Death in Venice Study Guide

Glossary of Terms

cabana

a small hut on a beach used as a bathhouse

cipher

a symbol or key

collude

to conspire, become part of a confederacy

consummate (adj.)

extraordinary

cupola

a small dome-like lookout set on a roof

debauch

to corrupt morally

degeneracy

corrupt behavior, especially refering to sexual deviance

germicide

a chemical to kill germs

gesticulate

to gesture wildly

gondola

a lightweight boat used to travel through the canals in Venice

gondolier

a man who paddles a gondola

imminent

coming immediately

ineluctable

inevitable

loden

a coarse woollen fabric

lucidity

clarity

nebulous

unclear, misty

pellucid

transparent

perverse

cranky, perverted

quarantine

a period of time during which a person, house, or entire city is isolated because it is believed to carry contagious disease

retraction

a notice in a newspaper stating previously reported information was false

rouge

blush, makeup

sirocco

a hot and humid south or southeast wind that blows through Italy

sobriety

the opposite of intoxication

tootle

lowbrow music

vaporetto

a motorboat for transporting people along the canals in Venice