Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PLUSQUAM-

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pronounce PLUSQUAM-: Say it "PLUS kwom." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Today we're checking out the oddball Latin combining form plusquam-.  See if you can recall a similarly scholarly word: q___i, also Latin, and also often coupled to another word with a hyphen, means "kinda, sorta, similar, not enough, not really, almost, the Diet Coke of whatever it is." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)   definition: "Plusquam-" is Latin for "more than." It means "ultra, mega, extra, beyond, or super-duper." We attach it with a hyphen to an adjective. For example, you can turn "cerebral" into "plusquam-cerebral," meaning "ultra-cerebral, mega-cerebral, beyond-cerebral." grammatical bits: Part of speech: You use it as a prefix, with a hyphen: "this plusquam-Kafkaesque nightmare." Other forms:  None, thank goodness. how to use it: Don't! Just kidding. Or am I? Because "plusquam-" is so rare and so scholarly that, in my opinion, you'd sound like a snob if you dropped it in earnest into a piece of writing or, worse, a conversation. So I recommend picking it if you're going for humor: if you're trying to sound ridiculously, over-the-top scholarly on purpose, just for the laughs. In that case, pick "plusquam-" instead of familiar prefixes that mean the same thing, like "mega-," "ultra-," and "uber-." Both examples below use "plusquam-" humorously. You probably don't need me to explain the jokes, but "thucydidëan" means "pertaining to Thucydides, the Athenian general and historian;" and "plebeian" means "low-class." examples: "Spare me, O mighty Remembrance! for words to the task were unequal... Bid me not, grammar defying, repeat from grammar-defiers Long constructions strange and plusquam-thucydidëan..."    — Arthur Hugh Clough, The Bothie of Toper-Na-Fuosich, 1848 "To be accessary in having the plusquam-plebeian & malnominable name Fricker intruded on my Nephew's Heraldry."      — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Collected letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1824    has this page helped you understand "plusquam-"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "plusquam-" without saying "beyond" or "more than." try it out: Think about something that really takes it to the next level. Fill in the blanks: "_____ is (adjective); _____ is plusquam-(adjective)." Example 1: "Ironing your jeans is fussy; ironing your socks is plusquam-fussy." Example 2: "Wearing the statement below on a shirt is silly; wearing it on a tattoo is plusquam-silly." If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for this month is Rhyming Puzzles! I'll give you a description of something, and you name it in a rhyming phrase.  Longtime readers will recognize this game from years past, when we grappled with silly answers like "shopworn popcorn," "hidebound guide hound," "cow chow kowtow," "unflagging pun bragging," and "catch-as-catch-can Etch A Sketch fan." The answers will get longer as the month goes on. To see the clue, click the link. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy! Try this one today: After clearing away an old empty mouse nest from your garage, you obsessively sweep over the place it had been, removing even the most itty-bitty bits of material, also known as the _______ _____ ________.     Three words: the first has three syllables; the second, two syllables; the third, three syllables. Clue: use this word. review this word: 1. The opposite of PLUSQUAM- is A. DOUBLY-. B. FALSELY-. C. LESS-THAN-. 2. Using what we know about "plusquam-," we can figure out that the "plusquamperfect" verb tense expresses _____, within the context of a statement. A. action that takes place even further back in the past B. action that takes place at the exact same time C. action that takes place in the future Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. A Answer to the game question: The tiniest nidus detritus. a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.