When & Where: I saw the word pentafoil in isolation with an image of a certain shape as I was playing a Melissa & Doug Memory game with my daughter, Grace. Level of Familiarity: I have never seen or heard this word before, which in itself is interesting to me since Grace and I have been playing this memory game for over two years now. I wonder if I only noticed it because I am now on the lookout for unfamiliar words? The word was paired with a clover-like shape with five "leaves." I do know that the prefix penta- means five. I am not sure what the suffix -foil refers to. I understand, though, based on the context of the memory game, it refers to a shape.
What it Means: It was actually very difficult to find a definition of pentafoil. The best I could do (in a limited amount of time) was to locate references to a "molecular pentafoil knot" on various science-focused websites. According to the website Science Debate, it is a knot which looks like a five-pointed star.
Reflective Commentary: I don't actually see this as a very useful word. I had originally thought, upon seeing it on my daughter's game, that it was a shape I should already have been familiar with. But considering how difficult it was to find information about it, I now instead question Melissa & Doug for including it. Not only that, but the shape in the game did not look anything like a knot. However, I supposed my daughter is not any worse off for now having some knowledge of this obscure vocabulary, especially since it gave me the opportunity to talk with her about how the prefix penta- refers to "five."
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