Odyssey vocab

nymph

An ancient Greek female spirit of nature; a young woman often used in a sexual sense.

wily

Describes someone tricky or sneaky.

to relent

To give up.

to thwart

To defeat another's plans.

to rouse

To wake up.

suitor

A man who seeks a wife.

cunning

Intelligent, crafty; intelligence.

to invoke

To call upon.

to disperse

To break up a group of people.

insolent

Rude.

bard

A poet, playwright, or singer.

loom

A wooden frame on which a weaver weaves.

warp

Vertical threads on a loom.

weft

Horizontal threads on a loom.

to consume

To eat or to be burned up in a fire.

omen

A sign of the future.

rite

A religious ritual.

to pillage

To rob and plunder a town or city.

provisions

Food and water; supplies.

dominion

An area of control.

to breach

To penetrate, like a door or a wall.

hecatomb

A large-scale sacrifice to the gods.

gruesome

Bloody and gory.

disposed

How a person feels about something.

havoc

Chaos, destruction.

to submit

To give in, to obey.

sheath

A protective cover for a sword or knife.

wrought

Describes something that has been made or done by hand.

to usurp

To wrongfully take the place of another.

to snare

To trap.

stout

Large and strong, kind of chunky.

carcass

Dead body, usually of an animal.

ambrosia

The mythical food of the Greek gods.

to usher

To guide or lead.

to boast

To brag.

to hinder

To interfere, to get in the way.

brine

Salty water, the sea.

to waft

To move gently through the air.

favoritism

Showing preference for one's favorite people.

pitiless

Without pity, merciless.

to court

To pursue a woman intending marriage.

to smite / smote

To strike violently.

gracious

Describes someone polite and agreeable.

forlorn

Describes someone suffering and grieving.

hearth

A fireplace or symbolic center of the home.

to dismay

To confuse or to puzzle.

game

Wild animals that can be hunted and eaten.

wager / to wager

A bet / to bet.

to moor

To anchor a ship.

to bewitch

To enchant someone with beauty or song.

to seduce

To persuade someone into sex.

to thresh

To separate the wheat seeds from the useless stems.

to exile

To banish someone from their home country.

treachery

Betrayal, treason.

mutiny

A rebellion against authority.

to clamor

To make noise.

repugnant

Describes something disgusting.

hide

Animal skin turned into leather.

spit

A roasting rack for over a fire.

to ascertain

To study and understand.

to cast

To throw.

oracle

In ancient Greece, an older woman who inhaled the sacred vapors and foretold the future.

pittance

A very small amount of money.

blunt

Describes a dull edge or a brutally honest persona.

peril

Danger.

decrepit

Very old and shabby.

vermin

Disgusting pests that should be exterminated.

herald / to herald

A messenger; to bring a message.

portent

A sign of the future.

to begrudge

To resent or envy.

connoisseur

An expert on matters of taste.

cur

A dirty, nasty dog.