Week 7: Hrabanus Maurus: De rerum naturis. Background | Background Quiz | Starting Assumptions | Resources | Extras Vocabulary | Etymology | Grammar | Perseus Dictionary | Perseus Tool Reading Overview | Reading Quiz: English | Reading Quiz: Latin Discussion Questions | Latin Composition | Weekly Checklist

Etymology Board

Choose four of the following words. For each word, note:

• a simple English definition of the word
• the Latin word it is derived from (along with any intervening French or Italian words, if you wish; or the Greek origin of the Latin word, if appropriate)
• your explanation of what has happened to the meaning of the word as it moves from Latin to English: does it still mean the same thing? has the word acquired new meaning(s) in contemporary English?

tonsure: the way that monks and priests have their heads shaved; from Latin tondeo, tondere: to clip or shear (like sheep); the monks get their hair cut off like sheep getting shorn

When you are done, post your answers on the Etymology Discussion Board at Blackboard. You need to have posted your answers by Tuesday midnight.