A Word A Day Monday, August 25, 2014 Include is the opposite of exclude, but intend is not the opposite of extend. Delist is the opposite of list, but devote is not the opposite of vote. To redo something is to do it again, but to recapitulate is not to capitulate again. Dissecting a word into its parts usually helps us figure it out, but at times this rule of thumb points us in the wrong direction. This week well look at other words with meanings that cant always deduced from their looks. Well discuss such words, but well neither dis them, nor cuss them. recapitulate PRONUNCIATION: (ree-kuh-PICH-uh-layt) MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To recap or to repeat. ETYMOLOGY: From Latin recapitulare (to sum up), re- (again) + capitulare (to draw up under headings), from capitulum (little head, chapter), from caput (head). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kaput- (head), also the origin of head, captain, chef, chapter, cadet, cattle, chattel, achieve, biceps, mischief, and occiput. Earliest documented use: 1551. USAGE: The discovery of the Higgs particle is an astonishing triumph of mathematics power to reveal the workings of the universe. Its a story thats been recapitulated in physics numerous times, but each new example thrills just the same. Brian Greene; Mind Over Matter; Smithsonian (Washington, DC); Jul/Aug 2013.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 10:52:58 +0000
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