Diederich Paper 03 Basic Voc
Diederich Paper 03 Basic Voc
Introduction
The reasons behind this selection of Latin words as a basic vocabulary for the
general reader of Latin literature have been discussed in the first section of
this report. As indicated there, the list contains 1,471 Latin words which
occurred twenty times or more in the literature examined In this study and at
least ten times in the classical Latin alone. They included 83.6 per cent of the
words in the three anthologies, and 84.4 per cent of the words in ten short
passages from representative classical authors (which had not been included in the
anthologies) were found to occur in this list. We therefore predict that this
basic vocabulary will enable the reader to recognize directly about 85 per cent
(in round numbers) of all the words he will ever read In Latin literature and to
deduce the meaning of about 10 per cent more as derivatives or compounds of known
words, or as obvious roots of known English derivatives. The line was drawn at
this point because the group of words next highest in frequency would enable the
reader to recognize directly only an additional 7 per cent of the vocabulary of
Latin literature after learning about 1,000 additional words. Of the 1,471 words
in the basic vocabulary, about 400 are so closely related in form and meaning to
English derivatives and cognates that, in the experience of the writer, they can
either be guessed or learned very easily by the average beginning class in
secondary schools. This reduces the burden of memorizing the basic vocabulary to
about 1,000 words, which should be learned by secondary school pupils in two
years, or in one year by the mature reader In college or in later life. It is
hoped that these words will be embodied in easy reading materials, or selected for
special emphasis from present reading materials, and learned as they occur in
reading.
The recommended basic vocabulary was first issued as a single alphabetical list.
The writer found this list very difficult to use in writing easy Latin for
beginners, and his pupils were unable to use it effectively as a review of what
they had learned. The present list, therefore, has been arranged in groups of
related words, including words which are easily confused, and which must be
carefully distinguished. All the nouns relating to the gods are put first, then to
time, then to the four elementsair, fire, water, and earth, then to plants, food,
animals, people, parts of the body, mind, feelings, etc. Verbs, adjectives, and
adverbs have similar classification, but the lists of pronouns, conjunctions, and
prepositions were so short that we felt nothing would be gained by dividing them.
When an adjective is related to a noun, as patrius to pater, it Is listed with
that noun, and not listed among the adjectives. This principle holds for all
related words. All the compounds of a word within the designated range of
frequency are listed with that word. Pero seems to be the best example of the
force of the common prefixes; nearly all its compounds occur frequently enough to
be included, and all have important English derivatives. Words which must be
distinguished are prefixed by the abbreviation d. For example, after aer we have
d. aes, aer-, aether, aura, d. auris, d. aurum, ventus. Such word-groups were
classified and checked so systematically that the teacher may feel confident that
all words in the basic vocabulary which are related in form or Idea have been
brought together. Even within each word-group words are arranged In such sequence
that closely related 'words are brought near together. This arrangement brought
together many near- synonyms for which it was sometimes impossible to find English
equivalents which would validly distinguish one from another. We could invent such
distinctions, but the larger dictionaries gave instances which belied our
distinctions. We therefore assigned Identical English equivalents to many of these
near-synonyms, with the understanding that each synonym would fit one meaning or
another of the English equivalent, depending on the context.
Seite 1 von 43
of suggestions of words which are easily and naturally remembered together..
Teachers who are especially interested in etymology should welcome a few such
instances as opportunities to teach their pupils how true etymologies may be
distinguished from false.
The writer has no objection if any teacher or textbook writer wishes to extend
this skeletal organization to include the usual trappings of a word-list. He is
anxious for the list to appear in this form, however, to illustrate how the
acquisition of a useful vocabulary is simplified by his system of interpreting the
Latin word-endings. It makes no use of quantity, gender, declensions, or
conjugations. It does not require a knowledge of what endings can be used with
what nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, since these are "given" In reading; hence
the genitive is unnecessary. It assumes that verb-forms built upon the present
stem can be recognized from the first person singular of the present tense as
readily as from the infinitive, and all the rules for interpreting "penultimate
signs" take this assumption into account. These rules even assert that the present
stem is approximately the same (for our purposes) as the first dictionary form of
verbs. While this statement will undoubtedly curl the hair of the orthodox
grammarian, we know of no instance in the three years during which this system was
taught in which a pupil failed to recognize a verb-form built on the present stem
for lack of knowledge of the infinitive. On the other hand, the writer believes
that the common rule that the present stem is the present infinitive minus -re
confuses the pupil when he comes to deponent verbs, and makes no sense in the
third conjugation. The stem of duco may technically be duce-, but it appears only
twice in the future and throughout the imperfect subjunctive: almost nowhere else.
We might as well say that the present stem of duco is duco, and save one-quarter
of the work of learning principal parts. The basic vocabulary includes a few
English equivalents of each Latin word, not with the idea that these equivalents
Seite 2 von 43
cover the total range of meanings of these Latin words, but with the idea of
extending the immediate usefulness of the list by offering a few "core-meanings"
of these words which could helpfully be remembered. We must not confuse the
functions of a basic vocabulary with those of a dictionary. To offer the whole
range of meaning of a word like rego to a beginner would only confuse him. With
our core-meanings as a base, he can extend his acquaintance with such words as he
encounters them in different contexts.
The basic vocabulary also offers English derivatives, in which the Latin root is
recognizable, whenever they could be found. These are distinguished by
parentheses, except when the derivative is identical or almost identical with the
English equivalent of the Latin word. In some cases these are not true derivatives
of the word with which they appear. Some are cognates, and some are derivatives of
other forms of these words which do not appear in our list. In all such cases
technical accuracy was sacrificed to the additional meaning which could be thrown
upon either the English or the Latin word by putting them together. We used
Lindsay's "Etymological Study of the Ten Thousand Words in Thorndike's Teachers'
Word Book" as a source of suggestions, but did not confine ourselves to it. Many
of the most helpful and interesting derivatives occur beyond this range of
frequency.
The basic vocabulary, therefore, presents the barest minimum of information about
the most important words in the Latin language with the aim of stripping the
acquisition of useful vocabulary of all non-essentials in the writer's system of
interpretation. It is frankly a word-list to be used with this system of
interpretation, and to illustrate its simplification of the task of learning to
read Latin. Those who use the list may add to this minimum to any extent which
they find helpful. Al such additions should be made, however, only after careful
con sideration of the additional burden they will impose upon an already difficult
task.
1. Gods
2. Time
3. Sky
4. Fire
5. Water
6. Earth
7. Plants
8. Food
9. Animals
10. People
11. Body
12. Mind
13. Peelings
14. Talk
15. Writing
16. Work and Play
17. City and Buildings
18. Military
19. Government
20. Social Approval
21. Evil
22. Death
23. Abstractions and Unclassified
II. Pronouns
Seite 3 von 43
III. Verbs and Related Words
1. Size
2. Number
3. Texture-Density
4. Appearance
5. Position
6. Time
7. Favorable
8. Unfavorable
9. Unclassified
V. Adverbs
1. Time
2. Place
3. Cause-Manner
4. Adversative
VI. Interjections
VII. Conjunctions
1. Gods
nympha Nymph
templum temple
ara altar
Seite 4 von 43
vates prophet, soothsayer, poet
fatum fate
fortuna fortune
sors, sort- lot, luck
2. Time
ver Spring
vernus Spring-like, vernal
hora hour
3. Sky
Seite 5 von 43
aer air (aerial, aeroplane)
d. aes, aer- copper, brass, money
aether upper air, heaven (ether)
aura air, breeze
d. auris ear
d. aurum gold
ventus wind (ventilate)
nubes cloud
4. Fire
flamma flame
5. Water
ora shore
ripa bank (riparian)
litus, litor- shore, beach
fretum strait
lacus lake
Seite 6 von 43
d. pontus sea
6. Earth
pratum meadow
collis hill
valles valley
saltus dale, ravine, glade
antrum cave (antrum)
7. Plants
Seite 7 von 43
palma palm (tree and hand)
rosa rose
laurus laurel
lilium lily
8. Food
cibus food
poculum cup
vinum wine
pomum fruit
9. Animals
animal animal
Seite 8 von 43
iuvencus young bull or cow, ox
ovis sheep
lupus wolf
10. People
mulier woman
femina woman, female (feminine)
familia family
Seite 9 von 43
mater, matr- mother (maternal, matriarch)
gener son-in-law
11. Body
coma hair
capillus a hair (capillary)
crinis hair, looks
gena cheek
Seite 10 von 43
collum neck (collar)
tergum back
bracchium arm
12. Mind
memoria memory
memor mindful
memoro, memoravi, memoratus remind, mention
memini remember
obliviscor, oblitus forget
13. Feelings
Seite 11 von 43
fidus faithful
confido, confisus trust, confide
spes hope
spero, -avi, -atus hope
despero despair
14. Talk
tumultus tumult
d. tumulus mound
murmur murmur
rumor rumor
iocus joke
15. Writing
historia history
lyra lyre
poeta poet
auctor author
Seite 12 von 43
negotium business (negotiate)
merx,merc- merchandise wares
pretium price (precious)
ops, op- resources, power, help
domus home
villa country house, estate
columna column
thalamus bedroom
torus couch, knot
18. Military
arma arms
armo, armavi, armatus to arm
telum weapon
castra camp
castellum fortress (castle)
Seite 13 von 43
impetus attack (impetus, impetuous)
victor victor
victoria victory
vinco, vici, victus conquer
d. vincio, vinxi, vinctum bind
triumphus triumph
19. Government
provincia province
corona crown
Seite 14 von 43
honos, honor- distinction, honor
honestus honorable, distinguished
21. Evil
clades destruction
luctus grief
d. lucus grove
lacrima tears
22. Death
Seite 15 von 43
d. tumultus tumult
monumentum monument
natura nature
causa cause
materia material
spatium space
exemplum example
condicio condition
color color
Seite 16 von 43
odor odor
II. Pronouns
ego I
me me
mecum with me
meus my
mihi to me
nos we, us
nobis us, to us
noster our
tu you (singular)
te you
tecum with you
tuus your
tibi to you
is this or that
(not so definite as hic or ille,
and used chiefly to refer to something
or someone already mentioned), he, she, it.
Except in is (sub.) and id (sub. obj.)
the stem is e- with regular endings.
idem same (same forms as is followed by -dem)
Seite 17 von 43
qui, quis who, which, stem qu-
except In cuius adj. whose, of whom, of which
cui adv. to whom, to which
Seite 18 von 43
evenio come out, happen (event)
invenio come upon, find (invent)
pervenio come through, arrive
Seite 19 von 43
habito, -avi, -atus live in, inhabit
haereo, haesi, haesus stick, cling to, stand still (adhere, adhesive)
Seite 20 von 43
educo lead out, raise up (educate)
reduco lead back, reduce
dux, duc- leader (duke)
Seite 21 von 43
iungo, iunxi, iunctus join, unite, connect (junction, juncture)
iugum yoke
coniungo join together (conjunction, conjugate)
coniunx, coniug- mate, wife, husband (conjugal)
maritus husband (marital)
uxor wife (uxorious)
Seite 22 von 43
obtineo obtain
pertineo pertain
retineo retain
sustineo sustain
am
are was will be
is were
---- ---- -------
I sum eram ero
you es eras eris
he est erat erit
we sumus eramus erimus
you estis eratis eritis
they sunt erant erunt
subjunctive
pres. past
be were
----- -----
I sim essem
you sis esses
Seite 23 von 43
he sit esset
we simus essemus
you sitis essetis
they sint essent
Seite 24 von 43
rubeo, rubui be red, blush (ruby)
Seite 25 von 43
regio, region- region
regno, -avi, -atus reign, rule
regnum kingdom (reign)
5. Constructive Activities
Seite 26 von 43
orno, -avi, -atus ornament, honor, equip
colo, colul, cultus cultivate, live in, study, pay attention or respect to
cultus cultivated or cultivation, worship (cult)
6. Destructive Activities
ferio strike
d. fero bear
Seite 27 von 43
conor. conatus try
coepi begin
8. Vocal Activities
Seite 28 von 43
cantus song, poetry (chant)
carmen, carmin- poem
Seite 29 von 43
reor, ratus dep. think, suppose, judge
reus accused person, defendant in a trial
10. Favor
Seite 30 von 43
foveo, fovi, fotus cherish, keep warm
Seite 31 von 43
cupio, cupivi, cupitus desire, yearn
cupido, cupidin- a desire (Cupid)
cupidus eager, fond, greedy
11. Disfavor
1. Size
Seite 32 von 43
largus plentiful, liberal, generous
immensus immense
longus long
2. Number
Seite 33 von 43
ullus any
3. Texture-Density
liquidus liquid
Seite 34 von 43
4. Appearance
purpureus purple
5. Position
secretus secret
privatus private
publicus public, res publica the state
communis common (community)
proprius one's own, special (property)
6. Time
aeternus eternal
immortalis immortal
perpetuus perpetual
Seite 35 von 43
tardus slow, late (tardy)
7. Favorable
nobilis noble
liber free
liberalis suitable to a freeman, generous, noble (liberal)
libero, -avi, -atus set free
libertas, libertat- liberty
d. liber, libr- book (library)
libellus little book (libel)
Seite 36 von 43
purus pure
merus pure, unmixed
integer, integr- whole, upright (integrity)
castus chaste
8. Unfavorable
crudelis cruel
ferus fierce, wild, savage
d. fere almost
saevus raging, violent
dirus dire, horrible
severus severe, strict
asper rough, harsh (asperity, aspersion)
durus hard, harsh, enduring (durable)
vastus ruined, laid waste (devastated)
caecus blind
stultus stupid (stultify)
rudis rude, rough, uncultivated
9. Unclassified
talis such
qualis as, what sort of (quality)
necesse necessary
necessitas necessity, need, relationship
simplex simple
varius varied
certus certain
incertus uncertain
Seite 37 von 43
vehemens, vehement- vehement, violent
V. Adverbs
1. Time
nuper recently
nunc now
subito suddenly
repente suddenly
mox soon
numquam never
umquam ever
semel once
saepe often
semper always
interim meanwhile
interea meanwhile
interdum meanwhile
Seite 38 von 43
quando when
aliquando sometimes, at some time
tum then
tunc then
2. Place
hic here
hinc from here, hence
huc to this place, hither
adhuc up to this time
ibi there
ibidem in the same place (ibid.)
penitus deeply
3. Cause--Manner
cur why
quare why, wherefore, on what account
Seite 39 von 43
nimius too much, too great, too long
4. Adversative
non not
haud not at all
nondum not yet
forsitan perhaps
paene almost
fere almost
d. ferus wild
saltem at least
VI. Interjections
io hurrah!
0 0
VII. Conjunctions
quoque also
at but
sed but
Seite 40 von 43
aut or, aut ... aut either ... or
an whether, or
dum while
donec until
quoniam since
quia because
quod because
quamquam although
si if
sive or seu or if, whether...or
quasi as if
nisi unless
etsi although
Seite 41 von 43
ad to, toward (advertise; the d frequently changes to other
letters as in accede, affix, allot, announce,
appetite, arrive, assent, attempt, etc.)
in in, at, on
(as prefix sometimes means not: inability, improper)
PREFACE
Seite 42 von 43
THE WORD COUNT
APPENDIXES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
VITA
Seite 43 von 43