Building a Better Vocabulary

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is a horse-thieving would-be knight with no honor. As Spenser
describes him:
 Yet knight he was not, but a boastfull swaine,
 That deedes of armes had ever in despaire,
 Proud Braggadocchio, that in vaunting vaine
 His glory did repose, and credit did maintaine.

A Brave Root: val
z Valor is a synonym for bravery and means strength of character
that allows one to stand up to danger without faltering. Valor comes
ultimately from a Latin verb, valeo, which means “to be strong.”
Thus, the root val in an English word connotes strength or worth.


z Other words in English that contain the root val include valid
(having the force or strength of law), validate, invalidate, evaluate,
valiant, and convalescent (someone who is recovering his or her
health and growing strong again).

Timorous (adjective)


Fearful or timid.

z Both timorous and timid come from the Latin verb timeo, meaning “to
be afraid.” To remember the meaning of timorousKLJKOLJKWWKH¿UVW
syllable, tim, and connect it to timid in your vocabulary notebook.

z A fun word for someone who is overly timid is milquetoast,
meaning a “meek, timid person.” This word comes from the name
Caspar Milquetoast, a character created by newspaper cartoonist H.
T. Webster in the early 20th century. A similar word is PLONVRS.

Craven (adjective)


Very cowardly; abjectly afraid.

z Someone described as craven is spineless or chickenhearted.
Craven politicians, for instance, are afraid to stand up for what
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