Despite these exceptions, the native word is in general better known and more crudely powerful than the classic. Thus of the pair sweat-perspiration, sweat is the plain-spoken, everyday member, perspiration the polite, even learned member. The man of limited vocabulary says sweat; even the sophisticated person, unless there is occasion to soften effects, finds sweat the more natural term. No one would say that a horse perspires. No one would say that human beings must eat their bread in the perspiration of their faces. But sweat is a word of connotation too vigorous (though honest withal) for us to use the term in the drawing room. A questionable woman in The Vicar of Wakefield betrays her lack of breeding by the remark that she is in a muck of sweat.

The native word, besides being in itself simpler and starker than the classic, makes stronger appeal to our feelings and affections. In nearly every instance the objects and relationships that have woven themselves into the very texture of our lives are designated by native terms. Even if they are not so designated solely, they are so designated in their more cherished aspects. We warm more to the native fatherly than to the classic paternal. We have a deeper sentiment for the native home than for the classic residence.

That the native is the more downright term may be seen from the following words. (These pairs are of course merely illustrative. With them might be grouped a few special pairs, like devilish-diabolical and church-ecclesiastical, of which the first members are classic in origin but of such early naturalization into English that they may be regarded as native.)



belly, stomach belly, abdomen navel, umbilicus suck, nurse naked, nude murder, homicide dead, deceased dead, defunct dying, moribund lust, salacity lewd, libidinous read, peruse lie, prevaricate hearty, cordial following, subsequent crowd, multitude chew, masticate food, pabulum eat, regale meal, repast meal, refection thrift, economy sleepy, soporific slumberous, somnolent live, reside rot, putrefy swelling, protuberant soak, saturate soak, absorb stinking, malodorous spit, saliva spit, expectorate thievishness, kleptomania belch, eructate sticky, adhesive house, domicile eye, optic walker, pedestrian talkative, loquacious talkative, garrulous wisdom, sapience bodily, corporeal name, appellation finger, digit show, ostentation nearness, propinquity wash, lave handwriting, chirography waves, undulations shady, umbrageous fat, corpulent muddy, turbid widow, relict horseback, equestrian weight, avoirdupois blush, erubescence

The word of classic origin in many instances survives only or mainly in the form of an adjective; as a noun (or other part of speech) it has completely or largely disappeared. This fact may be observed in lists already given, particularly List A. It may also be observed in the following words:



moon, lunar star, stellar star, sidereal sun, solar earth, terrestrial world, mundane heaven, celestial hell, infernal earthquake, seismic ear, aural head, capital hand, manual foot, pedal breast, pectoral heart, cardial hip, sciatic tail, caudal throat, guttural lung, pulmonary bone, osseous hair, hirsute tearful, lachrymose early, primitive sweet, dulcet, sweet, saccharine young, juvenile bloody, sanguinary deadly, mortal red, florid bank, riparian hard, arduous wound, vulnerable written, graphic spotless, immaculate sell, mercenary son, filial salt, saline meal, farinaceous wood, ligneous wood, sylvan cloud, nebulous glass, vitreous milk, lacteal water, aquatic stone, lapidary gold, aureous silver, argent iron, ferric honey, mellifluous loving, amatory loving, erotic loving, amiable wedded, hymeneal plow, arable priestly, sacerdotal arrow, sagittal wholesome, salubrious warlike, bellicose timely, temporary fiery, igneous ring, annular soap, saponaceous nestling, nidulant snore, stertorous window, fenestral twilight, crepuscular soot, fuliginous hunter, venatorial

The fact that English is a double-barreled language, and that of parallel terms one is likely to be native and the other classic, is interesting in itself. Our lists of parallels, however, though (with the exception of List B) they are arranged to bring out this duality of origin, have other and more vital uses as material for exercises. For after all it matters little whether we know where a word comes from, provided we know thoroughly the meaning and implications of the word itself. The lists already given and those to follow show the more important words actually yoked as parallels. Your task must be to ascertain the differences in import between the words thus joined.

EXERCISE - Parallels



Study the discriminations between the members of the following pairs. At each blank in the illustrative sentences insert the appropriate word.

<Brotherly, fraternal.> _Brotherly_ is used of actual blood kinship, or indicates close feeling, deep affection, or religious love. _Fraternal_ is used less personally and intimately; it normally betokens that the relations are at least in part formal (as relations within societies). "The sight of the button on the stranger's lapel caused Wilkes to give him the cabalistic sign and ask his _ assistance." "Though the children of different parents, we bear for each other a true _ devotion." "Because we both are newspaper men I feel a _ interest in him."

_Daily_, the popular word, is often used loosely. We may say that we eat three meals daily without implying that we have never gone dinnerless. _Diurnal_, the scientific term, is used exactly, whether applying to the period of daylight or to the whole twenty-four hours. A diurnal flower closes at night; a diurnal motion is precisely coincident with the astronomical day. In poetry, however, _diurnal_ is often used for _daily_. "Give us this day our _ bread." "The _ rotation of the earth on its axis is the cause of our day and night." "Fred and I went for our _ ramble through the hills."

Which is the more popular word? Let us see. Would the man in the street be more likely to use one than the other? Which one? Does this answer our question? Another question: Which word is the more inclusive in meaning? Again, let us see. A blacksmith is beating iron; does the iron grow cold or frigid? Which term, then, approaches the closer in meaning to the idea of mere coolness? On the other hand, may that same term represent a temperature far beyond mere coolness? Would you speak of a morning as bitterly cold or bitterly frigid? Now think of the term you have not been using. _Can_ it convey as wide meanings, or is it limited in range? Does the word _frigid_ carry for you a geographical suggestion (to the frigid zone)? Do you yourself use the term? If so, do you use it chiefly (perhaps entirely) in connection with human temperament or demeanor? Is _cold_ used thus figuratively also? Which is the more often thus used? "I suffer from _ hands and feet." "The slopes of Mont Blanc are _ with eternal snow." "He did not warm to the idea at all. His inclinations are absolutely _."

. _Manly_ implies possession of traits or qualities a man should possess; it may be used of immature persons. _Virile_ implies maturity and robust masculinity; it is also used of the power to procreate. "A _ lad." "A _ reply." "_ energy." "_ and aggressive." "_ forbearance,"

. _Inner_ is somewhat within, or more within than something else is; it is also used in figurative and spiritual senses. _Internal_ is entirely within. "The _ organs of the human body." "The _ layer of the rind." "The injury was _." "The _ nature of man." "The _ meaning of the occurrence."

. "He was five feet, eleven inches in height." Can you substitute altitude? Is altitude used of persons? "At an altitude of eleven feet from the ground." Would height be more natural? Does altitude betoken great height? If so, does Hamlet speak jestingly when he greets the player, "Your ladyship is nearer heaven than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine?" What of the sentence: "The altitude of Galveston was not sufficient to protect it from the tidal wave"? Does the magnitude or importance of the object (Galveston) compensate for its lack of elevation and thus justify altitude? Could height be substituted? If so, would the words above sea-level have to follow it? Does this fact give you a further clue as to the distinction between the two words? You are comparing the elevation of two peaks, both plainly visible; you measure them merely by your eye. Do you say "This exceeds the other in height" or "This exceeds the other in altitude"? Suppose the peaks are so distant from each other that the two are not visible simultaneously, and suppose you are speaking from a knowledge of the scientific measurements. Do you say "This exceeds the other in height" or "This exceeds the other in altitude"?

. Talk may be one-sided and empty. Conversation requires that at least two shall participate, and it is not spoken of as empty, though it may be trivial. "Our was somewhat desultory." "Thought is less general than ." "His was so lively that I had no chance to interrupt" "That is meaningless ."

<Homesickness, nostalgia>. All of us have heard physicians call commonplace ailments by extraordinary names. When homesickness reaches the stage where a physician is or might be called in, it becomes nostalgia. The latter term suggests morbid or chronic suffering. A healthy boy away from home for the first time is homesick. An exile who has wasted himself with pining for his native land is nostalgic. "His _ was more than _; it had so preyed upon his thoughts that it had grown into _."

Rise, ascend. Rise is the more general term, but it expresses less than ascend in degree or stateliness. "He had foretold to them that he would into heaven." "Do not from your seat." "The diver slowly to the surface." "The travelers the mountain."

. _Sell_ is the more dignified word socially, but may express greater moral degradation. _Vend_ is used of the petty (as that which can be carried about in a wagon), and may suggest the pettily dishonest. "That man would _ his country." "We shall _ a million dollars' worth of goods." "The hucksters _ their wares."



Study the discriminations between the members of the following pairs. Determine whether the words are correctly used in the illustrative sentences. (Some are; some are not.)

. Friendly denotes goodwill positive in quality though perhaps limited in degree; we may be friendly to friends, enemies, or strangers. Amicable is negative, denoting absence of open discord: it is used of those persons between whom some connection already exists. "The newcomer has an amicable manner." "Both sides were cautious, but at last they reached a friendly settlement." "I have only amicable feelings for an enemy who is thus merciful." "The two met, if not in a friendly, at least in an amicable way."

. Both words imply an act of the will; but willing adds positive good-nature, desire, or enthusiasm, whereas voluntary conveys little or nothing of the emotional attitude. Voluntary is often thought of in contrast with mechanical. "They made willing submission." "They rendered whole-hearted and voluntary service." "Though torn by desire to return to his mother, he willingly continued his journey away from her." "The sneeze was unwilling."

Greedy denotes excessiveness (usually habitual) of appetite or, in its figurative uses, of desire; it nearly always carries the idea of selfishness. Voracious denotes intense hunger or the hasty and prolonged consumption of great quantities of food; it may indicate, not habitual selfishness, but the stress of circumstances. "Nobody else I know is so greedy as he." "The young poet was voracious of praise." "Trench, though a capital fellow, was so hungry that he ate voraciously."

<Offspring, progeny.> Offspring is likely to be used when our thought is chiefly on the children, progeny when our thought is chiefly on the parents. Offspring may be used of one or many; progeny is used in collective reference to many. "He was third among the progeny who won distinction." "They are the progeny of very rich parents." "Clayton left his offspring well provided for."

Ghost is the narrower term. It never expresses, as spirit does, the idea of soul or of animating mood or purpose. With reference to incorporeal beings, it denotes (except in the phrase "the Holy Ghost") the reappearance of the dead in disembodied form. Spirit may denote a variety of incorporeal beings—among them angels, fairies (devoid of moral nature), and personalities returned from the grave and manifested—seldom visibly—through spiritualistic tappings and the like. "The superstitious natives thought the spirit of their chief walked in the graveyard." "The ghost of the ancestors survives in the descendants." "I can call spirits from the vasty deep."

Nowadays the chief difference between the two terms is that foe is the more used in poetry, enemy in prose. But foe tends to express the more personal and implacable hostility. We do not think of foes as bearing any friendship for each other; enemies may, or they may be enemies in public affairs but downright friends in their private relations. A man is hardly spoken of as being his own foe, but he may be his own enemy. "For the moment we found ourselves foes." "Suspicion is an enemy to content." "I paid a tribute to my friend, who was the dominant personality among the enemy."

Truth has to do with the accuracy of the statement, of the facts; veracity with the intention of the person to say nothing false. "I cannot vouch for the veracity of the story, but I can for the truth of the teller." "Though he is not a man of veracity, I believe he is now speaking the truth." "Veracity, crushed to earth, will rise again."

. Break is the broader term. It need not refer clearly to the operation or result of external force, nor need it embody the idea that this force is brought against a hard substance. In these respects it differs from fracture, as also in the fact that it may designate a mere interruption. Furthermore it has figurative uses, whereas fracture is narrowly literal. "There was a fracture in the chain of mountains." "The break in his voice was distinct." "The fracture of the bones of his wrist incapacitated him." "The fracture of the rope."

. To hug is to clasp violently or enthusiastically, and perhaps ludicrously. To embrace is to clasp in a more dignified, perhaps even in a formal, way; the term also means to include, to comprise. "This topic embraces the other." "Did you see that ardent bumpkin embracing his sweetheart?" "Her sister gave her a graceful but none too cordial hug." "The wounded bear hugged the hunter ferociously."

. The two terms overlap; but there is a fairly strong tendency to use shorten for reduction in length, and abridge for reduction in quantity or mass. Both words are used figuratively as well as literally. "The tyrant shortened the privileges of his subjects." "We shortened the rope." "The teacher abridged the recitation." "The report of the committee appears in abridged form in Volume 2 of our records."



With the help of the dictionary discriminate between the members of the following pairs. Determine whether the words are correctly used in the illustrative sentences. (Some are; some are not.)

. "He delivered a fiery address." "The underbrush was dry and fiery." "Your disposition is too inflammable."

. "The fat man had grown attenuated." "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look." "The hot metal was then drawn into an attenuated wire." "Only a lean line of our soldiers faced the dense masses of the enemy."

<Home-like, domestic>. "The scene was quiet and domestic." "It is home-like, inexpressibly dear." "To Waltham, heartsick from his wanderings, the room in all its arrangements was thoroughly domestic."

. "We must be vigilant if we would maintain our liberty." "He was wakeful, even watchful, though not from set purpose." "He was vigilant for evidences of friendship."

. "It is a big, barn-like building." "Spare yonder sacred edifice." "This is the most imposing building I ever saw."

. "I poked a stick into the aperture which the crawfish had made." "Through the aperture of the partly open door I gazed out on the street." "The hole of the hornet's nest was black with the emerging and angry insects."

<Farming, agriculture>. "Two hundred students graduated this year from the college of farming." "For long years he had devoted himself to the homely, grinding tasks of agriculture." "I have looked rather carefully into the theories of farming."

. "He obtained some repose even while standing." "We wished for a moment's rest from our exertions." "Worn out, he was compelled to seek repose." "Lincoln's face in repose was very melancholy."

. "The man was so injured he could do nothing for himself; I had to aid him." "Help, help!" "Aid us, O God, in our sore distress." "The little fellow could not quite get the bundle to his shoulder; a passerby helped him."

. "By refraining from comment he hid his connection with the affair." "Wild creatures hide themselves by means of their protective coloring." "The frost on the panes conceals the landscape from you." "Do not hide your misdeeds from your mother."



In the following list only the native member of each pair is given. Determine what the classic member is, and frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of the two words. (Make a conscientious effort to find the classic member by means of its parallelism with the native. If, and after, you definitely fail in any instance to find it, obtain a clue to it through study of the words in List G. Every pair in that list is clearly suggestive of one or more pairs in this list.)

nightly,— motherly,— breadth,— buy,— hot,— fall,— thought,— sleeplessness,— fatherly,— yearly,— outer,— depth,— womanly,— speech,—



Discriminate between the members of each of the following pairs, and frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of the two words.

freedom, liberty well, cistern freedom, independence give, donate free, acquit happen, occur door, portal lessen, abate begin, commence lessen, diminish behead, decapitate forefathers, ancestors belief, credence friend, acquaintance belief, credulity lead, conduct swear, vow end, finish curse, imprecate end, complete curse, anathema end, terminate die, expire warn, admonish die, perish warn, caution die, succumb rich, affluent lively, vivacious wealthy, opulent walk, ambulate help, assistance leave, depart help, succor leave, abandon answer, reply go with, accompany find out, ascertain go before, precede take, appropriate hasten, accelerate shrewd, astute quicken, accelerate breathe, respire speed, celerity busy, industrious hatred, animadversion growing, crescent fearful, timorous grow, increase



Cover with a piece of paper the classic (right-hand) members of the following pairs, and if possible ascertain what they are by studying the native members. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of both words in each pair.

neighborhood, vicinity hang, impend hang, suspend rash, impetuous flood, inundation drunk, intoxicated harmful, injurious tool, instrument mind, intellect mad, insane birth, nativity sail, navigate sailor, mariner ship, vessel lying, mendacious upright, erect early, premature upright, vertical first, primary shake, vibrate raise, elevate swing, oscillate lift, elevate leaves, foliage greet, salute beg, importune choose, select beggar, mendicant choose, elect smell, odor same, identical sink, submerge name, nominate dip, immerse follow, pursue room, apartment follow, succeed see, perceive teach, instruct see, inspect teach, inculcate sight, visibility teacher, pedagogue sight, vision tiresome, tedious sight, spectacle empty, vacant glasses, spectacles farewell, valediction



Cover with a piece of paper the native (left-hand) members of the following pairs, and if possible ascertain what they are by studying the classic members. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of both words in each pair.

skin, cuticle thunder, fulminate skin, integument sleep-walking, somnambulism hide, epidermis bird, ornithology fleshly, carnal bird, aviary hearer, auditor bee, apiary snake, serpent bending, flexible heap, aggregation wrinkle, corrugation laugh, cachinnation slow, dilatory laughable, risible lime, calcimine fear, trepidation coal, lignite live, exist man, anthropology bridal, nuptial winter, hibernate wed, marry gap, hiatus husband/wife, spouse right, ethical shore, littoral showy, ostentatious forswear, perjure spelling, orthography steal, peculate time, chronology steal, embezzle handbook, manual lockjaw, tetanus hole, cavity mistake, error dig, excavate mistake, erratum boil, tumor wink, nictation tickle, titillate blessing, benediction dry, desiccated wet, humid warm, tepid flirt, coquet forgetfulness, oblivion fiddle, violin sky, firmament sky, empyrean flatter, compliment flee, abscond flight, fugitive forbid, prohibit hinder, impede hold, contain



For each of the following pairs frame a sentence which shall contain one of the members. Can the other member be substituted without affecting the meaning of the sentence? Read the discrimination of Height-altitude in EXERCISE - Parallels. Ask yourself similar questions to bring out the distinction between the two words you are considering.

threat, menace call, summon talk, commune cleanse, purify short, terse short, concise better, ameliorate lie, recline new, novel straight, parallel lawful, legitimate law, litigation law, jurisprudence flash, coruscate late, tardy watch, chronometer foretell, prognosticate king, emperor winding, sinuous hint, insinuate burn, incinerate fire, incendiarism bind, constrict crab, crustacean fowls, poultry lean, incline flat, level flat, vapid sharpness, acerbity sharpness, acrimony shepherd, pastor word, vocable choke, suffocate stifle, suffocate clothes, raiment witness, spectator beat, pulsate mournful, melancholy beginning, incipient drink, imbibe light, illuminate hall, corridor stair, escalator anger, indignation fight, combat sleight-of-hand, prestidigitation build, construct tree, arbor ask, interrogate wench, virgin frisk, caper fill, replenish water, irrigate silly, foolish coming, advent feeling, sentiment old, antiquated forerunner, precursor sew, embroider unload, exonerate grave, sepulcher readable, legible tell, narrate kiss, osculate nose, proboscis striking, percussion green, verdant stroke, concussion grass, verdure bowman, archer drive, propel greed, avarice book, volume stingy, parsimonious warrior, belligerent bath, ablution owner, proprietor wrong, incorrect bow, obeisance top, summit kneel, genuflection food, nutrition work, occupation seize, apprehend shut, close field, agrarian

Turn back to Lists A, B, C, D, E, and F. Discriminate between the members of each pair contained in these lists. Frame sentences to illustrate the correct use of the words.



VII

SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (1)

In considering pairs we have, without using the word, been studying synonyms. For most pairs are synonyms (or in some instances antonyms) that hunt in couples. We must now deal with synonyms, and incidentally antonyms, as they associate themselves in larger groups.

A vocabulary is impoverished. Why? Nine times in ten, because of a disregard of synonyms. Listen to the talk of the average person. Whatever is pleasing is fine or nice or all to the good; whatever is displeasing is bum or awful or a fright. Life is reflected, not as noble and complex, but as mean and meager. Out of such stereotyped utterance only the general idea emerges. The precise meaning is lazily or incompetently left to the hearer to imagine. The precise meaning? There is none. A person who does not take the trouble to speak clearly has not taken the trouble to think clearly.

But the master of synonyms expresses, instead of general, hazy, commonplace conceptions, the subtlest shadings of thought and feeling. He has so trained himself that he selects, it may be unconsciously, from a throng of possible words. One word may be strong, another weak. One may be broad, another narrow. One may present an alternative in meanings, another permit no liberty of choice. One may be suggestive, another literal or colorless. One may penetrate to the core of the idea, another strike only in the environs. With these possibilities the master of synonyms reckons. He must have the right word. He chooses it, not at haphazard, but in conformity with a definite purpose.

For synonyms are not words that have the same meaning. They are words that have similar meanings. They may be compared to circles that overlap but do not coincide. Each embraces a common area, but each embraces also an area peculiar to itself. Though many words cluster about a given idea, rarely if ever are even two of these words entirely equivalent to each other. In scope, in suggestion, in emotional nuance, in special usage, or what not, is sure to lurk some denial of perfect correspondence. And of synonyms, so of antonyms. Antonyms are words opposite in meaning; but the opposition, for the same reasons as the likeness, is seldom or never absolute.

In your study of synonyms you will find most of the dictionaries previously named of great help. You may also profitably consult the following books of synonyms (heavy, scholastic works not suited for ordinary use are omitted):

<Books of Plain Synonyms and Antonyms>

Edith B. Ordway: Synonyms and Antonyms. A compact, practical volume, with antonyms (in italics for contrast) immediately following synonyms.

Louis A. Flemming: Putnam's Word Book. A book of the ordinarily used synonyms of words, with antonyms after some of them, and with lists of associated words wherever these are likely to be useful.

Samuel Fallows: 100,000 Synonyms and Antonyms. A handy little volume, with useful lists of various kinds in appendices.

Richard Soule: Dictionary of English Synonyms [revised and enlarged by George H. Howison]. A much larger and more expensive book than the others, and less practical for ordinary use, but fuller in treatment of material, with words of more than one meaning carefully divided into their various senses.

<Synonyms with Word Discriminations>

George Crabb: English Synonyms. A standard volume for over 100 years. Has close distinctions, but is somewhat scholarly for ordinary use. Revised edition of 1917, omitting illustrative quotations from literature, not so good as editions before that date.

James C. Fernald: English Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions. A pleasing book to read, with much information about the use of words and their shades of meaning (with exercises), also with proper prepositions to follow words. Material taken from the Standard Dictionary.

Peter Mark Roget: Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. Issued in many editions and revisions. Words grouped under general ideas. An excellent book for serious and laborious study, but not for quick use.

<How to Acquire Synonyms>

The best principle for the extension of one's mastery of synonyms is the principle already used over and over in this book—that of proceeding from the known to the unknown. It is the fundamental principle, indeed, of any kind of successful learning. We should build on what we have, fit each new piece of material into the structure already erected. But normally it is our ill fortune to learn through chance rather than through system. We perceive elucidation here, draw an inference there. These isolated fragments of knowledge may mislead rather than inform us.

The principle of proceeding from the known to the unknown may be applied to synonyms in various ways. Two of these—the two of most importance—we must consider here.

First, you should reckon with your personal, demonstrated needs. Just as you have already analyzed your working vocabulary for its general limits and shortcomings, so should you analyze it with particular reference to your poverty in synonyms. Watch your actual speech; make a list of the words—nouns, verbs, and adjectives particularly—that you employ again and again. Make each of these words the starting-point for a linguistic exploring expedition. First, write the word down. Then under it write all the synonyms that come forthwith to your mind. These constitute your present available stock; in speaking or writing you could, if you kept yourself mentally alert, summon them on the moment. But the list, as you know, is not exhaustive. Draw a line under it and subjoin such synonyms as come to you after reflection. These constitute a second stock, not instantaneously available, yet to be tagged as among your resources. Next add a list of the synonyms you find through research, through a ransacking of dictionaries and books of synonyms. This third stock, but dimly familiar if familiar at all, is in no practical sense yours. And indeed some of the words are too abstruse, learned, or technical for you to burden your memory with them. But many—most—are worth acquiring. By writing down the words of these three classes you have done something to stamp them upon your memory as associates. You must now make it your business to bring them into use. Never call upon them for volunteers, but like a wise commander summon the individual that can rightly perform a particular service. Thus will your speech, perhaps vague and indolent now, become exact, discriminating, competent, vital.

In the second place, you should obtain specific and detailed command of general ideas. Not of out-of-the-way ideas. But of the great basic ideas that are the common possession of all mankind. For through these basic ideas is the most natural and profitable approach to the study of synonyms. Each of them is represented by a generic word. So elementary are idea and word alike that a person cannot have the one in mind without having the other ready and a-quiver on his tongue. Every person is master of both. But it is unsafe to predicate the person's acquaintance with the shades and phases of the idea, or with the corresponding discriminations in language. He may not know them at all, he may know them partially, he may know them through and through. Let us suppose him ignorant of them but determined to learn. His progress, both in the thought and in the language, will be from the general to the specific. His acquaintance with the idea in the large he will gradually extend to an acquaintance with it in detail, and his command of the broad term for it he will little by little supplement with definite terms for its phases. An illustration will make this clear.

We are aware that the world is made up of various classes and conditions of men. How did we learn this? Let us go back to the time when our minds were a blank, when we were babes and sucklings, when we had not perceived that men exist, much less that mankind is infinitely complex. A baby comes slowly to understand that all objects in the universe are divisible into two classes, human and non-human, and that a member of the former may be separated from the others and regarded as an individual. It has reached the initial stage of its knowledge on the subject; it has the basic idea, that of the individual human being. As soon as it can speak, it acquires a designating term—not of course the sophisticated human being, but the simpler man. It uses this word in the generic sense, to indicate any member of the human race; for as yet it knows nothing and cares nothing about differences in species. With increasing enlightenment, however, it discerns five species, and distinguishes among them by swelling this branch of its vocabulary to five words: man (in the sense of adult male), woman, boy, girl, baby. (To be sure, it may chance to have acquired a specific term, as boy or baby, before the generic term man; but if so, it has attached this term to some particular individual, as the grocer's boy or itself, rather than to the individuals of a species. Its understanding of the species as a species comes after its understanding of the genus.) As time passes, it divides mankind into yet further species by sundry other methods: according to occupation, for example, as doctors, chauffeurs, gardeners; to race or color, as white men; negroes, Malays, Chinese; to disposition, as heroes, gift-givers, teasers, talkers; and so on. It perceives moreover that species are made up of sub-species. Thus instead of lumping all boys together it begins to distinguish them as big boys, little boys, middle-sized boys, boys in long trousers, boys in short trousers, barefoot boys, schoolboys, poor boys, rich boys, sick boys, well boys, friends, enemies, bullies, and what not. It even divides the sub-species. Thus it classifies schoolboys as bright boys, dullards, workers, shirkers, teachers' favorites, scapegoats, athletes, note-throwers, truant-players, and the like. And of these classes it may make yet further sub-divisions, or at least it may separate them into the individuals that compose them. In fine, with its growing powers and experience, it abandons its old conception that all persons are practically alike, and follows human nature through the countless ramifications of man's status, temperament, activities, or fate. And it augments its vocabulary to keep pace, roughly at least, with its expanding ideas. In thought and terminology alike its growth is from genus to species.

So it is with all our ideas and with all our words to cap them. We radiate from an ascertained center into new areas of knowledge; we proceed from the broad, fundamental, generic to the precise, discriminatory, specific. Upon this natural law are based the exercises in this chapter and the two to follow. The starting-point is always a word representative of an elementary idea—a word and an idea which everybody knows; the advance is into the unknown or the unused, at any rate into the particular. Now fundamental ideas are not very numerous, and these exercises include the commoner ones. Such a method of studying synonyms must therefore yield large and tangible results.

One matter, however, should be explained. Most books of synonyms start with a word and list all the terms in any way related to it. The idea of the compilers is that the more they give the student the more they help him. But oftentimes by giving more than is strictly pertinent they actually hinder and confuse him. They may do this in various ways, of which two must be mentioned. First, they follow an idea too far afield. Thus in listing the synonyms of love they include such terms as kindness and lenity, words only through stretched usage connected with love. Secondly, they trace, not one meaning of a word, but two or more unrelated meanings when the word chances to possess them. Thus in listing the synonyms of cry they include both the idea of weeping and the idea of calling or screaming. What are the results of these methods? The student finds a clutter where he expects rationalized order; he finds he must exclude many words which lie in the borders and fringes of the meaning. Moreover he finds mere chance associations mingled with marked kinships. In both cases he finds dulled distinctions.

This book offers synonyms that are apropos and definite rather than comprehensive. Starting with a basic idea, it finds the generic term; it then disregards dim and distant relationships, confines itself rigorously to one of perhaps two or three legitimate senses, and refuses to consider the peculiar twists and devious ways of subsidiary words when they wander from the idea it is tracing. It thus deliberately blinds itself to much that is interesting. But this partial blindness enables it to concentrate attention upon the matter actually under study, to give sharper distinctions and surer guidance.

EXERCISE A

After three introductory groups (dealing with thoroughly concrete ideas and words) the synonyms in this exercise are arranged alphabetically according to the first word in each group.

This first word is generic. It is immediately followed by a list of its synonyms. These are then informally discriminated or else (in a few instances) questions are asked about them. Perhaps a few less closely related synonyms are then listed for you to discriminate in a similar way. Finally, illustrative sentences are given. Each blank in these you are to fill with the word that conveys the meaning exactly. (To prevent monotony and inattention, the number of illustrative sentences varies. You may have to use a particular word more than once, and another word not at all.)

<Walk, plod, trudge, tread, stride, stalk, strut, tramp, march, pace, toddle, waddle, shuffle, mince, stroll, saunter, ramble, meander, promenade, prowl, hobble, limp, perambulate.>

Any one may be said to walk who moves along on foot with moderate speed. He plods if he walks slowly and heavily, and perhaps monotonously or spiritlessly as well. He trudges if he walks toilsomely and wearily, as though his feet were heavy. He treads if his walk is suggestive of a certain lightness and caution—if, for instance, he seems half-uncertain whether to proceed and sets one foot down carefully before the other. He strides if he takes long steps, especially in a firm, pompous, or lofty manner. He stalks if there is a certain stiffness or haughtiness in his walking. He struts if he walks with a proud or affectedly dignified gait, especially if he also raises his feet high. He tramps if he goes for a long walk, as for pleasure or enjoyment out-of-doors. He marches if he walks in a measured, ordered way, especially in company with others. He paces if he engages in a measured, continuous walk, as from nervousness, impatience, or anger. He toddles if his steps are short, uneven, and unsteady, like those of a child. He waddles if his movement is ungainly, with a duck-like swaying from side to side. He shuffles if he drags his feet with a scraping noise. He minces if he takes short steps in a prim, precise, or affectedly nice manner. He strolls or saunters if he goes along in an easy, aimless, or idle fashion. He rambles if he wanders about, with no definite aim or toward no definite goal. He meanders if he proceeds slowly and perhaps listlessly in an ever-changing course, as if he were following the windings of the crooked Phrygian river, Meander. He promenades if he walks in a public place, as for pleasure or display. He prowls if he moves about softly and stealthily, as in search of prey or booty. He hobbles if he jerks along unevenly, as from a stiff or crippled condition of body. He limps if he walks lamely. He perambulates when he walks through, perhaps for observation or inspection. (Perambulates is of course a learned word.)

Assignment for further discrimination: <sneak, shamble, amble, wander, stamp, slouch, gad, gallivant, glide, hike>.

_Sentences_: They _ down the lane in the moonlight. Rip Van Winkle loved to _ about the mountains. "The plowman homeward _ his weary way." The old man _ down the street with his cane. The excavators _ about the ruins in search of relics. He _ about the room, almost bursting with importance. The nervous man _ up and down the station platform. They _ along the beach at the sea resort. The baby learned to _ when it was eleven months old. The two of them _ about the field all day hunting rabbits. A ghost, so they tell me, _ about the haunted house at midnight. He carefully _ the plank that spans the abyss. The baby _ toward us with outstretched arms. The Chinaman _ out of the back room of the laundry in his carpet slippers. They caught glimpses of gaunt wolves _ about their campfire. He was terrified when the giant _ into the room. The fat lady _ down the aisle of the street car. The sick man will _ a few steps each day until he is stronger. A turkey cock _ about the barnyard. A boy with a rag tied around his toe _ painfully down the street. They reported to the police that a man had been _ about the place. She held her skirts daintily and _ along as if she were walking on eggs. The lovers _ along the banks of the stream. He _ through the hall like a conqueror. The children wore themselves out by _ through the snow to school. We _ through the meadows, often stooping to pick flowers as we went. The soldiers _ into camp at nightfall.

<Laugh, giggle, snicker, titter, chuckle, guffaw, cachinnate.>

What differences in human nature, conditions, and disposition are revealed by laughter! If a person gives audible expression to mirth, gayety, or good-humor, the simplest word to apply to what he does is laugh. But suppose a girl, with slight or insufficient provocation, engages in silly or foolish though perhaps involuntary laughter. We should say she giggles. Suppose a youngster is amused at an inappropriate moment and but partly suppresses his laughter; or suppose he wilfully permits the breaking forth of just enough laughter to indicate disrespect. He snickers. Suppose a person gives a little, light laugh; or more especially, suppose a crowd gives such an one as the result of slight, simultaneous amusement. Our word now is titters. Suppose we laugh low or gently or to ourselves. We chuckle. Suppose some one laughs loudly, boisterously, even coarsely, in a manner befitting a lumber camp rather than a drawing room. That person guffaws. Suppose a man engages in explosive and immoderate laughter. He cachinnates.

Assignment for further discrimination: .

Second assignment: Name all the words you can that designate inaudible laughter (for example, ).

Sentences: The rough fellow in the lecturer's face. "If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not ?" He kept at the thought of the surprise he would give them. "The swain mistrustless of his smutted face, While secret laughter round the place." The ill-bred fellow was with strident, violent, irritating sounds. "The little dog to see such sport." The audience when the speaker's glasses began to slip from his nose. The girl kept in a way that embarrassed us both. The small boy when the preacher's notes fluttered out of the Bible to the floor. The rude fellows at this evidence of my discomfiture. He very kindly and told me not to feel any regrets. The little maids tried to be polite, but irrepressibly.

<Look, glance, gaze, stare, peer, scan, scrutinize, gloat, glare, glower, lower, peek, peep, gape, con, pore, ogle.>

A person simply directs his eyes to see. He looks. But eyes may speak, we are told, and since this person undergoes many changes of mood and purpose, we shall let his eyes tell us all they will about his different manners of looking. At first he but looks momentarily (as from lack of time) or casually (as from lack of interest). He glances. Soon he makes a business of looking, and fastens his eyes for a long time on something he admires or wonders at. He gazes. Presently he looks with a blank, perhaps a rude, expression and with eyes opened widely; he may be for the moment overcome with incomprehension, surprise, or fright, or perhaps he wishes to be insolent. He stares. Now he is looking narrowly or closely at something that he sees with difficulty. He peers. The next moment he looks over something with care or with an encompassing sweep of vision. He scans it. His interest thoroughly enlisted, he looks at it carefully point by point to see that it is right in each detail. He scrutinizes it. He then alters his mood, and looks with scornful or malignant satisfaction upon something he has conquered or has power over. He gloats. Anger, perhaps fierceness, takes possession of him, and he looks with piercing eyes. He glares. Threat mingles with anger, and in all likelihood he looks scowlingly or frowningly. He glowers. An added expression of sullenness or gloom comes into his look. He lowers. He throws off his dark spirit and looks slyly and playfully, let us say through a small opening. He peeks. Playfulness gives place to curiosity; he looks quickly and furtively, perhaps through some tiny aperture, and probably at something he has no business to see. He peeps. The while he looks his mouth falls open, as from stupidity or wonder. He gapes. He looks at something a long time to study it. He cons or pores. His study is not of the thing itself; it is meditation or reverie. He pores. A member of the opposite sex is present; he looks at her with the effort of a flirt to attract attention to himself, or less scrupulous, he directs toward her amorous or inviting glances. He ogles.

Assignment for further discrimination: <leer, view, survey, inspect, regard, watch, contemplate>.

_Sentences:_ The inspecting officer _ the men's equipment. The student _ his lessons carefully. At this unexpected proposal Dobbett merely _. Jimmie _ at the fellow who had kicked the pup. The inquisitive maid _ into all the the closets. He _ over his fallen adversary. The bookkeeper _ over his ledger. In the darkened hallway he _ at the notices on the bulletin board. "The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth _ from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven." From the way her father _ the foolish, young man should have known it was time to go. He _ long and lovingly upon the scenes he was leaving. The newcomer _ insolently at his host and _ the young ladies.

<Abandon, desert, forsake.>

Abandon denotes absolute giving up, as from force of circumstances or shirking of responsibility. Desert refers to leaving or quitting in violation of obligation, duty, or oath. Forsake, which may involve no culpability, usually implies a breaking off of intimate association or attachment.

_Sentences_: The sailor _ his ship. Necessity compelled him to _ his friends in a time of sore trouble. They hated to _ their old haunts. A brave man never _ hope. An unscrupulous man will _ his principles when it is to his advantage. "When my father and my mother _ me, then the Lord will take me up." We _ our attempt to save the ship.

<Abase, debase, degrade, humble, humiliate, disgrace.>

To abase is to bring down so that the victim feels himself lowered in estate or external condition. To debase is to produce a marked decline in actual worth or in moral quality. To degrade is to lower in rank or status. To humble is to lower in dignity or self-esteem, or as used reflexively, to restrain one's own pride; the word often implies that the person has been over-proud or arrogant. To humiliate is to deprive of self-esteem or to bring into ignominy. To disgrace is to bring actual shame upon.

_Sentences_: They _ the guilty officer from captain to lieutenant. A man should _ himself before God. He had so _ himself that I no longer expected good of him. His detection at cheating had _ him before the students. By successive overlords they had been _ into a condition of serfdom. The aristocratic old lady was _ by her loss of social position. The conversion of so much bullion into money had _ the coinage.

<Answer, reply, response, rejoinder, retort, repartee.>

An interesting thing about the answer group is that the generic term has a somewhat strong rival in reply, itself fairly inclusive. We must therefore discriminate rather fully between answer and reply. The former is a return in words to a question, a communication, or an argument. The latter suggests a more or less formal answer, as one carefully prepared or intelligently thought out. We might give an answer offhand, but are less likely to give a reply so. We may give any kind of answer to a question, but if we give a reply, the implication is that we have answered it definitely, perhaps satisfactorily. On the other hand, in controversial matters we may, though we by no means always do, imply a more conclusive meeting of objections through answer than through reply. A response is an expected answer, one in harmony with the question or assertion, or in some way carrying the thought farther. A rejoinder is a quick reply to something controversial or calling forth opposition. A retort is a short, sharp reply, such as turns back censure or derision, or as springs from anger. A repartee is an immediate and witty reply, perhaps to a remark of similar character which it is intended to surpass in cleverness.

Sentences: The detailed to our letter should reach us within a week. The plays of Oscar Wilde abound in brilliant . The speaker's to the heckler was incisive and scathing. My to that third question in the examination in history was incorrect. The congregation read the in unison. You have enumerated objections to my course; here is their . "This is no , thou unfeeling man. To excuse the current of thy cruelty." There was silence throughout the chamber as the old statesman rose to make his . To the tenderfoot's remark the guide mumbled an indifferent . Our appeal for the sufferers elicited but a poor .

<Ask, inquire, question, interrogate, interpellate, query, quiz, catechize, request, beg, solicit, entreat, beseech, crave, implore, supplicate, importune, petition.>

From the general tree of asking grow many branches, different in size, in the direction they take, in the shades of meaning they cast. What can we learn from a rapid scrutiny of each? That to inquire is to ask for specific information. That to question is to keep asking in order to obtain detailed or reluctantly given information. That to interrogate is to question formally, systematically, or thoroughly. That to interpellate is to question as of unchallenged right, as in a deliberative body. That to query is to bring a thing into question because of doubt as to its correctness or truth. That to quizis to question closely and persistently, as from meddlesomeness, opposition, or curiosity. That to catechize is to question in a minute, perhaps impertinent, manner in order to ascertain one's secrets or the amount of his knowledge or information. That to request is to ask formally and politely. That to beg is to ask for deferentially or humbly, especially on the ground of pity. That to solicit is to ask with urgency. That to entreat is to ask with strong desire and moving appeal. That to beseech is to ask earnestly as a boon or favor. That to crave is to ask humbly and abjectly, as though unworthy of receiving. That to implore is to ask with fervor and intense earnestness. That to supplicate is to ask with urgent or even desperate appeal. (Both implore and supplicate imply humility, as of a prayer to a superior being.) That to importune is to ask for persistently, even wearyingly. That to petition is to ask a superior, usually in writing, for some favor, grant, or right.

Assignment for further discrimination: .

_Sentences_: The leader of the minority _ the upholders of the measure sharply as to a secret understanding. I _ you to keep your promise. I shall _ that solution for the present. The colonists _ Great Britain for a redress of grievances. She _ the governor to grant her husband a pardon. A child is naturally inquisitive and _ many questions. I _ you to show mercy. On bended knees he _ God's forgiveness. "I'm stopp'd by all the fools I meet And _ in every street." The policeman _ the suspect closely. The prosecuting attorney _ the witness. We are _ funds to aid the famine-stricken people of India. He _ me about your health. You should _ at the office about the lost package. She _ your presence at the party. Every one resents being _. I _ you to care for the child after I am gone. A fool can _ questions a wise man can't answer. She annoyed them by constantly _ them for favors. The reporter _ into the causes of the riot. "_ and it shall be given you." I _ your pardon, though I well know I do not deserve it. The man _ me to give him some money for food.

<Burn, scorch, singe, sear, parch, char, incinerate, cremate, cauterize.>

If you consume or injure something by bringing it in contact with fire or heat, you burn it. If you do not consume it but burn it superficially so as to change the texture or color of its surface, you scorch it. If you burn off ends or projections of it, you singe it. If you burn its surface to dryness or hardness, you sear it. If you dry or shrivel it with heat, you parch it. If through heat you reduce it to a state of charcoal, or cinders, you char it. If you burn it to ashes, you incinerate it. (This word is learned and but little used in ordinary discourse.) If you burn a dead body to ashes, you cremate it. If you burn or sear anything with a hot iron or a corrosive substance, you cauterize it.

_Sentences:_ The hired girl _ the cloth in ironing it. By getting too close to the fire he _ the nap of his flannels. The doctor at once _ the wound. The cook had picked the chicken and now _ its down over the coals. I used to _ grains of field corn on the cookstove, while my mother prepared dinner. Shelley's body was _ on a funeral pyre. The lecturer spoke of the time when the whole earth might be _. The earth was _ and all growing things were _ by the intense summer heat.

<Busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous.>

From much of the talk that we hear nowadays it might be supposed that the earnest devotion of one's self to a task is a thing that has disappeared from the earth. But a good many people are exhibiting this very devotion. Let us see in what different degrees. The man who actively applies himself to something, whether temporarily or habitually, is busy. The man who makes continued application to work a principle or habit of life, is industrious. The man who applies himself aggressively to the accomplishment of some specific undertaking or pursuit, is diligent. The man who quietly and determinedly sticks to a task until it is accomplished, no matter what its difficulties or length, is assiduous. The man who makes steady and painstaking application to whatever he is about, is sedulous.

Sentences: Early in life he acquired habits. By patient and study you may overcome those defects of your early education. "How doth the little bee improve each shining hour." The manager gave such attention to details that he made few mistakes. He is at present. Oh, yes, he is always . "Nowher so a man has he ther has, And yet he seemed than he was."

<Concise, terse, succinct, compendious, compact, sententious, pithy, laconic, curt.>

Words descriptive of brief utterance are, in nearly every instance, in their origin figurative. The brevity is brought out by comparison with something that is noticeably short or small. Let us examine the words of our list for their figurative qualities. A _concise_ statement is one that is _cut down_ until a great deal is said in a few words. A _terse_ statement is _rubbed off_, rid of unessentials. A _succinct_ statement has its important thoughts _bound_ into small compass, as by a girdle. A _compendious_ statement _weighs together_ the various thoughts and aspects of a subject; it shows by means of a few effective words just what these amount to, gives a summary of them. A _compact_ statement has its units of thought _fastened together_ into firmness of structure; its brevity is well-knit. A _sententious_ statement gives _feelings_ or opinions_ in a strikingly pointed or axiomatic way, so that they can be easily grasped and remembered; if _sententious_ is unfavorably used, the statement may be filled with paraded platitudes. A _pithy_ statement gives the very _pith_, the heart of a matter; it is sometimes slightly quaint, always effective and arresting. A _laconic_ statement is made in the manner of _the Spartans_, who hated talk and used as few words as possible. A _curt_ statement is _made short_; its abruptness is oftentimes more or less rude.

_Sentences_: "A tale should be judicious, clear, _. The language plain, and incidents well link'd." "Charles Lamb made the most _ criticism of Spenser when he called him the poet's poet." With a _ disdainful answer she turned away. The sermon was filled with _ sayings. By omitting all irrelevant details, he made his statement of the case _. It requires great skill to give a _ statement of what such a treatise contains. A proverb is a _ statement of a truth.

<Death, decease, demise.>

Men are as mindful of rank and pretension in their terms for the cessation of life as in their choice of tombstones for the departed. Death is the great, democratic, unspoilable word. It is not too good for a clown or too poor for an emperor. Decease is a more formal word. Its employment is often legal—the death proves to be of sufficient importance for the law (and the lawyers) to take notice. Demise, however, is outwardly the most resplendent term of all. It implies that the victim cut a wide swath even in death. It is used of an illustrious person, as a king, who transmits his title to an heir. Ordinary people cannot afford a demise. If the term is applied to their shuffling off of this mortal coil, the use is euphemistic and likely to be stilted.

Sentences: "The crown at the moment of must descend to the next heir." " is a fearful thing." "In their they were not divided." At the of his father he inherited the estate. "Each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of ." "Many a time I have been half in love with easeful ."

<Early, primitive, primeval, primordial, primal, pristine.>

Early is the simple word for that which was in, or toward, the beginning. That is primitive which has the old-fashioned or simple qualities characteristic of the beginning. That is primeval which is of the first or earliest ages. That is primordial which is first in origin, formation, or development. That is primal which is first or original. (The word is poetic.) That is pristine which has not been corrupted from its original state.

Assignment for further discrimination: <aboriginal, prehistoric.>

_Sentences:_ It was a hardy mountain folk that preserved the _ virtues. The _ history of mankind is shrouded in uncertainty. "This is the forest _." "It hath the _ eldest curse upon 't, A brother's murder." "A _ leaf is that which is immediately developed from the cotyledon." As the explorers penetrated farther into the country, they beheld all the _ beauties of nature. Some countries still use the _ method of plowing with a stick.

<Face, countenance, features, visage, physiognomy.>

We hear some one say that he reads faces. How? Through long study of them and what they indicate. The human race as a whole has been reading faces through the centuries. It has felt such need to label certain recurring aspects of them that it has invented the designating terms. Of these terms the simple, inclusive one is of course face itself. If, however, we are thinking of the face as its look or expression reveals thoughts, emotions, or state of mind, our term is countenance. If we are thinking of it as distinguished or individualized by the contour, lines, etc., we speak of the features. If we are thinking of its external appearance or aspect, we call it the visage. If, finally, we are thinking of it as indicative of mind, disposition, or fundamental character, we say physiognomy.

Assignment for further discrimination: .

Sentences: His grotesque reminded one of a gargoyle. It is said that the of persons living constantly together tend to become alike. "Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling ." The teacher told the students to wash their every morning. "A more in sorrow than in anger." The firm but kind of the old statesman shone happily at this ovation. "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then to ." She turned an eager up to me as she spoke. One's is moulded by one's thoughts. Cosmetics injure the . His clear-cut impressed his employer.

<Financial, monetary, pecuniary, fiscal.>

Financial is usually applied to money matters of considerable size or moment. Monetary applies to money, coin, or currency as such. Pecuniary refers to practical matters in which money is involved, though not usually in large amounts. Fiscal refers especially to the time when money, receipts, and accounts are balanced or reckoned.

Sentences: A reward has been offered. We gave the unfortunate man assistance. The system of the country was sound. It was Hamilton who more than any one else shaped the policies of the new government. Experts audit the company's accounts at the end of the year. The interests of the country were behind the bill.

<Flee, abscond, decamp.>

To flee is to run away from what one would avoid, as danger, arrest, or the like. To abscond is to steal off secretly and hide one's self, as from some disgraceful reason or to avoid arrest. To decamp is to leave suddenly in great haste to get away; the word is often used humorously.

_Sentences_: They went to have their money refunded, but the swindler had _. The bank teller _ after having squandered most of the deposits. Yes, we were in proximity to a polecat, and without further parley we _. "Resist the devil, and he will _ from you." William Wallace, when pursued by the English, _ into the Highlands.

<Foretell, predict, prophesy, forecast, presage, forebode, portend, augur, prognosticate.>

Foretell is the general word for stating or perceiving beforehand that which will happen. Predict implies foretelling based on well-founded or precise knowledge. Prophesy often implies supernatural inspiration to foretell correctly. The word is especially so used in connection with the Scriptures; but in the Scriptures themselves it frequently expresses insight and admonition without the element of foretelling. Forecast involves a marked degree of conjecture. Presage usually means to give as a presentiment or warning. Forebode expresses an uncertain foreknowledge of vague impending evil. Portend indicates the likelihood that something will befall which is threatening or evil in its consequences. Augur means foretelling from omens. Prognosticate means foretelling through the study of signs or symptoms.

_Sentences_: "For we know in part, and we _ in part." (Insert in the blank, successively, the terms just distinguished. In each instance how is the meaning affected? Do any of the terms fail to make sense at all? Which term do you think the right one? Bearing in mind the distinctions we have made, frame sentences of your own to embody the terms.)

<Get, acquire, obtain, procure, attain, gain, win, earn.>

Get, the general term, may be used of whatever one comes by whatsoever means to possess, experience, or realize. To acquire is to get into more or less permanent possession, either by some gradual process or by one's determined efforts. To obtain is to get something desired by means of deliberate effort or request. To procure is to get by definitely planned effort something which, in most instances, is of a temporary nature or the possession of which is temporary. To attain is to get through striving that which one has set as a goal or end of his desire or ambition. To gain is to get that which is advantageous. To win is to get as the result of successful competition or the overcoming of opposition. To earn is to get as a deserved reward for one's efforts or exertions.

Sentences: With such wages as those, he can barely a living. He a pardon by appealing to the governor. The speaker his point by forcing his opponent to admit that the figures were misleading. By buying in June I can a good overcoat at half price. Did you only seven thousand dollars for your house? Walpole believed in one's ends in the surest and easiest way possible. It is illegal to money through false pretences. A junior the prize in the oratorical contest. Kirk his advancement by taking a personal interest in the firm's welfare. The painter a foreign accent while he was studying in Paris. He their gratitude by loyally serving them. It was through sacrifices that he an education.

<Give, bestow, grant, confer, present>.

We give that which we transfer from our own to another's possession or ownership, usually without compensation. We bestow that which we give gratuitously, or of which the recipient stands in especial need. We grant that which has been requested by one dependent upon us or inferior to us, and which we give with some formality. From a position of superiority we confer as a favor or honor that which we might withhold or deny. We present that which is of importance or value and which we give ceremoniously.

Assignment for further discrimination: <furnish, supply, impart>.

Sentences: William the Conqueror English estates upon his followers. The rich man his wonderful art collection to the museum. My application for a leave of absence has been . The ticket agent us complete information. Every year he alms upon the poor in that neighborhood. The school board may an increase in the salaries of teachers. Many merchants premiums with the articles they sell. The college an honorary degree upon the distinguished visitor. The Pilgrims thanks to God for their preservation. "Not what we , but what we share."

<Haste, celerity, speed, hurry, expedition, despatch>.

What did John Wesley mean by saying, "Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry"? Does Lord Chesterfield's saying "Whoever is in a hurry shows that the thing he is about is too big for him" help explain the distinction? Explain the distinction (taking speed in the modern sense) in the saying "The more haste, ever the worse speed." "The tidings were borne with the usual celerity of evil news." Give the well-known saying in four simple words that express the same idea. Which of the two statements is the more forceful? Which is the more literary? Why did Prescott use the former in his Ferdinand and Isabella? "Despatch," says Lord Chesterfield, "is the soul of business." What does despatch suggest about getting work done that haste or speed does not? In which way would you prefer for your employee to go about his task—with haste, with speed, or with despatch? "With winged expedition, Swift as the lightning glance, he executes His errand on the wicked." Why is it that this use of expedition in Milton's lines is apt? Would despatch have served as well? If not, why not?

<Hate, detest, abhor, loathe, abominate, despise>.

To hate involves deep or passionate dislike, sometimes bred of ill-will. To detest involves an intense, vehement, or deep-seated antipathy. To abhor involves utter repugnance or aversion, with an impulse to recoil. To loathe involves disgust because of physical or moral offensiveness. To abominate involves strong moral aversion, as of that which is odious or wicked. To despise is to dislike and look down upon as inferior.

_Sentences_: When he had explained his fell purpose, I could only _ him. Who would not _ a slimy creature like Uriah Heep? It is natural for us to _ our enemies. She _ greasy food. There suddenly in my pathway was the venomous reptile, darting out its tongue; oh, I _ snakes! A wholesome nature must _ such principles as these. A child _ to kiss and make up. The pampered young millionaire _ those who are simply honest and kind. These daily practices of her associates she _.

<Healthful, wholesome, salutary, salubrious, sanitary, hygienic>. (With this group contrast the Disease group below.)

The words of this group are assuredly blessed. Every one of them has to do with the giving, promotion, or preservation of health. But health is of various kinds, and therefore the words apply differently. Healthful is the most inclusive of them; it means that the thing it refers to is full of health for us. Wholesome also is a very broad term; what is wholesome is good for us physically, mentally, or morally. Salutary is confined to that which affects for good our moral (including civic and social) welfare, especially if it counteracts evil influences or propensities. Salubrious is confined to the physical; it is used almost solely of healthful air or climate. Sanitary and hygienic apply to physical well-being as promoted by the eradication of the causes for sickness, disease, or the like; sanitary, however, is used of measures and conditions affecting people in general, whereas hygienic connects itself with personal habits.

Assignment for further discrimination: The word healthy is often confused with healthful. You have already discriminated between these two terms, but you should renew your knowledge of the distinction between them.

Sentences: Colorado is noted for its air. He offered the young people some advice. A person should brush his teeth every day for reasons. In spite of its horrors, the French Revolution has had a effect upon civilization. Damp, low places do not have a climate. Cities in the middle ages were not . His is a very way of life. My doctor recommends buttermilk as .

<Heavy, weighty, burdensome, onerous>.

He knew that it was a _ responsibility. (Insert the four words in the blank space in turn, and analyze the differences in meaning thus produced.)

<Liberal, generous, bountiful, munificent>.

He made a _ donation to the endowment fund. (Insert the four words in the blank space in turn, and analyze the differences in meaning.)

<Masculine, male, manly, manlike, manful, mannish, virile>.

"A man's a man for a' that," sang the poet. So he is, but not all the adjectives allusive to his state are equally complimentary. Masculine betokens the qualities and characteristics belonging to men. Male designates sex and is used of animals as well as human beings. Manly (used of boys as well as men) implies the possession of qualities worthy of a man, as strength, courage, sincerity, honesty, independence, or even tenderness. Manlike refers to qualities, attributes, or foibles characteristically masculine. Manful suggests the valor, prowess, or resolution properly belonging to men. Mannish (a derogatory word) indicates superficial or affected qualities of manhood, especially when inappropriately possessed by a woman. Virile applies to the sturdy and intrepid qualities of mature manhood.

Sentences: The Chinese especially prize children. He was a little fellow. She walked with a stride. With courage he faced the crisis. It was a defense of an unpopular cause. strength is the complement of female grace. The old sailor still retained the rugged and strength of a man much younger. With bluntness he told her what he thought. Such gentleness is not weak; it is . He made a struggle against odds. "His brow Consents to death, but conquers agony." Now isn't that assumption of omniscience ?

<Name, appellation, designation, denomination, title, alias>.

A name is the word or words by which a person or thing is called or known. If the name be descriptive or characterizing, even though in a fanciful way, it is an appellation. If it particularizes an individual through reference to distinctive quality or nature, perhaps without employing any word the individual is usually known by, it is a designation. If it specifies a class, especially a religious sect or a kind of coin, it is a denomination. If it is an official or honorary description of rank, office, place within a profession, or the like, it is a title. If it is assumed, as to conceal identity, it is an alias.

Assignment for further discrimination: <cognomen, patronymic, nom de plume, pseudonym>.

_Sentences_: Yes, it is a five-dollar gold piece, though one doesn't often see a coin of that _ nowadays. The Little Corporal is the _ applied to Napoleon by his soldiers. The eldest son of the king of England bears the _ of the Prince of Wales. The government issues stamps in various _. "That loafer" was his contemptuous _ of the man who could not find work. "Duke" is the highest _ of nobility in England. The crook was known to the police under many _. At the battle of Bull Run Jackson received the _ "Stonewall." "What's in a[n] _? that which we call a rose By any other _ would smell as sweet." The head of the American government bears the _ of President. The Mist of Spring was the little Indian maiden's _. His _ was Thornberg.

<Old, ancient, olden, antique, antiquated, archaic, obsolete, venerable, immemorial, elderly, aged, hoary, decrepit, senile, superannuated>.

We reserve the right to judge for ourselves when told that something— especially a joke—is "the very latest." So may we likewise discriminate among degrees of age. Old is applied to a person or thing that has existed for a long time or that existed in the distant past. The word may suggest a familiarity or sentiment not found in ancient, which is used of that which lived or happened in the remote past, or has come down from it. Olden applies almost wholly to time long past. Antique is the term for that which has come down from ancient times or is made in imitation of the style of ancient times, whereas antiquated is the term for that which has gone out of style or fashion. Archaic and obsolete refer to words, customs, or the like, the former to such as savor of an earlier period though they are not yet completely out of use, the latter to such as have passed out of use altogether. Immemorial implies that a thing is so old that it is beyond the time of memory or record. Elderly is applied to persons who are between middle age and old age. Aged is used of one who has lived for an unusually long time. Hoary refers to age as revealed by white hair. Venerable suggests the reverence to be paid to the dignity, goodness, or wisdom of old age. Decrepit conveys a sense of the physical infirmities and weakness which attend old age; senile of the lessening powers of both body and mind that result from old age. Superannuated is applied to a person who on account of old age has been declared incapable of continuing his activities.

_Sentences_: He liked to read romances of the _ days. Dana records that he once saw a man so _ that he had to raise his eyelids with his fingers. Many writers use _ words to give quaintness to their work. He liked to sit around in his _ clothes. "The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wandering near her secret bower, Molest her _ solitary reign." Some of these _ sequoia trees were old before the white man discovered this continent. They are building the church in the _ Roman style of architecture. "Be not ... the last to lay the _ aside." Many of Chaucer's words, being _, cannot possibly be understood without a glossary. Most churches now have funds for _ ministers. A man is as _ as he feels; a woman is as _ as she looks. The _ old man could scarcely hobble across the room. What better proof that he is _ do you ask than that he babbles constantly about what happened when he was young? "I am a very foolish fond _ man, Fourscore and upward." They revered the _ locks of the old hero. At sixty a man is considered a[n] _ person. That the earth is flat is a[n] _ idea. The young warriors listened respectfully to the _ chief's advice. They unearthed a[n] _ vase. "_ wood best to burn, _ wine to drink, _ friends to trust, and _ authors to read." His favorite study was _ history. "Grow _ along with me." "The most _ heavens, through thee, are fresh and strong."

<Pay, compensate, recompense, remunerate, requite, reimburse, indemnify>.

Most men are willing to receive what is due them. They might even be persuaded to receive a bit more. Why should they not be as scrupulous to receive what they are entitled to in the medium of language as of money? Sometimes they are. Offering to pay some people instead of to compensate them is like offering a tip to the wrong person. Why? Because there is a social implication in compensate which is not contained in pay. To pay is simply to give what is due, as in wages (or even salary), price, or the like. To compensate is to make suitable return for service rendered. Does compensate not sound the more soothing? But save in exceptional circumstances the downrightness of pay has no hint of vulgarity. To recompense is to make a return, especially if it is not monetary, for work, pains, trouble, losses, or suffering; or some quality or blessing (as affection or happiness) may be said to recompense one. To remunerate is to disburse a large amount to a person, or to give it to him as a reward, or otherwise to make him a return in a matter of importance. To requite is to put a just value upon one's work, deeds, or merit and to make payment strictly in accordance with his deserts. To reimburse is to make good what some one has spent for you. To indemnify is to secure some one against loss or to make restitution for damages he has sustained.

Assignment for further discrimination: .

_Sentences_: Let us _ him for his efforts in our behalf. Let us _ their kindness with kindness, their cruelty with cruelty. To _ them adequately for such patriotic sacrifices is of course impossible. The government demanded that it be _ for the injury to its citizens. I shall _ you for all sums expended. He _ the bill by a check. The success of her children _ a mother for her sacrifices for them. Wages are _ to laborers; salaries are _ to judges.

<Proud, arrogant, presumptuous, haughty, supercilious, insolent, insulting>.

Most persons feel in their hearts that their claims and merits are superior to those of other people. But they do not like for you, in describing them, to imply that their self-appraisal is too high. "Comparisons are odious," and therefore in comparing their fancied with their real selves you must choose your terms carefully. Of the words that suggest an exaggerated estimate of one's merits or privileges the broadest, as well as the least offensive, is proud. In fact this word need not carry the idea of exaggeration. A proud man may but hold himself in justifiable esteem, or wish to measure up to the demands of his station or to the expectations of others. On the other hand, he may overvalue his attainments, possessions, connections, etc. To say that the man is arrogant means that he combines with pride a contempt for others, that he claims for himself greater attention, consideration, or respect than he is entitled to. To say that he is presumptuous makes him an inferior (or at least not a superior) who claims privileges or takes liberties improperly. To say that he is haughty means that he assumes a disdainful superiority to others, especially through fancied or actual advantage over them in birth or social position. To say that he is supercilious means that he maintains toward others an attitude of lofty indifference or sneering contempt. To say that he is insolent means that he is purposely and perhaps coarsely disrespectful toward others, especially toward his superiors. To say that he is insulting means that he gives or offers personal affront, probably in scornful or disdainful speech.

Assignment for further discrimination: <scornful, imperious, contumelious, impudent, impertinent>.

Sentences: He was in replying to the questions. She paid no attention to his words, but kept looking at him with a[n] smile. He was in acting as if he were their equal. The hot-tempered fellow answered this remark with a blow. She resented his presuming to speak to her, and turned away in a[n] manner. The servant was to her mistress. Are you not very of your family connections? The old man was so that he expected people to raise their hats to him and not to sit down till he gave permission.

<Punish, chastise, chasten>.

To punish a person is to inflict pain or penalty upon him as a retribution for wrong-doing. There may be, usually is, no intention to improve the offender. To chastise him is to inflict deserved corporal punishment upon him for corrective purposes. To chasten him is to afflict him with trouble for his reformation or spiritual betterment. The word is normally employed in connection with such affliction from God.

Assignment for further discrimination: .

Sentences: "Hearing oftentimes The still, sad music of humanity, Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To and subdue." Ichabod Crane freely used his ferule in his pupils. "Whom the Lord loveth he ." A naughty child should be .

<Rich, wealthy, affluent, opulent>.

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Substitute wealthy for rich. Is the meaning exactly the same? Is Goldsmith's description of the village preacher—"passing rich with forty pounds a year"—as effective if wealthy is substituted? What is the difference between riches and wealth? Which implies the greater degree of possession, which the more permanence and stability? Which word suggests the more personal relationship with money? Which word the more definitely denotes money or its immediate equivalent? Why do we say "get-rich-quick schemes" rather than "get-wealthy-quick schemes"? What besides the possession of wealth does affluent suggest? Could we say that a rich miser lives in affluence? If not, why not? A poor clerk who has ten dollars to spend as he pleases may feel affluent. A rich banker may be a man of affluence in his town. What power does this suggest that he has besides the possession of a great deal of money? Explain all that Swift implies by the word opulence in the quotation "There in full opulence a banker dwelt, Who all the joys and pangs of riches felt." If you substitute affluence, what different impression do you get?