Project #4

Project:# 4 Vocabulary & Analogies & Spelling

Read my Blog entry on this process.

We will be studying many vocabularies: reading, listening, speaking, writing. The formal vocabulary lessons will be based on VETY. To accomplish this task, you will need 100 3X5 lined index cards and a GOOD Dictionary: Webster's New World or Merriam-Webster. The latter is online and in print, whereas the former is only available in print.
Going Back to the Classics To See How Words Work Iconoclast Uses Ancient Roots by Lawrie Mifflin NYTimes March 18, 1992.

VETY is the study of the etymology of a word, hence, Vocab ETYmology.
You should use this online Dictionary: Merriam-Webster
or this Etymology Dictionary that will help do VETY.
Here is a LIST of more dictionaries.
A Dead Language That's Very Much Alive by Winnie Wu, NYTimes Oct 13, 2008.

Look up the word etymology. As you look at the entry follow the text between the [ ]'s. Towards the end of the string you will see <Gr: see fol & -LOGY] which means "derived from" the Greek: see following for etymo and LOGY. Below etymo means "literal sense of words" "true meaning" and logy means "science, doctrine, theory of." So etymology is the "science, doctrine, theory of the literal sense of word or true meaning of the word." VETY is valuable because it will teach you about the roots of words. By knowing the roots you gain an understanding of vocabulary and the family relationships.

Greek and Latin roots quiz
Quizlet VETY One: Familiarize Check Show Term First - Learn - Test.
Mr. Belliveau's VETY Version. His earlier version of VETY.

Great Vocabulary Books: Vocabulary Energizers I & II, Stories of Word Origins by David Popkin are EXCELLENT!

What dictionary should you use?

  • Banished List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness.
  • World Wide Words Fantastic language page.
  • SAT ETS the SAT people
  • SAT Skill Lessons
  • SAT Test Fundamentals
  • SAT Prep Plan

    Making a Slang Dictionary Add, correct, or suggest a word.
    Vocabulary on the Net

  • Ask A Linguist The Ask A Linguist Web site is a service provided by The Linguist List, an Internet network for professional linguists. The site allows students, educators, or other interested parties to submit a question dealing with language or linguistics to a panel of linguists that includes faculty members from Oxford University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Michigan. While users can submit any type of question dealing with language they choose, a section of the site provides answers to frequently asked questions, with a particularly thorough section devoted to Arabic. Previous questions are archived on the site, with message threads dating back to May 1997. Recent message threads on the Ask A Linguist Web site include "Origin of the Norwegian Language," "Is language innate?" and "Linguistics and literature." Equally helpful is the ability to search the entire message archive in a variety of fashions, including complex queries.
  • Anagram Genius
  • A Word a Day
    What do these five have in common?
  • capitonym & contronym
  • Center for Research in Language
    Crossword Puzzles
    Crossword Puzzles for ESL
    KidCrosswords & More...
    Xword Maker
    Instant Online Crossword Puzzle Maker
  • Dictionaries
  • Eponyms
  • Etymology Speaking
  • Fake Out!~a vocabulary guessing game
  • Focus on Words
  • Fooling with Words
  • FunSchool: Language Games for Kids
  • Fun with Homonyms
  • Fun with Words
  • Funster Word Know-It-All great word game to play on-line with other players in real time
  • (Just for) FUN
  • Ideas in root words
  • Indo-European Language Tree Part I
  • Indo-European Language Tree Part II
  • Jumpstart English Games
  • Learn Vocabulary
  • Learning Vocabulary Can Be Fun Play hangman, the match game, or take a quiz.
  • Lexophile FUN!!
  • LoanWord is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation.
  • Making Language Arts Fun: An Online Guide
  • Michael B. Quinion
  • New Words in English~etymology of new words
  • Online Etymology Dictionary
  • OED Word of Day
  • Paul Turtola's Cyber-Vocab
  • The Phrontistery a thinking-place. Great resources.
  • Puzzle Maker
  • Rooting Out Words Funbrain.
  • Scrabble
  • Take Our Word For It
  • Verbivore
  • Visuwords
  • Vocabulary Web Games Students can increase their SAT/GRE vocabulary skills. Each quiz is a random selection of 20 words from the 720 most commonly tested words. Play an unlimited number of times. In addition, study computer or medical terminology.
  • Vocabulary University
  • http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html Word Creator.
  • Word and Phrase Origins
  • Word Detective
  • Wordorigins.org
  • Word Play Clearinghouse for word related games and programs.
  • Word Puzzle
  • Word Wizard
  • Words Borrowed From Other Languages
  • Word Quests for Word Seekers
  • http://www.colorstudy.com/scramble/ Word Scramble Creator
  • WordSpy Neologisms plus!!!
  • World Wide Words
  • Ye Olde English Sayings

    Analogies on the Net

  • GRE analogies Very Difficult

  • Misspelled Word of the Week
  • Spelling Software

      "Go GHOTI"
      the word in caps being pronounced (courtesy of GB Shaw) as follows:
      gh as in laugh
      o as in women
      ti as in nation
      or as F-I-S-H

    Go back to CyberEnglish