Vocabulary List 20 Flashcards
Define the following:
Foyer
n. an entrance hall
Define the following:
Dais
n. a low platform for a lectern, seats of honor, or throne
Define the following:
Portico
n. a structure consisting of a roof buttressed by columns at regular intervals, typically attached as a porch to a building
Define the following:
Chaise
n. a horse-drawn carriage for one or two people, typically with an open top and two wheels
n. short for post chaise which is a horse-drawn carriage used for transporting passengers or mail in the 18th to early 19th century
n. short for chaise lounge which is a reclining chair with a lengthened seat for a leg rest
Define the following:
Parlor
n. a sitting room of a private house
n. a room in a public building for receiving guests
n. a room in a monastery or convent for conversation
n. [usu. with modifier] a shop or business providing specified goods or services: ice cream parlor, funeral parlor
n. (also milking parlor) a room or building equipped for milking cows
adj. denoting a person who professes but does not actively give support to a specific political view
Define the following:
Monastery
n. a building or building owned by monks living under religious vows
Define the following:
Convent
n. a Christian community under monastic rules, esp. one of nuns
n. (also convent school) a school, especially one for girls, attached to and run by convent
n. a building or buildings owned by a convent
Define the following:
Parapet
n. a low protective wall off the edge of a roof, bridge, or balcony
n. a protective wall or earth defense along the top of a trench or other place of concealment for troops
Define the following:
Gunwale
n. the upper portion of the side of a boat or ship
Define the following:
Gable
n. (also gable end) a wall topped with a gable
n. a raised wall that closes off a pitched roof
Define the following:
Chiffonier
n. a tall chest of drawers often with a mirror on top
n. a low cupboard, sometimes with a raised bookshelf on top
Define the following:
Parquet
n. (parquet flooring) flooring composed of wooden blocks in a geometric pattern
n. the ground floor of a theatre or auditorium
Define the following:
Plinth
n. a heavy base supporting a statue or base
n. the lower square slab at the base of a column
Define the following:
Threshold
n. the bottom of a doorway or entrance
n. the beginning of an airport runway on which an aircraft is attempting to land
n. the magnitude or intensity that must be exceeded for a certain reaction, phenomenon, result, or condition to occur or be manifested: threshold level
n. the maximum level of radiation nor a concentration of a substance considered to be acceptable or safe: their water should meet the safety threshold of 50 mG of nitrates per liter
n. a limit below which a stimulus causes no reaction
n. a level, rate, or amount at which something comes into effect: tax threshold
Define the following:
Rung
n. a horizontal support of a person’s foot on a ladder
n. a strengthening cross piece in the structure of a chair
Define the following:
Belfry
n. a place for hanging bells in a church tower
n. a bell tower, or steeple housing bells, especially one that is part of a church
Define the following:
Hospice
n. a home providing care for the sick
n. a lodging for travelers
Define the following:
Transept
n. (a cross-shaped building) either of the two parts making up the arms of the cross shape, projecting at right angles from the nave
Define the following:
Nave
n. the central part of a church building, intended to accommodate most of the congregation. In traditional Western churches it is rectangular, separated from the chancel by a step or rail, and from adjacent aisles by pillars
Define the following:
Chancel
n. the part of a church near the altar, reserved for the clergy and choir, and typically separated from the nave by steps or a screen
Define the following:
Terminus
n. a final point in space or time; an end or extremity: the exhibition’s terminus is 1962
n. the end of a railroad or other transportation route or a station at such a point; a terminal
n. a figure of a human bust or an animal ending in a square pillar from which it appears to spring, originally used as a boundary marker in Ancient Rome
Define the following:
Canteen
n. a restaurant provided by a college, factory, military base, or company for its students, workers, soldiers, etc.
Define the following:
Fief
n. an estate of land held under the condition of feudal service
n. a person’s sphere of operation or control
Define the following:
Partition
n. a structure dividing a space into two parts
v. divide into parts
v. divide (a room) into smaller rooms or areas by erecting partitions: the hall was partitioned to contain the noise of the computers
v. (partition something off) separate a part of a room from the rest by erecting a partition: partition off part of a large bedroom to create a small bathroom
Define the following:
Cabaret
n. a nightclub or restaurant where entertainment is performed
n. entertainment in nightclubs or restaurants while the audience eats or drinks at tables
Define the following:
Veneer
n. a thin decorative covering of fine wood over a coarser wood or other material
n. a layer of wood used to make plywood
n. an attractive appearance or facade used to mask one’s true feelings or nature
v. cover or disguise (one’s true nature) with an attractive appearance
v. cover (something) with a decorative layer of fine wood
Define the following:
Dike
n. a long wall or embankment used to prevent flooding
n. a low wall or earthwork used as a boundary or defense
n. a causeway, a raised road or track across low or wet ground
n. a ditch or watercourse
v. provide (land) with a wall or embankment to prevent flooding
Define the following:
Overlook
n. a commanding position or view
v. have a view of from above: the chateau overlooks fields of corn and olive trees
Define the following:
Bunting
n. a loosely woven fabric made for flags but can also be used as drapes before becoming a flag
n. flags and other colorful festive decorations
Define the following:
Stave
n. a vertical wooden post or plank in a building or other structure
n. a strong wooden stick or iron pole used as a weapon
n. one of the thin slats used to make the sides of a wooden bucket or barrel, a vertical wooden plank in a building or other structure
n. a staff used in sheet music
n. a verse or stanza of a poem
v. (stave something in) break something by forcing it inward or piercing it roughly: the door was staved in
Define the following:
Rampart
n. a defensive wall of a castle or a walled ceiling, having a broad top with a walkway and typically with a stone parapet
n. a defensive or protective barrier: the open Pacific broke on the far-off rampart of the reef
Define the following:
Obelisk
n. a stone pillar, typically having a square or rectangular cross section and a pyramidal top
n. a tree, mountain, or other object that resembles an obelisk
Define the following:
Monolith
n. a large, upright block of stone, especially one shaped into or serving as a monument or pillar
n. a very large and characterless building
n. a large block of concrete sunk in water, e.g., in the building of a dock
Define the following:
Withy
n. a tough, flexible branch used for tying, binding, or basketry
Define the following:
Bulwark
n. a defensive wall
n. a person, institution, or principle that acts as a defense: the security forces are a bulwark against the breakdown of society
n. (usu. bulwarks) an extension of a ship’s sides above the level of the deck
Define the following:
Upholstery
n. soft, padded textile covering that is fixed to furniture such as arm chairs or sofas
n. the art of practice of fitting padded coverings to chairs or sofas
Define the following:
Pennant
n. a flag denoting a sports championship or other achievement
n. (also pennon) a tapering flag on a ship, especially one flown at the masthead of a vessel in commission
n. a long triangular or swallow-tailed flag, especially as a military ensign
Define the following:
Ensign
n. a flag or standard, especially a military or naval one indicating nationality
n. a commissioned officer of the lowest rank in the US Navy and Coast Guard, ranking above chief warrant officer and below lieutenant
Define the following:
Standard
n. a military or ceremonial flag carried on a pole or hoisted on a rope
n. a tree or shrub that grows on an erect stem of full height
n. a shrub grafted on an erect stem and trained in tree form
n. an upright water or gas pipe
n . a tune or song of established popularity
adj. (of a shrub) grafted on an erect stem and trained in tree form: standard roses
Define the following:
Cruciform
adj. having the shape of a cross
adj. of or denoting a church having a cross-shaped plan with a nave and transepts
n. a thing shaped like a cross
Define the following:
Chapel
n. a small building for Christian worship, typically one attached to an institution or private house
n. a part of a large church or cathedral with its own altar and dedication
n. a room or building in which funeral services are held
Define the following:
Xeriscape
n. a garden or landscape requiring little or no irrigation
n. a style of landscape design requiring little or no irrigation or other maintenance, used in arid regions
v. landscape (an area) in a style which requires little or no irrigations
Define the following:
Alcove
n. a recess, typically in the wall of a room or a garden
Define the following:
Doorjamb
n. each of the two upright parts of a doorframe, on one of which a door is hung
Define the following:
Garret
n. a top-floor or attic room
Define the following:
Tarpaulin
n. heavy-duty waterproof cloth, typically of tarred canvas
n. a sheet or covering of this
Define the following:
Cornice
n. an ornamental molding around a wall just below
Define the following:
Quarrel
n. a diamond-shaped pane of glass as used in lattice windows
Define the following:
Kiosk
n. a small open-fronted hut or cubicle from which newspapers, refreshments, etc. are sold
n. a small structure in a public area used for providing information or displaying advertisements, often incorporating an interactive display screen or screens
Define the following:
Orrery
n. a mechanical model of the solar system, or just of the sun, earth, and moon, used to represent their relative positions
Define the following:
Domicile
n. the country that a person treats as their permanent home, or lives in and has substantial connection with
n. a person’s residence or home
v. treat a specified country as a permanent home: the tenant is domiciled in the US
v. reside; be based: he was domiciled in a frame house on the outskirts of town
Define the following:
Frame house
n. a house constructed with a skeleton framework of timber, as the ordinary wooden house
Define the following:
Effigy
n. a sculpture or model of a person
n. a roughly made model of a particular person, made in order to be damaged or destroyed as a protest or expression of anger: the senator was burned in effigy
Define the following:
Pulpit
n. a raised platform or lectern upon which a preacher delivers a sermon
n. (the pulpit) religious teaching expressed in sermons; preachers collectively: the movies could rival the pulpit as an agency of molding the ideas of the mass public
Define the following:
Pew
n. a long bench with a back, placed in rows
n. an enclosure or compartment containing a number of seats, used in some churches to seat a particular worshiper or group of worshipers
n. (the pews) the congregation of a church
Define the following:
Divan
n. a long low sofa without a back or arms, typically placed against a wall
Define the following:
Rise
n. an upward slope or hill
n. the vertical height of a step, arch, or incline
n. [in sing.] a source; an origin: it was here that the brooks had its rise
v. (rise to) (of a person) react with annoyance or argument to (a provocation): he didn’t rise to my teasing
Define the following:
Entablature
n. a long continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall
Define the following:
Verdure
n. lush green vegetation
n. the fresh green color of vegetation
n. a condition of freshness
Define the following:
Frieze
n. a broad, horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, especially on a wall near the ceiling
n. the part of an entablature between the architrave and the cornice
Define the following:
Architrave
n. a main beam resting across the tops of columns, specifically the lower third of the entablature
Define the following:
Pediment
n. the triangular upper part of the front of a classical style building, typically surmounting a portico of columns
Define the following:
Casing
n. a frame around a door or window
Define the following:
Stile
n. an arrangement of steps that allows people but not animals to climb over a fence or a wall
n. a vertical piece in the frame of a paneled door or sash window
Define the following:
Sash window
n. a window with one or two sashes which can be slid vertically to make an opening
Define the following:
Transom
n. the flat surface forming the stern of a vessel
n. a horizontal beam forming the stern of a vessel
n. a strengthening crossbar, in particular, one set above a window or door
Define the following:
Transom door
n. a window set above the transom of a door or larger window; a fanlight
Define the following:
Sash
n. a frame holding the glass in a window, typically one of two sliding frames
Define the following:
Terra firma
n. dry land; the ground
Define the following:
Aqueduct
n. an artificial channel for conveying water, typically in the form of a bridge supported by tall columns across a valley
n. (in anatomy) a small canal containing fluid
Define the following:
Hayloft
n. a loft over a stable or barn used for storing hay or straw
Define the following:
Settee
n. a long upholstered seat for more than one person, typically with a back and arms
Define the following:
Hutch
n. a box or cage, typically with a wire mesh front, for keeping rabbits, ferrets, or other small domesticated animals
n. a small storage chest
n. a cupboard or dresser typically with open shelves above
Define the following:
Atoll
n. a ring-shaped reef, island, or chain of islands formed of coral
Define the following:
Windlass
n. a type of winch used especially on ships to hoist anchors and haul on mooring lines and, especially formerly, to lower buckets into and hoist them up from wells
v. haul or lift (something) with a windlass
Define the following:
Handspike
n. a wooden rod with an iron tip, used as a lever on board ship and by artillery soldiers
Define the following:
Dive
n. (also dive bar) a shabby or sleazy bar or similar establishment: he got into a fight in some dive
n. a sudden and significant fall in prices or profits: an 11 percent dive in profits
Define the following:
Gully
n. a water-worn ravine
n. a deep artificial channel serving as a gutter or drain
v. erode gullies into (land) by water action: he began to pick away over the gullied landscape
Define the following:
Duplex
n. a house divided into two apartments, with a separate entrance for each
n. an apartment on two floors
adj. (of a house) consisting of two apartments
adj. (of an apartment) on two floors
adj. (of paper or board) having two differentl colored layers or sides
adj. (of a printer or its software) capable of printing on both sides of the paper
Define the following:
Penitentiary
n. a prison for people who have committed serious crimes
