Glossary of Terms
accost: To approach suddenly (in present-day English, usually aggressively or with sexual intent).
augur: To predict; to portend a good or bad outcome.
awful: Often used in the sense "awe-inspiring."
cavil: To make petty or unnecessary objections.
Cobb: A naturally-formed stone breakwater around the harbor at Lyme.
confinement: The period before giving birth during which a woman stays in bed.
countenance: One's face or facial expression.
crape: Archaic spelling of "crepe." A band of silk worn around one's hat as a sign of mourning; also designates light, silky fabric in general.
curate: A clergyman who assists the vicar, rector, or parish priest.
disapprobation: Strong disapproval, generally on moral grounds.
dowager: A woman with a title or property derived from her late husband.
eclat: Notoriety; conspicuousness; a brilliant display.
enquire: A variant of "inquire," chiefly British.
enure: Variant spelling of "inure." To become accustomed to something, usually unpleasant, as in "she was inured to his insults."
grazier: One who feeds cattle or sheep for market.
liminal: At a transitional stage of a process; at a threshold.
lowness: Depression.
Michaelmas: The feast of St. Michael, on September 29th.
palimpsest: A manuscript (or a piece of writing material, usually a papyrus or a parchment) on which more than one text has been written with the earlier writing erased but traces still visible. Figuratively, something reused but still containing visible traces of its previous form.
piano: Quiet, as in "he is too piano for me."
prudential: Involving careful forethought and consideration; prudent.
repulsive: Cold in manner, as in "she was not so repulsive."
Scheherezade: The Persian queen who is the storyteller of Arabian Nights, also known commmonly as A Thousand and One Nights. The Persian king married a virgin every night and sent her to be beheaded to next morning. Scheherezade survived by telling him a compelling story every night. By the end of a thousand and one nights, the king had been become wise and made Scheherezade his queen.
tantalize: Torment someone with the sight of something that is unobtainable.
underhung: Having a projecting jaw.
viscountess: The wife or widow of a viscount. A viscount ranked among the English peerage and sat among the House of Lords. For more on ranks and titles, see the "Additional Content" section of this ClassicNote.
want: Often used in the sense "need."
ClassicNote on Persuasion
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