IX. The Leech — Vocabulary
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne — key words and definitions
Vocabulary Words from IX. The Leech
- appellation
- A name or title by which someone is known.
- ignominious
- Deserving or causing public disgrace or shame.
- chirurgical
- An archaic spelling and form of "surgical"; relating to surgery.
- pharmacopoeia
- An official publication listing medicines and drugs, their effects, and directions for use.
- importunate
- Persistent and demanding in an annoying or unreasonable way.
- sagacity
- The quality of having keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewdness.
- emaciated
- Abnormally thin or weak, especially because of illness or lack of food.
- deportment
- A person's behavior or manners; the way one conducts oneself.
- subtile
- An archaic form of "subtle"; thin, delicate, or difficult to perceive.
- heterogeneous
- Diverse in character or content; composed of parts of different kinds.
- reverential
- Feeling or showing deep and solemn respect.
- pilloried
- Put in a pillory (a wooden framework with holes for head and hands used for public punishment); publicly ridiculed or scorned.
- ponderous
- Slow and clumsy because of great weight; heavy and unwieldy.
- physic
- Medicine or medical treatment; the practice of healing.
- diffused
- Spread out over a large area or among many people; widely dispersed.