FAU HS World History Summer Bridge 2025 Vocabulary-110 terms

AP World History 110 terms

B.C.E.

Before Common Era; secular dating equivalent to B.C. (before Christ).

C.E.

Common Era; secular dating equivalent to A.D. (anno Domini).

abdicate

To formally give up or renounce a throne, power, or responsibility.

accession

The act of attaining a position of power, such as a throne or office.

aesthetic

Concerned with beauty, artistic taste, or the appreciation of art.

agrarian

Relating to cultivated land, farming, or rural life.

amenities

Useful, pleasant, or desirable features or services of a place.

anarchy

A state of society without government or law; political disorder.

animism

Belief that natural objects, phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls or spirits.

antiquity

The ancient past, especially the period before the Middle Ages.

appeasement

Policy of giving in to an aggressor’s demands to maintain peace.

aristocracy

Government or social class ruled by a privileged nobility.

asceticism

Severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, often for religious reasons.

assimilate

To absorb or integrate into a wider culture or society.

authoritarian

Favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.

autocracy

A system of government in which a single ruler holds absolute power.

barbarism

Uncivilized, primitive, or savage behavior or condition.

bureaucracy

A system of government run by administrative officials; those officials themselves.

city-state

An independent city and its surrounding territory functioning like a sovereign state.

civic

Relating to citizenship, municipal affairs, or public duties.

classical

Pertaining to ancient Greek and Roman culture; traditional and long-established.

colonial

Relating to acquiring or living in colonies; characteristic of a colony.

commerce

The activity of buying and selling goods and services; trade.

communal

Shared by all members of a community; for common use.

concubine

A woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives.

conscription

Compulsory enlistment of people into military or other national service.

continuity

The unbroken, consistent existence or operation of something over time.

corroboration

Evidence or information that confirms or supports a statement, theory, or finding.

contradiction

A statement or situation in which elements are opposed or inconsistent with each other.

cosmopolitan

Familiar with and comfortable in many cultures; worldly and diverse.

coup

A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.

demography

The statistical study of populations; relating to population characteristics.

despot

A ruler who holds absolute power, typically exercising it oppressively.

diaspora

The dispersion or scattering of a people from their original homeland.

dissent

Disagreement or difference of opinion with prevailing ideas or authority.

dissident

A person who actively challenges or opposes official policy or authority.

domestic

Relating to the home; to tame plants or animals for human use.

dynasty

A line of hereditary rulers of a country; relating to such a ruling family.

edict

An official order, proclamation, or command issued by an authority.

egalitarian

Based on the principle of equal rights and opportunities for all people.

elite

A group that is superior in status, wealth, or ability compared to others.

emigrate

To leave one’s own country or region to settle permanently in another.

epic

A long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds or events of cultural significance.

ethnocentric

Evaluating other cultures according to the standards of one’s own culture.

feudalism

Medieval European social system of lords, vassals, and serfs bound by loyalty and land tenure.

genocide

The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, or ethnic group.

gentry

People of good social position, often landowners ranking just below the nobility.

guild

A medieval association of craftsmen or merchants organized for mutual aid and protection.

heterogenous

Composed of parts or elements that are different; diverse.

hierarchy

A system in which people or things are ranked one above another in status or authority.

hominids

The biological family that includes humans and their extinct ancestors.

homogenous

Of the same kind; uniform in structure or composition.

ideology

A system of ideas and ideals, especially forming the basis of economic or political theory.

imperial

Relating to an empire; a policy of extending a nation’s power through conquest or influence.

indigenous

Originating naturally in a particular region; native to an area.

infrastructure

Fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area (roads, power, etc.).

lineage

Direct descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree.

linguistic

Relating to language or the scientific study of language.

manifest

Clear or obvious to the eye or mind; to show or display plainly.

maritime

Connected with the sea, especially in relation to seafaring commercial or military activity.

martial

Relating to war, the military, or armed forces.

matrilineal

Tracing kinship, inheritance, or descent through the mother’s line.

mercenary

A professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army for pay.

monarchy

Government ruled by a single sovereign, usually a king or queen.

monopoly

Exclusive control over the supply of a commodity or service; to obtain such control.

monotheism

Belief in the existence of only one god.

mystical

Having a spiritual, symbolic, or supernatural significance beyond ordinary understanding.

nation-state

A sovereign state whose citizens share a common culture, language, or identity.

neo

Prefix meaning new, revived, or modified form of something older.

Neolithic

New Stone Age (c. 10,000–4,500 B.C.E.); marked by agriculture and polished stone tools.

nomadic

Living the life of a wanderer; moving from place to place without permanent settlement.

oligarchy

Government in which power rests with a small number of people or families.

pantheon

All the gods of a people; or a temple dedicated to all deities.

papal

Relating to the Pope; the office or authority of the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church.

parliament

A legislative body; a political system where the executive derives authority from the legislature.

pastoral

Relating to the herding of livestock or idealized rural life.

patriarchal

A social system in which men hold primary power and authority.

patrilineal

Tracing kinship, inheritance, or descent through the father’s line.

patronage

Support, encouragement, or financial aid given by a patron; granting favors or jobs by those in power.

peasant

A small-scale farmer or rural laborer of low social status.

pharaoh

The title of the monarchs of ancient Egypt.

piety

Religious devotion and reverence; deeply devout or reverent.

polity

An organized society or form of government; a political entity.

polygamy

The practice of having more than one spouse at the same time.

polytheism

Belief in or worship of multiple gods.

proselytize

To attempt to convert someone to a religion, belief, or cause.

provincial

Relating to a province; limited in outlook, narrow or unsophisticated.

regent

A person appointed to rule because the monarch is a minor, absent, or incapacitated.

republic

A state in which supreme power rests with the people and their elected representatives.

rhetoric

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing; relating to such language use.

sedentary

Settled in one place; not migratory or nomadic.

serf

A medieval agricultural laborer bound to a lord’s land and subject to his control.

Sharia

Islamic law derived from the Quran, Hadith, and scholarly interpretation.

Sinification

The spread and adoption of Chinese culture, language, or norms by other societies.

state

An organized political community under one government; a nation or territory.

steppe

Large, treeless, grassland plain found in southeastern Europe and Central Asia.

stratification

The division of society into hierarchical layers or classes.

Sub-Saharan

Pertaining to the region of Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

subordinate

Lower in rank or position; subject to the authority of another.

succession

The process by which one person follows another in office, throne, or property.