Glossary of Terms
Abject: low, worthless, wretched
Accentuation: the act of emphasizing or distinguishing something
Affectation: a pretense or display
Aft: in nautical terms, close to the stern or rear of a vessel
Akimbo: hands on hips, elbows bowed outwards
Ambuscades: ambushes
Anecdotes: short accounts of individual events
Animosities: bitter and deep hatreds
Aperture: an opening
Ardour: great intensity and emotion
Arrant: completely and undeniably so
Askance: off to the side, implying suspicion or secrecy
Attenuated: weakened, lost intensity or strength
Augury: an event or sign that indicates things to come
Bar of deal: a bar of pine or fir wood
Behoved: was fitting or necessary
Berth: a small space sufficient for an action
Bilin': a great amount of something
Binnacle: a case that holds a ship's compass
Blood-corpuscles: blood cells
Bogle: a phantom or imaginary creature
Bowsprit: a length of wood running out from a ship's bow
Buff-colored: a pale yellowish pink or yellowish brown
Bulwark: the part of ship's side above the deck, or something used as a defense or a safeguard
Burthen: a burden
Cane-brake: a clump of canes
Caper: to frolic, canter, or scamper
Cerebration: the use of one's mind; the actual action of thinking
Circuitous: following a roundabout path
Circumspection: caution, watchfulness
Colloquy: a conversation
Combing of the hatchway: the frame surrounding an opening in a ship's deck that blocks water from passing through
Companion: A ladder that connects between decks in a ship
Complaisance: a tendency to yield or comply
Comus rout: a reference to Comus, the son of the mythical enchantress Circe, who transformed sailors into animals
Consternation: anxiety or discomfort caused by suspicion or fear
Contagion: the transfer of emotions or other conditions through a group
Cordon: a chain of people
Corrugated: characterized by parallel grooves and ridges
Cower: to draw back or tremble in fright
Cringed: withdrew or winced fearfully
Curio: an oddity
Dappled: Spotted
Darkling: darkening
Decorum: appropriate and dignified behavior
Degradation: a transition to a worse condition
Deification: the idolization of a person as a god
Deliquescing: decaying
Denizens: inhabitants
Derelict: ancient, deacying, and abandoned
Deterred: impeded, argued against
Dexterous: agile
Diametrically: exactly opposite to
Dinghy: a small boat
Discernment: good judgment and clever perception
Discordant: without harmony; conflicting
Disinclination: unwillingness or reluctance to do something
Downland: an area of open chalk
Duck things: cotton or linen garments
Enjoined: ordered or instructed
Epiphyte: a plant that grows on another but is not parasitic
Expedient: appropriate or necessary for a goal
Expostulation: the act of expressing strong opposition or protest
Extricate: to remove or take out
Exultation: great happiness
Feral: bestial, menacing
Fetter: a restraint
Flaxen: pale grayish-yellow
Flayed: the condition of having one's skin stripped off
Flotsam: floating trash
Flushdeck: a deck stretching from stem to stern
Foliaceous: having or resembling leaves
Forecastle: region of the upper deck at the bow, in front of the foremast
Fortnight: a period of two weeks
Fraught: full of, especially of things associated with fear or danger
Fuddled: quite drunk
Fumaroles: hole that emits hot smoke and gases
Fusees: large-headed matches
Gait: a specific manner of walking
Garrulous: excessively wordy or chatty
Gesticulating: pointing or gesturing
Gibberish: nonsense
Gibing: taunting, making fun of
Gid: disease of sheep and goats that is associated with loss of balance and unsteadiness
Gig: A small boat
Gingerly: carefully or apprehensively
Glutinous: of or resembling glue
Goad: to prod
Grafting: surgically transplanting a body part or flesh
Gunwale: the upper edge of a ship's side
Guttural: harsh, from deep within the throat
Half-jocular: almost joking
Halitus: a vapor or exhalation
Hazed: harassed or bullied
Headland: an area extending out over a body of water
Heeling: coming closely, as if to one's heels
Homunculus: a diminutive or counterfeit human
Hove: moved in a specific direction
Hovel: a small, squat living area
Hunter's cockspur: refers to an experiment in vivisection by John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon
Hutch: a pen or coop for small animals
Idyllic: resembling paradise; simple and serene
Incessant: without pause or interruption
Incisor: a cutting, sharp tooth in the front of the mouth
Incongruously: incorrectly, illogically
Incontinently: unrestrained
Incrustation: a hard covering or crust
Indiscretion: an ill-thought-out action
Indisputable: without a doubt
Induce: to stimulate or cause to act
Indurated: hardened
Inevitable: unavoidable
Inimical: hostile or dangerous
Injunction: command
Inoculation: immunization
Interlacing: connected or criss-crossing
Interlocutor: one involved in a conversation
Interposed: came between
Intimated: subtly indicated or told
Intrinsic: inherent, inborn
Inundate: to overwhelm or deluge
Jabbered: gabbled
Jaded: cynically experienced or weary
Kanakas: South Sea islanders
Kennel: a lair or shelter for an animal, especially a dog
Kindred: related to, linked by family
Limber: flexible and agile
Litany: a religious reading or recital
Lithe: graceful, supple
Liturgy: rituals of public worship
Lolling: lying in a relaxed manner
Luxuriant: rich or ornate, especially with regard to growth
Mahomet's houri in the dark: refers to the Koran's description of Paradise; an houri is the black-eyed virgin who belongs to every true male believer
Marshaled: led or readied
Masticated: chewed
Materialist: someone who thinks that nothing exists but physical matter and motion, that spiritual matters including consciousness, emotions, and the will either do not really exist or can be fully described in mere scientific terms
Maudlin: excessively sad or mournful
Meridian: middle, in between, half
Mew: to cry or whine in the manner of a cat
Miasmatic: toxic, as if full of noxious vapors
Mizzen: the mast nearer the stern in relation to the mainmast
Monogamy: having only one sexual or romantic partner
Morass: a difficult region of swampy, cumbersome land
Mountebank: a flamboyant faker
Muddled: confused and vague
Multifarious: numerous and diverse
Multitudes: masses or mobs
Muster: to summon or gather
Obliquely: toward or at one side
Oblong: resembling an ellipse
Officiously: in an excessively earnest manner
Ollendorffian: refers to Heinrich Ollendorf, a German educator and author of foreign-language grammars
Ominous: menacing or threatening
Omnibuses: long buses characteristic of London
Ostentatiously: in a pretentious and overly elaborate manner
Ovine: of sheep
Pallid: pale or dim
Paraffin: a wax substance used in candles
Peaked: ending in a peak or a point
Perforce: by necessity
Perpetually: seemingly uninterrupted
Petulance: an irritable, cross feeling
Phlegm: saliva and mucus
Piggin: a small pail
Pigmentary: of pigments (substances used to produce color)
Plasticity: the property of being physically changeable and workable
Precipitous: with great haste and little thought
Pretence: an artful, affected, simulated front or manner
Prevailed: proved superior or valid
Prig: a conceited person overly devoted to etiquette and rules
Privations: deprivations
Profuse: plentiful, extravagant
Prognathous: having a projecting jaw
Promontory: a headland
Propitiatory: having power to or intending to appease or atone
Prostrate: the action or quality of being low to the ground, often submissively so
Protuberant: swelling outward, bulging
Puckering: forming wrinkles or folds
Pugnacious: combative, belligerent
Pumiceous: abrasive; referring to pumice, a common volcanic rock
Pungent: penetrating, biting, acrid
Pyre: a pile of materials intended for burning a corpse
Quandary: a problem or predicament
Rabble: a crowd of common and undistinguished people
Radula of the snail: the movable, toothed part of a snail's mouth, used for scraping and drawing in food
Recrudescence: return
Reminiscence: the act of remembering or a memory itself
Remonstrance: an expression of protest or opposition
Rending: ripping apart
Repugnance: extreme dislike or aversion
Reticent: cool, disinclined to talk or draw attention
Retrospect: hindsight
Reverting: returning to a former condition
Rivulet: a small brook or stream
Roving: traveling without any clear or obvious destination
Rudiments: the most basic elements
Saturnine: bitter, scornful, sardonic
Satyr: a mythical half-man, half-goat creature prone to wild merrymaking
Scalding: boiling, scorching, searing
Scampering: rushing about hurriedly
Scant: barely any
Schooner: a rigged ship with two or more masts
Scoriae: volcanic outcrops of aerated rock
Scuttle: a small hole in the side of a ship
Seamed: connected by seams, sewn together
Sensibility: awareness
Sentinel: a guard or sentry
Serfs: people in bondage or service
Serge: a twilled woolen fabric
Shambling: shuffling
Shrouds: ropes attached to the head of the mast that reduce lateral strain
Silhouette: a dark outline on a light background
Sinuous: having many curves or bends
Slöjd: the teaching of woodwork (slöjd is Swedish for "handicrafts")
Sojourn: a temporary residence
Solace: comfort or consolation
Solicitude: excessive concern
Sombre: grave, gloomy, or dull
Sophistry: an invalid argument that nonetheless displays skillful reasoning intended to persuade and deceive
Soughing: a soft murmuring
Spankers: fore-and-aft sails on the rear mast
Spasm: a sudden surge of energy or muscular contraction
Speculative: risky, inconclusive
Stagnant: stale, still
Standing lugs: four-cornered sails spread or hoisted
Stupor: diminished or suspended mental awareness
Subsequently: following, next
Succulent: enjoyable, juicy
Sullenness: a gloomy, sulky feeling
Sulphurous: oppressively hot, humid, or harsh
Superficially: in appearance alone
Swathed: wrapped or bound in bandages
Swinish: resembling pigs
Taciturn: reserved, quiet, uncommunicative
Tactile: of, relating to, or stimulating the sense of touch
Taffrail: the rail at the stern of a ship
Taint: an infecting touch, influence, or stain
Tawny: a light brown or brownish orange
Tedium: boredom due to length or slowness
Temerity: impetous or reckless behavior
Tepid: unenthusiastic, uninteresting
Thwarts: the seats or benches of a rowboat
Tracery: a work of criss-crossing or branching lines
Tranquil: peaceful, steady, even
Transfusion: the transfer of blood
Transitory: temporary, passing
Traversing: going over, across, or through
Travesty: an exaggerated imitation
Trepidation: apprehension
Trifle: an unimportant or worthless thing
Tumult: a sudden, disorderly disturbance
Uncanny: almost supernaturally keen
Uncouth: awkward, rough
Unison: agreement, unity
Unvictualled: lacking supplies, especially food
Vestiges: traces
Vexation: the feeling or source of annoyance
Vigilant: on the alert; watchful
Virago: a large, strong, courageous woman
Vivisection: scientific experimentation on animals, especially with regard to surgery
Votary: a fervent devotee or disciple
Vulpine: fox-like
Wan: pale, drained
Wanton: gratuitously and unnecessarily cruel
Weltering: tossing and turning unrestrainedly
Winded: moved in a curving or twisting course
Yawed: moved unsteadily; weaved
Yawp: a bark or yelp
Yokel: a rustic or bumpkin
Zenith: peak
Zodiacal: part of or referring to the zodiac
ClassicNote on The Island of Dr. Moreau
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