VI = 6, VII = 7, VIII = 8, IX = 9), X = 10, (XV = 15, XIX = 19), XX = 20, (XL = 40, VL =45), L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1,000. (in a set with *arabic numbers)
Romance language: any one of the languages with a Latin heritage: Spanish, French, Portugese, Romanian, Italian.
root: the essential part of a word onto which *morphemes are added to adjust for more specific meanings. Often used for the common background behind several languages that have descended from a common source, as with Latin behind the *Romance languages. More broadly root can carry back to the Sanskrit behind Latin, Greek, and other related languages. (in a set with *stem, *base).
root aorist: In Greek, some verbs add the personal endings directly to the root without first attaching a *tense sign: bainoo > ebeen; chairoo > echareen; gi[g]nooskoo > egnoon; as well as the short forms of some –mi verbs like didoomi > dos, etc.; titheemi > thes, etc.; histeemi > esteen, etc.)
round number: an *approximate number that is close enough for the purposes of a given communication (in a set with *numbers)
rounded vowel: a vowel sound adjusted by “rounding” the lips slightly during *pronunciation. It is indicated in writing by the German *unlaut, a horizontal double dot that looks like a *dierקsis (¨). German also has indicated rounding by putting an e after the vowel. Check A letter with a slash through it is also a way of writing a rounded letter (in Dutch?): ø, ɇ.
Royal Law, The: the title James uses for the second great commandment (2:8): “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (in a set with The *First Great Commandment, The *Second Great Commandment, The *Royal Law)
run-on sentence: two independent clauses that are not properly joined by a conjunction or appropriate punctuation; also a *fused sentence
rune:
sade/sadhe/tsade: the eighteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet
Sapphic stanza: type of poetic meter (wh 337)
salutation: (a) spoken: words said when people meet: “Hello; How are you? How are you doing? How’s it going? It’s good to see you, John. Greetings, everyone. Good morning. Hey, man.” Such words of recognition are often accompanied by *gestures (*kinesics) like a handshake or a wave of the hand during the approach. These latter expressions differ, of course, from culture to culture and even within the larger culture (type of handshake, etc.).
It is interesting to see what people do when they meet for the second, third, or fourth time in a short space of time. Eye contact and a smile may be about it. When two people meet for the first time and when names are exchanged in the process, virtually always they will shake hands.
(b) written: the “hello” near the beginning of a personal letter. New Testament examples: Acts ; Since most New Testament writings from Romans through Revelation are in letter form, they begin with a salutation (except for Galatians). Paul likes to include chapein >chapis (grace), a play on the normal salutation in Greek letters (chapein).
(in a set with *greeting, *complementary close, *inside address, *pleasantries, *postscript, *PS, *signature)
samek/samekh: the fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ס
sampi: same as *san, Greek symbol for nine hundred.
san: same as *sampi, Greek symbol for nine hundred.
sandhi: sound modification in a word depending on its connections with surrounding sounds: the difference between don’t in don’t you and don’t we.
sarcasm: a comment intended to ridicule: “What else is new?”
sass: *backtalk, *lip; disrespectful talk, especially by a young person to an adult, a parent, teacher, policeman.
satire/satirist
saturation language learning: a method of teaching a language that reproduces as much as possible the way someone learns a first language. (in a set with *analytical language learning)
say: broad enough to include expressing the meaning of a word, etc. vs. pronounce, which is limited to the sounding of the word; can be a synonym for “recite.”
a saying: an *adage, *apothegm, *proverb, *maxim; a traditional, memorable expression for some notable idea: “Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”
scan: to analyze the metrical pattern in poetry
scene: a division of an act in a play
schema: the label for the text containing the “first Great Commandment (Deut 6:4). It is a second-person, singular, masculine command-form meaning ”hear.” The accent is on the last syllable with the e receiving only light pronunciation (since it’s a sheva); it is erroneously pronounced (Anglicized) sheéma in popular English usage.
scholium: an explanatory note in the margin especially of an ancient text.
scorn: to disdain, ridicule
scrawl: to write by hand in a hurried, hard-to-read, drawn-out fashion
(in a set with *scribble)
scribal error: means a copying mistake in a manuscript in contrast to an error by the author.
scribble: to write in a sloppy, illegible fashion. (in a set with *writing, *printing, block lettering):
scribe: one who wrote by hand what someone else writes, including the copying of manuscripts and taking dictation for various kinds of *missives.
(in a set with *amanuensis, *notary, *stenographer, *scrivener)
script: a kind of writing, letter formation, alphabet. (in a set with *italics, *font)
scriptorium: a room set aside for copying manuscripts
scripture: “what is written” [< Lat. scribere, to write] Scripture is the normative literature of a religion, especially so used in Jewish and Christian contexts. It differs from a *creed, *deutero-[Pauline], *commentaries, or *devotional literature by being the foundational literature, whereas a creed is an authoritative summary of scriptural teaching on central issues.
scripture portions: Several identifiable scripture portions have come to have names. Among the more familiar are the following:
The Annunciation
The Benedictus
The Cry of Dereliction
The Golden Rule
The Good Confession
The Great Commission
The High Priestly Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (same as Pater Noster)
The Nunc Dimittis
The Ode to the Logos
The Passion Week
The Pater Noster (same as The Lord’s Prayer)
The Prayer of jabed
The Sermon on Mar’s Hill (same as The Sermon on the Areopagus)
The Sermon on the Areopagus (same as The Sermon on Mars Hill)
The Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on Pentecost
The Sermon on the Plain
The Song of Deborah
The Song of Miriam
The Ten Commandments
The Tersanctus (same as The Trishagion)
The Three Witnesses Passage
The Trishagion (same as The Tersanctus)
scriptures: the scriptures identifies the whole set of foundational literature for the Christian faith.
scrivener: a scribe, a professional copyist; a notary (in a set with *scribe, notary, *stenographer, *amanuensis, )
scroll: a writing that is rolled up instead of having leaves. (in a set with *codex, *book)
second aorist: In Greek, second aorists were verbs that did not use the sigma-alpha sign (*first aorists) for the aorist active and middle voice. Instead, they used endings like those of the imperfect. (in a set with *first aorist)
second aorist passive: In Greek, second aorist passives were verbs that lacked the theta part of the theta-eta sign of the aorist passive/future passive stem—sixth principal part (egrapheen, for example, < graphoo). (in a set with *first aorist passive)
second deponent: a Greek verb that lacks both an active and middle voice—at least in some of the principal parts. A full second deponent will have no second or third principal part since those forms provide the bases for active and middle voice. (in a set with *deponent, *first deponent, *semi-deponent)
second perfect: a Greek verb that lacks the kappa part of its more usual kappa-alpha sign (in a set with *first perfect)
second attributive position: a feature of Greek grammar that puts an *attributive adjective after a noun’s repeated article after the noun, creating an article-noun article-adjective sequence.
In the New Testament this format seems to appear more frequently than in classical Greek perhaps under the influence of the writers’ native Hebrew. An adjective-noun combination in Hebrew had an article (ha-) prefixed to both the noun and its modifier: “the man the great (ha’adam haggadol).”
Second attributive position seems to give more emphasis on the adjective than first attributive position does (article adjective noun): Jn 18:32. Heb 11:12 and Mt 25:41 have double repeated articles. Jn 14:27 has noun article adjective.
Second attributive position can be occupied by a preposition phrase that appears after the repeated article, just as such a phrase can appear after the article of noun in first attributive position: 2 Cor 9:1, 3.
(in a set with *first attributive position, *attributive adjective, *predicate adjective)
second deponent: In Greek, a verb that lacks the *middle voice as well as the *active. Such verbs may have no second, third, or fourth principal parts because the second and third provide the base for only the active and middle voices. (in as set with *deponent, *first deponent, *semi-deponent))
Second Great Commandment, The: the commandment found in Lev 19:18 (Mt 22:39; 19:19): “love your neighbor as yourself.” (in a set with The *Golden Rule, The *First Great Commandment, The *Royal Law)
second perfect: In Greek, second perfects were verbs that lacked the kappa part of the k(a) perfect active tense sign.
second person: the one/ones spoken to, in contrast to the one/ones speaking or the one/ones spoken about
(in a set with *first person, *third person)
secondary accent: on longer English words there is a second lighter stress, as in administration. (in a set with *primary accent):
secondary endings: endings used to indicate person in Greek *secondary tenses and the *optative mood. (in a set with *primary endings)
secondary tense: the imperfect, aorist, and pluperfect tenses, so called in Greek because they shared augment and the same set of personal endings. The imperfect and pluperfect tenses in Latin.
self-referencing: a statement that includes its own content. The Great Commission is said to be self-referencing in that “teaching them everything I have commanded you” includes the directives in the Commission itself: going into all the world, teaching, baptizing, and teaching.
semaphore: a system of signaling with flags in each hand to represent letters of the alphabet and certain other messages. (in a set with *signaling)
semateme: an irreducible unit of meaning WB
semantic: having to do with *meaning as distinguished from *form (in a set with *meaning)
semantics: the study of meaning that distinguishes between variation in wording and variation in meaning
semi-colon: a punctuation mark that has the value of replacing a co-ordinating *conjunction between independent clauses. It can be used group parts within a set or series that has further internal subdivisions marked off by commas. Thus, it lies between the disjunctive value of a *period and that of a *comma.
semi-deponent: In Latin and Greek, a *deponent verb may not be deponent everywhere. Latin has some verbs that are active in the present (non-perfect) system; but are deponent in the perfect: audeo, audēre, ausus sum; gaudeo, gaudēre, gravisus sum, soleo, solēre, solitus sum.
Greek shows verbs that are deponent in some tenses (principal parts), but not in others: hamartanoo, hamarteesomai, heemarton, heemarteeka, heemarteemai, heemarteetheen;
bainoo, beesomai, ebalon, bebleeka, bebamai, ebatheen;
ginomai, gneesomai, egenomeen, gegona, egeneetheen;
gi[g]ooskoo, gnoosomai, egnoon, egnooka, egnoosmai, egnoostheen;
dunamai, duneesomai, deduneemai, eduneetheen;
erchomai, eleusomai, eelthon, eleelutha;
esthioo, phagomai, ephagon;
thaumadzoo, thaumasomai, ethaumasa;
lambanoo, leepsomai, elabon, eileepha, eileemmai, eleephtheen;
manthanoo, matheesomai, emathon, mematheeka;
-vidzoo, -nipsomai, -enipsa, -nenimmai;
horaoo, opsomai, eidon, heoraka, eoofamai, oophtheen;
pinoo, piomai, epion, pepooka, -pepomai, -etotheen;
piptoo, pesoumai, epeson, peptooka;
phthanoo, phtheesomai, ephtheezsa;
(in a set with *deponent, *first deponent, *second deponent)
semiology: the study of sign language and communication made by signaling.
semiotic: having to do with semantics
sentence: an expression deemed sufficient to express a thought that can stand by itself. (in a set with *phrase, *clause) (in a set with *complex sentence, *compound sentence, *compound-complex sentence, *elliptical sentence, *sentence fragment) (in a set with declarative sentence, exclamatory sentence, interrogative sentence)
sentence fragment: a part of a sentence considered insufficient to express a thought adequately, or to stand on its own.
separable suffix: a suffix that may also serve as a free-standing word. Latin cum could stand alone meaning “with,” but with personal pronouns it was attached as a suffix: nobiscum.
Septuagint: the standard Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament in use at the time of Christ. Its name comes from the tradition that “seventy” translators in Alexandria, Egypt, were involved in the effort (Gr. septuagintos, seventy; note The Letter of Aristeas). It dates from about 180 B. C. ???? Its renderings lie behind most New Testament quotations of the Old Testament instead of their being direct translations of the Hebrew. Often abbreviated LXX.
sequel: another writing, movie, or television show that piggybacks on a story already published or aired. A procedure often followed when an original piece achieves unexpected success.
(in a set with *episode, *prequel)
sequence of tenses: a tensing sequence that relates to the speaker’s viewpoint both the tense of the dependent and the independent verb forms of a sentence. In English indirect discourse, for example, the verb in the indirect discourse part is also past if the main verb is past unless the dependent element expresses a timeless truth. Both verb are figured from the time standpoint of the speaker. Examples Greek and Latin, however, make indirect discourse verbs relative to the main verb rather than relative to the speaker of the whole sentence.
(in a set with *relative tense Wh 204, *absolute time)
sequential dative: the dative case instead of the accusative after Latin and Greek verbs that imply relationship: Latin had credo (trust),
Greek had hepomai (to follow),
sequential infinitive: the standard infinitive that by convention follows a certain construction.
Persuade to do is supposedly preferrable to convince (__) to do; there is angry at, angry about, angry with;
(in a set with *complementary infinitive)
sequential preposition: the standard preposition used after a certain term. We say, “allergic to hay,” not “allergic with hay.” Enamored of sounds stilted; most people today say enamored with. Is it sign of or sign for? Is it convince someone of (with preposition) or convince them to __ (infinitive)?
serial comma: a comma between the last two nouns of a series, a set that has three or more entries. Publishers differ as to whether their editors put a comma between the next-to-last and last noun in a series of three or more. An advantage of using the serial comma is that a distinction can then be made if the last items are thought of as a pair like “ham and eggs.” In such a case the comma would be omitted
Commas are used in a sequence of adjectives intended to be parallel rather than in series before a noun. The arrangement has the effect of connecting each adjective directly to the noun instead of piggy-backing each one on the rest as a set.
For this reason, commas are used when adjectives are not sequenced in the linguistically conventional pattern of the language. An English convention in serial modifiers is *determiner, size, color: “that big red barn”; but if the convention is departed from, a comma is required: “that red, big barn.”
Another application of commas in series is found when more than one long or hyphenated adjective ties to one noun: “my ever-ready, happy-go-lucky brother.” The comma helps the reader’s eye see how the relationship of words. Besides, the spoken equivalent requires a pause after the first hyphenation so the hearer can separate the first set and the second set as, in fact, two sets further tied to the *phrase head. The written comma represents the oral pause.
In a related situation, commas are used to avoid ambiguity: the advertisement goes “real, comfortable jeans” rather than “real comfortable jeans.” The latter format sounds like an every-day expression for “really comfortable jeans.”
serial modifiers: a series of adjective or adverbs connected with the same phrase head. If thought of as each one directly modifying the phrase head, commas are interposed. If thought of as each one tied to the remaining words as a group, no commas appear.
seriatim: in various places; used in citations to note that the point of interest shows up in several places throughout the work being cited.
serif: a short, thin, line optionally added to the ends of a stroke in forming letters like A, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, V, W, Z.
sermon: a presentation appropriate to a religious setting. In New Testament literature, it has been customary to call “sermon” The Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7), The Sermon on the Plain (Lk 6:17-49 ), Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40) and at the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:34-43) as well as Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (the Areopagus, Acts 17:22-31). There is some overlap in custom of usage with *speech (q.v.) as types of *discourse.
(in a set with *speech; *discourse)
sermon, outreach: intended primarily for those not already members of the body of Christ
sermon series: a set of sermons delivered over several meeting times, usually related to one another in some way
sermonize: to prepare sermons; with a pejorative turn, to carry on orally about some matter
sestet: a set of six lines of poetry; the last six lines of a Petrarchan *sonnet.
sesquipedalian: a long word; given to the use of long words; ponderous because polysyllabic
set: a group of volumes that form the whole of perhaps an author’s complete works or several author’s books that belong together; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, e.g.
set expression: a monolithic phrase, thought of as an indivisible unit—as with titles: “I wanted to see the new version of The King and I [not The King and Me].” Set expression can apply to phrase idioms that could be regarded as hyphenatable expressions: “By tomorrow, I’ll be good and ready [adj].” “He was the man of the hour [noun].” “She went over and above the call of duty [phrase preposition].” “By and large, we have avoided that problem [adv].” “Well, shut the front door [interjection]!”
Biblical examples of set phraseology include (1) “God/___ do more to me/___ and more also” (Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam 3:17; 20:13; 25:22; 2 Sam 3:35);
(2) “What have I/___ to do with you/___” (Jud 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:22; 1 Kg 17:18; 2 Kg 3:13; 2 Ch 35:21, Jn 2:4; Mk 1:24 = Lk 4:34; Mt 8:29 = Mk 5:7 = Lk 8:28)
sheva/shewa/schwa: a lightly expressed vowel like the e in because. It is a recurring phenomenon in Hebrew with unaccented syllables. Commonly written as an upside-down, lower-case e [ə].
shift: a systematic phonetic change such as the American replacement of ah with ă as in hat.
(in a set with *itization???)
shin: the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also sin.
shoot the wad: to use up one’s material way before the time allotted for the presentation, much earlier than anticipated
short: the first part of a longer word used orally to save time or effort; in written form they are not normally followed by a period: amp (amplifier), meds (medications), reps (repetitions in an exercise event), tat (tattoo), trig, uke (ukelele), ref (referee) , ump (umpire)
(in a set with *abbreviation, *acronym, *acrostic)
shorthand: a system of notation that enables a *stenographer to keep up with the pace of normal oral delivery and dictation.
sibilant: a hissing sound: s, z, sh, zh (voiced sh), tz, dz, retroflexed s (as in the Hebrew samech vs. sin or shin)
sibilate: to make a hissing sound
sic: a bracketed entry inside a quotation which indicates that the quotation is exact despite some error of content or form. A Latin word meaning thus.
sidebar: in a written presentation, supplementary or explanatory material that lies outside the general flow of the presentation, especially in computer-assisted deliveries
(in a set with *endnote, *footnote, *marginal note, *marginalia, *side note)
sidenote: a comment written in the margin of a text to given clarification to something in the text; also an aside in oral presentation
(in a set with *endnote, *footnote, *marginal note, *marginalia, *sidebar)
sigla:
sigma: eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet: σ/Σ with ς as its lower-case terminal form and C in the uncial manuscripts
sigmoid: shaped like the letter s.
sign language: a system of *gestures/signals with the fingers, hands, and arms used for communicating among the deaf.
(in a set with *alphabet, *dactylology, *manual alphabet, *signing)
sign manual: a handwritten signature by a king at the top of a royal decree
signalment: a detailed description of a person’s appearance
signage: the labels placed on a business or public building that identifies it or its function.
signal word: a term that appears, say, in the main clause of Latin sentences that helps distinguish a subsequent result clause (sic, qualis, quantum, talis, tantum) from a concessive clause (tamen)(wh ch 31, p 197), adversative clause, and the like.
signaling: communicating through visual, sound, electronic (including radar) means as with smoke signal, pyrotechnics (fire words in various colors), flag hoists (colored flags hung on a ship’s mast), radio, television, telephone, teletype.
signature: the author’//buyer’s handwritten name at the end of a letter or on an official document, used for guaranteeing authenticity.
(in a set with *inside address, *salutation, *complementary close, *postscript)
signing: using a system of *gestures/signals with the fingers, hands, and arms to communicate with the deaf.
(in a set with *alphabet, *dactylology, *manual alphabet, *signing)
sign-off: a stylized manner of closing a radio or television program
silent letter: a written letter that does not represent a sound spoken. In Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, there were no silent letters. English has more silent letters than most modern languages do. Several reasons contribute to this phenomenon: (1) a letter that retains an unused or unpronounceable derivational element. When the n/g/c endings on old Latin and Greek nouns were dropped, the word remaining letters sometimes created unpronounceable combinations: paradigm-os
-gh in many words this *digraph is silent: aught, bough, bought, blight, bright, brought, caught, delight, dough, drought, fight, flight, fraught, haughty, height, high/higher, light, might/mighty, naughty, nigh, night, nought, ought, plight, right, sigh/sighing, slaughter, sleigh, slight, sought, th(o)rough, tight, weigh/weight, wright, wrought,
((-gh can also be be f: enough, rough, slough, tough, ))
-gm at the end of a word has the g silent: diaphragm (but diaphragmatic), paradigm (but paradigmatic), phlegm (flem),
-gn at the end of words has the g silent: [insert panel] align, assign, benign, deign, design but designation), feign, foreign, malign (but malignant), reign, resign (but resignation), sign (but signature),
gn- at the beginning of words keeps the g silent: gnarl, gnash, gnat, gnathic, gnathite, gnaw, gneiss, gnocchi, gnome, gnomon, gnosis, gnu.
-h in wh is often not pronounced by many American English speakers: which (= witch). But whale, what, when. Sometimes it is the w of wh that is dropped: who, whom, whose; whole.
kn- does not pronounce the k on the front of words: knack, knap, knave, knee, kneel, knell, knife, knight, knit, knob, knock, knoll, knop, knot, know, knuckle, knur, knurl.
-pn in pneumonia,
-ps in psycho-,
-pt in ptyalism,
-rh- is pronounced as if it were simply r: rhabdon, rhabdomancy, rhabdomyoma, rhabdovirus, Rhadamanthine, rhapsodic, rhapsodist, rhapsodize, rhapsody, rhatany, rhea, rhenium, rheology, rheometer, rheostt, rheotaxis, rhesus, rhetor, rhetoric, rhetorical, rhetorician, rheum, rheumatic, rheumatism, rheumatoid, rhinal, rhinencephalon, rhinestone, rhinoceros, rhinology, rhinopharyngitis, rhinoplasty, rhinoscopy, rhinovirus, rhizanthous, rhizobium, rhizocephalan, rhizogenic, rhizoid, rhizome, rhizopod, rhizopus, rhizosphere, rhirhizotomy, rho, rhodium, rhodochrosite, rhododendron, rhodolite, rhodorite, rhodopsin, rhodora, rhombencephalon, rhombic, rhombohedron, rhombold, rhombus, rhonchus, rhubarb, rhumb, rhyme, rhyolite, rhythm, rhythmic, rhythmist, (The rh combination descends from Greek. The rho on the front of Greek words was aspirated—accompanied by an h sound.)
-rrh- is pronounced as if it were simply r: suffixes in –rrhagia, –rrhaphy,-rrhea, -rrhexis ; cirrhosis, (The -rrh combination descends from Greek. The rho on the front of Greek words was aspirated—accompanied by an h sound. If an ě was prefixed to it for *augment purposes, the rho was first doubled. Derivatives into English have maintained that general pattern by doubling the r whenever anything is put ahead of rh. Consequently, English words have –rrh in the middle and at the end of all words derived from Greek)
w- is silent on the beginning of wr- words: [insert panel] wrach, wraith, wrangle, wrapper, wrasse, wrath/e, wreak, wrech,wreck (etc.), wren, wrest, wrestle, wretch, wriggle, wright, wring/wrang/wrung, wrinkle, wrist, writ/write/wrote/writing/written, wrong, wroth, wrought, wry. It is silent also on the beginning of who, whom, whose, whole.
-w is silent on the end of words like bellow, blow, barrow, borrow, bow1, crow, farrow, flow, glow, grow, harrow, hollow, know, low, marrow, mellow, morrow, mow1, narrow, pillow, row1, sallow, sew, sorrow, sow1, sparrow, tallow, tomorrow, tow; caw, claw, craw, draw, flaw, gnaw, heehaw, in-law, jaw, law, maw, outlaw, slaw, straw, yaw; But there is a wuh sound on the end of other words: allow, bow1, brow, cow, how, mow1, now, ow!, plow, pow, prow, sow1, vow, wow.
The acceptable sound combinations of modern English do not correspond with the pronunciation habits of ancient our Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon heritage.
(2) a letter that is simply not pronounced in some forms of the root: answer, bristle, condemn but condemnation), debt, deign, design (but designation), dythyramb, ensign, exhume, hustle, often, mistletoe, muscle (but muscular), reign (but regnal), resign (but resignation), salve (but salvation), sign (but signature), soften (but softer). subtle
Words with terminal ld sound sometimes lose the l: could, should, would (but billed, bold, cold, culled, dulled, foaled, fold, fooled, guild, hold,hulled, knelled, lulled, mold, mould, mulled, polled, rolled, sold, told,
Words with terminal -mb lose the b, especially if they are in the same syllable: bomb, bomber (but bombastic), climb, climber, comb (but combine), crumb, crumbier (but crumble), dumb, dumber, dumbest, iamb (but iambic), jamb (jamboree), lamb, limb (but limber), numb/number1(but number1), plumb, plumber, rhumb, thumb, tomb, womb.
Words with -lf, -lk, -lv- often drop the l if they are in the same syllable and are preceded by a or o: balk/balks, calf, calve/calves, caulk/caulks, caulker, folk/folks, half, halve/halves, polk/polks, salve/salves (but salvation), talk/talks, talkathon, walk/walks, walkathon, yolk/yolks. Most of these are al and ol words. With e, i, and u, however, the l is pronounced: elk (but welkin, ); bilk, ilk, milk, silk; or bulk, hulk, sulk. That is because e, i, and u are vowels with the tongue in high position, which is close to the position of the l; so, it is easier to get into the lk sequence. The a and o have the tongue lower; so it takes more movement to get to the l position.
Many words with a medial st sequence do not sound the t: bustle, castle, christen, fasten, glisten, hasten, hustle, jostle, listen, mistletoe, moisten, nestle, rustle, whistle, wrestle,
Many words with sce/sci sequence change the c to s before e, i, or y (by standard rule) and so lose the separate k sound: ascent, discipline, scent, science, visceral, viscid,
(3) a letter that has some other function in a word: the terminal e after a single consonant (or *digraph like bathe) lengthens the preceding vowel: mat/mate; met/mete; mit/mite; mot/mote; mut/mute [insert panel.
(4) Custom simply generates a different sound in speaking while the spelling is retained: colonel as kernel; coxswain as sox’n; forecastle as fox’l; gunwhale as “gunnal”;
(4) Silent letters near the front or end of a word may come into play when pronounceable combinations are created by additions at, before, or after. The pneo- terms bring the p into play with apnea, eupnea. The silent g in diaphragm becomes pronounced in diaphragmatic. The silent n in damn is pronounced in damnation.
(in a set with *pronunciation, *spelling)
simile: a figure of speech that uses the words like or as: “He’s as slow as a sloth.” “He’s like a horse.” Removing like creates a *metaphor: “He’s a horse.”
(in a set with *figure of speech; *metaphor, *metonymy, *anthropomorphism, *anthropopathic, *hendiadys, *irony)
similitude: *archaism for *allegory or *simile
simple sentence: a sentence that does not have a dependent clause combined with a main clause. It expresses one complete thought.
(in a set with *complex sentence, *compound sentence, *compound-complex sentence)
simplex: a word without *affixes and is not part of a *compound word: care vs. uncaring, caregiver.
sin: the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also shin:שׂ שׁ
single-space: (1) not having an empty line between lines of type; having type on every single line. (2) Within a line of typing, single-space means that only one blank space lies between one word and the next. A single space is used after a comma, semi-colon, quotation mark,
(in a set with *space, *double space, *triple space, *space-and-a-half)
singular: one rather than more than one. In Greek, Latin, and English, a *word used as a word has a singular verb and a singular modifier: “This foolish ones describes the monkeys.” *Hendiadys also takes a singular verb: “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is” (1 Th 1:3).
sirvente: a satirical form of lyric verse of the Provençal troubadours. WB
skit: a short, comic play designed to entertain
skywriting: the process of making cursive lettering in the sky by using an airplane to release a trail of visible vapor.
slam: a comment intended to criticize or hurt a person’s feelings, a “cut,” an *insult, a *slur. Slam differs from *innuendo and *insinuation by being overt and direct to the person instead of implied and thus inferred. A slam is “in your face.”
slander: to tell something that is not true in order to hurt a person’s reputation
slang: a made-up word used in light, every-day circumstances. Slang words may be made up completely “from scratch,” or they are based in—or perversions of—other words already within the language. Seldom do they derive from earlier languages since they come into the language from the general public.
(in a set with *archaism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, *oath, *obsolete term, *provincialism, *regionalism, *technical term, *vulgarism)
slash: a line rising to the right (/) used between entries for different parallel realities: “I/We must take care of the problem.” Similar in value to and/or. The idea contrasts from appositional or, which gives alternate names for the same thing, another way of saying, “to put it another way.” Same as *diagonal.
example (in a set with *backslash)
slogan: a principle or ideal prized by the entity that uses it; a *motto. Ad astra per aspera (“To the stars Through Difficulties”), motto for the state of Kansas; to phoos tou kosmou (The Light of the World), motto for Cincinnati Christian University. Slogar may connote a less formal situation as with a group of people; motto has a more formal ring to it.
slur: v. to speak indistinctly as when drunk or as a result of injury or disability. The indistinctness mainly comes from not pronouncing the consonants clearly.
n. a derogative comment aimed at a person; what is done when one “casts aspersions on” someone or, perhaps, something. (in a set with *enunciate, *pronounce)
small letters: another expression for *lower case, the smaller forms of letters in the alphabet; not capitals
(in a set with *higher case, *capitals; see also *common noun,*proper noun; *all caps; *majuscules, minuscules)
small talk: talk about relatively unimportant matters that takes place as a way to pass the time than to inform the person
smart quotes: quotation marks that are curled opposite ways—toward the writing quoted—on the front and end of a citation.
snide remark:
social media: the use of unofficial computer systems of communication electronically in contrast to public communication systems—the “media.” Examples include Facebook (formerly Myspace), e-mail, blog, twitter, flicker, pinterest.
Socratic method: an instructional pattern using a question-answer format in such a way as to draw ideas out of the student in contrast to telling the student those ideas. Associated with Socrates, It was built on the idea of anamnesis, which postulated that knowledge is inborn; consequently, the teaching task was to bring that knowledge to conscious mind. (in a set with *lecture, *memorization, *rote learning)
solecism: the literal translation of an idiom or structure in one language into another where it does not convey the same idea—or convey any sensible idea at all. An example is a combination of the Hebrew infinitive absolute plus cognate finite verb used to express intensity: “I have really wanted to eat this supper with you.” Luke 22:15 says, “Epithumia epethumeesa, dative noun plus cognate finite verb. In normal Greek such a construction does not appear, but Jewish authors writing in Greek sometimes used a dative-case noun plus a cognate finite verb to convey it, as Luke does in this quotation.
Another Greek option was to use a participle plus cognate finite verb for this idiom: “Peter says to Ananias, “Remaining, it remained under you authority” (menon emenon, Acts 5:4). (cp. *idiom).
In Acts, Luke quotes the Septuagint rendering of Is 6:9-10, which handles the idiom with both dative noun and cognate participle in 28:26. Mt 13:14-15 cites the same passage (= Mk 4:12; Lk 8:10).
The Latin New Testament handles the Isaiah quotation with a supine plus cognate and a participle plus cognate verb in Mt 13:14a. In Mk 4:12 and Lk 8:10, however, participles appear in reference to both the seeing and the hearing. Acts 28:26 says, aure audietis . . . videntes videbitis, “With-the-ear you-will-hear . . . seeing you will see.” Thus, it is a dative-noun-plus-verb construction, but the abstract hearing reference (akoee) is replaced with a noun for the hearing organ.
solid: said of a two-part word that does not have a space or hyphen between the parts: stockbroker
soliloquy: in drama a character speaking his thoughts when he is presumably “alone” [Lat. solus, alone]. A kind of thinking out loud while alone and spoken to no one in particular.
(in a set with *monologue, *dialogue)
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication: The prayer Solomon delivered before the people in Jerusalem at the dedication of First Temple (1 Kg 8:23-53).
Song of Deborah: the example of ancient Hebrew poetry preserved in Jud 15:2-321a, identified with Deborah, a judge of Israel during the period of the judges before the monarchy.
Song of Solomon: another name for Canticles, Canticle of Canticles, or Song of Songs in the Old Testament scriptures.
Song of Songs: another name for Song of Solomon, or Canticles, or Canticle of Canticles.
sonnet: a fourteen-line verse using various rhyme schemes
space: one stroke of a typewriter or computer on a line of type; a space between lines of type (in a set with *double-space, *single-space, *triple-space, *space-and-a-half)
space-and-a-half: having one and a half line empty between each line of type, a feature that was available on some typewriters and one normally available on computers now. (in a set with *space, *double-space, *triple-space, *space-and-a-half)
spam: unwanted e-mails, in the form of advertisement, dangerous or risky messages with attachments that contains viruses, unimportant newsy items, and the like.
speaking in tongues: a phenomenon that came in consequence of the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and at the house of Cornelius later (Acts 10). Paul talks to the Corinthians about appropriate use of speaking in tongues during public worship services (1 Cor 12-14). (a set with *xenoglossia, *glossolalia, *ecstatic utterance, *tongue speaking)
special pleading: endeavoring to change another person’s mind or avoid unwanted personal consequences by appealing to less-than-satisfactory reasons.
speech: (1) oral communication as a kind of *discourse; (2) a particular oral presentation. In Acts, Luke weaves several *discourses into his narrative. They include Stephen’s defense before the Sanhedrin (7:2-53) as well as Paul’s defense before Ananias, the high priest (23:1-6), his defense before the Jerusalem mob (22:1-21), his defense before Felix, the governor (24:10-21), and his defense before Festus and Herod Agrippa, the king (26:2-29). Inasmuch as these discourses were not delivered in a purely religious setting, they are listed here as speeches more than *sermons (q.v.).
(in a set with *reading; *oration, *declamation; *sermon, *discourse)
spelling: how the letters used in a language are arranged to represent its words; *orthography. Spelling becomes an issue because (1) language drifts over time; so a spelling that made sense before may no longer correlates closely with the way people say the word; yet the spelling remains for historic purposes and so there is no problem reading earlier writings: [insert panel] the –gh on cough, enough, laugh, rough, roughage, tough, is pronounced f. However, gh becomes silent in aught, blight, bought, bright, brought, caught, delight, dough, drought, fight, flight, fraught, haughty, height, light, might/mighty, naught, nigh, night, nought, ought, plight, right, sigh, sight, sleigh, slight, sought, th(o)rough, tight, weigh/t, wright, wrought. So, the English spelling system is not as good a fit as it is in many languages.
For another thing, (2) English vocabulary contains significantly more terms than most languages do—perhaps half again as many in normal use as are used in even modern, developed nations. The more examples there are, the harder it is to maintain uniformity.
Furthermore, (3) English is a melting-pot language, being supplied with words derived not only from the classical languages of Latin and Greek, but also from the Anglo-Saxon/Germanic background. The language spelling system has retained the lettering of the feeder languages; so it remains static while the spoken form keeps drifting. This phenomenon creates a host of *“silent letters” in English spelling. There is silent g in sign, paradigm. Pneumonia does not pronounce the p. See *“silent letters” for further examples.
Diphthong says diphthong, ophthalmologist says opthalmologist, and diphtheria says diptheria. English wants to create a *stop-*fricative set from a fricative-fricative combination whereas Greek wants to create a fricative-fricative set from a stop-fricative set.
Initial spelled w does not affect pronunciation in wrap, wreck, wring, wretched, wrung, wrong, write, wrote, wrought.
Final spelled w does not affect pronunciation of words like blow/blew, flew, flow , grow, grown, know, low, mow1, row1, slow, sow1, tow, The final w does affect pronunciation on bow1, brown, cow, down, frown, how, now, mow1, row1, sow1, wow. Sometimes particular words come down through French and other European languages, which further adjust the Latin originals.
As a result, (1) letters and combinations of letters do not always have the same value, as says the famous jingle about i before e except after c or sounding like ā in neighbor or weigh. But note the ee sound for ei in caffeine, either/neither/leisure, protein, seize; or the “ear” sound in weird or the i sound in apartheid, cheilostomatoplasty, feisty, height, leitmotif; or the short i in foreign, forfeit, forfeiture, surfeit. Sometimes the two vowels belong to different syllables: albeit, acquiesce, client, (fiery), spontaneity, variety; also note seize but siege! As a Facebook comment said, “Use i before e except when you run a feisty heist in a weird beige foreign neighborhood.”
C before e, i, or y has an s sound; before a, o, or u it has a k sound. That feature of pronunciation has a spelling implication in certain circumstances: picnic is spelled picnicking to keep the final c from becoming an s sound. The same holds for the words panic/panicking,
Ch is k in cholangiopancreatography [insert panel], an explosive sound in chunk [insert panel], an sh in chute, douche [insert panel], and no sound at all in chthonic,schism. [insert panel] (See under *spelling)
G can be guh, j, or zh (barrage1, beige, corsage1, garage1, mirage1, triage)
S can be voiceless: base, case, douse, gas, goose, loose, mouse, moose, noose, pastor, sat, tonsil, us, vase1, Initial single s is always an s sound.
S can be voiced into a z sound: basil, cosy, does, ease, fuse, laser, miser, pose, toes, woes,
ss: Double ss (almost) always guarantees an s sound: abyss, bass1, bass1, boss, class, crass, cuss, dross, fuss, gross, hiss, hoss, kiss, loss, miss, pass, toss, (But fissure)
S can have a sh sound: insure, sugar, reassure, sure,
S can have a zh sound: fusion, visual
-ss- can have a sh sound: mission
-ss- can have a zh sound: fission
Th can be voiceless: mouth (n.), south, thud, with, zither.
Th can be voiced (dh): another, bother, brother, druther, either, father, farther, further, gather, hither, mother, mouth (v.), neither, rather, soothe, southern, that, the, thee, then, these, thine, thither, those, thou, though, thy, whither,
(2) Furthermore, the same sound can be covered in several ways. Such a list includes all the *homophones in the English language, of which there are an amazing number! See under *homophones. Other words create related forms spelled with t or d, but both spellings are pronounced voiceless: feel/felt, give/gift, keep/kept, kneel/knelt, leave/left, rive/rift, sleep/slept, weep/wept but limp/limped, nipped, ripped, sipped, stepped, stressed, work/worked.
The *plosive sound ch can be found in (a) attach, blanch, chunk, church, gaucho, much, munch, pinch, rachet, rich,
Ch can also be spelled (b) tch in the medial and terminal position: batch, bitch, botch, butcher, catch, clutch, ditch, fetch, glitch, hatch, hitch, hatch, itch, kvetch, latch, match, natch, notch, patch, scotch, scutch, stitch, stretch, satchel, switch, thatch, twitch, vetch, vetchling, watch, witch, wretch,
That same sound can occur with (c) t before u: [insert panel] actual, adventure, amateur, aperture, armature, cariacature, creature, culture, denture/s, departure, expenditure, firfeiture, fixture, forfeiture, fracture, functual, future, gesture/maturation, indentured, instinctual, intellectual, investiture, lecture, legislature, ligature, literature, mature, miniature, mixture, moisture, nature, nomenclature, nurture, overture, pasture, pasteurize, picture, posture, pasturage, picture, punctual, puncture, rapture, ritual, sculpture, stricture, tablature, tincture, venture, vesture, victuals, vulture,
Portuguese uses (d) –ti for the ch sound: Tolentino is Tolenchino.
The j sound can be covered by (a) j, of course, but it can also be covered by (b) g before e, i, or y. Thirdly, it can be covered by (c) dg, as in words like hedge, judge, judgment, ledge,
(3) The same spelling can have the same sound but different meaning (*homonym). Several verbs have two tenses spelled the same way and pronounced the same way: [insert panel] beat, bid, burst, clad, cost, cut, hit, hurt, knit, let, live???, quit, rid, shed, [shit], spit, split, spread, wet.
Same spelling and sound can cover both singular and plural: bison, craft, deer, fish, fry, sen, sheep,
That’s why there are spelling bees in English!
English spelling, however, does follow certain general patterns. The letter g has a j sound if followed by e, i, or y; and a guh sound (“hard g”) if followed by a, o, or u. Exceptions are get, gig. Even double gg can sometimes be j: exaggerate. A final e after final g makes the g have the j sound: age, beige, cage, dirge, gauge, huge, lung/lunge, merge, page, rag/rage, rang/range, sag/sage, ting/tinge, urge, verge, wag/wage.
The same pattern g + vowels applies to the two values for the letter c: before e, i, or y, the c has an s sound; before a, o, or u, it has a k sound: coalesce, excrescence, exscind, obscene, obsolesce, oscine, oscillate, ecalescence??, piscine, prescience, pubescence, pubescent, quiescent, rescind, rubescent, scent, scepter, sciatic, science, scintillate, scion, scission, scissor, scissure, susceptible, tabescent,
In keeping with the pattern for c, the final e that is normally dropped before suffixes beginning with a vowel.is kept after g without adding a syllable to keep the g spriant in words like changeable, displaceable, manageable, noticeable, peaceable, practiceable, replaceable, traceable. Similarly –i- keeps g as a j sound: allegiance. A k may be added to arc to make arcking so the k sound is for sure kept before –ing. Likewise, a u comes after g in guide to help show that the g is not pronounced j before the e, i, or y. Such words are not to be pronounced gw: guenon, guerilla, guess, guest, guide, guideon, guild, guilder, guile, guillemont, guilloche, guillotine, guilt, guimpe, guinea, guipure, guise, guy, guitar, morgue, rougue, tongue, vaguely. (But note guard, etc.). Some double cc’s are followed by e, i, or y, so that the first gets a k sound and the second gets an s sound: cocci, coccyx, succeed, succession, succinct,
(2) English frequently follows the Latin practice of doubling a consonant to indicate a short vowel before it: [inset panel] biter/bitter, inflame/inflammation, miler/miller, miter/admitted, rifle/riffle; ripe/ripple, stared/starred. That gives rise to the rule that a word ending in a vowel-consonant doubles the consonant before adding a vowel suffix. In most cases, not doubling the consonant first would make the preceding vowel long: begin/beginning; bit/bitten, cap/capped, clap/clapping, dim/dimmed, emit/emitted, fat/fatten, hit/hitting, hot/hotter; knotted, man/manning, omit/omitting, pan/panning, rip/ripped, sap/sapped, tan/tanned, win/winning, write/written,.
A patterned exception to the doubling rule arises in *polysyllables with accents on the *antepenult (the third syllable from the end). Since English pronunciation tends to weaken unaccented vowels to sheva, an antepenult accent weakens an ultima vowel. As a result, doubling the final consonant is not necessary for keeping the preceding vowel short: [insert panel] benefited (rather than benefitted), bracketed, buffeted, canceled, reveled, riveted, signaled,
(3) A final e after a single consonant (including *digraphs) makes the preceding vowel long: mat/mate, met/mete, mit/mite, mot/mote, mut/mute. Even with two consonants , the e lengthens the preceding vowel in some cases: bathe/bath, haste (but hast), lathe/lath, lithe, waste (but wast, OE); yet caste and cast are *homophones, and mouth is a homograph pronounced –th for noun and –dh for verb. Exceptions are above, dove, glove, have, live (v), love, move, relive, shove, sieve, [insert panel]
(4) On vowel-consonant-e words where the accent is three syllables back, the vowel may be short (unless a secondary accent falls on the last syllable), but the spelling is the same: Here belong the -ăte words—which are not verbs: passionate [insert panel] Words ending in –ive, regardless of part of speech, have short i unless accented on the *ultima: [insert panel] abrasive, associative, collective, contemplative, copulative, directive, durative, elative, exclusive, expansive, expensive, factitive, festive, illative, laxative, locomotive, massive, missive, native, olive, pensive, provocative, quantitative, regulative, relative, responsive, restive, restrictive, restorative, sensitive, stative, transitive, unitive, (no –ives under w). Long because accented on the last syllable are words like contrive, dive, five, hive, knives, live (adj), lives (n), strive, wives,
(5) There is an affinity between related consonants like lip sounds, (labials: p, b f, ph, v), tooth sounds (dentals: t, d, th1, th2), sibilants (c1, s1, s2, s3, sh, sch, z1, z2), velars/palatals (c2, k, g1, g2). Related words (*cognates) and different forms of the same word commonly shift between these consonants. Lip-letter shifts include f/v changes: grief/grieve, knife/knives, half/halves, life/lives1, safe/save, wife/wives, wolf/wolves, Not all singular-plural shifts go f/v; sometimes there is no shift: café/cafes, clef/clefs, safe/safes, etc.
There is an s/t affinity between cognates because the s sound and t sound are pronounced near the same place in the mouth. As a result, -sis nouns have a corresponding adjective (and/or noun) in –tic: diagnosis/diagnostic, prosthesis/prosthetic/prosthetist; –ence/-ance nouns have corresponding adjectives in –t: eminence/eminent, imminence/imminent, sequence/sequential, dominance/dominant, romance/romantic, The s/t affinity shows up in Greek in the shift from –tt- to –ss- (thalatta/thalassa, “sea”) in its classical to Hellenistic stages.
Vowel shifts may be from short to long, but there is less pattern to vowel alterations in English. (6) Dictionary forms in –en and other vowel-consonant terminations often follow their Latin ancentors and alter that vowel ahead of additions: abdomen > abdominal, nomen > nominal, semen > seminal; femur/femoral,
(7) Consonant + y terminations usually change the y to i before additions are made—unless successive i’s would result: happy > happier, but rally > rallying [insert panel]
(8) q is always followed by u: quack, etc.
Since custom drives usage, words that were formerly hyphenated may now considered one word for writing purposes. Hyphenation, for example, may no longer be considered necessary: cooperate, formerly co-operate or coöperate. Writing conventions lag behind spoken realities. For instance, rain check has the same accent and pitch pattern as homework, rainbow, railroad, etc., but dictionaries still list it as two words. About all a writer can do is consult a dictionary to see how far convention has carried this particular word in the opinion of those charged with tracking such matters.
Latin derivatives with ex + roots beginning in s drop the s in English; the x (ks) is allowed to carry the s sound; that is, ex “absorbs” the initial s of root: execrate (< ex + sacrare); execute (< ex + sequi); exile (< ex + silium); expatiate (< ex + spatiari); expect (< ex + spectare); expire (< ex + spiro); extant (< ex + stare); extinct (< ex + stinguere); extirpate (< ex + stirps); exude (< ex + sudare). In Latin, most of the time the s was separately written in compounds with ex.
British spelling differs from American spelling at certain points. (a) When –er does not refer to agent (worker) or comparative degree (stronger), British spelling sometimes uses –re: centre, litre, metre, theatre where the er is not an agent or comparative ending; (but not in cancer, liver, pilfer, river, roster; brother, father, mother, sister,)
(b) Some words are changed somewhat: aluminium
(in a set with *homograph, homonym, *homophone, *phonetic spelling)
(See also *epenthesis, *pronunciation, *orthography, *silent letters, *transliteration)
spelling bee: a contest based on the ability to spell English words
sphenogram: a cuneiform character with its distinctive wedge-shaped form
spiel: German for ; a
somewhat ridiculing way of referring toa sales *pitch, for example.
spin: a particular way of presenting something so as to take away some
negative way of looking at it. (in a set with *line)
spiritualize: to give a figurative meaning to a literal text, one not particularly intended to have that meaning
splice: what serves to connect material already presented and the next item of interest in presentation.
split infinitive: in English grammar, an infinitive construction with an adverb inserted between the sign of the infinitive (“to”) and the infinitive itself: “to quickly go.” The practice is becoming increasingly acceptable and used more naturally than putting the adverb ahead of the to. To the modern ear, a split infinitive has much the same sound as “splitting” the parts of a progressive verb: “We are quickly running out of gas.” In the nature of things, there is no reason not to use the split format since English considers the infinitive sign a separate particle from the infinitive itself. In Latin or Greek the infinitive sign was always suffixed directly to the verb as part of the same word; so it could not so easily be pushed apart to make room for an insertion.
spontaneous delivery: a form of public speaking in which the speaker structures the wording as he goes in contrast to *manuscript delivery.
spoof: a light imitation intended for good-natured fun rather than ridicule
spriant letter: a letter that stands for a fricative sound: phi, theta, chi (Gr); the “bgdkpt” Hebrew letters without dagesh lene.
spurious: in ancient manuscripts, a passage not part of the author’s writing, an *interpolation by a later hand. Spurious has to do with authenticity of authorahip, not particularly with correctness of content.
spurious writing: a writing not produced by the one who claims to have written it. Same as *pseudepigrapha.
square script: the modern Hebrew characters, which have a generally square shape, in contrast to the ancient form of the letters found in most inscriptions. Also called Aramaic square script.
squinting modifier: a kind of *double meaning, a modifier that can reasonably connect with a preceding or succeeding word: “We made the trip long before we knew how expensive it would be.” “We do business right here at home.” NT ex.
stand for: an expression used for *abbreviations, especially *acronyms
(in a set with *abbreviation, *acronym, *acrostic)
standard English: the agreed-upon form of English that is used among educated speakers and writers especially in public and formal situations. It applies to structure and written conventions.
standardized text: a text like the Hebrew Old Testament that became deliberately fixed despite variant *readings that previously existed. (in a set with *Masoretic text)
stanza (= verse)
star: same as *asterisk; used more recently with cell phones, etc., for *economy of expression.
statement of faith: a summary of important convictions held by a religious group but not considered authoritative for fellowship purposes; it may be required for leadership purposes within the group or, if held in greater importance, for membership purposes. The last purposes assumes the validity of denominationalism. A statement of faith is distinguished from a creed in that a creed is authoritative for fellowship, leadership, and membership purposes.
(in a set with *creed, *scripture, *by-laws)
state-of-being verb: a verb that indicates being rather than action; another term for *copulative verb, *equative verb, *linking verb, *stative verb, *to be verb; cp. *fientive verb.
(in a set with *active verb, *middle-voice verb, *passive verb)
stative perfect: a value of the perfect tense that stresses the resulting condition of the completed action: I have it done ( vs. I have done it); I had it done ( vs. I had done it); I will have it done ( vs. I will have done it). (in a set with *perfect tense)
stative verb: (1) a verb that indicates a condition rather than an action; another term sometimes used for *copulative verb, *equative verb, *linking verb, *state-of-being verb, *to be verb; cp. *fientive verb.
(2) a verb construction that indicates the condition that results from a completed action; a possible value of perfect tenses in Greek, Latin, and even English: it stands confirmed; I have it done ( vs. I have done it).
The difference between stative and plain passive can be illustrated as follows: “They were married last Friday; so they were married when they got here Tuesday.”
(in a set with *active verb, *middle-voice verb, *passive verb)
stem: the constant part of a word when ending are added to indicate tense, number, gender, and the like. (in a set with *combining form, *root, *base)
stemma: a scroll that preserves an important record, as list of manuscripts of an ancient literary piece or of a genealogy, or family tree, especially of an ancient Roman family.
stenographer: a person who takes *dictation, one of the roles fulfilled by a secretary
(in a set with *amanuensis, *scribe)
stenography: the art or process of doing a stenographer’s work
stet: do not delete; an editor’s note in contrast to *dele, “remove.” [<Latin: “let it stand”]
stich: a line of writing; same as stichos
stichoi: the lines of an ancient text; also stiches
stichometry: the division of a prose text into lines of standard length and reflecting the syntactical layout of the writing, a device used prior to the development of punctuation. The counting of lines was able to identify the “Epistle of Barnabas” as in fact a title for the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament. See Westcott and Hort appendix to the commentary on the Book of Hebrews
stichomythia: Alteration between speakers of lines of verse in drama WB
stigma: same as *digamma, a Greek symbol for six.
stilted: overly formal in speech
tongue twister:
stop: a sound made by “stopping” the air flow through the oral cavity at one of the *pronunciation points. The sound may be voiceless (p, t, k, h[onor]) or voiced (b, d, g). The unvoiced stop is also called a *tenuis.
(in a set with *fricative, *nasal, *plosive, *trill)
story: an account, but also a made-up series of events that is similar to real life as in an anecdote; a lie, as in “to tell a story.”
streamlining causal distinctions: In this manner of speaking, what is allowed by a person that person is said to do. What is done indirectly is worded the same way as if it were done directly.
street talk: usually a way of speaking that implies coarse expression, the use of vulgarisms, swearing, cursing. The type of language used in impolite company.
stress: the accent put on a syllable within a word or on a word with in a set of words accomplished by increased volume, raised pitch, pausing, or a combination of these ways of drawing attention to the point of emphasis. Whereas accent is a term mostly applied to syllables within a word, stress applies to words or phrases within a sentence. Stress, or emphasis, many times sets up a contrast with parallel alternatives to the term stressed. (in a set with *accent, *emphasis)
structural meaning: consists of elaborations of basic meaning by *formal changes/additions, relationship connections (*distribution/word order/position), and oral nuancing (*intonation). Contrasts with *lexical meaning
stutter: a speech impediment somewhat more common in men than in women. In it is a tendency to say repeatedly the beginnings of words and/or to “lock up” so that the word does not come out.
stylized expression: similar to *formulaic; an expression that always takes the same form
subject: The grammatical subject of a clause is the noun/pronoun that does the action of an *active verb or the noun/pronoun the receives the action of a *passive verb.
Linking, or equative or state-of-being, verbs also have subjects that are readily identifiable most of the time. In Greek, where word order is not as crucial, linking verb sentences with a *predicate noun raise the question as to which noun is subject. The basic idea is that, regardless of word order, the subject is the more narrow reference; it is the particular while the predicate noun is the class: “The Word was God” (Jn 1:1). The Word is the subject while God is the class—deity. The issue is not so much which noun appears first—even in English: “An extreme form of escape is suicide” means the same as “An extreme form of escape suicide is” or “Suicide is an extreme form of escape.” Which is said first may be for emphasis or may be because it links up more easily with the preceding context to put the predicate nominative earlier rather than later in the sentence.
The principle of narrower reference underlies other rules for identifying subject vs. predicate nominative: a proper noun is subject over a common noun; an articular noun (identity) is subject vs. an anarthrous one (quality); a pronoun is subject vs. a noun.
subject complement: in English, Greek, and Latin, a complementing modifier—adjective or participle—placed after the verb and harking back to the subject: “He was released from jail free from all charges.” “This man does not cease speaking words against this holy place and the law” (Acts 6:13). (in a set with *objective complement; *complementary infinitive)
subjective genitive: In Greek and Latin, subjective genitive involves a noun tied to an action noun by the genitive case. The genitive-case noun is the subject of the action in the other noun: “the love of God,” meaning “the love by God,” that is, “the love that God has for me.” Subjective genitive contrasts with *objective genitive, where the genitive-case noun receives the action: “the love for God,” as in “the love that I have for God.” English can use an “of” construction for both ideas. Note the situation in Rom 8:35, (37), 39.
(in a set with *objective genitive)
subjunctive mood: a verb mood/mode that is used when the action is somehow uncertain or contingent on another action. It “supposes” action. Because of its contingency element, most usages of the subjunctive mood are in dependent constructions: purpose clauses, future conditional clauses, etc..
(in a set with *indicative, * imperative, *optative (Gr), *infinitive mood)
subordinate clause: Also called *dependent clause in contrast to *insubordinate clause/*dependent clause. A subordinate clause does not stand alone because it does not express a complete thought by itself.
subscribe/subscription: a commitment to purchase a periodical for a given length of time.
subscript: a symbol placed beneath the line of writing. In Hellenistic Greek, the iota was written as a subscript with a long *vowel to form an *improper diphthong. (in a set with *superscript, *exponent)
substantive: A form that can fill a noun slot: *nouns, *pronouns, substantive *adjectives, *gerunds, *infinitives. Any *word used as a word is a substantive regardless of its normal usage as verb, preposition, etc. As replacements for nouns, substantives appear as *subjects of the sentence, *direct objects, *indirect objects, objects of *prepositions, *vocative nouns in *direct address.
(In a set with *substantive adjective, *word used as a word; *gerund, *infinitive, *noun, *pronoun,)
substantive adjective: a word that is normally used as an *adjective but in a given instance has no accompanying *noun and fills a noun slot. English substantive adjectives do not use pluralizing *morphemes (even when plural in meaning), can take a plural verb, have the ahead of them, and can require plural subsequent pronouns: the halt, the happy, the ignorant, the lonely, the maim, the meek, the poor [in spirit], the pure [in heart], the sad, the strong, the weak, etc.; also in the singular, in the plural, etc.
Latin and Greek also have substantive adjectives both in the singular and the plural. In translation, it is often useful to add one/ones, thing/things, people, men. Occasionally English may have a noun that can cover the original substantive: foolish-ones becomes fools. A word like the Latin amicus (friend) may be separately listed in a lexicon as an adjective (friendly). It is a matter of judgment whether a word is predominantly an adjective used here in a noun slot, or whether it is so frequently used both ways that, regardless of original usage, it is now considered either part of speech depending on the case.
(in a set with *declension, *noun)
substory
subtext: the underlying personality of a character in a drama as implied by the text
subtitle: a secondary title that appears with the basic title and adds clarifying information to the main title.
subvocal: not audible as perhaps in lips movements
suffix: a word ending that usually is not also a free-standing form; also called a *postfix. Suffixes create new words by adding another element of meaning to an already existing base, for creating related words of a different part of speech. Suffixes are forms that appear only at the ends of words even though related forms with the same meaning may occur elsewhere in words: -stomy is a suffix for mouth or opening, and -stomato- can be a prefix or combining form that appears earlier in words.
As with ful words, suffixes (and prefixes) can be compounds. For example, -ectomy is a compound of –ec-, out, -tom-, cut, and –y, a nominalizing termination. Together they make a suffix for excision, which can be added onto a host of roots for body parts that can be removed: gastrectomy, nephrectomy, splenectomy, etc.
As with *prefixes, there is a question about drawing the line between suffixes and the final forms of morphemes in compound words. Terminal elements like –algia, -odynia, -emia, -logy, -pathy, -cele, -scope occur frequently, and so have been included here but in italics to distinguish them from endings that manipulate the internal meanings of roots (in contrast to adding meanings that are not the outgrowths of the preceding roots). ???Likewise missing from this list are those inflectional terminations that change tense, person, and voice on verbs as well as number on nouns. Included, then, are additions that change the *part of speech and otherwise manipulate the meaning of words. further examples
List of English suffixes:
-ability: the noun form of –able/ible/uble words
-able/-ible/-uble: able to do, able to be made into what the root indicates
-able can form a few nouns: constable??
-ad: in the direction of. Caudad is in the direction of the tail
-ac (n. demoniac; see -iac),
-ac (adj. cardiac), (see also –iac)
-ade (action, process),
-age: nominalizing suffix for condition from nouns [insert panel] baggage, bandage, blockage, bondage, carnage, coinage, coverage, homage, leverage, lineage, manage, mileage, overage, parentage, pasturage, patronage, poundage, roughage, seepage, slippage, stoppage, stumpage, suffrage, surplusage, tankage, tonnage, vagabonage, vassalage, verbiage, vestage, vicarage, villeinage, vintage, visage, wordage, wrechage,
-agogue/-agog: a substance that stimulates the flow of something: emmenagogue WB
-al/-lia, -alis (pertaining to),
-algia (painful condition); anything capable of experience pain has a word for it ending in –algia or -odynia or both:
-an (pertaining to), -ance/-ence (state of), -ancy/-ency (state of), -ane, -ant/-ent (pertaining to), -ar (pertaining to),
-arian (adj., pertaining to a person; n., a person),
-aris (pertaining to), -ary (pertaining to), -ase (enzyme),
-ate: as a verb ending it is always –āte; -ăte may be adjective or noun; -āte may be noun or adjective except if there is a cognate verb in -āte:
-ated (pertaining to a condition composed of),
-atic (pertaining to),
-ative (pertaining to),
-ator (agent),
-atory (pertaining to), -ature (system composed of), -blast, -body (a structure or thing),
-carcinoma (malignant cancer)
-cele (hernia),
-centesis (puncturing procedure),
-cephalus (head),
-ceps (head),
-cere (waxy substance),
-cide (killing): fratricide, genocide, homicide, infanticide, matricide, patricide, puericide?, soroicide?, spremicide, suicide, uxoricide?,
-clast (cell thaqt break down),
-cle (small thing),
-clonus (condition of rapid contracting and relaxing),
-clysis (a cleansing or irrigation),
-cnemius (leg), -coccus (round bacterium),
-collis (condition of the neck),
-crasia (a mixing),
-crat: a supporter of or participant in what the root means: bureaucrat, democrat, plutocrat, technocrat
-crine (something that secretes),
-crit (separation of),
-cule; a diminutive suffix: minuscule, opuscule
-cy,
-cyesis (pregnancy)
-cyte (cell),
-d (from the standpoint of sound –d equals –ed, but in spelling only a d appears: laid [layd], staid [stayd]; see also –ed.
-derma (skin),
-desis (procedure to fuse together),
-didymis (testes),
-dom, Christendom, fiefdom, martyrdom
-dose (measured quantity),
-down,
-drome (a running),
-duct (tube),
-ectasia condition of distension)
-ectasis (condition of dilation),
-ectomy,
-ed (pertaining to; adj.); (the most frequent tense formative for past tense; pronounced –t if the nearest preceding root consonant is voiceless)
-edema (swelling),
-ee (one who is the object of an action vs –er/-or as one who does an action to someone else, as in addressee, advisor/advisee, employee/employer, trainer/trainee . In general, if there is no possibility of having both an –er and an -ee, then –ee covers the one who does the action. There is no such possibility if the action is intransitive or if the direct object is not another person: amputee, attendee, divorcee, parolee, referee, retiree,
-eer (one associated with, agent associated with): auctioneer, chocolateer, engineer, gazatteer, mountaineer, musketeer, pamphleteer, pulpiteer, racheteer, volunteer
-elasma (a platelike structure), -elle (a little thing),
-ema (a blood condition),
-eme : grapheme, lexeme, morpheme, phoneme, tagmeme, taxeme
-emesis (condition of vomiting),
-emia (blood condition or substance in the blood; also -aemia),
-emic (adj for –emia),
-en: makes verbs out of adjectives, nouns, or other verbs: awaken, blacken, brighten, broaden, cheapen, christen, darken, deepen, dishearten, earthen, embolden, enlighten, enliven, fasten, fatten, flatten, frighten, harden, hasten, hearken, hearten, heighten, lengthen, lessen, lighten, liken, liven, loosen, madden, moisten, neaten, quicken, redden, ripen, rotten, roughen, shorten, smoothen, soften, stiffen, straighten, sweeten, tighten, toughen, waken, weaken, whiten, widen, worsen,
-en (plural): brethren, children, heathen, oxen, schlieren
-en a suffix for making the past participle out of verbs; many of these verbs have infixes for the past tense indicators: beaten, bidden, broken, chosen, cloven, driven, drunken, eaten, forbidden, forsaken, frozen, given, (gotten), golden, graven (¸graph), hidden, (holpen), laden, liken, mistaken, molten, oaken, proven, ridden, riven, shaken, shrunken, smitten, sodden, spoken, stolen, stricken, striven, sunken, taken, (torn), unbidden, (worn), woven, written, See also –n suffix.
-en makes adjectives out of nouns and past participles: beholden, brazen (< brass), craven, earthen, forbidden, mistaken, rotten, shaven, silken, sloven, unshaven, wooden, woolen,
-encephaly (condition of the brain),
-ence (state of being),
-ent (pertaining to),
-entery (condition of the intestine),
-eon (one who performs, and agent),
-er, (/-or/-tor/-teer/-tier)
-ergy (activity, process of working),
-ery (process of),
-ery (creamery),
-ese: in the language of, a person of a certain area, a set of terms, and an adjective (*jargon) associated with a particular topic: Bengalese, Burmese, Cantonese, Chinese, computerese, Congolese, Japanese, Lebanese, legalese, Maltese, Nepalese, Pekingese, Portuguese, Siamese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese;
-esis (process), : emesis, hyperemesis,
-esque, : picturesque,
-ess (female agent in contrast to –er/or): actor/actress, deacon/deaconess, governor/governess, leopardess, lion/lioness, mister/mistress, patron/ patroness, peer/peeress, postmaster/postmistress, prince/princess, priest/priestess, prophet/prophetess, scorcerer/scorceress, tiger/tigress, waiter/waitress; see also –ette, -trix)
-est (ending for superlative-degree adjectives),
-etic (pertaining to),
-ette,
-ety (state of),
-fare, warfare,
-fied (ptc form from –fy verbs, which then can become adjectives: [insert panel] countrified, dignified, gratified, magnified, ossified?,
-fold,
-fix,
-flux (flow),
-form (having the form of),
-ful,
-fy a verbalizing suffix from nouns or adjectives: [insert panel] amplify, beautify, countryfy, diversify, electrify, fortify, gratify, humidify, identify, justify, mystify, nullify, pacify, ratify, signify, testify, unify, villify,
-gate,
-gen (what produces),
-gene (gene),
-genesis,
-genic,
-glia (cells that provide support),
-grade (pertaining to going),
-graft (tissue for implant or transplant),
-gram (picture), -graph (instrument used to record),
-grapher,
-graphy (process of recording),
-gravida (pregnancy),
-hood: bachelorhood, brotherhood, fatherhood, likelihood, motherhood, neighborhood, sainthood, sisterhood, statehood,
-i (one who lives in a place): Bangladeshi, Iraqi, Irani, Israeli, Kuwaiti, Pakistani, Uzbekistani, Yemeni,
-ia: a condition: aphasia, aphonia, arythrocytopenia, hysteria, mania, pneumonia, thrombocytopenia, megalogastria, etc.)
-iac (one who has the condition indicated by the root, a suffix used especially when the condition indicated is labeled by a word ending in –ia: amnesiac, aphrodisiac, braniac, demoniac, hemophiliac, insomniac, maniac, megalomaniac, simoniac.
-iac (used to create adjectives) cardiac, iliac, symposiac,
-ial/-al (adj. like filial, ),
-ian (pertaining to),
-ias (condition),
-iasis (suffix for something that needs healing; state of, process of),
-iatic (pertaining to a state or process),
-iatric,
-iatry,
-ic/-ical (pertaining to),
-ice (state or quality),
-ician (skilled professional or expert),
-ics (knowledge, practice): chiropractics, linguistics, politics,
-id (source, origin; diminutive),
-ide (chemically modified structure),
-ie (a thing, often diminutive): bootie,
-ier: gondolier,
-il (a thing),
-ile (pertaining to),
-immune (immune response),
-in (a substance), ,
-ine (thing pertaining to),
-ing, -ior (pertaining to),
-ious (pertaining to),
-is,
-ish: of the sort indicated by the root; adjective from noun: childish, impish, More recently –ish has been generalized to mean approximately: sixish; it seems to be on its way to becoming a free-standing word.
-ism (process, disease from a specific cause),
-ist (one who does, particularly a specialist): aerialist, artist, dadist, fascist, gynecologist, jihadist, manicurist, nationalist, opportunist, protagonist, radiologist, revisionist, sadist, therapist, ventriloquist, vocalist, zionist.
-istic (pertaining to),
-istry (pertaing to a speciality),
-isy (condition of inflammation or infection),
-ite (thing that pertains to, a follower of, a resident of): Amalekite, Ammonite, Amorite, Benjamites, Canaanite, Danite, Edomite, Ephraimite, Ephrathite, Gileadite, hermaphrodite, Hittite, Hivite, Israelite, Jebusite, Kenite, Levite, Manhattanite, Maonite, Midianite, Moabite, Nazarite, Perizzite, Pirathonite, socialite, transvestite,
-itian (a skilled professional or expert),
-itic (pertaining to),
-itis (inflammation); anything capable of getting an inflammation has a word for it ending in –itis: encephalitis, gingivitis,
-itic?,
-it is: inflammation of the reference in the root; n.: cardiitis, colitis, encephalitis, otitis, pneumonitis, rhinitis,
-ity (condition),
-ium (chemical element or structure),
-ive (pertaining to),
-ix (a thing),
-ization (process of making or inserting),
-ize/-ise/-yze,
-kine (movement),
-kinesis (condition of movement),
-lalia (abnormal condition of talk),
-lepsy (seizure),
-less,
-let: amulet, couplet, doublet, droplet, eyelit, gauntlet, goblet, pamphlet, quadruplet, quintuplet, starlet, triplet,
-like,
-ling (n. and adj. suffix; someone connected with or having the quality of; may imply secondary importance or quality: darkling, darling [<dear], duckling, earthling, gosling [<goose], halfling (Lord of the Rings), hireling, princeling, sideling, suckling, underling, vetchling, weakling, weanling, worldling) (adj. suffix for in the direction of: darkling)
-lith (stone), monolith,
-loger/-logic/-logical-logist/-logy (the study of),
-ly: most –ly words are created from adjectives to make adverbs of manner: Quite a number of –ly words, though, are adjectives usually created from nouns: daily. Some –ly words can be used either as adverbs or adjectives: early. (See under *adverbs)
-lysis (process of breaking down or destroying),
-lyte (dissolved substance),
-mania (state of frenzy),
-megaly (enlargement),
-ment (state or action),
-meter (instrument used for measuring),
-metry (process of measuring),
-mileusis (process of carving),
-most (foremost, innermost, outermost),
-motor (thing that produces movement),
-n: added as a *morpheme for past participle: born(e), flown, grown, lain [lie/lay], mown, sawn, shorn [shear], shown, slain [slayn], sown, strewn, thrown, torn, worn,
-nate (something that is born),
-ner: agent for ones who does something connected with the root: partner, vintner,
-ness,
-nik, a moderately slang or derisive term for someone characterized by the root of the word: beatnik, peacenik,
-nine (pertaining to a single chemical substance),
-(a/e/i/o/u)nt:
-odynia: pain in the referent of the root, n: otodynia,
-off,
-oid; resembling the root; n: anthropoid, humanoid,
-ol (chemical substance),
-ole (small thing),
-olithesis (abnormal condition of slipping),
-oma (mass or tumor),
-omatosis (abnormal condition of multiple tumors or masses),
-on (a substance or structure),
-one (chemical substance),
-opia (condition of vision),
-opsia (), -opsy (process of viewing),
-or (agent),
-ory (having the function of),
–ose (carbohydrate suffix),
-ose (full of),
-osing (condition of doing),
-osis/-otic (condition, abnormal condition, process),
-ous: pertaining to; adj > n:,
-ously,
-out,
-over,
-paresis (condition of weakness),
-partum (childbirth),
-path/-pathy (disease or suffering),
-pause: cessation of , n.: menopause,
-penia: deficiency: erythrocytopenia, leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, ,
-pexy (surgical fixing in place),
-phage (thing that eats),
-phil (attraction to, fondness for),
-o,
-onym,
-ophile (one attracted to or fond of),
-or,
-otic,
-para,
-philia,
-phobia,
-phylaxis (condition of guarding or protecting),
-phyma (tumor or growth), -
physis (state of growing),
-phyte (growth), -plant (procedure to transfer or graft), -plasia (abnormal condition of growth, of natural formation), -plasm (growth or formed substance), -plasty/plastic (process of reshaping/formation by surgery),, -plegia (paralysis),-plex (parts), -pnea (breathing), -poiesis (condition of formation), -poietin (a substance that forms), -port, -probe (rodlike instrument),
-proof,
-ptosis (state of sagging),
-ptysis (abnormal condition of coughing up),
-rrhage/
-rrhagia (excessive flow or discharge),
-rrhaphy (suturing),
-rrhea (discharge or flow),
-rrhexis (rupture),
-rubin (red substance),
-sake,
-salpinx (fallopian tube),
-san (Japanese courtesy suffix),
-schisis: cleft, split, fissure; always accented on the preceding syllable: palatoschisis, rachischisis, uranoschisis,
-scope (instrument used to examine by sight),
-scopy (process of examining by sight),
-ship, : apostleship, dictatorship, kingship, Messiahship, ownership, scholarship,
-shire: based on a geographical division used in England equivalent to a county; a local; hence, a suffix on many place names in Britain.
-side,
-sin (a substance),
-sis/-iasis/-esis/-etic (process or condition),
-some (body), : bothersome, burdensome, cumbersome, fearsome, handsome, irksome, loathsome, tiresome, troublesome, wearisome, wholesome, winsome,
-son, -spasm ( sudden, involuntary muscle contraction),
-speak (an addition that signifies a peculiar type of talking or terminology found within the sphere of things that the root refers to),
-sphere (ball or globe), atmosphere, bathysphere, biosphere, hemisphere, ionosphere, stratosphere,
-stalsis (process of contraction),
-stasis (condition of standing still), arteriostasis, cholestasis, enterostasis, fungistasis, hemostasis, hckster, phlebostasis, pyostasis, venostasis, viscerostasis,
-stead,
-ster (person or thing associated with the root; used to make a noun usually from a noun): barrister, dragster, gangster, hipster, huckster, jokester, mobster, oldster, pollster, prankster, punster, roadster, shyster, skidster, spinster, teamster, tipster, trickster, youngster,
-steroid (steroid), -sterol (lipid-containing compound), -stomy (surgical opening),
-stress: feminie for –ster: seamstress,
-systole (contraction),
-th: a nominalizing suffix from adjectives: [high/heighth], length (long), twelfth (twelve),
-therapy (treatment), -thorax (chest), -tic (pertaining to),-tion/-sion/-xion (process, being, having), , -tocia, -tome (instrument used to cut, an area with defined margins), -tomy (the process of making an incision), -tope (place, position), -tor/-er/-or/-trix, -tous (pertaining to), -tresia (opening, hole), -tri (three), -tripsy (process of crushing), -triptor (something that crushes),
-trix (female agent; reproduces a Latin termination for feminine agent): aviatrix, dominatrix, executrix,testatrix,.
-tron (instrument), -trophy (process of development),
-tude: amplitude, attitude, beatitude, certitude, exactitude, finitude, fortitude, gratitude, lassitude, latitude, magnitude, multitude, platitude, rectitude, similitude, solitude, vicissitude,
-ture: divestiture, imposture?, indenture, ligature, literature, miniature, nomenclature, overture, signature,
-ty (quality or state), -type (particular kind of), -ual (pertaining to), -ula (small thing), -ular (pertaining to a small thing), -ule (small thing), -um (a structure, period of time), -up, -ure (system, result of), -us (thing or condition), -verse (to travel, to turn),
-ward, : [insert panel] afterward, backward, downward, eastward, forward, heavenward, homeward, inward, leeward, northward, onward, outward, southward, toward, untoward, upward, wayward, westward, windward,
-wide, : citywide, nationwide, worldwide,
-wise, crosswise,
-worthy,
-y/-ey: for making a noun into an adjective: boxy, crafty, dirty, dusty, filthy, foxy, gutsy, haughty, loftly, lovey, moody, naughty, newsy, noisy, nosy, pushy, rosy, rowdy, schmaltzy, sleepy, soapy, weepy,
-zoon (livinig thing). Most of these are *inseparable suffixes because they are not also used as free-standing words.
Suffixes can be stacked up: diagnose < diagnostic < diagnostician < diagnosticians; long < length < lengthen < lengthener.
List of Greek suffixes: -akis (multiplicity), -aridion (a diminutive of the root to which it is attached), -(a)rion (diminutive perhaps with endearment), -eia (< -euoo v. > abstract n.), -eion (place), -es-[1st decl] (act ptc fem), -eus (agent), -then (directional toward the speaker), -ia (quality n. < adj), -ianos (n. a *patronymic for one who is a follower of, or related in some way to, the proper name to which the suffix is attached), -ikos (adj < n. -inos (adj < n.-ion (diminutive), -ios (adj. < n), -idzoo (verb), -is (multiplicity), -ma (result), -mos (name of an action from -dzoo verbs), -menos (mid/pas ptc), -monee (> n. = -ness), -nt[3rd decl] (act ptc mas/neut), -ou (adverb of clace), -s-(fut), -sis (abstract action; n < v.), -sunee (qualaity n. < adj), -tatos (superlative degree with adj/adv), -teros (comparative degree on adj/adv), -teer (agent), -teerion (place of), -tees (agent < -idzoo v.), -tees (quality n. < adj), -toor (agent), -t(e)os (usually passive adj > v. implying capability, possibility, necessity), -oo (adverb of location relative to another point), -oov (place), -oos (<adj > adv.; gen neut pl with nu to sigma),
List of Latin suffixes: alis/aris/anus/icus (adj., not worthy to be believed), -bilis/bile (adj., able to be, able to, worthy to be), -ce (intensive enclitic), -ianus (n. a *patronymic for one who is a follower of, or related in some way to, that proper name), -ia (n., quality), -ium (n., action or result of action), -ne (on first word of a clause to indicate asking an informational question; -osus (adj., full of), -or (n., action or result of action), -que, meaning “and”; -tas (ta[ts], n., quality), -tia (quality), -tio[ns]/sio[ns] (n., action or result of action), -tor/-sor/-trix (n., agent), -tudo[ns] (n., quality), -ve (“or”;)
List of Hebrew suffixes
(in a set with *epenthesis, *prefix, * infixes, *morpheme, *postfix, *separable suffix, *inseparable suffixes)
superlative: the highest *degree of an *adjective or *adverb
superscript: a symbol written above the rest of the word or formula
(in a set with *subscript, *superscription)
superscription: what is “written above”; used in reference to the accusation on Jesus’ cross, the crime for which he was crucified: “King of the Jews” (Lk 23:38).
(in a set with *subscript, *superscript)
supine: a type of defective verbal noun in Latin formed on the perfect passive participle in mainly the accusative an ablative cases.
suppletive verb: a verb that gets its principal parts from more than one root. English has go-went-gone.
Latin has fero-tuli-latus. Greek has erchomai-eleusomai-eelthon; horaoo, opsomai, eidon, heoraka,hooramai, oophtheen; pheroo, oisoo, eenegka.
(in a set with *composite verb, *defective verb, *deponent verb, *regular verb)
suppositive: a conjunction that introduces a supposition
surd: voiceless sound, one in which the vocal cords do not vibrate, as in a whisper or with p,f, ph, t, th1, c/k, ch1, h1 (honor), s, sh.
(in a set with *voiceless, *voiced)
surname: (1) the “last” name, the *given name, the family name that identifies the persons as immediate relatives; (2)
(in a set with *given name, *maiden name, *nee, *nickname)
surrejoinder: a reply to a previous *rejoinder, as may take place ina formal discussion of a significant issue, perhaps over a series of issues in a scholarly journal
(in a set with *rejoinder)
survey: an overview of an area of information
suspended hyphen: a hyphen with a space after it as when there are two first parts to a hyphenated expression connected by a coordinate conjunction: tall- or short-lettered signee; one- and two-digit numbers
suspended rhyme: repeats only the final sound: hit, lot. (get other examples)
swear: (n a set with *curse/cuss, *oath)
sweet talk: to talk nicely and encouragingly to get someone to like you and get them to do something, used especially of a man to a woman or a young person to a grandmotherly type.
syllable: a unit of pronunciation within a word consisting of a vowel sound (a-/-au), or a vowel sound (vowel or diphthong) and a consonant (or consonant cluster: as/oil/ask/ails), or a consonant (or consonant cluster) and a vowel (or diphthong) and a consonant (or consonant cluster (sap/gait/gaits/shaft).
In Greek, syllables were considered long or short depending on whether they had a long or short vowel in them. In Latin, a long syllable is one with a long vowel or a syllable with more than one consonant after the vowel.
(in a set with *syllabification; *monosyllable, *disyllable, *trisyllable, *multisyllabic; *parisyllable)
syllabism: the use of characters to represent syllable rather than individual sounds in writing
syllabic augment: On the front of Greek verbs beginning with consonants, syllabic augment helped mark the *secondary tenses of the *indicative mood by adding an epsilon. See also *temporal augment. (in a set with *augment, *temporal augment).
syllabification: dividing a written word into its pronounceable units so as to know where to break it at the end of a written line, for example. Greek and Latin syllables consist of a consonant or pronounceable consonant cluster followed by the vowels that appear before the next consonant. A series of vowels that do not form diphthongs are separate syllables. Two same consonants are divided, and identifiable prefixes and suffixes are disjoined from the root.
Beyond a few basic patterns, English syllabification is rather complex so as to necessitate looking up the word in a dictionary. As in Greek and Latin, English words are divided between two same consonants, after certain identifiable prefixes and before standard suffixes.
syllabus: a document in a college class that gives information about the class: purpose, assignments, grading scheme, dates of meeting, outline of the materials, etc.
syllepsis: a construction in which a word governs two or more words but agrees with only one in number, gender, and case or has a different meaning with one than with the other: (Webster) Over Thanksgiving he went to Arrow Head Stadium and caught a game and a cold. Can be applied to situations in inflected languages where one adjective modifies two nouns of different gender: multi [m] viri [m] et feminae [f], “many men and women” (Latin).
symbol: a character that represent and idea or sound
syncopate: to shorten a word by dropping out an element in the middle; a kind of *contraction
syncopated nouns: nouns that have a vowel in the nominative singular ultima and lose it elsewhere: meeteer/meetros, pateer/patros, thugateer/thugatros,
syncope: the dropping out of a middle part of a word: bos’n (boatswain), gunwale (pronounced gunnel), nor’easter,
synonym: a word that has approximately the same meaning as another. Strictly speaking, no two words in a language are absolute synonyms. They may differ in their connotations—their “feel”—or in the subject matter where they are used. (in a set with *antonym)
synopsis: a summary. In instructional grammars, the synopsis of a verb is a representative form—like third person singular or first plural—from each place it occurs in the verb system.
(in a set with *conspectus, *model)
synoptic gospels: the first three gospels in contrast to John’s gospel. So-called because the three “see” the subject matter “together.”
syntax: the connection between parts of a sentence , parts of an expression (cp. *grammar)
synthesis/synthetic: the use of inflectional affixes to indicate syntactical relationships in contrst to using *distribution (placement in the sentence) for that purpose, as in English.
(in a set with *thesis and *antithesis; *distribution)
syntax: the relationship between words in a sentence. That relationship may be indicated by word order, as in English, by inflection of individual words, or by a combination of these possibilities. An example of the predominance of word order in English is the possibility of changing a word’s normal part of speech by changing its placement in the sentence. “Savvy employees position themselves for advancement in the company” (A -tion word, originating as a noun, is here used as a verb). “Those biology dissections weird me out” (adjective shift to verb).
syntopicon: a scholarly reference work, alphabetically arranged by topic through key words, that traces a concept through many authors over time. References into the original works give access to crucial passages in the discussion. Note The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World, 2 vols. Encyclopӕdia Britannica, Inc., 1952. As a work that deals with ideas, a syntopicon differs from a dictionary or lexicon, which deal with the meaning of words; and from an encyclopedia by being limited to concepts, ideas, beliefs in contrast to geography and history.
(in a set with *dictionary, *lexicon; *encyclopedia)
syzygy: the combining of two *feet into one metrical foot in classical prosody WB
table of contents: an entry near the front of a longer work that shows in sequence the chapters or parts of the contents that follow.
tag line: a *punch line, a final line in a piece that drives home the point of the piece; a slogan for a product or company that serves that same purpose: “and that’s the cold truth” (Alka Seltzer); “Let’s build something together’ (Lowe’s).
tagmeme:
take-off: Beginning with some already-known wording or idea, a new author elaborates or adapts it his own purposes
tale a story not to be taken too seriously; perhaps even a lie, as in “he is telling a tale.”
talk: loose, general word for communicate, verbalize. Talk can be used in a *pejorative way to refer to words spoken as disconnected from internal conviction: “That’s just talk.”
talkathon: a playful take-off on marathon applied to talking, hence, a long, drawn-out discussion or presentation, but not necessarily as a delay tactic (in a set with *filibuster)
talking point: items on a subject that are made part of a presentation or discussion. The implication can be that an over-all impression, or spin, can be created by the choice of elements included or omitted.
Talmud: Hebrew word for “instruction” technically applied to the collection of rabbinic writings so named and consisting of the Gemara () and Mishnah (), which then serves as the basis for much of traditional Jewish law.
targum: Hebrew word for “translated”; hence, a translation. It is applied to the Aramaic *translations/*paraphrases (and quasi-commentaries) of the Hebrew Old Testament text. They arose in the time when the masses (the hoi polloi [“the many], the am ha’aretz, [“the people of the land”]) did not readily understand classical Hebrew.
tattle: to “tell” on someone who has done something not otherwise known to the one/s responsible for the situation; implies relatively minor things that go on between young kids
tattle tail: one who tattles
tau: nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet: τ/Τ.
taunt to jeer someone especially in order to get a response out of him
tautology: saying the same thing twice with different words: widow woman () [Gr ta + auta = tauta]
tautonym: the same name twice, a terminology in zoology where the genus and species name is the same
tav: the twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also taw: ת
taw: the twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also Tilgath-pilneser: ת
taxeme: a grammatical feature that does not carry meaning by itself; its contextual placement is what WB check out
taxonomy: a system of naming items in a group as exemplified in the scientific system of two-word designation for flora and fauna (plants and animals; living things).
teach ( vs. preach)
technical term: a term that is more limited in its application, given its derivational meaning, than it is in general usage. Rain check is an expression that originated from outdoor settings—like baseball—where the ticket was not able to be used because of inclement weather. It is now applied to a wide range of situations where something is not able to be used or done, as in a rain check for some sale item the store has run out of. Organ crawl was first used for “crawling” around the pipes of a pipe organ to see how they were assembled, etc. Now it is used for organ inspections where no “crawling” needs to be involved.
(in a set with *archaism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *colloquialism, *curse word, *formal term, *informal term, *oath, *obsolete, *provincialism, *regionalism, *slang, *vulgarism)
telecommunication: communication at a distance made possible by electronic devices—radio, television, computers, telegraph, telephone
teleconference: a conference between people separated from each other but united by electronic device in order to carry on business
telegram: a brief note sent by telegraph to inform someone
telegraph: a device for sending and receiving messages by electronic impulses
telegraphy: the process of using telegraph communication
telephone: an electronic device for sending sound messages by impulses through land lines instead of radio waves
temporal augment: The front of Greek verbs were “augmented” to help mark secondary tenses of the indicative mood. On verbs beginning with vowels, temporal augment basically lengthened the vowel, following standard patterns of lengthening: alpha to eta, omicron to omega, iota to long iota, and upsilon to long upsilon. Naturally, initial eta and omega words could not be lengthened further. Epsilon was lengthened either by going to eta or to an epsilon-iota diphthong. See also *syllabic augment. (in a set with *augment, *syllabic augment)
temporal clause: a type of dependent adverbial clause used to mean when, while, after, before, and the like. Latin formula: cum + indicative; Gr = hote etc.,
Ten Commandments, The: the listing of God’s commandment given through Moses as found in Ex 20:1-17 and Deut 5:1-21.
tendential imperfect: Among the uses of the imperfect tense in Greek is the tendency for an action to occur. That may be the point of the imperfect in Acts 5:13, “But of the rest, no one tended-to-be-bold enough to-join them.” The next verse talks about a multitude of believers—men and women—being added to the Lord.
tendential result: the result in Greek grammar that tended to come as a result of action in the main verb. (in a set with *actual result). In distinction from *actual result, it may be translated “so as to” rather than “so that.”
tense: (in a set with *person, *number, *mood, *voice, and *aspect as possible features of verb forms)
tense: Tenses may not be identified in one language vs. another one even though the same ideas can be expressed in either. Tenses are traditionally identified by form. Latin and Greek do not ordinarily identify progressive present (as English can) because there is no distinctive wording or verbal morpheme corresponding to that idea (Greek can construct a periphrastic present past and future by using a finite form of “to be” plus a participles). With the extensive use of *circumlocution and *auxiliary verbs, English can nuance progression (are/are/was/were + __ing), emphasis (do/does/did + __), ingression (began-to-). Other languages often depend on context or the hearer’s independent understanding of the subject to *infer these kinds of distinctions.
Present perfect
Pluperfect (past perfect)
Future perfect
Futuristic present: In English, the present tense can be used in place of the future, especially in certain if-clauses: “ If you go downtown tomorrow, please pay the mortgage.”
(See *primary tense, *secondary tenses; *present tense, *imperfect tense, *past tense, *aorist tense, *preterite, *present perfect tense, *pluperfect ( = *past perfect tense), *future perfect tense, *future tense; *progressive present tense, * progressive future tense, *progressive past tense, *emphatic present tense, *emphatic future tense, *emphatic past tense, *vivid narration.)
tense formative: See *tense sign.
tense sign: some element that indicates present, past, future, etc., times for the action on verbs. Also called *tense formative. English uses an auxiliary word prior to the verb itself: will (and shall) work. In Greek and Latin the tense signs appear between root and personal endings: b for future in Latin, s for future in Greek; -ba- for the imperfect in Latin; -(k)a- as the tense sign for perfect active in Greek. Greek—and Latin less uniformly—also uses *reduplication on the front of the word as part of the sign for the perfect active tense. Greek has (theta)-eta as the main tense sign for aorist passive and (theta)-eta-sigma for future passive.
In Latin, the sign of the perfect is often reduplication and/or vowel changes within the root as well as additions to the end of the root just before a distinct personal ending set. *Tense formatives for the perfect active include –v/i for most verbs in –are, -u/i, -s/i, loss of a root nasal(?)
-avi
-ui
-si
a vowel lengthening in the third principal part (with or without one of the other *formatives): ago/ēgi, capio/cēpi (and is compound forms), colligo/collēgi, corrigo/corrēxi, corru(m)po/corrūpi, desino/desīni, diligo/dilēxi, emo/ēmi, facio/fēci (compound forms), fluo/flūxi, fove/fōvi, fugio/fūgi, iacio/iēci, inicdio/iniēci, iuvo/ivi, lego/lēgi, mitto/mīsi, move/mōvi, stinguo/stīnxi, surgo/surrēxi, venio/vēni.
In English, several verbs use infixes to change the tense:
(in a set with *tense, *tense formant, *present tense, etc.)
tenuis: a voiceless, unaspirated stop (p, t, k), especially of interest in ancient Greek
(in a set with *aspirated; *voiced; *stop, fricative, *nasal, *plosive *trill)
term: a word
termination: an ending within the word that provides various alterations to the root , depending on the part of speech: number, gender, case (n. & adj.); person, number, tense, voice, mood (v.); part of speech (adv.). More limited in reference than *suffix, which is not just adjustments within the root itself, but also includes the addition of parallel ideas: -ology, -ostomy, etc.
(in a set with *suffix, *infix, *prefix, *affix)
terminal form: the shape a letter takes at the end of a word in contrast to its form elsewhere: Greek uses a different form of sigma at the end of a word; Hebrew does the same thing with five of its letters: . A similar thing happens with English words that end in y when vowel suffixes are added. The y is often changed to i before the additions are made even though there is no change in sound: vary > varied.
terminology: the words chosen to express an idea, particularly for a given subject. Often the terminology for a subject has been lifted out of the general vocabulary and specialized to the needs of explanation for the subject at hand. Though things can be explained in a number of ways, people who deal with specific subjects tend to settle on a collection of terms to convey the matters involved. (in a set with *jargon)
Tersanctus: The Latin equivalent of *Trishagion (Greek), the “three holy’s” that appear in Is 6:3 and Rev 4:8 in address to God.
terse: short and to the point, perhaps with a connotation of rudeness
testament: (1) a written document that serves as tangible proof of ownership, a will for the disquisition of property, and the like. (2) a set of beliefs; (3) either of the main divisions of the Bible—the Old Testament and the New Testament.
testify: (1) to give witness in a court of law; (2) in biblical usage outside a legal setting, to give witness, bear testimony, to declare openly and confidently as when John the Baptist identified Jesus as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). (3) in modern Christian setting, an expression for *witnessing to non-Christians about the articles of Christian belief and practice. (in a set with *witnessing)
testimonial: a favorable statement about someone’s character or accomplishments; a recommendation, a *tribute
testimony: the content given when a person testifies
tet/teth: the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ט retroflexed t
tetragrammeton: the four-consonant personal name of the Hebrew God, probably vocalized “Yahveh”/”Yahweh.” [<Lat tetra + Gr grapho, “4 + written”]
(in a set with *Jehovah, *Yahveh, *Yahweh)
tetralogy: a set of four related words—plays, (in a set with *trilogy)
tetrameter: a line of verse containing four metrical feet
(in a set with *trimeter, *pentameter, *hexamer)
text: (1) the body of the writing in contrast to *footnotes, *endnotes, *explanatory notations, or other accompanying features in a publication. (2) Short for *textbook.
(in a set with *booklet)
textbook: a book in formal education that serves as the student’s primary resource on a topic supplemented by the professor’s/teacher’s lectures
textual criticism: the disciple of trying to determine the correct reading of an ancient text, given the manuscript evidence along with ancient quotations and translations of the text.
textual marker: a recurrent feature of a text that signals a noticeable point of interest in the presentation note BAR Jan/Feb, 2012 p 28
textual sermon: a sermon that endeavors to outline itself according to the grammatical layout of the text.
(in a set with *exegetical sermon, *expository sermon, *topical sermon, *theme sermon)
textual marker: see BAR Jan/Feb, 28
Textus Receptus: the Greek text of the New Testament that lies behind the King James Version of the Bible; the *Byzantine text, or *majority text, in *textual criticism ????
“than” constructions
Such a construction requires a comparative adjective/adverb, a device for saying “than,” and some kind of case indication on the second noun of the comparison.
In English,
In Greek,
In Latin,
In Hebrew,
(in a set with *comparative-degree adjectives, *comparison of adjectives, comparative-degree adverbs, comparison of adverbs, *degrees of comparison, *comparative degree)
“their” common: Historically a common possessive for third personal plural, their has been pressed into service as a *common-gender third singular possessive: ex.
theme: an *essay; a somewhat brief treatment of subject matter in an explanatory way
theme sermon: (in a set with *exegetical sermon,* expository sermon, *textual sermon, *topical sermon)
theme vowel:
theophoric name: the inclusion of names of deities in the names of persons and places: Elijah < eli (my God) + (is) Jah[weh]
thesaurus: primarily a book of synonyms and equivalent phraseology, supplemented by antonyms and contrast words
thesis: (1) a formal writing often required for a master’s degree in which the results of one’s research on some specific topic (“theme”) are organized. Contrasts with dissertation, the scholarly writing for a doctoral degree. (2) In Hegelian thought, thesis refers to an original idea or practice that provokes an opposite viewpoint (*antithesis), and the interaction between the two produces a *synthesis, which in turn becomes a new thesis (status quo), etc.
(in a set with *dissertation) (in a set with *antithesis, *synthesis)
theta: eighth letter of the Greek alphabet: θ/Θ
third person: the one/ones spoken about in contrast to the one/ones spoken to or the one/ones speaking (in a set with *first person, *second person)
throw-away line
tilde: a diacritical mark shaped like one form of the Greek circumflex accent ( ˜ ) that is placed over the Spanish n to indicate the ny sound as in señor or over Portuguese vowels to indicate nasalization as in São.
timbre: the quality of sound as distinguished from pitch and volume
time: time references can be (1) time when, references to time as a fact. It can be diagrammed as a point < . > : “She slept that night.” (2) *Time during, or time within which, indicates the time frame during which some act or event occurred. It can be diagrammed as ( . . . ): “She slept during the day.” (3) *Extent of time indicates how long some act or event lasted. It can be diagrammed as as an arrow : “She slept (for) one night.”
Time words are the singular and plural of words like second, minute, hour, day, week, fortnight, month, year, decade, score, century, millennium; dates like ides; Monday, etc.; January, etc.; general words like time (for a long time).
Time may be indicated by nouns, nouns in prepositional phrases, or adverbs (later, right away, sometime, soon, today, tonight, tomorrow, yesterday)
(in a set with *time during/time within which, *time when, *extent of time)
time during: In Greek, time during is covered by the genitive case on the time word without the need of a preposition. Dia + G is also used: Acts 5:19.
In Latin time during is covered by the ablative case: “he worked during the night.” Same as *time within which. Latin does not formally distinguish *time when from *time during, covering both by the ablative case on the time word.
(in a set with *time, *time when, *extent of time)
time when: In Greek, time when is covered by the dative case on the time word. In Latin, it is covered by the ablative case: “He works at night.” English can use in, on, or at ahead of the time indicator, but often there is no preceding preposition. With dates and times, in, on, or at normally occurs: “He came back from Georgia on Moνday/on the twelfth/in September.” “He went to word at noon.” But there is no preposition necessarily in “he came home (on) Monday afternoon.”
(in a set with *time, *time during/*time within which, *extent of time)
time within which: same as time during
tip: an every-day term for an addition either before or after the *root of a word; a *prefix or *suffix.
title: a statement of ownership, particularly for non-landed property like cars. The “label” put over a writing for identification purposes
(in a set with *writ, *deed) (in a set with *entitled, *heading)
tittle: a little horn (kepaia; diminutive of keras) used originally to indicate small, perhaps variable or optional, part of a letter like the horns (flourishes, *serifs) on Hebrew letters (Mt 5:18 = Lk 16:17). Broadened somewhat to include diacritical marks in the spelling of some words such as accent marks, or to indicate vowel marks, or to refer to the dot on an i.
(in a set with *jot; *serif)
titular: adj. having to do with a system of honorifics for those of special social standing: Lord Campbell.
titular inscription: an inscription that indicates a person’s rank.
Tom Swifty: a humorous *word play that takes advantage of the multiple meanings of words: “She was crest-fallen over her new tooth paste.” “Maybe you should go ahead and put up all the shades while you have the hang of it.” A type of “groaner.”
(in a set with *double meaning, *multiple meanings, *paronomasia)
tome: a large book (in codex form)
tone language: a language that uses tones to distinguish meanings within words. *Pitch pattern describes the sound flow across words.
tone syllable: the syllable that receives the accent or tone mark
tone marks: what are called accents in Greek are actually tone marks for rise tones (acute), fall tones (grave), or rise-fall tones (circumflex). In tonal languages, such tones can distinguish meanings as these Greek example show:
κωλȗσαι (aorist active infinitive),
κωλύσαι (aorist optative third singular active),
κώλυσαι (perfect indicative middle second singular)
tongue: another word for language, seldom so used today; Greek, Latin, and Hebrew each use their word for the tongue as an organ and for tongue as language
tongue in cheek: something said that is obviously not meant in a straightforward way, an ironic or facetious utterance,
tongue speaking: same as *speaking in tongues (in a set with *ecstatic utterance, *glossolalia, *speaking in tongues, *xenoglossia)
tongue twister:
topic sentence: usually the lead sentence in a paragraph that sets the subject matter for the rest of the paragraph.
toponym
Torah: the Hebrew term for “law,” used as a name for the five books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy. (in a set with *Chetuvim and *Neviim)
tract: a small, short piece designed for quick acquaintance with an important issue
(in a set with *book, *reference book, *pamphlet)
tractate: a sμαll *tract
trade language: a more universal language used in widespread commerce that reaches beyond the scope of local languages (in a set with *pigeon language)
trademark: a symbol or *logo that a company puts on its product for identification purposes. It may be marked with a small, ™ or circled ® to show that it is claimed for exclusive use; it is a trademark, a registered, copyrighted symbol. The stylized picture of Willie the Wildcat is the logo that appears one items associated with Kansas State University. To put that symbol on its product, another company may have to pay a fee.
tradition: (1) a custom that has arisen over time and is maintained to reinforce the identity of the group or to help fix attention on something considered important: the standardized “I do” at weddings, to put up decorations at Christmas. (2) A story of some event or person that is not recorded in written form but passed down orally through generations.
(in a set with *legend, *lore)
tragedy: a play or literary piece whose main character suffers great loss because of what happens to him or because of some character flaw that brings tragedy on himself. A story with an unhappy ending.
(in a set with *comedy)
transcribe/transcription: a copying into clearer form, reproducible form, fuller form as from a physician’s notations, from short-hand to full text, from one place to another as from an artifact or monument.
transcript: the academic record of a student in high school or college.
transform: an equivalent manner of expressing the same idea using different formal mechanisms. It can happen
when transforming an active-voice sentence into an equivalent passive-voice format:
When transforming a relative clause into an equivalent attributive participle construction:
When transforming a statement into a question:
When transforming a statement into an indirect discourse construction
When transforming an direct question into an indirect question
When transforming an adverbial clause into an equivalent participial construction or an *absolute construction:
transformational generative grammar: an analysis of grammar that highlights the patterns by which one grammatical structure can be changed into another as with statement into question, participial phrase into a *relative clause, *direct discourse into *indirect discourse, *direct question into *indirect question,
transitional form/expression: an expression set off in commas that connects what has been said with what will be said. Transitional forms differ from conjunctions in that they make conceptual connection more than grammatical connection: accordingly, as a result, consequently, hence;
otherwise, so, then, therefore, thus; additionally, also, besides, furthermore, in addition, moreover, too, what is more;
after all, all in all, all things considered, briefly, by and large, in any case, in any event, in brief, in conclusion, in short, in summary, in the final analysis, in the long run, on balance, on the whole, to sum up;
afterward, at first, at the same time, finally, first, first of all, for now, for the time being, in conclusion, in the first place, in time, in turn, later on, meanwhile, next, respectively, second, then, to begin with;
admittedly, all the same, anyway, at any rate, be that as it may, even so, however, in any case, in any event, nevertheless, still, this fact notwithstanding; to be sure
as a rule, as usual, for the most part, generally, generally speaking, in general, ordinarily, usually; by contrast, by the same token, conversely, instead, likewise, on one hand, on the contrary, on the other hand, rather, similarly, yet;
by the by, by the way, incidentally;
for example, for instance, for one thing;
in essence, in other words, namely, that it, that is to say;
Another term for adverbial conjunction or adverbial connective. Gregg31-32
transition: passing from one topic to another, from one part of presentation to another (*splice)
transitive verb: a verb that has a direct object in contrast to one that does not. While some words may always be used transitively, transitiveness has to be figured on a case-by-case basis. Work is typically in*intransitive: “He worked yesterday”; but it can be transitive: “The point guard worked the clock so the team would get the last shot of the half.” Consequently, a dictionary can give only a general verdict on whether a verb is transitive or intransitive.
Some words may change meaning when used one way or the other. “He dranks the water”; but “his wife does not know that he drinks on business trips.” As an intransitive verb, drink means drink alcohol.
(in a set with *intransitive verbs; *linking verbs/*equative verb/*to be verb/*copulative verb, *fientive verb)
translatable: ideally, able to be expressed in another language without loss or addition of *meaning/*nuance/*connotation; a feature of one language that must be figured on a per-language basis with each other language since something might be translatable into one language but not into another.
(in a set with *untranslatable)
translation: Translation means transferring the ideas from one language to another. Render is another word for translate. A translation can refer to the whole body of a work while rendering looks at specific texts, passages, etc..
Since languages differ so much in how they operate, it is frequently difficult to get everything in the one transferred over into the other. An African language, for example, has a tag on its verbs that indicates whether an action is legitimate. Imagine the difficulty that factor presents if the other language has no information on that point. Consequently, things are said to “be lost in translation.”
Language is a matter of forms (words, word parts, and word combinations) used to convey meanings (*referents). Since meaning and form are conventional (not inherently necessary) and since forms and referents are usually not one-to-one, no two languages are likely to choose the same forms for exactly the same meanings. The translator’s must match up as well as possible the overlapping circles that exist across the two languages between words and expressions that are closest to each other.
There is a two-step device that helps keep the meaning close to the original and yet allows it to be idiomatic. Step 1 parallels the wording of the new language as closely as possible to the original one. Step 2 rewords it in a way a speaker would say it. Ideally the shift from step 1 to step 2 does not add lose content—a task more difficult than it might seem.
Distinctions relevant to translation include the difference between translation and transliteration. Translation deals with ideas; transliteration deals with symbols. Transliteration writes the sounds of one language in the alphabet designed of another.
A distinction needs to be drawn between translation and truth. So to speak, translation deals not with truth but with translation; it simply represents in another language the original writer’s intended ideas. The translator does not have to believe what he is translating; he simply has to translate it. In a similar vein, it is not the translator’s prerogative to make the text say what he thinks is true or what he would have said. This fundamental character of the translator’s work has been seriously breached by inclusive-language translations of the Bible. In the interests of getting the Bible to say what feminist theoreticians want it to say, the text is not allowed, for instance, to say He in reference to God because that is not considered true. It is not the role of the biblical translator to “correct” the content to his own understanding. If in commentary, preaching, or teaching a “spokesperson” wants to make explanatory notations to the effect that male/female is not a variable applicable to God, that is another thing; but the text itself needs to be left alone.
There is also a consideration of translation and interpretation. Good translation depends on proper understanding of the author’s intended meaning. Indeed, the Greek word for interpret and translate is the same: (di/meth)ermeeneuoo. If, for some reason, the meaning is ambiguous or unknowable, re-expressing that meaning in the new language is unavoidably inadequate. About all a translator can do is to make a word-for-word parallel accompanied by an *asterisk and marginal note that explain the difficulty and the options. In translating ancient texts, scholars can be hampered by vocabulary not known from elsewhere (*hapax legomena) or by words used in technical or otherwise unique ways that cannot be deciphered with confidence. At a higher level, the ideas expressed by words may not be retrievable because they address items, customs, or beliefs lost in antiquity. Indeed, the original writer may say something that would have been unclear even to a fellow native speaker or something capable of more than one interpretation. In all these circumstances, the resultant translation should be as precise or unclear as the original itself.
Finally, a difference can be maintained between translation and *paraphrase. A paraphrase approaches the enterprise in a way that reflects how the “translator” would have worded the matter from scratch. Of course, there are degrees of “looseness.” The danger is that the farther the translator moves from conveying the ideas in the author’s original terms, the easier it is to bend the ideas—however unconsciously—in the direction of his own thinking. Correctness, however, is not achieved by maintaining word-for-word parallel with the original. *Connotation particularly is lost or gained in moving from formal equivalence to paraphrase.
A translation is also called a *version.
(in a set with *pony, *transliteration, *translation types, *version)
translation types
word-for-word
wooden
formal equivalence
“literal”
paraphrastic
*pony
loose
functional equivalent
transliteration means transferring the symbols/letters for one language into the letters of another—using the letters of one *alphabet to represent the sounds of a different alphabet.
Greek transliteration into English.
There is some difference between the way Greek letters are spelled phonetically in English letters and the way English *derivatives from Greek words are spelled. That is evident with upsilon, which has derivatives spelled with y instead of u: psychee, rather than psuchee. Derivatives often use c for kappa instead of k: cacophony (“bad sound”) from kakos + phonee. But note leuko- for leukos (white). The diphthong ai has undergone a pattern of ai < ae < e. Some of today’s words represent one stage of that development: archaeology (archaios, “old”); others represent a further stage: encyclopedia.
A similar pattern is observed with oi < oe < e.
Hebrew transliteration
Hebrew transliteration into Greek.
The transliteration problem shows itself in the Bible where Hebrew names have been transliterated into Greek and then transliterated from Greek into English. All three alphabets lack the ability to represent adequately the range of sounds in the other two languages. In the older translations like the King James, Hebrew names were standardized within the Old Testament, but in the New Testament those same names were transliterated into English as based on their Greek spellings instead of being matched up consistently with the original ones. For instance, Greek had no h sound except in initial position, hence: Barachias (Berechiah), Elias (Elijah), Isaias (Isaiah), Jeremias (Jeremiah), Jonas (Jonah), Zacharias (Zechariah), etc. Then there were Osee (Hosea), Newer translations have been avoiding this unnecessary difference between Old Testament and New Testament spellings of the same name.
(in a set with *translation)
transpose: reverse the sequence of items or letters (*metathesis). In Hebrew’s hithpael stem, if the root begins with a sibilant after the hith- prefix, tav and sibilant reverse, or transpose, to avoid a perceived difficult combination of sounds. Akin to “besgetti” in a child’s mispronunciation of spaghetti. The dental-sibilant sequence causes “problems” in Greek and Latin as well. In a set with eliding the dental, dropping the sibilant, throwing away both the dental and sibilant, interfixing a vowel.
treatise: a writing that “treats” some subject, a serious written study
treaty: an agreement between political entities
tribute: a favorable public statement about a person’s character, achievements
trigraph: three letters that form one sound like sch in schist, schnookl, schuss, the German schule, or Hebrew schwa. (in a set with *digraph)
trilingual: in three languages or able to speak three languages. The *superscription on Jesus’ cross was trilingual (Jn 19:20), reflecting the fact that Latin, Hebrew/Aramaic, and Greek were currently used in the land.
(in a set with *bilingual, *monolingual)
triliteral root: three-letter *root, a designation for the three-consonant form of most Hebrew verbs and many of its other words.
(in a set with *quadriliteral root, *weak verbs)
trill: a series of fast contacts between the tongue and a pronunciation point—glottal, velar, dental, labial
trilled r: (in a set with *flapped r)
trilogy: a set of three related works (in a set with *tetralogy)
trimeter: a line of verse containing three metrical feet
(in a set with *tetrameter, *pentameter, *hexameter)
triolet: an eight-line stanza with rhyme scheme abaaabab, in which the last two lines duplicate the first two lines
triple-space: having two blank lines between lines of type; typed on every third line
triplet (in a set with *couplet)
triplicate: in three copies, an expression that was used when typewriters were in general use and the typist made two carbon copies at the same time as the original
(in a set with *duplicate)
Trishagion: Greek form; same meaning as the *Tersanctus (Latin), the “three holy’s” that appear in Isaiah 6:3 and repeated again in Rev 4:8 in address to God.
trisyllable/trisyllabic: a word having three syllable
trochee: a metrical foot with a long-short, stressed-unstressed sequence of syllables
(in a set with *anapest)
trope: a figure of speech
(in a set with *allegory, *euphemism, *hendiadys. *irony, *metaphor, *metonymy, *simile, *zeugma)
trove: a collection of valuable items in a certain category, as in a trove of epigraphic texts
truism: something patently true, obviously true; something anybody would know.
tsade: the eighteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: צ with ץ as its terminal form: Also
sade/sadhe.
tutor: an assistant that helps a student that is having difficulty in a specific course.
tutorial: a medium by which individualized instruction is given on some topic
typo: short for typographical error, a mistake made at a keyboard or type-set machine.
typology: the study of comparisons between figures of different times in history. In scriptural study, it is wise to identify entities as types of later figures only if scripture makes that comparison. Otherwise, there is no boundary for using something earlier as a kind of prediction of something later. (in a set with *interpretation; predictive prophecy)
unaccented: not having attention drawn to it by increased volume, raised pitch, or pausing
unaccented vowels: unaccented vowels in English tend toward sheva—like the e in because, a phenomenon illustrated by the words calendar, miner, fakir, minor, murmur, martyr.
umlaut: a horizontal double dot over a German vowel to indicate *rounded pronunciation; equal to an e written after a vowel. An umlaut looks like a *dieresis, another kind of *diacritical mark.
unattainable wish: a wish that refers to present or past time. Since the situation is already past or already in existence, it cannot be attained. In classical Greek the idea was covered by ei gar or either plus the imperfect or aorist indicative or by ophelon plus present or aorist infinitive for present or past unattainable wishes respectively.
uncials: “inch-high” letters (in a set with *minuscules: cp. *capitals):
underlining: putting a line under words to emphasize them or in using words as words. (in a set with *bold face print and *italics)
underlining, continuous: underlining that continues under the spaces between words and under punctuation that may be present
understatement: saying something at a lesser level than the situation really is. A teacher might say to someone who has a 99% average in the class, “I think you will pass okay.” Understatement is a manner of speaking sometimes associated with British custom; a device that can be used for humorous purposes. (in a set with *over statement, *exaggeration)
ungrammatical: understandable but not following the conventional rules of grammar: “A great deal of money don’t lead men to wisdom”; “him and me are best friends”; “between you and I”; “he be my help at work.” “now looking at the weather, there is a cold front coming in.”(in a set with *usage)
uninflected: not having more than one form to indicate variation in meaning and syntax. Some *parts of speech are not inflected in any language: adverbs, expletives, interjections, prepositions. Even in highly inflected languages there may be a few *indeclinable nouns like Latin nihil, satis, etc.
universal language: same as lingua franca, language used over a wide area where several more local languages are used
unpointed text: the Hebrew consonantal text without the *vowel points added later to facilitate pronunciation
(in a set with *pointed text)
unreadable: (1) illegible, unreadable because of the sloppiness of the writing; (2) unreadable because it is written in an unknown *cipher
untranslatable: not able to be translated very precisely or efficiently into another language. Sometimes *circumlocution can clarify the idea by departing from the strict correlation of wording between the two languages. In some cases, it may take an explanatory addition outside the flow of the text to make the idea clear—a footnote, endnote, sidenote, marginal note, bracketed noe within the text.
(in a set with *translatable)
unwritten: not written, a nevertheless known rule of operation, one that may not publicly be acknowledged or so customary that it need not be said: “it goes without saying.”
upper case: another term for *capital letters (of the alphabet) or higher case vs. *lower case (in a set with *lower case, *small letters; see also *common noun, *proper noun; *minuscules, *majuscules; )
upsilon: twentieth letter of the Greek alphabet: υ/Υ.
uptalk: the habit saying everything with the intonation of a question. According to RD, May, 2010, p. 131, uptalk was coined in 1993 by a professor at New York University.
utterance: vocal expression, statement
vade mecum: a handbook, guidebook, something continuously useful.; built on the word picture of something that goes everywhere with a person: Latin, go with me.
value: the sound quality of a letter of set of letters
valley talk:
variant reading: After the advent of the printing press and modern copying machines, duplication can be precise. In ancient manuscripts, which were copied by hand, however, there were many more opportunities for mistakes to enter into the reproduction process. Consequently, in New Testament and Old Testament as well as in copies of other ancient writings, certain places in the texts “vary” in the way they read from manuscript to manuscript. This fact gives rise to a discipline called *textual criticism, which endeavors to retrieve the original, correct reading wherever variants occur. It works out that no variant reading in the Bible introduces a difference in doctrinal content.
Differences arise (a) because the original different wordings of the same account in the *synoptic gospels have been regularized. Perhaps the scribe, in an effort to be more efficient, relied on memory too much and ended up confusing the different wordings of the two accounts.
(b) Sometimes word order is changed.
(c) put under textual criticism
[[list of major manuscript variants]]
(in a set with *textual criticism, *dittography, *haplography, *homoioteleuton, *metathesis)
vav: the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also waw.
veiled: not quite clear reference—veiled reference; implied, not straightforward, as in a veiled threat.
velar: a sound made with the tongue against the soft-palate in the back of the mouth; previously called *palatal or even *guttural. (in a set with *labials, *dentals, *liquids, *glottals)
verbatim: a word-for-word restatement of someone’s comment. Same as ad verbum, Lat)
verb: a word with certain inflection features and distribution placements in a sentence that indicates what the subject is or is doing. Popularly defined as a word that expresses action or state of being.
An action verb refers to action, movement, process in contrast to linking verbs, etc., which indicate mere existence
Copulative verbs (= linking verbs, equative verbs, state-of-being verbs)
Equative verbs (= linking verbs, copulative verbs, state-of-being verbs)
Linking verbs (= copulative verbs, equative verbs, state-of-being verbs)
State-of-being verbs (= copulative verbs, equative verbs linking verbs)
Fientive verbs: verbs that equal an English linking verbs plus predicate adjective: “is-strong”
Finite verbs, which indicate person
Infinite verbals, which do not indicate person; i. e., infinitives, participles, and gerunds
Main verbs appear in independent clauses.
Dependent verbs appear in dependent clauses.
Primary verb
Auxiliary verb: English uses forms of the verbs to be (is, are, was, were), do (do, does), have (has, have); may/might, will/would, shall/should, can/could, tried to.
Regular verbs are those whose other principal parts are predictable by standard patterns starting with the first principal part.
Irregular verbs do not have predictable principal parts.
Suppletive verbs are irregular verbs whose principal parts come from completely different roots: cp. English go, went, gone; Gr phero, oiso, enenka; in NT lego; Lat fero, ferre, tuli, latus and its cognates adfero, aufero, confero, offero, refero. (= *hybrid verb wh 212)
Defective verbs are those that do not have all the normal principal parts.
Deponent verbs are those that lack one or more of possible voices in one or more of their principal parts. In Greek there are first deponents, which lack the active voice only; as well as second deponents, which lack both the active and middle voices. In the case of second deponents, there is no third principal part because that principal part supplies the base for active and middle voice in the aorist and future tenses; consequently, those types of verbs have only a sixth principal part for covering the aorist tense. (The third principal part provides the base for active- and middle-voice forms.)
*Transitive verbs have *direct objects that complete the meaning: “He cried a river.”
*Intransitive verbs do not have an object: “He cried.”
*Impersonal verb exists only in the third person singular and technically has a in (phrase) as its subject: Latin licet
A *merged verb (English) closely combines a basic verb and an adverb in that order, either immediately or after separation: “She probably wears out the poor man”/”She probably wears the poor man out.” “Please look up the number”/”Please look the number up.” Also called a *fused verb although the latter is technically limited to phrases that cannot also be separated. The structure is similar to the Greek and Latin practice of prefixing prepositions to verbs to nuance or stress their meanings.
verbal: a form derived from a *finite verb: *infinitive, *participle, and *gerund. In addition, Latin has *gerundive (future passive participle specifically) and *supine.
Classical Greek had verbals that derived from the sixth principal part of the verb (-t[e]os, -t[e]a, -t[e]on) and were used to express necessity.
verbal adjunct: anything that connects with a verb—*direct object, *indirect object, *adverb, *prepositional phrase. This feature of grammar applies as well to *verbals—*participles, *gerunds, *infinitives, *gerundives, *supines.
verbal inspiration: a view of inspiration that attempts to avoid the ambiguity in use of inspiration by itself as a description of scripture. Verbal means that its accuracy is not a general conceptual matter, but lies at the level of the words of revelation through God’s prophets.
(in a set with *dictation theory of inspiration, *dynamic inspiration, *infallibility, *plenary inspiration; *inerrancy)
verbal noun: a noun derived from a verb, a *gerund, an *infinitive used in a noun slot.
verbalism: an expression in words
verbalize: to put a concept into words; to express it in words.
verbiage: the way something is expressed in words; also wordiness, *verbosity
verify: a possibility in English that comes from its relatively sparse inflectional endings: to use a noun in a verb slot, to “ verb” your nouns. Many English words like work and hammer have been serving a dual role for a long time in the language already. “Verbing a noun” in effect, then, means doing it to nouns that have not yet been entered into that usage. “to transition into a new role”; “to position yourself for advancement in the company”; example
verbose: wordy, “full of words,” using many words to say something or talking for a long time about it; lacking economy of expression (in a set with *prolix)
verbosity: wordiness [Latin: verb-, word, -ose, full of, -ity, condition]
verisimilitude: writing in a way appropriate to the setting of what is written about.
An example in the New Testament may be Acts 1-12 vs. Acts 13-28. More distinctively Greek idioms like *litotes appear in the last section, where the account chronicles the Gentile mission, while *Hebraisms are more prevalent in the first part, where the events take place in Palestine. Samuel Clemens [Mark Twain] draws attention to that feature of his writing in Tom Sawyer.
vernacular: the standard, every-day, local language of the common person. In more recent times, the Roman Catholic Church has adopted the practice of conducting services “in the vernacular” in contrast to using universal ecclesiastical Latin for that purpose, a practice in place for several hundred years.
verse: the shortest division of a biblical text, which occurs within a chapter (except, of course, with the four short New Testament books that do not have chapter divisions: Philemon, 1 John, 2 John, Jude)
In music lyrics, the verse is the introductory section that leads to the chorus, which may repeat after each new verse.
In poetry, a verse equals a set of lines.
(in a set with *chapter, *book, *part, *volume)
version: a *translation, especially a translation of the same text in comparison with other translations of the same writing. Outside a translation context, version can refer to a particular form of a writing or account among several forms of the item
videlicet: a marker for introducing a list [Latin: *crasis of videre licet, to see is permitted]
viewpoint: the one through whose eyes a story is told Agatha Christie’s *mystery that tells the story through the eyes of the guilty character.
(in a set with *anthropocentric viewpoint, *geocentric viewpoint, *omniscient viewpoint)
vignette: a short literary sketch; a scene excerpted from a movie
visible speech: a system used in teaching the deaf or hard-of-hearing to “read lips,” more exactly to see all the factors that go into oral expression
vitriol: bitter, caustic, hurtful criticism of someone
vivid narration: the use of the *historic present instead of the past tense (perfect in Latin or aorist in Greek) when giving an account of an occurrence in past time: “Yesterday, I am going downtown to pay my mortgage, and this guy stops me on the sidewalk and . . . “
vocabulary: (1) the words a language uses.
*Cognate words are those that share the same or similar base: work (noun), work (verb), workable/unworkable, workman, working (man), (public) works, workbrittle, workhorse, workflow, worker, workaholic, workout, workmanship, a work-up, and a number of other words.
The speaking vocabulary, listening vocabulary, and reading vocabulary are in ascending order of size according to a native speaker’s use of the language.
(2) the distinctive words associated with a particular discipline or field of study.
(in a set with *inflection, *syntax)
vocative case: case of direct address: “John, come here, please.”
In English, a vocative noun may be preceded by the particle O, a practice that has largely fallen out of usage. English has no distinctive case form, the usage being signaled by pause, *distribution, or pitch pattern to keep it separate from the nominative. Written English sets off the vocative with commas, reflecting the associated pitch pattern and slight pause in oral expression.
In Latin and Greek the case form for vocative is always the same as the nominative in the plural. In the singular, Greek –os nouns use –e, and in Latin the corresponding –us declension likewise uses –e to indicate vocative. Virtually everywhere else the nominative and vocative singular have the same form. Latin –ius nouns use –i for vocative singular; for meus the vocative is mi; and for deus the vocative plural is di.
(in a set with *nominative, *genitive, *dative, *accusative, *ablative, *locative)
vociferate: to speak loudly, vehemently, especially as in protest
voice: Depending on the language, voice may be *active voice, *passive voice, *middle voice, or simply *stative or *linking. Active voice has the subject acting in the verb. Passive voice has the subject acted on by the verb. Middle voice has the subject acting on itself or on a direct object so as to affect itself. A *linking verb does not show action in the verb; it simply connects the subject with another noun or *descriptor. A *stative verb is one that emphasizes the resulting condition of the action: “I have it done,” one possible translation of the Greek and Latin perfect tense.
(in a set with *person, *number, *tense, *mood, *aspect)
voiced: having the vocal cords vibrating in the making of the sound (in a set with *voiceless)
voiceless: pertaining to a sound that does not have the vocal cords vibrating, as in a whisper or with consonants that do not require the use of the vocal cords. (in a set with *voiced; *surd)
volume: (1) degree of loudness. (2) a subdivision of a large work that has more than one book form, or codex, to contain the material.
(in a set with *verse, *chapter, *paragraph, *part, *book, *set, *reference)
word play: word usage that takes advantage of the multiple meanings of words; *paronomasia
(in a set with *groaner, *Tom Swifty)
vowel:
(in a set with *consonant, *liquid, *click, *rounded vowel)
vowel points: markings developed in the ??? century by the Masoretes?? for indicating the vowel sounds that went with the consonants in the original Hebrew Old Testament.
vowel glide: a slide from one vowel to another; a kind of *diphthong.
(in a set with *monophthong, *diphthong)
vowelize: another expression for adding vowel points as in Hebrew, whose basic alphabet is consonantal.
vulgarism: a term or expression with extremely negative connotation, meant in complete disrespect and not welcome in polite company. (in a set with *archaism, *buzz word, *catch phrase, *coarse talk, *curse word, *colloquialism, *formal term, *informal term, *oath, *obsolete term, *provincialisms, *regionalism, *slang, *technical term)
Vulgate: the standard Latin translation of the Bible used even today. It was finished by Jerome at the end of the 300’s A. D. and lies behind modern vernacular Roman Catholic translations including the Confraternity Edition Bible in English. The Vulgate replaced the Old Latin translation of the Bible, being better suited to use by the masses. The term vulgate originally meant the language of the common people, a usage related to the word vulgar, which has picked up a negative connotation in modern English.
waw: the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also vav.: ו
weak verb: A Hebrew verb that has a guttural as one of its root letters is called “weak verbs.” Also pe-nun verbs, verbs that have nun in their initial root position
(in a set with *triliteral root, *quadrןliteral root, *doubly weak verb)
weasel word: a word used in such a way that it is intentionally misleading so as to avoid taking a position or making a commitment
western text (in a set with *majority text, *Byzantine text, *neutral text)
will: (1) the main auxiliary verb for expressing the future with English verbs; (2) as a development off of futurity, will can indicate a person’s intentions; (3) a *testament by which one indicates his intentions for passing on property after death
wisdom literature: Old Testament examples are Job and Proverbs; in the New Testament, The Sermon on the Mount/Plain, James, and Jude are examples. Wisdom literature makes observations and gives advice more exactly on the basis of the nature of things—what works or does not work. Thus, it is *advice more than *commandment, which is based in the authority of the essential author. Wisdom literature speaks about significant generalities, whereas law and commandment speak in absolutes
witnessing: in modern religious usage, speaking to non-Christians about Christian belief and practice; testifying, evangelizing
witticism: a cute, clever, light statement; *bon mot wh 217
word: a free-standing unit of communication that is understood by fellow speakers. Saying that something is not a word is not strictly a cogent statement if it is meant by a speaker and understood by hearers. What the expression “is not a word” means is that it is not considered a “proper” word in educated society. Consequently, the following—among many others—are words: ain’t, dark complected, hisself, irregardless, theirselves; all words for animal sounds: cluck, meow, peep, quack, [see under *onomapoeia]
word building: the creation of *vocabulary in a language by combining *roots, *suffixes,* prefixes, *infixes (*morphemes).
Sequence of roots. In compound words with more than one root, all the parts usually come from the same language. If Latin or Greek is involved, all the parts of the word are likely to come from Greek or from Latin. So the word is nyctalopia, not noctalopia because the latter morpheme for night comes from Latin while the al- (blind) and opia come from Greek.
In long compound words such as those frequently found in medical terminology, the order of the roots follows the sequence of the process. In the digestive process, the esophagus precedes the stomach, which precedes the duodenum, etc. Consequently, the words will be esophagogastric and gastroduodenoscopy. If the esophagogastric addresses an acid reflux problem, however, it may be written gastroesophageal. In medical terminology the body part comes first, followed by the condition or procedure suffixed to the end.
Words ending in –ma add t before connecting vowel and any further additional elements. That happens because the Greek words from which –ma words come had a t that ended the root everywhere except in the nominative singular. The *zero ending in that place for third-declension neuter nouns meant that the dictionary form would have ended in t. Greek words could not end in t, however; so the letter tau was dropped unless inflection added a sound. Then it appeared as part of the word. That same pattern applies to English derivatives of all -ma words to yield forms like [insert panel] atheroma/atheromatai; derma, dermatitis, dermatology; lipoma/lipomata; sarcoma/sarcomata; soma/psychosomatic; stigma, stigmata, stigmatize; trauma/traumatology;
word of mouth: the spread of information informally individual to individual without deliberate intent to *advertise and without the use of *mass media. Similar to social media in contrast to dispersal by official publication.
word order
In Latin the basic word order is subject, indirect object, direct object, adverbs, and verb; but the considerable deviation from this sequence provides variety and emphasis. Languages like Latin and Greek that have case endings do not need to maintain a particular sequence of sentence parts. In *poetry the sequence is even more radical that in *prose. If a word appears up front that by standard order more likely would to appear later in the sentence, the author probably intends to emphasize it. Breaks from standard order are noticeable and therefore stressed. *Interrogative words typically appear at the front of their clause, whether they are subjects or not.
English has set formats because there are no case indicators except with pronouns; so placement/distribution—word order—indicates the role a word has in the sentence. Flexibility in sequence is greatly reduced from what it can be in the classical languages.
Latin has a basic sentence format consisting of subject, indirect object, direct object, adverb, and verb. The standard position for an adjective is after the noun it modifies: femina bona. Demonstratives and numbers, however, usually precede the noun.
Some words do not appear first in their clause, words said to be postpositive. English used to observe the custom of not putting however at the front of a sentence. Latin has autem, igitur, inquit, Greek has de, gar, te,
There are *bound constructions even in highly inflected languages that do not have to depend on word order for *syntax. Latin and Greek prepositional phrases have a noun-object sequence (with the exception of one postpositive preposition in Greek, where its object appears before the preposition: ). Latin departs from this uniformity when cum has an object modified by an adjective; in that case the adjective precedes the preposition (magna cum laude). When cum has a personal pronoun as its object, it becomes a *postpositive attached to the end of the pronoun: mecum. Some other Latin bound constructions have causa preceded by its genitive (remissionis causa, “for-the-sake of-forgiveness”).
Greek always has its articles before its nouns. With articular nouns, adjective always appear between article and noun (first attributive position) or after the repeated article (*second attributive position), or on the other side of a linking verb. Demonstratives, however, always appear in *predicate position, that is before the article or after the noun.
Hebrew typically puts the verb first followed by the subject and direct object.
German tends to puts its verb last.
(akin to *distribution, *postpositive)
word parts: same as *morpheme; the smallest unit of meaning in a word. Thus “word parts” include, *roots/*bases/*stems, *combining forms, *prefixes, *infixes, *suffixes (in a set with *affix)
word picture: the imagery in a word because of its origin by derivation or coinage; probably a better concept than the oft-used “literal.” The word picture is usually less than its applied meaning. Homosexual, for example, by word picture means “same sex”; but its applied meaning adds the element “attracted to” (the same sex). The word for resurrection in Greek is anastasis, which is comprised of ana, “again,” and sta-, “to stand”; its word picture, then, is a standing again, but it is particularized into standing again after being prone because of death.
Sometimes the word picture does not even involve the most crucial aspect of the *referent. Epistaxis is a word for “nosebleed,” but nothing in it says “nose.” Atelectasis is a word for “collapsed lung,” but nothing in it refers to “lung.”
word play: *pun, *paronomasia. An expression that takes advantage of a word’s variant meanings. The Golden Rule has been humorously restated to mean “they that have the gold have the rule”; golden can mean very good or made of gold and rule can mean principle of control.
word square:
word used as a word: a word not used so much for its meaning or its role in the sentence, but for its own identity. Such a word is always put in the nominative case in Latin, Greek, and English: “She said he four times in one sentence.” A word so used has singular number, taking a singular verb and singular modifiers: “This foolish ones describes the monkeys.”
wordal/wordle: a collage of words related to a common theme and put on a page or sheet without regard for order, symmetry, or maintaining horizontal direction.
work: a scholarly writing in some important field of study; it may refer to a multi-volume set and usually the result of one author.
(in a set with *monograph, *book, dictionary, *encyclopedia, *synopticon, *writing)
workbook: a book that accompanies a *textbook and provides exercises that reinforce the materials presented in the text.
writ: a legal document (in a set with *deed, *title) (in a set with *deed, *title)
writer: another term for author, even if that person dictated the text to a stenographer. The person who writes the words of a song in contrast to composer, who writer the music.
(in a set with *author, *lyric, *lyrics, *lyricist, *libretto)
writing: putting something down on paper in contrast to oral expression; *cursive in contrast to printing. Originally applied to handwritten works, but retained after the printing press as a designation for an author’s work however produced.
(in a set with *prose, *poetry; *block lettering, *scrawl, *scribble)
writings: the compositions by which an author has formally expressed himself on subjects of interest to him; implies a scholarly product
xenoglossia: speaking in an actual contemporary foreign language, especially by the enablement of the Holy Spirit in contrast to a foreign language learned by normal means
(in a set with *glossolalia, *ecstatic utterance, *speaking in tongues. *tongue speaking)
xi: fourteenth letter of the Greek alphabet: ξ/Ξ
xylograph: an engraving on wood
Yahveh/Yahweh: the approximate vocalization of the *tetragrammeton, the ineffable name of the Hebrew God
yellow journalism: uninhibited, careless journalism usually negative or defamatory
yod/yodh: the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: י
“you” advised: the use of you as an *indefinite pronoun in place of one, a person, someone: “When you throw a curve ball, you put your fingers on the seams this way.”
zayin: the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ז
zed: the letter z in British *parlance.
zero ending: In an inflection set, the absence of an ending parallel to the others endings becomes significant. +Latin examples. It occurs in the neuter nominative singular of third-declension Latin nouns and in the nominative masculine singulars of –er nouns and adjectives in the second declension. Ex. Latin, 2nd sg imperative active (da, give); nom mas sg of –er nouns and adjectives from the second declension (puer, pulcher). Zero endings also appear in second singular imperatives of third-declension active verbs (dic, duc, fer, fac (or are their vowels lengthened in these examples?)
+English examples:
+Greek examples:
+Hebrew examples: third sg mas perf verbs
zeta: the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet: ζ/Ζ
zeugma: the use of a word to mean two things at once. WH 289
(in a set with *paronomasia, *play on words)