English 10 / Unit 11: Vocabulary: Roots, Context and Connotation
11.5 Words from Myth and Literature
Notes
Many English words come from mythology and literature. These eponyms and allusions carry stories inside them.
- Narcissistic: excessively self-admiring, from Narcissus, who fell in love with his reflection.
- Tantalize: to tease with something out of reach, from Tantalus, punished with water and fruit that always pulled away.
- Odyssey: a long, eventful journey, from Homer's epic.
- Mentor: a wise guide, from Mentor in the Odyssey, whose form Athena takes to guide Odysseus's son Telemachus.
- Quixotic: idealistic but impractical, from Cervantes's Don Quixote.
- Nemesis: an unbeatable rival or source of downfall, from the Greek goddess of retribution.
- Achilles' heel: a fatal weakness.
Practice
A plan to end all world hunger in one week using a single garden could be called:
It is idealistic but completely impractical, like Don Quixote's quests.
The smell of fresh bread from a closed bakery "tantalized" the hungry hikers. This means the smell:
Like Tantalus, they sense food that stays out of reach.
A chess player's poor endgame skill is her "Achilles' heel." This means it is her:
Achilles was invulnerable except at his heel.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 11 test.