🙇 Deferential 🙇🏻‍♂️

(adj.) showing respect or yielding to others

Henry noticed essay was too deferential, with every sentence hedging toward what admissions officers might want to hear instead of what the student actually thought.

🧠 It comes from the Latin deferre—“de-” (down, away) + “ferre” (to carry or bear). Literally, it means “to carry down” or “to carry away,” which evolved into “to submit” or “to hand over for another’s judgment.”

The same root gives us “defer” (postponing a decision to someone else) and “deference” (the noun form of yielding respect).

Volition

(n.) a conscious choice or decision

When Henry’s father left his old work, he resigned of his own volition, instead of waiting for the inevitable layoffs due to the decline in business. 👨‍💼📉

It comes from the Latin volo, “I wish” or “I will” (the same root behind “voluntary” and “benevolent”). It’s the language of choice, not chance.