Moby Dick Vocab

caprice

a sudden desire

interrengnum

the time between two reigns or governments

efface

make inconspicuous

rapacious

living by preying on other animals

voracity

hunger

bilious

irritable as if suffering from indigestion

ignoble

dishonorable in character or purpose

aver

declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true

expatiate

add details, as to an account or idea

pugilist

someone who fights with his fists for sport

flagon

a large metal or pottery vessel with a handle and spout

one of the common people

tantamount

being essentially equal to something

cloister

seclude from the world

elucidate

make clear and comprehensible

nomenclature

a system of words used to name things in a discipline

cogent

powerfully persuasive

exhume

dig up for reburial or for medical investigation

petulance

an irritable feeling

filial

relating to or characteristic of or befitting an offspring

disinter

dig up for reburial or for medical investigation

posterity

all future generations

verdant

characterized by abundance of vegetation and green foliage

annals

reports of the work of a society or learned body

attenuated

reduced in strength