What does treatise mean?
Word: Treatise
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Treatise means a long and carefully reasoned piece of writing on one subject.
Synonyms: monograph
Word origin: Comes from Anglo-Norman tretis, which goes back to Latin tractare.
How do you spell treatise?
Syllables: trea - tise
Tricky part: The ending is not said the way it looks, so students write ice or is. It is ise.
Watch out for: treatice, treatis
Memory tip: Picture a wise scholar writing the book: the word ends in the same ise as wise.
Treatise in a sentence
Example 1: The library holds a rare treatise on Indian classical music.
Example 2: Our history teacher quoted from a treatise on trade written centuries ago.
Example 3: Bhaskara's treatise on mathematics, the Lilavati, is still admired today.
Fun Fact
The poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote A Treatise on the Astrolabe around 1391 for his young son Lewis. It is often described as one of the earliest technical manuals in English.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
tr_ _tise
a) ai
b) ea
c) ie
d) ee
Show answer
b) ea. The first part has the same vowel pair as the verb treat.
Word Twins
Choose the correct option to fill both blanks:
1. The professor's ___ on rivers filled six hundred pages. 2. The ___ between the neighbouring states settled the old quarrel over water.
a) 'treaties' in both
b) treaties/treatise
c) 'treatise' in both
d) treatise/treaties
Show answer
d) treatise/treaties. A scholar's long book is one word, while formal agreements between states are the other.
Spell Probe
Choose the meaning of the misspelt word in the sentence:
The young astronomer spent six years writing a treatise on the moon's orbit and on every lunar eclips she had observed.
a) a long serious book on one subject
b) the darkening of the sun or moon when another body passes in its way
c) the curved path of one body round another
d) a person who studies the stars and planets
Show answer
b) the darkening of the sun or moon when another body passes in its way. Eclipse needs an e at the end; astronomer, treatise and orbit are all spelt correctly.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Treatise goes back to the Latin verb tractare. What did tractare mean?
a) to write
b) to teach
c) to agree
d) to handle
Show answer
d) to handle. To treat a subject is to handle it, and a treatise handles one subject at length.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A treatise on farming sets out to ___.
a) give a quick list of seed prices
b) examine the subject in great depth
c) show pictures for young children
d) tell a funny tale about a farmer
Show answer
b) examine the subject in great depth
2. The author of a treatise could well be ___.
a) a sports commentator on air
b) a writer of nursery rhymes
c) a newspaper crossword setter
d) a professor of economics
Show answer
d) a professor of economics
