Unit11 Flashcards
cantata
A musical composition, particularly a religious work from the 17th or 18th century, for one or more voices accompanied by instruments.
eg. Composers of the 18th century composed sacred cantatas by the dozen, and Bach’s friend G. P. Telemann actually wrote over a thousand.
incantation
(1) A use of spells or verbal charms spoken or sung as part of a ritual of magic. (2) A formula of words used in, or as if in, such a ritual.
eg. He repeated the words slowly over and over like an incantation.
cantor
An official of a Jewish synagogue who sings or chants the music of the services and leads the congregation in prayer.
eg. The congregation waited for the cantor to begin the prayers before joining in.
descant
An additional melody sung above the principal melody.
eg. The soprano added a soaring descant to the final chorus that held the listeners spellbound.
linguistics
The study of human speech.
eg. The new speechwriter, who had majored in linguistics, was soon putting his knowledge of the deceptive tricks of language to good use.
multilingual
Using or able to use several languages.
eg. She soon discovered that he was truly multilingual, fluent in not only the German and Polish he had grown up speaking but in English and Arabic as well.
lingua
A language used as a common or commercial language among peoples who speak different languages.
eg. That first evening in Tokyo, she heard English being spoken at the next table, and realized it was serving as a lingua franca for a party of Korean and Japanese businessmen.
linguine
A narrow, flat pasta.
eg. As a test of her clients’ table manners, she would serve them challenging dishes and watch to see how gracefully they could handle chopsticks or deal with long, slithery linguine.
spirited
Full of energy or courage; very lively or determined.
eg. The team put up a spirited defense, but they were doomed from the start.
dispiriting
Causing a loss of hope or enthusiasm.
eg. It was terribly dispiriting for them to lose yet another game, and he had to reassure his daughter that she’d actually done a great job as goalie.
respirator
(1) A device worn over the nose and mouth to filter out dangerous substances from the air. (2) A device for maintaining artificial respiration.
eg. His lungs had been terribly damaged by decades of heavy smoking, and he’d been living on a respirator for the last year.
transpire
(1) To happen. (2) To become known.
eg. We kept up our questioning, and it soon transpired that the boys had known about the murder all along .
verify
(1) To prove to be true or correct. (2) To check or test the accuracy of.
eg. It is the bank teller’s job to verify the signature on a check.
aver
To state positively as true; declare.
eg. The defendant averred that she was nowhere near the scene of the crime on the night in question.
verisimilitude
(1) The appearance of being true or probable. (2) The depiction of realism in art or literature.
eg. By the beginning of the 20th century, the leading European painters were losing interest in verisimilitude and beginning to experiment with abstraction.
veracity
(1) Truth or accuracy. (2) The quality of being truthful or honest.
eg. We haven’t been able to check the veracity of most of his story, but we know he wasn’t at the motel that night.
turbid
(1) Thick or murky, especially with churned-up sediment. (2) Unclear, confused, muddled.
eg. The mood of the crowd was restless and turbid, and any spark could have turned them into a mob.
perturb
To upset, confuse, or disarrange.
eg. News of the new peace accord was enough to perturb some radical opponents of any settlements.
turbine
A rotary engine with blades made to turn and generate power by a current of water, steam, or air under pressure.
eg. The power plant used huge turbines powered by water going over the dam to generate electricity.
turbulent
(1) Stirred up, agitated. (2) Stirring up unrest, violence, or disturbance.
eg. The huge ocean liner Queen Elizabeth II was never much troubled by turbulent seas that might have sunk smaller boats.
voluble
Speaking readily and rapidly; talkative.
eg. He proved to be a voluble informer who would tell stories of bookies, smugglers, and hit men to the detectives for hours.
devolve
((1) To pass (responsibility, power, etc.) from one person or group to another person or group at a lower level of authority. (2) To gradually go from an advanced state to a less advanced state.
eg. Since 1998, considerable power has been devolving from the British government in London to the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
evolution
A process of change from a lower, simpler, or worse state to one that is higher, more complex, or better.
eg. Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers believed that political evolution reached its highest form in democracy.
convoluted
(1) Having a pattern of curved windings. (2) Involved, intricate.
eg. After 10 minutes, Mr. Collins’s strange story had become so convoluted that none of us could follow it.
factor
Something that contributes to producing a result: ingredient.
eg. The most important factor in the success of the treaty talks was the physical presence of the two presidents.
factotum
A person whose job involves doing many different kinds of work.
eg. Over the years she had become the office factotum, who might be doing legal research one day and organizing the company picnic the next.
facile
(1) Easily accomplished. (2) Shallow, superficial.
eg. The principal made a facile argument for the school’s policy, but no one was convinced.
facilitate
To make (something) easier; to make (something) run more smoothly.
eg. Her uncle hadn’t exactly gotten her the job, but he had certainly facilitated the process.
lumen
In physics, the standard unit for measuring the rate of the flow of light.
eg. The lumen is a measure of the perceived power of light.
luminous
(1) Producing or seeming to produce light. (2) Filled with light.
eg. She ended her recital with a luminous performance of Ravel’s song cycle, and the crowd called her back for repeated encores.
bioluminescent
Relating to light given off by living organisms.
eg. Most of the light emitted by bioluminescent marine organisms is blue or blue-green.
luminary
A very famous or distinguished person.
eg. Entering the glittering reception room, she immediately spotted several luminaries of the art world.
muse
A source of inspiration; a guiding spirit.
eg. At 8:00 each morning he sat down at his desk and summoned his muse, and she almost always responded.
iridescent
Having a glowing, rainbowlike play of color that seems to change as the light shifts.
eg. The children shrieked with glee as the iridescent soap bubbles floated away in the gentle breeze.
mausoleum
(1) A large tomb, especially one built aboveground with shelves for the dead. (2) A large, gloomy building or room.
eg. The family’s grand mausoleum occupied a prominent spot in the cemetery, for all the good it did the silent dead within.
mentor
A trusted counselor, guide, tutor, or coach.
eg. This pleasant old gentleman had served as friend and mentor to a series of young lawyers in the firm.
narcissism
(1) Extreme self-centeredness or fascination with oneself. (2) Love or desire for one’s own body.
eg. His girlfriend would complain about his narcissism, saying he spent more time looking at himself in the mirror than at her.
tantalize
To tease or torment by offering something desirable but keeping it out of reach.
eg. The sight of a warm fire through the window tantalized the little match girl almost unbearably.
thespian
An actor.
eg. In summer the towns of New England welcome troupes of thespians dedicated to presenting plays of all kinds.
zephyr
(1) A breeze from the west. (2) A gentle breeze.
eg. Columbus left Genoa sailing against the zephyrs that continually blow across the Mediterranean.
