ACT I - Scene I — Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from ACT I - Scene I

unfold (verb)

To reveal or disclose one's identity; to make oneself known.

rivals (noun)

Partners or companions sharing a duty; not competitors, but those who share the same task.

liegemen (noun)

Sworn subjects or vassals who owe loyalty and service to a feudal lord or sovereign.

fantasy (noun)

Imagination or delusion; something believed to be unreal or merely imagined.

apparition (noun)

A ghost or ghostly figure; a supernatural appearance of a person or thing.

assail (verb)

To attack vigorously or persistently; here used figuratively to mean to bombard with a story.

illume (verb)

To illuminate or light up; a poetic contraction of "illuminate."

harrows (verb)

To cause intense distress or torment; to disturb deeply.

usurp'st (verb)

To seize or take possession of something without right; here, to wrongfully assume a form.

avouch (noun)

Proof, evidence, or guarantee; a formal assertion of truth.

parle (noun)

A parley or conference, especially between enemies under a truce.

portentous (adjective)

Serving as a sign or warning that something momentous or calamitous is about to happen; ominous.

emulate (adjective)

Driven by rivalry or ambition to equal or surpass another; competitively ambitious.

moiety (noun)

A portion or share, especially one of two equal parts of something.

harbingers (noun)

Persons or things that signal the approach of something; forerunners or advance signs.

partisan (noun)

A long-handled spear with a broad blade, used as a weapon by foot soldiers.

extravagant (adjective)

Wandering beyond normal bounds; straying outside one's proper place. An older sense of the word.

probation (noun)

Proof or demonstration; evidence that confirms something to be true.

climature (noun)

A region or climate; the area and its prevailing conditions.

russet (adjective)

A reddish-brown color, associated with coarse homespun cloth and the earthy tones of dawn.