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.
Paleozoic
Definition: “Pertaining to an era occurring between 570 and 230 million years ago characterized by the advent of fish, insects, and reptiles.”
Origin/Derivation: From the Latin/Greek form paleo- meaning “ancient, early, prehistoric, primitive, fossil” and the Greek noun zoe meaning “life”.
Related Words: paleontology, paleolithic, “paleo” diet, Mesozoic (“middle life”), Cenozoic (“recent life”), zoology, Zodiac
(All information is from www.wikipedia.org, www.etymonline.com and/or www.dictionary.com)
NEW! Trivia Question of the Week:
What are the 3 largest cities in Australia (by population)? BONUS: What is the capital city of Australia (hint: it’s not in the top 3 by population)?
ANSWER:
Sydney (4.6 million)
Melbourne (4.2 million)
Brisbane (2.1 million)