/HFWXUH +LJK)UHTXHQF\*UHHNDQG/DWLQ5RRWV
z Here’s prescient in context: “The prescient economist predicted the
stock market collapse well before anyone else.”A Handy Root: man
z The root man comes from the Latin noun manus, meaning “hand.”
It’s found in such words as manufacture, manual, manipulate,
manacle, manuscript, and manicure.z Interestingly, this root is also found in the word manure. What
does the excrement of animals, often used as a fertilizer, have to do
ZLWKKDQGV"
ż Manure as a verb came into English from an Old French
word in approximately 1400, when it meant “to cultivate the
land.” Of course, medieval farmers cultivated their lands with
their hands.ż $ VLJQL¿FDQW SDUW RI ZRUNLQJ WKH HDUWK ZDV IHUWLOL]LQJ LW
which led to the current noun manure, meaning “dung spread
as fertilizer.”Manumit (verb)To release from slavery or servitude.z Manumit comes from two Latin roots: man (“hand”) and mit, from
the Latin verb mitto, meaning “send, let go, release.” Think of the
“hand” here in the sense of the power of the master who releases
a slave. You may also encounter the noun form of this verb,
manumission, which refers to the act of setting someone free.A Shady Root: umbr
z The root umbr is found in the word umbrella, the original purpose
of which was to protect one from the sun, not the rain. In terms
of its etymology, umbrella actually means “little shadow” and
comes to English through Italian from the Latin noun umbra,
meaning “shade, shadow.” Think of the ancient Romans, in their