The Odyssey Vocabulary 

^^Book 1^^

• ==regaled== - entertain or amuse (someone) with talk
• ==patrimony== - property inherited from one’s father or male ancestor
• ==haft== - handle of a knife, axe, or spear
• ==cithern== - a stringed instrument similar to a lute
• ==insolence== - rude and disrespectful behavior
• ==divine (v.)== - discover (something) by guesswork or intuition
• ==insolent== - showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect
• ==(sea-) girt== - surrounded by sea
• ==sage (adj.)== - having, showing, or indicating profound wisdom
• ==harried== - feeling strained as a result of having demands persistently made on one; harassed
• ==suitors== - a man who pursues a relationship with a particular woman, with a view to marriage
• ==irked== - irritate; annoy

^^Book 2^^

• @@amphorai@@ - a tall ancient Greek or Roman jar with two handles and a narrow neck
• @@primal@@ - 1) relating to an early stage in evolutionary development; primeval 2) essential; fundamental
• @@clarion@@ - (adj.) loud and clear
• @@crier@@ - and officer who makes public announcements in a court of justice
• @@shroud@@ - a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial
• @@sap@@ - a bludgeon or club
• @@mentor@@ - an experienced and trusted advisor
• @@libation@@ - a drink poured out as an offering to a deity
• @@muster@@ - assemble (troops), especially for inspection or in preparation for battle
• @@plunder@@ - steal goods from (a place or person), typically using force and in a time of civil disorder
• @@indignation@@ - anger and annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment
• @@bier@@ - a moveable frame on which a coffin or a corpse is placed before burial or cremation or which it is carried to the grave

^^Book 3^^

• invoke/invocation - call on (a deity or spirit) in prayer, as a witness, or for inspiration
• besought - ask (someone) urgently and fervently to do something; implore; entreat
• hekatomb - a grand public sacrifice and offering to the gods
• stratagem - a plan or scheme, especially one used to outwit an opponent or achieve an end; skill in devising plans or schemes; cunning
• numinous - having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity
• brazen - 1) bold and without shame; 2) made of brass
• broach - 1) raise (a sensitive or difficult subject) for discussion; 2) pierce (a cask) to draw liquor
• oracle - a priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity
• harangue - (noun) a lengthy and aggressive speech; (verb) lecture (someone) at length in an aggressive and critical manner

^^Book 4^^

• %%chine%% - (n.) a backbone, especially that of an animal as it appears in a cut of meat (v.) cut (meat) across or along the backbone
• %%surfeit%% - (n.) an excessive amount of something (v.) cause (someone) to desire no more of something as a result of having consumed or done it to excess
• %%nereid%% - any of the daughters (numbering 50 or 100) of the sea god Nereus and of Doris, daughter of Oceanus; nymphs
• %%trough%% - a long, narrow open container for animals to eat or drink out of
• %%numinous%% - having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity
• %%vales%% - a valley ( used in place names or as a poetic term)
• %%lithe%% - (especially of a person’s body) thin, supple, and graceful
• %%equerries%% - an officer of the household of a prince or noble who had charge over the stables
• %%pang%% - a sudden sharp pain or painful emotion
• %%doldrums%% - a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or depression

^^Book 5^^

• ==summoner== - someone who summons (a person to a place)
• ==racked (v.)== - 1) cause extreme physical or mental pain to; subject to extreme stress 2) place in or on a rack
• ==luminous== - full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark
• ==supernal== - relating to the sky or the heavens; celestial (-of exceptional quality or extent)
• ==tresses== - a long lock of woman’s hair
• ==chastised== - rebuke or reprimand severely (-punish, especially by beating)
• ==laggard== - a person who makes slow progress and falls behind others (-slower than desired or expected)
• ==wain== - a wagon or cart
• ==trident== - a three-pronged spear, especially as an attribute of Poseidon (Neptune) or Britannia
• ==chaff== - the husks of corn or other seed separated by winnowing or threshing
• ==thralldom== - the state of being under the control of another person
• ==peevish== - easily irritated, especially by unimportant things
• ==furrow (n.)== - a long narrow trench made in the ground by a plow, especially for planting seeds or for irrigation
• ==ballasted== - give stability to (a ship) by putting a heavy substance in its bilge
• ==derelict== - in a very poor condition as a result of disuse and neglect

^^Book 6^^

• @@brine@@ - (n.) water strongly impregnated with salt; (v.) soak or preserve in salty water
• @@agora@@ - (in ancient Greece) a public open space used for assemblies and markets
• @@cutters@@ - a person or thing that cuts something
• @@megaron@@ - the great central hall of ancient Mycenaean house usually containing a central hearth
• @@drub@@ - hit or beat (someone) repeatedly (-defeat thoroughly in a match or contest)
• @@sovereign@@ - a supreme ruler, especially a monarch
• @@supplication@@ - the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly
• @@hastened@@ - be quick to do something

^^Book 7^^

• distaffs - a stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning (-of or concerning women)
• weft - (in weaving) the crosswise threads on a loom over and under which other threads (the warp) are passed to make cloth
• tactician/tactfully - a person who uses a carefully planned strategy to achieve a specific end
• guileful - having or showing sly or cunning intelligence
• pale (n.) - a wooden stake or post used as an upright along with others to form a fence (-a conceptional boundary)
• libation - a drink poured out as an offering to a deity
• victuals - food or provisions
• auspicious - conductive to success; favorable

^^Book 8^^

• %%gout%% - a drop or spot, especially of blood, smoke, or flame
• %%bane%% - a cause of great distress or annoyance
• %%bollard%% - a short, thick post on the deck of a ship or on a wharf, to which a ship’s rope may be secured
• %%canniest%% - having or showing shrewdness and good judgement, especially in money or business matters
• %%impertinence%% - lack of respect; rudeness
• %%emulous%% - seeking to emulate or imitate someone or something
• %%palestra%% - (in ancient Greece and Rome) a wrestling school
• %%indecorous%% - not in keeping with good taste and propriety; improper
• %%cuckoldry%% - the husband of an adulterous wife
• %%surety%% - a person who takes responsibility for another’s performance of an undertaking, for example their appearing in court or the payment of debt
• %%disencumbered%% - free from relieve of an encumbrance
• %%fettle%% - condition
• %%ponderous%% - slow and clumsy because of great weight
• %%wanton (adj.)%% - (of a cruel or violent action) deliberate and unprovoked

^^Book 9^^

• shambling - moving with a slow, shuffling, awkward gait
• louts - an uncouth and aggressive man or boy
• pike - an infantry weapon with a pointed steel or iron head on a long shaft
• lolling - sit, lie, or stand in a lazy, relaxed way
• smithy - a blacksmith’s workshop; a forge
• spuming - form or produce a mass of froth or foam
• girdler (grit) - a maker or girdles; an insect that removes rings of bark from trees
• guile - sly or cunning intelligence
• prodigious - remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree
• hewed - chop or cut (something, especially wood or coal) with an axe, pick, or other tool
• hale (adj.) - (of a person, especially an elderly one) strong and healthy
• whelming - engulf, submerge, or bury (someone or something)

Book 10