Chapter XIII: House-Warming — Vocabulary
Walden Pond by Henry David Thoreau — key words and definitions
Vocabulary Words from Chapter XIII: House-Warming
- coddling
- A method of cooking fruit gently in water just below boiling, preserving it for later use.
- indigenous
- Originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.
- promontory
- A high point of land or rock projecting into a body of water.
- complacent
- Showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements.
- discomfiture
- A feeling of embarrassment or unease; the state of being disconcerted.
- purprestures
- In old forest law, illegal encroachments or enclosures made on royal or public land.
- expiatory
- Serving to atone for or make amends for wrongdoing or guilt.
- propitious
- Giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable.
- fagots
- Bundles of sticks or twigs bound together, used as fuel.
- torpid
- Mentally or physically inactive; sluggish; numb.
- genial
- Pleasantly warm; conducive to growth or comfort (archaic sense, distinct from the modern meaning of "friendly").
- lenticular
- Shaped like a lentil or biconvex lens; rounded on both sides.
- cumbrous
- Difficult to manage because of weight or complexity; unwieldy.
- palaver
- Unnecessarily elaborate or empty talk; prolonged and idle discussion.
- tropes
- Figurative uses of words; figures of speech such as metaphors.
- firkin
- A small cask used for storing butter, lard, or other provisions, typically holding about a quarter-barrel.