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.  

Incorrigible

Definition: “Bad beyond correction or reform; unruly; uncontrollable.” 

Origin/Derivation: From the Latin prepositions in- meaning “not, opposite of” and com- (intensive) plus the Latin verb rego, regere, rexi, rectum  meaning “to rule, to correct, to lead straight”.

Related Words/Phrases: regiment, regulate, rectify, rectangle, right

(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:

“Either I will find a way…


or I will make one.”

Caption: Quote by Hannibal Barca, Carthiginian general who famously crossed the Alps with elephants