Suffer and Suffrage

Suffer and Suffrage Suffer and Suffrage Suffer and Suffrage By Maeve Maddox When I first encountered the words suffrage, suffragist, and suffragette, I imagined that they had something to do with suffering. After all, black men and black and white women had to suffer before they acquired the right to vote, didn’t they? Actually, the two words have different origins. Suffer descends from a Latin word that meant, â€Å"to endure,† or â€Å"to suffer† in the same sense that we use the word. Syrian refugees suffer tough conditions at Jordan refugee camp. Rhinos suffer at the hands of poachers. Women Suffer Most from [economic] Crisis. Suffer is used both transitively (with a direct object) and intransitively. For example, one suffers a heart attack, abuse, or neglect, but suffers from heart disease, diabetes, or other medical conditions. Subtle differences can exist between transitive and intransitive use. Compare: Indian schools suffer federal neglect. Indian schools suffer from federal neglect. The first sentence can be construed to mean only that the schools are being neglected or ignored. The second sentence suggests that the schools are experiencing negative results because of the neglect. The word suffer in the King James translation of Mark 10:14 seems to have more to do with suffrage than suffer: â€Å"Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God.† Jesus is telling his events’ organizers to allow the children to take part in the proceedings. The Latin source of the word suffrage meant, â€Å"a vote of support.† The first definition given for suffrage in the OED is â€Å"Prayers, especially intercessory prayers, intercessions.† By the 16th century, the word had the meaning of â€Å"a vote given in assent to the election of a person† and â€Å"in an extended sense, a vote for or against any controverted question or nomination.† Shakespeare used suffrages to mean â€Å"votes of approval† in Titus Andronicus (1594): People of Rome, and people’s Tribunes here, I ask your voices and your suffrages. –I.i.218. Edward Gibbon (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1776) used suffrage to mean â€Å"the collective vote of a body of people.† The framers of Article V of the U.S. Constitution were apparently the first to use the word to mean â€Å"the right or privilege of voting as a member of a body, state, etc.†: no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. The word suffragist initially had the non-gendered meaning of â€Å"an advocate of the extension of the political franchise.† After about 1885, the word came to be applied most frequently to advocates of voting rights for women. When the word was feminized into suffragette, British women embraced it, but in the United States, the term was viewed as disparaging. American women preferred suffragist or â€Å"suffrage worker.† Suffragette also came to have a connotation of radicalism and militancy in the United States. The suffix -ette comes from the French feminine diminutive suffix. In English it is ordinarily used to form nouns denoting small or brief examples of the thing denoted by the first element: diskette: small disk towelette: small towel kitchenette: small kitchen H.W. Fowler objected to the coinage suffragette because it tended â€Å"to vitiate the popular conception of the termination’s meaning.† He consigned the word to oblivion: â€Å"May its influence on word-making die with it!† I doubt he’d much care for our new word dudette. You can learn some fascinating facts about the history of universal suffrage at these two sites: Universal Suffrage U.S. Voting Rights. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Inquire vs EnquireWhat's a Male Mistress?Ulterior and Alterior

Learning Vocabulary With Word Forms

Learning Vocabulary With Word Forms There are a wide variety of techniques used to learn vocabulary in English. This learning vocabulary technique focuses on using word forms as a way to broaden your English vocabulary. The great thing about word forms is that you can learn a number of words with just one basic definition. In other words, word forms relate to a specific meaning. Of course, not all of the definitions are the same. However, the definitions are often closely related. Start off by quickly reviewing the eight parts of speech in English: VerbNounPronounAdjectiveAdverbPrepositionsConjunctionInterjection Examples Not all eight parts of speech will have a form of each word. Sometimes, there are only noun and verb forms. Other times, a word will have related adjectives and adverbs. Here are some examples: Noun: studentVerb: to studyAdjective: studious, studied, studyingAdverb: studiously Some words will have more variations. Take the word care: Noun: care, caregiver, caretaker, carefulnessVerb: to careAdjective: careful, careless, carefree, carewornAdverb: carefully, carelessly Other words will be especially rich because of compounds. Compound words are words made up by taking two words and putting them together to create other words! Take a look at words derived from power: Noun: power, brainpower, candlepower, firepower, horsepower, hydropower, powerboat, powerhouse, powerlessness, powerlifting, powerpc, powerpoint, superpower, willpowerVerb: to power, to empower, to overpowerAdjective: empowered, empowering, overpowered, overpowering, powerable, powered, powerful, powerlessAdverb: powerfully, powerlessly, overpoweringly Not all words have so many compound word possibilities. However, there are some words that are used to construct numerous compound words. Heres a (very) short list to get you started: airanybackballroomdayearthfiregrandhandhomelandlightnewsrainshowsandsometimewaterwind Exercises for Using Your Words in Context Exercise 1: Write a Paragraph Once youve made a list of a few words, the next step will be to give yourself the opportunity to put the words youve studied into context. There are a number of ways to do this, but one exercise I especially like is to write an extended paragraph. Lets take a look at power again. Heres a paragraph Ive written to help me practice and remember words created with power: Writing a paragraph is a powerful way to help you remember words. Of course, it takes plenty of brainpower. However, by writing out such a paragraph you will empower yourself to use this words. For example, you might find creating a paragraph in powerpoint on a PowerPC takes a lot of willpower. In the end, you wont feel overpowered by all these words, youll feel empowered. No longer will you stand there powerlessly when confronted with words such as candlepower, firepower, horsepower, hydropower, because youll know that they are all different types of power used to power our overpowering society. Ill be the first to admit that writing out a paragraph, or even trying to read such a paragraph from memory might seem crazy. It certainly isnt good writing style! However, by taking the time to try to fit as many words made up with a target word youll be creating all sorts of related context to your word list. This exercise will help you imagine what type of uses can be found for all these related words. Best of all, the exercise will help you map the words in your brain! Exercise 2: Write Sentences An easier exercise is to write out individual sentences for each word in your list. Its not as challenging, but its certainly an effective way to practice the vocabulary youve taken the time to learn.