By Friday, please post a word from
Life of Pi that you didn't recognize at first or that you think would make a useful and worthwhile vocabulary word. Post the word, a concise but thorough dictionary definition that makes sense in context, and the sentence (with citation) in which it appears in the text. For example:
attrition
(n.) a wearing down or weakening of resistance
Plan Number Six: Wage a War of Attrition (158).
**Please read through all previous posts to make sure you do not duplicate a word that has already been listed. Duplication of word leads to no credit.
Terraruim
ReplyDelete(n.) A place where land animals are kept simulating their natural environment inside behind glass.
We passesd birds, bears... the terrarium house (33).
terrarium not terraruim
DeleteTarpaulin
ReplyDelete(n.) a protective covering of canvas or other material waterproofed with tar, paint, or wax.
"I advanced over the tarpaulin." (131)
Esplanade
ReplyDelete(n.)a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk.
"A few days after meeting on the esplanade, I took my courage into my hands and went to see Father at his office" (90).
Clerical
ReplyDelete(Adj.) Doing the work of a clerk or clerks a clerical assistant; a clerical staff.
Richard Parker was so named because of a clerical error (132)
Nominally
ReplyDelete(adv.) by or as regards by name; in name.
Despite attending a nominally Christian school, I had not yet been inside a church- and I wasn't about to dare the deed now(51).
(n.) the quality or state of being drowsy and dull, listless and unenergetic, or indifferent and lazy; apathetic or sluggish inactivity.
ReplyDelete"It was all an excuse to keep our lethargy a little busy"(51).
(n.) the quality or state of being drowsy and dull, listless and unenergetic, or indifferent and lazy; apathetic or sluggish inactivity.
Delete"It was all an excuse to keep our lethargy a little busy"(51).
lethargy is the word
DeleteRevulsion
ReplyDelete(n.) a strong distaste or dislike. a sudden violent change of feeling or response in taste.
Shock, rvulsion and anger surged through me(120.
albeit
ReplyDelete(conjunction) although it be (that).
"Surely an orang-utan would smell of prey to a hyena, albeit a strange one, one to be remembered afterwards for producing stupendous hair balls, nonetheless better-tasting than an exhaust pipe and well worth looking out for when near trees" (122).
Toilsome
ReplyDelete(Adj): Involving hard or tedious work.
"Though tautly stretched at the end of the boat, it sagged a little in the middle; it made for three or four toilsome, bouncy steps" (Chapter 47).
Carrion
ReplyDelete(n.) Dead and putrefying flesh.
"These were not cowardly carrion-eaters [Hyenas]. If National Geographic portrayed them as such, it was because National Geographic filmed during the day" (Martel 116).
Insouciant
ReplyDelete(adj.) Free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.
"But in the final set, when the challenger has nothing left to lose, he becomes relaxed again, insouciant, daring" (Martel 135).
Lithesome
ReplyDelete(Adj.) Nimble, flexible.
"His presence was overwhelming, yet equally evident was the lithesome grace of it" (Martel 151).
lampoonery
ReplyDelete(noun) ridicule against an individual
" And other lampoonery of such kind" (70)
Plenitude
ReplyDelete(n.) the state of being full or complete
"I basked in bliss and plenitude for several minutes" (180).
Cache
ReplyDelete(n.)A hiding place especially for concealing and preserving provisions
"The floor lay flat agaisnt the hull; there could be no cache beneath it"(Martel 139).
Fistula
ReplyDelete(n.) An abnormal or surgically made passage between a hollow or tubular organ and the body surface, or between two hollow or tubular organs.
"It had a two-foot-wide hole in its body, a fistula like a freshly erupted volcano...if weakly" (128).
Samskara
ReplyDelete(n.) A purificatory ceremony or rite marking a major event in one's life.
"It's a Samskara!" Symbolic indeed(47).
Putrid
ReplyDelete(Adj.) In a state of foul decay or decomposition, as animal or vegetable matter; rotten.
"One of our sloth bears became seriously ill with severe hemorrhagic enteritis after being given fish that had gone putrid by a man who was convinced he was a doing a good deed(31).
Delirium
ReplyDelete(N.) Temporary disorder of mental facilities.
"I spent the night in a state of delirium" (132)
Passivity
ReplyDelete(n) The condition or quality of being inactivity.
"But the great beast was not behaving like a great beast, to such an extent that the hyena had taken liberties. Richard Parker's passivity, and for three long days, needed explaining"(137).
Scoundrel. (rolls off the tongue)
ReplyDelete(noun) a dishonest or unscrupulous person; a rogue.
"We're calling the police, you scoundrel" (17).
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ReplyDeleteRedoubtable
ReplyDelete(adj) Worthy of respect or honor.
"But I learned at the expense that Father believed there was another animal even more dangerous than us, and one that was extremely common, too, found on every continent, in every habitat: the redoubtable species Animalus anthropomorphicus, the animal as seen through human eyes" (Martel 31).
Catholicity
ReplyDeletebroad-mindedness or liberality, as of tastes, interests, or views.
"In fact, a hyena's catholicity of taste is so indiscriminate it nearly forces admiration" (Martel 117).
guttural
ReplyDelete(adj) Harsh; throaty
"The guttural eruptions and long flowing vowels rolled just beneath my comprehension like a beautiful brook" (Martel 62).
Exulted
ReplyDelete(vb) show or feel elation or jubilation, esp. as the result of a success
"It withdrew. I exulted. Orange Juice's stirring defense brought a new glow to my heart" (130).
Poignancy
ReplyDelete(adj)sharply distressing or painful to feelings.
"The words father, Mother, Ravi, India, Winnipeg struck me with searing poignancy"(148).
Hampered
ReplyDelete(v.) hinder or impede a/the movement
"Her fear was something useless that only hampered her" (131).
Chagrin
ReplyDelete(n.) A keen feeling of mental unease, as of annoyance or embarrassment, caused by failure, disappointment, or a disconcerting event
"And by this token, not much of a money-making venture, for the Greater Good and the Greater Profit are not compatible aims, much to Father's chagrin" (78).
Pandit
ReplyDelete(n.) A wise man or teacher: often used as a title of respect.
"'Balderdash! Christians know nothing about religion,' said the pandit" (67).
Throe
ReplyDelete(n.) a severe pang or spasm of pain
For the first time I noticed-as I would notice repeatedly during my ordeal, between one throe of agony and the next-that my suffering was taking place in a grand setting.
177
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ReplyDeleteprecarious
ReplyDelete(Adj.) Exposed or involving danger; dangerous; risky.
"This raft business was far too precarious"(Martel 154).
Conundrum
ReplyDelete(n.) A riddle, anything that puzzles
"Bengal tiger in a lifeboat twenty-six feet long was a conundrum" (Martel 134).
Galleon
ReplyDelete(n.) A ship of war
"The result was no galleon" (Martel 174).
Persnickety
ReplyDelete(adj.) overparticular; fussy.
"The point here is to make your animal understand that its upstairs neighbour is exceptionally persnickety about territory" (Martel 204).
Indolent -> Indolence
ReplyDeleteadj. having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful.
"[The sloth's] only real habit is indolence" (Martel 3).
Cataleptic
ReplyDeleteadj, trance like, frozen with shock
"Orange Juice had seemed practically cataleptic" (113).
sparse
ReplyDeleteadj. - thinly scattered or distributed
"You've seen them in sparse, semi-arid scrublands" (165).
Rufous
ReplyDelete(adj.)-tinged with red
"...Whose rufous lustre shone nearly with a radiance" (151).
forbearance
ReplyDelete(n)- refraining from something or patient endurance
"This forbearance of his part on hot, cloudless days,if that is what hit was and not simple laziness, was not good enough."(202)
incongruous
ReplyDelete(adj)- out of place, unbecoming
"And right there before me, in the midst of his workplace, he prayed. It was incongruous, but it was I who felt out of place" (pg 75 Chapter 18).
Malevolent
ReplyDeleteAdjective- having or showing a wish to do evil to others
"Our prize Borneo orang-utan matriarch, zoo star and mother of two fine boys, surrounded by a mass of black spiders that crawled around her like malevolent worshippers"(112).
arduous
ReplyDeleteadjective- involving or requiring strenuous effort
"Physically it is extraordinary arduous, and morally it is killing" (217).
Perpetual/perpetually-adjective/adverb; indefinetly continued
ReplyDelete"To be castaway is to be a point perpetually at the centre of a circle"(215).
acuity
ReplyDeletenoun
Sharpness of Vision; the visual ability to resolve fine detail
"On a scale of 2 to 10, where 2 represents unusual dullness and 10 extreme acuity, Beebe (1926) gave sloth's sense of taste, touch, sight and hearing a rating of 2, and its sense of smell a rating of 3" (4). In this passage, extreme acuity is describing what great ability in the five senses would be.
Fastidiously
ReplyDeleteAdverb
Excessively particularly, critically
"Whereas at first I gutted fish and peeled their skin fastidiously, soon I no more than rinsed off their slimy slipperiness before biting into them, delighted to have such a treat between my teeth" (212).
ascendancy
ReplyDeleten. Superiority or decisive advantage, domination
"The nature of the circus trainer's ascendancy is psychological," (ch. 13 55)
Chandler
ReplyDeleten. "a dealer or trader in supplies, provisions, etc., of a specialized type: a ship chandler."
"What ship chandler would not think of making a little extra money under the noble guise of saving lives" (135).
Sorry that this is really late
Evanescent
ReplyDeleteadj. soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing
"At multiple depths, as far as I could see, there were evanescent trails of phosphorescent green bubbles, the wake of fish speeding. " (Chapter 59, Page 175)
Placid
ReplyDeleteadj. Not easily upset or excited.
"It was a placid explosion of orange and red, a great chromatic symphony, a colour canvas of supernatural proportions, truly a splendid pacific sunset, quite wasted on me,
thrashing- Beat (a person or animal) repeatedly and violently with a stick or whip
ReplyDeleteDavits - any of various cranelike devices used singly or in pairs for supporting, raising, and lowering especially boats, anchors, and cargo over a hatchway or side of a ship.
ReplyDelete"It was leaning out from its davits, swinging in the storm, some twenty feet above water" (Martel chapter 39)