CAT 2010: Learning words through the 'roots' - By: MBA

In the articles of MBAUniverse.com you have known the importance to have a good vocabulary to the Verbal Ability section of CAT 2010 exam. In our previous article we had discussed how you can learn new words by understanding their roots. Sidharth Balakrishna, CAT expert, author of CAT 2010 preparation books and an IIM Calcutta alumnus had described the roots of words like Demographist, Demographic etc. which has the common root Dem which means people in Greek. In this article Balakrishna will explain some more English words through its roots.

For the second article on the root of words, Balakrishna chose the root word as loq and related roots such as loqui,loqu and loc. These similar roots all mean To speak and are derived from the language of Latin,” Balakrishna states.
Have a look at the words and their meanings which have the above mentioned roots.
• Loquacious: Means extremely talkative (a synonym for this is garrulous, verbose etc, while antonyms would be taciturn, laconic, pithy, terse etc)
• Circumlocution: Another root that you should know is circum, meaning around. Circumlocution therefore means an indirect or roundabout way of expressing oneself, not coming to the point, to beat around the bush etc
• Elocution: Is a word that we are all familiar with; meaning a public speech. Remember the elocution contest you may have participated in or watched in school?
• Eloquent: A similar word. It means to be fluent, expressive or clear in communicating while speaking.
• Soliloquy: Another word using two roots loq and solo (meaning one/ single). A soliloquy therefore means a speech or talk to oneself or a monologue
• Interlocutor: Again a word with two roots- loc and inter (which means between or among. The word interlocutor therefore means one who takes part in a conversation/ speech.
Balakrishna cautioned a possible confusion with the word loc which not only means To Speak but also place in Latin language. The most common word with this root is perhaps location, says Balakrishna.
Balakrishna also mentions some other common words from this root such as Locomotion (also Locomotive) –the act of moving from place to place Locate – to specify a place to or to find the place of etc.
To read the last article on understanding words through its roots, click on the following link:
http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/3288/Verbal_Ability_Vocabulary_Root_words
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more on Verbal Ability preparation for CAT 2010

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