The Island of Dr. Moreau Study Guide

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