Great Expectations all vocab

pollard

trees with branches cut back to promote new growth

wittles

vittiles, dialect for victuals, food

battery

a military fortification equipped with guns

gibbet

a structure like a gallows from which the corpses of criminals would be hung as a warning to others

connubial

of marriage

trenchant

incisive, forceful

consternation

great fear or shock that makes one feel helpless or bewildered

garret

an attic

hulks

an old, no longer seaworthy ship used as a prison

interlocutor

a person taking part in a conversation

imprecations

curses

penitentials

clothing that a penitent person might wear

accoucheur

a male midwife

appropriated

took for one’s own without permission

corn-chandler

a grain merchant

declamation

a dramatic or blustering speech

persentiment

a feeling that something unpleasant will soon happen, a foreboding

intimated

announced formally

hypothetical

based on supposition

homily

a sermon

commiserating

showing sorrow or pity for

contumaciously

in a stubbornly disobedient way

spasmodic

characteristic of a spasm, sudden, violent, and temporary; frenzied

omnipotent

all powerful in a domineering or overbearing manner

vivaciously

in a lively manner

apprehension

an anxious feeling of foreboding; dread

finger-post

a directional sign shaped like a pointing finger

execrating

cursing

pilfering

stealing

exonerated

declared blameless and free of guilt

perspicuity

clarity in statement or expression

sagaciously

in a keenly perceptive manner

farinaceous

consisting of flour

discomfited

made to feel uneasy

Beggar My Neighbor

a card game in which the object is to acquire all of your opponent’s cards. to beggar means “to make poor” but also “to make seem inadequate”

caparisoned

covered with trappings or ornaments

nevy

dialect for nephew

epergne

an ornamental dish with several compartments, used as a centerpiece for a dining table

sal volatile

an aromatic mixture used as smelling salts

depreciatory

meant to belittle

unremunerative

unrewarding

indentures

contracts binding people to work for another for a specific period of time

ostentatiously

in a showy manner

mollified

made less severe, intense, or violent; softened

ranitpole

a rude, boisterous boy

bound out of hand

made an apprentice immediately

melancholy

sad and gloomy

inscrutably

mysteriously

excrescence

an abnormal outgrowth

cain

adam and eve’s oldest son, who killed his brother abel

wandering jew

a character in medival folklore, condemned to wander the earth restlessly because of his scornful attitude at christ’s crucifixion

george barnwell

the title character of a popular play, in which an apprentice robs his employer and murders his uncle

vexation

an annoyance

disconcerted

fustrated, upset

Timon of Athens

the title character of a play by Shakespeare, Timon is a bitter man who hates mankind

beadle

a messenger of a law court

Coriolanus

title character of a play by Shakespeare, his arrogance causes him to be banished from Rome

Subterfuge

a strategem used to hide one’s true objective or to evade an unpleasant stimulation; deception

obtruded

forced upon (someone) unwillingly

pervading

spreading throughout

the rich man and the kingdom of heaven

an allusion to Matthew 19:24: it is unlikely that a rich man will go into heaven

condescension

the act of dealing with others in a proud or haughty way

miscreant

an evil person or criminal

Roscian

pertaining to Roscius (circa 62 B.C.), a celebrated Roman comic actor

Telemachus

The son of the legendary Greek hero Odysseus; during the father's twenty-year absence, the boy was left in the care of Mentor, a name that has come to mean "wise teacher and loyal adviser"

labyrinth

a complicated maze

Denmark

the country that is the setting for Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet

Ophelia

a character in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet who goes mad and drowns after Hamlet spurns her

Newgate

the principal prison of London from the thirteenth century until it was torn down in 1902. It was rebuilt after rioters burned it in 1780. Public executions were carried out in front of its gates from 1783 to 1867.

facetious

joking, especially in an ironic way or at an inappropriate time

ostler

an innkeeper; a person who takes care of horses at an inn

Covent Garden

a market area of london, famous for its many theaters and fashionable coffee houses

Lloyds

an association of merchants that specializes in insuring ships and publishing shipping information

‘Change

the royal exchange in london, where merchants meet to conduct business

collation

a light meal

morose

ill tempered; gloomy

physiognomy

facial features and expression, as supposedly indicative of a person’s character

impiously

in a manner lacking reverence or respect

abyss

an immeasurable depth

rhapsody

an extravagantly enthusiastic utterance

incredulous

showing doubt or disbelief

Hummums

a hotel established in 1699

despotic

acting like an absolute ruler; tyrannical

Argus

in Greek mythology, a giant with a hundred eyes; thus, an alert watchman

Double Gloucester

a kind of cheese

antipodes

the opposite side of the earth

necromantic

having to do with sorcery

reiterated

said repeatedly

magisterially

in an authoritative manner

proffered

offered

malignity

an intense ill will and desire to hurt others

detestation

hatred

plummet

a lead weight

imperceptible

impossible to perceive

collier

a ship for carrying coal

jack

a common fellow or boy assistant

Nore

a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames where it meets the sea

Hymen

the greek god of marriage

bagatelle

a game somewhat like billiards, played on a board

indelible

that which cannot be erased