PART TWO: CHAPTER THIRTY -THREE - Jo's Journal — Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from PART TWO: CHAPTER THIRTY -THREE - Jo's Journal

seminary (noun)

A school or academy, especially for young women; here used playfully to describe Jo's group of charges.

meerschaum (noun)

A type of tobacco pipe made from a soft white mineral, often elaborately carved.

coquettish (adjective)

Behaving in a flirtatious or playfully teasing manner.

enfant terrible (noun)

A child who embarrasses adults by saying inappropriate or uncomfortably truthful things (French).

virtuously (adverb)

In a morally upright or dutiful manner; here used with mild self-mockery.

standish (noun)

A stand for holding pens, ink, and other writing implements; an inkstand.

Marchen (noun)

German word for fairy tales or folk tales.

briny (adjective)

Salty; relating to tears or the sea. Here Jo humorously refers to shedding salty tears.

atone (verb)

To make amends or compensate for something unpleasant.

effervescence (noun)

Liveliness, enthusiasm, and high spirits; literally, the quality of bubbling.

brocades (noun)

Rich fabrics woven with raised patterns, often in gold or silver thread.

derangement (noun)

Here used as a malapropism (by the character Mrs. Malaprop) meaning "arrangement." Literally, a state of disorder or insanity.

whippersnappers (noun)

Young, presumptuous, or overconfident people; used dismissively.

pathetic (adjective)

Arousing pity or sadness; pitiable. Used in the 19th-century sense without modern connotations of contempt.

koblods (noun)

Jo's rendering of "kobolds"—mischievous sprites or household spirits from German folklore.