The lineage of a word is called its etymology. It is <span>the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.</span>
1. impinge = strike
The word impinge can have various meanings, but in the case above, it means to strike. When 'the rain impinge[d] upon the earth,' it means that it started raining, the rain started striking the earth. To impinge means that something starts, and usually something negative.
2. garrulous = loquacious
The word garrulous refers to someone who talks excessively, likes to talk a bit too much, and usually about something trivial. Loquacious is a fancy word to denote the same thing, although it has a more positive connotation - it refers to someone who can speak nicely.
3. pious = religious
The word pious comes from the Latin word pius, which means dutiful. So when English took this word from Latin, it added a different suffix (-ous), and gave it the meaning of being 'dutiful to God.' So nowadays, pious refers to someone who is devoutly religious.
4. ruinous = dilapidated
The word ruinous refers to something which is in ruins, which is falling apart. The word which means the same thing is dilapidated - both of these words are usually used to describe buildings that are very old, and derelict, and are practically in ruins.
B. the miltons, whom i bet at a party are coming to dinner tonight
