Lecture 6: Going beyond Dictionary Meanings
“delicious” meaning of toothsome seems relatively simple: We can
simply visualize teeth chewing a delicious meal. For the “sexually
attractive” meaning, we might visualize an attractive model or
celebrity with a perfect toothy smile.z Interestingly, this connection is related to the etymology of
toothsome, which came into English in the 1560s from a
combination of the word toothDQGWKHVXI¿[some. In this word,
toothZDVXVHGLQD¿JXUDWLYHVHQVHRI³DSSHWLWHWDVWHRUOLNLQJ ́DV
in sweet tooth. When combined with -some, an adjective-forming
VXI¿[WKDWPHDQV³WHQGLQJWRFDXVLQJWRDFRQVLGHUDEOHGHJUHH ́
toothsome meant “considerably tasty and appetizing.” The word
was later extended to describe a person who looks delicious.z When looking for a familiar word part to serve as a trigger for a
mnemonic device, it’s often the case that you will be digging into
the etymology of the word without even knowing it. Further, you’ll
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and structure—are often the best built-in mnemonic devices for
learning new vocabulary.Captious (adjective))DXOW¿QGLQJ K\SHUFULWLFDO GLI¿FXOWWRSOHDVHz 7KHZRUGSDUWFRQQHFWLRQVWUDWHJ\LVKHOSIXOIRUOHDUQLQJGH¿QLWLRQV
EXWGH¿QLWLRQVDORQHGRQ¶WOHDGWRGHHSYRFDEXODU\NQRZOHGJH2QH
ZD\WRPRYHEH\RQGWKHGLFWLRQDU\GH¿QLWLRQLVWRXVHDJUDSKLF
organizer, such as the four-square concept map developed by
educational researchers to visually record information about a new
word. Below is a four-square concept map for the word captious.