Heart of Darkness Study Guide

Glossary of Terms

alacrity

eagerness, readiness

astir

in movement

calico

flowered cloth

caliper

an instrument for measuring thickness

catacomb

underground tomb

chaff

the waste product from wheat

chummed

made friends with

circumvent

work around

commingling

mixing together

confab

(confabulation) conversation

crestfallen

disappointed, deflated

droll

amusing, provoking dry wit

duffer

incompetent, idiot

ebb

to decrease, diminish

emissary

messenger

ensign

flag or banner

entrails

organs, innards

errant

straying

estuary

a stream in which cold and hot water meet

exult

to celebrate, say with smugness

farcical

ridiculous

fecund

fertile

fisticuffs

using hands to box

fusillade

contemporaneous discharge of firearms

grubbing

obtaining in a sordid fashion

harlequin

a buffoon (stock character in light opera)

hummock

knoll

incontinent

unable to exercise self-control

inexorable

that which cannot be stopped

insoluble

something impossible to dissolve, break down to a smaller size

interloper

intruder

listlessly

without energy

litany

ceremonial or subscribed form of prayer

lugubrious

gloomy, mournful

magpies

loud birds attracted by bright things

meagre

small, lacking (also, meager)

mica

a shiny, black stone

moribund

near death

nautical

having to do with the ocean

ostentation

display of wealth, showing off

pendent

hanging, suspended

peroration

pompous speech

pestiferous

bringing disease

pestilence

an epidemic or widespread evil

prevaricator

liar

recondite

dealing with something profound or delicate

rend

to tear

requisite

necessary

sepulchre

tomb (also, sepulcher)

sheer

(nautical) to swerve, divert a boat from its path

somnambulist

sleepwalker

sordid

dirty, low

stanchion

a supporting pole or post

stand-offish

aloof, unfriendly

superciliousness

disdain, condescension

tenebrous

dark, gloomy

trenchant

piercing, perceptive

uncongenial

unpleasant, unfriendly

unscathed

unharmed

verandah

balcony, usually attached to a house

yarn

tale told by a sailor

yawl

a small boat