AP World History Summer Definitions

Abdicate

to give up (of a throne, power, etc.) in a formal, voluntary way

Commerce

the exchange of goods or commodities especially on a national scale

Indigenous

originating in and characteristic to a region or country, especially of plants, animals, or people

Patriarchy

a system in which the man is regarded as the head of the household, or a social system that favours men and withholds opportunities from women

Agrarian

relating to farmland, land, divisions of land, agricultural practices or advancement

Concubine

a secondary wife, or member of a harem, who is kept, usually by a man of power, for sexual purposes

Infrastructure

the facilities and systems that serve a country, such as roads, public schools, hospitals, powerlines

Peasant

a person of low social rank and few financial means

Animism

the belief that natural objects (plants, animals) have souls

Conscription

the involuntary draft of people or money for the purpose of war

Lineage

ancestry

Piety

reverence for God, parents, or homeland

Appeasement

the policy of acceding to the demands of another body to avoid hostility and keep peace

Coup

a highly successful, clever, or unexpected action, usually against the head of government or state.

Linguistic

relating to language

Polytheism

believing in multiple gods

Aristocracy

the social or financial most

divine right

the belief that the governing body has been granted that right by god and cannot be questioned

Maritime

relating to the sea or waterways in terms of shipping or navigation

Republic

a state in which the head of government is not a hereditary head of state and the people reserve the right to vote and self

Artisan

a person or company that makes distinctive, high

decentralized government

A government that devolves amounts of power to governmental subunits, such as local governments

Matrilineal

inheriting descent through the mother’s ancestry

Secular

unaffiliated with religion

Asceticism

participating in austerely simple lifestyles in the hope of reaching self

Demographic

a single statistic relating to human population or a specific segment of the population with shared characteristics

Mercenary

a hired soldier

Sedentary

without activity

Assimilate

to make into conformity

Despot

a tyrant, oppressor, or ruler with absolute power

Monarchy

supreme authority held by one person, usually a hereditary exchange of power

Stratification

layers in society, geology

Autocracy

supreme authority held by one person

Diaspora

any group of people that has been dispersed from their original homeland, usually involuntarily

Monopoly

exclusive control of a good or service in a market, resulting in high prices

Suffrage

the right to vote

Bureaucracy

body of officials in government

Domestic

of or relating to the home

Monotheism

believing in one god

Syncretism

the attempted merging of opposing philosophies, religions, etc.

Cartography

map

Dynasty

a sequence of rulers from the same line

Nationalism

patriotism

Theocracy

a country governed by the laws of a religion and religious leader

Censorship

the suppressing of words, publications, etc. deemed objectionable on some standards

Edict

a decree

Nomadic

a person who travels as opposed to having a permanent home

Totalitarian

an authoritarian/autocratic government that does not tolerate outside opinions or groups

centralized government

a government in which the power is concentrated within one body and does not involve local governments

egalitarian

belief in the equality of all people

oligarchy

a government in which the power is held by a small group of people

tributary state

a pre

coerced labor

when individuals are forced into labor by means of force, fraud, or coercion

ethnic group

a group of people with a shared descent, culture, race, religion, or language

papacy

the office, jurisdiction, length of time served as the pope

tyranny

unrestrained exercise of power, unjust government

clergy

ordained members of a church or religion

hierarchy

the social order of people or classes of people

parliament

a legislative body for conference and national affairs

urbanization

the population shift from rural to urban areas

colony

a territory claimed by a more powerful country to settle its own people there

imperialism

the process of claiming and colonizing to build an empire

pastoral (society, NOT religion)

pertaining to rural or countryside life, usually in a picturesque way

vernacular

the native language or way of speaking of a place, ex. AAVE