Session 22

Hello gyaanis. I'm extremely extremely sorry for posting the session this late.


1. How to Tickle

Lewis informs us that titillate comes from a latin word meaning 'to tickle'. You can literally
titillate by touching in strategic places resulting in a pleasant physical sensation and
figuratively titillate people's minds, whims, palates by your wit, charm etc.


2. Flattery

Compliment is a courteous form of praise. Flattery is stronger and most often insencere.
Adulation is when you do it too much to an excessive, ridiculous degree. Adulate derives from a
latin verb meaning to 'fawn upon'.


3. Ways of writing

Proscribe (pro: before + scribo: to write). Proscribe basically means to forbi. A doctor
proscribes against eating unhealthy food, the law proscribes against illegal malpractices and so
on and so forth.

Scribo,scriptus is the building block for many words such as

a. Describe- scribe when used along with de(down) etymologically refers to 'writing down'.
b. Manuscript- Scriptus + manus(hands) means handwritten.
c. Scriptures- Holy writings.
d. Subscribe- To write one's name under a contract or order(like for a magazine, reminds me,
goddam it when will i subscribe to Frontline!!). Also the lesser common meaning is subscribing to a philosophy or a principle.
e. Inscribe- To write in a book or somewhere.
f. Postscript- Some notes added after the main part is over.


4. Aint it pretty obvious?

Via means by way of. It derives from the latin word for 'road'.
When you are doing something, what's obvious is there for you to see and needs to be done. But
while attempting the job at hand, if there is some hindrance, you dispose of the obstacle
forthwith and continue. What we are doing here is obviating. So if i prepare regularly for CAT, i
automatically obviate the need of last minute mugging of formulas.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obviate

Trivial(tri-3 + via): This is pretty interesting. Now where there are 3 roads meeting at a
trisection, there are lots of people and hence i wont talk of private, confidential matters but
will instead veer my conversation with someone to trivialities or trivia. I remember reading in a
pagalguy.com post this year that an IIM interview panel member asked a candidate the origin of the word trivia. Now i know. YESSSS!!


5. War

Militate is from militis (latin for soldier or fighting man). Something militating against you
means it is fighting against you. e.g. my laziness militates against my better sense. NL takes
care to make us remeber that militate is ALWAYS followed by against.

Militant too derives from militis. Not wasting time here. Still people interested may access the
links
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/militant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militant


6. Bad News

Malign derives from malus(bad,evil). Means to bring to defame, to bring to slander by evil talks. Also refers to adjective as in the use of "malign influence of his unconscious will to fail".

Let's play now..

Add the root dico(to tell) to malus. And what do we have here.. Malediction- a curse, an evil
saying.

Add volo(to wish, to will) and we get malevolent meaning 'wishing harm or evil'. Malevolent
glances,attitude et al.

Add facio(to do or make) and we arrive at maleficient meaning doing harm or evil. Maleficient
behaviour, deeds.

Some other words having malus as the root are maladroit, malicious, malice, malady etc.


I guess that covers session 22. Do find time to read the book too, nothing replaces the real
McCoy!

Piyush