Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Thursday Thirteen 223: S and S Vocab

As mentioned in previous posts, reading the classics is an excellent way to increase and test your vocabulary. Here are a few of the great words I took note of during a recent reading of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. We'll begin with the obvious choice of the title words and, because there are so many different volumes, I will note chapters instead of page numbers for examples quoted from the book.





1. sense [sens] noun
sound practical intelligence: He has no sense.

2. sensibility [sen-suh-bil-i-tee] noun, plural -ties.
capacity for sensation or feeling; responsiveness or susceptibility to sensory stimuli.

3. devolve [dih-volv] verb (used with object)
to transfer or delegate (a duty, responsibility, etc.) to or upon another; pass on.
"The son, a steady, respectable young man, was amply provided for by the fortune of his mother, which had been large, and half of which devolved on him on his coming of age." (ch. 1)

4. indecorous [in-dek-er-uhs, in-di-kawr-uhs, -kohr-] adjective
violating generally accepted standards of good taste or propriety; unseemly.
"...and he finally resolved, that it would be absolutely unnecessary, if not highly indecourous, to do more for the widow and children of his father, than such kind of neighborly acts as his own wife pointed out." (ch 2)

5. diffident [dif-i-duhnt] adjective
lacking confidence in one's own ability, worth, or fitness; timid; shy. Reserved in manner or conduct.
"He was too diffident to do justice to himself; but when his natural shyness was overcome, his behaviour gave every indication of an open, affectionate heart." (ch 3)

6. approbation [ap-ruh-bey-shuhn] noun
approval; commendation: official approval or sanction.
"Marianne was affraid of offending, and said no more on the subject; but the kind of approbation which Elinor described as excited in him by the drawings of other people, was far from the rapturous delight, which, in her opinion, could alone be called taste." (ch 4)

7. inquietude [in-kwahy-i-tood, -tyood] noun
restlessness or uneasiness; disquietude.
"A doubt of her regard, supposing him to feel it, need not give him more than inquietude." (ch 4)

8. incommode [in-kuh-mohd] verb (used with object), -mod•ed, -mod•ing.
to inconvenience or discomfort; disturb; trouble.
"No sooner was her answer dispatched, than Mrs Dashwood indulged herself in the pleasure of announcing to her son-in-law* and his wife that she was provided with a house, and should incomomde them no longer..." (ch 5)
(* son-in-law used here actually means stepson)

9. demesne [dih-meyn, -meen] noun
land belonging to and adjoining a manor house; estate.
"A small green court was the whole of its demesne in front; and a neat wicket gate admitted them into it." (ch 6)

10. unaffected [uhn-uh-fek-tid] adjective
1. free from affectation; sincere; genuine.
2. unpretentious, as a personality or literary style.
"The Miss Dashwoods were young, pretty, and unaffected." (ch 7)

11. raillery [rey-luh-ree] noun, plural -ler•ies.
good-humored ridicule; banter.
"Marianne was vexed at it for her sister's sake, and turned her eyes towards Elinor, to see how she bore these attacks, with an earnestness which gave Elinor far more pain than could arise from such common-place raillery as Mrs Jenning's." (ch 7)

12. insipid [in-sip-id] adjective
without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; vapid: an insipid personality.
"...but the cold insipidity of Lady Middleton was so particularly repulsive that in comparison of it the gravity of Colonel Brnadon, and even the boisterous mirth of Sir John and his mother-in-law, was interesting." (ch7)

13. exigence [ek-si-juhns] noun
1. The need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance, condition, etc.: the exigences of city life.
2. a case or situation that demands prompt action or remedy; emergency.
"One consolation, however, remained for them, to which the exigence of the moment gave more than usual propriety..." (ch 9)


These examples are from just the first 30 pages or so of the novel. Obviously, I could do an entire second post devoted to the vocabulary of this book—and I might do just that in the next few weeks.

Your turn: Pick any word from the list above and write your own sentence.

Read the Teaser Tuesday excerpt here.



More Thursday Thirteen posts






17 comments:

Rekaya Gibson said...

Interesting. I always learn something when I visit. Thanks for sharing.

The Food Temptress

Heather said...

Rekaya: Ohhh...I'm ejakashunal -- who knew? *G*

(Thanks for visiting!)

Shelley Munro said...

Oh, no! Not homework. I obviously need to read more classics, although I did know quite a few of these.

Heather said...

Great list, thanks, I'll give it to my girls to read - they both like to use 'big' words. My youngest, aged eleven, suggested to her English teacher in a class crossword game that the missing word might be 'equine'.

The teacher said... 'No such word exists!!!!'

Seriously, I could cry.

Unknown said...

I am trudging through 'Jane Eyre' for over a month now. I feel it is my duty as a published romance author to read it lol
I'm sure a whole book could be written just on the vocabulary used.

Sorry, I'm brain dead this early in the morning.Those two deleted comments are mine. Not sure how I managed that lol

Happy T13!

Xakara said...

I'm familiar with 7 of them, I need to read more. :)

Happy T13,

~Xakara
13 Horror Movie Lessons

Heather said...

Shelley: Yes, homework--which I see you neglected to turn in. Incomplete! ;)

Heather: *Cringe* You have got to be kidding me! An English teacher did not know the word equine?! I think you shold gift her with a copy of Equis

Heather said...

Adelle: I loved Jane Eyre and have read it twice, once in HS (on my own) and once in college (Vic Lit).

Xakara: I've just finished book 90 for the year (out of a goal of 100) and still wish I had more time to read. Stupid day job always gets in the way. ;)

Jana said...

I'm not even gonna touch this one. ;-)

CountryDew said...

I like diffident and insipid, for some reason.

Alice Audrey said...

Sense and Sensibility uses those words in ways I never saw them used anywhere else.

Heather said...

Jana: Wimp! And you did so well with the Dracula vocab...

Anita: Those are both good words. I particularly like insipid.

Alice: Yes, there were some words in the book that, though I knew them, were used in a sense not common today. For example, unaffected to describe someone who was not spoiled.

I am Harriet said...

Learned a few new ones. thanks!

Have a great Thursday!
http://harrietandfriends.com/2011/10/what-happened-to-the-escapees/

colleen said...

I really learned a lot here. Don't know if I'll retain it as most don't come up in my life. They really did speak well back then.

Heather said...

Harriet: Thanks, I like it when people learn stuff from me. *g*

Colleen: I can't say I remember all of the words I encounter, but I do like learning new ones to add to the vocab from time to time.

Alice Audrey said...

I assumed at first it was merely the times, but in further reading I've concluded that isn't so.

Heather said...

No? How so?