The Man Who Would be King Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from The Man Who Would be King

Kafiristan

A historical name for a remote, mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan, meaning "Land of the Unbelievers" in Arabic.

Rajah

An Indian king, prince, or chief; a ruler or nobleman in South Asia.

Martini-Henry

A breech-loading, single-shot rifle that was the standard-issue weapon of the British Army from 1871 to 1889.

Freemason

A member of an international fraternal organization (Freemasonry) that uses rituals, symbols, and secret handshakes, originating from medieval stonemason guilds.

Defile

A narrow passage or gorge, especially one through mountains that forces travelers into a single-file formation.

Loafer

In the British Raj context, an idle European vagrant or drifter living in India without respectable employment.

Contrack

A deliberate misspelling of "contract," reflecting the informal dialect of the characters; an agreement between two parties.

Crucified

Executed by being nailed or bound to a cross; subjected to extreme suffering.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, military force, or other means of control over foreign territories.

Hubris

Excessive pride or self-confidence, especially when it leads to a catastrophic downfall; a concept from Greek tragedy.

Zenana

The part of a house reserved for women in a South Asian household; the women's quarters.

Punkah

A large, swinging fan made of cloth stretched on a frame, pulled by a servant (a punkah-wallah) to cool rooms in colonial India.

Correspondent

A journalist who reports from a particular region or on a specific subject for a newspaper.

Penitent

Feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done something wrong; a person who repents.

Allegory

A narrative in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities, conveying a deeper meaning beyond the surface story.

Gorge

A narrow, steep-walled canyon or valley, often carved by a river through rocky terrain.