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Today's "terra incognita" means unknown land: anything that's mysterious and foreign, like a region that hasn't been explored yet.
We recently looked at a near-opposite of this term: "terra _____," meaning "on solid ground; on familiar and safe territory." Could you recall this one?
make your point with...
"TERRA INCOGNITA"
Latin for "unknown land," terra incognita is any place or idea that's unknown and unexplored.
Pronunciation:
Many ways are correct.
I prefer "TAIR uh in COG nee tuh."
Part of speech:
Noun.
You can treat it as either countable ("a terra incognita," "these terra incognitas")
or uncountable ("this terra incognita," "such terra incognita").
Other forms:
none
How to use it:
Talk about something being terra incognita, or being a terra incognita to you (or to something else): "With its baffling alphabet, the alien language is terra incognita." "The world beyond her small neighborhood was a terra incognita to her." "At the time, web sites were terra incognita to the retail industry."
You can also, literally or figuratively, see a terra incognita on your horizon, wander into terra incognita, find yourself in or on terra incognita, struggle through the terra incognita of something, and so on.
examples:
The island we called home for a year and a half still remains something of a terra incognita to me; I came away with only a shallow understanding of its culture.
As a kid I was curious about how web sites were coded, so discovering the "View Source" function of my browser was like finding a secret map of what was once terra incognita.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "terra incognita" means when you can explain it without saying "foreign territory" or "uncharted lands."
try it out:
Think of something that you used to know nothing about, and fill in the blanks: "_____ was once a terra incognita that filled me with (wonder/excitement/fear/anxiety, etc.)."
Example: "Sight-reading music was once a terra incognita that filled me with a mixture of excitement and self-doubt."
before you review:
Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first.
When it comes to word roots, everybody knows what some of them mean, like “ambi/amphi” (“both”) and “circum” (“around”) and “hetero” (“different”). This knowledge helps you explain why words like “automobile” and “autobiography” look similar—in this case, it’s because they both involve the concept of “self.” But what about some of the less obvious roots? Could you explain, for example, why “contain” looks so much like “sustain” by defining “tain”? This month, we're exploring the meanings underlying common words you know. You can usually figure these out by looking for an extremely basic concept common to all the words in each group. We’ll start with easier, more obvious roots and move on to trickier ones as the month goes on!
Yesterday's question: In aspersions, disperse, intersperse, and sparse, what does “spar/sper” mean?
Answer: To scatter.
Try this one today: In adhere, adherent, and adhesive; cohere, coherent, and cohesive; and inherent, what does “her/hes” mean?
review today's word:
1. The opposite of TERRA INCOGNITA is
A. UNNAMED TERRITORY
B. DISPUTED TERRITORY
C. FAMILIAR TERRITORY
2. Terra incognita no longer exists for this particular _____, which has _____.
A. journal .. explored fearlessly all kinds of subjects
B. field .. mired itself in research on trivial differences
C. company .. served the public's needs without falter
Answers are below.
a final word:
To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes.
Answers to review questions:
1. C
2. A
Today's "terra incognita" means unknown land: anything that's mysterious and foreign, like a region that hasn't been explored yet.
"TERRA INCOGNITA" Latin for "unknown land," terra incognita is any place or idea that's unknown and unexplored. Pronunciation: Part of speech: How to use it:
The island we called home for a year and a half still remains something of a terra incognita to me; I came away with only a shallow understanding of its culture.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "terra incognita" means when you can explain it without saying "foreign territory" or "uncharted lands."
Think of something that you used to know nothing about, and fill in the blanks: "_____ was once a terra incognita that filled me with (wonder/excitement/fear/anxiety, etc.)."
Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first.
1. The opposite of TERRA INCOGNITA is
To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
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