Chapter 14 - Nantucket — Vocabulary
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville — key words and definitions
Vocabulary Words from Chapter 14 - Nantucket
- terraqueous
- Consisting of or relating to both land and water.
- gamesome
- Playful, sportive, or frolicsome.
- wights
- People or creatures (archaic).
- spile
- A wooden plug or spigot used to stop a hole, especially in a barrel.
- quahogs
- Hard-shelled edible clams native to the eastern coast of North America.
- circumnavigations
- Complete journeys around something, especially the earth, by water.
- portentousness
- The quality of being ominously significant or impressively solemn.
- Himmalehan
- An archaic or variant spelling of Himalayan, meaning immense or towering like the Himalaya mountains.
- chamois
- A goat-antelope native to European mountains; here, chamois hunters are those who pursue them in the Alps.
- extravaganzas
- Elaborate, fanciful, or wildly exaggerated statements or stories.
- lament
- A passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
- privateers
- Privately owned ships authorized by a government to attack enemy vessels; also their crews.
- furls
- Rolls up and secures (a sail, flag, or umbrella) neatly.
- hillock
- A small hill or mound.
- oasis
- A fertile spot in a desert or barren area; a place of relief amid difficulty.