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English Language: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - The Dictionary (Questions)

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A dictionary is a reference book of words listed in alphabetical order. It tells about the word’s origin (etymology), its meaning, its pronunciation, its type (noun, verb, adverb, adjective, etc.) and the number of syllables it has. A word’s origin (also known as its etymology) tells us where the word began or originated from. For example, whether it was an English word, a French word or a Latin word.

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The pronunciation tells us how a word is pronounced phonetically. For example, let’s look at the word “bread.”

In the dictionary you will see the word bread followed by [bred]. The word in the brackets is giving you a hint of how the word should sound when spoken and does not deal with the correct spelling of the word.

A syllable is an uninterrupted segment of speech consisting of one vowel sounds. A dictionary will show a word broken down into each of its syllable segments. For example, let’s look at the word illustrate. The dictionary will show the word as: il-lus-trate. This tells us that the word has three syllables.

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For each word shown in a dictionary format below, choose which information the dictionary is telling us about that word from the answers provided.

Awesome [aw-suh m]

[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word
[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is

Buffet (Middle English, from Old French)

[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is

Formerly, adv.

[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is

Multiplicities, mul-ti-plic-i-ties

[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word

Integrity - steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code

[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is

Sporadic (Medieval Latin; Greek)

[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word

Misconstrue [mis-kon-stroo]

[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word

Franchise, fran-chise

[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word
[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word

Helicopter, n.

[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is

10.

Plethora - a very large amount or number of things

[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word

English Language: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - The Dictionary (Answers)

Awesome [aw-suh m]

[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word
[x]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is

When the word is shown in brackets and is not spelled correctly, this is how the dictionary shows you how the word should sound phonetically. Answer (b) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

Buffet (Middle English, from Old French)

[x]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is

All words began somewhere at some time. Where they began is known as the word’s origin or etymology. Here, we see after the word “buffet” the description “Middle English from Old French.” This is where the word originated from. Therefore, Answer (a) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

Formerly, adv.

[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[x]	Shows what type of a word it is

All words belong in a category or categories of types of words such as a noun, a verb, and adjective, an adverb, a pronoun, a preposition, etc. The dictionary will tell you what type of word the word you are looking at is. In this case, you see the letters “adv.” after the word “formerly”. This is the abbreviation to tell you that this word is an “adverb” word. Answer (d) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

Multiplicities, mul-ti-plic-i-ties

[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[x]	Shows the number of syllables in the word
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word

A dictionary can help us to learn how to say a word by breaking the word down into smaller segments by syllables. Here we see the word “multiplicity” broken down as “mul-ti-plic-i-ties.” This shows us that the word has five syllables. Answer (c) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

Integrity - steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code

[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[x]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is

All words have a meaning. This helps us to understand the word itself. Here we learn that “integrity” means “steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.” Answer (b) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

Sporadic (Medieval Latin; Greek)

[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[x]	Shows the origin of the word

All words began somewhere at some time. Where they began is known as the word’s origin or etymology. Here, we see after the word “sporadic” the description “Medieval Latin; Greek.” This is where the word originated from. Therefore, Answer (d) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

Misconstrue [mis-kon-stroo]

[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[x]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word

When the word is shown in brackets and is not spelled correctly, this is how the dictionary shows you how the word should sound phonetically. Answer (c) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

Franchise, fran-chise

[x]	Shows the number of syllables in the word
[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word

A dictionary can help us to learn how to say a word by breaking the word down into smaller segments by syllables. Here we see the word “franchise” broken down as “fran-chise.” This shows us that the word has two syllables. Answer (a) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

Helicopter, n.

[ ]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[ ]	Shows the phonetic pronunciation of the word
[x]	Shows what type of a word it is

All words belong in a category or categories of types of words such as a noun, a verb, and adjective, an adverb, a pronoun, a preposition, etc. The dictionary will tell you what type of word the word you are looking at is. In this case, you see the letter “n.” after the word “helicopter”. This is the abbreviation to tell you that this word is a “noun” word. Answer (d) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.

10.

Plethora - a very large amount or number of things

[ ]	Shows the origin of the word
[x]	Shows the meaning of the word
[ ]	Shows what type of a word it is
[ ]	Shows the number of syllables in the word

All words have a meaning. This helps us to understand the word itself. Here we learn that “plethora” means “a very large amount or number of things.” Answer (b) is the correct answer that shows what the dictionary is telling us about this word.