Rudyard Kipling: Poems

Rudyard Kipling: Poems Glossary

aeon

an extremely long period of time

bandolier

a pocketed belt for holding ammunition

barricks

a different spelling of barracks - lodgings for soldiers

benighted

ignorant; unenlightened

blackguard

a rude or unscrupulous person

blowzy

sloppy; unkempt; coarse in appearance

byres

cow barns

calkins

cleats on horses' shoes to prevent them from slipping

cankered

corrupted

cheroot

a type of cigar in Burma or India

cleave

split or sever

cohort

a group of soldiers

contrite

sorry or remorseful

dominion

supreme authority; sovereignty

dooli

stretcher

dower

another term for dowry

dun

a horse with a grayish-yellow coat and a black mane and tail

flotilla

a formation of small warships

hathi

Hindi for elephant

iniquity

evil or injustice

knaves

tricky, deceitful persons

lance

fierce warrior

pomp

ostentatious or vain show of magnificence

prow

the forward most part of a ship's bow that cuts through the water

rapine

pillage; plunder

riven

wrenched, split apart with violence

serf

a peasant

shoal

a sandbar or shallow place in a body of water

sloth

apathy and laziness of a spiritual sort

snaffle-bar

part of a bit mouthpiece used on horses

tawdry

cheap or gaudy in clothing or appearance

trichies

Indian cigars

tumult

a commotion; a loud agitation

twain

an archaic word for two