As the Roman poet Horace said, even Homer nods off a bit from time to time. Surely, then, we lesser lights will also lapse into occasional somnolence. Please note the following errata, and use the “Contact Us” tab on this website to report any other suspected mistakes or obfuscations.
Instructors are particularly encouraged to announce these items to their classes as they draw near so that, just as Jason and the Argonauts sailed through the infamous Clashing Rocks by the advice of Phineus, so too students might safely navigate the textbook by being alerted in advance to its occasional pitfalls.
NB: A new version of the book began printing in March 2019 in a process that removed a number of errors in the text, but that also introduced some of its own. Hence, there are two sections of corrigenda below. The first set of corrections will apply to all new printings and e-books. The second set of corrections will apply only to the older (viz., pre-2019) version, which may still be in circulation via used copies or previously unused copies from older stock. If you do not know which version of the book you have, you can compare your text with the items below to make the distinction, as the corrections are for the most part different between the two versions.
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Corrections to the newest version of the text (March 2019):
p. 19: In Section IV (“Fill in the _______”), the instructions ask you to use prefixes “from this chapter” to complete the terms. This is only mostly correct, as you will also need to use prefixes from Chapter I in a few cases.
p. 134: In “Word to the Wise,” read “Pseudo-Aristotle” instead of “Peudo-Aristotle.” As we have always said, everyone makes mitakes.
p. 300: In Section III (“Everyone Mistakes Makes” … and no, the irony is not lost on us), an editorial slip has resulted in confusion for #2 and #3. The best answer for #2 is “stethography.” The correct answer for #3 is “pachyderma.”
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Corrections to the older version of the text (pre-March 2019):
p. 19: In Section IV (“Fill in the _______”), the instructions ask you to use prefixes “from this chapter” to complete the terms. This is only mostly correct, as you will also need to use prefixes from Chapter I in a few cases.
p. 43: “Corditis” is presented as an example for cord- meaning “heart,” but this is an example of the base of the same spelling that means “cord, string.” “Corditis” refers to inflammation of a cord in the body (e.g., spermatic or vocal).
p. 80: In Section I (Word Analysis and Identification) #9, “segment” deserves a note. The base meaning “to cut” is sec-, but in the presence of the “m” in the suffix -ment, the “c” changes to a “g.” This is an example of assimilation, which usually occurs between a prefix and a base, not (as here) a base and a suffix. Pronounce “secment” and “segment” side-by-side to hear the difference.
p. 80: In Section II (Name That Term) #1, “a means of reaching out” could be misleading. “Tentacle” is in fact not derived from tent- meaning “to extend or extend,” but rather from the verbal base tempt-, meaning “to try” (cf. English “attempt,” an assimilated combination of ad- and tempt- meaning “to try for, to aim at”). A tentacle is, literally, a means of trying for or feeling out.
p. 81: In Section IV (Fill in the _______), #6 and #9 ask you for information that has not been presented in the vocabulary. The base cult- means “to cultivate or grow,” and the base flat- means “to blow or breathe.”
p. 120: In Section I (Identification), #1 should be analyzed as follows: mult + i + cili + ate.
p. 279: In Section I (Word Analysis and Identification), #5 should be analyzed as follows: cheir + o + spas + m.
p. 281: In the Vocabulary chart, “angiopsy” (which is not a word found in Dorland and which is used as a sample “wrong” word in EMM) should be replaced with “angiography,” the correct form. If “angiopsy” were to be employed, in what capacity do you think it would be used?
p. 353: In Section I (Word Analysis and Identification), #10 should be analyzed as follows: presby + acu + sia.