Your mom always told you that reading books would make you smarter, but it turns out that even just watching the Harry Potter movie series was preparing you for the SAT! This is because the spells J.K. Rowling wrote into this iconic wizard drama all have Latin roots, and understanding where these spells originated can help you understand the meanings of words that pop up on the SAT!
EXPELLIARMUS –This spell is first used in the second book of the series, when Professors Gilderoy Lockhart and Severus Snape duel in front of the entire school. Snape uses this spell on the other professor, disarming him and making him look like a real dweeb in front of the entire school. Let’s take a look at the roots of this word: expellen, which means to push or drive away, and armare, which means to arm (in terms of weaponry, etc). Literally, the Expelliarmus charm is used to drive away the weapons of a foe. Potential SAT words from these roots are:
*expellant: adj. Having the power to expel; expelling. The expellant paint ball hurtled towards Joan with frightening force.
*expectorate: verb. To eject or expel matter from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting; to eject or expel matter in this way. Choked up in the middle of her presentation on Middle Ages architecture, Shelby had to pause to expectorate. Her audience was not impressed.
*armament: noun. The arms and equipment with which a military is supplied; the process of equipping or arming for war. The Blue Angels armament includes their parachutes as well as the airplanes they fly.
FIDELIUS CHARM – This is the charm that is used to protect the Potter family when they go into hiding. They select a “Secret Keeper” who is the only person who can tell others where they are hidden; the hope is that the Secret Keeper will remain faithful to them and keep them safe. The Latin root of this word is fidelis, which means trustworthy and faithful.
*diffident: adj. To lack confidence due to a deficit of trust or comfort in the people around oneself. The diffident youth decided not to share his ideas on the new design as he did not know how his peers would take them.
*perfidy: noun. Deceitfulness, untrustworthiness. The act of betraying someone or something. After everyone heard the rumor about Francois, he accused his best friend of perfidy. Stan was the only one he had shared that secret with.
*fidelity: noun. Strict observance of promises, duties, etc. Michael took all of his most important tasks to Alicia to complete, because she was well-known around the office for her fidelity.
IMPERIO – This is one of the Unforgivable Curses first introduced in the fourth book. It is used by the Death Eaters to force other wizards to perform tasks against their will. There is no verb root of this word in Latin, but as a prefix it is used to mean “to command” or “to demand.” On the SAT, it pops up in a number of different words:
*imperative: adj. Absolutely necessary or required; unavoidable. It is imperative that you turn your homework in first thing tomorrow.
*imperious: adj. Domineering in a haughty manner. Dave’s new manager at the Taco Shack had a very imperious manner; she never allowed anyone to question her judgments or argue with her at all.
There are plenty more vocab words hidden in Harry Potter spells. See which ones you can identify!
Written By: Catherine Martin
Victory Step Education Team
