Context
You can often get at least part of a word's meaning from the way it's
used in the sentence. So, when you come to an unfamiliar word while
reading, rather than first looking it up in the dictionary, try to
figure out its meaning from the words around it. Often the author
provides clues to help you unlock the general meaning.
"Perihelion is the point in the earth's orbit when the distance
between the earth and the sun is at its minimum, as opposed to
aphelion."
Glossary
If your book has a glossary it will give you the specific definition
for this field of study. A glossary, a mini-dictionary in the back
of a text, contains only the definition that fits the use in this
book.
apheloin The point in the earth's orbit when the distance
between the earth and the sun is at its maximum.
Dictionary
To find exactly what a word means and where it comes from look it
up in the dictionary. The dictionary is a reliable source of definitions
plus correct spellings, pronunciation, parts of speech and derivations.
To use this resource book effectively however, you must understand
the abbreviations it uses and the variety of information it includes.
Since you may find a variety of definitions for a word, always fit
the definition back into the original context to be certain it makes
sense.
aph·elion n. pl -elia [NL. fr. apo + Gk
helios sun—more at solar]: the point of a planet's or comet's orbit
most distant from the sun—compare perihelion
Structure
Knowing the parts of words—prefixes, roots, suffixes—helps you understand
and unlock the meanings of whole families of words. A prefix is the
part that's sometimes attached to the front of a word; there are about
100 common ones. The root is the basic part of a word; most of our
root words come from Latin and Greek. A suffix is often attached to
the end of a word.
apo prefix from Greek meaning away from
helios comes from Greek meaning the sun
Now, other words with apo or helios start to make
sense such as apolune=the point in the path of a body
orbiting the moon that is farthest from the center or heliophyte=a
plant thriving in full sunlight.
Read, Read
In addition to using these strategies it's important to read a variety
of a materials. The more you expose yourself to new words, the more
words you will learn.
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