Moby-Dick Vocabulary
Moby-Dick Vocabulary List for Chapter 1
Moby-Dick vocabulary list for Chapter 1 - as encountered in the text | alphabetical
vocabulary overlay | vocabulary list | reading view
- abominate
- to hate something as much as possible; loathe
- astern
- the rear part of the ship; behind the ship; behind
- athirst
- wanting a drink; thirsty
- bakehouses
- a building or room to bake in; bakery
- barques
- any small sailing vessel
- battery
- an impressive grouping of things (people in this case)
- brigs
- two-masted, square-rigged vessels
- bulwarks
- the sides of a ship above the upper deck
- cajoling
- to urge with gentle and repeated appeals, teasing, or flattery; coax
- cataract
- a large waterfall; a great fall of water over a precipice
- circumambulate
- walk around
- commerce
- the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money between two or more entities
- commonalty
- the common people, as opposed to the upper classes; lacking noble rank
- conceits
- a favorable and especially unduly high opinion of one's own abilities or worth
- consign
- commit forever; commit irrevocably; give over to another for care or safekeeping
- dale
- valley; a low place between hills
- decoction
- boiling something to extract its virtues; concentration; extraction
- delusion
- a false belief or opinion
- dotings
- extravagantly or foolishly loving and indulgent
- extremest
- far beyond the norm
- farces
- a comedy which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant situations, broad satire, and rediculous, stereotyped characters
- fore-castle deck
- the deck at the foremost section of the ship, above where the crew is housed
- fore-castle
- the forward part of the vessel, under the deck, where the sailors live
- genteel
- high-class; well-bred; free from vulgarity, or lowness of taste or behavior
- head winds
- wind blowing in a direction opposite to the heading of a moving object
- hypos
- slang for hypochondria: an excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness
- ibis
- large, wading birds, having long, curved beaks; any bird of the genus Ibis and several allied genera, of the family Ibidae
- idolatrous
- of or pertaining to the worship of false gods
- inducements
- a considering factor which motives someone to perform a certain task
- infallibly
- knowing for certain something to be true
- inferred
- to derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence
- inlanders
- insular
- on an island; suggesting the isolation of an island
- interlude
- a short dramatic piece, esp. of a light or farcical character, formerly introduced between the parts or acts of miracle and morality plays or given as part of other entertainments
- judgmatically
- sensible, indicating a well balanced decision
- judiciously
- having good or discriminating judgment; wise, sensible, or well-advised
- landsmen
- men who have never ventured out to sea
- lath
- a thin, narrow strip of wood, nailed to the studs of a building, for the purpose of supporting plaster
- leagues
- an association of individuals having a common goal
- lee
- when your standing next to something to block the wind or weather, that spot is the lee
- loitering
- standing around doing nothing; wasting time
- manhattoes
- people who live in Manhattan (the island borough of New York City, New York, USA)
- mast
- a pole, or long, strong, round piece of timber, or spar, set upright in a boat or vessel, to sustain the sails, yards, rigging, etc
- mast-head
- the topmost part of the mast
- maxim
- def
- mazy
- perplexed with turns and windings; winding; intricate
- metaphysical
- concepts above and beyond physical reality, such as God, the absolute, mind, matter
- methodically
- in a deliberate, oderly manner; systematically
- mole
- a massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater, or junction between places separated by water
- nigh
- near; near in place or time
- old hunks
- old miser; grumpy old man; old bully (slang)
- pedestrian
- lacking in vitality, imagination, distinction, etc.; commonplace; prosaic or dull
- perdition
- the utter loss of the soul, or of final happiness in a future state; future misery or eternal death; entire loss; utter destruction; ruin
- pier-heads
- the outward or seaward end of a pier or dock
- plaster
- a composition of lime, water, and sand used to coat walls
- plumb
- downright or absolute; reference to a plumb line (a small bit of lead tied to a line and used by masons and carpenters to establish a true vertical)
- portentous
- having forewarning properties of fear; something to be feared; indicating something is a bad omen
- prevalent
- widespread; found or existing everywhere
- programme
- a brief outline or explanation of the order things are to happen, or the subjects that will be covered, in any public exercise, performance, or entertainment (like the kind of 'program' you receive when you go the the circus or a ballgame)
- pythagorean maxim
- in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the sides
- quarter-deck
- the rear part of the uppermost deck on a ship, from which the Captain commands the sailing activities
- reverentially
- in a respectful manner
- reveries
- daydreams; absentminded dreaming while awake
- rigging
- the ropes supporting the masts and spars of a vessel, and serve as purchases for adjusting the sails
- river horse
- hippopotamus; a massive thick-skinned herbivorous animal living in or around rivers of tropical Africa
- robust
- indicating vigorous health
- salt
- an old or experienced sailor
- schooners
- a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts
- sentinels
- soldier who keeps guard; a person hired to watch for something to happen
- spar
- any round piece of timber used as a mast, yard, boom, or gaff
- spiles
- the posts used as a foundation for a dock; the piles
- spurs
- a lateral ridge projecting from a mountain or mountain range
- tar-pot
- the small pot held when tarring down the stays (various strong ropes for steadying masts)
- tranced
- a state of complete mental absorption or deep musing
- tribulations
- that which occasions distress, trouble, or vexation; severe affliction
- urbane
- courteous in manners; polite; refined; elegant
- waterward
- heading towards the water
- whale
- whale def
- wherefore
- whatever the reason for something happening; the cause or reason
Vocabulary from the book Moby Dick.
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