chapter-16

HOW TO TALK ABOUT A VARIETY OF PERSONAL

CHARACTERISTICS

(Sessions 45–46)

TEASER PREVIEW

What word, ending in -ous, describes someone who is:

fawning, servilely attentive, transparently self-ingratiating?

nagging, dissatisfied, complaining?

snobbish, haughtily contemptuous, arrogant?

noisily troublesome, unmanageable?

habitually short of cash?

attentive and courteous to women?

harmless?

fond of liquor?

pale, gaunt, haggard?

melancholy, sorrowful?

SESSION 45

There are thousands of English words that end in the letters -ous—a Latin

suffix meaning full of.

The central theme about which the words in this chapter revolve is the

idea of “fullness”—and as you will shortly see, you can be full of

compliance and servility; full of complaints; full of snobbery; full of noise;

full of no money; full of horsemanship; full of harmlessness; full of liquor;

full of deathly pallor; and full of sorrows.

For each of these ideas English has a word—and the person with a rich

vocabularly knows the exact word to describe what someone is full of.

IDEAS

1. compliance

The Latin root sequor means to follow—and those who follow rather

than lead are usually in a menial, subordinate, or inferior position. People

who engage in certain fields of endeavor—waiters, clerks, and servants,

for example—are forced, often contrary to their natural temperaments, to

act excessively courteous, pleasant, obliging, even subservient and

humble. They must follow the lead of their customers or employers,

bending their own wills according to the desires of those they serve. They

are, etymologically, full of following after, or—

obsequious

RELATED WORDS:

1. obsequies—In a funeral cortege, the mourners follow after the corpse.

Hence, obsequies are the burial ceremonies, the funeral rites.

2. subsequent—A subsequent letter, paragraph, time, etc. is one that

follows another.

3. sequel—A sequel may be a literary work, such as a novel, that follows

another, continuing the same subject, dealing with the same people or

village, etc. or it may be an occurrence that grows out of or follows

another, as in, “Just wait until you hear the sequel to the story!”

4. sequence—In order, one item following another, as in, “The sequence of

events of the next few days left him breathless.”

Any other word containing the root sequ- is likely to have some

relationship to the idea of following.

2. complaints

The Latin root queror means to complain—and anyone full of complaints,

constantly nagging, harping, fretful, petulant, whining, never satisfied,

may accordingly be called—

querulous

3. snobbery

The Latin root cilium means eyelid; super means above; and above the

eyelid, as anyone can plainly see, is the eyebrow. Now there are certain

obnoxious people who go around raising their eyebrows in contempt,

disdain, and sneering arrogance at ordinary mortals like you and me. Such

contemptuous, sneering, overbearingly conceited people are called—

supercilious

4. noise

The Latin root strepo means to make a noise. Anyone who is unruly,

boisterous, resistant to authority, unmanageable—and in a noisy,

troublesome manner—is

obstreperous

5. moneyless

The Latin root pecus means cattle—and at one time in human history a

person’s wealth was measured not by stocks and bonds but by stocks of

domestic animals, which was a lot more logical, since you get milk and

leather and meat from cattle—true wealth—and all you get from the stock

market is a headache.

Someone who had lots of pecus, then, was rich—someone without pecus

was indigent, destitute, “broke.” And so today we call someone who is

habitually without funds, who seems generally to be full of a complete

lack of money—

impecunious

This word is not a synonym of indigent, destitute, or poverty-stricken; it

does not necessarily imply living in reduced circumstances or want, but

quite simply being short of cash—habitually.

RELATED WORD:

1. pecuniary—pertaining to money, as in, a pecuniary consideration,

pecuniary affairs, etc.

6. horses

The French word cheval means horse; and in medieval times only

gentlemen and knights rode on horses—common people walked.

Traditionally (but not, I understand, actually) knights were courteous to

women, attentive to female desires, and self-sacrificing when their own

interests came in conflict with those of the fair sex. Hence, we call a

modern man who has a knightly attitude to women—

chivalrous

RELATED WORD:

(Cheval, horse, comes from Latin caballus, an inferior horse. Callabus is

found in English words in the spelling caval-.)

1. cavalcade—A procession of persons on horseback, as in a parade.

2. cavalier—As a noun, a cavalier was once a mounted soldier. As an

adjective, cavalier describes actions and attitudes that are haughty,

unmindful of others’ feelings, too offhand, such attributes often being

associated with people in power (the military being one of the powers-

that-be). Thus, “He answered in a cavalier manner” would signify that he

was arrogant in his answer, as if the questioner were taking a little too

much privilege with him. Or, “After the cavalier treatment I received, I

never wished to return,” signifying that I was pretty much made to feel

unimportant and inferior. Or, “After her cavalier refusal, I’ll never invite

her to another party,” signifying that the refusal was, perhaps, curt,

offhand, without any attempt at apology or courtesy.

3. cavalry—The mounted, or “horsed” part of an army.

4. chivalry—Noun form of chivalrous. Can you write the alternate noun

form ending in -ness? __________________

5. chivalric—Less commonly used adjective form, identical in meaning

to chivalrous.

Another Latin root for horse, as you know, is equus, found in words we

have already discussed:

1. equestrian—A horseman.

2. equestrienne—A horsewoman.

3. equine—Horselike.

7. no harm done

The latin root noceo means to injure; someone who need cause you no

fear, so harmless is that person, so unable to interfere, so unlikely to get

you into trouble, is called—

innocuous

RELATED WORDS:

1. innocent—Not guilty of crime or injury.

2. noxious—Harmful, poisonous; unwholesome.

8. alcoholic

The Latin root bibo means to drink; and one who is generally found with

one foot up on the brass rail, who likes to tipple beyond the point of

sobriety—who, in short, has an overfondness for drinks with a

pronounced alcoholic content, is called, usually humorously—

bibulous

RELATED WORD:

1. imbibe—To drink in, soak up, absorb. If we use this verb without

specifying what is drunk, as in, “He likes to imbibe,” the implication, of

course, is always liquor; but imbibe may also be used in patterns like

“imbibe learning” or “In early infancy she imbibed a respect for her

parents.”

2. bib—Upper part of an apron, or an apronlike napkin tied around a

child’s neck. In either case, the bib prevents what is drunk (or eaten) from

spilling over, or dribbling down, on the wearer’s clothing.

9. like death itself

The Latin root cado means to fall—one’s final fall is of course always in

death, and so someone who looks like a corpse (figuratively speaking),

who is pale, gaunt, thin, haggard, eyes deep-sunk, limbs wasted, in other

words the extreme opposite of the picture of glowing health, is called—

cadaverous

RELATED WORD:

1. cadaver—A corpse, literally, especially one used for surgical

dissection.

2. decadent—Etymologically, “falling down” (de- is a prefix one meaning

of which is down, as in descend, climb down; decline, turn down; etc.). If

something is in a decadent state, it is deteriorating, becoming corrupt or

demoralized. Decadence is a state of decay. Generally decadent and

decadence are used figuratively—they refer not to actual physical decay

(as of a dead body), but to moral or spiritual decay.

10. pain and misery

The Latin root doleo means to suffer or grieve—one who is mournful and

sad, whose melancholy comes from physical pain or mental distress, who

seems to be suffering or grieving, is called—

dolorous

RELATED WORD:

1. dolor—A poetic synonym of grief.

2. doleful—A word referring somewhat humorously to exaggerated

dismalness, sadness, or dreariness.

3. condole—Etymologically, to suffer or grieve with (Latin con-, with,

together). Condole is a somewhat less commonly used synonym of

commiserate, a verb we discussed in Chapter 15. The noun condolence is

much more frequently heard than the verb, as in, “Let me offer you my

condolences,” usually said to someone mourning the death of a friend or

relative. You have heard of condolence cards, and no doubt have sent your

share of them. When you condole with somebody who has sustained a loss,

usually by death, you are saying, in effect, “I am suffering or grieving with

you.”

REVIEW OF ETYMOLOGY

PREFIX, ROOT, SUFFIX

MEANING

1. sequor

to follow

ENGLISH WORD _____________

2. queror

to complain

ENGLISH WORD _____________

3. cilium

eyelid

ENGLISH WORD _____________

4. super

above

ENGLISH WORD _____________

5. strepo

to make a noise

ENGLISH WORD _____________

6. pecus

cattle

ENGLISH WORD _____________

7. -ary

adjective suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

8. im- (in-)

negative prefix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

9. cheval

horse

ENGLISH WORD _____________

10. callabus (caval-)

inferior horse

ENGLISH WORD _____________

11. -ous

adjective suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

12. -ic

adjective suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

13. equus

horse

ENGLISH WORD _____________

14. -ine

like, similar to, characteristic of

ENGLISH WORD _____________

15. bibo

to drink

ENGLISH WORD _____________

16. im- (in-)

ENGLISH WORD _____________

17. cado

to fall

ENGLISH WORD _____________

18. de-

down

ENGLISH WORD _____________

19. -ent

adjective suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

20. -ence

noun suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

21. con-

with, together

ENGLISH WORD _____________

USING THE WORDS

A. THE BASIC WORDS

Can you pronounce the words?

1. obsequious

ob-SEEK′-wee-Əs

2. querulous

KWAIR′-Ə-lƏs

3. supercilious

ōō

′-pƏr-SIL′-ee-Əs

4. obstreperous

Əb-STREP′-Ər-Əs

5. impecunious

im′-pƏ-KY

ōō

′-nee-Əs

6. chivalrous

SHIV′-Əl-rƏs

7. innocuous

Ə-NOK′-y

ōō

-Əs

8. bibulous

BIB′-yƏ-lƏs

9. cadaverous

kƏ-DAV′-Ər-Əs

10. dolorous

DOL′-Ər-Əs or DŌ′-lƏr-Əs

Can you work with the words? (I)

1. obsequious

a. snobbish

2. querulous

b. harmless

3. supercilious

c. gaunt

4. obstreperous

d. short of funds

5. impecunious

e. fawning; excessively,

ingratiatingly, polite

6. chivalrous

f. sorrowful

7. innocuous

g. addicted to drink

8. bibulous

h. courteous to women

9. cadaverous

i. complaining

10. dolorous

j. unmanageable

KEY: 1–e, 2–i, 3–a, 4–j, 5–d, 6–h, 7–b, 8–g, 9–c, 10–f

Can you work with the words? (II)

Match each word in the first column with one from the second column

that is opposite in meaning.

1. obsequious

a. content; uncomplaining; satisfied

2. querulous

b. affluent

3. supercilious

c. healthy

4. obstreperous

d. rude

5. impecunious

e. sober

6. chivalrous

f. dangerous

7. innocuous

g. humble

8. bibulous

h. misogynous

9. cadaverous

i. happy; cheerful

10. dolorous

j. quiet

KEY: 1–d, 2–a, 3–g, 4–j, 5–b, 6–h, 7–f, 8–e, 9–c, 10–i

Do you understand the words?

1. Do obsequious people usually command our respect?

YES NO

2. Are querulous people satisfied?

YES NO

3. Are supercilious people usually popular?

YES NO

4. Is a person of affluence impecunious?

YES NO

5. Do some women like chivalrous men?

YES NO

6. Are innocuous people dangerous?

YES NO

7. Is a bibulous character a teetotaler?

YES NO

8. Is a cadaverous-looking individual the picture of health?

YES NO

9. Is a dolorous attitude characteristic of jovial people?

YES NO

10. Is an obstreperous child difficult to manage?

YES NO

KEY: 1–no, 2–no, 3–no, 4–no, 5–yes, 6–no, 7–no, 8–no, 9–no, 10–yes

Can you recall the words?

1. sorrowful

1. D__________________

2. servilely attentive; overly polite

2. O__________________

3. haggard; gaunt; pale

3. C__________________

4. complaining; whining

4. Q__________________

5. addicted to alcohol; likely to drink past the point of sobriety

5. B__________________

6. arrogant; haughty

6. S__________________

7. harmless

7. I__________________

8. noisily unmanageable

8. O__________________

9. attentive and courteous to women

9. C__________________

10. short of money; without funds

10. I__________________

SESSION 46

B. RELATED WORDS

Can you pronounce the words? (I)

1. obsequies

OB′-sƏ-kweez

2. subsequent

SUB′-sƏ-kwƏnt

3. sequel

SEE′-kwƏl

4. sequence

SEE′-kwƏns

5. pecuniary

pƏ-KY

ōō

′-nee-air′-ee

6. noxious

NOK′-shƏs

7. imbibe

im-BĪB′

8. dolor

DŌ′-ler

9. doleful

DŌL′-fƏl

10. cavalcade

KAV′-Əl-kayd′

11. cavalier (adj.)

kav-Ə-LEER′

Can you pronounce the words? (II)

1. cavalry

KAV′-Əl-ree

2. chivalry

SHIV′-Əl-ree

3. chivalric

shƏ-VAL′-rik

4. condole

kƏn-DŌL′

5. condolence

kƏn-DŌ′-lƏns

6. equestrian

Ə-KWES′-tree-Ən

7. equestrienne

Ə-KWES′-tree-en′

8. equine

EE′-kwīn′

9. cadaver

kƏ-DAV′-Ər or kƏ-DAY′-vƏr

10. decadent

DEK′-Ə-dƏnt or dƏ-KAY′-dƏnt

11. decadence

DEK′-Ə-dƏns or dƏ-KAY′-dƏns

Can you work with the words?

1. obsequies

a. proper order

2. subsequent

b. drink; absorb; take in

3. sequel

c. harmful, poisonous

4. sequence

d. pain, sorrow (poetic)

5. pecuniary

e. coming later or afterward

6. noxious

f. procession of mounted riders

7. imbibe

g. offhand, haughty

8. dolor

h. a following event or literary work

9. doleful

i. horsewoman

10. cavalcade

j. pertaining to money

11. cavalier (adj.)

k. mounted military division;

soldiers on horseback

12. cavalry

l. funeral rites

13. equestrian

m. exaggeratedly sorrowful

14. equestrienne

n. horselike

15. equine

o. horseman

16. cadaver

P. spiritual decline

KEY: 1–l, 2–e, 3–h, 4–a, 5–j, 6–c, 7–b, 8–d, 9–m, 10–f, 11–g, 12–k, 13–o,

14–i 15–n, 16–r, 17–q, 18–p, 19–t, 20–s

Do you understand the words? (I)

1. Are speeches usually made during obsequies?

YES NO

2. Did Margaret Mitchell write a sequel to Gone with the Wind?

YES NO

3. Are these numbers in sequence: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11?

YES NO

4. Do banks often handle the pecuniary details of an estate?

YES NO

5. Is arsenic a noxious chemical?

YES NO

6. Do children sometimes imbibe wisdom from their parents?

YES NO

7. If a song is sung in tones of dolor, is it a happy song?

YES NO

8. Is a doleful countenance a happy one?

YES NO

9. Does a cavalcade contain horses?

YES NO

10. Does a cavalier attitude show a spirit of humility?

YES NO

KEY: 1–yes, 2–no, 3–yes, 4–yes, 5–yes, 6–yes, 7–no, 8–no, 9–yes, 10–no

Do you understand the words? (II)

1. Is a cavalry officer usually a good horseman?

YES NO

2. Would an equestrian statue of General Grant show him with or on a

horse?

YES NO

3. Is an equestrienne a man?

YES NO

4. Do humans possess many equine characteristics?

YES NO

5. Is a cadaver alive?

YES NO

6. Is an iconoclast likely to consider religion a decadent institution?

YES NO

7. Is decadence a desirable quality?

YES NO

8. Is chivalry dead?

YES NO

9. Is it appropriate to condole with someone who has suffered a loss

through death?

YES NO

10. Are condolences appropriate at a wedding ceremony?

YES NO

KEY: 1–yes, 2–yes, 3–no, 4–no, 5–no, 6–yes, 7–no, 8–yes, or no,

depending on your point of view, 9–yes, 10–no (unless you’re

misogamous)

Do you understand the words? (III)

1. obsequies—rites

SAME OPPOSITE

2. subsequent—preceding

SAME OPPOSITE

3. pecuniary—financial

SAME OPPOSITE

4. sequence—order

SAME OPPOSITE

5. noxious—harmful

SAME OPPOSITE

6. imbibe—drink

SAME OPPOSITE

7. dolor—delight

SAME OPPOSITE

8. doleful—merry

SAME OPPOSITE

9. cavalier—courteous

SAME OPPOSITE

10. cadaver—corpse

SAME OPPOSITE

11. decadent—resurgent

SAME OPPOSITE

12. chivalry—gallantry to women

SAME OPPOSITE

13. condolences—congratulations

SAME OPPOSITE

KEY: 1–S, 2–O, 3–S, 4–S, 5–S, 6–S, 7–O, 8–O, 9–O, 10–S, 11–O, 12–S, 13–

Can you recall the words?

1. harmful

1. N__________________

2. a literary work or an event that follows another

2. S__________________

3. drink in

3. I__________________

4. poetic word for sorrow

4. D__________________

5. burial ceremonies

5. O__________________

6. horseman

6. E__________________

7. horsewoman

7. E__________________

8. horselike

8. E__________________

9. following (adj.)

9. S__________________

10. relating to money (adj.)

10. P__________________

11. exaggeratedly sad

11. D__________________

12. proper order

12. S__________________

13. parade of mounted riders

13. C__________________

14. offhand; unmindful of another’s feelings

14. C__________________

15. mounted soldiers

15. C__________________

16. a corpse

16. C__________________

17. morally deteriorating (adj.)

17. D__________________

18. spiritual decay

18. D__________________

19. expression of sympathy

19. C__________________

20. gallantry to women

20. C__________________

KEY: 1–noxious, 2–sequel, 3–imbibe, 4–dolor, 5–obsequies, 6–equestrian,

7–equestrienne, 8–equine, 9–subsequent, 10–pecuniary, 11–doleful,

12–sequence, 13–cavalcade, 14–cavalier, 15–cavalry, 16–cadaver,

17–decadent,

18–decadence,

19–condolence,

20–chivalry

chivalrousness

CHAPTER REVIEW

A. Do you recognize the words?

1. Excessively polite and fawning:

(a) querulous, (b) obsequious, (c) supercilious

2. Noisily troublesome:

(a) querulous, (b) impecunious, (c) obstreperous

3. Courteous and attentive to women:

(a) querulous, (b) chivalrous, (c) supercilious

4. Complaining, nagging:

(a) querulous, (b) supercilious, (c) innocuous

5. Haughtily disdainful:

(a) supercilious, (b) bibulous, (c) dolorous

6. Gaunt, corpselike:

(a) noxious, (b) cadaverous, (c) doleful

7. Highhanded:

(a) supercilious, (b) cavalier, (c) decadent

8. Moral decay:

(a) decadence, (b) obsequies, (c) sequence

9. Expression of sympathy:

(a) bibulousness, (b) dolefulness, (c) condolence

10. Courtesy to women:

(a) dolor, (b) chivalry, (c) decadence

KEY: 1–b, 2–c, 3–b, 4–a, 5–a, 6–b, 7–b, 8–a, 9–c, 10–b

B. Can you recognize roots?

ROOT

MEANING

1. sequor

_________________

EXAMPLE subsequent

2. queror

_________________

EXAMPLE querulous

3. cilium

_________________

EXAMPLE supercilious

4. super

_________________

EXAMPLE supervision

5. strepo

_________________

EXAMPLE obstreperous

6. pecus

_________________

EXAMPLE pecuniary

7. cheval

_________________

EXAMPLE chivalry

8. caballus (caval-)

_________________

EXAMPLE cavalier

9. equus

_________________

EXAMPLE equine

10. cado

_________________

KEY: 1–to follow, 2–to complain, 3–eyelid, 4–above, 5–to make a noise,

6–cattle, 7–horse, 8–(inferior) horse, 9–horse, 10–to fall

TEASER QUESTIONS FOR THE AMATEUR ETYMOLOGIST

1. In logic, a conclusion not based on the evidence is called a non

sequitur; by extension, the term is applied to any statement that appears to

have no connection or relevance to what was said before. Knowing the

root sequor, how would you define this term etymologically?

__________________.

2. Sequor, like many other Latin verbs, has another form somewhat

differently spelled. (Remember verto, versus and loquor, locutus?) The other

form of sequor is secutus. Can you define the following words in terms of

the root?

(a) second:

______________________

(b) consecutive:

______________________

(d) prosecute:

______________________

3. Latin super, above or over, is used as a prefix in hundreds of English

words. Can you figure out the word starting with super- that fits each

etymological definition?

(a) above others (in quality, position, etc.) __________________

(b) above the surface; not in depth (adj.) __________________

__________________

(d) above (or beyond) the natural (adj.) __________________

(e) to oversee; be in charge of (v.) __________________

4. Cado, to fall, is found in the following English words (sometimes the

root is spelled -cid). Can you define each word in terms of its etymological

parts?

(a) cadence:

_____________________

(b) occidental:

_____________________

(d) incident:

_____________________

(e) accident:

_____________________

(f) coincidence:

_____________________

5. The negative prefix in- plus doleo, to suffer, forms an adjective that

etymologically means not suffering (pain), but actually means idle; lazy;

disliking effort or work. Can you figure out the English word?

__________________.

Can you write the noun form? __________________.

6. What does the feminine name Dolores mean etymologically?

__________________.

(End of Session 46)