Grade 12 College Vocabulary, Week 23

Definition: A member of a gang that ambushes and robs people in forests and mountains.

From the reading: "SECOND POET: Eight bleeding brigand carcasses strew the pavements there--all slit open with sword-gashes!" (Cyrano de Bergerac)

Synonyms:

bandit, robber, highwayman

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Italian brigante, from brigare, to contend.

Definition: A pirate, especially one licensed by a Barbary state to raid shipping.

From the reading: "Southward with fleet of ice Sailed the corsair Death; Wild and fast blew the blast, And the east-wind was his breath." (Poems of Longfellow)

Synonyms:

pirate, buccaneer, privateer

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French corsaire, from Latin cursus, raid.

Definition: A large sailing ship with three or more masts, used especially by Spain from the 15th to 18th centuries.

From the reading: "High o'er the sea-surge and the sands, Like a great galleon wrecked and cast Ashore by storms, thy castle stands, A mouldering landmark of the Past." (Poems of Longfellow)

Synonyms:

warship, merchantman

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Old French galion, from galie, galley.

Definition: A fast warship of the age of sail, smaller than a ship of the line.

From the reading: "Crying its eyes out?—Giving a party to the last arrived harpooneers, I dare say, gay as a frigate’s pennant, and so am I—fa, la! lirra, skirra!" (Moby-Dick)

Synonyms:

warship, man-of-war

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Italian fregata.

Definition: A small fleet of ships or boats.

Context (original sentence): A flotilla of fishing boats rescued the soldiers from the beach.

Synonyms:

fleet, squadron, armada

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Spanish flotilla, little fleet.

Definition: The commander of a century in the ancient Roman army.

From the reading: "A centurion kept the entrance with a guard drawn up full armed under the beautiful marble battlements." (Ben-Hur)

Synonyms:

officer, captain

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin centurio, from centum, hundred.

Definition: A division of several thousand men in the ancient Roman army; a vast host.

From the reading: "The queen a legion to King Turnus sent; But the swift horse the slower foot prevent, And now, advancing, sought the leader’s tent." (The Aeneid)

Synonyms:

division, host, multitude

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin legio, from legere, to choose.

Definition: A soldier of a cavalry regiment armed with lances.

From the reading: "What to that apostolic lancer, Brother Jonathan, is Texas but a Fast-Fish?" (Moby-Dick)

Synonyms:

cavalryman, horseman, trooper

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French lancier, from lance.

Definition: A combined spear and battle-ax.

From the reading: "And with that he made his heavy halberd to play around his head as a shepherd boy flourishes his light crook." (Ivanhoe)

Synonyms:

pike, poleax, partisan

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Middle High German helmbarde, handle ax.

Definition: A thin, light, sharp-pointed sword used for thrusting.

From the reading: "Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of an instant reassured me." (The Works of Edgar Allan Poe)

Synonyms:

sword, foil, épée

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French rapière.

Definition: A sheath for the blade of a sword or dagger.

From the reading: "Lycaon made, And in an ivory scabbard sheath’d the blade." (The Aeneid)

Synonyms:

sheath, case

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Anglo-Norman escaubers.

Definition: A piece of armor consisting of breastplate and backplate fastened together.

From the reading: "The beamy spear, descending from above, His cuirass pierc’d, and thro’ his body drove." (The Aeneid)

Synonyms:

breastplate, armor, corselet

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French cuirasse, from Latin coriaceus, of leather.

Definition: A flag or standard, especially a military or naval one; the lowest rank of commissioned officer in some navies.

From the reading: "Coming from Sardis, on our former ensign Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perch’d, Gorging and feeding from our soldiers’ hands, Who to Philippi here consorted us." (Julius Caesar)

Synonyms:

flag, banner, standard

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Old French enseigne, from Latin insignia.

Definition: A messenger or representative, especially one on a diplomatic mission.

From the reading: "Envoy and servant sooth he seemed of Christ, For the first love made manifest in him Was the first counsel that was given by Christ." (The Divine Comedy)

Synonyms:

ambassador, emissary, delegate

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French envoyé, sent.

Definition: A member of the clergy representing the pope; an envoy.

From the reading: "Opposite it this way rises the Temple of Jupiter, and under that the front of the legate’s residence—a palace full of offices, and yet a fortress against which a mob would dash harmlessly as a south wind.”" (Ben-Hur)

Synonyms:

envoy, nuncio, emissary

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin legatus, deputy.

Definition: A person who attends a royal court as a companion or adviser to the king or queen.

From the reading: "It is true that the American courtiers do not say “Sire,” or “Your Majesty”—a distinction without a difference." (Democracy in America)

Synonyms:

attendant, noble, flatterer

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Anglo-Norman curteier, from court.

Definition: To engage in a sporting contest in which two opponents on horseback fight with lances.

From the reading: "Yet have I seen thee victor in the joust, And seen thy way.”" (Idylls of the King)

Synonyms:

tilt, spar, contend

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Old French jouster, to bring together.

Definition: The title, rank, or status of a knight.

From the reading: "Knighthood and privilege from him received; Though with the populace unites himself To-day the man who binds it with a border." (The Divine Comedy)

Synonyms:

chivalry, rank, honor

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Old English cniht, boy, servant + -hood.

Definition: A mythical creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

From the reading: "Motionless halted, the veracious people, That came at first between it and the Griffin, Turned themselves to the car, as to their peace." (The Divine Comedy)

Synonyms:

gryphon

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Old French grifoun, from Greek gryps.

Definition: A shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms.

From the reading: "And whose tomb is that, Which bears the brass escutcheon?" (Poems of Longfellow)

Synonyms:

shield, coat of arms, crest

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin scutum, shield.