清河|整理
词根学习笔记（4）|GRAV, LEV
GRAV cones from the Latin word meaning "heavy, weight, serious". Gravity is, of course, what makes things heavy, and without it there wouldn't be any life on earth, since nothing would stay on earth at all. This doesn't stop us from yelling in outrage when the familiar laws of gravity cause something to drop to the floor and break.
1-grave
(1) Requiring serious thought or concern.
(2) Serious and formal in appearance or manner.
# We realized that the situation was grave and that the slightest incident could spark all-out war.
2-gravitas
Great or very dignified seriousness.
The head of the committee never failed to carry herself with the gravitas she felt was appropriate to her office.
3-gravitate
To move or be drawn toward something, especially by natural tendency or as if by an invisible force.
# On hot evenings, the ttown's social life gravitated toward the lakefront, where you could stroll the long piers eating ice cream or dance at the old Casino.
4-aggravate
(1) To make (an injury, problem, etc) more serious or severe; (2) To annoy or bother.
# She went back to the soccer team before the knee was completely healed, which naturally aggravated the injury.
LEV comes from the Latin adjective levis, meaning "light", and the verb levare, meaning "to raise or lighten." So a lever is a bar used to lift something, by means of leverage. And levitation is the mmagician's trick in which a body seems to rise into the air by itself.
1-alleviate
To lighten, lessen, or relieve, especially physical or mental suffering.
# Cold compresses alleviatd the pain of the physical injury, but only time could alleviate the effect of the insult.
2-elevation
(1) The height of a place. (2) The act or result of lifting or raising someone or something.
# Her doctor is concerned about the elevation of her blood pressure since her last visit.
3-cantilever
A long piece of wood, metal, etc. , that sticks out from a wall to support something above it.
# The hhouse's deck, supported by cantilevers, jutted out dramatically over the rocky slope, and looking over the edge made him dizzy.
4-levity
Lack of appropriate seriousness.
# The Puritan elders tried to ban levity of all sorts from the ccommunity's meetings, but found it difficult to control the younger generation.
网友评论