Follow “climax” through time. Which part surprised you? #words #vocabulary
Text from the published carousel. Swipe or scroll through the cards, or read them in order with your keyboard.
1 / 5
A WORD THROUGH TIME: Where did “climax” come from?. Climax came through Late Latin from Greek klimax, a ladder. In rhetoric, the word named an arrangement that advanced through successively stronger words, clauses, or propositions, as though climbing rung by rung.
2 / 5
THE CONNECTION: Follow the connection. English first used climax for that rising rhetorical sequence. By the late eighteenth century, attention shifted from the whole ascent to its highest point, producing the familiar culmination of a story or event; later specialized senses followed from peak intensity.
3 / 5
THE MEANING TODAY: “climax”. Say it: /ˈklaɪmæks/ Meaning: The highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding.
4 / 5
YOUR TURN: “climax”. Which part of this word’s history surprised you?
5 / 5
PLAY LEXIFOUR: Try five more words. Play the free daily vocabulary game at lexifour.com. Follow for more word stories.