See the Soft C Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cicatricial

This word, relating to the formation of scar tissue (cicatrix being the Latin word for a scar), illustrates all three common sounds that are represented in English by the letter C. The first one is a soft C, pronounced as if it were S; the second is a hard C, pronounced as it if were a K; the third one is represented by the phoneme /ʃ/, sounding like SH.

The different sounds represented by the same letter are the result of linguistic change over time - English basically uses the Roman alphabet, in which C was always hard; palatalization in Late Latin led to the sound change when it was followed by a front vowel (one pronounced in the front of the mouth - E and I being prime examples).

Answer: Licentious

Licentious is usually used in regards to a lack of moral restraint, often referring to sexual indulgence. However, it can be sued more generally for behaviour that disregards social and/or legal conventions. It is related to the noun licence (or license, depending on where you live), which is a document indicating that one is permitted to engage in some activity. Both come from the Latin word 'licentia', which in some usages meant freedom to act, and in others meant unruly behaviour.

Answer: Circumferential

This adjective is derived from the word circumference, used to describe the perimeter of a circle. When applied to a road, for example, it suggests a somewhat circular path around the edge of a city or other area. The word comes from the Latin composite word 'circumferre', meaning to carry around.

Answer: Acerbic

Before the 19th century, English used the word acerb (from the Latin 'acerbus', meaning harsh and unpleasant), but mostly only in reference to foods, and describing specifically something with a sour taste. During the 19th century the -ic ending was added, and the meaning drifted to be applied to behaviour and speech that is unpleasantly critical.

The word exacerbate, meaning to make more severe, comes from the same roots.

Answer: Insouciant

This word entered English from the French around 1800. The prefix in- negates the meaning of the stem; 'soucier' means to disturb or upset, so 'souciant' describes something distressing. The origin of 'soucier' is the Latin word 'sollicitus', meaning anxious.

Other English words that derive from 'sollicitus' include solicitous (eager to offer assistance) and solicit. The latter is interesting in that its original meaning was about creating anxiety, but which now means making a request.

Answer: Facile

Facile (from the Latin 'facilis', easy) can just describe something that is easily attained, but when applied to a thought process there is an implication that it is easily reached because it ignores the complexity of the issue, and offering a simplistic explanation. It can also be used in the sense of lacking sincerity, as in facile tears (akin to crocodile tears).

Answer: Dulcet

Most commonly today, this word is used to describe something that is pleasing to the ear, but it can also be applied to sweet-tasting food, which is much closer to its origins. There are a number of words in Latin ('dulcis'), French ('doux'), Anglo-French (douz), Middle English ('doucet') which mean sweet, and are clearly related to each other.

The Latin 'dulcis' is root for a number of other English term related to music: a dulcimer is a stringed instrument in the zither family; there is a pipe organ stop called the dulciana, which produces a soft nd sweet sound; when the printed score for a piece of music includes the instruction 'dolce', you are to play it sweetly.

Answer: Perspicacious

Okay, this one may stimulate debate, as some pronounce the second C as an S, because of the relationship between this word and the noun form, perspicacity; others, however, would pronounce it with the SH sound because it is followed by an I, and given the nature of linguistic change, that is likely to become the dominant pronunciation, if it has not already done so.

The Latin origin is the word 'perspicere', a verb meaning to look through or to look at closely. While it can be sued literally in reference to physical sight, it is more commonly used in reference to intellectual discernment. Perspicacity is the ability to see through to the core of a situation, to see it clearly.

Answer: Flaccid

In English orthography, CC is usually pronounced as a hard C (accommodate), there are exceptions, and this is one of them. Flaccid was probably originally pronounced with a KS (as in the word accede, in which the first C is hard, and the second one soft because it is followed by E) rather than the S which is now common.

Another exception is capuccino, which has a CH sound, as it is a loanword from Italian. The Latin origin of the word is 'flaccus', which is usually translated as flabby (or, more literally, flap-eared) by way of the adjective 'flaccidus', meaning limp or drooping.

Answer: Recalcitrant

The origins of this term are related to animal behaviour. The Latin word 'recalcitrare', derived from the root 'calc-' meaning heel), literally meant to kick one's heels back - an apt description of the behaviour of a stubborn donkey or horse which is refusing to engage in a desired activity. It was much later, however, before the term was applied to human behaviour. It entered English usage around 1800, originally as a direct adoption of a French word that had been in use for something over a century at that time.