H Flashcards
haiku
a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.
• an English imitation of this.
hansom
a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage accommodating two inside, with the driver seated behind.
harbinger
a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another: witch hazels are the harbingers of spring.
• a forerunner of something: these works were not yet opera, but they were the most important harbinger of opera.
harp
a musical instrument, roughly triangular in shape, consisting of a frame supporting a graduated series of parallel strings, played by plucking with the fingers. The modern orchestral harp has an upright frame, with pedals that enable the strings to be retuned to different keys.
harp 1
2 another term for harmonica: Papa had been teaching him to play the blues harp.
harrier
a person who engages in persistent attacks on others or incursions into their land.
a hound of a breed used for hunting hares.
• a cross-country runner.
a long-winged, slender-bodied bird of prey with low quartering flight.
hazel
a temperate shrub or small tree with broad leaves, bearing prominent male catkins in spring and round hard-shelled edible nuts in autumn.
a reddish-brown or greenish-brown color, esp. of someone’s eyes.
heathen
a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (esp. one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do.
a follower of a polytheistic religion; a pagan.
hector
talk to (someone) in a bullying way
a Trojan warrior, son of Priam and Hecuba and husband of Andromache
heighten
make (something) higher.
make or become more intense
heinous
wicked
heir presumptive
an heir whose claim could be set aside by the birth of another heir.
hellenistic
of or relating to Greek history, language, and culture from the death of Alexander the Great to the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Antony by Octavian in 31 bc.
herald
an official messenger bringing news.
a person or thing viewed as a sign that something is about to happen: they considered the first primroses as the herald of spring.
herculean
requiring great strength or effort: a Herculean task.
(of a person) muscular and strong.
high-flown
(esp. of language or ideas) extravagant and lofty.
hinterland
the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river.
an area surrounding a town or port and served by it: the city had grown prosperous by exploiting its local western hinterland.
an area lying beyond what is visible or known: in the hinterland of his mind these things rose, dark and ominous.
hoist
raise (something) by means of ropes and pulleys: high overhead great cranes hoisted girders.
• raise or haul up: she hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder.
homonym
each of two or more words having the same spelling but different meanings and origins (e.g., pole1 and pole2); a homograph.
• each of two words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling (e.g., to , too, and two); a homophone.
hone
sharpen with a whetstone.
• (usu. be honed) make sharper or more focused or efficient: their appetites were honed by fresh air and exercise.
honorarium
a payment given for professional services that are rendered nominally without charge.
hoodwink
deceive or trick (someone): an attempt to hoodwink the public.
hors d’oeuvre
a small savory dish, typically one served as an appetizer at the beginning of a meal.
horticulturist
the person with skills and knowledge of garden cultivation and management.
hot button
a topic or issue that is highly charged emotionally or politically: the hot-button issue of nuclear waste disposal.
