Chapter 13 — Vocabulary
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee — key words and definitions
Vocabulary Words from Chapter 13
- heredity
- The passing of physical or mental characteristics from one generation to the next through genetic or, in Aunt Alexandra's usage, social transmission.
- caste system
- A rigid social hierarchy in which people are ranked by birth and family background rather than individual achievement.
- tribal
- Relating to or characteristic of a tribe; used here to describe the clan-like loyalty families in Maycomb show toward their own.
- deportment
- A person's behavior or manner of conducting themselves, especially in terms of etiquette and social propriety.
- prerogative
- An exclusive right or privilege belonging to a particular person or group.
- amanuensis
- A person who writes or copies manuscripts; a literary assistant or secretary.
- dicta
- Formal pronouncements or authoritative statements; the plural of dictum.
- analogous
- Comparable in certain respects; similar enough to draw a comparison.
- gentle breeding
- The quality of coming from a well-born, refined, or socially distinguished family; good upbringing based on lineage.
- Providence
- The protective care of God or of nature; divine guidance or fate.
- apothecary
- A historical term for a person who prepared and sold medicines; an early pharmacist.
- ambrosia
- In mythology, the food of the gods; in Southern cooking, a dessert made with fruit, coconut, and whipped cream.
- entailment
- A legal restriction limiting the inheritance of property to a specified line of heirs.
- fanatical
- Filled with excessive and single-minded zeal; obsessively devoted to a belief or cause.