Learning a second language such as Latin allows a student to develop a depth of insight into English that far exceeds that of most students. During the November, I will give shout-outs to four Latin words which allow knowledgeable students to enrich their control of the meaning (and nuance) of English words.
The first word of the month is the verb torqueō. As in English, each Latin verb has principal parts from which all other forms of a verb may be assembled (parent readers may remember learning the series, see[s], seeing, saw, seen, as a way of avoiding ungrammatical statements such as ‘I seen him there’). In Latin, torqueō, torquēre, torsī, tortus has as its basic meaning “twist, turn forcefully, wind, hurl.” It is regularly applied to the action of the arm as it engages in the act of throwing, to the winding of windlasses and catapults, to physical twisting so as to inflict pain, and to the more metaphorical ide of bending things or words out of their original shape. Clearly, it does not seem to be the most pleasant of ideas, yet consider the range of ideas expressed by its English progeny:
- torque- measurement of the force that causes an object to rotate (or twist) about an axis (Image credit: www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/Images/torque.gif)
- torsion- the twisting of an object; for the Romans, the twisting of strands of horsehair powered their catapults
- torture- twisting of the body or mind so as to inflict pain or anguish
- tort- a wrongful act for which reparations may be sought in the civil justice system
- contort- to twist altogether, as a cirque artist might twist his or her body into an altogether unrecognizable form (Image credit: http://www.dailyherald.com)
- distort-to twist or bend an image or statement away from its original appearance or intent
- retort- literally, a ‘twisting back’ which nullifies an attack by an opponent by ignoring and attacking him/her in a similar vein
- torment- pain of body or mind
One Latin verb has given us tremendous power to express the inner workings of physics, history, law, entertainment, and rhetoric. When students encounter such rich words in reading Latin texts, we always pause to explore how the word has made its way into fields of study that the students may choose for their career or avocations. Heaven forfend that any of them choose torture as such a pursuit!
Check back here for my next post to encounter another potent Latin word, one which gives us the English word vote. I hope that by the time I finish that post you will have exercised your right to weigh in during this current election cycle.
The PHurrowed Brow 