College Vocabulary · Grade 6 · Week 13
20 words for the week · pairs with Composition lesson 4.1.
Reading: Jack London, "To Build a Fire" (1908), opening, in Lost Face (1910; Project Gutenberg #2429). This is the lesson's printed model passage. Literature book this week: Elizabeth George Speare, The Bronze Bow (in copyright, so it is summarized here and not quoted).
Theme of the week: Man cannot master the storm, but God rules it, and He brings His people safe to land. "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away" (Acts 27:20).
Rhythm: 4 words a day, Monday to Friday. Each day: read the entry aloud, copy the context sentence into the writing notebook, and write one sentence of your own. Friday: learn the last 4 words, then take the 20-word quiz.
Sources: ★ = from this week's reading · ✝ = KJV (1769 text) · ✎ = a writing term from this lesson
Part of speech: adjective (noun: an intangible, a thing that cannot be touched)
Definition: not able to be touched or held; real, but hard to pin down or describe.
From the reading: "It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things..."
Root:Latin in- (not) + tangere (to touch): what cannot be touched.
Part of speech: noun; also a verb (to pall = to grow dull or tiresome)
Definition: A dark covering that hangs over something, like a cloud of smoke or gloom; a heavy cloth laid over a coffin.
From the reading: "...there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark..."
Root:Latin pallium, "cloak, covering." The cloak became the cloth over a coffin, and then any dark covering.
Part of speech: noun (adjective: gloomy)
Definition: Partial darkness; a feeling of sadness or hopelessness.
From the reading: "...a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun."
Root:Middle English gloumen, "to look sullen, frown"; related to glum.
Part of speech: noun (verb: undulate)
Definition: a smooth rising and falling, like the motion or shape of waves.
From the reading: "It was all pure white, rolling in gentle undulations where the ice-jams of the freeze-up had formed."
Root:Latin undula, "little wave," from unda, "wave."
Part of speech: verb (noun: foreshadowing)
Definition: to give a hint of something that will happen later, especially in a story.
Context: The sunless, cold and grey morning foreshadows the danger waiting for the man on the Yukon trail.
Root:fore- (before) + shadow: the shadow that falls before a thing arrives.
Part of speech: noun (also adjective: a foreboding silence)
Definition: a strong feeling that something bad is about to happen.
Context: When Paul warned the sailors that the voyage would be "with hurt and much damage" (Acts 27:10), his words carried a foreboding that the centurion ignored.
KJV link: "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished" (Proverbs 22:3). A wise man pays attention to his foreboding.
Root:fore- (before) + bode, from Old English bodian, "to announce": something announced ahead of time.
Part of speech: adjective (adverb: heedlessly)
Definition: paying no attention to danger or warning; careless.
From the reading: "The trouble with him was that he was without imagination." The man sees the cold but is heedless of what it means.
Root:Old English hedan, "to take care," + -less: without care.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: bold in a foolish way; taking needless risks.
Context: Setting out alone on the Yukon trail at seventy-five below zero was foolhardy, however brave the man felt.
Root:Old French fol hardi, "foolishly bold" (fol "fool" + hardi "bold").
Part of speech: noun (adjective: tempestuous)
Definition: a violent storm with strong winds; (also) a great uproar.
KJV: "But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon" (Acts 27:14). "...there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken" (Jonah 1:4).
Root:Latin tempestas, "season, weather, storm," from tempus, "time."
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: roomy and comfortable; having plenty of space.
KJV: "And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also" (Acts 27:12).
Root:Latin commodus, "fitting, convenient" (com- "with" + modus "measure"): of the right measure.
Part of speech: verb (noun: abstinence)
Definition: to hold oneself back from doing or having something, especially food, drink or a pleasure.
KJV: "But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them" (Acts 27:21). The frightened crew had gone without food for many days.
Root:Latin abs- (away) + tenere (to hold): to hold oneself away.
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: (of weather) cold, wet or stormy; harsh.
Context: A wise traveler waits out inclement weather by the fire, but London's man pressed on into it.
Root:Latin in- (not) + clemens (mild, merciful): weather that shows no mercy.
Part of speech: noun
Definition: strong hostility or hatred.
Context: In The Bronze Bow, Daniel bar Jamin's animosity toward the Romans who killed his father rules his whole life.
Root:Latin animositas, "boldness, spirit," from animus, "spirit, mind": a strong spirit turned against someone.
Part of speech: adjective (verb: embitter)
Definition: made bitter, angry and resentful, usually by suffering or a wrong.
Context: Embittered by his family's sorrows, Daniel flees to an outlaw band in the hills above Galilee.
Root:em- (to make) + bitter, from Old English biter, "sharp, biting."
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a person who pursues a cause fiercely and will not compromise; (historically) a member of a Jewish party that wanted to drive out the Romans by force.
Context: Daniel and his friends long to be zealots, ready to strike at Rome, but Jesus calls Daniel to a different kind of fight.
KJV link: One of the twelve apostles was "Simon called Zelotes" (Luke 6:15), that is, Simon the Zealot.
Root:Greek zelotes, "one who is zealous," from zelos, "zeal, eager rivalry."
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: likely to change suddenly, especially to anger or violence; unstable.
Context: Daniel's volatile temper flares whenever he sees a Roman soldier, and it puts his friends in danger.
Root:Latin volatilis, "flying, fleeting," from volare, "to fly." A volatile mood flies off quickly.
Part of speech: noun; also a verb (con-FLICT = to clash)
Definition: a struggle between opposing forces; in a story, what the main character struggles against.
Context: London's man is in conflict with nature. Daniel is in conflict with Rome and, even more, with his own hatred.
Root:Latin confligere, "to strike together" (con- "together" + fligere "to strike").
Part of speech: noun (adjective: compassionate)
Definition: sorrow for another person's suffering, together with a desire to help.
KJV: "...when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20).
Context: In The Bronze Bow, Jesus' compassion for Daniel's frightened sister Leah begins to soften Daniel's hard heart.
Root:Latin com- (with) + pati (to suffer): to suffer with someone.
Part of speech: verb
Definition: to defeat completely; to conquer.
KJV idea: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). Daniel learns that hate is vanquished by love, not by the sword.
Root:Old French vainquir, from Latin vincere, "to conquer" (as in invincible).
Part of speech: adjective and noun
Definition: having supreme power and authority; (noun) a king or supreme ruler.
KJV: "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still" (Psalm 107:29). The sovereign Lord rules even the sea that no sailor can master.
Root:Old French soverain, from Latin super, "above": the one who is above all.
Part A. Match the word to its meaning (1 point each).
1. undulation 2. commodious 3. animosity 4. inclement 5. conflict
a. strong hostility · b. roomy and comfortable · c. a struggle between opposing forces · d. a smooth rising and falling, like waves · e. stormy and harsh (of weather)
Part B. Choose the best word for each blank (1 point each). Word bank: tempest, abstain, foreshadow, foolhardy, compassion, sovereign, volatile, pall, gloom, zealot
6. "There was a mighty ______ in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken" (Jonah 1:4).
7. The father saw his son, "and had ______, and ran" (Luke 15:20).
8. Dark clouds in the first paragraph often ______ trouble later in the story.
9. Crossing thin river ice in the dark is a ______ act.
10. Because God is ______, the storm could not raise one wave more than He allowed.
11. A ______ of smoke hung over the burned village.
12. During the fast, the monks ______ from meat and wine.
13. His ______ temper could turn a friendly game into a fight in seconds.
Part C. Synonym or antonym? Write S or A (1 point each).
14. intangible / concrete 15. heedless / careless 16. embittered / forgiving 17. vanquish / conquer
Part D. Short answer (3 points).
18–20. In one or two sentences, explain why the man in "To Build a Fire" is in danger, and who rules the storm in Acts 27. Use at least two of this week's words, correctly.
1. d 2. b 3. a 4. e 5. c
6. tempest 7. compassion 8. foreshadow 9. foolhardy 10. sovereign 11. pall 12. abstain (or abstained) 13. volatile
14. A 15. S 16. A 17. S
18–20. Sample: "The heedless man walks into inclement cold without thinking about what it means, though the dark sky foreshadows danger; but in Acts 27 the sovereign Lord rules the tempest and brings everyone safe to land." (1 point for a correct idea, plus 1 point for each correctly used week word, up to 2.) Note: gloom and zealot in the word bank are distractors.