Poe's Short Stories Glossary

Glossary of Terms

auto-da-fe

A public ceremony that took place during the Spanish Inquisition in which the offender was read his sentence, accompanied by a sermon and a round of prayer

catalepsy

A state in which a person's muscles are rigid and he/she is completely non-responsive

cerement

A burial garment

depose

To testify under oath for a recorded document that may later be used in a court of law

draughts

The British term for checkers

effulgence

A burning brilliance

fathom

A naval term for six feet of depth

gallows

The structure from which a noose is attached and on which a hanging occurs

gendarme

A member of the French police

in articulo mortis

Latin phrase for "at the point of death"

jaggeree

Usually spelled "jaggery," a type of unrefined sugar made from the sap of a palm tree

Mason

A builder who works with stone or brick; A member of the Freemasons, an international fraternal organization

mesmerism

Synonym for hypnotism, named for Franz Anton Mesmer, who believed that he could make his hypnotized subjects do incredible things through a magnetic influence

mummer

An actor or partygoer who wears a mask or costume

nitre

A form of potassium nitrate otherwise known as saltpeter, which is used in making gunpowder; also spelled "niter"

parvenu

Someone who has only recently joined a higher socioeconomic class

perverseness

A state of obstinately wanting to be opposed to what is correct or good

Procrustean

Forcing conformity, named for the mythological Greek character Procrustes, who waylaid travelers and killed them by forcing them to conform to the size of his bed either by pulling or by cutting away body parts

purloin

To steal

scantling

Pieces of lumber used in the framework of a building

scarabæus

A type of dung beetle

Simoom

A dry, dusty, cyclone-like wind that appears in the deserts of Africa and the Middle East; in Poe's "MS. Found in a Bottle" it resembles a combination of a simoom and a typhoon, as it occurs on water

Spanish Inquisition

A church tribunal which was established by Ferdinand II and Isabella I to enforce Catholicism in Spain