Hello folks! Welcome to the 9th blog of the GRE English Word List. This series of blogs is a weekly GRE Words List that helps GRE aspirants bolster their GRE English, and ace the GRE Verbal section.

If you haven’t already, check out our other blogs here.

Back at it with the white vans

We're back to themed lists, with today's themed GRE English Word List - BadJectives. Adjectives that have negative connotations, or in some cases, are straight-up vices.
This week's words are Narcissistic, Lackadaisical, Hedonistic, Irascible and Machiavellian.
Read on for some interesting word origins and trivia.

i. narcissistic

Part of Speech - adjective
Definition - having or showing an excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one's physical appearance.
Word Origins - from the Greek name Narkissos/Narcissus + -ism.
Synonyms - vain, self-centred, egocentric.
Usage - He’s such a narcissist that his walls must be covered in mirrors.

Narc is sus

This Greek origin story is a twofer - Two mythical figures having a shared origin story. Seldom ends well, and this one isn't any different.
This is one version of the myth - Ovid's Metamorphoses - but is generally accepted to be true.

When Narcissus was born, a great seer made a prediction about Narcissus' life. He said that Narcissus would live long if he didn't discover himself (See the irony in that?).
Years later, Echo, a nymph became attracted to Narcissus and stalked him. Sensing that he was being followed, Narcissus asked, 'Who's there?' Echo repeated "Who's there?" and revealed herself.

A bit of context - Echo was a mountain nymph who was ordered by Zeus to distract Hera while he consorted with other nymphs. Echo was a fast-talker and managed to do so long enough for Zeus to escape. So, Echo incurred Hera's wrath and was cursed by Hera to be only able to repeat the last words spoken to her.

Back to Narcissus

Startled by her approach, Narcissus rebuffed her advances and left Echo heartbroken. Echo withdrew from society and became so lonely, that quite literally, only an echo of her remained. Yet, she still pined for Narcissus.

Nemesis, the Goddess of Revenge, wanted Narcissus to get his comeuppance.
She made him come across a body of water, in which he caught his reflection.
So taken by his own image, he fell in love with it, neither able to divert his gaze nor do anything about his love.
As he lay wasting away over his love, he uttered "Oh marvellous boy, I loved you in vain, farewell" and turned into a flower. Echo, who was watching, uttered "farewell" and faded away as well. Only her voice remained, destined to repeat what others say.

Sorry for ruining the fun of every Echo Point you visit henceforth.

[Fun Fact: The Portrait of Dorian Gray is based on the myth of Narcissus.]

ii. lackadaisical

Part of Speech - adjective
Definition - lacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy.
Word Origins - mid 18th century (also in the sense ‘feebly sentimental’): from lackaday or its obsolete extended form lackadaisy.
Synonyms - careless, lazy, unenthusiastic.
Usage - His parents did not approve of his lackadaisical attitude towards his studies.

Upsy-Daisy

Unlike what the word seems to suggest, the origins of lackadaisical has nothing to do with daisies.
One story suggests that it originated from alas/alack and grew to 'alack the day' as referenced in Romeo and Juliet. In this context, the word suggests regret or disappointment.

The other variant is more in line with the modern usage (if any) of the word.
The phrase 'alack the day' was taken and made to sound whimsical, by apparently adding a 'sical' to the end, thus giving the word a slightly less sombre meaning.
To get a better account of how lackadaisical traces its origins, check this blog out.

iii. hedonistic

Part of Speech - adjective
Definition - engaged in the pursuit of pleasure; sensually self-indulgent.
Word Origins - from Greek hēdonē ‘pleasure’ + -ism.
Synonyms - self-indulgent, luxurious, excessive.
Usage - If you overcome your inhibitions, you’re free to express your hedonistic tendencies.

The Pleasure's All Mine

Hedonism as a concept has been part of most civilizations. The earliest instance of advocacy of hedonism is believed to be in the ancient Sumerian Civilization. Then on, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans seem to have taken it to heart. There's a reason 'Bacchanalian', a word derived from the Roman god Bacchus, has come to signify the most extravagant and wildest of parties/revelries.

However, as time went on, the ideology of conservatism and modesty started gaining traction.
Some religions started considering hedonism a sin, and either outright condemned it or advocated moderate measures of hedonism, asking practitioners to consider morality, responsibility, etc. as more important than seeking pleasure for its own sake.

Modern philosophers looked at hedonism from the perspective of utilitarianism.
Utilitarians aim for the maximization of happiness for themselves as well as others affected.

Bentham and Mill, two English philosophers had two contrasting theories about pleasure.
Bentham stated that he could measure pleasure quantitatively. The value of pleasure is its intensity multiplied by its duration. In contrast, Mill believed that pleasure was purely qualitative - people could experience different intensities and layers of pleasure. He also said that lower beings (used pigs as an example) are content with lower forms of pleasure, whereas higher beings are in the pursuit of higher quality of pleasure, and often ignore what's easily available.

iv. irascible

Part of Speech - adjective
Definition - having or showing a tendency to be easily angered.
Word Origins - from late Latin irascibilis, from Latin irasci ‘grow angry’, from ira ‘anger’.
Synonyms - irritable, short-tempered, cranky.
Usage - The Hulk is irascible; he’s always angry.

v. Machiavellian

Part of Speech - adjective
Definition - cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics.
Word Origins - someone who schemes like Niccolo Machiavelli.
Synonyms - devious, sly, conniving.
Usage - His Machiavellian plan to usurp the king's throne was successful.

The Chanakya Of Florence

Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat and politician who lived during the Renaissance.
In his political treatise "Il Principe' or 'The Prince', he made clear his opinions and principles for politics.
He maintained that politics didn't need emotion. According to him, it was a chess game between opponents, not enemies.
He condoned and in fact, advocated the use of 'dishonest' and 'cruel' means by rulers to get what they wanted. This was as long as the intention behind the actions, and the ends were beneficial to the larger population.

He wasn't the first to advocate divorcing politics and emotion, however. Closer home, over a millennium ago, Chanakya had already advocated and executed his Arthashastra to great success and infamy. To read more about the legend of Chanakya across cultures, click here.

Machiavelli's works were so influential, they contributed to the negative connotations/perceptions people have of the words 'politics' and 'politicians'.
An apocryphal tale also claims it's because of him that The Devil has the nickname - 'Old Nick.'

Rapper Tupac was greatly influenced by Machiavelli's works, when in prison.
He changed his stage name to Makaveli when he got out; and the rest, as they say, is history.

That's all for this week's blog, folks.
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GRE Words List #20: A Bolt From The Blue

Hello folks, welcome to the 20th GRE Words List Blog. This series of blogs aims to provide GRE Vocabulary practice in the form of a comprehensive GRE Words List to bolster your GRE Preparation.

For our 10th blog, we put up 10 marquee GRE words for your reading pleasure. However, this blog will not contain 20 GRE words; just the standard 5. If you’d like to check the 10th GRE Verbal Preparation blog out, click here.

Quite like the proverbial bolt from the blue, the idea for this blog’s theme came together from nowhere. You could say, inspiration (thunder)struck me! The GRE words for this blog are ‘galvanize, live wire, lightning rod, insulate, and pull the plug.‘

The phrase ‘bolt from the blue’ was first used in the early to mid-1800s. When skies are blue, there are few to no clouds in the sky, and one would expect a pleasant and sunny day. So, the appearance of a lightning bolt would be unexpected, sudden and well, shocking. That’s why the phrase is now used to refer to events or occurrences that are highly unexpected or sudden.

i. galvanize

Part of Speech – verb
Definition –
1. shock or excite (someone) into taking action.
2. coat (iron or steel) with a protective layer of zinc.

Word Origins – early 19th century (in the sense ‘stimulate by electricity’): from French galvaniser.
Synonyms – impel, jolt, invigorate.
Usage – His perfect GRE score of 340 galvanized him into applying to some of the best graduate programs.

It’s-a me-a, Luigi!

Luigi Galvani was an Italian physicist who discovered animal electricity and was a pioneer of bioelectromagnetics. He discovered that dead frogs’ legs twitch when struck by an electric spark. He was of the belief that frogs’ pelvises contained muscles that let them conduct electricity.

His then adversary, Alessandro Volta was of the opinion that the metals used in conducting the above experiment were the reason for the electricity being conducted. As a result, he termed animal electricity Galvanism and set out to disprove it, in the efforts of doing which, he was inspired to create the voltaic pile, later, cell.

Edison-Tesla aren’t the only ones who had electric beef with each other, eh?

ii. lightning rod

Part of Speech – phrase
Definition –
1. a person or thing that attracts criticism, especially in order to divert attention from more serious issues or allow a more important public figure to appear blameless.
2. a metal rod or wire fixed to an exposed part of a building or other tall structure to divert lightning harmlessly into the ground.

Word Origins – early 19th century, primarily an American idiom; turn of phrase that comes from the rod’s act of letting the building go unharmed when lightning strikes.
Synonyms – scapegoat, patsy, fall guy, whipping boy.
Usage – The President’s chief of staff was offered up as a lightning rod to answer for the failures of the administration.

G.O.A.T. or Scapegoat?

The GRE words, scapegoat and patsy, have very interesting origins.

In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of two kid goats. Practitioners sacrifice one goat, tell the other all the sins of the community and release it into the wilderness, so that it may symbolically take away all their sins and purge them of their evildoing.

The goat that ‘escapes’ however, doesn’t have a great fate. In the wilderness, it can’t fend for itself and soon perishes, along with the secrets and sins it carried.

Patsy was originally used as a diminutive (short form of a name) for Patricia. It was also used as a nickname for people named Martha/Matilda. (What’s in a name?) Notable Marthas called ‘Patsy’ include Martha Washington, George Washington’s wife, but unfortunately do not include either of Batman’s or Superman’s mothers.

A late 1800s vaudevillian – form of comedic and theatrical entertainment – Billy B Van, wrote a sketch that frequently featured the line, ‘Who did that?’ with the response always blaming Patsy Bolivar, a character. From then on, Patsy was used as a byword for anyone who was to be blamed or held responsible, especially if they were innocent and/or ignorant of the crime.

Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s assassin famously called himself a patsy, set up by the Secret Service, allegedly because he lived in the Soviet Union briefly.

Sure, Lee… Not!

The $100 man

Benjamin Franklin is one of the most versatile, accomplished people to ever live. If you were ever going up for a job against him, you’d better give up. His resume, now Wikipedia page, barely does justice to his exploits.

One of his ~100 achievements is the invention of the lightning rod. We’ve all heard about the story where he, accompanied by a kite and a key, attempts to prove that lightning is in fact, electricity. As a result of his experiments, he grew familiar with the science of lightning and proposed the making of a lightning rod. He said, “…upright Rods of Iron, made sharp as a Needle and gilt to prevent Rusting, and from the Foot of those Rods a Wire down the outside of the Building into the Ground; … Would not these pointed Rods probably draw the Electrical Fire silently out of a Cloud before it came nigh enough to strike, and thereby secure us from that most sudden and terrible Mischief!”

After a series of experiments performed on his own house, wider acceptance for the usefulness and the importance of lightning rods grew.

Fun Fact: Benjamin Franklin is the only man on US currency notes, who has not also been a President.
There are some achievements that eluded even this man!

iii. live wire

Part of Speech – phrase
Definition – an energetic and unpredictable person.
Word Origins – late 19th century from the literal ‘live wire’, with current running through.
Synonyms – vivacious, fireball, eager beaver.
Usage – Her live wire personality is what kept the party going.

iv. insulate

Part of Speech – verb
Definition –
1. protect (someone or something) from unpleasant influences or experiences.
2. prevent the passage of electricity to or from (something) by covering it in non-conducting material.

Word Origins – From Late Latin insulatus (“made like an island”), past participle of insulare (“to make like an island”), from insula (“island”)
Synonyms – safeguard, cocoon, cloister.
Usage – Every mother strives to insulate her children from harm.

What do you call a writing implement surrounded by 3 sides on water?

A peninsula! 😬

Two GRE words stem from the same root word, ‘insula’ – insulate and insular.

Insular means ‘ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one’s own experience.’ Early usage of this word derives from the fact that people living on islands would have no idea of the outside world, and so would be ignorant of other cultures and ideas, etc.
After transport, infrastructure began to steadily help bridge the gap, insular has also taken on the modern meaning of someone who is willfully ignorant or uninterested of/in other cultures.

Life imitates art, art imitates life. This is a phrase you may have previously seen in our blogs.
Pokemon, the global cartoon monster phenomenon often tends to cleverly incorporate words and their contextual meanings into Pokemon names and features.

Cloister, one of the synonyms of ‘insulate,’ has been modified to Cloyster, a shellfish Pokemon, that is so reclusive, and sheltered, it has several layers of hard shell and spikes to protect itself.
For more wonderful visualizations of GRE words in the Pokemon world, visit Bulbapedia.

Gotta catch ’em all!

v. pull the plug

Part of Speech – phrase
Definition – prevent something from happening or continuing.
Word Origins – early 17th century: from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German plugge.
Synonyms – abort, terminate, discontinue.
Usage – The government pulled the plug on the infrastructure project because of heavy losses.

The Final Goodbye

A patient is put on life support when one or more of their organs are unable to function as intended.
Doctors tell the patient’s kin to stop life support if they conclude that the patient will not benefit from a transplant, or that the patient would be unable to live much longer. This is because the life support equipment and processes are expensive, and only delay the inevitable for a short time.

Although movies and TV shows dramatize the process of stopping life support, and reduce it to a simple flick of a switch, referring to the electrical plug, the actual medical sense is different.

Pulling the plug, in medical parlance, refers to the removal of the IV fluids and tubes from the patient’s body, and taking them off the ventilator.

What a cheery way to end the blog. Don’t you agree?
(Don’t worry, we’ll be back with more GRE Words List blogs).

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