Category Words dictionary

(Pronounced pre-co-cious)

Meaning: Precocious means having or showing mature qualities at an unusually early age. It can also mean exceptionally early in development or occurrence.

Origin: This word comes from combining the Latin prefix prae-, meaning ‘ahead of’ with the verb coquere, meaning to cook or to ripen. Together, they formed the adjective praecox, which meant early ripening. By the mid-1600s, English speakers had turned praecox into precocious and were using it especially to describe plants that produced blossoms before their leaves came out.

Usage:  She was a precocious child who could read before she started school.

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Meaning: A verb, portend means to give an omen or anticipatory sign of something.

Origin: The word is derived from the Latin word portendere which means to indicate, point out or foretell. The word was first used in the 15th century.

Usage: The gypsy was always welcome in the king's court, because her visions would portend the fate of his kingdom, and more so now than ever, when he was in his darkest hour.

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(Pronounced sa tiate)

Meaning: This is a formal word that means to satisfy a need or a desire.

Origin: Both satiate and sad are related to the Latin adjective satis, meaning enough. When we say our desire, thirst, curiosity, etc. has been satiated, we mean it has been fully satisfied or in other words 'have had enough’.

Usage: She finished the meal and sat back with a satiated sigh.

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(pronounced as in truh kuht)

Meaning: The word intricate is used as an adjective to describe the nature of being very complicated or detailed.

Origin:  The word has been around since early 15th Century. It is derived from Latin intricatus meaning entangled past participle of intricare to entangle perplex embarrass."

The usage of the word has been fairly even over the last 200 years or so, with minor ups and downs.

Usage: Human history is intricately woven with our views of the starry skies.

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Pronounced as: Ggruh-vay-men

 Meaning: A noun, "gravamen" means the significant part of a grievance or complaint.

Origin: The word traces its origin to the Latin word "gravare” meaning “to burden". Its first known use was in 1602. The word is generally used in legal contexts:

Usage: The gravamen of the complaint was that the malpractices by the minister's aides had pushed the kingdom and its residents into a state of deprivation of resources.

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It is pronounced law-znj.

Meaning: This noun refers to a small, flat sweet that you suck to make a cough or sore throat feel better. It also refers to a figure (such as diamond) with four equal sides and two acute and two obtuse angles.

Origin: This Middle English word is from the Old French losenge, probably derived from the base of Spanish losa, and Portuguese lousa, meaning 'slab’. This, in turn, is from the late Latin word lausiae, meaning ‘stone slabs’.

Usage: She popped an orange-coloured lozenge into her mouth.

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