Page 179 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

16_571656 ch12.qxd 11/10/04 12:39 PM Page 170
Essential Vocabulary
170
optimism (AHP ti mi zm) n. 1. the belief that good triumphs over evil; 2. the
tendency to take the most cheerful point of view or hope for the best possible
outcome
• If you believe that bad will be vanquished and good will win in the end,
then you are a practitioner of optimism.
• Optimism permits one to look at a half empty container of chocolate milk
and see it as half full.
[optimistic adj., optimistically adv.]
orator (AW ruh tir) n. 1. a person who delivers a formal public speech;
2. an eloquent public speaker
• An orator was a person who impressed and swayed his listeners before the
days of telecommunication.
• Cicero was perhaps the orator of greatest fame to emerge from the senate of
ancient Rome.
[oration n.] [Syn. declaimer]
orchard (AWR chird) n. 1. an area of land set aside for the raising of fruit-
bearing trees; 2. such a stand of trees; a grove of fruit trees
• Peach orchards dot the countryside in certain parts of Georgia.
• In New York’s southern Catskill Mountains, it is common to find roads
lined by apple orchards.
orchestra (AWR kes truh) n. 1. the main floor of a theater; 2. a large musical
ensemble, specifically a symphony orchestra; 3. the instruments of definition 2
• As a general rule, the most expensive seats in the theater are the front and
center orchestra seats.
• The United States is fortunate to have at least five world-class symphony
orchestras.
• The instruments of the orchestra are divided into strings, brass, woodwinds,
and percussion.
ordain (awr DAYN) vt. 1. to order; establish; decree; 2. to predestine; predeter-
mine; 3. to invest with the office of a rabbi, minister, or priest
• In 1789, the framers ordained the U.S. Constitution to be the law of the
country.
• Some people believe that the future is ordained, and no matter what we do,
we can’t change it.
• New clergypersons are ordained, usually from among the ranks of the
seminarians.
[-ed, -ing, -ment, ordination n.]
origin (AWR i jin) n. 1. a beginning; a coming into existence; 2. the birth;
lineage; parenthood; 3. that in which something has its root, source, cause, etc.
• The Nile River’s origin is in Lake Victoria.
• The origin of the practical home computer can be traced to Steve Wozniak’s
garage.
• Musical drama with fixed songs and story lines had its origin with the
operas of Giuseppi Verdi.
[Syn. source, inception]