669: monster and demonstrate Oct 7, 2016

Whether it be through the use of compounding or affixation, finding relationships can give valuable insight into the history of word-creation. The word, 'monster' comes from the Latin, 'monstrum' meaning ‘portent' or also 'monster’ like it does today, but was formed from the verb 'monere' meaning ‘to warn’. Other related words, 'demonstrate' and its derivatives 'demonstrative' and 'demonstration' also come from a variation on 'monere' and has stayed true to the original word, 'demostrat-' used to mean ‘point out’. Here, the syntactic theme of informing others has remained the same over many centuries.