Glossary of Words in The Sea by John Banville
Definitions of Obscure Vocabulary in Booker Prize Novel
Sep 8, 2008
Max relies upon words as a kind of consolation. For the reader’s consolation and pleasure, each definition provided here refers to the idiom used by Max in the novel, which was published by Alfred A. Knopf (New York) in 2005.
Unless otherwise noted, the source is Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition (2000).
anabasis: n. a military advance
apercu: n. a brief survey or sketch
Attic:adj. marked by simplicity, purity, and refinement
boreen:n. a narrow country lane
bung: n. the stopper esp. in the bunghole of a cask
cack-handed:adj. clumsy (thefreedictionary.com)
caducous: adj. falling off easily or before the usual time
catafalque: n. an ornamental structure sometimes used in funerals for the lying in state of the body
cerement: n. a shroud for the dead
cinereal: adj. resembling or consisting of ashes
civet: adj. a thick, yellowish, musky-odored substance found in a pouch near the sexual organs of the civet [carnivorous mammal, family Viverridae) and used in perfume
congeries: n.pl. aggregation, collection
costive: adj. affected by constipation; slow in action or expression
crapulent: adj. relating to the drinking of alcohol or drunkenness
craquelure: n. network of fine cracks found on the surface of some oil paintings (yourdictionary.com)
crepitant: adj. having or making a crackling sound
doughty: adj. marked by fearless resolution
effulgence:n. radiant splendor
eructation: n. an act or instance of belching
etiolate: vt. to deprive of natural vigor
expatiation: n. [the act of] speaking or writing in length or in detail
fell: adj. fierce, cruel, terrible
flocculent: adj. resembling wool
finical: adj.finicky
gleet: n. slimy or mucous matter, viscous
groyne: n. a low wall built out into the sea from a beach to prevent the beach from shifting (Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Fourth Edition)
harrow: n. a cultivating implement set with spikes, spring teeth, or disks
haulms: n. stalk: the stems or tops of crop plants
horrent: adj. covered with bristling points
hugger-mugger:: n. secrecy
ichor: n. a thin watery or blood-tinged discharge
lares familiares: n. the spirit of the founder of the house (Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, quoted in bartley.com)
leporine: adj. of or characteristic of rabbits or hares (thefreedictionary.com)
lightsomeness: adj. giving light
lour: v. (of the sky) appear dark and threatening (Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Fourth Edition)
marmoreal: adj. of, relating to, or suggestive of marble or a marble statue esp. in coldness or aloofness
maenad: n. a woman participant in orgiastic Dionysian rites
mephitic: adj. foul-smelling
minatory: adj. having a menacing quality
nosce te ipsum: Latin: know thyself (merriam-webster.com)
ovine: adj. of, relating to, or resembling sheep
pard: n. leopard
primus inter pares: n.pl. first among equals
quietus: n. removal from activity; esp: death
ramify: vb. to split up into branches or constituent parts
recreant: adj. unfaithful to duty or allegiance
refection: n. refreshment, light meal
refulgent:adj. brilliantly shining
revenant: n. one that returns after a death or a long absence
scumble: vt. to make (as a color or a painting) less brilliant by covering with a thin coat of opaque or semiopaque color
scurf: n. thin dry gales detached from the epidermis: dandruff
skiver: n. one that skives [slices] something (as leather)
strangury: n. a slow and painful spasmodic discharge of urine drop by drop
traduce: vt. to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation
tun-dish: n. funnel
velutinous: adj. covered with dense, soft, silky hairs (thefreedictionary.com)
vulgate: n. ordinary speech, accepted version
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