Never mind how long ago I took the SAT. I'll just say that it was so long ago that the exam was still called the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Today it's simply SAT, an acronym that stands for nothing.
In high school, I endured the test twice. I don't remember a thing about the math part. The one word I can remember getting wrong in the English part was "flaccid." Now I know the definition is "not firm."
The SAT dates to the 1920s, when the College Board asked Carl Brigham to create a standardized test for college applicants. High school students first took it in 1926.
In one part of that first test, students were asked to look at six words and decide which three were most closely related.
1. doll
2. ring
3. flower
4. drum
5. top
6. shoe
You'll find the answer later in this column.
Today, many people are in the business of helping students do better on the SAT. They review past tests and find the most common words used, then they teach those to students.
They also find the hardest words. Among these, I found a bunch of words I had seen before but wasn't always sure of their meanings.
Adumbrate
To "adumbrate" is to describe something in vague terms or to foreshadow. The root isn't "dumb." It's "umbra," which is Latin for shadow.
In searching newspapers for sentences using adumbrate, I found the word most often in book reviews. Each time, the word meant foreshadowing. One SAT guide used this sentence:
The coach adumbrated a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.
Cupidity
"Cupidity" is greed or desire for wealth. I thought the root was Cupid, the son of Venus in Roman mythology, so the word had to do with love. The root is the Latin word for "to desire." But in this case, it's love of money.
Enervate
"Enervate" means to wear out or tire. Many people think it means to energize, but the two words have different roots.
Hegemony
Hegemony is one group dominating others. This word always makes me think of Jiminy Cricket, but not because I consider Jiminy to be dominant. Only because of the pronunciation, he-JE-miny.
Inchoate
"Inchoate" means in the early stages or unformed. It comes from the Latin root meaning "to begin." Tadpoles are frogs in their inchoate stage.
Legerdemain
Legerdemain is trickery or deception. It has Latin roots meaning "light" and "hand." I have never said this word, but I suppose I have carried it out.
Manifold
"Manifold" means varied or diverse. I know that cars have something called an exhaust manifold, but that doesn't help me remember the meaning at all.
Noisome
A "noisome" thing has a foul, disgusting odor. Doesn't it sound like it should be something noisy? Its root is the same as the root for "to annoy."
Pellucid
This one means "lucid" or "clear." It's just silly to add three letters to the front of a word and have it mean the same thing.
Pulchritude
"Pulchritude" means physical beauty. It doesn't sound like a pretty word. Apparently, the Latin root, pulcher, means beautiful.
Solipsistic
"Solipsistic" is when you believe that only you exist. Its Latin roots mean "alone" and "self." In philosophy, it means you can be sure only of your own reality. It also means an egocentric person. We all know someone like that, don't we?
Vicissitude
A "vicissitude" is simply something that happens by chance. With all those syllables, it should mean something fancier. Its roots mean "in turn" and "change."
Winsome
"Winsome" means charming, sometimes in a childlike way. I always think it means wimpy or timid. I tried to think of a winsome character in a movie, but I came up blank. Oh, well, you win some, lose some.
THE ANSWER
The answer to the 1926 sample question was 1, 4 and 5.
WEEKLY REVIEW
People confuse "farther" and "further."
Use "farther" when you are describing a physical distance.
I need a car that can go farther on a tank of gas.
The walk home always seems farther than the walk to work.
Use "further" when you are describing more abstract things or degrees.
We have talked this idea to death. I doubt we can go further with it.
Looking for helpful hints? Go no further!
Sources: PBS, Sparknotes, Vocabulary.com, American Heritage Dictionary, Merriam-Webster
bkwordmonger@gmail.com
ActiveStyle on 07/09/2018