Here you will find the vocabulary needed for the OCR GCSE Foundation Tier papers (A402) which has not already been covered in the Common Entrance pages. 


You will have already met the majority of the words you will need for GCSE in the earlier Common Entrance pages. There are, in fact, less than a hundred extra words required for the Foundation Tier papers set by OCR; of course, you should check back regularly that you can still remember the CE syllabus!

N.B. This is the current vocab prescription for the harder option (A402). I would be happy to hear from anyone who would like a page produced for the shorter A401 syllabus.

I have continued to follow the same system for these pages as with those for Common Entrance - newcomers may click  here to read about the lay-out of tables on this site and the way to use the information displayed. In particular, don't forget that a word **double-starred** is only there as a Vir Drinks Beer prompt, and is not a 'proper' derivative from the Latin!

QUICK JUMP LINKS 


To jump quickly to a particular vocab table, click on the link below:

NOUNS 1st decl: click #nouns1stdecl

NOUNS 2nd masc: click #nouns2ndmasc

NOUNS 2nd neuter: click #nouns2ndneut

NOUNS 3rd decl: click #nouns3rddecl

NOUNS 4th decl: click #nouns4thdecl

ADJECTIVES: click #adjectives

PREPOSITIONS: click #prepositions

ADVERBS: click #adverbs

CONJUNCTIONS: click #conjunctions

VERBS 1st conj: click #verbs1stconj 

VERBS 2nd conj: click #verbs2ndconj

 VERBS 3rd conj: click #verbs3rdconj 

VERBS 4th conj: click #verbs4thconj

VERBS irregular: click #verbsirreg 

 

 

NOUNS

1st Declension -A, -AE (all feminine)

LATIN

ENGLISH

DERIVATIVE

VDB PROMPT

CURACARE, WORRYcure, curator

e.g. the museum's curator takes care of the exhibits; to cure someone you're worried about, they will need care

EPISTOLALETTERepistlethe letters in the New Testament are also known as epistles
DOMINAMISTRESSdominatefeminine version of 'dominus'
IANUAMAIN DOORjanitor, Januaryassociated with the two-faced god Janus, the god of doorways, beginnings, entrances & exits: hence connection with January
PORTAGATEportalalso Fr. 'la porte'; be careful not to confuse this with either 'porto' or 'portus'!
ROMAROMERomaner, yes... they finally expect you to know this one now!
SILVAWOODsylvan, Transylvaniaif Dracula's wooded homeland doesn't help, try thinking of a 'silva' birch tree
TABERNAINN, BARtavernderiv.; former students of Mr R. O. Marshall's excellent 'Disce Latinum' course may have noticed by now that they have a flying start with many of the 'new' GCSE words: see, all that hard work when you were little did have a point after all!
VICTORIAVICTORYvictor, victoriousobvious deriv.'s
VITALIFEvital, vitaminit's vital: a matter of life & death
NOUNS

2nd Declension -US, -I (all masculine)

ANIMUSMIND, SPIRIT, SOULanimation, inanimateinanimate objects have no life or soul; but an animated cartoon is meant to make the pictures come to life
HORTUSGARDENhorticulturederiv.'; another one that may be familiar already from your earlier years!
LIBERTUSEX-SLAVE, FREEDMANlibertyconnected with the verb 'libero' - I set free
LIBERI, liberorum (pl)CHILDRENliberal (etc)a strange one. This word really is from the adjective 'liber' meaning 'free'; originally, it may have been used to distinguish the free-born boys & girls in a household from their slave counterparts living there also. These days, maybe you can associate it with all the free-time children have, free from the cares of the world.... (sorry!)
MODUSWAY, MANNERmode, modelas in, to operate in manual mode, etc; a model provides the correct manner to achieve something
NOUNS

2nd Declension neuter -UM, -I

CASTRA, castrorum (pl)CAMPplace names e.g. Lancaster, Winchester, Gloucesternotice this word goes like 'bellum' in the plural; the place names generally reflect somewhere in Britain where the Romans had originally built a legionary camp
CONSILIUMPLAN, ADVICE, IDEAcounsel, counsellorderiv.'s; may also help to think that it was the Consuls who had to come up with all the plans for the government (the words are connected)
SIGNUMSIGN, SIGNAL, STANDARDsignifythe meaning 'standard' is as in 'standard-bearer' (Latin signifer) carrying the special 'sign' for the legion
NOUNS3rd Declension, various stems and genders
AMOR, amoris (m)LOVEamorousthe noun from the obvious verb 'amo'; lots of abstract nouns are formed with this -OR ending
ARS, artis (f)SKILL, ARTartist etc.'art' in the sense of showing skill at a task; obviously not related to a certain North London football team...
CANIS, canis (c)DOGcaninederiv.; don't make a dog's dinner of it by mixing it up with 'cena'!
CAPUT, capitis (n)HEADcapitala capital city is the head-city; 'capital punishment' originally involved cutting off someone's head; you wear a cap on your head (this is an actual derivative, in a round-about way!) 
CONSUL, consulis (m)CONSULconsulatethe two chief officials of the state - as indeed a consul tends to be the highest native authority in a foreign country today. Compare entry for 'consilium'
IMPERATOR, imperatoris (m)GENERAL, COMMANDER, EMPERORimperative, empirethe true Latin word for 'emperor' is 'princeps', but this word has the association of 'supreme army commander' ; connected with 'impero' - the one who gives the orders
LEO, leonis (m)LIONleoninethe star-sign Leo is likely to be the most help - apart from the fact that all lions seem to be called Leo...
MERCATOR, mercatoris (m)MERCHANT, TRADERmerchandiseclose enough to the deriv.; lots of Latin nouns for 'jobs' have this -TOR ending: compare 'gladiator' 
PAX, pacis (f)PEACEpacifylying peacefully beside the Pacific Ocean
SENATOR, senatoris (m)SENATORsame wordit is actually connected with 'senex' -  old (and therefore wise) enough to run the country - who mentioned Dan Quale or Sarah Palin??
TEMPUS, temporis (n)TIMEtemporarybe careful not to confuse this one with 'tempestas'!
NOUNS

4th Declension -US, -US (genders as marked)

DOMUS (f)HOME, HOUSEdomesticconnected with 'dominus'; beware 2nd decl. case endings for certain meanings, e.g. 'domi' - 'at home'
MANUS (f)HAND, BANDmanualit means a hand, or a handful; hence the idea of a small group of people. Oddly, these are the only two 4th decl. nouns which are feminine!

 

 

 

 

 

ADJECTIVES

           1st/2nd Declension: -US -A -UM,                  or -ER -ERA -ERUM                

LATIN

ENGLISH

DERIVATIVE

VDB PROMPT

ALTER altera alterumTHE ONE, THE OTHER (of two)alternativegiven two alternatives, you can choose either the one or the other
LENTUS    SLOWFr. lentif you've given up something nice for **Lent**, time goes very slowly!
NULLUSNONE, NO, NOT ANYannul, nullifyFr. 'nul', as in 'nul points'!
QUANTUS?HOW BIG? HOW GREAT?quantity the deriv. can be used to help here. This is the first of a group of 'question words' you will need for this tier
STULTUSSTUPID, FOOLISHstultifythe association of the first 3 letters is usually enough to prompt for the meaning
SUMMUSHIGHEST, THE TOP OFsummitderiv.; notice that 'summus' agrees as an adjective, and does not take the genitive case: 'summus mons' = 'the TOP-OF the mountain'
TANTUSSO GREAT, SO BIGFr. tantthis is the 'answer' to 'quantus', and again is the first of the so-called 'T-words' that are used particularly in Result/Consequence Clauses in this tier. Another prompt could be to use **tantalise** - to make someone want something 'so greatly'...
ADJECTIVES 3rd Declension
  FEROX ferocisFIERCEferocious(deriv.)
FIDELIS -is -eFAITHFUL, LOYALconfideespecially 'Adeste Fideles' - 'O Come All Ye Faithful'; otherwise see prompts for 'fides' elsewhere
GRAVIS -is -eHEAVY, SERIOUSgrave, gravityconnection of meanings can be seen from the idea of being gravely wounded
QUALIS -is -eWHAT SORT OF?qualityanother of this tier's question-words; 'what sort of qualities are we looking for?'
TALIS -is -eSUCH, OF SUCH A KIND/SORT?the 'answer' to 'qualis' (see remarks about 'tantus'); 'just such a **talisman** will bring us luck!'
ADJECTIVES indeclinable
QUOT?HOW MANY?quotientdivision: how many times will it divide into the number? Also, try using **quota** - your full **quota** : how many you should have
TOTSO MANY?the 'answer' to 'quot' (compare 'tantus' and 'talis'); he'd drunk so many **tots** of whisky that he fell over; there is also a distant connection with 'total', as in 'to tot up...'

 

 

 

 

PREPOSITION

      non-existent...  

LATIN

ENGLISH

DERIVATIVE

VDB PROMPT

RE...... BACKreversealthough there is no actual preposition (the closest is possibly 'retro'),this is used very commonly as a prefix on verbs to mean 'to ... back', e.g. 'revenio - I come back'.  You have already seen it with 'reduco' and 'redeo'

 

 

 

 

ADVERBS

 all indeclinable  

LATIN

ENGLISH

DERIVATIVE

VDB PROMPT

ADEO

SO, TO SUCH AN EXTENT

?

this will become familiar when you study Result/Consequence Clauses. It is used with verbs: 'he was so wounded that he couldn't fight any longer' (= 'to such an extent')

ECCE!LOOK!?an all-purpose exclamation to draw attention to something (not necessarily visible!) Try 'By 'eck!'
ITASO, IN SUCH A WAY?this is the 'ita' in 'itaque': 'and so'; another Result Clause word. Like 'adeo', used with verbs, but compare: 'he was so wounded that he couldn't walk': i.e. 'in such a way' - in the leg, maybe - it is not interchangeable with adeo.
MAXIMEVERY MUCH, VERY GREATLYmaximisederiv.; this is actually the superlative adverb from 'magnus/magnopere'
MINIME(NOT IN THE) LEAST, VERY LITTLEminimisederiv.; superlative adverb from 'parvus/paullum'; sometimes given as the Latin for 'No!' - a word they didn't really have, preferring to answer questions negatively in far longer ways!
QUAM...?/!HOW...?/!?always used with an adjective or adverb after it, e.g. 'quam alta est aqua?' - 'how deep is the water?'; or also as an exclamation: 'quam mirum!' - 'how amazing!'
QUO?WHERE..TO??'Do you know where to get tickets for Status Quo?' Obviously not how it's really used! It's a question about direction: 'where are you going (to)?'
QUOMODO?HOW??actually means 'in what way' (from 'modus'). All these last few words are used in the construction Indirect Question, as well as being simple 'direct' question words
SATISENOUGHsatisfactory, satisfyput on your best German Kommandant accent: 'Satis enough!' ('Zat is....'  - groan!) A VDB classic!
TAM...SO...?always used with an adjective or adverb after it, often in the lead-up to a Result/Consequence Clause (the most obvious 'T' word!) For similarities, compare the entries on 'Quantus/Tantus, Quot/Tot', etc, and also notice the difference with adeo and ita - this one is not used with verbs.
UMQUAMEVER?just take the 'n' off 'numquam'!
VEHEMENTER VIOLENTLY, LOUDLY, EXTREMELY vehementa good one to help improve your English vocabulary! Try 'Very-menter'

 

 

 

CONJUNCTIONS

       all indeclinable  

LATIN

ENGLISH

DERIVATIVE

VDB PROMPT

AC, ATQUE

AND

?

helps to use the '-que' ending; compare the similar words 'nec/neque'

      CUM

 WHEN, SINCE, (ALTHOUGH)?try the meanings in the order given ('although' is very unlikely!) To remember: 'I thought 'cum' meant 'with'! Since When does it have Althoughs other meanings?!'
NUMWHETHER?this is the particular meaning of the word in Indirect Questions: 'He asked whether I was tired': as if you'd  said  'He asked surely I was not tired'. Can also be translated 'if' but do not confuse with the next word below...!
SIIFsame in French'Let's si if you can remember this one!'

 

 

VERBS

       1st Conjugation: -O -ARE -AVI -ATUM  

LATIN

ENGLISH

DERIVATIVE

VDB PROMPT

INVITO

INVITE

invitation

nice to know there are still some easy ones!

LACRIMO

WEEP, CRYlachrymosethere's a wine grown on the slopes of Mt Vesuvius to this day called 'Lacrima Christi': the tear(s) of Christ. It was (in-)famous for giving the worst hangovers in the Roman world... there must be a connection you can make here!
VERBS2nd Conjugation: principal parts as shown
DEBEO debere debui debitumOUGHT, MUST, HAVE TO, OWEdebt, debitmost often used to express obligation: we have to obey Caesar; it demonstrates well the connection between 'ought' and 'owe it'
DOCEO docere docui doctumTEACHdoctor, doctrineexplains the original sense of a 'doctor' as a teacher
SALVE! -ete!HELLO! GREETINGS!Fr. salut; also salvationactually the imperatives of the verb 'salveo' - 'to be safe & well' - so you're really saying 'Be safe!' Modern Romans are using this once again as the 'cool' way to say 'hi'!
SEDEO sedere sedi sessumSITsedentary, sediment, sessionuse the deriv.'s; or do the prompt in reverse from 'sed' (you sit on your ...)! 
TACEO tacere tacui tacitumBE QUIET, BE SILENTtacit, taciturnforming (and shouting!) the imperative 'Tace!' often helps this one stick! Some have used the idea of **tact** but be careful not to connect them exactly.
VALE! -ete!GOODBYE!valiant, valour, valence, valedictorylike 'Salve!' it's actually an imperative: the verb 'valeo' means 'I am well', so you're once again saying 'Be well!' - or, as one might also put it, 'Fare-well!' This word was the traditional way of signing-off a letter.
VERBS3rd Conjugation: various principal parts
ACCIDO -ere accidiHAPPENaccidentaccidents are things that just happen!
    ASCENDO -ere ascendi ascensumCLIMB UP, GO UPascend, ascent(deriv.'s)
COGNOSCO -ere cognovi cognitumFIND OUT, GET TO KNOW, LEARNrecogniseever wondered why the word 'know' has a 'k' in it? The root verb (without the 'co-' prefix) was originally 'gnosco'
DESCENDO -ere descendi descensumCLIMB DOWN, GO DOWN, DISEMBARKdescend, descentderiv.'s: this word is very often confused with 'discedo'. Beware!
EMO -ere emi emptumBUYexemptif your cupboard is **empty** , you need to go shopping! If you can work out the connection with 'exempt' you are doing very well. Clue: consider the slang use of 'I'll take it' meaning 'I'll buy it'.
PROCEDO -ere processi processumGO (FORWARD),ADVANCEprocession, proceedderiv.'s; the most common compound of the root verb '-cedo' - 'I go'.
PROMITTO -ere promisi promissumPROMISEpromisea compound of 'mitto' - you send your word forward that you'll do something
QUAERO -ere quaesivi quaesitumLOOK FOR, ASK FORquestion, inquisitionif you use the sound of the word 'in-quire' this one becomes easy
RESISTO -ere restitiRESISTresistancea compound of 'sto' (originally 'sisto') - I make a stand back against something; this may partly explain why the verb puts its object in the Dative. At least it's easy enough to remember!
SURGO -ere surrexi surrectumRISE UP, GET UPsurge, resurrectionin our old school you had to climb the stairs if you wanted to consult the school nurse: you had to 'go up to **surgery**'! Actually a compound of rego ('sur-rigo'),hence the principal parts. Too complicated to explain the derivation!
TRAHO -ere traxi tractumDRAG, PULLtractor, subtract, attractivethis one has vast numbers of derivatives! Try adding almost any of the usual prefixes to the supine stem and see what you get!
VENDO -ere vendidi venditumSELLvendor, vending machine'vendidi sell it? ('when did 'e....!') Compare also Fr. 'vendre' and 'vendredi'
VIVO -ere vixi victumBE ALIVE, LIVEsurvive, revive, vividthe abbreviation 'vix.' (for 'vixit') is often found on tombstones beside a number, to indicate how old the person was when they died
VERBS4th Conjugation: -IO -IRE -IVI -ITUM
NESCIONOT KNOWnescient, nesciencethe negative of 'scio': the Romans never said 'non scio'. The same idea appears in the English derivatives! 
SCIOKNOWscienceuse the deriv.'s - or 'I know how to ski!' 
SENTIO -ire sensi sensumFEEL, NOTICE, SENSEsense, sentient, consentderiv.'s: if you consent, you feel the same about it
VERBSirregular conjugation
INQUITHE SAYS, SAID?not connected with **inquire**, but it gets you on the right track. This word is used mostly with direct speech; 'dico' has wider uses.