1. [詞根辨識] medi很容易與medic(醫(yī)學的,醫(yī)藥的)相混淆。在下列單詞中,有三個medi的派生詞,把它們找出來。
medicine medicative medicament
medication medial intermediary
mediacy medicable medical
2. [舉一反三]根據(jù)已知單詞的詞義推斷出其同根詞的詞義。
intermediate v.作中人;調(diào)解→① intermediation n.
→② intermediator n.
→③ intermedium n.
3. [由此及彼]根據(jù)已知單詞的詞義推斷出其同根詞的詞義。
① mediator n.調(diào)停者→mediatress n.
② mediator n.調(diào)停者→mediatory a.
4. [望文生義]在midnight中,前綴mid-和詞根medi是同源同義的。下面是一些含有mid-的單詞。你能“望文生義”嗎?
midbrain midland midmost midship
midstream midsummer midtown midway
midwife midweek midwinter midyear
5. [尋根問底]指出下列單詞的詞根并領(lǐng)會其詞義的由來。
① medius n.中指
② media n.血管中層
③ mediastinum n.(胸腔)縱膈
④ medial a.中間的;中央的;平均的
⑤ mediant n. [音樂]中音
⑥ intermedium n.媒體;媒介
⑦ meddle v.干涉
intermeddle v.干涉;管閑事(提示:med=medi)
57. min [L]=smaller, less較小,較少
從表面上看,單詞minute,minus,minority和minister相差很遠,實際上卻是同根詞。它們的詞根來自拉丁形容詞minor,意思為smaller(較小的)或less(較少的)。這個形容詞還直接被引進英語,成為意義相同的英語單詞minor(較小的,少數(shù)的)。
minute1 [min=smaller較小的;-ute n.=thing事物→“smaller unit of time than the basic unit hour比小時低一級的時間單位”→] n. sixtieth part of an hour 一分鐘:five minutes五分鐘
minute2 [min=smaller較小的;-ute a.=being ……的→“being smaller than anything concerned比任何參照物都小的”→] a.① very small微小的:minute improvement微小的改進②giving attention to the smallest points;very careful and exact詳細的;細致的:minute description細致的描寫
▽minutia [minut (e) a.;-ia n.] n.細節(jié);小節(jié)
minus [直接來自minor的中性形式minus=less更少的→]Ⅰ a. less than zero, or negative小于零的,負的:a minus quantity負數(shù)→Ⅱ prep. being less by減去:Five minus two is three.五減二等于三。
minority [minor=smaller較小的;-ity n.=the quality表示性質(zhì)→“smaller quantity較小的數(shù)量”→] n.① smaller number, or smaller part少數(shù);少數(shù)派:the minority in a vote選舉中的少數(shù)派② smaller racial group in a community少數(shù)民族:The Indians become a minority in the United States now.現(xiàn)在印第安人變成美國的少數(shù)民族了。
minister [mini=less important or inferior次要的,低下的;-ster n.=person人→“person in an inferior position, or servant身份卑下的人,仆人”→“person serving the country and inferior to the head of state地位次于元首的公仆”→] n. person in charge of a department in a government大臣;部長:prime minister首相;總理→Ⅱv. act as servant 服務(wù);伺候:It's our duty to minister to an old man's wants.照顧老人是我們的責任。
▽ministry [minist (e) r n.;-y n.] n.政府的部;內(nèi)閣
ministerial [minister n.;-ial a.] a.部長的;部的
ministrant [minist (e) r v.;-ant a./n.] a.服侍的 n.服侍者
diminish [di-(dis-)=apart離去;min=less較少的;-ish v.=to make使……→] v. make less by taking apart使減少:The illness diminished his strength.這場病使他衰弱無力。
▽diminishable [diminish;-able a.] a.可縮減的
adiminister [ad-=to對;minister v.=to give service, or to perform duties服務(wù),執(zhí)行→“to perform duties to熱行……的職責”→] v. govern;manage執(zhí)行;管理:The courts administer the law.法院執(zhí)行法律。
▽administration [administ(e)r;-ation n.] n.管理;行政
administrative [administ(e)r;-ative a.] a.行政的;管理的
administrator [administ(e)r;-ator n.] n.行政官員;管理人
ministration [minist(e)r v.=to give service服務(wù);-ation n.=the act表行為→] n. giving service or help to those in need服侍;幫助:The patient soon recovered under the tender ministrations of the nurses.在護士們的精心護理下,病人很快康復(fù)了。