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I've always had an interesting connection in my head when I see or read this word:
A tarantula
When I was younger, my father was a police officer, and they had a tarantula at the police department. Of course I was tantalized by the fascinating creature. My mind twisted the word tarantula and the word tantalize, because they share many of the same graphemes.
And yet, we know that's not how the English orthographic system works. Just because words share graphemes doesn't mean they are related.
So where does tantalize come from? What is its structure? Are you tantalized by the prospect?
This investigation will take a closer look at the derivational suffix <-ize>. We'll discover eponyms and toponyms. We'll also visit Noah Webster and his role in reforming American English spelling.
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Meaning
What is this word's meaning and how does the word function?
To be tantalized is to "be hopeful about getting what you want, only to be disappointed by not letting you have it" according to the entry in the Collins dictionary online.
Our word is a verb, which means it can take the suffixes in the verbal inflection paradigm, tantalizes, tantalized, and tantalizing. Verbs usually inflect to show tense.
The synonyms provided for the word caught my eye: torment, tease, taunt, and torture. Do you notice how they all start with
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Structure
What are the elements that make up this word's structure?
So a derivational suffix you often see forming verbs is the suffix <-ize>, as in the words moralize and immunize.
tantal + ize
I'm not aware of any prefixes that begin with
Let's see what Etymonline reveals.
The entry says the word came to us in the 1590s. It also says that <-ize> has been added to the Latin Tantalos, which is from the similarly spelled Greek name of a mythical king of Phrygia. This son of Zeus suffered eternal punishment in the underworld. He stood in a pool of water up to his chin, fruit-laden branches hanging just above him. Every time he bent to drink, the water receded. Every time he reached for fruit, the branches withdrew. Forever tantalized, never satisfied. Words that are named after someone are called eponyms.
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Relatives
What are the word's relatives and history?
The Etymonline entry gives us the relatives tantalism and tantalization. If you have something just within someone's reach that they can't have, then you are practicing tantalism. We can also add our adverb suffix <-ly> to have tantalizingly.
Although unrelated, the word tarantula is a toponym, a word named after a place. It is named after the Italian seaport of Taranto. Seems these spiders are frequently found there.
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Graphemes
What can the pronunciation of the word teach us about the relationship of its graphemes and its phonology?
The graphemes in this word are all spelling expected phonemes. But let's take a moment to discuss the suffix <-ize>. In British and other forms of English, this suffix may be spelled <-ise>. Both forms actually occurred in Old French and Middle English. In the late 1600s, the French Academy standardized the suffix as <-ise>, and British English adopted this form.
American English favors the spelling with
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Next Steps
What concepts from this investigation can we explore next to learn more about the English orthographic system?
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Have you looked at words with suffix <-ize>? Does it always create verbs? Is there a Greek connection? What patterns do you notice? (Big Idea #4) |
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Perhaps you and your students would love to collect different eponyms and toponyms. |
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What other differences are there in British and American English spellings? |
Last week, I was correct about a connection between inherently and coherence. This week, I was wrong about a childhood connection between a tarantula and tantalize. It just goes to show that every time we think we may have something "down," it's tantalizingly just out of our grasp.
Stay curious,
Brad
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PS. Inside the Creating English Orthographers (CEO) community, we release these word investigations earlier in the week, and they are accompanied by available resources. So, join us and subscribe by using the link under my signature.
PPS. If you're wearing a cashmere sweater and a pair of jeans, you just might be wearing a couple toponyms. Bonus if you're wearing Argyle socks with them.
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