Short story vocab

bier [beer]

bier [beer]

N. a stand on which a corpse or a coffin containing a corpse is placed prior to burial

cabal [kuh-bal]

N. a conspiratorial group of plotters or intriguers. A secret scheme or plot. Intr. V. to form a cabal.

circumvent [sur-kuhm-vent, sur-kuhm-vent]

Tr. V. To surround and entrap by craft. To overcome by artful maneuvering. To avoid by or as if by passing around.

coquettish [koh-ket-ish]

Adj. (of a woman) characteristically flirtatious, especially in a teasing, lighthearted manner.

cuckold [kuhk-uhld]

N. a man whose wife has committed adultery.

Tr. V. To make a cuckold of.

diffident [dif-i-duhnt]

Adj. Hesitant to assert oneself from a lack of self-confidence; timid.

dispensation [dis-puhn-sey-shuhn, -pen-]

N. an exemption or release from an obligation or rule, granted by or as if by an authority. An exemption form a church law, a vow, or other similar obligation granted in a particular case by an ecclesiastical authority.

dyspepsia [dis-pep-shuh, -see-uh]

N. indigestion.

hangdog [hang-dawg, -dog]

Adj. Shamefaced or guilty. Downcast, intimidated. N. a sneaky or desipicable person.

jalousie [jal-uh-see]

N. a blind or shutter having adjustable horizontal slats for regulating the passage of air and light.

livery [liv-uh-ree]

N. The costume or insignia worn by the retainers of a feudal lord. A distinctive uniform worn by the male servants of a household, as by footmen. The boarding and care of horses for a fee.

parquet [pahr-kay]

N. the part of the main floor of a theater between the orchestra pit and the parquet circle. A wooden floor, often using contrasting colors, worked into a pattern.

Tr. V. To furnish a room with a floor of parquetry.

perpetuity [pur-pi-too-i-tee]

N. the quality, state, or condition of being perpetual. Time without end; eternity.

petticoat [pet-ee-koht]

N. a skirt, esp. a woman’s slip or underskirt. Slang. A woman or a girl.

Adj. of or by women (i.e., a petticoat government).

promontory [prom-uhn-tawr-ee]

N. a high ridge of land or rock jutting out into a sea or other expanse of water.

severance [sev-er-uhns]

N. the act or process of dividing or separating into parts. Separation; partition.

svelte [svelt]

Adj. slender or graceful in figure or outline; slim.

swaddle [swod-l]

Tr. V. to wrap or bind in bandages; swathe. To wrap a baby in swaddling clothes.

N. a band or cloth used for swaddling.

vermillion [ver-mil-yuhn]

N. a bright red mercuric sulfide used as a pigment. A vivid red to reddish orange.

Adj. Of a vivid red to reddish orange.

Tr.V. to color or dye vermillion.

vestige [ves-tij]

N. a visible trace, evidence, or sign of something that has once existed but exists or appears no more.