Saint Ignatius High School

Etymology Word of the Week

Director of Admissions Pat O'Rourke '90, a self-proclaimed "word nerd," brings you his Etymology Word of the Week. Every other week he presents an online Etymology lesson just for fun!

Etymology Word of the Week – As some of you know, in addition to working in the Admissions Office, I also teach Latin at Saint Ignatius and am something of a "word nerd."  Thus, each week, I’ll sneak a vocabulary word (sometimes derived from Latin, sometimes not) into the e-blast.  Here then is this week’s edition of the Etymology Word of the Week.

Mollify

Definition: “to soften; to soothe in temper or disposition; to appease.”

Origin/Derivation: From the Latin adjective mollis meaning "soft" and the Latin verb fio meaning "to make".

Related Words/Phrases: emollient (beauty product), mollusk (which typically has a soft body covered by hard shell); crucify, codify, intensify, etc.

 


(All information is from www.wikipedia.org, www.etymonline.com and/or www.dictionary.com)



“Old Saw” of the Week:
See if you can “complete the phrase” of this time-worn (but true!) adage:

“Many hands make..”