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

Learning Strategy 11Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.Still, it is useful to know how to interpret pronunciation symbolssuch as ß. A pronunciation key gives a common word that contains asound. For example, the symbol ß (the first sound in astute) should bepronounced like the sound of a in the word “about.” Pronunciationkeys appear on each page spread of a printed dictionary and within thelinks of an electronic dictionary. The inside front cover of this bookalso has one. The symbols used by dictionaries can vary. This book usesthe American Heritage symbols. Note also that the website of The Worldof Words (www.cengage.com/devenglish/richek8e) contains an audioportion that pronounces each word presented in this book for you.An accent mark () follows the syllable that should be stressedwhen you pronounce a word. In astute, only the second syllable isstressed. If two syllables have accent marks, the syllable with thedarker accent mark receives more stress. (Most dictionaries put accentmarks after the accented syllable, but some put the accent before thesyllable.)3. The part of speech. Sometimes, parts of speech are abbreviated.n. —noun tr. v. —transitive verb adv. —adverbadj. —adjective intr. v. —intransitive verb4. The definition(s). If a word has more than one definition, you mustchoose the one that best fits the sentence you are reading. Choosingthe best definition often requires some thought. Be sure to read all ofthe definitions before you select one. Then try to fit it into thesentence.Dictionary definitions usually state only the precise, or denotative,meanings of words. But words also have implied, or connotative,meanings, which are the images, ideas, and emotions that they suggest.For example, the words skinny and slender have the same denotativemeaning, “thin,” but they differ in connotative meaning. Skinny hasnegative connotations; slender has positive connotations. Most connotativeinformation is learned simply by observing the ways people usewords in writing and speaking.Finally, the word shrewd is a synonym for astute. More synonymscan be found at the entry for shrewd, which is shown (in blue) as anonline link. In online dictionaries, synonyms are often presented inlinks, so that the reader can get to them easily for more information.5. The etymology. In this section, the history of a word is traced to itsorigin. The word astute comes from Latin. It appeared as astūtusin Latin and is taken from the Latin word astus, meaning “craft.”(A crafty person is clever and tricky.) When a word is traced throughmore than one language, the most recent forms are usually listedfirst and the oldest form is listed last. Languages commonly foundin etymologies are listed below.