The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Study Guide

Glossary of Terms

adamant

unyielding

behoove

benefit

bevy

group of people

burthen

burden

capacious

big enough to contain a large quantity

chanticleer

rooster

cognomen

nickname or name that describes somebody

con

to study or examine something with great care and attention

descried

caught sight of

despotic

tyrannical

dexterous

skillful; deft

domiciliated

provided with a place of residence

enter the lists

to begin to take part in a fight

errant

wayward

erudition

knowledge acquired through study and reading

ever and anon

frequently; often

fain

happily; with eagerness

ferule

an instrument of punishment used to strike children, such as a cane or rod

furbished

polished; restored to good repair

gambols

playful leaping around

harbinger

something that foreshadows a future event

Hessian

someone from Hesse, in Germany

imbibed

taken in and assimilated

inveterate

habitual or firmly established

itinerant

traveling from place to place

laud

high praise

linsey-woolsey

a coarse twill fabric

listless

lacking energy, interest, or the willingness to make an effort

niggardly

not generous

onerous

representing a great burden or trouble

peradventure

perhaps

perambulations

wanderings about on foot

pertinacious

determinedly resolute

pillions

a seat for a passenger behind the rider of a horse

potentate

somebody with great power or authority

propensity

a tendency to demonstrate particular behaviors

psalmody

the singing of psalms for divine worship

purport

meaning or significance

rantipole

wild; boisterous

ratiocination

logical argument

redoubtable

formidable

reverie

daydream; a state of idle, pleasant contemplation

roistering

carousing

sequestered

isolated, especially from the pressures of everyday life and its disturbances

sloop

single-masted sailing boat

snipe

a wading bird with a long straight beak

sojourned

stayed for a time in a specific place

stave

staff of music

stomacher

a stiff panel of material, often decorated with jewels or embroidery, worn over the chest and stomach of women in the 17th and 18th centuries

stripling

a boy in his early teenage years, who is not fully grown

sumptuous

extravagant; magnificent

supernumerary

extra; above the normal or required amount

syllogism

a formal logical argument made up of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion

tractable

very easy to control; docile

varlet

rascal

weathercock

a weather vane shaped like a rooster

wended

traveled along a route

withe

a flexible twig or stem used to bind something