The World of Words: Vocabulary for College Success ... - eLibrary

Word Roots 207The word elements e- (out of) and ject (throw) make eject, or“throw out of.” When a candy bar is ejected from a vendingmachine, it is “thrown out.”Circumstance is another word whose elements give us a mental picture.It combines the prefix circum- and the root stans. Circumstancesare things that are “standing” (stans) “around” (circum-) an event; inother words, they surround it. Circumstances that might “stand around”and keep you from studying are noise in the library or a friend whowants to talk.Word RootsPart 1The four word roots of movement presented in Part 1 are as follows:duc, duct (lead)This root appears in many words. The ducts in a buildinglead air and water to different rooms. A conductor leads anorchestra so that all the players stay together. (Con- means“together.”) European noblemen are called dukes becauselong ago their ancestors led troops into battle.ject (throw)This root appears as jet, a stream of water or air thrown intospace. Ject can also represent the idea of throwing ratherthan the physical action itself. Although the word elementsof reject actually mean “to throw back,” the word itself hasthe related but nonphysical meaning of “not to accept.”Copyright © Cengage Learning. All Right Reserved.stans, stat (standing; placed)This root indicates a lack of movement, as in statue. Stansand stat can also refer to standing in an abstract, nonphysicalway. For example, one’s status is one’s standing or placementin society. Circumstance, mentioned earlier, also containsthis root.tain, ten (stretch, extend; hold)The many meanings of ten, tain are related. When we holdsomething, we can stretch and extend it. The word thincomes from ten, and we can imagine making something thinby holding it and then stretching it. This root means holdin the word contain (“to hold together”). Tain, ten can alsomean hold in a nonphysical sense. For example, a tenet is abelief that somebody holds.