Word of the Week Lesson #30 – SOUGHT
SAW Publishing’s Word of the Week (WOW) program is a vocabulary supplement built around hymns and Bible verses. Each lesson contains a Webster’s 1828 Dictionary definition, Scripture reference, and examples that encourage students to use new vocabulary in daily life. To find out more about the program, see our post entitled Boost Your Student’s Vocabulary with our FREE Word of the Week. To receive the FREE Word of the Week lesson the Monday before it is posted, sign up for the WOW email below.
Word of the Week Lesson #30
**Click here for a downloadable PDF of the full lesson.
sought
Short Definition
Abridged from Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
SOUGHT’, preterit tense and participle passive of seek
to have gone in search of; to have endeavored to find or gain
Webster’s 1828 Full Definition
SOUGHT’, preterit tense and participle passive of seek. Pronounced sawt.
I am found of them who sought me not. Isaiah 65:1
In order to give a fuller sense of the word, we have also included part of Webster’s definition of SEEK:
SEEK’, verb transitive
1. To go in search or quest of; to look for; to search for by going from place to place.
The man asked him, saying, what seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren. Genesis 37:15-16
2. To inquire for; to ask for; to solicit; to endeavor to find or gain by any means.
The young lines roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. Psalm 104:21
He found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Hebrews 12:17
Others tempting him, sought of him a sign. Luke 11:16
3. Seek is followed sometimes by out or after.
To seek out, properly implies to look for a specific thing among a number. But in general, the use of out and after with seek, is unnecessary and inelegant.
To seek God, his name, or his face, in Scripture, to ask for his favor, direction and assistance. Psalm 63:1 and Psalm 83:16
God seeks men, when he fixes his love on them, and by his word and Spirit, and the righteousness of Christ, reclaims and recovers them from their miserable condition as sinners. Ezekiel 34:11, Psalm 119:176, and Luke 15:8-10
All definitions are taken from the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary from Archive.org Volume 1 and Volume 2 and can also be found on Webster’s 1828 Dictionary online
Memory Verse
“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” ~ Psalm 34:4 (KJV)
“With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.” ~ Psalm 119:10 (KJV)
All scripture references are taken from the King James Bible
Hymn
“The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From Heav’n He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.”
– Samuel J. Stone (1839–1900), The Church’s One Foundation
All hymn texts are taken from Cyber Hymnal
Examples From Daily Life
“Has anyone seen my pink socks?” Robyn called from the girls’ bedroom. “I’ve sought them in every place I can think of, but they just aren’t here! And it’s almost time to leave for—”
“Sh-h!” Philip reminded his sister, glancing around to be sure the little boys weren’t within hearing. “We don’t want Xavier to guess before his birthday. Especially when Dad has sought out a special surprise. What could he be going to buy at Angle’s Cove?”
“I guess you’ll see, soon enough,” said Mrs. Gravesend, coming down the hall. “Robyn, I wouldn’t wear your pink socks to a conservation area. See if you have a brown or black pair.”
“Are we going to get muddy?” Philip asked with interest. He was still trying to guess what the surprise might be.
“I’m not giving away any secrets,” their mother laughed. “Having sought a clue in vain, you will just have to be patient until you get to Angle’s Cove.”
Printable Image With Short Definition and Memory Verse
Bonus Activity
As you have seen in Webster’s definition, the word sought is a form of the verb seek. Look carefully at the three sentences below:
1) Robyn and Philip seek the socks.
2) Robyn and Philip sought the socks.
3) Robyn and Philip, having sought the socks, left for Angle’s Cove.
Now look at three more sentences:
1) Philip and Robyn look for the socks.
2) Philip and Robyn looked for the socks.
3) Philip and Robyn, having looked for the socks, left for Angle’s cove.
In the first set of sentences, the word seek changes dramatically to become sought. This is unusual in the English language. Normally, when a verb changes to the past tense (sentence 2) or the perfect participle (sentence 3), we only add the letters “ed.” You can see this in the second set of sentences.
Verbs which use the ending “ed” to form their past tense and perfect participle are called regular verbs. Look is an example of a regular verb.
Verbs which do not use the ending “ed” to form their past tense and perfect participle are called irregular verbs. Sought is an example of an irregular verb.
This explanation uses a lot of technical terms, but you can easily learn to recognise irregular verbs without an in-depth study of past tense and perfect participle:
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences, with each of the words given below. You will need to change each verb in some way to make it fit into sentences 2 and 3. If you can add “ed” to make both of these changes, then the word is a regular verb. If you cannot, it is an irregular one.
1) Philip and Robyn _______ the socks (right now).
2) Philip and Robyn _______ the socks (in the past).
3) Philip and Robyn, having _______ the socks, left for Angle’s cove.
find
fold
choose
wash
The answer will appear at the bottom of next week’s WOW lesson.
The information for this activity was based on Webster’s Philosophical and Practical Grammar, included at the beginning of his 1828 Dictionary of the English Language.
Answer To Last Week’s Bonus Activity
The scripture passage quoted in last week’s Bonus Activity was Matthew 21:15-16.
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