Chekhov 1 Flashcards
plaintive
expressing sorrow “…it began to seem to him that it was the grass singing; in its song, half dead, already perished, wordless, but plaintive and sincere, it was trying to persuade someone that it was not to blame for anything…” (17) MD PLAINtive - explain + pain - Plaintiff- a person who brings a case against another person in a court of law. The plaintiff is expressing sorrow.
languorous
adj. lacking spirit or liveliness resulting from a dreamy boredom or delicacy
- “it is frightening, beautiful, and caressing, it looks at you languorously and beckons, and its caress makes your head spin.” languid refers to an unwillingness or inability to exert oneself due to fatigue or physical weakness languorous suggests a dreamy boredom and delicacy that avoids unnecessary activity MD The sun put Lane in a languorous state making him unwilling to go through all the steps of measuring turbidity.
- languid, languorous, lackadaisical, listless, spiritless mean lacking energy or enthusiasm. languid refers to an unwillingness or inability to exert oneself due to fatigue or physical weakness (was depressed and languid for weeks after surgery). languorous suggests a dreamy boredom and delicacy that avoids unnecessary activity (languorous cats lying in the sun). lackadaisical implies a carefree indifference marked by half-hearted efforts (lackadaisical college seniors pretending to study). listless suggests a lack of interest caused by physical weakness or dissatisfied boredom (listless hospital patients)(listless children flipping through picture books on a rainy day). spiritless refers to a lack of animation or vigor that gives one’s actions and words life (a spiritless recital of the poem).
degenerating
grow worse “…I should find an explanation and a justification of my absurd life in somebody’s theories, in literary types, in the fact, for instance, that we nobleman are degenerating, and so on…” (119) MD regeneration - formation of new plant or animal tissue - degeneration - to grow worse physically
neurasthenia
a condition that is characterized especially by physical and mental exhaustion usually with accompanying symptoms (such as headache and irritability), is of unknown cause but is often associated with depression or emotional stress, and is sometimes considered similar to or identical with chronic fatigue syndrome
- “What’s needed here is a fight to the death, and what sort of fighter am I? A pathetic neurasthenic, an idler…”
Circassian
adj relating to or denoting a group of mainly Sunni Muslim peoples of the northwest Caucasus.
modish
adj. in the current fashion or style “…and that she need not have spent time on a modish hairdo, because there was no one there to attract and no reason for doing so.” (126) MD de la moda - fashionable
viscous
adj. having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid; having a high viscosity: viscous lava. “Sluggish, viscous thoughts, all about the same thing, dragged through his brain like a long wagon train on a rainy autumnal day, and he lapsed into a drowsy, oppressed state.” MD - Vermont SyrUp is ViScoUs
undulant
having a rising and falling motion or appearance like that of waves; undulating. “Samolienko said she had undulant fever and gave her quinine…” 130 UndUlant like UndUlating - follow the track of the U, it has a falling then rising motion.
quinine
n. a bitter alkaloid extracted from chinchona bark; used in malaria therapy MD - The bitter taste of quinine led British colonials in India to mix it with gin -creating the gin and tonic.
alkaloid
n. any of a class of nitrogenous organic compounds of plant origin that have pronounced physiological actions on humans. They include many drugs (morphine, quinine) and poisons (atropine, strychnine) MD - first alkaloid was morphine isolated from the poppy in 1804. poppy - plant origin and morphine nitrogenous organic compound - C17H19NO3
tonic
- a medicinal substance or something that has an invigorating effect.
tonic water
noun a bitter carbonated soft drink made with quinine, used esp. as a mixer with gin or other liquors (originally used as a stimulant of appetite and digestion). MD - The bitter taste of quinine led British colonials in India to mix it with gin -creating the gin and tonic.
cholera
any of several diseases of humans and domestic animals usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms; especially : an acute diarrheal disease caused by an enterotoxin produced by a comma-shaped gram-negative bacillus (Vibrio cholerae synonym V. comma) when it is present in large numbers in the proximal (see proximal 2) part of the human small intestine
meritorious
adj deserving honor or esteem. “Drowning him would be meritorious.” (134) MD - Merry Christmas in honor of the meritorious Jesus Christ. I can not think of someone deserving more reward or praise!!!!
chide
- displeasure or disappointment expressed in mild reproof or scolding (reproached him for tardiness) (chided by their mother for untidiness).
- reprove,rebuke, reprimand, admonish, reproach, chide mean to criticize adversely. reprove implies an often kindly intent to correct a fault (gently reproved my table manners). rebuke suggests a sharp or stern reproof (the papal letter rebuked dissenting clerics). reprimand implies a severe, formal, often public or official rebuke (reprimanded by the ethics committee). admonish suggests earnest or friendly warning and counsel (admonished by my parents to control expenses). reproach and chide suggest displeasure or disappointment expressed in mild reproof or scolding (reproached him for tardiness) (chided by their mother for untidiness).
- “In the quality of a friend, I chided him, asking why he drank so much, why he lived beyond his means and ran up debts, why he did nothing and read nothing, why he had so little culture and so little knowledge…” (136)
psychosomatic
- of, relating to, concerned with, or involving both mind and bodythe psychosomatic nature of man — Herbert Ratner
- of, relating to, involving, or concerned with bodily symptoms caused by mental or emotional disturbance psychosomatic symptoms psychosomatic medicine
