Vocabulary
Words
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you cannot find the word you are looking for here, try searching the online
dictionary at Mirriam-Webster Online.
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The Color of Water Vocabulary Words:
Chapter One
Kaddish – Jewish prayer for the dead
Shiva – 7 days
Chapter Two
Fedora – large felt hat with a crease down the center
Guff – Grief, nonsense
Guffaws – Snickers
Motley – composed of diverse elements
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Jibe – taunt, sneer
Divulge – reveal, disclose
Fraught – burdened, loaded
Ruse – trick, scam
Stridency – roughness, harshness
Implicitly – absolutely, completely
Bourgeois – ordinary
Balefully – woefully
Convoluted – involved
Chapter Five
Domineering – bossy, overbearing
Seder – Passover meal
Haggadah – Story of Exodus
Chapter Six
Conk - a hairstyle in which the hair is straightened out & flattened down/lightly waved –also called process
Connoisseur – expert, master
Fervor - intensity of feeling or expression
Deference – respect and esteem due a superior or an elder
Dais – a raised platform
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
denizens- (cannot find a definition that fits the context)
benevolent- kind, cherity giving
pillage- to take w/o permission
extolled- to praise lavishly
terse- concise & to the point
peripheral- outside edge
epicenter- focal point
protagonist- a leader of a cause
fisticuff- fist fight
subservience- acting subordinate or lower
tussle- arguement
vehement- full of strong emotion
winos- people habitually drunk on wine
Chapter Nine
cantor- sing
shvartses- black people
Chapter Ten
Hasidic- member of a certain Jewish sect
yarmulkes- Jewish skullcap
kinetic- pertaining to motion
tacitly- expressed non verbally and without a contract or agreement
nappy- fuzzy or kinky
intractable- difficult to control
indominatable- unconquerable
rent- rip
retrospect- to look back on the past
derision- cruel laughter
Chapter Eleven
torrid- passionate
chastising- to punish by beating or mental punishment
Chapter Twelve
epitomized- the perfect example
gregarious- social
denoting- indicating, revealing
Chapter Thirteen
furrier- a shop that sells and repairs furs
greenhorn- newcomer, immigrant
aversion- dislike
immaculate- free from stain or blemish; pure
Chapter Fourteen
Bilge pump – a pump that sucks in dirty water in the hull of a ship
Cuffed the Dice – changed the roll of the dice by slapping them
Insular – narrow minded
Shinola – shoe polish
Lithe – graceful, nimble
Chapter Fifteen
Baccalaureate – sermon to the graduating class
Jaunts – short trip
Chapter Sixteen
Clairvoyance – the power of discerning objects not present to the senses; ability to perceive matters beyond the range of ordinary perception
Stupor – to be in a daze
Chapter Seventeen
Henpecked - to subject (one's husband) to persistent nagging and domination
Callous - feeling no emotion
Tryst - an agreement (as between lovers) to meet
Chapter Eighteen
Reveille - a bugle call at about sunrise signaling the first military formation of the day
Modus Operandi – Method of Procedure
Spry – Nimble
Dilapidated – run-down
Chapter Nineteen
Flophouses
– cheap rooming house
Goye – non-Jew
Chapter Twenty
Tooling – Driving
One iota – one little bit
Bespectacled – glasses wearing
Chapter Twenty-Two
Macabre – morbid
Chapter Twenty-Four
Verboten - forbidden
Amorphous – shapeless, vauge
Chapter Twenty-Five
Squamous Cancer Cell– of, relating to, or being the anterior upper portion of the temporal bone of most mammals including humans; comes from squamous epithelium
Inopportune – unfortunate, inconvenient
Nebulous – indistinct, vague
Modicum - a small portion; a limited quantity
Tableau - a graphic description or representation
Shvartse – a Yiddish term for African Americans, slightly negative connotation
Cajoling - to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance
Epilogue
Huppah – a canopy-like structure consisting of a piece of cloth, sometimes a talit, that is held aloft on four posts, and beneath which the couple stand during the religious wedding ceremony.
Cantor - a choir leader
Klezmer - Eastern European dance genre
Hummus tahini – sesame paste that has a sweet, nutty flavor without a trace of bitterness. Made with tahini and chickpeas.
Baba ghanouj - Eggplant with Tehina (Tehina is a sesame paste sauce)
