I
^IMARY DICTIONARY,
\ RATIONAL VOCABULARY,
CONSISTING OF
NEARLY FOUR 1»H0USAND WORDS
(»0 THE COMPREHENSION OF CHILDREN,
AND DESIGNED
iQK THE YOUNGER CLASSES IN SCHOOLS.
BY ELIZA ROBBINS,
AUTHOR OF "AMERICAN POPULAR LESSONS," ETC. ETC.
REVISED AND CORREC
'^^S^ PUBLISHED BY R. LOCKWOOD,
. AT HIS SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY. 411 BROADWAY.
I
1842.
ENTERED
According to act of Congress, in the year 1842,
BY ELIZA ROBBINS,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of
the Southern District of
NEW YORK.
PREFACE.
It is hoped that the title, Rational Vocabulary,
prefixed to this Uttle book, will not be thought
to savour of presumption, or to rank it with
True Grammar^ and The only Sure Guide^ in
any elementary study. This vocabulary, in its
selection and arrangement^ was taken from an
Enghsh publication well suited to its purpose.
The definitions are either original in their form,
or carefully revised ; and though adapted in
simplicity of expression to the language of the
young, are intended to convey to them just
and new ideas in words that are in good use,
and of proper authority.
Spelling-books and Dictionaries now in use,
may, to many teachers, seem sufficient for all
purposes of orthography, and all necessary aid
to literary composition which can be thus deri-
ved — but there are parents and preceptors who
are accustomed to be constantly appealed to
iV PREFACE.
for plain and familiar expositions of words which,
to their pupils, are new, and not of obvious
meaning, who will be glad of a book that is
quite comprehensible, and properly introductory
to more ample and systematic vocabularies —
to those which serve for ultimate standards,
and which are asserted to contain all our primi-
tive terms, and their modifications.
To advance, without oppressing the infant
mind, has been the design of all the publica-
tions I have offered to those engaged in edu-
cation ; and to make those publications illus-
trative of others in very common use, but
somewhat difficult for beginners to compre-
hend, has seemed to me to be supplying so
many steps that were deficient in the artificial
helps furnished to the natural ascent of mind.
It is an almost universal custom in schools
to give children daily a certain number of
words, with definitions annexed, to be com-
mitted to memory. I have not found any effi*
cacy in this practice ; and I must agree w^'ith
Miss Edgeworth, that words without applica-
tion, and of significations wholly remote from
the possible knowledge of children, when thus
forced upon the memory, rather make a mys-
PREFACE. V
tery, or dead letter of language, than furnish
an instrument which serves to express what is
known, and to acquire what is unknown. I
know not of what utility it can be for a child
to repeat, " Metaphysics, the doctrine of the
general affections of existing substances," and
other such abstractions — but I believe that a
selection from Dictionaries, of words corres-
ponding to early requirements of the under-
standing, * and intelligibly explained, may be
useful to children.
If any little book which I have given to the
public has been useful, upon the same principle
this will be found so, for it is designed to serve
the same purpose as its predecessors, and I
hope it may expeiience the same acceptance.
*****
New-York, April 28th^ 1828.
The Primary Dictionary during fourteen
years has passed through many editions, in
which some errors might be detected ; but
in the present revised form, it is hoped that
these inaccuracies have been remedied, and
that it will be found more completely fitted
than formerly to answer its designed uses.
Eliza Robbins.
New-York, July, 1842.
PRIMARY DICTIONARY.
A-BAN-DON. Abandon, to leave or go away from.
An abandoned man or woman, means a very
wicked man or woman.
A-BATE. Abate, to make or become less : the
storm abates when it begins to be less severe.
Ab-bre-vi-ate. Abbreviate, to shorten : Tom. is
an abbreviation of Thomas ; one o^clocJc, is an
abbreviation of the phrase, it is one hour of the
clock.
A-BET. Abet, to help or encourage a person to do
any thing.
Ab-hor. Abhor, to hate, to dislike very much in-
deed : as, God abhors lies.
Ab-hor-rence. Abhorrence, great hatred.
A-BiDE. Abide, to stay in a place. To abide, also
means to remain faithful to one's word or engage-
ment : as, " I have promised to go, and I will
abide by my promise ;" that is, I will go.
Ab-ject. Abject, very mean or cowardly.
A-BiL-i-TY. Ability, is the power of doing some-
thing : you who read this have ability to read.
A-BiL-i-TiES. Abilities, talents, capacity to think
rightly, and to do many things readily and well.
A-BLE. Able, having understanding and bodily
^rength ; you are able to speak and to walk.
2 ABS
A-BODE. Abode, house, habitation, place to live in.
A-BOL-isH. Abolish, to put an end to, to destroy.
Ab-o-li-tion. Abolition, or aholishmg^ causing
that which has been allowed or done, to be done
no more.
A-BOM-i-NA-BLE. Abominable, very wicked, or
bad.
A-BOM-i-NATE. Abominate, to abhor.
Ab-o-ri-gi-nes. Aborigines, the original, or first
inhabitants of a country. The Indian natives
of North America are descendants of the dbo-
rigines.
A-BOVE. Above, higher in place.
A-BOVE-GROUND. Abovcground, not below the
surface of the earth.
A-BOUT. About, around or encircling.
A-BREAST. Abreast, along-side : two horses at-
tached together before a coach, are abreast.
A-BRiDGE. xibridge, to make shorter in words, or
to make less in another way : "I shall abridge
your play-time," would signify, " I shall not al.
low you so much time to play."
A-BROAD. Abroad, away from one's own home
out of the house, in another country.
Ab-rupt. Abrupt, very sudden ; an abrupt depart-
ure, is when a person goes away unexpectedly.
Ab-scond. Abscond, to leave a place secretly,
and to hide one's self.
Ab-sence. Absence. To be away from a place,
is to be absent from it. Absence of mind, is inat-
tention to objects before one : to be doing one
thing and thinking of another.
Ab-so-lute. Absolute, positive, certain, existing
alone. Kings who rule their subjects without
\CC 3
written laws, just as they are pleased to do of
their own v/ill, are absolute monarclis.
Ab-sorb. Absorb, to soak up, or suck in. A
sponge immersed or put into water, becomes
w^et : the pores of the sponge absorb the water.
Ab-stain. Abstain, not to do what one is inclined
to do.
Ab-ste-mi-ous. Abstemious, temperate, not taking
much food.
Ab-sti-nent. Abstinent, the same as abstemious
Ab-stract. Abstract, to take away one part of a
thing from the rest : to take aw ay colour from a
piece of cloth, is abstraction of the colour.
Ab-struse. Abstruse, difficult to be understood.
Ab-surd. Absurd, ridiculous, having a foolish ap-
pearance.
A-bound. Abound, to be in great quantity : water
abounds in rivers.
A-BUSE. Abuse, to injure, or treat a peiison with
undeserved insult and contempt.
A-BUSE. Abuse, a bad use of a thing.
A-BUN-DANCE. Abundauce, great plenty.
A-CAD-E-MY. Academy, a school ; a company of
men who join to encourage learning or arts.
A-CAD-E-Mi-ciAN. Academician, a person who ia
the member of an academy.
Ac-CEDE. Accede, to agree to a proposal.
Ac-CEL-E-RATE. Accelerate, to make any thing
in motion go on faster and faster.
Ac-CEPT. Accept, to take with pleasure.
Ac-CEss. Access, the way to a place : the door,
or place of entrance is the access to a house.
Ac-CEss-A-RY. Accessary, a person who helps an-
other to commit a crime : a man who should
4 ACC
give another a knife, in order to kill somebody,
would be an accessary to murder.
Ac-CEss-i-BLE. Accessible, easily reached. The
house-top is accessible to the mason, who can
ascend a ladder, but to those who cannot climb,
it is inaccessible,
Ac-ci-DENT. Accident, an unforeseen circum-
stance, not necessary to happen.
Ac-CLA-MA-TioN. Acclamation, shouts of praise
from many voices.
Ac-CLiv-i-TY. Acclivity, the rising of the ground,
or any other surface. To go up a hill is to mount
the acclivity. The slope from the top to the
bottom of the hill is its declivity,
Ac-coM-MO-DATE. Accommodatc, to furnish with
necessary and comfortable things. Paper, ink,
pens, &;c. are accommodations for writing. To
accommodate matters^ is a phrase used to express
the fact that persons who have disagreed, are
become reconciled and satisfied.
Ac-coM-PLisH. Accomplish, to finish, or to adorn,
and make elegant.
Ac-coM-PLisH-ED. Accomplished, well instructed
in useful and polite knowledge.
Ac-coM-PLisH-MENTS. Accomplishmcnts, elegant
arts : to speak elegantly, to read well, to under-
stand music, and foreign languages, is to possess
accomplishments.
Ac-coRD. Accord, thinking alike, acting alike,
agreement.
Ac-count. Account, a written fist of expenses, or
of money due from one person to another. An
account is a narrative of facts : "I rose at so-
ACQ 6
ven, ate my breakfast, studied my lesson, and
went to school before nine o'clock, is an accoimt
of the manner in which a child may spend his
time in the morning.
Ac-coM-PA-NY. Accompany, to associate with
others, or to go along with them.
Ac-coM-rLicE. Accomplice, a person v/ho aids
another to do a bad action.
Ac-CRE-TioN. Accretion. A substance increases
by accretion, when it is made larger by some-
thing which grows to it on the surface. A crust
is sometimes an accretion.
Ac-cu-Mu-LATE. Accumulatc, to collect, and heap
together.
Ac-cu-RA-CY. Accuracy, great exactness.
Ac-cu-RATE. Accurate, very nice and exact.
To tell the precise truth is to be accurate.
Ac-cusE. Accuse, to impute a fault or crime to .a
person.
Ac-cus-TOM. Accustom, to do a thing often. To
be accustomed, is to have a habit. You eat daily,
you are accustomed to eat.
A-CE-TOSE. Acetose, sour. A-cid. Acid, sour,
also.
Ache. Ache, to be in pain.
A-CHiEVE. Achieve, to finish, or to perform some
thing difficult.
Ac-KNOWL-EDGE. Acknowledge, to confess.
A-coRN. Acorn, seed of the oak.
Ac-quaint. Acquaint, to tell a person of a fact,
to give information.
Ac-QUAiNT-ANCE. Acquaintance, persons whom
we know.
1*
6 ADM
Ac-QUi-ESCE. Acquiesce, to submit, to be satisfied.
Ac-quire -MENT. Acquirement, any sort of know.
ledge gained by exertion : the art of writing is a
useful acquirement.
Ac-Qui-si-TioN. Acquisition, whatever we gain.
Ac-rid. Acrid, of a hot biting taste.
Act, to do something.
Ac-TivE. Active, quick and nimble.
Ad-a-mant. Adamant, the hardest substance, the
diamond.
Ad-a-mant-ine. Adamantine, hard like adamant.
A-DAPT. Adapt, to fit. Shoes are adapted to feet,
gloves are adapted to hands.
Add, to put one thing to another.
Ad-dress. Address, to write or speak to a person.
Ad-e-quate. Adequate, sufiicient, enough.
Ad-here. Adhere, to stick to. Sealing wax ad* \
lieres to paper. I
Ad-jacent. Adjacent, being next. One pew in a
church is adjacent to another.
Ad-jouiin. Adjourn, to put ofi* to another day.
Ad-junct. Adjunctjjoined together.
Ad-just. Adjust, to put things in proper order,
or into their right places.
Ad-min-is-ter. Administer, to afford things to
other people, or to arrange affairs.
Ad-mi-ral. Admiral, a commander of several
ships in the British navy. In the American
navy we have no admirals.
Ad-mire. Admire, to regard any person or thing
with wonder and pleasure on account of supe-
rior worth or beauty,
Ad-mit. Admit, to allow, to let into a place.
Ad-mon-ish. Admonish, to speak gently and
ADV 1
kindly to a person of his faults, and to instruct
him how he may do better.
Ad-mo-ni-tion. Admonition, gentle reproof and
advice.
A-DOPT. Adopt, to take another person's child for
one's own. To adopt an opinion is to think as
some other person thinks.
A-DORE. Adore, to worship, to bow down before
another being because he is more worthy than
ourself.
A-DRiFT. Adrift, floating upon the water without
any guide or direction : we say of persons who
wander about without any home or business,
they are adrift.
A-DULT. Adult, one who is no longer a child.
Ad-vance. Advance, to come forward : to im-
prove in any thing is to advance ; to advance
money is to lend it.
Ad-van-tage. Advantage, a benefit : a good
education is an advantage,
Ad-vejnt. Advent, the coming of Christ into this
world.
Ad-vent-uke. Adventure, an undertaking of
which the end is uncertain.
Ad-vent-ure. Adventure, is to undertake business
without fear of bad consequences, to venture,
Ad-ver-sa-ry. Adversary, one person acting
against another, an antagonist or enemy.
Ad-vers-i-ty. Adversity, trouble or affliction.
To be very poor, is to be in adversity,
Ad-ver-tise. Advertise, to let all persons know
something.
Ad-vise. Advise, to instruct others how to con-
duct themselves, or how to act wisely.
'8 AG A
A-E-Ri-AL. Aerial, belonging to air.
A-E-RO-NAUT Aeronaut, one who manages bal-
loons, and ascends into the air.
A-FAR. Afar, at a great distance.
Af-fa-ble. Affable, polite, of amiable manners.
Af-fair. Affair, something to be done, business.
Af-fec-tion. Affection, love and good will. To be
affected, is to feel in any way. To be affected
with disease is to be sick.
Af-firm. x\ffirm, to speak positively concerning
any subject.
Af-firm-a-tive. Affirmative. Yes, is an affirma-
tive ; No, a negative. " I love you," is an af-
firmative declaration ; " I do 7iot love you," is
the negative of it.
Af-fix. Affix, to fasten one thing upon another.
Af-flict. Afflict, to grieve or to give pain.
Af-flic-tion. Affliction, distress of mind.
Af-flu-ence. Affluence, abundance of money
wealth, riches.
Af-flu-ent. Affluent, abounding in money.
Af-ford. Afford, to be able to pay for : to be able
to give a thing.
Af-fright. Affright, sudden and great fear.
Af-front. Affront, to insult, to give offence by
design.
A-FLOAT. Afloat, swimming on waten
A-FRAiD. Afraid, in fear.
Af-Ter. After, in time following some time be-
fore :
Af-ter-noon. Afternoon, that part of the day
which follows twelve o'clock until sunset.
A-GAiN. Again, once more, another time.
A-(;ainst, Against, opposite to something.
ALA 9
Age. Age, the time a person has lived : w.e say
of a child, he is six years of age. Age also
means the time in which some great person liv-
ed : when we say the Augustan age, we mean
the time when Augustus, a celebrated Roman
emperor, hved.
Ag-gra-vate, Aggravate, to make worse.
Ag-gre-gate. Aggregate, the whole of a number
of things taken together, or collectively.
A-GENT. Agent, one who acts, or performs some
thing.
A-GHAST. Aghast, pale with terror
A-GiLE. Agile, active.
A-GiL-i-TY. Agility, the power of moving quickly,
and with ease.
A-Gi-TATE. Agitate, to move, to disturb, to shake :
a person is agitated who is suddenly frightened
or rejoiced.
Ag-o-ny. Agony, violent pain of body or mind.
A-GREE, Agree, to think like another, to be alike.
When several things are fitted to each other they
agree,
A-GREE-A-BLE. Agreeable, pleasing, fit.
A-GUE. Ague, a disease.
Aid. Aid, help, assistance. To aid is to assist
Ail. Ail, to be sick.
Aim. Aim, to attempt to reach, or to gain some-
thing.
Air. Air, a thin substance which surrounds the
earth, as a candle blaze surrounds the wick.
Air is the element which animals respire or
breathe : air keeps animals and vegetables alive.
An air sometimes means a piece of music. The
air of a person is his manners and appearance.
10 ALL
Al-a-bas-ter. Alabaster, a substance which re-
sembles marble, and out of which statues and
vases are often made.
A-LAC-Ei-TY. Alacrity, willingness to do some
thing, and ready exertion to do it.
A-LARM. Alarm, a cry to express danger : the
state of sudden surprise and fear.
A-LARM-iNG. Alarming, terrible and surprising.
Al-co-hol. Alcohol, the spirit which is in bran-
dy, and other intoxicating liquors.
Al-der-man. Alderman, a magistrate in a city.
Ale. Ale, a species of beer, or malt liquor.
A-LiGHT. Alight, to come down from a horse or
carriage : a bird may alight from a perch, oi
from his flight in the air.
Al-i-ment. Aliment, food or victuals : bread,
meat, &c.
A-LivE. Alive, not dead.
All. All, the whole.
Al-lay. Allay, to abate heat or pain : water al-
lays the painful sensation of thirst.
Al-li-ance. Alliance, the union of several per-
sons in the same undertaking,
Al-li-ga-tor. Alligator, the crocodile of America.
Al-lit-er-a-tion. Alliteration, the beginning of
two or more words in succession with the same
letters : Thus :
*' The bookful blockhead ignorantly read,
With loads of learned lumber m his head."
Two words in the first line begin with B, and three
in the second with L : this is alliteration.
Al-le-lu-jah. Allelujah, pronounced alleluya:
it signifies praise God.
Al-le-vi-ate. Alleviate, to make pain or any
affliction less.
AMB 11
Al-luse. Allure, to entice a person to do a bad
action, or to go to a dangerous place.
All- WISE. All-wise, knowing all things : God
alone is all-wise or omniscient.
Al-ly. Ally, one who assists another in some
project.
Al-migh-ty. Almighty, means able to do all
things : it is only God who is almighty. We say
too that God is all-wise, and that he is all-seeing,
because he sees every thing which we do, in
darkness as well as in the light.
A-LOFT. Aloft, up high in the air.
Al-tar. Altar, a kind of table, commonly made
of stone or of w^ood, on which are laid things
offered up to God.
Al-ter. Alter, to change, to make a thing dif-
ferent from what it was.
A.L-TER-NATE-LY. Alternately, by turns, one af-
ter another.
A-MAss. Amass, to heap together.
A-MAZE. Amaze, to terrify and astonish at once.
AoiAZE-MENT. Amazement, great fear and won-
der.
A-MAz-iNG. Amazing, very wonderful.
Am-a-zon. Amazon, a masculine woman.
Am-bas-sa-dor. Ambassador, a messenger from
the government of one country to the govern-
ment of another country,
Am-ber. Amber, a beautiful yellow substance
found on the sea-shore : necklaces and orna-
ments are made of it.
Am-big-u-ous. Ambiguous, having two different
meanings, uncertain.
Am-bi-tion, Ambition, the wish which we feel to
improve ourselves, or to raise ourselves higher
12 ANC
in rank or knowledge than we are now : an am-
hitious person is one who desires to be greater
or better than he is.
A-MEND. Amend, to make any thing right which
was wrong before, to become better.
A-MEN-i-TY. Amenity, mildness of manners.
A-MEL-ioR-ATE. Ameliorate, to improve.
Am-e-tiiyst. Amethyst, a precious stone, of a
beautiful purplish blue colour.
A-Mi-A-BLE. Amiable, deserving love, kind and
good.
Am-i-ca-ble. Amicable, with a friendly intention.
Am-mu-ni-tion. Ammunition, balls and powder,
used in fighting.
A -MOUNT. Amount, sum total : the whole of se-
veral numbers together.
Am-phib-i-ous. Amphibious : we call those crea-
tures amphibious which can live both on land
and in the water : the otter and the beaver are
amphibious animals.
Am-ple. Ample, large, wide, or plentiful.
Am-ply. Amply, largely, in great plenty,
Am-pu-tate. Amputate, to cut off limbs.
A-muse-ment. Amusement, pleasure, play.
A-Mus-iNG. Amusing, entertaining.
An- arch- Y. Anarchy, confusion, want of govern- j
ment.
An-ces-tors. Ancestors, those of our family who
have lived before us.
Ak-chor. Anchor, an iron implement used in
ships.
An-cho-vy. Anchovy, a small fish.
Ak-cient. Ancient, old, belonging to times long
since past : by the ancients, we mean those peo-
ple who lived in those times.
ANT 13
An-ecdote. Anecdote, a short piece of history.
An-gle, Angle, a point where two lines meet to*
gether. This is a right angle, | . This is an
acute angle, ^. This is an obtuse angle, _/. A
triangle is a figure which has three angles or
corners, like this, A. A quadrangle is a figure
which has four angles or corners, like this, n»
An-gling. Angling, taking fish for sport.
An-i-mal-cu-le. Animalcule, an animal too small
to be seen without glasses.
An-gu-lar, Angular, having points or corners.
An-guish. Anguish, very great pain.
An-i-mal. Animal, every creature which is alive
and feels is called an animal.
An-i-mate. Animate, all living creatures are aw-
imate ; and all things which are not alive, and
never have been alive, are inanimate ; a horse,
a mouse, a fly, is animate; a stone, a tree, a
flower, is inanimate.
An-i-ma-ted. Animated, gay, lively.
An-nex. Annex, to add one thing to the end of
some other thing ; to join.
An-nounce. To announce a things to tell it. To
announce a person, to tell his name.
An-nu-al. xinnual, coming every year.
An-nu-al-ly. Annually, every year.
Ant-arc-tic. Antarctic, belonging to the Southern
Pole.
An-te-ri-or. Anterior, going before, or happen-
ing before.
An-ti-ci-pate. To anticipate, a person is to do
something which he intended to do, before he
shall do it, so as to prevent him from doing it
2
14 APP
To anticipate, is to feel a circumstance, or think
of it, before it has really happened.
An-tic. Antic, a strange comical action or attitude.
An-ti-dote. Antidote, any thing which is good
against poison.
An-tip-o-des. The Antipodes. This world in
which we live is a large globe or ball, something
in the shape of an orange ; those people, then,
who live at the other side of the world, and have
their feet opposite to ours, are called Antipodes*
AN-Ti-aui-TY. Antiquity, times which are long
since past,
An-ti-qui-ties. Antiquities, the remains of things
which were made or done a very long while ago.
An-vil. Anvil, a strong heavy piece of iron, on
which a smith hammers his work.
Anx-i-e-ty. Anxiety, great trouble about what is
to happen.
Anx-ious. Anxious, full of uneasiness ; to be
anxious ybr a thing, to wish for it very much.
A-PART. Apart, separated from the rest of a num.
ber of persons or things, or divided from a body.
Ape. Ape, a kind of monkey. To ape, to imi.
tate without good sense.
A-PER-TURE. Aperture, a hole, or opening in any
thing.
A-POL-o-GY. Apology, an excuse.
A-POL-o-GizE. Apologize, to make excuses.
A-pos-TLE. Apostle : the Apostles were those
men who were sent by Jesus Christ to teach his
religion.
Ap-par-el. Apparel, clothes, any thing in which
one is dressed.
Ap.pA-RENT. Apparent nlain, easy to be seen.
ARM 15
Apparent sometimes means not real, only pre-
tended.
Ap-pease. Appease, to quiet, or to satisfy.
Ap-pen-dage. Appendage, something which is
added to another thing, or belongs to it.
Ap-plaud. Applaud, to praise highly.
Ap-ply. Apply, to apply to a things to pay atten-
tion to it, or to work at it. To apply to a per.
son, to ask him for something.
Ap-pli-ca-tiox. Application, the use of something.
Application means also great attention to any
thing.
Ap-point. Appoint, to fix or settle.
Ap-proach. Approach, to come near to.
Ap-pro-ba-tion. Approb-ation, the being pleased
with any thing
Ap-prove. Approve, to like, to be much pleased
with.
4l-quat-ic. Aquatic, belonging to the water, living
in water ; swans and geese are aquatic birds.
Arch-er. Archer, one that shoots with a bow and
arrow.
Arch-e-ry. Archery, the art of shooting with a
bow and arrow.
Ar-chi-tect. Architect, a builder, or contriver
of any edifice.
Ar-chi-tec-ture. Architecture is the art of
building.
Arc-tic. Arctic, belonging to the Northern Pole
of the earth.
Ark. Ark, the vessel which God commanded
Noah to build for the preservation of himself
and his family from the flood.
Arms. Arms, or weapons, are instruments used to
16, ATT
kill men, or to prevent them from being huit :
guns and pistols diVQ fire-arms. To take up armSy
means to begin to fight.
Ar-dent. Ardent, hot, burning : sometimes ardertf,
means, of a passionate or affectionate temper,
Ar-dour Ardour, great heat.
Ar-du-ous. Arduous, difficult, hard to be reached.
Ar-gue. Argue, to dispute, or to try to persuade
any body by reasons.
Ar-gu-ment. Argument, a reason.
Ar-my. Army, soldiers who fight together, and
obey one man, called the general of the army.
A-suN-DER. Asunder, parted, not together. Wood
is sawn asunder,
At-mo-sphere. Atmosphere, the air which is
all around us.
At-om. Atom, a very small part of any things
or something exceedingly small.
A-TONE. Atone, to make amends for a fault by
being good.
A-.TRo-ci-TY. Atrocity, great wickedness.
At-tach. Attach, to fasten one thing to ano-
ther : to he attached to persons or things, is to
be very fond of them, to love them.
At-tach-ment. Attachment, fondness for some-
thing.
At-tain. To attain a things is to get it or
reach it.
At-tempt. Attempt, to try.
At-tend. Attend, or to be attentive^ or to pay
attention, is to mind what one is about.
At-ten-dant. Attendant, one that waits upon
another person.
At-tract. Attract, to be attracted by any thing, is
AUT 17
to be drawn towards it, as a needle is drawn to-
wards a magnet.
At-trac-tive. Attractive,' pleasing, very agree-
able.
At-tri-tion. Attrition, the act of rubbing things
together.
A-scEN-sioN. Ascension, flight upwards.
A-VAiL. To avail one^s self of any thing, to profit
by it, to make use of it.
Av-A-RicE. Avarice, love of money.
Av-A-Ri-cious. Avaricious, covetous, selfish.
Au-DA-cious^ Audacious, bold, impudent.
Au-Di-BLE. Audible, loud enough to be heard.
Au-Di-EXCE. Audience, people who listen to
something : to give audience to a person <o iis
ten to what he has to say.
Au-Di-TOR. Auditor, a person who hears.
A-VERSE. Averse, unwilling : to be averse lo a
thing, is to dishke it.
A-vER-sioN. Aversion, hatred, great dislike.
AuG-MENT. Augment, to make bigger, oc to be*
come larger.
A-vi-A-RY. Aviary, a place to keep birds lO.
A-viD-i-TY. Avidity, great greediness.
Av-o-cA-TioN. Avocation, a person's business, or
trade.
A -VOID. To avoid a thing, to get away from il,
or to try to get away from it : to avoid a person^
to keep out of his way.
Au-spi-cious. Auspicious, kind, lucky, happy.
Au-sTERE. Austere, cross, severe.
Au-STER-i-TY. Austerity, means severity, cruelty.
At/-thor. Author, a person who first contrives
something : an author is one who writes a b^iok
2*
18 ASP
Ar-o-mat-ic. Aromatic, having the taste or smell
of spices ; having a strong and dehghtful.smelL
Ar-ray, Array, to dtess.
Ar-ray-ed. Arrayed, dressed, ornamented.
Ar-rest. Arrest, to stop, to hinder from going on
Ar-ro-gance, Arrogance, conceit, pride.
Ar-ro-gant. Arrogant, proud, and impudent.
Art. Art, the power of doing something by taking
pains : art sometimes means cunning.
Art-ist. Artist, a person who is skilful in any
particular art.
Art-ful. Artful, cunning, contriving.
Art-i-fice. Artifice, a trick, something dono
cunningly.
Art-i-fi-cer. Artificer, a person who contrive*
or makes any thing.
Art-i-fi-cial. Artificial, means not natural, but
made by art to imitate nature.
Ar-ti-cle. Article, any particular thing.
Ar-tic-u-late. Articulate, to speak words plainly,
A-scEiN D. Ascend, to go upwards ; to descend^ is
to go downwards,
A-scent. Ascent, the way by which we go up
As-CER-TAiN. Ascertain, to make quite sure.
Ash-es. Ashes, what is left of something which
has been burnt, or which is dead. .
A-siDE. Aside, on one side : aside sometimes ^
means away from the company.
As-PECT. Aspect, the look or countenance of a
person ; as when we say, such a one has an ill-
natured or rough aspect,
As-PECT. Aspect, the appearance of a country.
As-piRE. Aspire, to wish very much for something
above us : to wish to rise higher.
AWE 19
As-SE3r-BLE. Assemble, to meet together, or to
bring together into one place.
As-SEM-BLAGE. Assemblage, either a number of
things or a number oi persons all together in one
place.
As-sENT. Assent, to agree to a plan or proposed.
A.S-SERT. To assert a fact is to affirm it, to say it
is true.
As-SER-TioN. Assertion, something which is said
to be true.
As-si-DU-i-TY. Assiduity, continual industry or
attention to something.
As-so-ci-ATE. To associate with a person, is to
keep company with him.
As-so-ciATE. Associate, a partner or companion.
As-suAGE. Assuage, to ease pain.
As-suME. Assume, to pretend to be more impor-
tant than one really is : to assume a right or a
duty^ is to take it upon one's-self.
As-su-MiNG. Assuming, bold, impudent.
As-suR-ANCE. Assurance, confidence in one's own
ability. An assurance is a promise.
As-suR-ED-LY. Assuredly, certainly, without doubt,
A-STRAY. Astray, wrong, out of the way.
As-TROL-o-GER. Astrologcr, a man who pretends to
know what will happen by looking at the stars.
As-TRON-o-MY. Astronomy, the science which
describes the heavenly bodies, the sua, moon,
and stars.
Au-THOR-i-TY. Authority; power, rule.
Au-TOM-A-TON. Automaton, an image, which is
contrived to move like a living being.
Aux-iL-i-A-RY. Auxiliary, a helper.
Awe. Awe, respect mingled with fear.
20 BAN
Aw.FUL. Awful, inspiring reverence and holy
fear : the name of God is awful.
Ax-is. Axis, the middle of a sphere.
A-zuRE. Azure, blue, the colour of the sky.
B
Badge. Badge, a mark to distinguish a person :
the eagle stamped on the button of a navy offi-
cer is the badge of his profession ; it shows that
he belongs to the American navy.
Bait. Bait, meat put upon a trap to entice some
animal.
Bal-ance. Balance, a pair of scales. When two
articles of the same weight are put into the
scales, the scales are poised, or exactly balanced.
Bald. Bald, without any hair.
Bale. Bale, a large bundle or box of any thing.
Bale-ful. Baleful, full of mischief.
Bal-lad, Ballad, a song which relates a story.
Bal-loon. Balloon, a machine by which people
can rise into the air.
Balm. Balm, the name of a plant : sometimes
halm means any thing which cures pain.
Balm-y. Balmy, soft and sweet to the smell.
Band. Band, something which is tied round any
other thing: band means also a number of per-
sons all together, as a band of music, or a band
of soldiers.
Bane. Bane, poison, mischief.
Bane-ful. Baneful, bad, full of mischief.
Ban-ish. Banish, to send a man out of his own
country as a punishment : to drive away any
thing.
Ban-quet. Banquet, a great feast.
BEA 21
Bar-ba-ri-an. Barbarian, a cruel, savage man,
or a rude uncivil person.
Ba.r-bar-1-ty. Barbarity, great cruelty.
Bar-bar-ous. Barbarous, cruel : barbarous, also
means, very ignorant, rude, or uncivil.
Bar-gain. Bargain, an agreement about somo
thing which is bought or sold.
Barge. Barge, a large boat.
Bark. Bark, the outside substance upon any tree :
bark, a small ship.
Bar-ley-corn. Barleycorn, one grain of barley :
three lengths of a barleycorn make an inch,
Bar-ren. Barren, unfruitful : the land or soil oa
which neither corn nor plants of any kind will
grow, is barren or unfruitful,
Bar-ri-er. Barrier, something put to hinder y
person, or stop him from coming any further.
Bar-ter. Barter, to exchange one thing for an-
other.
Base. Base, mean, wicked, bad : the base of any
thing, the bottom of it, or the part on which it
stands.
Base-ness. Baseness, great meanness.
Ba-sis. Basis, the lowest part of something on
which the upper part rests, or any thing which
serves as a bottom for some other thing to be
raised on.
Bask. Bask, to lie out in the sun.
Bath. Bath, a large vessel of water in which one
may bathe.
Bat-ter. Batter, to beat down or to bruise.
Bat-tle. Battle, a great fight between two armies.
Beach. Beach, the sea-shore, the sands.
BisAK. Beak, the pointed mouth of a bird.
2^ BEN
Beam. Beam, a large long heavy piece of wood ;
heam means also a ray of light y as, when we say
the beams of the sun.
Beam-ing. Beaming, bright, shining.
Beau. Beau, a man who dresses very gaily.
Bkav-er. Beaver, an amphibious animal found in
America. Beavers join together and build them.
selves the most curious and convenient houses
across small streams of water. Beautiful hats
are made of their hair, which is thick, soft, and
shining. This animal is also called the Castor,
Bee. Bee, an industrious little insect that collects
honey and wax from flowers.
Be-guile. To beguile a person, is to cheat him ;
to beguile tJie time, to be amused, to make the
time pass quickly and pleasantly.
Be-head. Behead, to kill a person by cutting off
his head.
Be-hold. Behold, to see, to look at.
Be-ing, Being, any thing that lives : God is
called the Great Being, men and women are
human beings.
Bel-dam. Beldam, a very old woman.
Be-lov-ed. Beloved, much loved, very dear.
Bench. Bench, a long seat.
Ben-e-fac-tor. Benefactor, a man who does
good to another.
Ben-e-fac-tress. Benefactress, a woman who
does good.
Ben-ef-i-cent. Beneficent, kind, doing good.
Ben-e-fi-cial. Beneficial, profitable, very good
for some purpose.
Ben-e-fit. Benefit, a favour, a kind action: to
benefit by any thing, is to profit by it.
BLO ^
Ben-ev-o-lence. Benevolence, good nature, kind-
ness, a disposition to do good to every body.
Be-nign. Benign, kind, doing good.
Be-reave. Bereave, to take away. To be hereft
of any things means to be deprived of it, to have
it taken away from one.
Ber-ry. Berry, pulpy fruit enclosing seeds.
Be-seech. Beseech, to beg, to entreat.
Be-set. Beset, to be teazed, to be wearied by
something round about us.
Be-speak. To bespeak a things to order it before.
Be-stir. To Bestir one^s-self, to be very busy, to
make a bustle.
Be-stow. Bestow, to give.
Be-tide. Betide, to befall or to happen.
Be-times. Betimes, means early, soon : I hope
you rise betimes in the morning.
Be -TRAY. To Betray a person, to give him into the
hands of those who want to hurt him. To be-
tray, to tell something which we ought to have
kept a secret. To betray one's-self to let peo-
ple know something we did not wish or intend
them to find out.
Bier, Bier, a kind of carriage, on which dead
people are carried to the grave.
BiL-Low. Billow, a great wave of the sea.
Bind. Bind, to tie fast, to hinder, to tie together.
Bound, fastened, tied.
Bi-ped. Biped, an einimal with two feet, like birds
or man.
Bliss. Bliss, great happiness.
Blithe. Blithe, gay, light, pleasant.
Block. Block, a thick heavy piece of wood.
Block, means also a heavy lump of any things
24 BLA
To he brought to the block, means to be beheaded.
BLooDi Blood, a red fluid in animals. Bloody of
grapes^ means wine, the juice of grapes.
Blood-shed. Bloodshed, murder, killing.
Bloom. Bloom, to have flowers or blossoms.
Bloom-ing. Blooming, flowery^ full of blossoms ;
when we speak of persons, blooming means
young and beautiful.
Blub-ber. Blubber, the fat of the whale, which^
being melted, is made into oiL
Blunt. Blunt, not sharp. A blunt person^ one
who is rough or plain in his manner of speaking.
Blus-ter, Bluster, to roar, as the wind does in
a storm.
Blus-ter-ing. Blustering^ rude, restless, and noisy.
Boast. Boast, to speak proudly of one's own
actions. A Z^oa^f, proud words ; something of
which one may be proud.
Bog. Bog, soft wet ground.
Bois-TER-ous. Boisterous, violent and noisy.
Bolt. Bolt, an iron bar to fasten a door.
Birth. Birth, the first coming into life.
Birth-day. Birthday, the day on which one is
born.
Birth-place. Birthplace, the place in which any
one is born.
Born. To be born, to come into life, to begin to
be alive.
Black-smith. Blacksmith, a smith that works in
iron.
Blade. Blade, the long narrow leaf of grass and
corn is called a blade. Blade, the sharp cutting
part of a knife, or sword, or scissors, &c.
EOT 25
Bland, soft, gentle.
Blank, white, not written on, as hlank paper:
a blank is an empty part, or a paper not written
upon.
Blas-phe-my. Blasphemy, disrespect to God Ah
mighty.
Blast, a sudden violent wind : blast sometimes
means the sound of a trumpet.
Blast-ed. To be blasted, to be withered, to be
struck with some misfortune or plague.
Bleach, to make white, or to become white.
Blem-ish. Blemish, something which takes away
the beauty of any thing, a disgrace, a stain.
Blend, to mix together.
Bless, to make very happy. To bless, means also
to wish happiness to somebody. Bless, to praise,
to thank very heartily.
Bless-ing. Blessing, a great happiness ; a bless-
ing is a wish for another's happiness.
Blight, any thing which nips or hurts.
Bond, any thing which fastens or ties.
Bond-age. Bondage or bonds, confinement, im-
prisonment.
BoN-NY. Bonny, gay, handsome.
BooT-LEss. Bootless, quite useless, of no advan-
tage.
BooT-Y. Booty, things got by robbing people
Bore, to make a hole.
BoR-ROw. Borrow, to take something from an-
other person, promising to return it.
Bot-a-ny. Botany, the science which teaches
the nature oi trees y herbs ^ ^nAJlowers.
3
26 BRI
BoT-A-NisT. Botanist, a person who studies
plants, to find out their ditFerent kinds and uses.
Bough, a branch of a tree.
Bound, to jump, to leap about. Bound, tied,
fastened. Bound or a boundary, a border, an
edge.
BouND-LESs. Boundless, exceedingly large.
BouN-TY. Bounty, kindness, generosity.
BouN-TE-ous. Bounteous, giving much, kind.
BouN-Ti-FUL. Bountiful, bounteous, generous.
Bowl, a large bail rolled along the ground.
Brace, two of any thingj a pair. To brace, to tie
close.
Brack-ish. Brackish, having the taste of salt.
Brag, to speak proudly. A brag, a boasU
Brake, a place full of bushes and brambles.
Brand, a lighted stick : a sword.
Bran-dish. Brandish, to shake backwards, and
forwards, to flourish about.
Brass, a yellow metal, made by a mixture of cop-
per and zink. A smith who works in brass is
called a Brazier.
Bra-zen. Brazen, made of brass ; also bold, im-
pudent.
Brave, bold, noble, full of courage. To brave^ to
defy, not to care for.
Breach, a hole, or opening broken into any thing.
A breach, sometimes means a quarrel,
Breed-ing. Breeding, education, manners
Brev-i-ty. Brevity, shortness.
Bribe, to give a person something to make him do
wrong. A bribe, a reward for doing torong.
BUC 27
Beicks. Bricks are made of clay burnt in the
fire, many houses are built of bricks.
Brick-kil^\ Brickkiln, a place to burn bricks in.
Brief, of short continuance.
Brief-ly. Briefly, in a few words.
Brill-iant. Brilliant, very bright, shining. A
BriUiant, a very fine diamond.
Bri3i, the edge of any vessel.
Brixe, salt and water.
Brink, the edge of any deep place.
Brisk, gay, hvely.
Bris-tles. Bristles, short, stiff, strong hairs.
Brit-tle. Brittle, apt to break, or easily broken ;
glass and chi7ia are brittle.
Bronze, a mixture of brass and other substances.
Brood, to sit on eggs, in order to hatch them, as
a hen does. To brood over any thing, is to think
of it with great anxiety. A brood, the number
of young birds hatched at once ; as a brood of
little chickens.
Brook, a little stream of water.
Broav, the forehead, — Brow sometimes means the
edge of a very high place : as when we say, the
brow of a hill.
Brow se, to eat, to feed as goats and sheep.
Brute, a beast; any creature without sense or
understanding is a brute,
Bru-tal. Brutal, like a brute, savage, cruel.
Bub-ble. Bubble, a thin hollow globe filled with
air.
BucK-ET. Bucket, a kind of pail used to carry
water.
28 BYS
Bud-Oet. Budget, a bag.
BuF-FET. Buffet, a violent blow : buffet^ to strike,
to beat.
BuF-FooN. Buffoon, a man who makes grimaces,
and pi ays tricks.
Bulb, a round root : the roots of all plants which
are bulbs are called bulbous roots : onions and
hyacinths have bulbous roots.
Bulk, the size or bigness of any thing.
BuLK-Y. Bulky, very large, of a great size.
Bull-y. Bully, a noisy, boasting, quarrelsome
man.
Bung, a stopper to fill up the hole in a barrel.
BuN-GLER. Bungler, a person who does any
thing clumsily and badly.
Buoy -ANT. Buoyant, not sinking, floating.
Bur-den. Burden, or burthen, a load, any thing
which is heavy.
BuR-DEN-soME. Burdcnsome, heavy, trouble-
some.
BuR-NisH. Burnish, to polish, to make bright.
Bu-RY. Bury, to put into a grave, to hide under
ground.
BusH-Y. Bushy, thick, spreading, full of small
branches : foxes and squirrels have bushy tails
BuTCH-ER. Butcher, a person who kills animals,
and sells their flesh for food : butcher, to kill, to
murder.
Buzz, to make a noise like bees, to hum.
By-and-by, in a short time.
By-stand-er, Bystander, a person who looks on
without meddling in what is going forward.
'1
CAN 2»
CA.B-IN. Cabin, a small room in a ship : a cahin
sometimes means a little cottage.
Cab-in-et. Cabinet, a small chest of drawers, to
hold curiosities, or things of value : it also means
a closet or small room.
Cab-in-et-ma-ker. Cabinet-maker, a man who
makes nice work in wood.
Ca-ble. Cable, a great thick rope used in a ship*
Ca-lam-i-ty. Calamity, distress, misfortune, sor-
row.
Cal-cine. Calcine, to burn a thing to powder.
Cal-cu-late. Calculate, to reckon, to count.
Cal-cu-la-tion. Calculation, the art of number-
ing or reckoning.
Call-ijng. Calling, a person's calling is his trade,
his business.
Cal-lous. Callous, exceedingly hard, without
feeling, like bone.
Cal-lo^v. Callow, without any feathers, like
young birds.
Calm, quiet, still. A calm, stillness. To calm^ to
make quite still.
Ca-ltjm-ni-ate, Calumniate, to speak ill of a
person without reason.
Cal-um-ny. Calumny, something spoken against
a person which is not true.
Camp, the tents in which soldiers live.
Ca-na-ry-bird. Canary-bird, a little yellow bird,
which sings sweetly : it was first brought from
the Canary Islands.
3*
30 CAP
Can-did. Candid, always ready to tell the truth*
Can-dour. Candour, truth, fairness.
Canes, are the stalks of a plant growing in the
East and West Indies : when they are split,
they are woven into chair bottoms, and other
things.
Ca-nine. Canine, like a dog : all dogs together
are sometimes called the canine race.
Can-ni-bal. Cannibal, one who eats the flesh of
men.
Ca-noe. Canoe, a small boat made of a hollow
tree, or of bark,
Can-o-py. Canopy, a covering above our heads.
Can^vass. Canvass, coarse open cloth.
Ca-pa-ble. Capable, able to do some particular
thing. 1
Ca-pa^cious. Capacious, large, wide, and deep, «
holding a large quantity.
Ca-pa-ci-ty. Capacity, the power of doing some*
thing : a person of good capacity^ is a person
who has abilities, understanding.
Ca-par-i-son. Caparison, to dress out a horse^
very finely.
Ca-per. Caper, a jump.
Ca-per. Caper, to skip about.
'Ca-pers. Capers, are the berries of a plant
which grows in warm countries.
Cap-i-tal. Capital, means first, highest : capital
letters, are large letters. The capital, the chief
or greatest city in any country : London is the
capital of Great Britain ; Paris is the capital of
France ; Madrid is the capital of Spain. Capim
tal crimCy a fault which is punished with death.
Ca-price. Caprice, a sudden fancy, a whim.
CAR 31
Ca-pri-cious. Capricious, full of fancies, whim-
sical.
Cap-tain. Captain, a leader, one who has autho-
rity over others.
Cap-ti-vate. Captivate, to make people love by
pleading qualities.
Cap-tive. Captive, one who is kept a prisoner.
Cap-tiv-i-ty. Captivity, bonds, imprisonment.
Cap-ture. Capture, any thing which is taken by
force.
Car, a kind of carriage.
Car- AT. Carat, a weight by which people weigh
diamonds.
Car-cass. Carcass, a dead body of any animal.
Car-di-nal-points. Cardinal points, are the East,
West, North, and South ; if you turn your face
to the sun in the middle of the day, you will
have the South before you, the North will be
behind you, the East on your left hand, and the
West to your right hand.
Ca-reer. Career, full speed : it also means a
race, or the ground on which a race is run : ea»
reer may also mean the life or actions of a per-
son, as we say, death put an end to his career,
Ca-ress. Caress, to indulge, to fondle.
Car-mine. Carmine, a beautiful bright red colour.
Car-pen-ter. Carpenter, a man who works in
wood. [on.
Car-pet. Carpet, any thing spread for us to tread
Car-riage. Carriage, a coach : a person's car-
riage^ is his behaviour or manners.
Car-ri-on. Carrion, the flesh of dead horses and
asses : crows eat carrion^ and hounds feed on
carrion.
I
3^ CEL
Carve, to cut meat at table : carve is also to cut
something out of wood, stone, or ivory,
Cas-cade. Cascade, a waterfall.
Cask-et. Casket, a little case or box.
Cast, to throw, to let fall : to cast sometimes
means to make of some particular shape : to
cast one^s eyes on a thing, is to look at it : to be
cast down, is to be sorry, to be sad : to cast up,.
is to reckon, to count : to cast off, to send away,]
or to throw away.
Cas-u-al. Casual, happening by chance, without
being expected or designed. [things.
Cat-a-logue. Catalogue, a list of names or of
Cat-a-eact. Cataract, a fall of water from a very
high place.
Cat-e-chism. Catechism, something taught by
questions and answers.
Cave, or cavern, a hollow place in the ground.
Cav-i-ty. Cavity, a hole, which has been dug out.
Cause-way. Causeway, a road raised above the
rest of the ground.
Caus-tic. Caustic, burning.
Cau-tion. Caution, to warn against danger.
Cau-tious, Cautious, careful, watchful.
Cease, to leave off, to stop.
Cease-less. Ceaseless, continual, always going on,
Cel-e-brate. Celebrate, to praise very much : ^
to celebrate sometimes means to do something in Jj
a solemn and particular manner : as, you cele-^
brate Christmas.
Cel-e-bra-ted. Celebrated, very famous, [ness
Ce-ler-i-ty. Celerity, great quickness or swift-
Ce-les-tial. Celestial, belonging to heaven, or
like heaven : as, when we say, celestial goodness.
:!
CHA 33
Cell, a little cavity, or a little room.
Ce-ment. Cement, something used to join things
together : glue is a cement^ mortar is a cement.
Cen-sure. Censure, blame : censure^ to blame.
Cen-tre. Centre, of a circle or sphere, exactly
the middle of it.
Cei\^-tu-ry. Century, one hundred years. When
we say, " such an event happened in the first
century, or the sixth century," we only mean
that it happened during the first hundred years
after the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ, or
in six hundred years after the birth of Jesus
Christ, &c. &;c. King Henry the Fifth con-
quered France in the fifteenth century. We
live in the nineteenth century.
Cer-e-mo-ivy. Ceremony, a particular manner of
doing something which does not happen daily ;
the baptism of an infant is a ceremony ; cere^
mony, outward civility.
Cer-e-mo-ni-ous. Ceremonious, formal and polite.
Cer-tain. Certain, quite sure.
Ces-sa-tion. Cessation, a stop, a leaving off.
Chafe, to warm with rubbing : to chafe means,
also, to fret, to rage.
Chaff, the husks of corn.
Cha-grin. Chagrin, ill-humour, vexation.
Chal-lenge. Challenge, to call another out to
fight, or to call another person to a contest, that
is, to try who can do a thing best, as, " I chal-
lenge you to run a race."
Cham-ber. Chamber, a room in a house, [other,
Cham-pi-on. Champion, one who fights for an-
Chance, an accident, or unexpected event : cJiancCy
to happen, to befall.
34 CHA
Chax-nel. Channel, hollow deep place in which
a stream of water runs. The British Channel
is the sea between England and France.
CiiA-os. Chaos, confusion, a mixture of things
in which nothing can be distinguished.
Chap-lain. Chaplain, the clergyman who attends
a family, a ship, or a regiment of soldiers.
Chap-let. Chaplet, a wreath of flowers or pre-
cious stones to put round the head.
CyHAR-AC-TEK. Character, of a person, means his
disposition, his good or bad qualities.
Char-ac-ters. Characters, letters in writing or
printing.
Char-ac-ter-is-tic. Characteristic, belongiDO|.
to something as a quahty. It is characteristic^
of a good and amiable disposition always to for
give those who offend us.
Char-coal. Charcoal, pieces of wood burnt ton
black cinder.
Charg-er. Charger, a war-horse.
Char-i-ty. Charity, a disposition always to think
kindly of other people: charity often means kind-
ness, relief to the poor.
Char-i-ta-ble. Charitable, kind, generous to the
poor.
Charm. Charm, something in another person
which wins our love : to charm, to please very
much.
Char-ter. Charter, a writing which gives par-
ticular rights to some people. [animal.
Chase, to drive before us: chase, hunting some
Chasm, a great hole or opening.
Chast-en. Chasten, or to chastise, to punish, or
to make better by punishment.
CHU 35
Cheap, easy to be had, or at a low price.
Check, to stop something from going on ; a cJieck^
something which stops.
Cheer, means eating and drinking : cheer, to com-
fort, to make glad.
Cheer-ful. Cheerful, gay, merry.
Cheer-less. Cheerless, uncomfortable, sad.
Cher-ish. Cherish, to encourage, to nurse kindly.
Cher-ub. Cherub, an angel, a spirit of heaven.
Chide, to blame, to scold.
Chief, highest, first : a chief, or chieftain, is a
captain, a leader.
Chime, the sound of bells : chime, to jingle, to
sound : chime sometimes means to suit with.
Chi-me-ra. Chimera, a wild fancy.
Chis-el. Chisel, a cutting instrument used by
sculptors, stone-cutters, and carpenters.
Choice. Choice, curious, uncommon, excellent,
choice is also the power of choosing : as, " my
mother gave me my choice of two books," that
is, gave me leave to choose which I liked best»
(!^HOiR, or chorus, a band of singers.
(Jho-ral. Ckoral, sung by a number together.
Chol-er. Choler, rage, anger,
(/Hord, the string of a musical instrument ; and
the agreement of certain sounds.
Chris-tian-i-ty. Cl\ristianity, the religion which
was taught by Jesus Christ.
Chris-tian. Christian, one who is of the reli-
gion of Jesus Christ.
Christ-en-dom. Christendom, all the nations,
and countries, and people, who believe in the
gospel of Christ.
Church. The church, besides meaning the place
36 CLA
where we worship Ood, means all the people
who are Christians.
Churl, a rude surly man.
Churl-ish. Churlish, rude and ill-natured.
Ci-DER. Cider, wine made of apples,
Ci-PHER. Cipher, a figure used in numbering.
CiR-cLE. Circle, any round figure, like a hoop I
A circle often means a number of persons sit-
ting round.
CiR-cu-LAR. Circular, in the shape of sl circle, round.
CiR-cuiT. Circuit, a going round. [round.
CiR-cu-LATE. To circulate, to move round and
CiR-cuM-FE-RENCE. Circumfercncc, the size of
a round thing measured round the outside of it.
CiR-cuM-NAV-i-GA-TOR. Circumuavigator, a per-
son who has sailed quite round the world.
CiR-cuM-sPECT. Circumspect, very careful and
attentive.
CiR-cuM-sTANCE. Circumstaucc, a fact.
CiR"CUM-sTAN-TiAL. Circumstautial, telling every
circumstance in particular.
Cis-TERN. Cistern, a large vessel to hold water.
Cite. To cite, or to quote, to make use of the
words of another person.
CiT-Y. City, a large town.
Cit-i-zen. Citizen, one who lives in a city.
Civ-iL-izE. Civilize, to make those gentle and
civil who were before ignorant and barbarous.
Claim, to ask something as one's right.
Clam-my. Clammy, sticky.
Clam-o-rous. Clamorous, noisy, very loud.
Clam-our. Clamour, noise.
Clan, a family of people : a number of persons liv-
ing together, and bearing the same family name.
CLU S7
Class, a number of animals, vegetables, minerals,
or other things much alike.
Clay, a soft, moist, sticky earth. Of some kinds
of clay^ bricks are made. The beautiful china,
which is sometimes painted with flowers and
fruit, and ornamented vvith gold, is made of a
fine kind of clay, which is first formed into a
proper shape, and then burnt in the fire.
Cleave, to split a tiling. To cleave to something y
to stick fast to it, to be joined to it.
Cleft, an opening or crack.
Clem-en-cy. Clemency, pity and kindness for
those who have offended us. Inclement weather
means stormy weather.
Cles-gy-matst. Clergyman, a minister who preach-
es the gospel. The clergy, are all clergymen
together.
Cliff, a steep stony hill or rock.
Clog, to hinder. Clog, something which hinders
from going on, A clog is sometimes a woodea
shoe.
Clot-ted. Clotted, hanging together in lumps.
Clothe, to put on clothes.
Cloud, a kind of mist or fog, so light that it rises
up in the air, and is driven about by the wind.
Clo-ven. Cloven, split or parted.
Clown, a rude vulgar man.
Cloy, to make sick and tired with eating.
Club, a great heavy stick. A club sometimes
means a number of people who assemble toge-
ther at appointed times.
Ctus-TER. Cluster, a bunch, a number of things
of the same sort growing together, or collected
together.
88 COM
Co-AG-u-liATE. Coagulate, to run into lumps, to
clot, as milk will do if it be left to turn sour.
Coarse, neither fine, soft, or delicate. A coarse
person^ a rude vulgar person.
Coast, the edge or side of the country which is
next to the sea.
Cob-webs. Cobwebs, nets made by spiders to
catch flies.
Code, a book of laws.
CoF-FEE. Coffee, the berries of a tree which
grows in Arabia, and in the West Indies,
CoF-FER. Coffer, a chest to hold money.
Co-GENT. Cogent, strong, forcible.
Co-HERE. Cohere, to stick together.
Co-HE-sioN. Cohesion, the state of sticking toge-
ther.
Coin, stamped money.
Co-iN-ciDE. Coincide, to agree in any thing.
Co-iN-ci-DENCE. Coincidence, agreement of seve^
ral things.
CoL-LA-TioN. Collation, a meal, something to eat.
Col-league. Colleague, a partner.
CoL-LECT. Collect, to gather a number of things
together.
CoL-LEC-TioN. Collection, a quantity together.
CoL-Li-sioN. Collision, the act of striking two
things together.
CoL-o-NY. Colony, a number of people who leave
their own country, and go to live in another far
distant.
Colt, a young horse.
CoM-BAT. Combat, a battle, a fight. To combatf
to fight against.
1
to »
COM 39
OoM-BAT-ANT. Combatant, one who fights.
CoM-BiNE. Combine, to join different things to-
gether.
CoM-BUs-Ti-BLE. Combustible ; any substance
that can be easily burnt is combustible.
CoM-MAND. Command, to give orders, to have
authority. A command, or commandment, some-
thing ordered to be done. To have the command,
is to have power over others.
CoM-MENCE. Commence, to begin.
CoM-MEND. Commend, to praise or approve.
CoM-MEND-A-BLE. Commendable, right, deserv-
ing praise.
CoM-MERCE. Commerce, the buying and exchang-
ing the goods of one country for the goods of
some other country : for example, there are
great quantities of pork, beef, flour, butter, fish,
and other things, sent from this country in ships,
all over the world ; and they bring back to us,
tea from China ; spices, ivory, and beautiful
muslins, from India ; coffee and sugar from the
West Indies, and a great many useful things
from other countries ; this is trade or commerce,
and people who are engaged in commerce are
merchants.
CoM-MER-ciAL. Commercial, belonging to mer*
chants and commerce,
CoM-Mis-ER-ATE. Commiscratc, to pity.
CoM-MiT. To commit an action, to do an action.
To commit a person, to send him to prison. To
commit any thing to a person^s care, is to trust
him with it, to give it to him to keep safe.
CoM-Mis-sioN. Commission, something we trust
another to do for us.
40 COM
CoM-MO-Dious. Commodious, convenient, useful.
Co:^-]\foD-i-TY. Commodity, any thing that is
bought or sold.
CoM-MON. Common, belonging to several. It is
common to wasps and bees to sting, when they
are hurt or teased.
CoM-MO-TioN. Commotion, disturbance, agita-
tion.
CoM-Mu-Ni-cATE. Commuuicatc, to tell something
to another person.
CoM-Mu-Ni-cA-TiVE. Communicativc, inclined to
tell much that one knows.
CoM-MU-Ni-TY. Community, a number of people
or animals living all together, and agreeing to-
gether in their business.
CoM-PACT. Compact, an agreement, a bargain.
Compact, close, strong, and tight.
CoM-PARE. Compare, to look at, or think of seve-
ral things together, to find out in what they are
like each other, and in what they are unlike
each other. Compare a horse and a sheep, and
say what is the difference between them.
CoM-PAss. Compass, the compass of a thing is the
space or room which it takes up : we say that
a thing is in a large compass^ when it spreads out
and takes up a great deal of room ; and that it
is in a small compass, when it takes up little
room.
CoM-PASs-ES. Compasses, an instrument to draw
circles.
CoM-PASS-ioN. Compassion, pity for the misfor-
tunes of others.
CoM-PAss-ioN-ATE. Compassionatc, tender, full
of pity.
COM 41
CoM-PEL. Compel, to force, or to oblige another
to do something which he does not like.
CoM-PLA-cEN-CY. Complaccncy, satisfaction
pleasure.
CoM-PLAi-SANCE. Complaisancc, civility, pleasing
manners.
CoM-PLEx. Complex, or complicated^ made of
many different parts joined or mixed together.
CoM-PLY. Comply, to consent to do something
which another person wishes one to do.
CoM-PosE. Compose, to make something, by
joining several different things together : this
earth on which we live is composed of land and
water. To compose one^s self, to be quiet and
still.
CoM-Pos-ED. Composed, serious and quiet.
CoM-po-si-TiON. Composition of any thing, the
parts of which it is made. A composition, is
any thing which is composed or made of diffe-
rent parts.
CoM-pos-uRE. Composure, quietness, serious-
ness.
Co3i-pouND. Compound, to mix a number of
things together. A compound, a number of dif-
ferent things mixed together.
CoM-PRE-HEND. Comprehend, to understand. To
comprehend, often means to contain, as. Great
Britain comprehends England, Scotland, and
Wales.
CoM-PRE-HEN-si-BLE. Comprehensible, easy to
be understood.
CoM-pRE-HEN-sioN. Comprehcnsion, understand-
ing.
4*
42 CON
CoM-PRESs. Compress, to squeeze.
CoM-PRisE. Comprise, to hold or contain.
CoM-PUTE. Compute, to reckon or count.
CoM-RADE. Comrade, a companion.
CoN-CAVE. Concave, means hollow, and Convex
means rising or swelling out in a round shape,
the inside of an egg-shell is concave^ the outside
of it is convex.
CoN-CEivE. Conceive, to think, to understand.
CoN-CERN. Concern, to belong to. There are
many things it does not concern you to know
now, which you will be taught when you grow
older. A person^s concerns, means his business,
his affairs. To speak concerning any thing,
means to speak about it. i
CoN-CERT. Concert, to contrive secretly. j
CoN-cisE. Concise, short. I
CoN-ciL-i-ATE. Conciliate, to gain love.
CoN-cLUDE. Conclude, to finish, to end. To
conclude, often means to determine in one's own,
mind : when I see a little girl much beloved by
her friends, I always conclude that she is ver
good.
CoN-CLU-sioN. Conclusion, the end.
CoN-couRSE. Concourse, a vast number of per-I
sons assembled together. f
CoN-cuR. Concur, to agree, to be joined with. !
CoN-DEMN. Condemn, to order a person to bel
punished. To condemn also means to blame. '
CoN-DENSE. Condense, to make thicker and
closer. Hold a spoon, or a plate, or any things
else which is cold over the top of a tea-pot or a
tea-urn, so as to catch the steam of the boiling
waler ; the sudden cold of the plate wiU con-
^
CON 43
dense the steam, that is. will make it thicker and
thicker, till at last it will turn to drops of water.
In the same manner, i^oot is only smoke con-
densed^ as you may find by holding something
over a candle ; in a little while it will be covered
with soot.
CoN-DE-scEND. Condescend, to yield without
being obliged to it. to trouble one's self wil-
lingly, or to oblige people who are much beneath
us in any respect.
CoN-Di-TioN. Condition, rank, station in life ; a
man who is very poor, and who is forced to work
hard for others, is in a low condition : one who is
not forced to labour with his hands, but who is
engaged in some profession which employs his
mind, is in a higher station^ or condition. What-
ever looks well, and is not broken^ or torn, or hurt,
or thin, or sick, or poor, is said to be in a good
condition : a fine horse is in a good condition; this
old coat of yours is in a had condition,
CoN-DOLE. Condole, to lament with another
person.
CoN-DucT. Conduct ; acting and behaving rightly
is good conduct^ the contrary is ill conduct ; to
conduct, to lead, to go with another, to show him
the way.
Cone, a figure in the shape of a sugar-loaf, the
bottom or base of which is round, and the top
ending in a point.
CoN-FER. Confer, to talk with a person.
CoN-Fi-DENT. Confident, positive, sure.
CoN-Fi-DENCE. Confidence, trust in another's
goodness : confidence sometimes means bold-
ness, positiveness
U CON
Con-fine, Confine, to bind, to shut up.
Con-firm. Confirm, to settle, to fix, to mak<
stronger or surer.
CoN-FLA-GRA-TioN. Conflagration, a great burn
ing, as of a house.
CoN-FLicT, Conflict, a fight, a combat.
Con-found. Confound, to entangle, to mix things
together in a confused disorderly manner: to
confound a person, to astonish and disturb him.
CoN-GEAL. Congeal, to harden by means ol
cold : ice is water congealed.
CoN-GRAT-u-LATE. Congratulate, to complimeni
a person on his happiness.
CoN-GRE-GA-TioN. Congregation, an assembly o^
people who meet together to worship God.
CoN-jEC-TURE. Conjecture, to guess: a conjee^-
ture, a guess.
CoN-Ju-GAL Conjugal, belonging to husband am
wife.
CoN-juNC-TioN. Conjunction, to do something in
conjunction with another, to be joined with him,
and assist him in doing it.
CoN-JURE. Conjure, to beg or to beseech in a!
solemn manner.
CoN-NECT. Connect, to join.
CoN-NEx-iON. Connexion, a joining : a connexion^
a person who is related to us.
CoN-QUER. Conquer, to gain by fighting: to
conquer also means to get the better of; never
yield to ill temper, but always try to conquer it.
CoN-QUEST. Conquest, something gained bVj
fighting.
CoN-sciENCE. Conscience, the knowledge of our
own thoughts and actions ; to have a good con^
]
nl
CON 45
science, to know that we have not done any thing
wrong ; to be conscious of any thing, is to know
it by thinking of it. [carefully.
CoN-siD-ER. Consider, to think of something very
CoN-siD-ER-A-BLE. Considerable, worth consi.
dering.
CoN-siD-ER-ATE. Considerate, a considerate per-
son, one who thinks before he does an action,
one who thinks of others.
CoN-sis-TENCE. Consistcncc ; any thing is said
to have consistence, when it is not watery, but
solid and thick.
CoN-sis-TENT. Consistent, agreeing with.
CoN-soLE. Console, to comfort, to cheer.
CoN-spic-u-ous. Conspicuous, easily seen, fa-
mous.
Cox-spiRE. Conspire, to join together to do a
bad action : to conspire, to agree together.
CoN-STA?fT. Constant, certain, never changing,
always the same.
Co]v-STANT-LY. Constantly, always, continually.
CoN-STi-TUTE. Constitute, to make, to compose :
many villages, and towns, and great cities full
of people, constitute a nation.
CoN-sTi-Tu-TioN. Constitution of a person, the
state of his health : the constitution of a nation,
the form of its government.
Con-strain. Constrain, to force, to compel.
CoN-sTRAiNT. Constraint, being obliged to do
something we do not like ; confinement.
CoN-sTRUCT. Construct, to build, or make.
CoN-sTRuc-TioN. Construction, the manner in
which any thing is made : how neat and beauti-
ful is the construction of a bird's nest !
46 CON
CoN-suLT. Consult, to ask a person's advice, to
ask his opinion.
CoN-suME. Consume, to waste away : fire ccm-
sumes wood, eating consumes food.
CoN-suMP-TioN. Consumption, a wasting away.
CoN-TACT. Contact, touch : to be in contact with
any thing, to be so near as to touch it. [tion to.
CoN-TEMN. Contemn, to despise, to pay no atten-
Con-tempt. Contempt, a mean opinion of a per-
son or thing.
Con-tempt-i-ble. Contemptible, mean, low, wor-
thy of contempt : lying is contemptible,
Con-tempt-u-ous. Contemptuous, full of con
tempt, despising others.
Con-tend. Contend, to fight, to strive against.
Con-tent. Content, satisfied, not wishing for
more ; to content^ to please, to satisfy ; the con*
tents of any thing, means what is in it.
Con-tent-ment. Contentment, satisfaction.
CoN-TEN-TiON. Contention, or contest, a quarrel
or dispute : to contest^ to fight, to dispute.
CoN-TiG-u-ous. Contiguous, so close as to touch.
CoN-Ti-NENT. Continent, a very great extent ot
land, not separated by the sea.
CoN-TiN-GEN-cY. Contingency, any thing which
may happen by chance.
CoN-TOR-TioN. Contortion, a twist.
Con-tract. Contract, to make shorter, or to be-
come shorter : to contract^ is also to make a
bargain.
CoN-TRA-DicT. Coutradict, to speak against, to
say a thing is not true.
CuN-TRA-RY. Contrary, entirely different from
coo 47
some other thing, not agreeing with it ; in perfect
opposition.
CoN-TRi-BUTE. Contribute, to have a share in
doing something, to cause ; as. rising early,
and walking before breakfast, will contribute to
our health.
CoN-TRi-BU-TioN. Contribution, money given by
a number of different persons.
CoN-TRi-TioN. Contrition, sorrow for our faultf.
CoN-TROL. Control, to check, to keep in con-
straint ; control your temper.
Con- VENT. Convent, a house where a number of
religious people live together.
CoN-vER-sANT. Couvcrsant, to be conversant with
any thing, is to know it well, to be acquainted
with it.
CoN-VERT. Convert a thing, to make use of it ,
to convert a person, to make him change his re-
ligion, or his conduct. [another.
CoN-VEY. Convey, to carry from one place to
OoN-VEY-ANCE. Convcyancc, the manner of car-
rying any thing from one place to another.
CoN-viNCE. Convince, to make another person
quite sure of the truth of something which he
doubted before.
CoN-vic-TioN. Conviction, the being sure or cer-
tain of any thing.
CoN-viv-i-AL. Convivial, belonging to a company
of friends, merry.
CoN-vuLSE. Convulse, to agitate the body.
Coo, to make a noise like a pigeon.
Coop, to shut up in a very small place.
Coop-ER. Cooper, one who makes tubs, paila,
baiTels, or casks.
48 COS
1
Co-Pi-ous, Copious, abundant, in great plenty.
Cop-pee. Copper, the name of a metal ; sauce-
pans, kettles, and boilers, are generally made
of copper, covered in the inside with another
metal called tin.
Copse, a grove of young or short trees.
CoR-AL. Coral, a marine substance, it is white,
black, or red ; but the red is by far the most
common ; it is found in the sea, and is made by
an insect ; necklaces and other ornaments are
made of coral.
CoR-DiAL. Cordial, kind, hearty : a cordial, is any
thing that comforts us and makes us cheerful.
Core, the inner part of any thing.
Cork, a stopper for a bottle : corks are made of
the bark of the cork tree.
CoE-o-NA-TiON. Coronation, the ceremony of put-
ting a crown upon a king's head when he is
first declared to be king.
CoR-PO-RE-AL. Corporeal, belonging to the body.
Corpse, or corse, the dead body of any creature*
CoR-RECT. Correct, proper, right, without mis-
take : to correct, to alter for the better, [better.
CoR-REC-TioN. Correction, punishment, to make us
CoR-RE-spoND. Correspond, to suit, to agree with :
to correspond, often means to write letters
CoR-ROB-o-RATE. Corroborate, to make surer or
more certain.
CoR-RODE. Corrode, to eat away by little and lit-
tle, as rust corrodes iron and steel.
CoR-RUPT. Corrupt, to make bad or wicked, to
grow rotten : corrupt, wicked.
CoR-RUP-TioN. Corruption, wickedness, rottenness.
Cost, the price which any thing is bought for.
COU 49
CosT-LY. Costly, of a very great price.
CoT-TAGE. Cottage, or cot, a small mean house.
Cot-tag -ER. Cottager, one who lives in a cottage.
CoT-TOis. Cotton grows on a plant which is found
in the East and West Indies, and in the United
States. It is spun, and afterwards woven into
muslins and cloths of different sorts. [on.
Couch, to lie down : a couch is a seat to lie down
Cov-E-NANT. Covenant, a promise, an agreement.
Cov-ERT. Covert, a hiding place : covert^ means
secret, hidden.
Cov-ET. Covet, to wish very much for something
which belongs to another person.
Cov-ET-ous. Covetous, selfish, too fond of money.
CouN-ciL. Council, a number of persons met toge-
ther to consider and consult with one another*
CouN-SEL. Counsel, advice and instruction giveii
to another person.
CouN-TE-NANCE. Countcnancc, the look of the
face.
CouN-TER-ACT. Counteract, to hinder something
from being done.
CouN-TER-FEiT. Counterfeit, not real, but done
or made in imitation of some other thing.
CouN-TER-MAND. Countermand, to contradict an
order that was given before.
CouisT-LEss. Countless, in such great number as
cannot be counted : the sands on the sea-shore,
and the leaves on the trees, are countless.
CoiTN-TRY. Country, any large extent of land :
the country means not the town, but the open
fields. Those who are born in the same coun^
iiry with us, are our countrymen and our country*
1 women.
50 CRA
CouN-TY. County, a division or part of a coun*
try; England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland,
are each of them divided into several different
parts called counties or shires ; there are forty
counties in England, twelve in Wales, thirty in
Scotland, and thirty-two in Ireland.
Cou-PLE. Couple, two of any thing.
Course, a race, the act of moving from one place
to another : the course of a river, is the track or
line in which it runs.
Court, the place where the king lives, and those
persons who are generally about him : court, is
an open place before a house. A court often
means a number of persons met together to set*
tie disputes and other affairs, according to cer-
tain fixed laws and rules ; it is then generally
called a Court of Justice,
CouR-TE-ous. Courteous, civil, polite.
CouR-TE-SY. Courtesy, pleasing manners, civility.
CouR-TiER. Courtier, one who lives in courts,
and attends on kings.
Cow-ARD, Coward, a person who is always afraid
without reason.
Cow-AR-DiCE. Cowardice, foolish fear. jgj
CoY, modest, not impudent. 'mf§
Crab-bed. Crabbed, of a sour, peevish, cross ""
temper.
Craft, cunning, slyness.
Craf-ty. Crafty, artful, sly. ^.^^
Crag, a rough pointed rock. wKL
Crag-gy. Craggy, rough, full of points. ■''* *
Cran-ny. Cranny, a little hole, a crack.
Crash, a loud noise like many things falling and
breaking together. v.
CRI 51
Crave, to beg to ask very earnestly for something.
Cra-zy. Crazy, old and broken. Crazy also
means, mad, deprived of reason.
Cre-ate. Create, to make : God is called the
Creator, because he made every thing, and all
things which God has made are called the ere
ation : living beings are creatures.
Cred-i-ble. Credible, what may be believed,
what is likely to be true.
Cred-it. Credit, belief: to give credit to any
thing is to believe it ; to give credit to a person,
to trust him with money, or with things of value.
Credit, often means honour, respect : he is a
person of credit, means he is a respectable per-
son. To credit, to believe what we hear.
Cred-it-or. Creditor, a person to whom one
owes money or any thing else.
Cred-u-li-ty. Credulity, belief without reason.
Incredulity, disbelief. [without proof.
Cred-u-lous. Credulous, believing any thing
Cres-cent. Crescent, the new moon, or any thing
in the shape of the new moon.
Crest, a tuft or ornament on the top of the head,
Crev-ici:. Crevice, a cranny, a hole.
Crew, a company of sailors, those who manage a
Crime, a very great fault. [ship,
Crim-i-nal. Criminal, wrong, guilty of a fault.
A criminal, a man or a woman who has commit-
ted a great fault.
Crim-son. Crimson, a dark red colour.
Crit-ic. Critic, a person who examines books, and
afterwards describes what faults are in them.
Crit-i-cal. Critical, very exact, happening just
at a particular moment.
52 CUL
Ckit-i-cise. Criticise, to blame, to find fault.
Croak, to make a noise like a frog or a raven.
Crop, to cut off the ends of any thing. The cropy
corn after it is all cut down. [tious.
Cross-grain-ed. Cross-grained, peevish, vexa.
Crouch, to stoop low.
Crown, the ornament which a king wears on his
head. The crown of any thing, is the top of it.
To crown, to cover with a crown. To crown,
sometimes means to finish, to make quite com-
plete.
Cru-ci-fix. Crucifix, an image, or a picture of
our Saviour on the cross.
Cru-ci-fy. Crucify, to kill a person by nailing
his hands and feet to a cross.
Cru-ci-form. Cruciform, in the shape of a cross.
Crude, raw, not changed by fire or by art.
Crush, to squeeze or press violently, to beat dowa.
Crys-tal. Crystal, a kind of stone very much
like glass, and extremely bright and clear.
Crystal means also beautifully clear and bright; i
as the crystal stream. \
Cub, the young of a wild beast ; a young bear.
Cud : to chew the cud, is to chew the food over
again which has been eaten before, as cows and
sheep do : to chew the cud, is to ruminate.
Cud-gel. Cudgel, a stick to fight with.
Cuff, to strike with the fist.
Cu-Li-NA-RY. Culinary, belonging to a kitchen,
and to cooking.
CuL-PA-BLE. Culpable, guilty of a fault, deserv-
ing punishment.
OuL-PRiT. Culprit, a person who has done wrong,
and who is brought out to be punished.
CUS 53
CuL-Ti-VATE. Cultivate, to plant the ground, or to
improve it so that it may produce more plants
and vegetables. To cultivate the mind, means
to improve it, to fill it with useful knowledge.
CuL-TURE. Culture, the act of cultivating.
CuM-BER-soME. Cumbersomc or cumbrous, heavy
and troublesome.
Cup-BEAR-ER. Cupbearer, a servant who helps
the people to wine at a feast.
Cur, a kind of dog.
Curb, to check, to govern a horse, or to control
wild persons.
Curd, milk which has run into lumps: cheese is
made of curds, pressed and salted.
Cu-Ri-ous. Curious : a curious person is one who
is inquisitive, who wishes to know every thing.
A curious thing, a thing which is very strange,
uncommon, or made with great art.
CuR-RENT. Current, passing from one person's
hand to another, as current money. Current
also means common, fashionable. A current^ a
stream of water.
CuR-Ri-ER. Currier, a man who dresses leather.
Curse, to wish mischief or harm to some one, to
torment. A curse, is an affliction, a sorrow.
CuR-so-RY. Cursory, quick, hasty, careless.
Cur-tail. Curtail, to make shorter, to cut short.
Curve, any thing which is bent.
CuR-vED. Curved, crooked, bent.
Cus-TO-DY. Custody : to be in custody, is to be
confined, to be in prison; to give something
into a person's custody, is to give it into his care
to be kept safe.
5*
54 DAR
Cus-TOM, Custom, a habit ; something which is
commonly done.
Cus-TOM-A-RY. Customary, common, usual.
CuT-LER. Cutler, a person who makes kniveSj
scissors, and other cutting instruments.
Cyl-in-der, Cylinder, what is in the shape of a
pencil, or a rolling stone, or a candle. Cylinder^
may be hollow or solid. A hollow cylinder is a
tube, as a pipe stem.
D
i
Dab-ble. Dabble, to play in water or mud,
Dai-ly. Daily, happening every day.
Dain-ty. Dainty, pleasant to the taste ; affected
and over-nice in eating. A dainty^ any thing
nice to eat.
Dai-ry. Dairy, the place where milk is made
into butter and cheese.
Dam, the mother of beasts. To dam up a river or
a stream^ to confine the water, and prevent it
from running any further, by making a bank
across.
Dam- AGE. Damage, mischief, harm.
Dame, a mistress of a family, or any old woman.
Damp, rather wet. To damp^ to make wet, to
chill.
Dam-sel. Damsel, a young woman, a girl.
Dare, to have courage to do a thing ; not to be
afraid. j
Dar-ing. Daring, bold, full of courage.
Dart, a kind of arrow, which is shot from a bow,
by the hand. To darty is to move quickly and
suddenly.
DEC 55
Date, the time when any particular thing happen,
ed : the date of a letter, is the day on which it
was written, generally nriarked at the beginning
or the end.
Daunt, to frighten.
Daunt-less. Dauntless, bold, not easily fright-
ened.
Dawn, the first appearance of light, before the
sun rises in the morning : to dawn, is to begin
to grow light.
Daz-zle. Dazzle, to confound with a blaze of
light, as the sun dazzles our eyes when we look
at it.
Dead-ly. Deadly, killing, hurtful, very mischie-
vous.
Deaf, not able to hear.
Deal, a quantity : a great deal, is a great quan-
quantity : deal, means also the wood of the pine
and fir trees.
Deal-ings. Dealings, our actions, our conduct
towards other people : we should be true and
just in all our dealings.
Dearth, a great want of bread, or food of any kind,
De-base. Debase, to make low and mean.
De-bate. Debate, a dispute, a quarrel : to debate,
to dispute, to consider within one's-self.
De*bil-i-tate. Debilitate, to make faint, to take
away a person's strength.
Debt, something which we owe to another person,
Debt-or. Debtor, one who owes money to an-
other man.
De-camp. Decamp, to run away.
De-cay. Decay, to waste away, to become bad,
to become useless.
66 DEE
De-cease. Decease, death.
De-ceit. Deceit, cunning, want of truth.
De-ceit-ful. Deceitful, artful, not true.
De-ceive. Deceive, to cheat : to endeavour to
make others believe that what is false is true.
De-cent. Decent, fit, proper, modest.
De-cen-cy. Decency, fit and proper behaviour.
De-cep-tion. Deception, any thing which cheats
or deceives us.
De-cide. Decide, to fix, to settle, to determine
in one's own mind.
De-ci-sion. Decision, something which is settled
or determined by a person's will.
De-ci-sive. Decisive, making any thing sure and
fixed, which was uncertain before.
Deck, to dress out, to adorn : the dechy the floof
of a ship.
De-clare. Declare, to show, to tell every body.
as, " The works of God declare his goodness.'*
De-ci*ine. Decline, to bend downwards, to fade
away : to decline, any thing, to refuse it, to
avoid it. [smaller.
De-crease. Decrease, to grow less, or to make
De-cree. Decree, a rule, a law, something which
is fixed : to decree, to fix, to appoint.
De-crep-it. Decrepit, old, worn out with old age.
Ded-i-cate. Dedicate, to give to some particular
use.
De-duct. Deduct, to take away a part from any
thing.
Deed, an action, any thing which may be done.
Deem, to think, to be of opinion : as, " I deem it
necessary for your happiness, that you should
be good."
DEG 57
De-face. Deface, to hurt, to destroy, to spoil,
De-feat» Defeat, to destroy, to make of no use,
to bring to nothing.
. De-fect. Defect, a want, a fault.
De-fec-tive. Defective, wanting something, full
of faults.
De-fence. Defence, any thing which saves or
protects us.
De-fend. Defend, to save, to guard.
. De-fer. Defer, to put off till another time.
De-fi-cien-cy. Deficiency, a want.
}De-fi-cient. Deficient, wanting something.
De-file. Defile, to make dirty, to make cor-
i rupt : a defile, a narrow passage.
De-fine. Define, to mark out the qualities, or
^ the size of any thing.
De-form. Deform, to make ugly, or out of shape.
De-form-i-ty. Deformity, ugliness, bad shape.
^De-fraud. Defraud, to cheat a person out of
, something.
De-fray, Defray, to pay the expense of any thing.
De-fy. Defy, to call to fight : to defy, also means
not to care for.
jDe-gen-er-ate. Degenerate, to become bad and
\ unworthy after having been better.
De-grade. Degrade, to make lower: to degrade
one^s self, is to do something which makes us
less esteemed than we were before. It is a de-
grading thing to te4l a lie.
De-gree. Degree ; the degree of a person is his
situation in life : thus, there are people of high
J degree, and of low degree. Degree, measure
' or quantity. By degrees, means by little and
little, not all at once. We go up stairs by degrees.
58 DEN
De-ject. Deject, to grieve, to make sad.
De-jec-tion. Dejection, sorrow, sadness. ll
Deign, to condescend. !
De-i-ty. Deity, God.
De-lay. Delay, to put off, to hinder : a delays a
stop.
De-lib-er-ate. Deliberate, to consider carefully ;
to think, that we may choose properly : delibe"
rate also means slow and careful.
De-li-cious. Delicious, delightful, very sweet to
the taste.
De-lin-e-ate. Delineate, to draw the form or
shape of any thing.
De-liv-er. Deliver, to save from some misfor-
tune : to deliver a things to give it into a person's
hands : to deliver^ also means to speak or to tell,
as, " the boy delivered his speech well."
De-luge. Deluge, a great flow of waters, a rain.
The flood mentioned in the Bible, is called the
deluge: to deluge^ to cover with water, to
drown.
De-lu-sion. Delusion, a cheat, something which
deceives us.
De-mand. Demand, to ask for something as our
right to ask.
De-mean-our. Demeanour, the manners or the
behaviour of a person.
De-mol-ish. Demolish, to put an end to, to de.
stroy entirely.
De-mon-strate. Demonstrate, to show that a
thing is certain.
De-mure. Demure, grave and serious.
Den, the cave of a wild beast.
Dense, close, thick, and heavy.
DER 50
De-NY. Deny, to say a thing is not, to refuse.
De-part. Depart, to go away from a place
De-part-ure. Departure, going away.
De-pend. Depend, to trust to a person for our
support, or for any service.
De-pend-ant. Dependant, often means one who
serves, or is under another person : " your father
treats his dependants with kindness."
De-plor-a-ble. Deplorable, sad and miserable.
De-pop-u-late. Depopulate, to take away all the
people out of a country.
T)e-pose. To depose a king, means to take away
his rank and power, and to permit him to be
king no longer.
De-pos-ite. Deposite, something which is trusted
to the care of another.
De-pos-it-ed. Deposited, put carefully into some
place.^
De-praved. Depraved, exceedingly bad.
De-prav-i-ty. Depravity, wickedness, corruption.
Dep-re-da-tion. Depredation, the act of robbing,
spoiling, and wasting. [another.
De-prive. Deprive, to take something away from
Depth, the deepness of any thing : the deph of
winter, means the middle of winter.
Dep-u-ty. Deputy, a person who does business
instead of another person.
De.ride. Deride, to make game of, to mock at.
De-ri-sion. Derision, contempt, the act of de-
spising or laughing at another.
De-rfve. Derive, to be derived from, is to come
from, or be caused by some other thing. All the
blessings v/e have are derived from God, the\
come from God.
60 DES
De-scend. Descend, to come down from a high,
place.
De-scent. Descent, coming down.
De-scry. Descry, to spy out something at a dis-
tance. »
Des-ert. Desert, a wild, dismal, lonely place,!
without houses, and without people : to desert J
to leave, to go away from. ?
De-sign. Design, something we intend to do, al
plan : to design, to intend to do something. I
De-sign-ed-ly. Designedly, on purpose. |
De-sire. Desire, to wish very much.
De-sir-ous. Desirous, wishing or longing for
something.
Des-o-late. Desolate, lonely, dismal, without,
people.
De-spair. Despair, to have lost all hope.
De-spatch. To despatch a thing, to do it quick-
ly : to despatch a person, to send him away in a
hurry, or to kill him.
Des-per-ate. Desperate, without hope, mad, fu-
rious.
Des-pise. Despise, to have a mean opinion of
another because he is unworthy.
Des-pi-ca-ble. Despicable, mean, contemptible,
unworthy. Lying is despicable^ as well as
vvicked.
Des-pond. Despond, to be very sad, to be with-i
out hope.
Des-pond-en-cy. Despondency, despair, sadness.
Des-tine. Destine, to intend for something, to
appoint. [every thing.
Des-ti-tute. To be destitute, to be in want of
De-steuc-tion. Destruction, waste, ruin.
DEW 61
De-struc-tive. Destructive, hurtful, mischievous.
De-tach. Detach, to separate, or part one thing
from another.
De-tail. Detail, to relate the particulars.
De-taix. Detain, to keep back.
De-tect. Detect, to find out a fault.
De-ter. Deter, to discourage or frighten a person
from doing something.
De-test. Detest, to hate very much.
De-test-a-ble. Detestable, vei^ bad, hateful
Det-ri-ment. Detriment, hurt, mischief.
Det-ri-ment-al. Detrimental, doing harm.
Dev-as-ta-tion. Devastation, destruction, waste.
De-vel-ope. Develope, to display something that
was hidden. The rose-bud, when it is expand-
ed to the rose, is developed,
De-vi-ate. Deviate, to go out of the common
way.
De-vi-ous. Devious, wandering, rambling.
De-vise. Devise, to contrive, to invent.
De-vice. Device, something which is contrived
cunningly.
De-void. Devoid, without any thing, empty : as,
devoid of sense, means without sense.
De-vote. Devote, to give up to some purpose or
use.
De-vo-tiox. Devotion, piety to God, religious
behaviour : devotions, prayers to God.
De-vout. Devout, religious, full of piety.
Dew, the vapour which rises out of the earth and
falls again in small drops on the ground, and oa
the leaves of plants.
Dew-lap, the flesh which hangs down from the
throat of bulls and cows.
6
62 DIF
Dew-y. Dewy, wet with dew, or like dew*
Dex-ter-ous. Dexterous, ready, artful,
Di-A-DEM. Diadem, a crown, an ornament worn
on the heads of kings.
Di-AG-o-NAL. A diagonal line, is a line reaching
oblique from one corner to another, thus /.
Di-AL. Dial, that part of a watch or clock on
which the numbers are marked, which show the
hours and minutes, the face of the clock.
Di-AL-ECT. Dialect, language, the words which a
person makes use of in speaking.
Di-A-LOGUE. Dialogue, a conversation between
several people.
Di-AM-E-TER. Diameter, the length of any circu-
lar thing measured exactly through the middle or
centre : when an orange is cut into two parts,
the measure across the middle of either part
shows the diameter,
Dic-TioN. Diction, the words in which any thing
is spoken or written.
Die, speaking of any creature, means to be with-
out life, and without breath : to be cold, still,
and unable to move, after having been alive. To
die, speaking of plants, means to wither^ to fade
quite away : to die, also means to make of some
colour : as, this velvet is died black, this carpet
is died of several different colours.
Di-ET. Diet, food, victuals.
DiF-FER. Differ, to be different from, not to be
the same : as, how much does a 'painted flower
differ from a real one !
DiF-Fi-cuLT. Difficult, hard, not easily done, not
easily pleased. [one's self.
DiF-Fi-DEiN^T* Diffident, not proud, not sure of
DIS 63
Dir-FUSE. DifFuse, to pour out upon something,
to spread out, to scatter widely about.
Di-GEST. Digest, to melt or soften in the stomach.
Di-LATE. Dilate, to make wide, or to spread out.
DiL-A-TO-RY. Dilatory, lazy, slow in doing any
tiling.
DiL-i-GEXT. Diligent, not lazy, always at work,
industrious.
Dim, dull, not clear, not bright.
Di-MEN-sioN. Dimension, the dimensions of a
thing are its length, breadth, and thickness.
DioiiN-isii. Diminish, to become less, or to make
smaller.
Di-Mix-u-TivE. Diminutive, small, very little.
Din, a loud continual noise.
Dint, a mark made in any thing by striking it.
Dip-SAs. Dipsas, a venomous serpent.
Di-RECT. Direct, plain, straight forward. To direct,
to show the way ; to order sonrething to be
done. The direction of any thing, is the way
which it points. A direction, is something which
is desired to be done.
DiRE-FUL. Dire or direful, shocking, horrid,
dreadful. [lame,
Dis-A-BLE. Disable, to take away strength, to
Dis-AD-VAN-TAGE. Disadvantage, an inconve-
nience, something which causes us hurt or loss.
Dis-AP-PEAR. Disappear, to go out of sight.
Dis-As-TER. Disaster, misfortune, a sad acci-
dent.
Dis-AS-TROUs. Disastrous, miserable, very unlucky.
Dis-BE-LiEVE. Disbelieve, not to believe, not to
think some fact which is written or told is true.
CA DIS
Dis-CERN. Discern, to see, to spy out.
Dis-CHARGE. Discharge, to do something which
we are desired, or which we ought to do. To
discharge also means to pay the money which is
owing for something. To discharge a person^
not to allow him to stay with us. To discharge^
means also to empty, or pour out.
Dis-€i-PLE. Disciple, a person who is taught, a
scholar.
Dis-ci-PLiNE. Discipline, teaching, instruction ;
punishment to make people better.
Dis-CLOSE. Disclose, to tell or to show something
which was hidden before.
Dis-coM-posE. Discompose, to put out of order,
to disturb.
Dis-coN-so-LATE. Disconsolate, very much grie-
ved, very sorrowful.
Dis-coN-TiN-UE. Discontinue, to leave off.
Dis-coRD. Discord, quarrelling, disagreement.
Dis-cov-ER. Discover, to find out, to show, to
tell.
Dis-cov-E-RY. Discovery, something which is
found out.
Dis-couR-AGE. Discourage, to frighten a person ,
from doing any thing. I
Dis-couRSE. Discourse, talk, conversation.
Dis-CREET. Discreet, careful, always considering
what we ought to do.
Dis-CRE-TioN. Discretion, carefulness. Discretion
sometimes means the power of doing exactly as I
one likes, without being checked. ^
Dis-CRiM-i-NATE. Discriminate, to observe the
difference between several things.
Dis-cuss. Discuss, to talk about any subject*
4
DIS 65
Dis-DAiN. Disdain, proud contempt. To disdain,
to think any thing mean, unworthy, and below
us. You disdain to tell an untruth.
Dis-EASE. Disease, sickness, a disorder.
Dis-EPs-GAGE. Disengage, to part one thing from
another : to disengage, to disentangle, to get out
of some difficulty.
Dis-GORGE. Disgorge, to pour out of the mouth
Dis-GUisE. Disguise, to hide the real shape of
anv thing:, to hide the truth : to disguise one's
self, to put on an uncommon dress that people
may not know us.
Dis-GusT. Disgust, very great dislike to some,
thing, ill humour.
Dis-HON-EST. Dishonest, not true, not fit to be
trusted.
Dis-HON-ouR. Dishonour, disgrace.
Dis-HON-ouR-A-iBLE. Dishouourablc, shamcful, dis-
graceful, not honest.
Dis-ix-TER-EST-ED. Disinterested, not selfish,
thinking more of others than of one's self.
Dis-joiN. Disjoin, to break, to separate or part.
Disk, the disk is the face of the sun or moon.
Dis-LODGE. Dislodge, to remove something out
of a place.
Dis-MAY. Dismay, to frighten, to terrify : dis^
may, fright.
Dis-Miss. Dismiss, to send away.
Dis-MOUNT. Dismount, to get off a horse.
Dis-owN. Disown, to deny.
Dis-PENSE. Dispense, to give out, to deal out to
others ; to dispense with any iking, to excuse it,
to do without it.
6*
66 ^ DIS
Dis-PERSE. Disperse, to scatter about in different
places,
Dis-PiR-iT-ED. Dispirited, sad, without courage
or strength.
Dis-PLAY. Display, to spread open, to show.
Dis-posE. Dispose, to put in order, to settle, to
give ; to dispose of any things is to sell it, or
give it away. To have any thing at our dispO"
saly is to be able to do what we like with it.
Ihs-QUi-ET. Disquiet, to disturb, to make uneasy.
Dis-QTTi-E-TUDE. Disquictude, vexation, uneasi-
ness.
Dis-sECT. Dissect, to cut or divide any thing into
several parts, in order to examine it better.
Dis-sEM-BLE. Dissemble, to pretend, to hide tho
truth.
Dis-sEN-sioN. Dissension, quarrelling, a dispute.
Dis-sEv-ER. Dissever, to separate or part in twOf
to break.
Dis-si-PATE. Dissipate, to scatter about, to waste,
Dis-si-PA-TioN. Dissipation, idleness and pleasure,
too great a fondness for amusement, and inat-
tention to those things which we ought to do.
Dis-soLVE. Dissolve, to loosen, to break : to dis^
solve often means to melt away ; as ice will dis~
solve before the fire, or as a lump of sugar will
be dissolved when it is put into water.
Dis-suADE. Dissuade, to persuade a person not
to do something.
Dis-TANCE. Distance, to leave behind in a race.
Distance, space between things.
Dis-TEM-PER. Distemper, sickness, a disorder.
Dis-TEND. Distend, to stretch out, to make broad.
Dis-TiL. Distil, to fall in drops : to distil, is also
.1
DIV 07
to gather or collect the steam of something
which is heated.
Dis-TiNCT. Distinct, not confused together, but
easy and plain to be seen. Distinct often means
not the same, but different: distinct d\so means
not together, but parted.
Dis-TiNc-TioN. Distinction, some mark by which
we may know one thing from another. Distinc^
iion also means something which raises us above
other people, and makes us greater or better
than they are.
Dis-TiN-GuisH. Distinguish, to mark the difference
between things: to distinguish, also means to
know one thing from another, to see it plainly.
Dis-TORT. Distort, to make something look ugly,
by twisting it out of its right shape : as passion
and anger distort the countenance.
Dis-TRACT. Distract, to confuse the mind, to make
one mad.
Dis-TRAC-TioN. Distraction, confusion, distur-
banco, madness.
Dis-TRiB-uTE. Distribute, to give or deal out some-
thing among a number of others.
Dis-TRicT. District, a part of a country.
Dis-TRUST. Distrust, not to trust in a person, not
to believe the truth of a thing.
The syllable dis, at the beginning of a word,
generally means not, or different from ; as in
di^-honest, which means not honest ; to dis-trust^
not to trust ; to dis-please, not to please ; to dis-
agree, not to agree ; and in many others.
DiT-TY. Ditty, a song.
Dive, to go under the water in order to get some-
thing. The people who dive for coral and
68 DOM
pearls, (which are found in a kind of oyster,)
are called divers,
Di-VERGE. Diverge, to point different ways fron
one middle, as the points of a star.
Di-VERs. Divers, several, more than one.
Di-VERSE. Diverse, different from one another.
Di-VER-si-FY. Diversify, to make different.
Di-VER-si-Fi-ED. Diversified, marked with diffe
rent colours, or different shapes.
Di-VERT. Divert, properly, to turn something
aside, or out of the way it was going ; or lo tun
the mind from any thing we were attending to
To divert, is also to please or amuse.
Di-VEST. Divest, to strip, to take something of
another thing.
Di-viDE. Divide, to part one thing into several
different pieces : to divide, also means to stand
between two things, to part them, as the Alps
divide Italy from France.
Di-vi-sioN. Division, a part of any thing which
has been divided. [day.
Di-UR-NAL. Diurnal, done in a day, or done every
Di-vuLGE. Divulge, to tell something which was
secret. [managed.
Do-ciLE. Docile, easily to be taught, or easily
Dock, a place where ships are built or kept safe.
Doc-trine. Doctrine, any thing which is taught
DoG-MAT-i-cAL. Dogmatical, positive, in the tone
of a master.
Dole-ful. Doleful, sad, sorrowful, dismal.
Do-MAiNs. Domains, the country which any one
possesses or governs.
Do-MES-Tic. Domestic animals, are those which
are tame, not wild : a domestic, a servant who
DRA G9
lives in the house ; a domestic person, is one who
is fond of staying at home.
Do-MEs-Ti-CATE. DoiTiesticate, to make fond of
the house, to tame.
Do-MiN-ioN. Dominion, power, authority over
others : the dominions of a king is the country
which he rules over : to have dominion over any
things is to have the right of doing as we hke
with it.
Do-NA-TioN. Donation, any thing which is given,
a gift.
Doom, to condemn to some punishment, or to set-
tle what is to become of any thing.
DoR-MANT. Dormant, sleeping.
Do-TAGE. Dotage, foolishness in consequence of
old aoje.
Dote, to be foolishly fond, to love extremely
Doubt, not to be sure of a thing, to be afraid, to
hesitate.
DouitT-FUL. Doubtful, not sure, not certain.
Dove, a pigeon.
Dough, paste before it is baked.
Down, soft feathers, as swan's down ; down, soft
wool, or soft hair, as the down of the cotton-
tree, the down of the beaver.
Down-right. Downright, always speaking plainly
and truly.
Ddz-en. Dozen, twelve. Half-a-dozen, there-
fore, must be six.
Drain, to empty something by little and little, or
to make it quite dry, by drawing the wet from it
by degrees.
Dra-ma. Drama, a story which is not told, but
acted and spoken by different persons.
70 DRO
Dra-per. Draper, one who sells cloth.
Dra-pe-ry. Drapery, the dress, or cloth of any
kind used to make dresses.
Draught, a quantity drank at once. A draught,
also means a drawing. A draught often means
a quantity of fishes caught in a net all at once.
{Draught \s pronounced draft,)
Draughts-man. Draughts-man, a man who is
employed in drawing pictures.
Draught-horses. Draught-horses, are horses
used to draw carts and carriages.
Drawl, to speak in a low disagreeable tone ot
voice.
Dread, great fear. Dread, means also striking
us at once with fear and respect. Dread^ to fear
very much.
Drea-ry. Drear or dreary, gloomy, sad, dismal.
Dregs, the grounds which are left at the bottomi
when any liquor is poured off.
Drench, to steep in water, to soak.
Drift, our meaning or intention in doing or saying
any thing. " I do not understand the drift ol
what you say," is the same as — " I do not un-
derstand what you mean by saying that." To
drift, to drive in heaps, as snow is drifted by the
Drip, to fall in drops. [wind.
Droll, comical, apt to make us laugh.
Drones, those bees which make no honey, and
have no stings ; they live in the same hive with
the working bees. A drone, sometimes means
an idle person.
Dross, what is left of any metal after it is melted,. I
Dross means also whatever is of no use, the? '
leaving of any thing.
DUT 71
Drove, a large number of sheep or other cattle,
which are driven along.
Drought, very dry weather, when rain is wanting.
DroiigM also means thirst.
Drow-sy. Drowsy, sleepy, heavy with want of
sleep.
Drub, to give one a beating, to thump.
Drudge, to work very hard. A drudge^ one who
is employed in mean work.
Drudg-e-ry. Drudgery, mean and hard work of
any kind.
Drug, something used in making physic, or in
dvinor colours.
Du-Bi-ous. Dubious, not sure or certain, not
plain nor clear.
Duc-TiLE. Ductile, easily drawn out into wire, or
into long threads : gold is very ductile.
Due, that which we have a right to. Due^ owing ;
as prayer is due to God. Due sometimes means
exactly, as when we say the wind blows due
north.
Du-EL. Duel, a fight between two people.
Dumb, not able to speak, silent, not speaking.
DuN-GEOX. Dungeon, a prison under ground.
Dupe, a person who is cheated.
Dur-a-ble. Durable, lasting for a long while :
not decaying or wearing out soon.
DuR-A-TioN. Duration, the length of time that
any thing lasts or continues.
Dusk, the beginning of darkness. Dusk or dusky,
rather dark, of a dark colour.
Du-te-ous. Duteous or dutiful, obedient, doing
what we are bid.
n EAS
Du-TY. Duty : our duty is any thing which we
ought to do, as, " duty first, and pleasure after-
wards." It is our duty to obey our parents.
Dwarf, a person much less in size than most peo-
ple are. - [very httle.
DwARF-isH. Dwarfish, smaller than ought to be ;
Dwell, to live in a place, to be fixed or settled on
something. To dwell ujpoii any things is to
speak about it, or think of it for a long time.
DwiN-DLE. To dwindle, to grow little or thin.
E
Ea-ger. Eager, wishing very much for some-
thing.
Ear, an ear of corn is the part which contains the
grains or seeds of the corn ; part of an animal,
the organ of hearing.
Earn, to get or gain something by working for it.
Ear-nest-ly. Earnestly, not in jest, but in a se-
rious and affectionate manner.
Earth-quake. An earthquake is when the earth
trembles and shakes in a violent manner ; some-
times deep hollow places open in the earth,
from w^hich come water, fire, and smoke, with a
noise like thunder. Earthquakes scarcely ever
happen in this country, but in some countries
there have been earthquaJces so violent, that
cities have been thrown down, and thousands of
people dashed to pieces or swallowed up.
East, that part of the sky where the sun rises in
the morning. The East means also those coun-
tries which are towards the East ; as, " the best
spicss come from the East.^^
EFF 19
East-er-ly. Easterly, coming from the East.
East-ern. Eastern being towards the Easty or
belonging to the East.
Eaves, the edge of the roof of a house.
Eb-ul-li-tion. Ebullition, a bubbling and boiling
up with heat.
Ec-CEN-TRic. Eccentric ; an eccentric person is
one of strange manners and strange habits, one
who is not like other people.
Ec-cLE-si-As-Tic. Ecclesiastic, belonging to reli-
gion or the church.
E-coN-o-MY. Economy, the management of a
family : economy dAso means the proper manage-
ment of our money or time, so as not to spend
more than we can afford of either. Economy is
the order and place of things.
Ec-sTA-CY. Ecstacy, great pleasure or delight.
E-DicT. Edict, some rule or order which is pub-
lished or told aloud to all the people, so that they
may pay attention to it.
Ed-i-fice. Edifice, any thing which is built ; this
house is an edifice.
Ed-u-cate. Educate, to teach young persons
what is proper for them to know.
Ef-face. Efface, to rub out or blot out the marks
of any thing, to make it no more to be seen, as
you efface the marks of a lead pencil with Indian
rubber.
Ef-fect. Effect, any thing which is caused by
another thing ; to effect, to cause, to make some-
thing done.
Ef-fem-i-nate. Effeminate, soft, tender like a
woman.
Ef-fi-ca-cious. Efficacious : any thing which is
7
74 ELE
strong enough, and which can do what it was
intended to do, is efficacious.
Ef-ful-gent. Effulgent, very bright, as the efful
gent sun.
Ef-ful-gence. Effulgence, great brightness.
Ef-fu-sion. Effusion, any thing which is poured
or spilled out.
E-GREss. Egress, the going out of a place, as in-
gress means the going into any place.
Eke, to make any thing longer by adding some-
thing else to it.
E-LAB-o-RATE. Elaborate, done with great pains
and labour.
E-LAPSE. Elapse, to pass away, as time does.
E-LAS-Tic. Elastic ; those things are called elas-
tic^ which, when they are bent out of their pro-
per shape, spring back to it again ; Indian rub-
ber is elastic^ and whalebone is elastic.
E-LATEv Elate, full of joy and pride.
El-ders. Elders, those who are older than others.
El-der-ly. Elderly, rather old.
E-LECT. Elect, to choose one thing or one person
out of a great many others, for some purpose.
El-e-gant. Elegant, pleasing and beautiful, not
rude nor coarse.
El-e-gy. Elegy, a melancholy piece of poetry,
generally written on the death of somebody.
El-e-ment. Element, earth, air, fire, and water,
are generally called the four elements. The word
element properly means a substance of one sort
or kind. Several elements mingled together form
a compound substance. Flour is one element^ and
EMB 7%
water another element of paste : paste is the
compound of these elements.
El-e-vate. Elevate, to raise up high.
El-e-va-tion. Elevation, height, the state of
being raised, or lifted up.
Ell, a measure of one yard, and a quarter of ayard.
E-lope. Elope, to run away.
El-o-quence. Eloquence, the power of speaking
much and well.
El-o-quent. Eloquent, speaking much, and at
the same time properly and agreeably.
E-lu-ci-date. Elucidate, to make quite plain and
easy to be understood,
E-LUDE. Elude, to get out of danger by some
trick, to get away cunningly.
E-MA-ci-A-TED. Emaciated, without flesh, quite
thin and lean.
Em-bark. Embark to go on board of a ship. To
embark any thing, is to put it into a ship.
jEivi-BAR-RAss. Embarrass, to tease, to entangle.
Em-bas-sy. Embassy, a solemn and particular
message sent from one country to another, or
from one king to another.
Em-bel-lish. Embellish, to make something more
beautiful than it was before.
Em-blem. Emblem, an image or picture intended to
give us an idea of something which we cannot see.
You know we cannot see Time; but the figure of
a very old man, with a scythe in his hand, and
a bald head, is used as an emblem of Time.
Em-brace. To embrace a persoji, means to press
him in one's arms with kindness, to hug him.
Em-broid-e-ry. Embroidery, flowers and figures
of any kind, worked upon cloth with a needle.
7B ENC
Eii-E-RALD. Emerald, a precious stone of a most
beautiful green colour.
E-MERGE. Emerge, to rise out of a hiding place,
or to rise out of darkness, as the moon emerges
from the clouds.
E-MER-GEN-CY. Emergency, something which
happens suddenly. [to another.
Em-i-grate. Emigrate, to remove from one place
Em-i-nent. Eminent, high raised above others.
Em-i-nence. Eminence, height. An eminence^
any high place, as a hill.
E-MOL-u-MENT. Emolument, profit, something
which is gained.
E-Mo-TioN. Emotion, agitation of the mind.
Em-pe-ror. Emperor, a ruler of a country who
ranks higher than a king.
Em-pha-sis. Emphasis : in speaking and read-
ing it is proper to sound some words stronger
than we do others ; this is called speaking them
with emphasis, or laying an emphasis upon them. •
Em-ploy. Employ, to make use of a person or
thing. To employ one's self, is to do something.
To employ a person^ is to make him do something
for us.
Em-ploy-ment. Employment, business, something
which we are about.
Em-u-late. Emulate, to try to be like somebody
who is better or greater than ourselves.
Em-u-la-tion. Emulation, the wish we feel to
imitate those who are better than we are.
£m-u-lous. Emulous, wishing to be ^s good or
better than some other person.
En-chant. Enchant, to charm and delight very
much*
ENG 77
En-chant-ing. Enchanting, delightful, extremely
pleasing.
En-close. Enclose, to make hedges or fences
round fields, to part them from other grounds.
To enclose^ also means to shut up.
En-com-pass. Encompass, to shut in by putting
something all round ; or to go quite round any
thing.
En-coun-ter. Encounter, to meet face to face,
by accident.
En-croach. Encroach, to take by little and little,
something which we have no right to, or to get
into some place where we have no right to go.
En-deav-our. Endeavour, to try to do something.
End-less. Endless, without an end, lasting al-
ways.
En-dure. Endure, to last or continue. To en-
dwre a person or a thing, means to bear or suffer
them.
En-e-my. Enemy, one who is not our friend :
one that hates us, and would do us harm if he
could.
En-er-gy. Energy, force, strength, power to do
something.
En-er-vate. Enervate, to make weak, to take
away force.
En-force. Enforce, to make strong, to gi^e
force to.
En-gage. Engage : to be engaged, is to be busy,
to be employed ; to engage, sometimes means to
fight.
En-gage-ment. Engagement, something we are
obhged to do. An engagement often means a
fight, a battle.
78 ENM
En-gine. Engine, a contrivance in which many dif-'
ferent movements and parts are made to produce
one effect : thus we say, " clocks and watches
are very ingenious engines. ^^ If you look at the
inside of a watch, you will see that it is compo-
sed or made of springs, and many different
wheels, which turn round, and all together pro-
duce the effect of telling the hour of the day.
The art of contriving and making engines, is
called mechanics and mechanism, A person who
works at this art is called a mechanic.
En-grave. Engrave, to make deep marks or cuta
upon any hard thing, as copper, wood, or stone.
En-grav-ing. Engraving, a picture which is first
marked or cut on a plate of copper, or on a block
of wood ; afterwards these lines are filled with
ink, and when the copper is pressed on paper
with a machine made on purpose, the ink which'
was in the lines sticks to the paper, and leaves a
mark or impression. Engravings on copper are
often called copper-plates ; engravings on wood
are generally called prints or cuts. You may
see engravings in many books.
En-hance. Enhance, to raise higher in price or
in value.
E-NiG-MA. Enigma, a riddle, a puzzle.
En-join. Enjoin, to order or direct something to
be done.
En-joy. Enjoy, to feel with pleasiire.
En-large. Enlarge, to make larger. [light
En-light-en. Enlighten, to make light, to fill with
En-li-ven. Enliven, to make merry and active.
En-mi-ty Enmity, great dislike, hatred, a wish
to do mischief to some other person.
ENV 79
E^proR-Mous. Enormous, exceedingly great, un-
commonly large.
E-NOR-Mi-TY. Enormity, great wickedness.
En-rage. Enrage, to put into a passion, to make
very angry.
En-rich. Enrich, to make rich.
En-sue. Ensue, to happen afterwards, [puzzle.
En-tan-gle. Entangle, to twist, to confuse or
En-ter. Enter, to come into, or to go into, any
place. To enter ^ sometimes means to set down
in writing.
En-ter-prise. Enterprise, some difficult thing
which we try to do.
En-ter-tain. Entertain, to amuse, to please. To
entertain^ means also to feast at table.
En-ter-tain-ment. Entertainment, something
which amuses us ; it also means a feast.
En-tire. Entire, whole, not broken, not divided
into parts.
En-ti-tle. Entitle, to give one a right to any thing.
En-trance. Entrance, the act of coming or going
into a place. The entrance, the way by which
we go in : a door is an entrance to a house or
room.
En-treat. Entreat, to ask, to beg.
En-try. Entry, the same as entrance.
En-vi-rons. Environs, places round about or
near us. [oning over.
E-Nu-ME-RA-TiON. Enumeration, counting or reck-
En-vy. Envy, to hate another person for being
better or happier than we are ourselves. Envy,
the mean ill nature which some people feel when
they see others happier and better than them-
selves.
80 ESC
E-Pis-TLE. Epistle, a letter written to some person.
Ep-i-thet. Epithet, a word which serves to mark
the good or bad quahties of any thing ; as, a
beautiful nosegay, a sour apple.
E-QUAL. Equal, the same : as one hundred cents
are equal to a dollar.
E-QUEs-TRiAN. EqucstrJan, on horseback.
E-QUip. Equip, to make ready, to dress out.
E-Quip-AGE. Equipage, a carriage with servants
to attend it.
E-Quiv-A-LENT. Equivalent, the same as another!
thing in value : one hundred cents is equivalenA
to a dollar. i
E-Quiv-o-cAL. Equivocal, signifying different
things, not plain nor sure.
E-Quiv-o-CATE. Equivocate, to speak in such a
manner as to express two senses, so as intention-
ally to convey a doubtful or false meaning,
E-RASE. Erase, to rub or scratch out.
Ere, before : ere-long, before long, in a little
while : ere-while, a short time ago.
E-rect. Erect, to build, or set any thing upright
erecty not bent, not leaning, but upright and|
straight.
Err, to go wrong, to make mistakes.
Er-ror. Error, a mistake, something which we
do improperly without intending it.
Er-rand. Errand, a message, something we are
sent to do.
E-RUP-TioN. Eruption, a sudden bursting out, or
a breaking out of any thing.
Es-cape. Escape, to get out of danger, to run
away from, to get safe from something that
would hurt us.
I
EVE 81
E-SPY. Espy, to find out something, or to see it
at a distance.
Es-SENCE. Essence, the chief properties of some
herb or plant extracted or drawn from it : it also
means a perfume.
Es-SEN-TiAL. Essential, quite necessary.
Es-TAB-LisH. Establish, to make any thing quite
sure and certain, to fix or settle a thing.
Es-TATE. Estate, the land which belongs to a
person.
Es-TEEM. To esteem a person, is to think him
good and honest, to have a good opinion of him.
Es-Ti-MA-BLE. Estimable, what is worthy of es-
teem, good.
Es-Ti-MATE. Estimate, to settle what a thing is
worth.
Es-Ti-MA-TioN. Estimation, good opinion of some
person.
E-TER-NAL. Eternal, lasting always, without a
beginning and without an end.
E-THER. Ether, properly, air which is exceed-
ingly thin, pure, and clear.
E -VAC -u- ATE. Evacuate, to make empty, or to go
out of place.
E-VADE. Evade, to slip away cunningly, to avoid.
E-VAP-oR-ATE. Evaporate, to turn into steam or
vapour.
E-VA-sioN. Evasion, an excuse to deceive a per-
son.
EvE-NiNG. Evening, the time which immediately
follows sunset, before midnight. Eve and even
are sometimes used in poetry instead of the word
evening,
E-VENT. Event, any thing that happens.
S2 EXC
Ev-ER*MORE. Evermore ; for evermore means
always.
Ev-i-DENT. Evident, plainly to be seen.
E-viL. Evil, any thing which is bad, wicked,
hurtful, or unfortunate.
E-viNCE. Evince, to show that a thing is true.
Eu-RO-PE-AN. European, belonging to Europe :
a European is one who is born in Europe.
Ex-ACT-LY. Exactly, very carefully, or very nicely.
Ex-act. Exact, to ask any thing as our right.
Ex-AG-GE-RATE. Exaggerate : when people, in
speaking of any thing, make it seem greater, or
better, or worse than it really is, they exagge*
rate,
Ex-ALT. Exalt, to raise up high.
Ex-ALT-ED. Exalted, high : exalted virtue, is very
great goodness.
Ex-ALT-A-TioN. Exaltation, height, greatness ol
rank, or greatness of power, or of goodness.
Ex-AM-iNE. Examine, to look at any thing care-
fully, to look at every side, and every part of a
thing ; to examine a person, to ask him questions
in order to find out the truth.
Ex-AM-?LE. Example, something which we are
to imitate or copy. For example, is a phrase
used when we want to explain one thing by men^*
tioning something else that is like it.
Ex-As-PER-ATE. Exaspcratc, to put one into a
passion, to provoke.
Ex-CA-VATE. Excavate, to make hollow, to cut
out. .
Ex-CA-VA-TioN. Excavation, a place dug out. I
Ex-CEED. Exceed, to go too far, to go beyond
bounds.
EXH 83
Ex-CEL. Excel, to be better than another, or to
do something better than another person ; as,
you excel in writing.
Ex-CEPT. Except, to leave out ; except, unless,
Ex-CEP-TioN. Exception, something which is left
out. An exception is also an objection,
Ex-CEss, Excess, more than enough, too much
of any thing.
Ex-CLAiM, Exclaim, to cry out loud.
Ex-CLA-MA-TioN, , Exclamation, something which
is said expectedly, as Oh ! [on purpose.
Ex-CLUDE, Exclude, to shut out, or to leave out
Ex-CRES-CENCE, Excrcsccnce, something which
grows out of another thing without any use,
and without belonging to it: as a wart, or the
large lumps which we often see growing on the
trunks of trees.
Ex-cuR-sioN. Excursion, a ramble to some dts-
tant place. [be done,
Ex-E-cuTE, Execute, to do what was intended to
Ex-EMPT. Exempt : to be exempt from any thing,
means to be free from it, not to be subject to it ;
who is exempt from sickness and from death ?
Ex-ER-cisE, Exercise, walking, running, jump-
ing, or dancing, for the good of one's health ;
to exercise one^s self, is to do something often,
that we may do it well,
Ex-ER-TioN. Exertion, something which is done
with trouble, or by using force : running is an
exertion.
Ex-HA-LA-TioN, Exhalation, steam or vapour
which rises into the air.
Ex-HALE, Exhale, to throw out air from the lungs,
to ascend in vapour.
84 EXP
Ex-HAUST. Exhaust, to make quite empty, to
draw out what is m any thing till nothing is left.
When we say, we are exhausted, we mean that
all our breath, or all our strength is gone.
Ex-HiB-iT. Exhibit, to show.
Ex-HiL-A-RATE. Exhilarate, to make gay and
merry.
Ex-iLE. Exile, to drive a person out of his own
country, and not allow him to come back.
Ex-iT. Exit : this word you often meet with in
plays ; it means that a person goes out.
Ex-OR-Bi-TANT. Exorbitant, enormous, too great
Ex-OT-ic. Exotic. Those plants are called exo*
tics which do not grow here naturally, but come
from a foreign country.
Ex-PAND. Expand, to spread open, as a rose-bud
expands its leaves.
Ex-PAN-sioN. Expansion, wideness, something
which is spread out.
Ex-PECT. To expect a person, to wait for him, to
think he will come. lHo expect a tiling, is to
think that it will happen.
Ex-PE-Di-ENT. Expedient, any thing we make
use of to help us on in something we are doing ;
expedient, fit, convenient, useful.
Ex-PEL. Expel, to drive out, to force out.
Ex-PEND. Expend, to lay out money, to spend.
Ex-PENSE. Expense, cost, something which is
spent. [money.
Ex-PEN-sivE. Expensive, costing a great deal of
Ex-PE-Ri-ENCE. Experience, to know by trying.
Ex-PER-i-MENT. Experiment, a trial, any thing
which we do to find out the truth of something
which we are not quite sure of.
EXT 66
Ex-pi-ATE. Expiate, to make amends for a fault
by being very good.
Ex-piRE. Expire, to die, to breathe no more, to
be quite at an end.
Ex-pi-RA-TioN. Expiration, sometimes means end,
as when we say, at the expiration of a year you
will read better than you do now.
Ex -PLAIN. Explain, to make a person understand
any thing.
Ex-PLi-ciT. Explicit, spoken plainly.
Ex-PLOUE. Explode, to drive out, or burst out
violently, and with a great noise.
Ex-PLO-sioN. Explosion, a bursting out with vio-
lence and noise, as the report of a gun.
Ex-PORT. Export, to carry something out of a
country, as to import means to bring something
into a country. We say that a great quantity
of pork is exported, and a great quantity of tea
is imported, every year.
Ex-posE. Expose, to put in danger of something.
To expose also means to show, or to tell what
was hidden.
Ex-PRESs. Express, to tell something in speaking
or in writing, or to show the likeness of some-
thing in a picture or an image. Express also
means, to squeeze out : wine is the expressed
juice of grapes. To express one's self, is to
make use of words or signs to show what we
mean.
Ex-Qui-siTE. Exquisite, exceedingly excellent.
Ex-TEND. Extend, to stretch out, or to spread
out, to make larger and wider.
Ex-TEN-sivE. Extensive, wide and large.
8
86 FAC
Ex-TENT. Extent, of any things the length and
breadth of it.
Ex-TE-Ri-oR. Exterior, outside. I
Ex-TER-Mi-NATE. Exterminate, to root out, to
drive quite away. i
Ex-TEE-NAL. External, outward, not inside.
Ex-TiN-GUisH. Extinguish, to put out a fire or a
light.
Ex-TOL. Extol, to praise very much.
Ex-TORT. Extort, to get something by force from
another person.
Ex-TRACT. Extract, to draw or squeeze some-
thing out of another thing.
Ex-TRA-OR-Di-NA-RY. Extraordinary, not common,
different from most things, strange.
Ex-TRAV-A-GANT. Extravagant, wasteful, spend-
ing too much money. *
Ex-TREM-i-TY. Extremity, of any things the part
which is furthest off from the middle of it, the
end.
Ex-u-BE-RANT. Exubcrant, too abundant, or more^
plentiful than is necessary.
Ex-ULT. Exult, to be very glad of something.
Ex-uL-TA-TioN. Exultation, great delight and
gladness.
Eye, the organ of sight. To eye a thing y to watch
it; or look attentively at it.
Fa-ble. Fable, a story which is not true, but
which is intended to teach something by exam-
ple.
Fa-cil,i-tate Facilitatej, to make easy to be done/j
FAR 87
Fa cil-i-ty. Facility; to do a thing with facility
means to do it easily and readily.
Fact, a circumstance which has really happened,
something which is true.
Fac-ul-ty. Faculty, the power of doing some
thing, as when we say, " Brutes have not the
faculty of speech," or of talking.
Fail, to miss doing something which we intended
to do. To fail sometimes means to sink, to be-
come less, to fade away.
Fain, gladly, with pleasure.
Faint, may mean weak, not strong ; or pale, and
not bright, as faint colours ; or not loud, as a
faint sound, a faint voice.
Fair, beautiful. The fair, sometimes means al)
women.
Faith-ful. Faithful, true, honest, that may be
depended upon.
Fal-la-cious. Fallacious, deceitful, causing mis-
takes.
Fal-low-land. Fallow-land, the ground which
is ploughed, but not sown with seed.
False, what is not true, nor honest.
False-hood. Falsehood, a lie.
Fal-ter. Falter, to hesitate in speaking.
Fa-mil-iar. Familiar, common, what we are ac-
customed to.
Fam-ine. Famine, want of food.
Fam-ish. Famish, to starve, to kill with hunger.
Fang ; the long teeth of boars, and the long crook-
ed nails of any great beast, are caWed fangs
Fan-tas-ti-cal. Fantastical, full of whims and
fancies, odd.
Fare, something to eat.
88 FEI
Farm, land which a person may cultivate. To
farm, to cultivate land.
Farm-er. Farmer, a person who cultivates land.
Fash-ion. Fashion, the fashion of a thing is the
shape of it, the manner or way in which it is
made. To fashion, to make of some shape.
Fast, to keep from eating any thing.
Fa-tal. Fatal, destroying life, deadly.
Fate, death, or any thing that must happen.
Fa-tigue. Fatigue, weariness.
Fa-tigu-ed. Fatigued, tired.
Fa-vor. Favor, kindness, or help to any person.
Fa-vor-a-ble. Favorable, kind, affectionate.
To favor a person, is to be good and kind to
him.
Fawns, young deer.
Fear-ful. Fearful, easily afraid ; sometimes year-
ful means terrible, dreadful.
Fear-less. Fearless, bold, not afraid. The syl-
lable less at the end of a word means vnihout :
thus fear-less means properly without fear ; care-
less, without care ; comfort-less, without comfort^
dec. &c.
Feath-ers. Feathers, the covering of birds. Birds
are called the feathered race, because yea^/tered
means covered with feathers.
Fea-ture. Feature, any single part of the face,
as the nose or the mouth.
Fee-ble. Feeble, weak, without strength.
Feel-ing. Feeling cannot be described in words ;
we know what we feel ourselves, but we can I
never tell exactly what other people yeeZ. J
Feign, to be deceitful, to seem to be what in reality
we are not.
FIC 89
Fe-li-di-ty. Felicity, pleasure, happiness.
Fell, cruel, very savage. To fell^ to cut down,
or to knock down, as people ybZZ trees.
Felt, a kind of thick cloth made of wool or hair,
not woven like cloth, but rather stuck toge-
ther,
Fe-male. Female, a woman, or the she of any
animal.
Fem-i-nine. Feminine, like a woman, soft, ten-
der.
Fence, a hedge or railing round a field or garden.
Fe-ro-cious. Ferocious, very wild and fierce.
Fe-ro-ci-ty. Ferocity, fierceness and cruelty.
Fer-tile. Fertile, fruitful, plentiful. Ground
which produces corn, vegetables, and fruit, is
cdWedi fertile or fruitful.
Fer-til-ize. Fertilize, to make fertile.
Fer-vent. Fervent, very warm.
Fer-vid. Fervid, hot, burning.
Fes-tive. Festive, gay, merry, full of pleasure.
Fes-ti-val. Festival, a day of joy and pleasure.
Fes-tiv-i-ty. Festivity, cheerfulness, merriment.
Fe-tid. Fetid, what has a strong and very bad
smell.
Fu-EL. Fuel, any substance that servos to make
a fire, as wood and coals.
Fi-BRE. Fibre, a thin string or thread.
Fi-BRous. Fibrous, made of fibres or threads ;
the roots of all kinds of grass a.Ye fibrous,
FiCK-LE. Fickle ; a fickle person is one who is
always changing, one who does not know his
own mind.
8*
80 FLA
Fic-TiON. Fiction, what is not real nor true, but
only invented or pretended.
Fic-Ti-Tious. Fictitious, not real or true.
Fi-DEL-i-TY. Fidelity, honesty, and truth.
Fierce, very angry, savage, and furious.
Fi-E-RY. Fiery, hot, burning like fire, or made of
fire,
FiG-uRE. Figure, the shape or form of any thing.
FiL-A-MENT. Filament, a long thin thread.
FiL-iAL. Filial, what belongs to a son or daugh.
ter. Filial duty, means the love, obedience
and respect which all children owe to their fa*
ther and mother.
Fill, to put as much into any thing as it will hold.
Film, a thin skin.
Filth, dirt.
FiLTH-Y. Filthy, dirty, nasty.
Fi-NAL. Final, last, belonging to the end.
Fine, not coarse, but thin, smooth, and delicate. I
A. fine, is money which any one is obliged to payf
as a punishment.
FiN-E-RY. Finery, gay clothes and ornaments.
FiR-iNG. Firing, fuel, any thing fit to be burned.
Firm, fixed and strong ; what is not soft nor easily
shaken, is firm.
FiR-MA-MENT. Firmament, the sky, the atmos
phere.
FisH-E-RY. Fishery, the trade or business of|
catching fish. The greatest fisheries are the
Whale fishery, the Salmon fishery, the Herring
fishery, and the Cod fishery, which employ a
great number of people, and are very profitable.
Fis-suRE. Fissure, a crack.
Fla-gi-tious. Flagitious, exceedingly wicked.
FLE 91
Flail, a large stick with another stick hung at the
end of it, used to beat out the grains of corn
from the ear : this is called threshing corn.
Flap, any thing which hangs down broad and
loose, like the Jiap of a coat.
Flash, any sudden quick blaze of light, which is
gone in an instant; as di flash of lightning, or the
Uash of a gun when it goes off.
Flask, a kind of bottle.
Flat-ter. Flatter, to praise any one too much, to
praise untruly ; sometimes ^ai^er means to coax,
to please very much.
Flat-te-ry. Flattery, praise which is not deserved.
Flaunt, to be dressed finely, and to display dress
vainly.
Flaunt-ing. Flaunting, too fine and gay.
Flaw, a break, a crack, or a fault, in any thing.
Flax, the name of a plant. The stalks o^ flax,
which consist of a number of long and very fine
threads, or fibres, are first steeped in water, then
beaten with heavy wooden hammers, cleaned,
and spun into thread with a spinning-wheel.
This thread is afterwards woven into linen and
cambric, or made into beautiful lace.
Flay, to strip the skin off.
Fledge, to cover with feathers. Little birds, when
they first come out of the egg, are unfledged;
that is, they are without feathers, and cannot fly.
Flee, to run away from danger.
Fleece, the wool which grows on a sheep's back.
Fleec-y Fleecy, covered with wool.
Fleet, very quick in running. To fl^et, to pass
away quickly. A fl^eet, a number of ships to-
gether.
11
92 FLU
Flex-i-ble. Flexible, not stiff, nor soon broken,
but easily bent, or easily managed.
Flight, the power of flying, as birds do. Flight j
a movement from some place to another. To
take flight, is to fly away, or to run away.
Flim-sy. Flimsy, thin and mean, not strong.
Fling, to throw something out of the hand with
great force.
Flint, the name of an excedingly hard stone, of a
dark colour, which strikes fire when it is struck
against a piece of steel.
Flint-y. Flinty, hard like flint, cruel, not kind.
Float, to swim, not to sink in any fluid.
Flood, a great quantity of water covering the earth.
Flo-rid. Florid, of a red colour.
FiiO-RisT. Florist, a person who is skilled in flow-
ers, and one who cultivates flowers to sell.
Flouk-ish. Flourish, to prosper, to be lucky or
happy. To flx)urish is also to grow well and
strong.
Flow, to run smoothly along, like water.
Flow-ing. Flowing, what hangs long, loose, and
waving ; as, when we say, " a horse with a
flowing mane."
Flow-er-et. Floweret, a little flower.
Flow-er-y. Flowery, full of flowers.
Fluc-tu-ate. Fluctuate, to move backwards and
forwards, to be uncertain, or not able to deter-
mine.
Flu-ent. Fluent, to speak ^wen^Zy or to read^w-
ently, means to speak or read readily, easily, and
agreeably.
Flu-id, Fluid, water, milk, wine, blood, ^re fluids ;
and tiiere are many other fluids besides these ;
FOR 1»
things can sink or swim in fluids. What is fluid
is not solid ; fluids run or flow, and they can be
poured from one vessel to another ; what is solid
must be of some shape, hut fluids are not of any
shape, they take the shape of whatever they are
contained in.
Flut-ter. Flutter, to fly about.
FoAii, a young horse, or a young ass.
FoD-DER. Fodder, the food which is laid up to
feed the horses, cows, and sheep, in the winter,
when there is no fresh grass.
Fog, a thick mist near the ground.
Fold, a place where sheep are kept ; to fold, to
double up, to crease : to fold sheep, to shut them
up in B.fold for safety.
FoL-iAGE. Fohage, leaves.
Folks, people, a number of persons.
FoL-LY. Folly, foolishness ; a. folly, a silly action.
FooT-iNG. Footing, ground where there is room
enough for the foot to rest on.
Fop, a silly man who is proud of his dress.
FoR-BEAR. Forbear, to leave off* doing something
which we wish or like to do.
FoR-BiD. Forbid, to desire any thing not to be
done.
FoRc-i-BLE. Forcible, what is strong, or done
with force.
Ford, a part of a river, or a stream of water, which
is not too deep for any one to walk through.
FoRE-BODE. Forebode, to think of something be-
fore it happens.
FoRE-FA-THER. Forefather ; our forefathers are
those who have lived before us a long time ago ;
ancestors.
94 FOR
FoR-EiGN. Foreign, not belonging to this thing,
or this country.
FoR-EiGN-ER. Foreigner, a person who is born in
another country, a stranger.
Fore-most. Foremost, what is first in place.
FoRE-NAM-ED. Foreuamed, what was spoken of
before.
Fore-sight. Foresight, dJidi forethought, generally
mean careful attention to what may happen here-
after or in future.
For-feit. Forfeit, any thing which we lose, or
which we are obliged to pay, because we have
done wrong ; io forfeit, is to lose something by
a fault ; we say, by giving way to ill-temper you
yfiW forfeit the love of all your friends.
Forge, a place where iron is heated red hot, and
hammered into different shapes ; to forge, is to
hammer iron to make it soft.
For-get. Forget, not to remember, or not to think
of a thing.
FoR-LORN. Forlorn, sad, miserable, and mean.
Form, to make something of a particular shape :
the form of any thing, is the shape or figure of it
Form-a-tion. Formation ; ih^ formation of a thing i
is the manner or shape in which it is made.
FoR-MER. Former, the first of two things, and
latter, the last of two things, which we speak
of. Suppose you had a plum and an apricot, you
might eat the former, and give the latter to your
sister. Former, also means past, as we say in
former days. [past.
FoR-MER-LY. Formerly, long ago, m times long
FoR-Mi-DA-BLE. Formidable, terrible, frightful,
dreadful.
FRA 95
FoR-SAKE. Forsake, to leave, or to go away from*
Forth, out, as the leaves burst forth in spring.
Forth, means also, out of place, out of doors.
FoR-Ti-FY. Fortify, to make strong or firm.
FoR-Ti-TUDE. Fortitude, strength of mind, endur-
ance of misfortunes or pain.
FoR-TUNE. Fortune, the good or ill which hap-
pens to a person. Fortune may mean also mo-
ney or riches belonging to a person.
Fos-siL. Fossil ; all those things which are found
by digging into the earth, are calledyb^^zZ^, such
as metals, stones, <k;c.
Fos-TER. Foster, to nurse and take care of any
thing.
Foul, what is not clean, nor bright, or not clear ;
what is wery dirty.
Found, to make the first beginning of any build-
ing, such as a house, a church, or a bridge : to
lay ihe foundation of it.
FouND-A-TioN. Foundation, the lowest part of a
building, the part which is first begun to be built,
and which serves for the rest of the building to
stand on. Th^ foundation is generally built un-
der ground, that it may be stronger.
Fount, or fountain, the place where water springs
out of the ground. Fountain sometimes means
the first beginning or cause of something ; we
say, God is the fountain of goodness.
Frac-ture. Fracture, to break a bone.
Fra-gile. Fragile, easily broken or hurt, weak.
Frag-ment. Fragment, a piece of something
which is broken. [odour.
Fra-grance. Fragrance, a delightful scent or
Fra-grant. Fragrant, smellimy verv sweet.
m FRi
Frail, weak, easily hurt, or apt to do wrong.
Frame, to make or contrive something by joining
and fitting different parts together. A frame, any
thing which is made of different parts fitted to.
gether ; as we say, the human frame, that is, the
body of a human creature.
Frank, speaking freely, plainly, and kindly.
Fra-ter-nal. Fraternal, like brothers.
Fra-ter-ni-ty. Fraternity, a number of persona
who live together, and are like brothers.
Fraud, trick, cunning : any thing which is done to
cheat other people.
Free, not shut up, nor confined by any thing, but
able to do as we like, and go wherever we please.
Free from, means without : we say, who is free
from fault ? — ^that means, who is without faults ?
Freeze, to turn to ice, to make hard with cold.
Frozen, what is made solid or hard with cold ;
ice and snow are frozen water. ^
Freight, to load a ship. ^
Fre-quent. Frequent, often done, or often hap-
pening. To frequent, to be often in any place.
Fre-quent-ly. Frequently, often, many times.
Presh, clean, cool, and new. Fresh, often means
what is not salt : we say fresh meat, fresh but-
ter : the water of the sea is salt, but the water
of rivers and streams is fresh.
Fret, to vex, to be angry and peevish. I
Fret-ful. Fretful, angry, ill-tempered.
Fric-tion. Friction, rubbing two things together.
Frig-id. Frigid, very cold.
Frisk, to skip and jump about merrily.
Friv-o-lous. Frivolous, trifling, of no use, and
of no consequence.
FUR 97
Fro : to and fro, means backwards and forwards.
Front, the part of a thing which is turned towards
us.
Frow-ard. Froward, angry and ill-humoured.
Fru-gal. Frugal, not wasteful, not spending
much, but careful and sparing.
Fruit-less. Fruitless, of no use or advantage.
Frus-trate. Frustrate, to disappoint, to make what
any person wished or intended to do of no use.
Fu-Gi-TivE. Fugitive, a fugitive is one who runs
away from his home and his friends, and wan-
ders about ; or one who runs away for fear of
being punished.
FuL-FiL. Fulfil, to finish entirely. To fulfil our
duty, is to do what we ought to do. To fulfil
the wishes of our parents, is to do what they
wish us to do. To fulfil the commands of God,
is to obey him, to do as he has commanded us.
Fume, smoke, vapour or steam.
FuNc-TioN. Function, what a person has to do.
Function, also means power, what any one is
able to do.
Fu-NE-RAL. Funeral, the ceremony of burying
dead persons.
Fur, soft warm hair. A fur, is a skin of some beast
covered with soft hair, which is used in dress.
Furs are much worn in cold countries, on ac-
count of their being so warm and soft.
Furl, to draw up, or close up in a smaller space,
as we furl an umbrella, or as they furl the sails
of a ship when they are not wanted. To unfurl
is to spread out.
FuR-NACE Furnace, a fire which is shut up in a
close fire-place. Fkirnaces are used when a very
9
98 GAL
great heat is wanted ; as in melting metals, ma.
king glass,&c,
FuR-Ni-TURE. Furniture, all the goods and differ.
ent things which are in a house, such as chairs,
tables, beds, carpets, dec.
Fur-row. Furrow, a long, narrow, but not very
deep cut, or hollow place.
Fu-RY, Fury, great anger and rage.
Fu-Ri-ous. Furious, mad, raging, in a great pas-
sion.
Furze, the name of a prickly plant with yellow
flowers.
Fuse, to melt.
Fus-i-BLE. Fusible, capable of being melted.
Fus-ioN. Fusion the state of being melted or
made soft by heat.
Fu-TURE. Future, not now at this present time ;
but some other time which is to come.
Fu-TU-Ri-TY. Futurity, the time which is not yet
come.
G
Gain, to get or reach something, or to win some-
thing. Gain, what is gotten.
Gait, the manner in which any person walks.
Gale, a gale, a wind which blows strong, but not
stormy ; a brisk gale, is a very strong wind.
Gall, an animal substance which is excessively bit-
ter. Gall, to hurt, to tease, or vex.
Gal-lant. Gallant, fine, bold and brave.
GAL-LE-Ry. Gallery, a long walk or passage in a
house.
Gal-ley. Galley, a small ship which is rowed
along with oars.
GEN 99
Gar-land. Garland, a wreath of flowers or leaves.
Gar-ment. Garment, any thing which is put on.
to cover a human being.
Gar-ments. Garments, clothing.
Gar-ri-son. Garrison, a great number of sol-
diers who are placed in some town or castle, to
guard it.
Gash, a deep and wide cut. Gash^ to cut deeply.
Gasp, to open the mouth wide to catch breath.
Gate, a large door or opening into any place.
Gath-er. Gather, to heap up, or bring together
into one place. To gather^ means also to pick
or take : we say, to gather flowers.
Gau-dy. Gaudy, too gay and fine.
Gaunt, bony and thin.
Gaze, to look at something with fixed attention.
Gem, a small precious stone. Gems are of many
different colours : green, as the emerald ; red,
as the ruby ; blue, as the sapphire ; or of no
color like water, as the diamond, which is the
most valued of all.
Gen-e-ral. General, not particular, what does
not belong to any one, or to a few of any thing,
but to a great number ; or what is done by most
people. A Generaly a man who commands an
army of soldiers.
Gen-er-al-ly. Generally, often, mostly.
Gen-er-a-tion. Generation, all the people in the
world, who are born nearly at the same time,
and die nearly at the same time. The present
generation^ means the people who are now liv-
ing ; the rising generatioHy means all those who
are now children.
100 GLA.
Gen-er-ous. Generous, not mean, nor selfish,
nor covetous ; but noble, good, and kind.
Gen-teel. Genteel, polite, civil, handsome.
Gen-tle. Gentle, not rude, or rough, but soft,
tame, and tender.
Gen-u-ine. Genuine, not mixed with any thing
which is bad or untrue.
Ge-og-ra-phy. Geography describes the differ-
ent countries and cities which are in the world.
Ges-ture. Gesture, any action or attitude of the
body.
Ghast-ly. Ghastly, pale and horrible looking.
Ghost, soul or spirit. To give up the ghost, to die.
Gi-ANT. Giant, a man who is much taller and
larger than other men.
Gift, any thing which is given, a present.
Gild, to cover with gold, to make bright.
Gilt, covered over with gold-leaf, so as to look
like solid gold. [its head.
Gills, of a fish, are the openings on each side of
GiN-GER. Ginger, the spice called ginger is the
root of a plant growing in the East and West
Indies.
Gird, to tie something round the body.
GiR-DLE. Girdle, a belt, any thing fastened round
the waist.
Glance, a short quick look at any thing. To
glance, to shine brightly and suddenly, to look
at something for a moment.
Glare, bright light which is too great for the eyes
to bear.
Glass, a substance made of sand and a kind of
salt called soda, melted by a great heat : glass
is beautiful and useful.
GLO 101
Glaze, to cover with glass, or to make shining
and smooth.
Gleam, a sudden, quick light. To gleam, to shine,
to sparkle.
Glean, to pick up the ears of corn which lie scat-
tered about the field when the harvest is reaped
or cut.
Glee, gladness, joy, merriment.
Glen, a valley, a deep place between hills.
Glide, to move gently, smoothly, and quickly along*
Glimpse, a short quick sight of something, when
it cannot be perfectly seen.
Glit-ter. Glitter, to shine, to look bright.
Glit-ter-ing. Glittering, bright, sparkling.
Globe, a thing which is round like a ball : a mar-
ble is a little globe, and the world we live in is
a very large globe. A terrestrial globe shows
the shape of the earth, and the situation of all
the different countries on it : the celestial globe is
used to show the situation of the stars in the sky.
Glob-ule. Globule, a very little globe like a drop
of dew on a leaf.
Glob-u-lar. Globular, of a round shape like a
globe.
Gloom, darkness, dullness.
Gloom-y. Gloomy, rather dark, dull, and dismal.
Glo-ri-fy. Glorify, to praise and worship, as we
glorify God.
Glo-ri-ous. Glorious, veiy much praised ; bright
and beautiful.
Glo-ry. Glory, honour, great praise, great bright-
ness. To glory in any thing, to be proud of it
Glos-sy. Glossy, smooth and shining.
Glow, to burn and shine with heat*
9*
102 GRA
Glow-ing. Glowing, warm, or having a red co.
lour, which is the color usually produced by heat.
Glow-worm. Glow-worm, a little creeping worm
which shines in the dark.
Glue, a substance used to stick wood and other
things together ; it is made by boiling the skins
of animals in water till they become a jelly.
Glu-ti-nous. Glutinous, sticky, like glue.
Glut-ton. Glutton, one who eats too much.
Gnaw, to bite and tear with the teeth.
GoD-LY. Godly, good, religious, doing our duty
towards God.
Gold, the name of a metal ; it is of a beautiful yel-
low colour, very heavy, soft, and easily melted,
and it can be beaten with hammers thinner than
paper. Gold is called a perfect metal, because
it cannot be consumed in the fire, nor can it be
hurt by the air or water, for it never rusts ; it is
the least common, and the most valuable of all
metals. Gold sometimes means money, and
riches.
Gold-smith. Goldsmith, one who makes things
of gold.
GooD-LY. Goodly, beautiful, fine.
Gore, another name for blood,
GoR-GE-ous. Gorgeous, splendid.
Gov-ERN. Govern, to be head over others, to
manage or rule, or to keep people in order.
Grace, kindness, goodness or forgiveness. Grace
also means elegance of manners and motion.
To grace, to ornament, to make beautiful.
Gra-cious. Gracious, kind, merciful, good.
Gra-da-tion. Gradation, going regularly for-
ward or higher, step by step, or little by little.
GRA 103
Grad-tj-al. Gradual, going on by degrees, slow.
Grad-u-al-ly. Gradually, not all at once, by lit-
tle and little.
< Graft, to join a branch of one tree on the stalk
of another tree of a different kind.
Grain, corn, rye, wheat, &c. A grain, is a seed,
or a small part of something ; as we say a grain
of sand. Grain sometimes means the fineness
or coarseness of any thing ; as we say steel has
a finer grain than iron.
Gram-mar. Grammar teaches to use words pro-
perly ; to speak and to write correctly.
Grand, great, magnificent.
Grand-eur. Grandeur, greatness, splendour.
Grant, to give something to a person as a favour ;
to allow.
Grapes, the fruit of vines.
Grasp, to catch or hold fast in the hand.
Grate-ful. Grateful, a person is grateful who is
thankful to those that have been good to him : —
we should be grateful to those who instruct us ;
when we say that any thing is grateful, we mean
that it is agreeable ; the smell of the rose is
grateful,
Grat-i-tude. Gratitude, thankfulness, and love
to those who have been good to us.
Grat-i-fy. Gratify, to indulge, to please.
Grat-i-fi-ca-tion. Gratification, great pleasure.
Gra-tu-i-ty. Gratuity, any thing which is given.
Grave, the place where dead persons are buried.
Grave, serious.
Grav-i-ty. Gravity, seriousness. Gravity means
also the weight or heaviness of any thing.
Graze, to eat grass.
104 GRU
Grease, soft fat.
Green-house, Green-house, a house where those
plants from warmer countries, which could not
bear our winters, are sheltered from the cold. <
Greet. To greet a 'person^ is, on first seeing him,
to speak to him kindly or respectfully.
Grief, sorrow, sadness, misfortune.
Grieve, to be very sorry. To grieve a 'person^ is
to make him unhappy.
Griev-ous. Grievous, painful, causing sorrow
Grim, having a horribly ugly face.
Grind, to make any thing into powder, as corn is
ground into flour. To grind, is also to sharpen
the edges of things, by rubbing them against a
stone, as men grind knives and scissors.
Gripe, to hold something fast in the hand, to
squeeze, to pinch. A gripe, a fast hold of some-
thing.
Groan, to make a low hoarse noise like one in pain.
Groove, a long hollow in any thing.
Gross, thick, heavy, coarse, dull; not delicate, not
fine and pure. A gross, twelve dozen of any
thing.
Grot-to. Grotto, a sort of room made in the
earth for coolness.
Group, several things or persons clustered to-
gether.
Growl, to make a low grumbling noise.
Grudge, to murmur and be sorry when any
thing good happens to another person ; to be
unwilling that another should have something^
we like. Grudge, anger, spite against the pos-
sessor of something we desire.
HAC 106
Gruff, sour-looking, rudely ill-natured.
Grunt, to make a noise like a pig.
GuARD-iAN. Guardian, a person who guards or
kindly takes care of another.
Guest, a person who is entertained in the house of
another person.
Guide, to show any one the right way, to manage
or direct. A guide, is one who shows another
person the way he should go.
Guile, cunning, deceit ; secret cheating.
GuiLE-LEss. Guileless, true, fair, without cunning.
Guilt, an offence, a crime.
GuiLT-Y, Guilty, not innocent ; to be guilty of
a fault is to have done it.
GuiLT-LEss. Guiltless, innocent.
Guise, the manner, looks, or dress of a person.
Gush, to stream out violently.
Gust, a sudden violent wind.
GuT-TER. Gutter, a narrow place for water to pass
through.
H
Ha-bil-i-ment. Habiliment, dress of any kind,
clothes.
Hab-it. Habit, dress, clothes. A hahit, any thing
we do very often. Some habits are good and
some are bad ; the habit of attending to what we
are about is good ; making faces, and putting
our fingers in our mouths, are bad habits*
Hab-i-ta-tion. Habitation, a place to live m.
Ha-bit-u-al. Habitual, what we do very often,
what we are used to do.
Hack, to cut in pieces, to chop.
106 HAR
Hag, a name for an ill-natured, ill-looking woman.
Hag-gard. Haggard, pale and ugly, wild-looking.
Hail, drops of rain which are frozen or made
hard by the cold before they fall.
Hal-low-ed. Hallowed, holy.
Halt, to stop. To halt means also to walk as if
one was lame. The halt^ means the people who
are lame.
Hal-ter. Halter, a rope to go round the neck ;
a rope to hang people with.
Ham-let. Hamlet, a small village : a few houses
built near to each other make a hamlet ; where
there are a greater number of houses, it is call-
ed a village ; when there are more houses, and
many people and streets, it is called a town; and
a very large town is called a city.
Hand-maid. Hand-maid, a maid servant.
Hap-ly. Haply, perhaps.
Hap-less. Hapless, unfortunate, miserable.
Ha-rangue. Harangue, a speech.
Ha-rass. Harass, to tire very much, to vex, to
disturb.
Har-bour. Harbour, a place where ships are safe
from storms. A harbour also means a lodging or
shelter of any kind. To harbour, to shelter in
some place, or give shelter to something.
Hard-ware. Hardware, things which are made
of iron, steel, and brass.
Hard-y. Hardy, strong, bold, and brave.
Hark, to listen, hear.
Har-mo-ny. Harmony, music. Harmonyy also
means agreement : sisters should live together
in harmony^ that is, they should not quarrel to.
/j^ether
HEA 107
Har-Mo-ni-ous. Harmonious, musical.
Har-ness. Harness, the leather straps with which
horses are fastened to carriages.
Har-row. Harrow, several large pieces of wood
put across one another, and stuck full of strong
iron spikes. The harrow is drawn over the
ground which has been ploughed, to break the
hard lumps and clods of earth.
Harsh, sour to the taste, or disagreeable to the ear
Harsh^ also means peevish, rough, and cross.
Harv^est-kome. Harvest-home, the feasting and
rejoicing which farmers make when the harvest
is gathered in ; that is, when all the corn is cut
down, and laid up safe.
Hatch ; to be hatched^ is to come out of eggs, as
all young birds do.
Ha-ven. Haven, a harbour, a safe place to shel-
ter and rest in.
Haugh-ty. Haughty, proud and insolent.
Haul, to pull along by force, to drag.
Haunt, to be often in some place, or near some
person ; to visit often. A haunt, any place
where one often goes.
Hav-ock. Havock, great waste or destruction of
any thing.
Hay, grass dried in the sun to serve for food for
cattle in winter.
Haz-ard. Hazard, chance, or accident, or dan-
ger.
Haz-ard-ous. Hazardous, dangerous.
Head-long. Headlong, to fall headlong, is to fall
with the head foremost. Headlong means also
careless and hasty.
HsALi to cure some sicknesS; or some hurt
108 HEI
Heark-en. Hearken, to listen, to pay attention
to something.
Hearse, a sort of carriage in which dead people
are carried to the grave.
Heart : the heart of any things is the inside part
of it ; hard-hearted means cruel.
Heath, the name of a plant ; a heathy a wide place
all overgrown or covered with heath,
Hea-thens. Heathens, those people who do not
worship the true God, or know Jesus Christ, are
called heathens. Heathen, like heathens.
Heave, to lift something from the ground. To
heave, means also to rise and sink again, to swell.
Heav-en. Heaven, that happy place where it is
supposed that God and his angels dwell, and
where good people will go when they die. Hea^
ven, or the heavens, sometimes means the sky.
Heav-i-ness. Heaviness, sometimes means sor-
row, sadness.
Heav-y. Heavy ; what presses downwards when
we lift it is in general called heavy. Heavy, al-
so means dull, slow, stupid, or lazy.
He-brew, Hebrew, the language which was spo-
ken by the Jews, and the language in which the i
books of the Old Testament were first written ;
the Jews are sometimes called Hebrews.
Heed, to mind, to be attentive and careful : heed,
attention, care ; take heed, means to be careful.
Heed-less. Heedless, very careless.
Heel ; the hind part of the foot : to take to one^s
heels, is to run away as fast as possible,
Heif-er. Heifer, a young cow.
Height, the distance of something above the
ground : a height, a high place, a hill.
HEX 109
Height-en. Heighten, to make higher, or to make
better, or to make more.
Heir, a person who will have any thing after the
person who now has it, is dead.
Hein-ous. Heinous, very wicked.
Helm, or heknet, sl kind of cap which soldiers
wear to guard the head when they fight. A
helm of a ship or boat, is an instrument placed
at the back part of a ship, which, by being turn-
ed to the right or the left, guides the vessel the
way it should go.
Hem-i-sphere. Hemisphere, exactly the half of
a globe.
Hemp, the name of a plant which is something like
flax, only much coarser ; the stalks of it are
made into coarse cloth, ropes, and brown paper.
Hence, from this place. Hence also means for
this reason.
Hence-forth. Henceforth ,yrom this time forward.
Herb : small plants of any kind are called herbs.
Herb-age. Herbage, grass, and other low plants.
Herd, a number of beasts together.
Here-in. Herein, in this.
Here-to-fore. Heretofore, formerly, in past time.
Hermit, a person who lives quite alone, and spends
his time in reading and praying.
He-ro. Hero, a man who is much braver and
bolder than other men.
He-ro-ic. Heroic, belonging to a hero.
Her-o-ine. Heroine, a brave courageous woman.
Hew, to cut down, to chop, or to cut into shape.
Hex-a-gon. Hexagon, a figure which has six an-
gles or corners. The cells which bees make to
iO
no HOL
hold their honey are called hexagonal^ that is, in
the figure of a hexagon.
Hide, the skin of some animal.
HiD-E-ous. Hideous, frightfully ugly.
HiL-LocK. Hillock, a little hill.
Hilt, the handle of a sword.
HiN-GEs. Hinges, the joints which support a door
or gate, on which it turns backwards and forwards.
Hire, to pay money for the use of any thing, or
for the labour of any person. The money which
we pay to any person for serving us, is called
hire or wages.
His-To-RY. History, an account of events which
have happened in the world, or of the great ac-
tions which have been done by men. Natural
history^ is an account of every thing remarkable
in Nature : it tells us all that is curious about
the earth, and about the different animals and
plants which are found on it.
HiTH-ER. Hither, to this place.
HiTH-ER-TO. Hitherto, to this time, till now.
Hive, a place for bees to live in. Hives are some-
times made of glass, but generally of straw, or
wood.
Hoar, white or gray. Hoary has the same mean-
ing : we say hoary hair, and Aoar-frost.
Hoard, to lay up something carefully, to keep
some thing secretly. A hoards any thing w^hich
is carefully laid up.
Hoarse, having a rough voice or sound.
HoL-Low. Hollow, not solid, or not filled up : a
ball is solid, a bason is hollow. A hollow, a hole.
Ho-LY. Holy, good, religous. Holy^ belonging
to God or to religion-
HOR 111
HoME-LY. Homely, not beautiful, plain, coarse.
HoN-EST. Honest : an honest person is one who
always tells the truth, and who does not take or
keep what belongs to other people.
HoN-i-ED. Honied, sweet, full of honey.
HoN-EY. Honey, the sweet food which bees ga-
ther from the flowers.
HoN-ouR. Honour, truth, goodness, honesty. —
Honour means the praise and respect we pay to
people who are greater or better than we are.
Honour di\so signifies something which we may
be proud of : we say, a good boy is an honour to
his family. To honour^ means to pay respect
and obedience : as, ''Honour thy father and thy
mother."
Hoof ; what grows on the feet of cows and horses
is called a hoof. The hoofs of cows, sheep, and
deer, are divided or parted in the middle ; they
are cloven-hoofed animals : the hoofs of horses
and asses are not divided ; they are whole-hoof-
ed animals.
Hook, any thing which is bent round so as to catch
hold of something else.
HoR-i-zoN-TAL and Per-pen-dic-u-lar. Horizon-
tal and Perpendicular : we call the floor of a
room horizontal^ and the walls of the house are
'perpendicular.
This is a horizontal line,
This is a perpendicular hne,
HoR-Ri-BLE. Horrible, shocking, terrible.
HoR-RiD. Horrid, the same as horrible,
HoR-ROR. Horror, great fear, mixed with hatred.
Horror^ sometimes means darkness and misery
I
112 HUM
Horse-man. Horseman, a man who rides on
horseback.
Hos-Pi-TA-BLE. Hospitable, kind to strangers.
Hos-Pi-TAL. Hospital, a place where poor sick
people are taken care of.
Host, a person who entertains people in his house.
A host also means a great number of soldiers,
an army. A Twst sometimes means any great
number. The host of heaven^ is the sun, moon,
and stars.
Hos-tile. Hostile, not friendly, fighting against
others.
Hov-EL. Hovel, a little miserable mean house
Hover, to hang fluttering in the air over head, as
we sometimes see birds do.
Hound, a dog used to hunt other animals. I
House-hold. Household, a number of persons*
living together in one house, and making one
family.
HousE-wiFE. Housewife, a woman who manages
family affairs carefully and properly. I
House -WIFE -RY. Housewifery, those things which!
women ought to attend to, such as the proper
care of the family, &;c. &c.
Howl, to make a noise like a dog when it is hurt,
to make a frightful noise.
Hue, colour.
Hum, to make a noise like bees and flies.
Hr-MAN. Human, hke a man, belonging to a man.
A human creature^ is any man or woman ; all the
men and women and children in the world are
called human-kind^ or the human race.
Hu-MANE. Humane, kind, good-natured, not
cruel.
IDO 113
Hu-MAN-i-TY. Humanity, tenderness and kindness.
HuM-BLE. Humble, modest, not proud or saucy.
Humble also means low, not fine or high ; as,
" an Tiumhle cottage."
Hu-MiL-i-TY. Humility, modesty, not conceit.
Hu-MiD. Humid, wet, watery.
HuMP-BACK-ED, or HuNCH-BACK-ED. Hump-back-
ed, or Hunch-backed, with a crooked back.
Hunt, to run after wild animals, to catch them or
kill them. To hunt for a thing, is to seek or
look for it.
HuNT-ER, or Hunts-man. Hunter or Huntsman,
a man who hunts animals.
Hurl, to throw any thing with great force.
HuR-Ri-CANE. Hurricane, a violent storm of wind.
Hus-BAND-MAN. Husbandmau, a farmer, a man
who cultivates the ground.
Husk, the out-side skin of any fruit.
Hut, a poor mean cottage.
Hymn, a song of praise to God.
Hyp-o-crite. Hypocrite, a cunning deceitful per-
son, who pretends to be better than he really is.
Hyp-oc-ri-sy. Hypocrisy, cunning, deceitfulness.
I -DE -A Idea ; the idea of any thing, is the thought
of it.
Id-i-ot. Idiot, a fool, a person without common
understanding.
I-DOL. Idol, an image of something, which is wor-
shipped instead of the true and only God : peo-
ple who are so ignorant and foolish as to worship
and pray to images, are idolaters
10*
114 IMM
Ig-no-ble. Ignoble, mean, unworthy.
Ig-no-min-i-ous. Ignominious, disgraceful, mean,
shameful.
Ig-no-min-y. Ignominy, shame, disgrace.
Ig-no-rant : to he ignorant of any things is not to
know it. An ignorant person, is one who is not
learned, one who knows little.
Il-le-gal. Illegal, contrary to the laws.
Il-lit-er-ate. Illiterate, not acquainted with
books.
Il-lume, Il-lu-mine, or Il-lu-min-ate. Illume,
Illumine, or Illuminate, to fill with light, to make
bright, and light.
Il-lu-sion. Illusion, something which deceives
us by seeming different from what it really is. 1
Il-lus-trate. Illustrate, to explain, to make?
something plain and easy to be understood.
Il-lus-tri-ous. Illustrious, great and good above
others who are great and good.
Im-ag-ine. Imagine, to fancy, to think of the ab-
sent or distant.
Im-bibe. Imbibe, to suck in, or draw in ; as earthl
or sand will imbibe the water that is poured on it. f
Im-bit-ter. Imbitter, to make bitter, or to make
unhappy.
Im-i-tate. Imitate, to copy, to try to be like an-
other.
Im-i-ta-tion. Imitation, something which is co-
pied from another thing.
Im-ma-te-ri-al. Immaterial, of no consequence,
of no importance.
Im-ma-ture. Immature, not ripe, too soon, too
Im-mense. Immense, large and wide. [early.
Im-mens-i-ty. Immensity, exceeding greatness
IMP 115
Im-mi-nent. Imminent, very near, just at hand.
Im-mor-tal. Immortal, never at an end, and never
to die, living for ever and ever : God is im»
mortal.
Im-pair. Impair, to make something less or worse
than it was, to do harm to any thing.
Im-pal-pa-ble, Impalpable, so fine as not to be
felt by the touch, or the hands.
Im-part. Impart, to tell something to another
person, to give something.
Im-par-tial. Impartial, not more indulgent to one
than to another.
Im-pa-tient. Impatient, not able to bear pain or
trouble. Impatient sometimes means wishing
very much for something, in a great hurry for
something.
Im-pede. Impede, to stop, to hinder.
Im-ped-i-ment. Impediment, a hindrance.
Im-pel. Impel, to drive on, or push forwards.
Im-per-cept-i-ble. Imperceptible, neither seen
nor felt.
Im-per-fect. Imperfect, not complete^ nor quite
finished.
lM»PER-FEC-Tio]sr. Impcrfcction, a fault.
Im-pe-ri-ous. Imperious, proud, commanding
others in a haughty manner.
Im-per-ti-nent. Impertinent, troublesome and
meddling.
Im-per-vi-ous. Impervious, not allowing some-
thing to pass through ; we say, " a stone wall
is impervious to the light ; metals are impervious
to water."
1m-pet-u-ous. Impetuous, violent.
Im-pi-ous. Impious, not religious, very wicked.
116 IMP
Im-ple-ment. Implement, any thing which ia
used to do or to make some other thing ; thus,
spades and rakes are gardening implements ;
brushes and paints are the implements of a
painter.
Im-plore, Implore, to beg, entreat.
Im-port. Import, to bring something into a
country.
Im-por-tant. Important, of great consequence.
Im-por-tu-nate. Importunate, continually asking
for something in a teasing, troublesome manner.
Im-pose. Impose, to force something upon a per-
son. To impose upon a person, is also to cheat
him.
Im-po-si-tion, or Imposture. Imposition, or Im-
posture, cheating, deceit.
Im-pos-tor. Impostor, a person who deceives
people, by pretending to be different from what
he really is.
Im-prac-ti-ca-ble. Impracticable, incapable of
being done.
Im-press. Impress, to fix deep in one's mind.
Im-press-ion. Impression : when any thing hard
is pressed upon something which is soft, it sinks
into it and makes a mark upon it and this mark
is called an impression ; as, when we seal a let-
ter, we press a seal, which is hard, on melted
sealing-wax, which is soft, and the mark which
the seal leaves on the wax we call the impres-
sion of the seal. Whatever is fixed in oui
minds and which we remember, is also an im*
pression.
Im-prob-a-ble. Improbable, not likely co happen
scarcely to be beUeved.
INC 117
Im-prove. Improve, to make, or to grow better.
Im-pru-dent. Imprudent, not careful, not consid-
erate.
Im-pu-dent. Impudent, too bold and forward, not
modest.
Im-pu-ni^ty. Impunity : with impunity, means
without being punished.
In-ac-cu-rate. Inaccurate, not accurate, not exact,
In-ac-tiv'e. Inactive, not active, idle, lazy. The
syllable m put before a word, means not^ or con-
trary to ; thus, inhumanity, means cruelty, the
contrary to humanity. Incapable, means not
capable. Inattentive, means not attentive ; and
Inconvenient, means not convenient.
1n-an-i-mate. Inanimate, without life.
1n-cense. Incense, to provoke, to put into a rage,
to make very angry.
liv-CEss-ANT. Incessant, never leaving off, not in-
terrupted, continual.
In-ci-dent. Incident, something which happens.
In-cis-ion. Incision, a cut.
In-cline. Incline, to bend, to lean towards any
thing.
In-clude. Include, to enclose, to contain ; as
Great Britain includes England, Wales, and
Scotland.
In-com-mo-dious. Incommodious, inconvenient,
troublesome.
In-com-par-a-ble. Incomparable, excellent.
In-com-pre-hens-i-ble. Incomprehensible, not to
be understood.
In-con-sid-er-a-ble. Inconsiderable, not worth
considering, not of any consequence.
118 IND
In-con-sid-ek-ate. Inconsiderate, careless, inat*|
tentive.
In-con-sis-tent. Inconsistent, not agreeing with|
some other thing, not suitable.
In-con-stant. Inconstant, not constant, always^
changing and altering.
In-con-test-i-ble. Incontestible, quite certain.
In-corp-o-rate. Incorporate, to mix different sub-
stances together till they make but one mass.
In-cor-rect. Incorrect, not proper not exact.
In-crease. Increase, to make greater, or to make
more. To increase means also to become larger.
In-cred-i-ele. Incredible, not to be believed.
In-cred-u-lous. Incredulous: ^n incredulous per ^
son is one who will not believe what is told him.
In-debt-ed. Indebted: to he indebted^ is to be
obliged to a person for something, or to owo
money to a person.
In-de-fat-i-ga-ble. Indefatigable, never tired.
In-del-i-ble. Indelible, never to be blotted out.
In-de-pend-ent. Independent, not belonging to
any other thing : not obliged to any person, or
forced to obey any person.
In-dian. Indian, belonging to the country called
India, or to aborigines of America.
In-di-cate. Indicate, to point out something, to
show.
In-di-gent. Indigent, poor, and in want.
In-dig-nant. Indignant, very angry.
In-dig-na-tion. Indignation, anger mixed with
contempt.
In-dis-creet. Indiscreet, careless, not cautious.
In-dis-cre-tion. Indiscretion, carelessness.
In-dis-pens-a-ble. Indispensable, quite necessary.
I
INF 119'
In-dis-pos-ed. Indisposed, not well in health.
In-dis-tinct. Indistinct, not plain to be seen, con.
fused.
In-di-vid-u-al. Individual, one single thing of
any kind, or one single person, is called an i«-
dividual.
In-do-lent. Indolent, lazy, idle, careless.
In-do-lence. Indolence, laziness, inactivity.
In-du-bit-a-ble. Indubitable,quite certain and true,
In-duce. Induce, to persuade by reasons.
In-dul-gent. Indulgent, kind and good.
[n-dus-tri-ous. Industrious, not idle.
In-ef-fect-u-al. Ineffectual, of no use.
In-ev-i-ta-ble. Inevitable, what must happen,
what we cannot escape from.
In-ex-haust-i-ble. Inexhaustible, that cannot be
wasted away or emptied.
In-ex-press-i-ble. Inexpressible, not to be told
in words.
In-fa-mous. Infamous, exceedingly bad and wick-
ed, very shameful.
In-fa-my. Infamy, great ^vickedness.
[n-fan-cy. Infancy, the beginning of our lives,
when we are little infants.
Ix-fe-li-ci-ty. Infelicity, misery, unhappiness.
In-fe-ri-or. Inferior, not so great, or so high, or
so good, as some other person or thing.
In-fest. Infest, to plague, to disturb.
In-firm. Infirm, not strong, nor healthy, weak.
In-firm-i-ty. Infirmity, fault or weakness.
In-flame. Inflame, to set on fire, to make hot.
In-flam-ma-ble. Inflammable, easy to take fire.
In-flex-i-ble Inflexible, what cannot be bent
or altered.
120 INI
In-flu-ence. Influence, the power which we may
have over other people, to direct them, and to
make them do as we think proper : as, " my
mother has great influence over me," that is, she
can easily persuade me to do as she wishes me
to do.
In-form. Inform, to let a person know something
which he did not know before.
In-form-a-tion. Information, what wo know, or
what we are told.
In-fi7S-ion. Infusion, what is made by infusing,
or steeping something in any liquor; the tea
which we drink is an infusion of tea-leaves in
boiling water.
In-gen-ious. Ingenious ; an ingenious person is
one who is inventive, one who contrives or in-
vents things well. An ingenious thing, is any^
thing which is well contrived.
In-ge-nu-i-ty. Ingenuity, readiness in contriving^
something useful or beautiful. [^^i^g-
In-gen-u-ous. Ingenuous, fair and true, not cun- '
In-grat-i-tude. Ingratitude, unthankfulness to
those who have been good and kind to us,
In-hab-it. Inhabit, to live in a place.
In-hab-i-tant. Inhabitant, a person who lives m
any place ; we say, the inhabitants of a house,
the inhabitants of a country, the inhabitants of
the earth.
In-im-it-a-ble. Inimitable, what is so excellent
that it cannot be copied.
iN-i-aui-TY. Iniquity, w-ickedness.
In-i-tial. Initial ; the first letter of a word is
the initial, and the last letter of a word is the
final.
INS 121
In-jit-di-cious. Injudicious, not wise, not careful.
In-junc-tion. Injunction, a command, an order.
In-jure. Injure, to hurt, to do wrong or mischief
to any thing.
In-ju-ry. Injury, harm or mischief.
In-land. Inland : places which are at a distance
from the sea, are inland.
In-mat E. Inmate, one who lives in the house of
another person.
Inn, a house where travellers are lodged and fed.
In-no-cent. Innocent, not wicked or hurtful, not
able to do any harm.
In-nu-mer-a-ele. Innumerable, so many that one
cannot count the number.
[n-of-fen-sive. Inoffensive, not hurtful, harmless.
In-quire. Inquire, to ask questions about any
thing.
In-quis-i-tive. Inquisitive, curious, wishing to
know what is secret.
In-sa-tia-ble. Insatiable, greedy, never satisfied.
In-scribe. Inscribe, to write upon any thing.
In-scrip-tion. Inscription, something which is
written or engraved on tomb stones, coins, &c.
In-sens-i-ble. Insensible, without feeling, without
sense.
1n-sert. Insert, to put something in amongst
other things.
In-sig-ni-fi-cant. Insignificant, of no conse-
quence.
In-sip-id. Insipid, without taste. Insipid^ when
we speak of a book or a person, means dull, not
pleasing or interesting.
In-so-lent. Insolent, speaking proudly and rudely.
Instance. Instance; an example of something.
U
122 INT
In^tan-ta-ne-ous. Instantaneous, very quick, in
an instant.
Ix-sTiNCT. Instinct ; by instinct, is generally meant
the sense which God has given to brute animals
instead of reason or understanding, to do what is
good for them, and to avoid what is hurtful or
bad for them without being taught by men.
In-sti-tute. Institute, to fix or settle.
In-struct. Instruct, to teach.
In-struc-tion. Instruction, any thing which we
are taught, or told to do.
In-stru-ment. Instrument ; an instrument is any
thing which we make use of to do something :
knives and scissors are cutting instruments, a
piano is a musical instrument, and a pen is an
instrument to write with.
In-sult. Insult, a rude insolent word or action ;
to insult, to treat with great rudeness.
In-teg-ri-ty. Integrity, truth and honesty.
In-tel-lect. Intellect, understanding, mind.
In-tel-lect-u-al. Intellectual, belonging to the
mind.
I:»?-tel-li-gent. IntelHgent, sensible, not foolish,
not ignorant.
In-tel-li-gence. Intelligence, news, what is told
us. Intelligence, is also mind or understanding.
In-tel-li-gi-ble. Intelligible, easily understood.
In-tense. Intense, in a very great degree, /w-
tense cold, is exceeding great cold. Intense heat,
very great heat.
In-tent. Intent, busy and attentive ; an intent, or
an intention, is a purpose or design that we have
to do some action.
IN'Ter. Inter, to bury under ground.
INT 123
In-ter-cept. Intercept, to hinder, or stop some-
thing from coming to an intended place.
In-ter-course. Intercourse, acquaintance or com-
munication between difterent persons or coun-
tries.
In-te-rim. Interim : in the interim, means between
different times, or in the mean time.
In-te-ri-or. Interior, in the inside. The inteHor
is that part of a country which is not near the
sea.
In-ter-miss-ion. Intermission, a stop, or leaving
off for a little while.
In-ter-nal. Internal, inside, not outward.
In-ter-pret. Interpret, to explain what is said in
a different language to persons who do not un-
derstand the language spoken to them.
In-ter-ro-gate. Interrogate, to ask questions.
In-ter-val. Interval, the time which comes be-
tween : as, I intend to go into the country next
week- — in the interval (that is, between this time
and the time in which I intend to go) I will be
very industrious.
In-ter-vene. Intervene, to come between.
In-tes-tine. Intestine, in the inside, not outward.
In-ti-mate. Intimate, acquainted with one an-
other, familiar ; to intimate, to give a hint of
something.
In-tim-i-date. Intimidate, to make afraid.
In-tol-e-ra-ble. Intolerable, what is too bad to
be endured.
In-tox-i-cate. Intoxicate, to make drunk.
In-trep-id. Intrepid, not fearful, very bold and
brave.
In-tri-cate. Intricate, entangled, confused.
II
124 JET
In-vinc-i-ble. Invincible, not to be conquered.
In-vis-i-ble. Invisible, not to be seen.
In-vol-un-ta-ry. Involuntary, not by our own
choice, not according to our own will.
In-ure. Inure : to be inured to any thing, means
to be used or accustomed to it.
Ire, great anger, rage.
Irk-some. Irksome, troublesome, teasing.
I-RON. Iron, the name of the most useful of all
the metals.
Ir-ra-di-ate. Irradiate, to make shining and
bright.
Ir-ra-tion-al. Irrational, without understanding :
we call all living creatures, except mankind, ir-
rational, Man is rational.
Ir-ri-tate. Irritate, to tease ver^ much, to make
angry.
Is-LAND. Island, a place or country which is quito
surrounded by water. Great Britain is an island*
An isle^ means the same as an island.
Is-suE. Issue, to come out. The issue^ the end.
I-vo-RY. Ivory, the tusks of the Elephant.
Jar-gon. Jargon, is language or talk which one
cannot understand.
Jeal-ous : to be jealous of a person, is to be afraid
that he should be more loved, or better, or great-
er, than we ourselves.
Jest, in play, not real, not in earnest.
Jet, the name of a kind of stone of a deep black
colour : we often say, "as black asje^."
Jrt-ty. Jetty, black like jet.
JUV ]35
Jew-el. Jewel, an ornament made of precious
stones.
Join, to put things close together.
JoL-LY. Jolly, gay, merry, plump, and healthy.
Jov-iAL. Jovial, merry, gay.
JouR-NAL. Journal, a 'written account of what
happens each day.
JouR-NEY. Journey, •travelling or going from one
place to another by land. Travelling by sea is
generally called a voyage.
Joy, gladness.
JoY-FUL. Joyful, glad.
Judge, a person who has the power to say whether
an action be right or wrong, or whether a per-
son shall be punished or not for a fault. To
judge, is to determine in one's own mind wheth-
er some act be right or wrong, or something
good or bad.
JuDG-MENT. Judgment : to act with judgment^ is
to act wisely and sensibly ; to act without judg-
ment, means to act foolishly. Judgment, properly
means the power of distinguishing right from
wrong.
Ju-Di-cious. Judicious, wise, sensible.
JuG-GLER. Juggler, a man who plays tricks to
amuse and deceive people.
JuM-BLE. Jumble, to mix together in a confused
manner.
JuN-ioR. Junior, younger than another person.
Just, good, honest, giving to every body what each
has a righ^. to. Ju^t also means exact and proper.
Ju-vE-NiLE. Juvenile, young, or belonging to the
young, as we say juvenile books, meaning books
fit for children.
11*
136 KNE
K
Keel, the bottom of a ship.
Keen, sharp, cutting, piercing. Keen sometimes
means very cold : we say, a keen air.
Ken-nel. Kennel, a place for dogs to lie in.
Ker-nel. Kernel, the inside of any nut.
Key, an instrument to open a lock. A key or qnay^
also means a high bank of earth raised, on the
sea-shore, that ships and boats may be more con-
veniently loaded or unloaded.
Kid, a young goat.
Kid-nap. Kidnap, to steal children, or to steal
men and women.
Kiln, a place where bricks, or lime, or ware made
of clay, is burnt.
KiN-DLE. Kindle, to set on fire, or to catch fire.
KiN-DRED. Kindred, or Kin, relations, people of
the same family.
KiNG-DOM. Kingdom, a country governed by a
king, or queen.
KiNs-MAN. Kinsman, or Kinswoman, a man or
woman related to us, or of our family.
Kite, a kind of bird which eats chickens and small
animals.
Knap-sack. Knapsack, a bag which a soldier}
carries on his back. |
Knave, a cheating, dishonest person. I
Knead, to work and mix together any substancej
like paste or dough. i,
Knife, a cutting instrument made of steel. i
ILnee, a joint of the leg. t
LAN 12f7
La-bo-ri-ous. Laborious, done by working hard,
and taking a great deal of pains. A laborious
person, is one who works very hard,
La-bour. Labour, hard work. To labour, to
work hard, to take pains.
La-ce-rate. Lacerate, to tear the flesh.
La-den. Laden, loaded, having a weight to carry.
Lair, the bed or den of any wdd beast.
Lake, a large piece of water, with land all round
it ; a lake is like a pond, but larger.
Lame, not able to move or walk without pain or
difficulty.
La-ment. Lament, to be very sorry, to grieve.
La-men-ta-ble* Lamentable, causing grief and
complaint.
Lamp, a light made with oil.
Land, ground, or earth. To land, to come out of
a boat or ship on the dry ground.
Land-lord. Landlord, a person who has land and
houses of his own, which other people have the
use of by paying money for them : those people
who pay a landlord for the use of his houses or
land, are called his tenants,
Lan-guage. Language, the words which people
use in speaking or writing. There are many dif-
ferent languages in the world, for the people of
almost every different country speak a different
language. The language which we speak ia
called the English language, because it is spo-
ken in England ; in France people speak the
French language ; in Italy they speak Italian.
128 LEA
Lan-guid. Languid, weak and faint.
Lan-guor. Languor, want of strength, dullness,
weakness.
Lan-guish. Languish, to be no longer strong and
lively, to become weak and faint.
Lap, to lick up any thing, to drink with the tongue
as cats do.
Lap-id-a-ry. Lapidary, a man who polishes pre-
cious stones, and cuts them into proper shape.
Lard, the fat of pigs.
Large, big, wide. To be at large^ is not to be shut
up, to be able to go where one likes.
Lass, a girl.
Last, a piece of wood cut into the shape of a foot,
on which shoes are made.
Late, not early, after a long time. Late, put be*
fore the name of a person, shows that he is dead :
the late king, means the king who is dead. Late
also means last : we say, the late inhabitants ot
a house ; that means, the persons who lived
last in it.
Lath, a long thin narrow piece of wood.
Lat-ter. Latter, the last mentioned of two things.
Laud-a-ble. Laudable, right, deserving praise.
Lav-ish. Lavish, wasteful. To lavish, to give
away too much.
Launch, to push a ship or boat from the land into
the sea.
Law, a rule which must be obeyed.
Law-giv-er. Law-giver or legislator, a person
who makes laws for other people to obey.
Lay, a song.
Laz-a-ret-to. Lazaretto, a house for sick people ;
Lead, the name of a metal.
LEN 129
Lead, to go before to show others the way. To
, lead is also to entice or prevail on a person to
follow us. [mander.
Lead-er. Leader, one who goes first ; a com-
Lead-ing. Leading, first, of the most consequence,
Leagu-ed. Leagued, joined with other persons
to do something ; to promote some plan.
Leak, a hole which lets in water.
Learn-ing. Learning, what is contained in books ;
knowledge of events which happened long ago.
JLeath-er. Leather, the skins of animals prepared
in a particular manner.
Leave, permission to do any action. Leave, also
means to depart.
Lec-ture. Lecture, a discourse spoken by a per-
I son to instruct others on some particular subject.
j To lecture, sometimes means to instruct another
\ in a severe, disagreeable manner ; to scold.
Lees, the grounds left at the bottom of a vessel.
Le-gal. Legal, lawful ; allowed by the laws of
the country.
Leg-er. Leger, a large book to keep accounts in.
Leg-i-ble. Legible, plain enough to be read.
Le-gion. Legion, a number of soldiers. A le-
gion, also means a great number of any men.
Le-gis-la-ture. Legislature, an assembly of
law-makers.
Le-gu-min-ous plants. Leguminous plants, are
those of which we usually eat the seeds, such as
beans and peas.
Lei-sure. Leisure, time enough to do any thing.
To be at leisure, not to be busy.
Length, measure from end to end ; breadth, mea-
sure from side to side.
130 LIN
1
Length.en. Lengthen, to make longer.
Let-ters. Letters, learning. A man of letter Sy
is a learned man.
Lev-el. Level, fiat and even, not higher in one
part than in another : to he on a level, to be just
as high as some other thing, to be exactly on a
line with it : to level a gun, to point it at what-
ever one wishes to shoot.
Le ver. Lever, a bar of wood or of iron, which
is used to lift heavy things.
LiB-ER-AL. Liberal, generous, not mean, not self-
ish.
LiB-ER-AL-LY. Liberally, plentifully, generously.
LiB-ER-TY. Liberty ; to be at liberty, is to be able
to do as we like, and to go where we please.
Li-BRA-RY. Library, a number of books all toge^
ther.
Lid, a cover to any thing.
LiEVE, willingly ; as, I had as lieve have none.
Life-less. Lifeless, without life or strength, dead.
Light, not heavy, easily lifted and moved. Light
also means not dark.
Limbs, legs and arms, branches of trees.
LiM-iT. Limit, the border.
LiM-iT-ED. Limited, confined, not wide, nor
spread out.
Limp, to walk lamely.
Line, a long string : to line, to cover something on
the inside.
LiN-EN. Linen, cloth which is made of flax or
hemp.
LiN-GER. Linger, to be delaying a long time. To
linger, means also to be a long time in pain.
Link, one of the rings of a chain.
LOD 131
LiNK-ED. Linked, joined together,
Li-QUiD. Liquid, means nearly the same hs fluid.
In generSiL liquids are those fluids which wet any
thing that is dipped into them.
Li-QUOR. Liquor, a substance which is not solid,
but liquid or fluid, what can be poured from one
vessel to another.
Lisp, not to speak plain.
LiT-ER-AL. Literal, according to the exact mean-
ing of words.
LiT-ER-A-Ti. Literati, learned men.
LiT-ER-A-TURE, Literature, what is contained in
books.
LiT-TER. Litter, a brood of young animals. A
littei^ is also a kind of bed which is carried or
■I drawn about. Litter, straw spread on the ground
for animals to lie upon. [sist on.
LiVE-Li-HooD. Livelihood, enough to live or sub-
Liv-iD. Livid : when we get a hard blow or a
bruise, the part which is hurt becomes livid, that
'' is, of a bkieish or black colour.
LoAD-STONE. Loadstone, the magnet, the stone
that attracts iron.
Loan, any thing which is lent to another.
Loath, not willing, not liking to do something.
Loathe, to hate and dislike very much.
Loath-some. Loathsome, shocking and hateful.
Lo-CAL. Local, belonging to some particular place.
Lo-cusT. Locust, an insect like a grass-hopper,
j but larger. Locusts eat vegetable substances
j that come in their way, and do a great deal of
' damage in hot countries.
Lodge, to fix, or put something in any place. To
lod^e, is also to live in a place for a short time.
132 LUS
LoDG-iNC. Lodging, a place to live in,
LoF-TY. Lofty, high ; lofty sometimes means
proud.
Log, a thick piece of wood.
Loi-TER. Loiter, to idle, to be long about any thing,
LoNE-LY. Lonely, alone, without people, wanting
company.
Lop, to cut off something.
Lo-QUA-cious. Loquacious, talking too much,
Lo-auAc-i-TY. Loquacity, too much talk, prattle.
Lot, fortune or chance.
LovE-LY. Lovely, beautiful and amiable.
Lounge, to go about idly and lazily.
Low-ER. Lower, to look dark and clouded. To
lower^ is also to look sullen, to pout and frown
Low-LY. Lowly, not high, not proud.
LuB-BER. Lubber, a lazy awkward fellow.
Lu-ciD. Lucid, bright and clear.
Lu-CRA-TivE. Lucrative, profitable, bringing mo-
ney.
Lu-Di-cRous. Ludicrous, merry, comical, making
one laugh. \
Lug, to drag violently along.
Luke-warm. Lukewarm, not very warm.
Lull, to sing any person to sleep,
LuM-BER. Lumber, heavy and troublesome arti
cles out of use.
Lu-MiN-A-RY. Luminary, any thing that gives
light.
Lu-MiN-ous. Luminous, shining, giving light
Lu-NA. Luna, the moon.
Lu-NAR. Lunar, belonging to the moon.
Lurk, to go about secretly, to be hidden.
JLus-cious. Luscious, too sweet.
MAJ 133
Lus-TRE. Lustre, great brightness.
Lux-u-Ri-ANT. Luxuriant, plentiful in excess.
Lux-r-Ri-ous. Luxurious, fond of eating and
drinking, fond of pleasure. Luxurious, is also
very delicious.
Lux-u-RV Luxury, great abundance of things
not necessary. A luxury, is any thing which is
extremely delightful and pleasing, but superflu-
ous.
M
Mach-i-na-tion. Machination, some cunning con*
trivance to do mischief.
Ma-chine. Machine, any piece of workmanship
which has many parts, an engine.
Mag-a-zine. Magazine, a place where provisions
and other things are laid up to be kept safe.
Ma-gis-trate. Magistrate, a man who has au-
thority to see that people do right, and to punish
those who do wrong.
Mag -NET. Magnet, the loadstone.
^^AG-NiF-i-CENT. Magnificent, exceedingly grand.
Mag-ni-fy. Magnify, to make any thing seem
greater than it appears to the eye alone. A mag-
nifying-glass makes every thing which is seen
through it appear much larger than it is without
the glass.
Ma-jes-tic. Majestic, very grand and stately, in-
spiring respect.
Ma-jes-ty. Majesty, power and grandeur. Speaks
ing of a king or a queen, people say His or Her
Majesty, speaking to them, they say Your Ma^
jcsty.
12
134 MAN
Maim-ed. Maimed, wanting a limb, lamed.
Main-tain. To maintain a thing, is to keep it, to
hold it safe and fast. To maintain a person^ is
to support him, to give him meat and drink and
clothes.
Main-te-nance. Maintenance, what is necessary
to support life, such as food and clothing.
Maize, a kind of corn : it is also called Indian corn.
Mal-ev-o-lence. Malevolence, ill-nature, bad
disposition.
Mal-ice. Malice, ill-nature, a wish to do mis-
chief to other people.
Ma-li-cious. Malicious, ill-natured and mischiev-
ous.
Ma-lig-nant. Malignant, envious, mischievous,
and ill-natured.
Mal-le-a.ble. Malleable, capable of being
spread out by beating or hammering : all metals
are malleable except quicksilver, but gold is the
most malleable of all.
Mal-let. Mallet, a large wooden hammer.
Malt, barley steeped in water, and afterwards
dried ; it is used in brewing beer.
Man ; this word sometimes means all people, as
when we say, God made man to be happy. A
man of war, is a ship used in fighting.
Mane, the long hair which hangs down from the
neck of some animals.
Man-ful-ly. Manfully, strongly and boldly.
Mang-er. Manger, the place where corn or hay
is put for cattle to eat.
Man-gle. Mangle, to cut or tear in pieces.
Man-i-fest. Manifest, plain and easy to be
seen.
MAR 138
Ma^"-kind. Mankind i all the people in the world
are called mankind,
Man-sion. Mansion, a house, a place to live in.
Man-tle. Mantle, a cloak, a covering.
Man-u-al. Manual, done by the hand.
Ma]\-u-fac-ture. Manufacture, something which
is made by the hand : we call those things mafi-
itfactures which require contrivance and industry
to make them : we do not call bread a manufac-
ture, though it is made by the hand ; but we say
that paper, and glass, and china ware, and cloth,
are manufactured,
Man-u-fac-to-ry. Manufactory, a place where
any thing is manufactured.
Man-uRe. Manure, what is laid on the ground to
make plants grow.
Map, a kind of picture of seas and countries,
which are drawn according to their size, shape,
and situation.
Mar-ble. Marble, a species of stone, of which
statues, chimney-pieces, and ornaments are
made ; there are several kinds o^ marble, black,
white, green, red, and veined with different co-
lours.
Mar-gin. Margin, the edge of any thing.
Ma-rine. Marine, belonging to the sea.
Mar-i-time. Maritime, belonging to the sea,
or ships. Maritime also means near the sea ;
we say, a maritime country, a maritime town.
Mar-ket. Market, the place where people meet
to buy and sell. A fair is a very large market^
which is only held on particular days of the year.
Marsh, wet ground.
Marsh-y. Marshy, wet.
186 MEA
Mar-vel. Marvel, to wonder, to be surprised.
Mar-vel-lous. Marvellous, strange, wonderful* .
Mask, son^ething put over the face to hide it. A -
Masque^ or Masquerade, is an entertainment inl
which the company wear masks, and strange
dresses,
Ma-son. Mason, a man who builds houses with
stone or bricks.
Mass, a lump of any thing.
Mas-sa-cre. Massacre, killing, murder. To m«5- -
sacre, to kill. I
Mass-ive. Massive, or Massy, heavy and large.
Mas-tiff. Mastiff, a large dog.
Match : when any thing suits another thing, or is
exactly like it, we say they match, A match, a
slip of wood, the ends of which are dipped in
brimstone, that may catch fire easily. To match^
is to be like some other thing.
Ma-te-ri-als. Materials, whatever a thing is
made of.
Ma-te-ri-al, Material, of consequence.
Ma-ter-nal. Maternal, like a mother.
Ma-tron. Matron, a married lady.
Ma-ture. Mature, ripe. j,
Ma-tu-ri-ty. Maturity, ripeness.
Max-im. Maxim, a rule, a true saying ; " Do to
others as you should wish they would do to you,"
is a very good maxim or rule.
Mead, a meadow.
Mead-ow. Meadow, a field of grass.
Mea-gre. Meagre, thin looking, hungry, and
starved.
Meal, what is eaten at one time. Meal^ coml
which is ground. |
I
MER 187
Meas-uke. Measure, to find out the size or the
quantity of any thing. A measure^ a quantity.
The measure of any thing, is the size of it.
Me-chan-ic* Mechanic, a workman.
Med-i-cal. Medical, belonging to physic.
Me-di-ci-nal. Medicinal, good for physic.
Me-di-cine. Medicine, any thing which is given
to people who are sick in order to cure them.
Med-i-tate. Meditate, to think of something.
Med-i-ta-tion. Meditation, thought, attention.
Meek, not proud, gentle, of a soft temper.
Mel-an-cho-ly. Melancholy, sad, gloomy, dis-
mal.
Mel-low. Mellow, soft from being ripe.
Me-lo-di-ous. Melodious, of a delightful sound
like music.
Mel-o-dy. Melody, music.
Melt : to melt, to make something which was hard
and solid, soft and fluid, by means of heat.
Mem-eers. Members, the hmbs, the parts of the
body. A TTiember, one of a society or company.
Mem-o-ra-ble. Memorable, worth remembering,
what ought not to be forgotten.
Me-mo-ri-al. Memorial, something to make us
remember-
Men-ag-e-rie. Menagerie, a place where a num-
ber of different animals are kept, as curiosities.
Men-tal. Mental, in the mind.
Men-tal-ly. Mentally, in thought, in one^s own
mind.
Men-tion. Mention, to speak or write of a sub-
ject.
Mer.chan-dise. Merchandise, any thing which
is bought or sold.
12*
1S8 MIL
Mer-chant. Merchant, one who buys and sells.
Mer-chant-man. Merchantman, a ship which is
used to carry goods from one country to another.
Mer-ci-ful. Merciful, kind, pitying and forgiv-
ing the faults of other people.
Mer-cu-ry. Mercury, a name for quicksilver.
Mer-cy. Mercy, kindness, goodness, forgiveness.
Mere : " you are a mere child." means that you
are nothing but a child.
Mere-ly. Merely, only,
Me-ri-di-an. Meridian, noon, the part of the earth
on which the sun is at twelve o'clock in the day.
Mer-it. Merit, excellence of any kind, goodness
which deserves praise or reward. To merits is
to deserve.
Mer-i-to-ri-ous. Meritorious, good, deserving
praise.
Mess, a dish of meat.
Met-a-mor-phos-ed. Metamorphosed, changed
from one shape to another, quite altered.
Meth-od. Method, the manner of doing any
thing. Method, also means order and regularity.
Me-trop-o-lis. Metropolis, the capital city, the
first or greatest city in a country, as London is
the metropolis of England.
Mein, the looks or manner of a person.
Might-y. Mighty, strong, powerful.
Mi-GRA-TioN. Migration, a removal from one
place to another.
Milch : a milch-cow, is ^ cow that gives milk
Mild, gentle and kind, not violent and cruel.
MiL-i-TA-RY. Military, belonging to fighting and
soldiers. A military mariy is a soldier.
MIS 139
Mill, a contrivance to grind corn and other things ;
there are wind-mills^ water-mills^ and hand-mills.
MiM-ic. Mimic, one who copies the manners, or
actions, or voice, of other persons, to make peo-
ple laugh at them.
Mince, to cut a thing into small pieces.
.Mind, to attend, to think of what we are about.
Mine, a deep place in the ground, out of which
metals are dug,
MiN-ER. Miner, a workman who digs metals out
c of a mine.
MiN-ER-AL. Mineral, any substance which is dug
out of the ground.
''■ MiN-GLE. Mingle, to mix together.
MiN-is-TER. Minister, sometimes means a clergy.
] man.
iVTiNT, the place where money is coined or stamped.
MiN-uTE. Minute, very little, exceedingly small.
Minute, also means very particular and exact*
Mire, dirt, mud.
MiR-ROR. Mirror, a looking-glass.
Mirth, cheerfulness, gaiety, pleasure.
Mis-cHANCE. Mischance, misfortune.
! Mis-coN-DucT. Misconduct, bad behaviour, bad
conduct.
Mis-CRE-ANT. Miscreant, a wicked person.
Mis-DBED. Misdeed, a bad action.
Mis-ER. Miser, a man who is very covetous of
money.
Mis-E-RY. Misery, misfortune, unhappiness.
Mis: the syllable mis put before a word means
] wrong or ill. Thus, to mis-apply, means to put
to a wrong use ; to mis-place, is to place wrong ;
140 MOM
to mis-leady is to lead wrong ; to mis-understand,
is not to understand rightly, &c.
Mis-MAN-AGE-MENT. Mismanagement, bad man
agement.
Mis-TAKE. Mistake, to take one thing for another,
to think wrong.
Mis-trust. Mistrust, to doubt, not to believe.
Mite, a little animal found in cheese.
MiT-i-GATE. Mitigate, to soften, to make less vio-
MoAN, to cry, to complain. [lent
Mob, a great crowd of vulgar people.
Mock, to mimic contemptuously.
MoD-EL. Model ; a model, is a small thing made
exactly in the shape of something which is large.
If apiece of cork or wood were cut into a shape
exactly like a house, it would be a model of a
house. A model, is also any thing which is toj
be copied or imitated. f
MoD-ER-ATE. Moderate, not violent, not very
large, not too much : we say, a moderate sized
house, that means, not a very large house ; a
cup of milk is a moderate quantity for one per.
son to drink, but a pail full would be an im-mo-
derate quantity.
MoD-ERN. Modern, not old, done or made lately.
MoD-ERN. The moderns are the people who live
in the present time, or within a few years.
Moist, rather wet.
MoisT-URE. Moisture, wetness.
MoisT-EN. Moisten, to make damp, to make ra-
ther wet.
Mo-LEST. Molest, to trouble, to disturb, to vex.
Mo-MENT. Moment, a small space of time. Of
momenty means of consequence*
MOU 141
MoN-ARCH. Monarch, a king, a governor.
MoN-sTER. Monster, something which is very
large or ugly, or a very wicked person.
MoN-sTRous. Monstrous, uncommonly large and
MoN-u-MENT. Monument, something to make us
remember things or persons ; as, the monuments
or stones erected over graves.
Moon-beams. Moonbeams, the light of the moon.
Moor, a large tract of watery ground.
Mop-iNG. Moping, sad, not cheerfuL
Mo-rose. Morose, of a bad peevish temper.
Mor-sel. Morsel, a little piece of any substance.
MoR-TAL. Mortal, liable to die. Mortal^ also
means what causes us to die ; thus we say, a
I mortal poison, a mortal blow; a mortal^ is any
' man or woman.
MoR-TAR. Mortar, a mixture of lime, sand, and
j water, used to join bricks or stones together ia
II building.
MoR-Ti-FY. Mortify, to vex.
Mo-TioN. Motion, a movement.
Mo-TioN-LEss. Motionless, quite still, not mov-
ing.
Mo-tive. Motive, a reason for doing any thing.
Mould, the ground or soil in which any thing
grows. Mouldy also means form or shape, or
something which is used to shape any thing in.
To mouldy to make of some form or shape.
Mount, to rise up high, to climb, to get on horse -
I back. A mounts a mountain. The word mounts
I is generally put before the name of a mountain ;
I we say, Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius.
jMouN-TAiN. Mountain, a high hill.
142 MYS
Mourn, to be sorry»
MouRN-FUL. Mournful, sad, sorrowful.
MouRN-iNG. Mourning, the dress which people
wear when any of their relations or friends are
lately dead.
Mouth, of a river, the place where it falls into
the sea.
Mow, to cut down grass with a scythe.
MuL*Ti-PLi-ci-TY. Multiplicity, a great number.
MuL-Ti-PLY. Multiply, to make many, to make
more : to multiply, to become more in number.
MuL-Ti-TUDE. Multitude, a great number, a crowd
of people.
Mu-NiF-i-CENT. Munificent, generous, giving
much.
MuR-MUR. Murmur, to make a low noise, to com-
plain.
Muse, to think.
Mu-sE-UM. Museum, a place where many curiosi-
ties are collected together.
Mus-KET. Musket, a kind of gun.
Mus-TY. Musty, spoiled by the dampness.
Mute, silent.
Mu-Ti-LATE. Mutilate, to break or cut off the use-
ful parts of any thing.
MuT-TER. Mutter, to grumble ; to speak in such
a manner that people cannot hear or understand.
Muz-zLE. Muzzle, the mouth ; to muzzle, is to tie
up the mouth of an animal, so as to hinder it
from biting.
Myr-i-ad. Myriad, any great number.
Mys-te-ry. Mystery, something which is secret^
something that cannot be readily understood or
found out.
NEC 143
N
Nag, a little horse.
Nap, a kind of soft woolly or downy stuff on cloth.
Nas-ra-tion, or a Nar-ra-tive. Narration, or
a Narrative, an account of something which has
happened.
Nar-row. Narrow, not broad or wide, close. To
look narroioly at a thing, means to look at it at
tentively and closely.
Na-tion. Nation : people who are governed by
the same laws, who live in the same country, and
and speak the same language, are called a na-
tion,
Na-tive. Native : our native land, means the
j country we were born in. A native, is a person
I who was born in any place ; we say, a native of
London, a native of France. Any thing which
was first found in some particular place, is also
called a native; the tea-tree is a naiCive of China.
Nav-al. Naval, belonging to ships.
Nav-i-ga-ble. Navigable ; a navigable river, is a
river which is deep enough for ships or boats to
pass on it.
Nav-i-gate. Navigate, to sail on the sea, to pass
from one place to another by water.
Nav-i-ga-tion. Navigation, the art of traversing
the water in ships and boats.
Nav-i-ga-tor. Navigator, one who travels by sea.
Nau-se-ous. Nauseous, disagreeable to the taste.
Na-vy. Navy, a large- number of ships.
Neat, clean, smooth, and in order.
Ne-cess-i-tous. Necessitous, poor, in want.
144 NIG
Ne-cess-i-ty. Necessity, want, poorness.
Ne-cess-a-ries. Necessaries of life, are those
things which are not only useful and pleasant,
but such as one must have in order to live : food
and clothes are necessaries.
Nec-tah. Nectar, sometimes means honey. Nee
tar, also means the sweet juice in flowers, of
which the bees make their honey.
Need, want. To need, to want, to be necessary^
Need-y. Needy, very poor.
Need-less. Needless, not necessary, not wanteds
Neg-lect. Neglect, to forget carelessly, not to
pay attention to. Neglect, carelessness, inat-
tention.
Neg-li-gence. Negligence, forgetfulness, care
lessness.
Neg-li-gent. Negligent, forgetful and careless,
Ne-gro, Negro, a black person.
Neigh-bour. Neighbour, a person who lives near
to another.
Neigh-bour-hood. Neighbourhood, the people
who live near us, or the places which are not far
from this place.
Neigh-bour-ing. Neighbouring, near, not far
off.
Neph-ew. Nephew, the son of a brother or a
sister.
New-Year's-Gift. New-year*s-gift, a present
which is made on the first day of the year.
Nib, of a pen, the point of it.
NiB-BLE. Nibble, to bite by little and little.
Niece, the daughter of a brother or sister.
NiG-GARD. Niggard, a mean, covetous person-
NOX 146
NiG-GARD-LY. Niggardly, selfish and covetous,
not giving much away.
NiM-BLE. Nimble, quick, active, and light, not
heavy and slow.
No-BiL-i-TY. Nobility, greatness of rank ; the no-
bility, means the persons who are of high rank
under aristocratical governments.
Noble. Noble, of high rank. Noble, sometimes
means generous and great ; noble, also means
grand and stately. A noble, is a nobleman, a
person of high rank.
Noc-TUR-NAL, Nocturnal, nightly, by night.
Nook, a corner.
Noon, twelve o'clock in the day.
Noon-tide. Noontide, the middle ot the day.
North ; if you turn your face to the sun in the
middle of the day, the North will be behind you.
NoT-A-BLE. Notable, careful and busy.
Note, a mark. Note or notes, often means music,
a tune ; a note, sometimes a short letter : to note,
to pay attention, to mind, or to set down in wri-
ting.
NoT-ED. Noted, remarkable for something.
No-TiCE. Notice, attention, remark.
No-TioN. Notion, thought, opinion
No-VEL. Novel, new.
Nov-EL-TY. Novelty, newness. A novelty, is
something new.
NouR-isH. Nourish, to feed, to support, and make
strong and healthy.
NouR-isH-MENT. Nourishment, food, what sup*
ports life.
Nox-ious. Noxious, hurtful, doing harm.
13
146 OBL
Nui-SANCE. Nuisance, any thing which is hurtful
or disagreeable.
Numb, chill, unable to feel.
NuM-EER-LEss. Numberlcss, more than can be
numbered or counted.
Nu-MER-ous. Numerous, in great numbers,
NuR-SE-RY. Nursery, the place where children
are nursed or taken care of. A nursery^ also
means a plantation of young trees.
Ni;-TRi-MENT. Nutriment, food.
Nu-TRi-Tious. Nutritious, good and wholesome
for food.
O
Oaf, a fool, a stupid person.
Oats, a kind of corn.
0-BE-Di-ENT. Obedient : to be obedient, is to do as
we are bid.
0-BEY. Obey, to do as we are commanded ; to
be dutiful.
Ob-ject. Object, any thing that we can see or feel,
or think, or talk, and write about.
Ob-ject, to find fault ; not to allow something to be
done ; not to be pleased with it.
Ob-lige. Oblige, to please. To oblige, is also
to force a person to do something ; if you do
not oblige or please me by doing right, I shall be
obliged, or forced to punish you.
Ob-lig-ing. Obliging, civil and polite, respectful.
Ob-liutje. Oblique, slanting, not straight ; lean-
ing to one side.
Oe-lit-er-ate. Obliterate, to rub out.
Ob-long. Oblong, more long than broad.
ODD 14T
Ob-scure. Obscure, dark, not easily seen or un-
derstood. Obscure often means not well known ;
as, an obscure man. To obscure^ to make dark
Ob-scur-i-ty. Obscurity, darkness, low condition.
Ob-serve, Observe, to take notice ; to be atten-
tive to what we see, or hear, or touch.
Oe-steuct. Obstruct, to hmder.
Ob-sta-cle. Obstacle, something in the way; a
hindrance.
Ob-tain. Obtain, to get any thing.
Ob-tuse. Obtuse, not pointed, blunt.
Ob-vi-ous. Obvious, plain and easy to be seen or
understood.
Oc-CA-sioN. Occasion, something that happens.
Occasion also means a fit time. To occasion^
to cause, to make a thing happen. " It is the
earth's turning round, occasions day and night.'^
Oc-CA-sioN-AL-LY. Occasionally, now and then,
sometimes.
Oc-cu-PA-Tiois-. Occupation, employment, trade,
or business.
Oc-cu-PY. Occupy, to be in a place ; to take up
a room : as, we occupy this house. To occupy
one's self, is to be busy ; to be doing something,
Oc-cu-pi-ed. Occupied, busy, employed about
any thing.
Oc-cuR. Occur, to happen : as, an accident occur-
red last year. To occur, is also to be remember-
ed, to come into one's mind ; as, it occurs to me
that I have seen you before.
Oc-cuR-REivcE. Occurrence, any thing that hap-
0-CEAN. Ocean, the great sea. [pens.
Odd, strange, particular, uncommon. An odd
number, is a number which cannot be divided
11
148 OPA
into two equal numbers ; 4 is an equal number,
5 is an odd number.
0-Di-ous. Odious, hjiteful. .
0-DOR-iF-ER-ous. OdoHferous, Smelling sweet. I
0-DouR. Odour, a sweet scent.
Of-fence. Offence, a wrong action, any thing
which we do to hurt or displease another person
To take offence, to be angry or displeased.
Or-FEND. Offend, to do any thing wrong ; to dis-l
please a person, or to make him angry. '
Of-fens-ive. Offensive, displeasing, mischievous
Of-fice. Office, the place or room where busi-
ness is done. To be in office, is to be trusted to
do some public business. An officey is something^
which we are trusted to do. |
Of-fic-er. Officer, a man who commands in the^
army or navy ; a person who does some public
business, is also called an officer.
Of-fic-ious. Officious, troublesomely kind, med
dling.
Off-spring. Offspring, descendants from animals,
or the fruit of plants.
OiL-Y. Oily, like oil, greasy.
Ol-ive. Olive : the oil which we use at table ta
dress salad, and for other purposes, is the juice
of olives ; olive-trees grow in Italy and Spain
0-Mis-sioN. Omission, something which is left
out ; or something which we ought to do, and
yet neglect to do.
O-MiT. Omit, to leave out.
O-paque. Opaque : those things which the light
cannot pass through are called opaque ; a piece^
of wood, or a book is opaque ; but glass ana
ORE 149
water are not opaque^ they are transparent, or
translucenU
Op-er-ate. Operate, to act upon ; to have an ef-
fect upon something.
Op-er-a-tion. Operation, something which is
done : we say, the operation of drawing a tooth ;
the operation of blowing glass
0-PiN-ioN. Opinion, what we think of a person
or thing.
Op-po-nent. Opponent one that fights against
another.
Op-por-tu-ni-ty. Opportunity, a fit place or a fit
time.
Op-pose. To oppose a person, is to be against
him. To oppose any action, is not to allow it ;
to hinder it.
Op-po-site. Opposite, exactly facing something
else. Opposite often means contrary.
Op-press. Oppress, to be cruel and severe to our
fellow creatures.
Op-press-ion. Oppression, cruelty, hardship, mis-
ery inflicted by others.
Op-press-ive. Oppressive, cruel, too severe.
Op-press-or. Oppressor, a person who is cruel
and severe to others.
Op-ti-cal. Optical, belonging to the sight.
Op-u-lence. Opulence, riches, plenty of money.
Op-u-lent. Opulent, rich, wealthy.
0-ra-tion. Oration, a long speech, spoken before
many people.
Or-a-tor. Orator, a person who makes a speech.
Orb, a globe, any round body.
Or-dain. Ordain, to fix, to settle or appoint.
Ore, metal before it is separated from the earth or
13*
150 OVE
stones with which it is always mixed when first
dug out of the earth.
Or-gan. Organ, any natural instrument : thus,
the eyes are the organs of sight, or the instru-
ment with which we see ; the tongue is the or-
gan of speech, or the instrument with which we
talk. An organ is also the name of a musical
instrument.
0-iii-EN-TAL. Oriental, belonging to the east, or
belonging to those parts of the world which are
towards the east. The Orientals are the people
who live in Asiatic countries.
Or-i-fice. Orifice, a hole, an opening.
Or-i-gin, or 0-RiG-i-NAL. Origin, or Original, the
beginning, or first cause of any thing.
0-RiG-iN-AL-LY. Originally, at first. The tulip
was originally a native of Persia.
Or-na-ment. Ornament, what is put on any thing
to make it look more beautiful.
Or-phan. Orphan, a child who has lost its father
and mother.
Or-thog-ra-phy. Orthography, the art of spelling
words properly.
Os-TEN-TA-TioN. Ostcntatiou, outside show, con-
ceited exhibition of one's own actions.
Os-TEN-TA-Tious. Ostoutatious, proud, fond ot
show ; fond of talking to other people about our
own actions.
O-VAL. Oval, in the shape of an ^gg ; rather long.
er one way than the other.
Ov-EN. Oven, a place heated by fire, where any
thing is baked.
O-VER-BOARD. Ovcrboard, out of a ship.
PAL 151
0-VEH-CAST. Overcast, cloudy, dull, or dark-look.
ing.
O-VER-THROW. Overthrow, to throw down, to de-
stroy, to put an end to.
Ounce, a weight.
Out-cry. Outcry, a loud cry.
OuT-LAND-isH. Outlaudish, strange, not belong-
ing to this country.
OuT-RAGE. Outrage, violent injury.
OuT-RAGE-ous. Outrageous, violent, furious.
Owe, to be obliged to pay ; to be obliged to a per-
son for something.
Own, to have a thing by right. To own a fault, is
to confess it.
OwN-ER. Owner, the person that something be-
longs to.
Pace, step, manner of walking.
Pa-cif-ic. Pacific, gentle, not rough, not inclined
to quarrel.
Pa-ci-fy. Pacify, to make quiet and peaceable.
Pa-gan. Pagan, a person who is not a Christian ;
one who does not worship the true God.
Page, one side of the book. A page is also a boy
who attends upon a great person.
Pair, is two things of one sort : as, a pair of shoes.
Pal-ace. Palace, a very fine house.
Pal-at-a-ble. Palatable, pleasant to the taste.
Pal-ate. Palate, the part of the mouth, with which
we taste.
Pale, of a whitish colour, not red or rosy. A pale
or palings a wooden railing.
152 PAR
Pal-li-ate. Palliate, to make a fault appear les»,
to excuse.
Pal-lid, Pallid, pale, white coloured.
Palm, the name of a tree. The palm, the inside
part of th'e hand.
Pal-pa-ble. Palpable, felt by touching.
Pal-try. Paltry, not worth any thing.
Pamp-er. Pamper, to feed with nice things.
Pane, a square piece of glass, like those in the
\vnidow.
Pang, a sudden violent pain, torment.
Pann-iers. Panniers, large baskets which are
hung on each side of a horse or an ass, to carry
fruit or other things iu.
Pant, to have the heart beat, and to be scarcely
able to breathe, as when we have run a long way.
Pa-rade. Parade, show, finery. The Parade is
a place where soldiers exercise.
Par-a-dise. Paradise, any happy place.
Par-al-lel Lines. Parallel Lines, are lines which
are drawn all one way, and which are always at
the same distance from each other as these
lines :
Par-cel. Parcel, a small bundle, or a number or
quantity of any thing.
Parch, to scorch a little.
IPar-don. Pardon, to forgive a fault, or to forgive
a person who does wrong. Pardon, forgive,
ness.
Pare, to cut pieces off the outside of any thing.
Pa-rents. Parents, our father and mother.
Pa-rent-al. Parental, like parents.
Park, a large piece of ground covered with grass
PAT 153
and surrounded by a wall or fence, in which
deer are sometimes kept.
Par-son. Parson, the clergyman of a parish.
Par-son-age-house. Parsonage-house, the house
where a clergyman lives.
Parts, divisions or members of a thing. Parts,
sometimes means countries : we say, coffee
comes from foreign parts. Parts, often means
understanding : we say, a man of parts.
Par-take. Partake, to have a share of something.
Par-tial. Partial, kinder to one person than to
another, or fonder of one thing than of another.
Partial, also means belonging to a part of any
thing, not to the whole of it.
Par-ti-ci-pate. Participate, to have a share in
any thing.
Par-ti-cle, Particle, a very small part of any
thing.
Part-ner. Partner, one who has a share in some-
thing with another person.
Par-ty-co-lour-ed. Party-coloured, having dif-
ferent colours.
Pas-sage. Passage, way or journey. Birds of
passage, are those which pass from one country
to another at different seasons of the year.
Pas-sen-ger. Passenger, one who is upon the
way to any place, one who pays to travel in some
I other person's ship or carriage.
Paste, flour and water mixed till they are a sticky
I and tough consistence or mass.
Pas-time. Pastime, play, amusement.
Past-ure. Pasture, ground for cattle to feed on.
Patch, a piece of cloth used to mend a rent.
154 PEA
, oif
Pa-thet-ic. Pathetic, exciting tears, sadness,
pity.
Pa-tient. Patient, able to bear pain or misfortune
without ill-humour ; able to wait quietly for any
thing : a 'patient^ a person who is sick.
Pa-tri-arch. Patriarch, a father and ruler of a
family.
Pa-tri-ot. Patriot, a person who loves his own
country, and tries to do it good.
Pa-tri-ot-ism. Patriotism, love for one's own
country.
Pat-tern. Pattern, an example ; any thing which
we are to imitate or copy.
Pave, to lay bricks or stones firmly into the ground,
to make a firm or smooth place for people to
tread on.
Pave-ment. Pavement stones beaten into the
ground to make a road smooth and firm.
Pause, a stop for a short time. Pause, to make a
stop, to leave off for a little time, to consider.
Paw, the foot of any beast.
Pay, to give money for any thing.
Pay-ment. Payment, what is paid, or given in re-
turn for a thing.
Peace, quietness and rest without fighting, noise,
or disturbance of any kind.
Peace-ful. Peaceful, not disturbed, not fighting,
quiet.
Peak, the point of a pyramid or hill.
Peal, a loud continued sound ; thus we say, a peal
of thunder.
Pear-ly. Pearly, white, clear, and round, like
pearls : we say, pearly drops of dew.
Peas-ant. Peasant, a countryman.
PER 165
Peas- vnt-ry. Peasantry, country people in Eu-
rope.
Peb-bles. Pebbles, small, round, smooth stones.
Pe-cul-iar. Peculiar, belonging to one particular
person, place, or thing, and not to others.
Ped-lar. Pedlar, a person who travels about, and
sells things.
Peer, a nobleman.
Peev-ish. Peevish, ill-humourea.
Peg, a wooden nail.
Pel-lti-cid. Pellucid, bright and clear.
Pence, more than one penny.
Pend-ent. Pendent, hanging,
Pen-e-trate. Penetrate, to pierce through some-
thing, or to get into a thing.
Pen-i-tence. Penitence, sorrow for our faults.
Pen-i-tent. Penitent, sorrow for having done
wrong, and wishing to do better. A 'penitent^ is
a person who is sorry for his faults.
Pen-ny-worth. Penny-worth, as much of any
thing as we may buy for a penny.
Pen-sive. Pensive, sad and serious.
Pent, shut up.
Pen-u-ri-ous. Penurious, covetous not spending,
not giving much.
Pen-u-rv. Penury, poorness, want of money.
Peo-ple. People, a number of persons. The
people^ means the inhabitants of a country.
Per-ad-ven-ture. Peradventure, perhaps.
Per-ceive. Perceive, to know a thing by touching
it, or hearing it, to observe or find out any thing.
IPer-cep-tj ble. Perceptible, to be seen, felt, tast-
ed, or perceived in any way.
156 PER
Per-emp-to-ry. Peremptory, positive, command.
ing.
Per-fect. Perfect, quite complete, without anj
fault, or mistake, or want of any thing. To per'
feet, is to finish, to make quite complete.
Per-fec-tion. Perfection, excellence, complete.
ness.
Per-for-ate. Perforate, to bore a hole.
Per-form. Perform, to do an}^ thing.
Per-form-ance. Performance, any thing which
is done.
Per-ftjme. Perfume, a sweet smell.
Per-il, Peril, danger.
Per-il-ous. Perilous, dangerous.
Pe-ri-od. Period, a particular time. Period,
. means the end ; a period, also means a whole
sentence, from one full-stop to another.
Per-ish. Perish, to die.
Per-ma-nent. Permanent, lasting, always remain
ing the same, always going on.
Per-mis-sion. Permission, leave to do any thing.
Per-mit. Permit, to allow of a thing.
Per-ni-cious. Pernicious, hurtful, mischievous.
Per-pen-dic-u-lar. Perpendicular, in a straight
line upwards and downwards.
Per-pe-trate. Perpetrate, to do a bad action.
Per-pet-u-al. Perpetual, lasting always, never
leaving off or stopping.
Per-plex. Perplex, to tease and disturb with
some troublesome or difficult thing, to plague,
to vex.
Per-se-cute. Persecute, to tease a person con
tinually, to be always tormenting him, and do
ing him mischief.
PES 157
Pek-se-vere. Persevere, not to leave off, but to
go on doing any thing that we have begun, in
spite of difficuhies and dangers. When we go
' on doing what we have begun, although we find
it difficult, or dangerous, or disagreeable, we are
said to have perseverance.
Per-sist. Persist, to be obstinate in doing or say-
ing any thing, to persevere.
Per-son-a-ble. Personable, handsome, well-look-
ing-
Per-son-i-fy. Personify, to mention a thing as if
it were a 'person. A rose, is not a person, it js
only a flower; but, when we say, "the rose is
beautiful, when she sits on her mossy stem, like
'j the queen of all the flowers ; her leaves glow
\ like fire ; the air is filled with her sweet odour ;
she is the delight of every eye ;" we personify
the rose, that is, we speak of it as if it were a
person.
Per-spic-u-ous. Perspicuous, easy to be under-
stood^,
Per-turb-ed. Perturbed, restless, disturbed, not
at ease.
^ Per-turb-a-tion. Perturbation, restlessness, dis-
turbance.
Per- verse. Perverse, obstinate, in the wrong,
' cross, spiteful.
Per-vert. Pervert, to turn from the right, to put
to a wrong use.
Pe-ruse. Peruse, to read.
Pest, a plague, a mischievous thing.
Pes-ti-lence. Pestilence, a plague, or kind of
sickness, which people catch from one another.
J 14
158 PIL
Pet-al. Petal ; those leaves of a flower which
are in general beautifully coloured are called
'petals,
Pe-ti-tion. Petition, a prayer, something which
we beg or ask of another person. To petition,
is to beg.
Pet-ty. Petty, little and mean.
Pet-u-lant. Petulant, saucy and peevish.
Pew-ter. Pewter, a metaUic substance which is
made by mixing lead and tin.
Phe-nom-e-non. Phenomenon, any uncommon
appearance in nature. Phenomena^ the plural.
Phi-al. Phial, a small bottle, pronounced vial.
Phil-os-o-pher. Philosopher, a man who is more
wise or learned than other people.
Phy-si-cian. Physician, a person who cures sick
people.
Phys-i-og-no-my. Physiognomy, the face, the
looks.
Pick-axe. Pickaxe, an axe v/ith a sharp point.
Pic-KLE. Pickle, a liquor made of salt or vine«
gar, in which meat or vegetables are preserved.
Pie-bald. Piebald, of different colours.
Pierce, to bore a hole in any thing ; to get into
any thing by force.
PiERc-iNG. Piercing, sharp.
Pi-E-TY. Piety, religion, love and obedience to
God. Filial piety, is love and obedience to our
parents.
PiG-MY. Pigmy, a very little person.
Pile, a high heap of any thing. A pile, is also a
strong piece of wood driven into the ground.
PiL-FER. Pilfer, to steal.
PIT 159
Pill-age. Pillage, any thing got by robbing peo-
pie.
Pi-lot. Pilot, the man who guides the ship by
turning the helm.
Pine, the name of a tree. To pine, to grow weak
and thin with sickness or sorrow.
Pin-ion. Pinion, the wing. To pinion, is to tie
the wings or the arms, so that they cannot move.
PiN-NA-CLE. Pinnacle, the highest point of a build-
ing, the top of a spire.
Pint, a measure, the half of a quart,
Pi-ous. Pious, religious, doing one's duty towards
God, and one's parents.
Pipe, any long, narrow, hollow tube, used for
something to pass through ; as the pipe which
people smoke with, and the pipes which are fix-
ed down the sides of the houses, to carry off the
water.
Pit, a hole in the ground. A coal-pit, a place
where coals are dug out of the ground.
Pitch, tar boiled till it is dry ; tar is got from pine
and fir trees. Pitch, also means height : to
pitch, to fix a thing in some particular place ; to
pitch, also means to throw forwards. To pitch
upon any thing, means to choose it.
Pit-e-ous. Piteous, sad and sorrowful.
Pit-fall. Pitfall, a hole dug in the ground, and
covered over in such a manner that it cannot
be seen, so that when one walks upon it, he falls
in, and cannot get out again. Wild beasts are
often caught in pitfalls.
PiT-i-FUL. Pitiful, sad, miserable, mean.
PiT-Y. Pity, kindness and tenderness to those
who are in sickness or in misfortune.
160 PLU
Plague, any thing which troubles or torments us.
The "plague^ is a kind of sickness which, in
some countries, often causes the death of thou-
sands of people in a short time.
Plain, a wide, flat, open country, or field.
Plain-tive. Plaintive, sad, complaining.
Plank, a long, thick, strong piece of wood
Plant : any thing which grows from a seed is call-
ed a plants whether it be large as a tree, or small
as moss. To plants properly means to put a
plant into the ground, to make it grow : some-
times to plant me^^ns to fix or settle in a particu-
lar place.
Plant-a-tion. Plantation, a place where a num-
ber of trees or shrubs are planted.
Plat-ter. Platter, a deep wooden dish.
Pli-a-ble. Pliable, easily bent. »
Pli-ant. Pliant, not stifi' or hard, easily bent oi I
formed into some shape. f
Plod, to walk heavily and slowly. To plod, means j
also to do any thing heavily, and with trouble.
Plot, a secret contrivance to do mischief. To
plot, to contrive mischief against other people.
Pluck, to give a sudden pull at any thing. To
pluck, is to pick the feathers off" a bird.
Plum- AGE. Plumage, feathers.
Plume, a feather.
Plump, fat and well-looking.
Plun-der. Plunder, to rob, to take away by force
the things that belong to other people.
Plunge, to put a thing suddenly into the water or f
any other liquor. To plunge, is also to sink sud
denly into the water.
POR 161
Pod, the shell or case in which the seeds of some
plants are found, such as beans and peas.
Po-EM. Poem, a piece of poetry.
Po-ET. Poet, a man who writes verses or poetry.
PoiGN-ANT. Poignant, sharp, severe, painful.
Poi-soN. Poison, any thing which, when taken as
food, or applied to the body, injures health or
destroys life.
Pole, a long stick.
PoL-isH. Polish, to make bright and smooth.
PoL-isH ED. Polished, smooth and shining ; some-
times polished means polite and civil.
Pomp, grandeur, proud display.
PoM-pous. Pompous, very grand, very fine.
PoN-DER. Ponder, to think of a thing very atten-
tively.
PoN-DER-ous. Ponderous, heavy.
Pool, a small pond.
Pop-u-LACE. Populace, the common people.
Pop-u-LAR. Popular, liked by the people.
Pop-u-LA-TioN. Population, the number of people
in a country.
Pop-u-Lous. Populous, full of people.
Pore, a small hole. To Pore, to look very closely
and long at any thing.
PoR-ous. Porous, full of small holes.
Port, a harbour, a safe place for ships.
PoRT-A-BLE. Portable, easily carried from one
place to another.
PoR-TER. Porter, a man who waits at the door or
gate to open it for people who may wish to pass
in or out. A porter is also a man who is paid
for carrying things.
PoB-TioN Portion, a part or share of any thing.
14*
162 PRA
PoR-TRAiT. Portrait, a picture
PoR-TRAY. Portray, to paint or describe.
Pos-i-TioN. Position, the particular manner in
which any thing is placed or laid.
Pos-i-TivE. Positive, real, certain, sure. I
Pos-SEss. Possess, to have a thing of one's own ; '
when a person has a thing, we also say, that it
is in his possession.
Post : a post is a thick piece of wood set upright
in the ground. A posty is any employment or
office. Post also means a messenger who tra-
vels quickly and carries letters. To post, to fix in
some place. To post, or to travel post, is to tra-
vel quickly.
Pos-TER-i-TY. Posterity, descendants, people who
will live after us.
Post-pone. Postpone, to put off till another time
PosT-scRiPT. Postscript, something written at the
end of a letter : people often write P. S. for
postscript* ..i
Pos-TURE. Posture, or attitude, the particular man- I
ner in which we place our bodies ; we say, a
sitting posture, a standing posture.
Po-TENT. Potent, strong, having great power. J I
Pouch, a small bag. • ■
Pov-ER-TY. Poverty, poorness, want of money.
PouL-TRY. Poultry, birds which are not wild, such
as ducks and geese, chickens and turkeys.
Pounce, to catch up with the claws, as a hawk
pounces upon a little bird.
Pound, a weight. In money, the sum of twenty
shillings is a pound. To pound, to beat any
thing.
Prac-ti-ca-ble. Practicable, possible to be done
PRE 163
Practice, Practice, the doing of any thing of-
ten. To practise, to do a thing often that we
may learn to do it well.
Prance, to spring and jump as a horse does.
Prate, to prattle, to talk too much, and in a fool-
ish manner.
Ppe-ca-ri-ous. Precarious, not sure, uncertain.
Pre-cau-tion. Precaution, the care which we
take beforehand to hinder some misfortune from
happening.
Pre-cede. Precede, to go before.
Pre-cep-tor. Preceptor, a man who teaches
young persons.
Pre-cious. Precious, dear or worth much money.
Pre-ci-pice. Precipice, a high and steep place.
Pre-cip-i-tate. Precipitate, to throw down head-
long from some high place.
Pre-cip-i-tate. Precipitate, too hasty, without
taking care.
Pre-cise. Precise, exact ; it sometimes means
too exact.
Pre-cis-ion. Precision, exactness in doing any
thing.
Pred-e-ces-sor. Predecessor, a person who was
in some place before another.
Pre-dom-i-nate. Predominate, to be above the
rest in quantity or in force ; to be more, to be
stronger.
Pref-ace. Preface, any thing which is spoken or
written before. The syllable pre at the begin-
ning of a word generally means before.
Pre-fer. Prefer, to hke something or some per-
sonft)etter than another.
l«4 PRE
Pre-fix. Prefix, to put one thing before another.
Pee-ju-dice. Prejudice, the good or bad opinion
we have of persons or things, without rea-
son, and before we know whether they deserve
to be Hked or disUked. Prejudice also means
hurt, wrong.
pRE-Ju-Di-ciAL. Prejudicial, hurtful, mischievous
Pre-ma-ture. Premature, ripe too soon, done,
said, or made, before the proper time.
Pre-pare. Prepare, to make fit or ready for any
thing.
Pre-pos-ter-ous. Preposterous, exceedingly wrong
and foolish.
Pres-ent. Present, something which is given
To present, to give, to offer to our notice. Pre*
sent, here, in this place, not absent. Time must
be past, present, or future ; present time, is the
time which is passing now, at this moment ; fu^
ture time is the time that is to come.
pRES-ENT-LY. Presently, very soon.
pRE-sERVE. Preserve, to save, or to keep safe;
to keep from being hurt or destroyed.
Press-gang. Pressgang, a number of men who
are employed to force others to be sailors wheth-
er they choose or not.
Press-ure. Pressure, the force with which any
thing presses upon, or against some other thing.
Pre-sume. Presume, to suppose, to think some-
thing is true before we are sure that it is true.
To presume sometimes means to be proud of
ourselves, and not respectful to other people.
Pke-sum-ing. Presuming, conceited, taking much
upon one's self.
PRI 165
Pre-sump-tu-ous. Presumptuous, vain, and im-
pudent.
Pre-text. Pretext, a pretence.
Pre-vail. Prevail, to liave power over others.
To prevail, also means to persuade a person to
do something.
Pre-vent. Prevent, to hinder something from
being done.
Pre-vi-ous. Previous, happening before.
Pre-vi-ous-ly. Previously, first, before some
event or action.
Prey, something which is taken by force, to be
eaten up or killed. Animals of prey are those
which eat other animals. The lion and the cat
are beasts of prey, the hawk and the kite are
called birds of prey.
Price, the money that is given for a thing.
Priest, a person whose particular office or busi-
ness it is to perform the ceremonies of religion.
Prim, formal and affected.
Prime, the best part. Prime also means the first
part, the beginning. Prime, excellent.
Prince, a man who is related to the king of a coun
try. Princess, the feminine of Prince.
Prin-ci-pal-i-ty. Principality, a country which
is governed by a prince.
Prin-ci-pal. Principal, first and highest, or of
the greatest consequence ; as, the principal city
in Scotland is Edinburgh.
Prin-ci-pal-ly. Principally, mostly, above all.
Print : to print, means properly, to make a mark
upon any thing by pressing something hard upon
it ; we say, the print of a footstep in the snow,
the print of a man's foot in the sand. Prints,
166 PRO
pictures which are cut or marked on copper or
on wood, and then pressed on paper.
Pris-on. Prison, a place w^here people are shut up.
Pris-on-er. Prisoner, a person who is confined or
shut up, and not allowed to go where he likes.
pRi-VATE. Private, secret alone. Private^ often
means belonging to particular persons, not seen
or not known by every body.
Priv-i-lege. Privilege, some particular right or
advantage which belongs to certain persons, and
not to others.
Prize, something which we win, or which we get
by trying for it.
Prob-a-ble. Probable, likely to happen.
Prob-i-ty. Probity, truth, honesty.
Pro-ceed. Proceed, to pass on from one place to
another, to go on, or to go forwards. To pro*
ceed, also means to come out of a place, or to
come from a person : we say, all the blessings
which we enjoy proceed from God.
Pro-cess. Process, properly means the going for-
ward of any thing ; it also means the manner of
doing a thing.
Pro-claim. Proclaim, to tell a fact to every body.
Pro-cure. Procure, to get any thing.
Prod-i-gal. Prodigal, wasteful ; a prodigal, is a
person who wastes or spends too much.
Pro-di-gious. Prodigious, exceedingly strange,
large, or astonishing, monstrous.
Prod-i-gy. Prodigy, any thing which is extremely
uncommon and astonishing.
Pko-duce. Produce, to bring forwards, to bring
into sight. To produce, is also to bring forth, to
PRO 167
make to grow : as when we say, seeds produce
plants, trees produce fruit.
Peo-duct, or Pro-duc-tion. Product or Produc-
tion, any thing which is caused or produced : we
say, wool is a natural production, because it is
produced or grows on the sheep's back.
Pro-fess. Profess, to declare, or to say a thing.
To profess, also means to let people know that
we practise some particular art or business : as
we say, a man who professes to teach drawing
— a professor of the art of painting.
Pro-fes-sion. Profession, any business or em
ployment. A profession, is also something which
is said or declared.
Prof-fer. Proffer, to make an offer of any thing.
Pro-file. Profile, the side face.
pROF-Li-GATE. Profligate, exceedingly wicked.
Pro-found. Profound, deep, learned.
pRo-FUSEe Profuse, wasteful, giving or spending
too much.
Pro-fu-sion. Profusion, plenty, more than enough,
wastefulness.
Prog-e-ny. Progeny, children, young ones.
Pro-gress. Progress, going forward, or passing
from place to place : it also means improvement
in any thing : as, " do you make a progress in
writing ?"
Pro-hib-it. Prohibit, to forbid, to order a thing
not to be done.
Pro-ject. Project, to contrive, to form a plan.
To project, is also to put out, to stick out further
than the other parts. A project , is a contrivance,
a plan.
Pro-lif-ic. Prolific, fruitful, producing much.
166 PRO
Prom-i-nent. Prominent, rising above other parts,
Prom-i-nence. Prominence, any thing that stands
out.
Pro-mis-cu-ous. Promiscuous, mixed together in Ij
a confused manner. ^
Prom-ise. Promise, to say what we will do.
Prompt, quick, ready, j
Prompt-i-tui)e. Promptitude, quickness.
Pro-nounce. Pronounce, to speak, to sound words
or letters.
Proof, something which convinces us of the truth.
The quickness with which you improve, is a
'proof of your attention to your book : it shows
us, or makes others beheve that you are atten-
tive.
Pro-pen-si-ty. Propensity, disposition or inclina-
tion to do something.
Prop-er-ty. Property, what belongs to a person
or a thing : as, this book is my property, it be-
longs to me ; we also say, vinegar is sour, or
sourness is a property of vinegar.
Pro-por-tion. Proportion, the difference or the
likeness there is between the size and quantity
of one thing, and the size and quantity of some
other thing. Proportion, is kept when the dif-
ferent parts of a thing are suitable to each other,,
and not too small or too large.
Pro-po-sal. Proposal, something offered to our
consideration.
Pro-pose. Propose, to offer something to our con-
sideration ; as, I propose a walk.
Pro-pri-e-tor. Proprietor, a person to whom
something belongs.
PRO im
Pro-pri-e-ty. Propriety, correctness, a proper
manner of doing any thing.
Prose, not poetry, what is not written or spoken
in verse or in rhyme.
Pros-pect. Prospect, the view of a country, trees,
houses, and other objects when seen from a dis-
tance. If you stand on a hill on a clear day,
you may see a prospect.
Pros-per. Prosper, to have good fortune, to be
able to do every thing we wish to do, and to
have all the things that we could wish to have.
Pros-per-i-ty. Prosperity, good fortune, happi-
ness.
Pros-per-ous. Prosperous, happy, fortunate, lucky.
Pros-trate. Prostrate, lying fiat on the ground,
or bowed down to the ground.
Pro-tect. Protect, to keep safe, to save a per-
son from being hurt, to guard him.
Pro-tec-tion. Protection, safety, shelter from
harm.
Pro-tract. Protract, to make something last a
tediously long time.
pRo-TU-BER-ANCE. Protuberaucc, a thing which
swells out above the rest of a surface, as the
nose in a human face.
Prove, to try, or know a thing by trying. To
prove, is also to convince, or to make a person
know that a thing is true, or not true.
Prov-erb. Proverb, a saying, a short sentence
which is often repeated : such as, " honesty is the
best policy," or, " nothing saved, nothing have."
Pro-vide. Provide, to get things ready for use
before they w411 be wanted. To provide, is also
to give to anv person the things which they
15
170 PUL
want ; as, my father provides me with money,
books, and every thing I want.
Prov-i-dent. Provident, cautious and careful to
prevent misfortune.
Prov-i-dence. Providence, carefulness. Prom-
dence, also means the care which God takes of
all the things he has made.
Prov-ince. Province, a large part of a kingdom
or country.
Pro-vi-sion. Provision, food.
Pro-voke. Provoke, to cause ; as when we say,
to provoke one to smile. To provoke is also to
make angry, to put in a rage.
Pro-vok-ing. Provoking, enough to make one
angry.
Prowl, to wander about looking for something to
eat, as wild beasts do.
Pru-dent. Prudent, wise and careful.
Pru-dence. Prudence, carefulness ; attention to
what is proper to be done. [fairs.
Pry, to peep, to try to find out other people's af
PuB-Lic. Public, belonging to every body in a
country, not to some particular people. Public ]
also means not secret ; known, or seen by every
body. The public, means all the people of a
place.
PuB-LisH. Publish, to make something known to
all people.
Pu-ER-iLE, Puerile, childish.
Puff, to swell out with wind, to blow, or to breathe
quick. K puff, is a sudden breath of wind : puf-
fed up, means full of pride and conceit.
PuL-LEY. Pulley, a wheel which has a hollow cut
in the outside, round which a string is drawn.
PTJR 171
Pulp, any soft moist vegetable substance; the pulp
of fruit is the soft part which is eaten.
PuLP-Y. Pulpy, soft and moist like pulp.
Pulse, the motion of the blood, which may be fek
by touching the wrist : pulse, seeds of plants
thai: are used for food, such as peas and beans.
PuMP^ a machine for raising water from deep pla-
ces.
Punch, a sharp instrument to make a hole. 1V>
punch, is to make a hole by driving a sharp in-
strument into any thing.
PuNC-TU-AL. Punctual, exact in domg any thing
that we intend, or that we have said we would do.
PuNC-TU-AL-i-TY. Punctuality, exactness in re-
spect to the observance of time.
PuNC-TURE. Puncture, a prick, a very small hole
made with a point.
Pun-gent. Pungent, hot to the taste, biting the
tongue like horseradish or mustard.
PuN-isH. Punish, to make a person feel pain when
he commits a fault, that he may not do wrong
again.
Pu-NY. Punyj little and mean.
Pu-PiL. Pupil, a person who is taught, a scholar.
The piipil of the et/e, is the dark circle in the
centre of one's eye,
Pur-chase. Purchase, to buy, to give a price for
any thing.
Pure, not mixed with other things. Pure, also
means clear, not dirty, not bad.
Pu-Ri-FY. Purify, to make quite pure and clear ^
Pu-ri-ty. Purity, cleanness.
PuR-LoiN. Purloin, to steal.
172 QUA
Pur-pose. Purpose, any thing that we intend to
do. To purpose, is to intend to do a thing.
PuR-rosE-LY. Purposely, on purpose, with design.
Pur-sue. Pursue, to follow or run after a person
to catch him. To pursue, is also to go on with
something that is hegun, to go forwards.
Pur-suit. Pursuit, trying to overtake, or to get
any thing.
Pu-TRi-FY. Putrify, to make rotten, or to destroy
a substance by decomposition,
Pu-TRiD. Putrid, decaying, and offensive to the
senses.
Q
QuAD-RAN-Gu-LAR. Quadrangular, square.
QuAD-RU-PED. Quadruped, an animal with four
feet.
Quaff, to drink large draughts of any thing.
Quake, to tremble, to shiver.
QuAL-i-FY. Qualify, to make fit for any thing.
Qual-i-ty. Quality, the goodness or badness of
any thing. Quality, also means greatness of
rank ; as, " a man of quality.^' The quality ,
means people of high rank.
QuAN-Ti-TY. Quantity, size, number, and mea-
sure, of substances.
QuAR-RY. Quarry, a place in the ground where
stones of any kind are dug out.
Quart, a measure of two pints.
Quar-ter. Quarter, the fourth part of any thing.
Quarter, also means any particular part separate
from other parts : as when we say, '^ i\\e quarter
of the sky where the sun rises, is called th^*
RAF 17^
East ; I came from that quarter of the town."
To quarter y to divide any thing into four parts.
Queen, a woman who governs a country, the wife
of a king.
Quell, to crush, to put down.
Quench: to quench afire, is to put it out, to ex^
tinguish it. To quench one^s thirst, to drink till
we are no longer thirsty.
Quest ; to go in quest of a thing, is to seek after
ii, to go and look for it.
QuicK-s-\NDS. Quicksands, great heaps of sand
in the sea, or in a river, which are continually
shifted from place to place by the motion of the
water.
Quills, strong feathers of which pens are made ;
the best quills are taken from the wings of geese.
Quire, twenty-four sheets of paper.
Quit, to leave, to go away from.
Quiv-ER,. Quiver, a case to hold arrows. To
quiver, means to tremble, to shake, to shiver.
Quote, to make use of the words of another per-
son in speaking or in writing.
Quoth : quoth /, is the same as I said ; quoth he,
he said, or says he.
R
Race, a family. Race, also means running.
Ra-di-ant. Radiant, shining very bright.
Raft, a number of planks or large pieces of wood
laid across each other, and tied together, in such
a manner as to swim on the water and carry
goods or people.
15*
174 RAP
Raft-ers. Rafters, large and strong pieces of
wood which are laid across other great heam%»,
to make the floors and roofs of houses.
Rail, to abuse people, to blame them in a rude and
impudent manner.
Rai-ment. Raiment, clothes, dress of any kind.
Rai-sins. Raisins, grapes dried in the sun, or in
ovens.
Ram-ble. Ramble, to wander about, to walk
from place to place, or to go from one thing to
another, without minding or knowing exactly
what we are about.
Ran-dom. Random : at random^ carelessly, by
chance, without thinking about, or minding what
we say, or do.
Range, to place things in order, to place them in
a row. To range, is also to wander about, to
ramble. Range, a number of things placed in
a row. Range, also means room enough in any
place to wander about.
Ran-sack. Ransack, to look for something among
other things.
Ran-som. Ransom, money which is paid for a
person's liberty, or any thing which is paid or
given to save a person from being confined or
punished.
Ra-pa-cious. Rapacious, taking by force what
belongs to other people, or in exacting money.
Rap-id. Rapid, exceedingly quick.
Ra-pid-i-ty. Rapidity, great quickness.
Rap-ine. Rapine, violence, robbing.
Rapt-ure. Rapture, great pleasure, very great
delight and joy.
Rapt, hurried.
REB 175
Rare, very uncommon ; seldom found, seldom
seen, or seldom happening. Rare, also means
excellent.
Rar-e-fy. Rarefy, to make a thing lighter and
thinner, by spreading it out.
Rare-ly. Rarely, not often, very seldom.
Rar-i-ty. Rarity, uncommonness. A rarity is
any thing very uncommon and excellent.
Rash, hasty, violent, doing things in too great a
hurry without considering.
Rate, the fixed price of any thing which is bought
or sold. Rate^ sometimes means the manner in
which any thing is done ; as, *4f you go on at
this ra^e." To ra/e,isto set a price on a thing,
to say how much it is worth.
Ra-tion-al. Rational, having reason and under-
standing. Rational, sometimes means wise, sen-
sible, not foolish.
Rav-age. Ravage, to waste, to rob, to ruin.
Rave, to be mad, to talk wildly and foolishly.
Rav-en-ous. Ravenous, furiously hungry.
Ray, a beam of light : as we say, " the rays of the
sun."
Reap, to cut down ripe corn.
Reap-er. Reaper, a person who cuts the corn.
Rear, those who come last. In the rear, means
behind. Rear, to raise up. To rear a child, is
to bring it up, to take care of it, and to edu-
cate it.
Rea-son-a-ble. Reasonable, not foolish, speak-
ing or thinking, or acting sensibly. Reasona-
ble, also means not too much or too little : as, a
reasonable quantity.
Re-bel. Rebel, to disobey, to fight against those
176 KEC
who govern us, and whom it is our duty to obey
and respect.
Re-build. Rebuild, to build up again. ,
[The syllable re at the beginning of a wordj
sometimes means again, and sometimes it means*
backwards ; as, to re-turn, is to turn back, to
come again : and to re-call, is to call back, &c.]
Re-euke. Rebuke, to blame a person for a fault.
Re-ceive. Receive, to take in, to allow to come
in. To receive a thing, to take it when it is
given to us, or offered to us.
Re-cent. Recent, new, what has happened lately •
Re-cent-ly. Recently, newly, not long since.
Re-cept-a-cle. Receptacle, any place or any
thing in which something is received and kept.
Reck-on. Reckon, to count. To reckon upon a
thing, is to depend on it, to trust to it.
Re-claim. Reclaim, to make a person good who
was wicked before.
Re-cline. Recline, to lean back, to rest upon
any thing.
Re-cog-nise. Recognise, to know again.
Re-col-lect. Recollect, to remember, to bring
back to our minds or to our memory.
Re-com-mence. Recommence, to begin again.
Re-com-mend. Recommend, to speak to a per-
son in praise of some other person or thing. To
recommend, means also to make pleasing ; as*,
" I shall endeavour to recommend myself to my
teachers by my good obedience."
Re-com-pence. Recompence, something which
IS given to a person in return for what he does ;
as, " if you are attentive and industrious, you
RED 177
will receive as a recompence the love of your
parents, and the praises of your friends. To
recompence, is to give something in return, to pay
a person for any thing that he does.
Re-con-cile. Reconcile, to make one like a thing
again. To reconcile, is also to make those who
have quarrelled love one another and be friends
again.
Re-con-cil-i-a-tion. Reconciliation, the agree-
ment of those who have fallen out, and become
friends again.
Re-cord. Record, to preserve a fact in writing,
that people who live after us may know it, and
that it may not be forgotten.
Re-cov-er. Recover, to grow well after being
sick. To recover any thing, to get it again.
Re-course. Recourse; to have recowr^e to a per-
son, is to ask him for something. To have re-
course to a thing, is to make use of it when we
want it.
Rec-re-a-tion. Recreation, any amusement or
pleasure which we enjoy, after we have been
busy or at work.
Re-cruit. Recruit, to fill up again, or to give
again what has been wasted away. To recruit^
is also to procure new soldiers. Recruit, a new
soldier.
Rect-i-fy. Rectify, to make a thing right, that
was wrong.
Rect-i-tude. Rectitude, honesty and truth.
Re-dee^. Redeem, to save, to recover something
that was lost or forfeited.
Re-deem-kr. Redeemer, one who saves some*
thing from being lost.
178 REF
Re-dress. Redress, to amend, to set right.
Re-duce. Reduce, to bring down to a less sizo.
To reduce, is also to make poorer, to bring into
misfortune or disgrace, to make lower : as, " this
poor old man is reduced to the necessity of beg-
ging his bread."
Reel, a kind of wheel on which thread, or worst-
ed, or silk, is wound into skeins. To reel, to
w^alk unsteadily, to walk as if one was going to
fall every moment.
Re-fine. Refine, to make pure and clear from
dirt or bad mixtures. To refine, is also to make
elegant and polite.
Re-fine-ment. Refinement, elegance in speak-
ing, in writing, or in behaviour, improvement in
politeness.
Re-flect. Reflect, to throw back ; if you stand
before a looking glass, you will see the rcfi^ec-
tion of your figure, that is, it will be reflected or
thrown back from the glass upon your eye : —
if you hold the back of a watch opposite to the
candle, or in the sun, it will reflect the light. All
those things which reflect the light are called
bright or shining. To reflect, often means to
think attentively, to consider what is past.
Re-form. Reform, to mend, to change from bad
to good, to make good.
Ref-or-ma-tion. Reformation, an alteration for
the better.
Re-frain. Refrain, to keep from doing something.
Re-fresh. Refresh, to make strong and fresh
again, to ease. To refresh, also means to make
pleasantly cool.
\
REL 179
Re-fresh-ment. Refreshment, food when we are
hungry, or rest when we are tired.
Ref-uge. Refuge, shelter from any danger or mis-
fortune.
Re-ful-gext. Refulgent, bright.
Re-fuse. Refuse, not to do what a person wishes
us to do, or not to give something which we are
asked for, or not to take what is offered to us.
The refuse means that part of any thing which is
of no use and of no consequence, which is thrown
away.
Re-gale. Regale, to refresh, to entertain, to
please.
Re-gard. Regard, to mind, to pay attention or
respect.
Re-gard, attention ; it also means affection or
respect. Regard^ sometimes means look, or
countenance.
Re-gard-less. Regardless, careless, not attentive
to.
Re-giox. Region, a country, a track of land.
Re-gret. Regret, vexation and sorrow for some-
thing which is past. To regret^ to be sorry for
what is past.
Reg-u-late. Regulate, to make regular, to put
into proper order.
Re-ject. Reject, to refuse, not to take what is
offered. To reject, is also to put aside, or to
throw away any thing that is of no use to us.
Rein, that part of a bridle which is held in the
hand. To rein, to check.
Re joice. Rejoice, to be very glad. To rejoice
is also to make happy, to make glad.
Re-lapse. Relapse, to become bad again after
180 REM
having been good for a time, or to become sick
again.
Re-late, Relate, to tell, to give an account of any
thing.
Re-la-tion. Relation, a person who is related to
us, or of the same family. A relation is also a
history, or an account of something.
Re-lax. Relax, to be less severe, or to be lesw
attentive and less industrious. To relax, pro-
perly means to make loose or slack.
Re-lease. Release, to let go of any thing, to put
out of pain, or to let out of prison.
Re-lent. Relent, to become kind, to feel pity, to
be less severe.
Re-lent-less. Relentless, cruel, without kindness
or pity.
Rel-ic. Relic, any thing w^hich is left, the part oi"
a thing which is left when all the rest is gone, or
wasted away.
Re-lief. Relief, any thing which refreshes or
eases us ; which takes away pain or sorrow.
Re-lieve. Relieve, to give help to another per-
son ; to ease pain, or to make less unhappy.
Re-lin-quish. Relinquish, to leave, to let go, or
to give up a thing.
Rel-ish. Relish, taste ; it also means a liking for
any thing. To relish, to taste, to like a thing.
Re-luct-ant. Reluctant, not willing, not liking to '
do a thing.
Re-luct-ance. Reluctance, unwillingness.
Re-ly. Rely, to trust to a person for help.
Re-main. Remain, to be left. To remain is also
to stay.
REN . 181
Re-mains. Remains, what is left. Remains often
means a dead body.
Re-main-der. Remainder, what is left.
Re-mark. Remark, to mind, to take notice.
Re-mark-a-ble. Remarkable, worthy of attention.
Rem-e-dy. Remedy, a medicine which cures a
sick person. Remedy, means also a cure for
any thing, what makes amends for some mischief
or hurt.
Re-miss. Remiss, not careful, not industrious.
Rem-nant. Remnant, what is left of any thing.
Re-morse. Remorse, great pain and grief for
past faults.
Re-morse-less. Remorseless, cruel, without pity.
Re-mote. Remote, far off, at a great distance.
Re-move. Remove, to take or go from one place
into another ; to put at a distance, to take away.
Rey-nard. Reynard, a name for a fox.
Rend, to tear violently.
Ren-der. Render, to give in return for any thing ;
as when we sa)^,
** What shall I render to my God,
" For all his gifts to me ?"
— To render is also to act ; as, " Little girls may
render themselves useful in many ways."
Ren-dez-vous. Rendezvous, a place where peo-
ple have appointed to meet together.
Re-nown. Renown, great praise and glory.
Re-nown-ed. Renowned, famous above others.
Rent, a tear or break in any thing. Rent^ also
means the money which is paid to another per-
son for the use of their house or their ground.
To rent^ is to have the use of another person's
house or land by paying money.-
IG
182 REP
Re-pair. Repair, to mend any thing which has
been hurt or broken. To repair, is also to go
to a place, or to go to a person.
Rep-ar-a-tion. Reparation, amends for any mis-
chief or wrong.
Re-past. Repast, a meal, a feast, food.
Re-pay. Repay, to pay back, to give in return.
Re-peat. Repeat, to do a thing again, or to speak
again. To repeat, is also to say by heart, or to
tell over from memory.
Re-peat-ed-ly. Repeatedly, often, again and
again.
Re-pel. Repel, to drive back, or to push back
again.
Re-pent. Repent, to be sorry for something we
have done.
Re-pent-ance. Repentance, sorrow for our faults.
Re-pe-ti-tion. Repetition, the saying or doing
something over again.
Re-pine. Repine, to fret, to be vexed or discon-
tented.
Re-plete. Replete, quite full.
Re-ply. Reply, to make an answer. A reply, \
an answer.
Re-port. Report, to tell something, to give an
account of something. A report, uncertain news,
or something which is talked of by many people.
The report of a gun, is the sound which it makes
when fired.
Re-pose. Repose, to sleep, to rest one's self.
To repose may mean also to place, or to rest ;
as when we say, "I can repo.se the greatest con.
fidence or trust in your truth." Repose^ rest,
quiet, or sleep*
REP 188
Ue-pos-i.to-ry. Repository, a place where any
thing is laid up or kept safe.
Rep-re-hend. Reprehend, to blame,
Rep-re-sent. Represent, to make an image or a
picture of any thing ; to show the likeness of a
thing or a person. To re/present^ means to show
or to describe in words. To represent is also to
be in the place of another person ; to act or to
speak for him when he is not present, or cannot
act and speak for himself. One who represents
another person is called his representative,
REP-RE-SEi\T-A-Tioy. Representation, something
which is shown or described ; an image or a
likeness of any thing.
Rep-ri-mand. Reprimand, to blame for a fault.
Re-pkoach. Reproach, to blame a person for
some fault in a severe manner. Reproach,
blame ; it also means shame or disgrace.
Re-proof. Reproof, blame. To reprove a person,
to speak to him of his faults, to blame him for
doing wrong.
Rep-tiles. Reptiles, animals of a particular
class : a snake or toad are reptiles, reptiles,
Re-pub-lic : when any nation or country is not
governed by one person, but by several people,
who have power given them to rule over the rest,
or where the people of a country govern thein-
selves by certain laws, that country or nation is
called a Republic, or a Commonwealth,
Re-pulse. Repulse, to drive off, to beat back.
Rep-u-ta-tion. Reputation, a good character, the
honour or esteem of other people.
184 RES
RE-auEST. Request, something which is asked.
Request, to ask, to entreat.
Re-quire. Require, to ask any thing as one's
right. To require, is aiso to want, or to need.
Re-qui-site. Requisite, necessary, wanted.
Res-cue. Rescue, to save from some danger or
misfortune.
Re-sem-blance. Resemblance, lil^eness.
Re-sem-ble. Resemble, to be like some other
person or thing': thfj Earth resembles an orange
in shape.
RE'Sejnt. Resent, to be offended, to be angry, to
return evil for evil.
Re-sent-ment. Resentment, spite or anger against
those who have offended us.
Re-serve. Reserve, to keep for some use ; not!
to throw away, or give away a thing. '
Re-serv-ed. Reserved, modest, cautious in one's
words or behaviour, not speaking much.
Re-serv-oir. Reservoir, the place where any thing
is kept in store ; in general, reservoir means the
place where a quantity of water is kept for use.
Re-side. Reside, to live in a place.
Res-i-dence. Residence, the act of staying or
living in a place. A residence, a place to live in.
Res-i-due. Residue, the part which is left of any
thing.
Re-sign. Resign, to give up what we have a right
to.
Re-sign-ed. Resigned, not complaining, patient
and submissive to the will of God.
Re-sist. Resist, not to allow, to be against a
thing : it also means to fight against, to hinder.
RES 185
Re-sist-ance, Resistance, theforce which acts
against us when we attempt to do something.
Re-solve. Resolve, to make clear, to make a
person know or understand a thing : as, " Re-
solve m,e this question." To resolve, also means
to determine, to settle something in one's own
mind, as "I am resolved to pay attention to my
book."
Res-o-lute. Resolute, determined to do an ac-
tion, not afraid.
Res-o-lu-tion. Resolution, boldness and steadi-
ness in conduct. A resolution, is a settled de-
termination to do something.
Re-soet. Resort, to go to a place. A place of
resort, is a place where people often go, or often
meet in.
Re-sound. Resound, to echo, to make a loud
sound, to be sounded back.
Re-source. Resource, any thing from which we
may get assistance, or amusement, when we are
in want of either.
Re-spect : to respect, is to pay honour and atten-
tion to any thing : as, we respect truth. When
we have a regard for a person, and fear to offend
him, and pay attention to what he says, we have
a respect for him : we respect our parents. We
should respect all good and wise people, whether
they are poor or rich.
Re-spect-ful. Respectful, behaving civilly, and
kindly, and attentively, to others.
Re-splen-dent. Resplendent, beautifully bright
and sparkling.
Rest-less. Restless, not quiet, not settled or at
rest.
16*
186 RET
Re-store, Restore, to bring back any thing to
the same condition it was in before. To restorCy
is also to give back something which was lost
or taken away.
Re-strain. Restrain, to hold back, to hinder, to
keep a person from doing what he would wish
to do.
Re-straint. Restraint, hindrance from doing
what one would like to do, confinement.
Re-sult. Result, a consequence ; if you eat too
much salt, the result will be thirst, or desire of
drink.
Re-sume. Resume, to take back again. To re-
sume, is also to begin again after leaving off; as,
" he resumed his work."
Re-tain. Retain, to keep.
Re-tard. Retard, to hinder from going on quick-
ly : it also means to put off to a later time.
Ret-i-nue. Retinue, a number of people who at-^
tend on some great person.
Re-tire. Retire, to go away from the company,,
to go into some secret place.
Re-tir-ed. Retired, lonely, secret.
Re-treat. Retreat, a place of shelter, a secret
place. Retreat to take shelter, to go into some
safe or secret place.
Re-trib-u-tive. Retributive, paying back, mak-
ing a return for something. [lost.
Re-trieve. Retrieve, to get again what has been '
Ret-ro-grade. Retrograde, going backwards,
contrary. ^
Ret-ro-spect. Retrospect, a view of things whichf
are past.
Re-turn. Return, to come again, or to go back
REV 197
— To return^ is also to make an answer. To
return^ sometimes means to pay back, or to give
back.
Re-veal. Reveal, to show or to tell something
which was secret.
Rev-el. Revel, to feast merrily.
Re-venge. Revenge, to hurt those who have hurt
or offended us : it is wicked to be revengeful ;
we ought always to forgive those who have done
us wrong.
Re-vere. Revere, to love, to fear, and to honour
a person.
Rev-er-exce. Reverence, fear mixed with love
and respect.
Rev-er-end. Reverend, very respectable, inspir-
ing love and fear.
Rev-er-ent. Reverent, humble and respectful.
Re-verse. Reverse, to turn upside down, to make
the contrary way. A reverse means a change
The reverse^ is the contrary.
Re-view. Review, to look back upon something,
to think of something over again, or to examine
again.
Re-vile. Revile, to abuse, to blame rudely and
violently.
Re-vis-it. Revisit, to come back to a place, to
visit again.
Re-vive. Revive, to come to life again, or to
grow strong and lively again. To revive^ is also
to bring to life again ; or to bring to mind, to re-
collect.
Re-voke. Revoke, to contradict what has beec
said, or to undo what has been done before.
Re-volve. Revolve, to roll or move round, as we
188 RIG
say, the earth revolves round the sun. To 76.
volve, is also to think very attentively of a thing,
to consider.
Rev-o-lu-tion. Revolution, a moving round. Re-
volution, also means some great change in the
government of a country.
Re-ward. Reward, to give a person pleasure for
being good. A reward, something which is
given to a person to pay him for doing right.
Rhet-o-ric. Rhetoric, the art of speaking and
writing elegantly.
Rhvme, the last word of a line which sounds like
the last word of another line :
Well ! now I'll sit down and work veryfastj
And try if I can't be a good girl at last-
We say that the words last and fast rhyme to-
gether beca.use they sound alike. Rhyme, some-
times means poetry.
Rick, a pile of corn o«- hay heaped up in a regu-
lar manner.
Rid, to clear from something which is disagreeable
or troublesome.
RiD-DLE. Riddle, a puzzling question which we
cannot understand or find out.
Ridge, any thing which rises up sloping to a high
top : thus we say, a ridge of mountains or hills.
RiD-i-cuLE. Ridicule, to laugh at a person, to
make a subject appear contemptible.
RiD-ic-u-Lous. Ridiculous, deserving to be laugh-
ed at, and despised.
Ri-FLE. Rifle, to rob.
Rig, to furnish a ship with ropes.
RiG-GiNG. Rigging, those ropes of a ship which
support the masts and manage the sails.
ROM 189
RiGHT-EOUS. Rip^hteous, good and honest.
RiCr-iD. Rigid, stiff; it also means severe, cruel.
RiG-ouR. Rigour, piercing coldness. Rigaur, also
means severity, strictness, or cruelty of beha-
viour.
Rill, a little stream of water.
Rind, the outside peel or skin of any thing.
Ring-leader. Ringleader, a person who is at the
head of those who behave ill.
Ri-OT. Riot, to feast in a noisy disorderly way,
to raise a disturbance.
Ri-OT-ors. Riotous, noisy, disorderly.
Rip, to tear open.
Risk, to put in danger. Risk, is also danger chance
of harm.
Ri-VAL. Rival ; two persons who wish for the
same thing, each striving to get it from the
other, are called rivals or competitors.
Rive, to spht violently.
Riv-EN. Riven, split.
Riv-ER. River, a large stream of water.
Riv-u-LET. Rivulet, a small river.
Roam, to wander about.
Robe, a long dress, a kind of gown.
Ro-BUST. Robust, strong.
Rock, a large stone. To rock, to move back-
wards and forwards.
RocK-Y. Rocky, full of rocks and stones.
Rogue, a cheating dishonest person.
Rogu-e-ry. Roguery, tricks, dishonesty, mis-
chievous tricks.
Ro-MANCE. Romance, a tale, an unlikely story,
Ro-MAN-Tic. Romantic, fanciful, wild.
190 RUG
Roof, the cover of a house. The roof of the
mouth, is the top of the inside of it.
RooM-Y. Roomy, having plenty of room, wide.
large.
Roost, a perch which birds sleep on.
RooT-ED. Rooted, fixed deep and strongly.
Rope, a thick cord.
Rote : to learn hy rote, to learn and remembei
words without understanding them.
Rove, to wander about, to ramble.
Rov-ek. Rover, a wandering, unsteady person ;
one who is not to be depended on.
Rouge, red paint; to paint the cheeks.
Rouse, to awaken a person from sleep or idleness
Row, to drive a ship or a boat along by means of
oars.
RoY-AL. Royal, belonging to a king, like a king.
RuB-BisH. Rubbish, broken stones and bricks and
pieces of lime lying about in confusion. Rub-
bish may also mean any thing which is of no use.
Ru-BY. Ruby, the name of a precious stone of a
beautiful red colour.
RuD-DER. Rudder, an instrument fastened to the
back part of a ship, which serves to guide the
ship through the water.
RuD-DY. Ruddy, r^osy, of a red colour.
Rue, to be very sorry, to grieve for.
RuE-FUL. Rueful, miserable, sorrowful.
RuF-n-AN. Ruffian, a rude, savage, violent, cruel
man.
RuF-FLE. Ruffle, to disturb, to put into disorder, to
put out of temper.
RuG-GED. Rugged, rough, not smooth or even.
SAC 101
Rugged, also means rude, strong, and able to
endure hardships.
IFlu-iiv. Ruin, destruction, mischief, misfortune.
Ruins, the remains of a building which has been
destroyed or broken down. To ruin, is to de-
stroy, to break down. To ruin, also means to
bring into w^ant or misery, or any misfortune.
Ru-iN-ous. Ruinous, ready to fall down, ready to
break to pieces. Ruinous, also means very
hurtful, or destructive.
Ru-Mi-NATE. Ruminate, to chew the food over
again, to chew the cud as cows do. Ruminating
animals are those which chew the cud. To ru-
minate, is also to think of a thing over and over
again very attentively.
Rup-TURE. Rupture, a breaking. Rupture, often
means a quarrel.
Ru-RAL. Rural, belonging to the country, like the
country, in the country, not in a town.
Rus-SET, Russet, of a brownish colour, it some-
times means coarse.
Rus-Tic. Rustic, like the country, plain, rough,
not polite. A rustic, a countryman, a rough,
plain man.
RuTH-LEss. Ruthless, very cruel, without kind-
ness or pity.
Rye, a coarse kind of grain.
S
Sab-bath. Sabbath, the day of rest, the seventh
day, which God has appointed to be kept holy :
the word Sabbath, means rest.
Sack, a large bag.
I
192 SAL
Sa-cred. Sacred, holy, religious. Sacred, also
means not to be broken : for we say, a sacred
promise.
Sac-ri-fice. Sacrifice, to make an offering to
heaven. To sacrifice, may also mean to givo
up, or to lose a thing for the sake of another'
person.
Saf-fron. Saffron, the name of a plant with a
yellow flower.
Sa-ga-cious. Sagacious, quick in finding out
things, perceiving the truth readily.
Sa-ga-ci-ty. Sagacity, quickness in finding out
any thing. The sagacity of the dog is wonder- 1
ful for a brute animal. \
Sage, wise, grave. Sage, a grave, wise man. |
SAiji ; the sailo^ a ship or boat, is a sheet of coarsei
thick cloth, it is spread out to catch the wind,?
which forces the ship along. Sail, often means
a number of ships ; we say, ten sail, twenty
sail ; that means, ten or twenty ships.
Saint, a very holy and religious person.
Sal-a-ry. Salary, the money which is paid regu
larly to a person for services.
Sale, the selling of a thing.
Sal-ine. Saline, salt, tasting of salt, or contain
ing salt.
Sal-low. Sallow, of a pale, sickly, yellow colour. J
Sal-ly. Sally, to come out of a place suddenly]
and violently.
Sal-va-tion. Salvation, everlasting happiness in.
heaven, dehverance from sin and death.
Sa-lu-bri*ous. Salubrious, wholesome or health-
ful.
1
SAT IM
jSal-tt-ta-ry. Salutary, good for the health, whole-
some.
Sa-lute. Salute, to pay compliments ; to speak
to a person when we meet him in a polite and re-
spectful manner. To salute, also means to kiss,
Sal-u-ta-tion. Salutation, compliments, the man-
ner of speaking or behaving to persons when we
meet them.
Sanc-ti-fy. Sanctity, to make holy.
Sanc-ti-ty. Sanctify, holiness and goodness.
Sanc-tu-a-ry. Sanctuary, a holy place. Sane*
tuary, shelter from harm.
San-.dals. Sandals, loose shoes tied upon the feet
and round the leg.
Sain'-guin-a-ry. Sanguinary, cruel, delighting in
shedding blood, or in killing.
San-guine. Sanguine, of the colour of blood.
Sanguine, also means expecting much, always
hoping good, not fearing harm or misfortune.
Sap, the juice of plants.
Sap-phire. Sapphire, a precious stone of a blue
colour.
Sap-ling. Sapling, a young tree.
Sash, a window which does not open on hinges
like a door, but which is moved up and down by
means of cords and weights.
Sa-ti-ate. Satiate, to satisfy with food, to fill.
Sa-ti-e-ty. Satiety, fullness, more than enough
of any thing.
Sat-is-fac-tion. Satisfaction, pleasure, content.
Sat-is-fy. Satisfy, to please, to give enough of
any thing.
3at-u-rate. Saturate ; a thing is saturated when it
is completely steeped or soaked with something.
\7
T
194 SCA
Sav-age. Savage, wild and rude. Savage, also
means cruel, not tamed, fierce. A savage, a
rude, cruel man. The inhabitants of some
countries we call Savages, because they do not
know how to read or write, are rude in their
manners, and are acquainted with few of the
arts of civilized life.
Sau-cy. Saucy, pert and impudent.
SAV-i?fG. Saving, not spending, nor giving much.
Savings, what is saved or kept, and not spent.
Sav^otjk. Savour, taste.
Sav-our-y. Savoury, pleasant to the taste.
Saw, an instrument edged with sharp teeth, which
is used to cut wood and other things. j
Saw-dust. Saw-dust, the little bits which fall from
what is sawed.
Scab-bard. Scabbard, a case for a sword.
ScAF-FOLD. Scaffold, a kind of wooden floor, rais-
ed high upon posts, for some purpose, in such a
manner that it can easily be taken down again
when it is done with. ^
Scales ; the covering of many kinds of fish is j
formed of scales, which are smooth and light, but J
very strong, and laid so closely over one another I
that no water can penetrate or get through them. J
We also call scales any thiag which is like the |
scales of fishes. A pair of scales, is a machine
to weigh things with. A scale, is any thing
which is marked with a number of lines at equal
distances, and used to measure the proportions
or sizes of different things. To scale, to climb up,
ScA-LY. Scaly, covered with scales like fishes.
Scaly, also means like scales.
S€A3Tr-T R. Scamper, to rim away quickly.
SCI 195
ScAN-DAL, Scandal, shame, disgrace.
ScAN-DA-LOUs. Scaiidalous, disgraceful, shamefuL
ScAN-TY. Scaiity, narrow and small, not much,
or not wide.
Scar, a mark left on the skin by a hurt or cut.
Scarce, not plentiful. Scarce, also means uncom-
mon.
ScAR-ci-TY. Scarcity, not enough of a thing, un-
commonness.
Scare, to frighten, to terrify.
Scar-let. Scarlet, a deep bright red colour.
ScAT-TER. Scatter, to spread or throw any thing
about.
ScAT-TER-ED. Scattered, thrown about in differ-
ent places, not together.
ScAV-EN-GER. Scavenger, a person whose busi-
ness it is to sweep the streets and keep them
clean.
ScEx-E-RY. Scenery, the appearance of places
or things in a wide view, or open space.
ScEXE, any action that passes before one's eyes, or
any prospect which we are looking at. The
scene in a play, means the place which the stage
is made to represent or show.
Scent, smelt ; scent, to smell, to find out any thing
by smelUng.
Scheme, a plan, something w.hich we intend to do,
a contrivance.
ScHOL-AR. Scholar, one who is taught. A schol-
ar, often means a learned person.
Sci-ENCE, Science, knowledge, what is learned
or known. A science, properly means rules, which
we learn, or know, by means of our understand-
ing, or our mind, and which often instruct us to
m SCR
do something : Arithmetic is a science ; by
thought only we can practise arithmetic. An art
depends more on the skill of our hands ; we say,*
the art of a carpenter, the art of printing, the art
of making glass ; but we say, the science of mu-
sic.
Scoff, to mock, to make game of a person rudely.
Sconce, the head. Sconce, also means a kind of
candlestick.
Scoop, to cut into a hollow or deep place.
Scope, room enough, liberty.
Score, an account. Score, also means reason ;
when we say, '' I do not quarrel with you on that
score^'^ or on that account. A score is twenty.
Scotch, belonging to the country called Scotland.
ScouK, to rub something hard to make it clean. To
scour away, is to run very quickly, to scamper.
Scourge, a whip, a lash. A scourge, is also any
thing that punishes or torments very much. To
scourge, to lash severely with a whip.
Scowl, to look angry and sour, lo frown.
Scram-ble. Scramble, to dispute or fight with
other people in order to catch or reach at some-
thing. To scramble, is to climb up a place with
one's hands and feet.
Scrap, a little piece of any thing.
Scrape, to shave off small pieces, or take off the
surface of a substance.
Scraw^l, bad writing.
Screech, to scream, to cry out ; screech, also
means to make a noise like an owl.
Screen, any thing which is used to keep out the
heat, the light, or the cold. To screen, to shel-
ter, or to hide.
J
SEA 197
Screw, to fasten or squeeze any thing with a ma-
chine called a screw.
ScRiB-BLE. Scribble, to write badly and carelessly.
Scrip, a little bag.
ScRiPT-URE. Scripture, a writing. The Script-
ures^ means the Bible.
Scroll, a piece of paper written upon and rolled up.
Scrub, to rub with any hard coarse implement.
ScRU-PLE. Scruple, hesitation in doing any thing.
ScRUP-u-LOUS. Scrupulous, careful and exact :
we say, " whoever makes a promise should be
careful to keep it most scrupulously.^^
ScuLL-ioN. Scullion, a low servant.
ScuLP-TURE. Sculpture, the art of cutting images
out of wood or stone. Sculpture, also means
figures, or images cut out of stone or wood.
Scum, what rises on the top of a liquor when it is
stirred or boiled.
Sea, a large collection of water.
Sea-man. Seaman, a sailor, a man who manages
a ship.
Seam, the place where the edges of things are
joined together.
Search, to look carefully for a thing, to try to find
out something by examining or looking.
Sea-son. Season, a part of the year ; there are
four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Win-
ter. Season, means any particular time which
is not very long. To season, to mix our food
with salt or pepper, or any thing to give it a
good taste.
Sea-son-ed, Seasoned, used or accustomed to
any inconvenience or hardship.
17*
1«8 SEL
Sea-son-a-ble. Seasonable, what is done or what
happens at the proper time.
Seat, any thing to sit upon, a place to live in ; as
when we say, a country seat.
Sec-ond. Second, coming next to the first men-
tioned. A second^ a very small space of time ;
there are sixty seconds in a minute. To second
a person^ is to help him in doing something.
Sect, a number of people who are of some par-
ticular reUgion or opinion, different from the set-
tled opinion or religion of most other people.
Se-cure. Secure, sure, not afraid. Secure^ also
means safe from danger.
Se-cur-i-ty. Security, not in fear ; security^ also
means safety from danger.
Se-date. Sedate, grave and quiet.
Si»-i-MENT. Sediment, the dregs, what sinks to
the bottom of a liquor.
Se-duce. Seduce, to entice a person from doing
what is right, to tempt one to do wrong.
Sed-u-lous. Sedulous, attentive and industrious.!
Seed ; the seed of a plant is that part of it froiiiJ
which a new plant of the same kind springs up.
Almost all plants have seeds.
Seed-time. Seed-time, the proper season for sow-
ing seeds.
Seek, to look for a thing, to try to find it.
Seize, to take a thing, to lay hold of any thing sud-
denly and violently. .
Sel-dom. Seldom, not often.
Se-lect. Select, to choose some particular per-
son or thing from amongst a number of others-
Select^ what is chosen because particularly ex-
cellent.
I
SEN loe
Self-ish. Selfish, not minding or caring about
other people, only thinking of one's self: selfish
people are disliked and despised by every body.
Self-same. Selfsame, the very same, not at all
different.
Sell, to give a thing for money.
Se-mi. Semi, means half. A semi-circle, is the
half of a circle.
Sem-i-na-ry. Seminary, a place where young
people are taught what is proper for them to
know, a school.
Semp-stress. Sempstress, a woman w^ho works at
her needle.
Sen-ior. Senior, a person who is older than an-
other.
Sen-sa-tion. Sensation, something which is felt :
the prick of a pin, or the odour of a rose, pro-
duces a sensation.
Sense : there are five senses, Seeing, Hearing,
Smelling, Tasting, and Feeling. Most animals,
besides mankind, have the five senses. Sense
also means understanding. The sefise of a word
is the meaning of it.
Sense-less. Senseless, without feeling or life.
Senseless, means also foolish, unreasonable, stu-
pid.
Sen-si-ble. Sensible, able to feel, able to under-
stand. Sensible, also means not foolish. Any
thing which can be felt or understood, is called a
sensible object.
Sen-si-tive. Sensitive, able to feel.
Sen-tence. Sentence : when a judge, 9r any one
who has power, determines whether a person
200 SER
has, or has not done wrong, and whether he is
to be punished or not to be punished, what he
declares shall be done is called a sentence. A
sentence^ in writing or in a book, is as many
words as make sense together.
Sen-ti-ment. Sentiment, thought, opinion, sense.
Sen-ti-nel. Sentinel, one who is set to watch
and to guard.
Sep-a-rate. Separate, to break into different
parts, to divide, to pan one thing from another.
Separate, parted from others.
SEr-UL-cHRE. Sepulchre, a grave, the place where
a dead person is buried.
Se-qttel. Sequel, what comes last, the part that
comes after the other parts.
Se-ques-ter-ed. Sequestered, lonely, secret.
Ser-aph. Seraph, an angel.
Ser-a-phim. Seraphim, angels.
Ser-e-nade. Serenade, a song or music which
is sung at night, or in the evening.
Se-rene. Serene, quiet, still, and clear ; not dis-
turbed, not cloudy, not ill-humoured.
Se-ren-i-ty. Serenity, quietness of mind, peace,
stillness.
Se-ries. Series, a number of things v/hich come
after one another in regular order.
Se-ri-ous. Serious, grave, in earnest. Serious,
also means of consequence.
Ser-pent. Serpent, a kind of animal without feet,
which moves along the ground like a worm.
Some serpents are poisonous, that is, if a person
were bitten by one he would die ; others are not
poisonous.
Ser-vice-a-ble. Serviceable, useful.
SHA 201
iSer-vile. Servile, mean.
Ser-vi-tude. Servitude, the state of being obli-
ged to serve another person, whether we choose
or not.
Set, put in a place. To set^ when we speak of the
sun, means to disappear in the evening, as, the
sun sets in the west. To set on fire, is to put
fire to a thing to make it burn. To set down a
thing, is to write it down in a book or on paper.
To set^ is also to put a plant into the ground.
Set^ a number of things which belong to each
other, and are suited to each other ; as we say,
a set of tea-things, a set of maps, a set of chairs.
Set-tle. Settle, to fix one's self in a place. To
settle^ also means to fix, to make sure, or to make
quiet. To settle^ may mean to sink to the bot-
tom, as the grounds or dregs of any thing settle
when left quiet.
Set-tle-ment. Settlement, a place where a num-
ber of people who have come from a distant
country, settle themselves to live.
Sev-er. Sever, to part one thing from another
violently.
Sev-e-ral. Several, more than a few, but not a
great number.
Se-vere. Severe, cruel, apt to punish and blame,
not kind. Severe^ also means sharp, painful ;
we say, the cold is severe,
Se-ver-i-ty. Severity, cruelty, not tenderness
L and kindness. Severity, also means piercing
' coldness.
Shab-by. Shabby, having a mean appearance.
iShade, darkness ; we say, *' the shades of night."
Shade, also means coolness and shelter from the
202 SHE
heat and the light of the sun : as, " let us walk
in the cool shade of these trees." To shade, to
shelter from the heat and the light.
Shad-y. Shady, cool and sheltered from the sun.
SiiAD-ow. Shadow, the shape of a thing which
obstructs light. There are some things which
have no shadow^ because the light can pass
through them, as a pane of glass : all things
which are opaque have shadows, when held in
the light. A shadow is not a thi?ig ; you can see
it, but you cannot' feel or touch it : it is only the
want of light upon some place.
Shaft. Shaft, an arrow.
Shag-gy. Shaggy, rough, covered with hair.
Shal-low. Shallow, not deep ; we say, shallow
water, a shallow stream.
Shank,, the leg. Long -shanked, having long legs.
Spindle-shanks are long, thin, ugly legs. The
Shank, means the long straight handle of a
thing.
Shape-less. Shapeless, what has no regular
shape, or what is njot of a good shape.'
Shat-ter. Shatter, to break a thing suddenly to
pieces.
Sheaf, a bundle of corn tied together.
Shears, a kind of cutting instrument, like a pair
of scissors, only larger. Shear, to cut any thing
with shears. To shear sheep, is to cut the wool
off their backs with a pair of shears.
Sheath, a case for a sharp instrument: it gene- i
rally means a case for a sword or scissors.
Sheath-ed. Sheathed^ covered with a sheath or
case.
SHO 203
Shed, to pour out, to spill, to let fall, A shed^ is a
roof which is held up by posts instead of walls,
and used only as a shelter or cover for some-
thing.
Shep-iieed. Shepherd, a man who takes care of
sheep.
Shield, a tough piece of leather, or plate of some
metal, which people who fought used formerly
to wear upon the arm, and held before the
body, to keep themselves from being hurt by
the blows which were struck at them. A shield,
also means any thing w^hich saves us, or shelters
us from being hurt. To shield, to save from
harm or danger.
Ship-board. Shipboard : to go on shipboard, is
to go into a ship.
Ship-fing. Shipping, a number of ships.
Shiv-er. Shiver, to tremble, to shake with cold.
To shiver, is also to break a thing into a num.
her of pieces with one blow.
Shock, a violent meeting or striking together of
two things ; a violent sudden shake. A shock,
is also several sheaves of corn piled up together.
To shock, to offend, to disgust.
Shod, having shoes on the feet.
Shop, a place where things are sold, or where peo-
ple work.
Shore, the edge of the land which is next to the
water ; thus we say, on the sedL-shore.
Shorn, having all the wool cut off; as, the sheep
are shorn.
Shove, to push any thing violently forwards.
Shout, to call out very loud.
Show£b, to pour down rain. To sJioicer, sometimes
mk siG
means to scatter any thing about in great plen-
ty, to pour down.
Shrewd, sly, quick in finding out any thing.
Shriek, to cry out as if one were hurt or afraid.
Shrill, of a sharp, disagreeable, piercing sound.
Shrink, to become smaller. To shrinkyis also to
draw back from any thing, as if we were afraid
of it, or disliked it.
Shrouds, the ropes which manage the sails of a
ship.
Shrub, any small bushy tree. ||
Shud-der. Shudder, to tremble with fear, or with '
dislike.
Shun, to try not to meet with a thing, to try to gefi,
away. ||
Sic-kle. Sickle, a kind of hooked instrumental
with which grain is cut down.
Sick-ly. Sickly, rather sick, not healthy.
Sieve, a piece of cloth over a hoop of wood, which
is used to separate the fine and the coarse parts
of any powdered substance. When flour is put
into a sieve and shaken about, the fine parts of
the flour pass through the sieve, and leave the
coarse parts behind ; this is called bolting or
sifting flour.
Sign, an image, word, or picture, which serves to
make some other thing known to us. When we
see the new leaves beginning to shoot, and the
flowers springing up, it is a sign that the winter
is past, and that summer is coming on.
SiG-NiF-i-CA-TioN. Signification, the meaning of
any thing.
SiG-Ni-FY. Signify, to make a thing known, to tell.
SIN 205
To signify J to be of consequence. To signify
is also to convey a meaning.
Si-LENCE. Silence, to make quiet, to make a per-
son be silent. Silence^ a state of quiet.
Silk, a shining stutf made of the webs spun by a
kind of a catterpillar called di silk-worm,
SiL-VER. Silver, the name of a metal which ranks
in value next to gold : silver is of a beautiful
shining white colour. Dollars, thimbles, spoons,
and a great number other things are made of
silver.
SiL-VER-Y. Silvery, of a white shining colour,
like silver.
SiM-i-LAR. Similar, like.
SiM-rLE. Simple, not mixed with other things.
Simple, not made of many different parts ; easi-
ly understood ; plain. A simple person is a
harmless, plain person.
SiM-PLE-TON. Simpleton, a foolish, stupid person.
SiM-PLY. Simply, only, merely.
SiM-PLi-ci-TY. Simplicity, plainness, not cunning.
Simplicity, also means plainness of dress, not
finery. Simplicity sometimes means rectitude
and innocence.
Sin, wickedness ; any thing which is done against
the command of God. To sin, is to do a wick-
ed action.
SiN-FUL. Sinful, wicked ; not religious, not good.
Sin-cere. Sincere, not deceitful, honest, always
telling truth.
Singe, to scorch, to burn a little.
Sin-gle. Single, not more than one, alone.
SiN-Gu-LAR. Singular, different from others ; re.
markable.
18
206 SLA
Sip, to drink a little at a time.
Sire, a father, or a king.
SiT-u-ATE. Situate, to put in some particular place.
SiT-u-A-TED. Situated, placed in a particular
manner.
SiT-u-A-TioN. Situation, the manner in which a
thing is placed. The situation of a person, is
his condition of life, whether he be rich or poor,
happy or miserable, great or mean.
Skel-e-ton. Skeleton, the bones of a dead body
without any flesh upon them.
Skil-ful. Skilful, having the power of doing a
thing quickly and well.
Skim, to pass lightly over, as the swallow sJciins
over the ground. To skim, is also to take off
the upper part of some liquor, as we skim the
cream off the milk.
Skirt, the loose part of a dress which hangs be-
low the waist. Skirt, means also the border, or
outside part of a thing : as when we say, the
skirts of a wood.
Skirt-ed. Skirted, bordered or edged by some-
thing.
Skulk, to hide one's self in secret places, to watch
to do mischief.
Skull, the bones of the head.
Slab, a piece of stone or marble, flat and smooth,
but not thick. Marble slabs, are used for
hearths and chimney-pieces.
Slack, not tight.
Slack-en. Slacken, to make loose ; it also means
to be less attentive or industrious. To slacken^
is also to make less strong, or less quick : W;e
SLI 207
say, he slackened his pace ; that means, he went
slower.
Slain, killed.
Slake, to satisfy one's thirst.
Slan-dek. Slander, to speak ill of a person with-
out truth.
Slax-der-ous. Slanderous, speaking ill of a per-
son untrul5%
Slant, sloping, not perpendicular.
Slash, to make long cuts in any thing.
Slate, a stone of a dark blueish colour, used to
cover the roofs of houses ; one kind of slate is
used to write upon.
Slat-tern. Slattern, a woman who is untidy and
careless in her dress.
Slave, a person who belongs to a master, and who
works for him, without receiving wages. Slaves^
are not able to do what they wish, or go whither
they like ; but are forced to do whatever their
master pleases. Slaves are bought and sold.
Slaugh-ter. Slaughter, killing, murder of a great
number. To slaughter, to kill.
Slay, to kill, to put to death.
Sledge, a kind of carriage, made without wheels,
to pass smoothly over the ice and snow. In cold
countries, where the snow is on the ground dur-
ing the greater part of the year, people generally
travel in sledges drawn by rein-deer.
Sleek, soft, smooth, and shining.
Sleet, snow and rain together.
Slen-der. Slender, not thick, of a small, thin
shape, not strong.
Slight, not worth much, not of consequence, not
strong. To slight, to pay no attention to a
^8 SMO
thing, to treat a person with no respect or atten-
tion.
Slim, of a slender shape.
Slime, any dirty, sticky, gluey matter.
Sling, an instrument made of leather straps, and
used to throw stones from a distance at any
thing.
ISlit, to make a long narrow cut in any thing.
Slop-ing. Sloping, not strait upwards or down-
wards, but oblique, inclining.
Sloth, laziness, idleness, slowness in doing any
thing.
Sloth-ful. Slothful, idle, lazy.
Slov-en. Sloven, a man or boy who is dirty and
untidv in his dress.
Slov-en-ly. Slovenly, not neat.
Slug, a kind of slow creeping snail.
Sltjg-gard. Sluggard, a lazy, sleepy person.
Slum-bee. Slumber, to sleep. Slumber, a sleep.
Slunc, hung loosely by means of a string.
Smart, to feel a sharp pain. Smart, brisk, lively,
witty.
Smear, to spread over with something which is
dirty and sticky.
Smile, to look pleasant and happy.
Smite, to strike. It also means to kill.
Smith, a workman who makes things of metals ;
we say, a Coppersmith, a Silversmith, a Gold-
smith, &;c. A man who works in iron is called
a Blacksmith.
Smoth-er. Smother, to suffocate, to kill any ani-
mal by keeping him from fresh air. To smother,
is also to keep close, to hide, to keep down : as,
he '' smothered his anger."
SOL 200
Snap, to break suddenly. To ^ncrp, to bite. To
snaj) at a thing, is to snatch at it, or to bite at it.
Snare, a trap, or any thing which is set to catch or
entangle animals.
Snarl, to growl like a dog when he is angry.
Sneak, to creep slily, as if one were afraid to be
found out.
Sneak-ing. Sneaking, sly, and mean in manner.
Snout, the nose of a beast.
Soak, to keep any thing in some fluid till it is quite
steeped, to wet through and through.
Soar, to fly high, to rise very high.
So-BER. Sober, not drinking too much. Sober,
also means serious, grave, quiet.
So-ciA-BLE. Sociable, fond of company, friendly.
So-ciAL. Social, fond of gay and merry com-
pany.
So-ci-E-TY. Society, company. In society, means
not alone, in company with other people. A so-
ciety, is a number of people united in one inter-
est, and for some one purpose.
SoD-DEN. Sodden, boiled, cooked.
Soil, ground in which plants grow. Soil, also
means country. Our native soil, is the country
we were born in. Soil often means dirt. To
soil, to make dirty.
So-jouRN. Sojourn, to live in a place for a time.
So-LACE. Solace, pleasure, comfort. To solace,
to comfort.
So-LAR. Solar, belonging to the sun. By the so-
lar rays, we mean the beams, or the light of the
sun.
Sole, the bottom of the foot, or of a shoe. SoUy
only one.
18*
210 SOR
SoLE-LY. Solely, only ; as, " I have saved from
the fire this book, solely,^ — only this one.
SoL-EMN. Solemn, grave, religious, and serious.
Solemn^dlso means affected, and formally grave;
for we say, " the solemn owl."
So-LEMN-i-TY. Solemnity, a ceremony performed
in a religious and serious manner. Solemnity,
is also seriousness, stateliness.
So-Li-ciT. Solicit, to ask, to beg, to entreat.
So-Lic-I-Tous. Solicitous, careful and anxious
about something.
So-Li-ci-TUDE. Solicitude, anxiety.
Sol-id. Solid, not fluid ; solid, also means not
hollow ; as we say, a solid lump of gold, solid
wood. Solid, may often mean strong, firm ; we
say, solid sense, solid learning, a solid building.
So-LiD-i-iY. Solidity, hardness, firmness.
SoL-i-TA-RY. Solitary, alone ; at a distance from
company, without people.
SoL-i-TUDE. Solitude, loneliness. A solitude, a J
lonely place.
Solve, to explain, to make clear to be understood.
SoNGS-TER. Songster, one who sings ; birds are
often called feathered songsters,
So-No-Rous. Sonorous, giving a loud and clear
sound.
Soot, smoke which is condensed or collected in
little pieces.
Soothe, to please, to make quiet. In sooth, means
in truth, really.
SoPH-isT. Sophist, a person who disputes in an
artful, cunning manner.
SoR-DiD. Sordid, mean, low, covetous.
SPA 211
SoR-iiY. Sorry, often means of no worth, mean,
vile ; as, a sorry old horse. Sorry, afflicted.
Sov-E-REiGN. Sovereign, a person who rules over
others. Sovereign, above others in greatness,
and power and strength.
Sound, strong, healthy, stout, or right. To soundy
to let down a long string with a weight at the
end of it into the water, to try the depth of the
water.
Source, the cause of something ; we say, " the
sun is the source of life, and heat, and light."
The source of a river, is the place in the ground
out of which it first springs.
South, that part of the sky where we see the sun
at twelve o'clock in the day. The south some-
times means the countries or places which are
towards the south : this man comes from the
south ; the geranium first came from the south
of Africa.
Sow, to put seeds in the ground.
Space, room, any quantity of extent or place ; as
we say, a space of ground to build a house upon;
space of a thousand miles. Space, also means
any quantity of time : as we say, the space of a
week, the space of a hundred years.
Spa-cious. Spacious, wide, having plenty of room,
not narrow or small.
Span-gled. Spangled, covered over witU spangles,
or any shining thing : "the sky, on a clear
night, is spangled with stars."
Span-ish. Spanish, belonrjing to the country call*
ed Spain.
Spare, not to waste or to spend much. To spare,
is also to do without a thing. To spare, also
212 SPI
means not to punish, to be tender. Spare, nar-
row, small, not much, not plenty. Spare, also
means thin, lean.
Spawn, the eggs of fishes, or. the eggs of frogs
and toads.
Spe-cial. Special, uncommon.
Spe-cies. Species, a sort different from others ;
we say, there are several different species of the
butterfly ; the silkworm is a species of caterpil-
lar.
Spe-ci-fy. Specify, to mention or show any thing
in a particular manner.
Spec-ta-cle. Spectacle, a show, a remarkable
sight.
Spec-ta-tor. Spectator, a person who looks on '
while any thing is doing or passing. j
Speech, the power of speaking or using words.
Speech, is also talk, or words which are spoken.
Speech-less. Speechless, not able to speak.
Speed, quickness in moving, haste, hurry. To
speed, to make haste, or to move very fast.
Speed-i-ly. Speedily, quickly, fast.
Sphere : a globe, any thing which is round every
way like a ball. Sphere, often means a worlds
or a round figure which represents the world or
the sky.
Spher-i-cal. Spherical, round like a globe or ball.
Spi-ces. Apices, are the seeds, the roots, the bark,
or the flowers, of several different kinds of
plants which grow in warm countries. Spices
are pleasant to the smell, of a hot biting taste,
and we use them in seasoning our food : nut-
megs, mace, cinnamon, cloves, all-spice, ginger,
and pepper, are called spices.
SPO 213
Spin, to draw out any thing into threads, as we
say, " the spider s'pins his web;" thread is spun
by means of a spinning-wheel.
Spi-ral. Spiral, winding or curling round and
round like a corkscrew.
Spire, a steeple, the top of a building which is
high and pointed.
Spir-it. Spirit, the mind or the soul ; what lives,
and thinks, and understands, and remembers,
but what we cannot see. Spirit, often means
boldness, liveliness, and force ; as we say, a man
of s'piriU^ Spirit, also means disposition or
temper, as when we say, ''a boy of a generous
spirit never takes pleasure in hurting one who is
less or weaker than himself." Spirits means
the temper or frame of mind we are in ; if a
person is lively and gay, he is said to be m
spirits ; and when a person is dull or melan-
choly, he is said to be out of spirits. Strong
liquors, such as brandy, &c. are often called
spirits.
Spir-it-ed. Spirited, bold, and lively.
Splen-did. Splendid, very grand, or very bright
and shining.
Splen-dour. Splendour, brightness ; grandeur,
or appearance of wealth.
Splin-ter. Splinter, a little bit of any thing
\^ hich has been violently broken ; a little bit of
wood or bone.
Spoil, to make a thing bad or of no use. To spoil,
is also to rob, to take away another person's pro-
perty by force. Spoil, means things which are
robbed from other people.
Spokes, the bars of a wheel.
214 SQU
Sponge, a soft marine substance, full of pores or
open spaces.
Spong-y. Spongy, soft and full of holes.
^r^poN-TA-NE-ous. Spontaneous, appearing without
a visible cause ; those plants are spontaneous
which grow without being planted or cultivated
by the hand : weeds spring up spontaneously in
, our gardens : oranges grow spontaneously in Italy
and Spain.
Sport, play, amusement. To sport, to play about,
to amuse one's self merrily.
Sports-man. Sportsman, a man who is fond of ,
hunting, or shooting, or fishing.
Spouse, a husband or a wife.
Spout, to pour out violently. [the ground.
Sprawl, to tumble about, or stretch one's self upon
Spray, a twig, a little branch.
Spring, to grow up out of the ground, or to I'ise up
out of any place. To spring, is also to start out.
To spiking, is to jump, to leap, or to fly. Spring
the name of the season v.hich comes next to
winter, when the plants and flowers begin to
spring up, and the weather becomes warm.
Spring, a leap, a sudden jump. A spring, is als:>
a stream of water which comes out of the
ground.
Spurn, to despise, to drive a thing away, as if we|
did not care for it. i
Spy, a person who is sent to watch what other peo-f
pie do. To spy, to see or find out from a dis-
tance.
SauAB-BLE. Squabble, a quarrel, a dispute. |
Squ AD-RON. Squadron, a troop of soldiers, or part*
of a fleet of ships.
STA 215
SauAL-iD. Squalid, dirty, mean.
Squall, a sudden violent wind.
Squan-der. Squander, to spend too much, to
waste.
Squat, short and thick. To be squat, is to lie
close to the ground.
Squeal, to squeak, to cry out with a sharp voice ;
to squall.
Sta»bil-i-ty. Stability, steadiness, firmness.
Sta-ble. Stable, a house for horses. Stable, is
also strong, durable, firm.
Stack, a quantity of hay or corn piled up together
Staff, a stick to walk with, or to fight with.
Stage, a raised floor. The stage, the place where
plays are acted. Stage, ov stage -coach, a travel-
ling carriage. Stage, also means the place
where people who travel rest themselves, or
change horses.
Stag-ger. Stagger, not to walk steadily.
Stag-nant. Stagnant, standing still. Stagnant
water, is water which is quite still, and which
does not run or flow.
Stain, a spot or blot.
Stake, a strong thick piece of wood fixed upright
in the ground. To stake, to offer in pledge ; as,
I stake my books against yours, that I will write
better than you.
Stale, not fresh, long on hand.
Stall, a bench or table where something is laid
to be sold. A stall, is a place in a stable, for a
horse or other beast to feed in.
Stam-mer. Stammer, to speak with difficulty and
hesitation.
Stamp, an instrument made of wood or of metal,
216 STR
which has figures cut upon it, and which is
pressed upon things to make a mark or impres-
sion upon them, as a seal, or a butter-print. A
stamp, is also a mark set upon any thing.
Stow, to lay up any thing safe and in order.
Stkaight, not bent or crooked ; it also means di-
rectly, immediately.
Straight- WAYS. Straight ways, immediately.
Strain, to squeeze any liquor through something^
to make it clear. To strain, also means id
stretch tight or far, to force something out of its
proper and natural shape. Strain, song, music.
Strain, is also a manner of speaking ; as we say^
" If you talk in this strain.''^ i
Strand, the shore, the edge of the land which i§
next to the sea. '
Stran-gle. Strangle, to choke, to kill any ani-|
mal by stopping its breath.
Strap, a long narrow piece of leather.
Strat-a-gem. Stratagem, a cunning trick to de-
ceive some person.
Stray, to wander, to go out of the right way.
Streak, a line of some colour.
Streak-ed. Streaked, marked with lines of dif-,
ferent colours.
Strength-en. Strengthen, to make strong, to givel
strength, firmness, or power. '
Stress : to lay a stress upon a word, is to speak iii
with more force than others ; to lay a stressn
upon any thing, is to make it seem of conse-
quence.
Strew, to spread or throw about, to scatter.
Strict, very exact, severe.
1
i
STU 217
Strict-ly. Strictly, with great exactness ; it also
means se'oerely.
Stride, a long step. To 5/nf^,totake longsteps.
Strife, quarrelling or disagreennent.
Strip, to take ofi'clothes. To 5^n;?, signifies to rob
a person of every thing that he has. To strip,
also means to take off the peel or covering of
any thing.
Stripe, a long mark of some colour. A stripe, is
also a blow with a lash or whip. To stripe, to
mark with lines of different colours.
Strip-ling. Stripling, a very young man.
Strive, to try hard to do something.
Stroll, to wander about.
Struc-ture. Structure, the manner in which any
thing is built or made. A structure, a building
of any kind.
Strug-gle. Struggle, to strive, to try to do some-
thing in spite of hindrance, or to be in any diffi-
culty, or pain, or distress.
, Strut, to walk in a stately affected manner.
Stub-ble, the short stalks which are left after the
corn has been cut.
Stud-y. Study, attention to learning, or deep
thought about any thing. A study, any particu-
lar kind of learning ; as we say, " the study of
the French language, the study of painting."
To study, to mind one's book, to learn attentive-
ly. To study, is also to think deeply and atten-
tively of something.
Stu-dent. Student, a person who studies. A stu-
dious person, is one who is fond of books and
learning. Studious, also means very attentive
19
216 SUB
and careful ; as, " this little boy is studious to
obey his parents in every thing."
Stum-ble. Stumble, to fall, to have one's feet
tripped up in walking.
Stump, the part of a thing which remains after the
rest has been cut off, or taken away.
Stun, to confuse one with a great noise, or to stu-
pify with a violent blow.
Stu-pend-ous. Stupendous, very wonderful and
astonishing.
Stu-pi-fy. Stupify, to make stupid or insensible.
Stur-dy. Sturdy, stout, strong, obstinate.
Sty, a sort of house to keep pigs in.
Style, the manner in which any thing is written,
or spoken, or done ; we say, " a person's style of
living should be suitable to his condition," or
his fortune. To style, is to call by some name ;
as, " the lion is styled the king of beasts."
SuB-Di-viDE. Subdivide, to divide again, to divide
a part of something into more parts.
Sub .DUE. Subdue, to tame, to keep down, to hin-
der from rising ; as, " he subdued his anger.
To subdue, is also to conquer, to make obedient
SuB-jECT. Subject, any idea that one is writing
or thinking, or talking about. A subject, is a per
son who is governed by another person.
SuB-jEC-TioN. Subjection, the state of being un-
der the rule of another. ,
SuB-LiME. Sublime, high in excellence, high in 1
place, grand, lofty.
SuB-Mis-sioN. Submission, willing and humble
obedience to the wishes or commands of another
person.
:!
sue 219
SuB-Mis-sivE. Submissive, obedient and humble,
not proud or obstinate.
Sub-MIT. Submit, to put one's self under the rule
or government of another person ; to be dutiful
and humble.
Sub-scribe. Subscribe, to agree to something.
SuB-scRir-TioN. Subscription, money which a
number of different persons subscribe or give for
some use.
SuB-sisT. Subsist, to continue to have the means
to support hfe. To subsist, is also to Hve, to be
fed upon something ; as, "animals which sub-
sist upon flesh are called carnivorous animals."
SuB-STST-ENCE. Subsistence, something to eat or
to live upon.
Sub-stance. Substance, any thing that exists in
reality ; any thing which is real, not fancied.
SuB-STAN-TiAL. Substantial, real, true ; it also
means strong, solid.
SuB-sTi-TUTE. Substitute, to put one thing in the
place of another. A substitute, any thing which
is used instead of another thing, or put in the
place of another.
Sub-tile. Subtile, very fine and thin.
SuB-TLE. Subtle, sly and cunning.
SuB-URBs. Suburbs, the buildings and houses
which are without the walls of a city. All cities
were formerly surrounded with strong walls,
Suc-CEED. Succeed, to come after. To succeed
in any thing, is to be able to do it as we wished.
Suc-CESs. Success, good fortune.
Suc-CEss-FUL. Successful, happy, fortunate.
Suc-CEss-ivE, Successive, coming regularly after
220 SUM
one another ; ais we say, " for three successive
days."
Suc-CEss-oR. Successor, a person who comes in-
to some place after another person.
Suc-couR. Succour, to help one who is in dis*
tress ; to assist.
Sue, to beg, to entreat.
SuF-FER. Suffer, to bear or to allow, not to hinder.
To suffer^ is also to feel pain or distress, to be
hurt.
SuF-FER-ER. Sufferer, a person who is in pain or
in distress.
SuF-FER-iNG. Suffering, pain, hurt, misery, or
distress of any kind.
SuF-FiCE. Suffice, to be enough.
SuF-Fi-ciEN-cr. Sufficiency, enough, as much ot
any thing as is wanted.
SuF-Fi-ciENT. Sufficient, not too few, not too small
a quantity of any thing ; enough. Self-sufficient ,
conceited, thinking one's self wiser than other
people.
SuF-Fo-CATE. Suffocate, to choak, to stifle.
SuG-GEST. Suggest, to give a hint or an idea of
something.
Suit, to be fit or proper.
SuiT-A-BLE. Suitable, fit, proper.
SuL-LEN. Sullen, obstinately angry and ill-hu-
moured.
SuL-LY. Sully, to soil, to dirty, to make dull or
tarnish.
SuL-PHUR. Sulphur, brimstone.
SuL-TRY. Sultry, hot, and close.
Sum, the whole number of several quantities. A
suTYiy is any quantity of money.
SUP 221
Sttm-mer. Summer, the season of the year when
the fruits grow ripe, and the weather is hot.
Summer comes next to Sj)ring, and after Sum-
mer comes Autumn, then Winter.
SuM-MiT. Summit, the top of a high place.
SuM-MON. Summon, to call a person, or order
him to come to a place. A summons, is a call.
SuMP-TU-ous. Sumptuous, grand, and of a great
price.
SuN-DER. Sunder, to part, to divide.
SuiN'-DRY. Sundry, several.
Su-PERB. Superb, exceedingly grand, fine, and
beautiful.
Su-PER-Fi-CEs. Superfices, the outside of any
thing.
Su-PER-n-ciAL. Superficial, only outside, not
deep, not learned. To have a superficial know-
ledge of a thing, is to know but little about it,
not to know it thoroughly.
Su-PER-FiNE. Superfine, exceedingly fine. [ed.
Su-PER-FLU-i-TY. Superfluity, more than is want-
Su-PER-FLU-ous. Superfluous, more than enough,
more than is necessary.
Su-PER-iN-TEND. Superintend, to overlook, or to
be placed over persons and to have the care of
them.
Su-PE-Ri-OR. Superior, greater, or higher, or more
excellent than some other. Our superiors, are
those persons who are greater in any way than
we are ourselves.
Su-PER-NA-TU-RAL. Supcmatural, wonderful, or
above nature.
Su-PER-scRiBE. Superscribe, to write upon the top.
or on the outside.
19*
222 SUR
Sup-plant. Supplant, to put out of some place,
to turn out another person, and take his place,
Sup-PLE. Supple, not stiff, easily bending.
Sup-PLi-ANT. Suppliant, a person who begs or prays.
Sup-PLi-CATE. Supplicate, to beg, to entreat, to
ask very humbly.
Sup-PLY. Supply, to furnish, or to give something i
which is wanted ; as, " our parents supply us |
with food and clothing." A supply, something
which is given when it is wanted, or necessary.
Sup- PORT. Support, to bear any thing which is
painful or disagreeable. To support, is also to
keep from flilhng or sinking, to keep up. To
support a person, often means to feed and clothe
him, to give him what is necessary to live ; as,
" this good boy supports himself and his poor
old mother by working hard."
Sup-pose. Suppose, to think a matter is true, with-
out being sure that it is true ; or to think that a
circumstance has happened, or will happen,
though it never has happened, and, perhaps,
never will ; as we say, " you should not go too
near the edge of the pond, suppose you were to
fall in and be drowned :" or, " when I see a lit-
tle girl look cheerful and happy, I always sup-
pose she is good."
Su-PREME. Supreme, highest, greatest, most ex-
cellent, or most powerful. The Supreme Being,
is God.
SuR-FACE. Surface, the outside of any thing ; as,
" the surface of this piece of marble is smooth
and shining ; if you were to scrape off the sur-
face it would look rough ; metals are generally
found far below the surface of the earth." \
SUS 223
Surge, the swelling waves of the sea.
SuE-GEON. Surgeon, one whose business it is to
cure hurts of every kind, and cut off lirabs if it
be necessary.
SuR-LY. Surly, ill-humoured, rough and sour in
one's manners.
SuR-Li-NESs. Surliness, roughness, ill-humour,
rudeness.
SuR-NAM-ED. Sumamed, having some name add-
ed or put after one's own personal name.
SuR-PASs. Surpass, to be more excellent than
some other person or thing.
SuR-PLUs. Surplus, what is left after we have used
or taken all that we want of a thing.
Sur-roujVD. Surround, to be on every side of a
thing, to be all round it ; as we say, " an island
is land which is entirely surroujidedhy water,'*
that is, which has water all round it. The sur-
rounding country i is the country or places which
are round about.
SuR-vEY. Survey, to look at something as if we
wished to examine it. To survey^ is also to look
all over any thing ; as, " we survey the prospect
of a country."
SuR-vivE. Survive, to live after another is dead.
To survive^ is also to live after something, to
live longer ; as, " these myrtles, if they are not
taken care of, will not survive the winter."
Sus-PECT. Suspect, to think something wrong,
without being quite sure of it. To suspect a per-
son^ is to think ill of him, without being certain
that he deserves it.
Sus-PEND. Suspend, to hang a thing. To sxts*
224 SYL
pend, is also to stop for a time, to hinder from
going on.
Sus-PEND-ED. Suspended, hung by something ;
as, " the spider hung suspeiided in air at the end ^
of his thread." I
Sus-rENSE. Suspense : to be in suspense^ is to be
uncertain, to be hoping or expecting something
without being sure of it.
Sus-pi-cioN. Suspicion, an ill opinion of the ac
tions of another without certain proof of guilt.
A suspicious person, is one who is always think-
ing ill of others, or being afraid without reason.
A suspicious person or object, often means one
that we think we have reason to be afraid of, or
to think ill of.
Sus-TAiN. Sustain, to hold up, to hinder from sink- k
ing or falling, to bear, to keep up. f
Sus-TE-NANCE, Sustcuance, food, what sustains life.
SwAiN, a young countryman.
Swamp, wet ground.
Swarm, a great number of bees. A swarm is also
a great number of any small animals. To
swarm, is to be in numbers, to be crowded.
Sway, power or rule over others.
Swift, quick, moving very fast.
SwiFT-NEss. Swiftness, quickness, speed.
Swim, to move upon water, or any other fluid, with-
out sinking.
Swine, pigs.
SwoLN, swelled out.
Syc-o-phant. Sycophant, a flatterer, a person
who praises another more than he deserves, in
order to gain his favour.
Syl-van. Sylvan, shady, like woods or groves.
TAM 225
Soi-ME-TKY. Symmetry, is the resemblance
which one part cf a tiling hears to aiioilier part.
If one arm ol* a man slioukl l)e shorter than the
other, it would destroy the symmetry or propor-
tion of his person.
Sym-pa-thy. Sympathy, the same feelings that
another person has ; if we fecil glad when others
are glad, or grieve when they are grieved, we
have sympathy with them, we sympathise with
them.
Symp-tom. Symptom, a sign.
Sys-te3i. System, method, or regular order.
Tab-let. Tablet, any smooth surface to write up-
on. Table sometimes means the same as ta-
Met ; we read, that the twelve commandments,
which God gave to Moses, were written upon
tables of stone.
Tack, to join, or stitch one thing to another thing.
Tac-kle. Tackle, the ropes of a ship.
Taint, to stain or to soil. To taint, is also to spoil.
Tal-ent. Talent, the power of doing something
well, understanding.
Talk-a-tive. Talkative, too fond of talking.
Tal-low. Tallow, the fat of animals ; candles
are sometimes made of tallow, and sometimes of
wax, and spermaceti.
Tal-ons. Talons, the claws of a hawk, or any
bird of prey.
Tame, dull, without life or spirit. Tame animals,
are those which are not wild and fierce, but gen-
tle and harmless.
226 TAT
Tan. Leather is made of the skins of beasts ;
these skins are turned into leather, by sleeping
them in a liquor made by boiling the bark of oak
trees in water, which makes them shrivel up,
and become tough and strong ; this is called
tanning the skins, and when they are tanned they
are called leather,
Tan-ner. Tanner, a man who tans, or who manu-
factures skins into leather.
Tan-gi-ble. Tangible, felt by touching.
Tan-ta-lize. Tantalize, to teaze people, by show-
ing them pleasure which they cannot have, or by
setting before them good things which they must
not taste.
Tap, to bore a hole in a barrel or cask, into which
is put a small pipe to draw the liquor out. |
Ta-per. Taper, of a shape which is thick at the!
bottom, and becomes thinner and smaller till thef
top ends almost in a point. A taper, is a wax
candle.
Tar, the ^p of pine and of fir trees : sailors are
called tars, perhaps because of a great deal of
tar is used about a ship.
Tak-dy. Tardy, slow, late, not quick.
Tar-nish, Tarnish, to soil, to make dull, or dirty,,
or rusty.
Tar-ry. Tarry, to stay in a place. To tarry y
means also to be long in coming, to be slow.
Tart, of a sharp or sour taste ; it also means sharp,
pert, or severe in speaking.
Task-mas-ter. Task-master, one who gives ano-
ther person hard tasks, and makes him work.
Tat-ter. Tatter, a rag, a rent.
Tat-ter-ed. Tattered, torn, ragged.
TEM 227
Tat-tle. Tattle, to talk foolishly, and too much.
Taw-dry. Tawdry, too fine, or too showy ; not
neat and elegant.
Taw-NY. Tawny, of a brownish yellow colour.
Teach, to inform a person of some truth, or to
show him how to do something, which he did not
know how to do before.
Team : the number of horses, or oxen, which are
used together to draw a wagon, a cart, or a
plough, is called a team of horses, or a team of
oxen. [some.
Te-di-ous. Tedious, too long or too slow, tire-
Tel-e-scope. Telescope, an instrument which is
used to look through, at objects which are very
distant. Objects which are really very far oft,
appear quite near and plain to the eye, when
seen through the glass of a telescope,
Te-mer-i-ty. Temerity, carelessness of danger.
Tem-per. Temper, to mix things together. To
temper, is also to make metals, particularly steel,
of a proper hardness.
Tem-per-ate. Temperate, not too much or too
great ; as we say, " a temperate heat." Tern,-
perate weather, is weather which is neither too
cold nor too hot. A temperate person, is one
who does not eat or drink much, and who is con-
tent with plain food.
Tem-pest. Tempest, a very violent wind.
Tem-pest-u-ous. Tempestuous, stormy, very
windy.
Tem-ple. Temple : the place where Christians
worship God, is generally called a church ; but
the place where people of any other religion
worship, is called a temple.
228 TER
1
Tem-po-ra-ry, Temporary, lasting only a short
time.
Tempt, to entice a person to do wrong.
Tempt-a-tion. Temptation, state of being en-
ticed to do wrong. We say, *' lead us not into
temptation. ^^ Temptation also means any mo-
tive that tempts or entices us to do wrong.
Te-na-cious. Tenacious, holding a thing fast.
Those tilings which are sticky like glue, and
those things whose parts are not easily broken
or divided, are te/iacioits substances : gold is ve-
ry tenacious.
Tend, to watch, to take care of: as, "the shep-
herd tends the sheep." To tend, is also to move,
or lean, or approach towards some place, or to-
wards some thing.
Ten-der. Tender, soft, weak ; not hard, not
strong. Tender, also means kind, loving, gen-
tle ; not cruel, noi; willing to afflict any creature.
Ten-drils. Tendrils, small thin curling stalks
with which the vine, the pea, and some othei
plants, clasp whatever is near to support them-
selves.
Tent, a kind of shelter or lodging, made of cloth
or the skins of beasts, which are stretched over
high poles : tents are easily put up or taken
down, and carried from place to place. A num-
ber of tents together is called a camp.
Tep-id. Tepid, rather warm.
Term : a term is a word, or a name for a thing.
Terms, language ; words which we use in speak-
ing ; as, " he spoke to me in kind terms J^ To
term, is to call a thing by some name.
THE • 229
Ter-min-ate. Terminate, to end, to have an end.
To terminate a thing, is to put an end to it, to
finish it.
Ter-min-a-tion. Termination, the ending of any
thing.
Ter-res-tri-al. Terrestrial, belonging to this
world, earthly, not heavenly.
Ter-rif-ic. Terrific, dreadful ; causing fear.
Ter-ror. Terror, great fear.
Ter-ri-fy. Terrify, to frighten very much.
Ter-ri-to-ry. Territory, country, land.
Test, something by which we try the goodness or
truth of a thmg. To bring to the test, is to know
by trying or examining, whether a thing be good,
or real, or true.
Tes-ty. Testy, peevish, ill-tempered.
Text-ure. Texture, the coarseness or fineness,
the smoothness or roughness of any woven sub-
stance.
Thatch, to cover the top of a house with straw
instead of slates or tiles.
Thaw, to melt after having been frozen ; as, snow
and ice thaw when the sun shines.
The-a-tre. Theatre, the place where plays are
acted ; the playhouse.
Theft, stealing.
Thence, from that time, or from that place. Thence
means also for that reason.
There-at. Thereat, at that.
There-ix. Therein, in this, or in that.
Therb-of. Thereof, of that.
Ther-mom-e-ter. Thermometer, an instrument
to show the heat of the air, or other substances.
20
230 THW
Thick-et. Thicket, a number of bushes and trees
close together.
Thief, a person who takes secretly what belongs
to other people.
Thieve, to steal.
TiiiEv-isH. Thievish, like a thief, apt to steal, sly.
Thirst, to be thirsty; to feel pain for want of drink.
To thirst; is also to wish very much for some-
thing.
Thith-er. Thither, to that place.
Thong, a long slip of leather.
Thrash, to beat grain with a flail, in order to sepa-
rate the grains or seeds from the ear
Thread-bare. Threadbare, worn out.
Threat-en. Threaten, to try to frighten a person
by telling him that he shall be punished, or that
some evil will happen to him.
Thresh-old. Threshold, the stepping stone which
is just under the door of a house.
Thrice, three times.
Thrif-tv. Thrifty, saving, not spending much.
Thrive. To be fortunate in doing any thing to be-
come rich or become healthy.
Throne, the seat or chair of a kmg. To sit on the
throne^ is to be a king. To come to the throne,
is to be king after another person.
Throng, a crowd, a great number of people press-
ing against one another. To throng, is to be in
crowds, to come together in great numbers
Thrust, to push in between, to push any thing
away violently.
Thctn-der-bolt. Thunderbolt, the noise of light-
ning.
Thwalit, to cross.
TOI 231
Tide, the rising and falling of the water of the sea
or of a river. Tide, means a streann.
Ti-DiNGs. Tidings, news of sonnething that has
happened.
Tiles, thin square pieces of clay baked in the fire ;
tiles are used to roof houses, and sometimes to
cover floors
Till, to plough or to cultivate the earth ; the plough-
ing and sowing of the ground is called tillage*
TiM-BER. Timber, the wood of large trees after
they are cut down and sawed into planks and
beams. The timbers of a house or of a ship, are
the large beams which are used to support the
rest.
TiME-LY. Timely, early, happening soon enough.
TiM-iD. Timid, fearful ; apt lo be afraid without
reason.
TiM-iD-i-TY. Timidity, fearfulness.
TiM-OR-ous. Timorous, full of fear, or apt to be
afraid.
Tin, the name of a metal, white hke silver, but not
so valjable.
Tinge, to make of some colour.
TiN-KER. Tinker, a man who mends old pots and
kettles.
Tint, a colour.
Ti-NY. Tiny, very little.
Ti-TLE. Title : a title is a name ; it generally
means a name of honour or rank ; as we say,
" he has the title of a king."
Ti-TLE-PAGE. Title-page, the first leaf of a book,
on which the name of it is written or printed.
Toil, to work very hard. Toil, hard work. A toily
is a net used to catch animals.
232 TOR
To-KEN. Token, a sign, a mark of something.
ToL-ER-A-BLE. Tolerabl.8, capable of being en-
dured. Fire produces intolerable smart. To-
lerable, also means neither very good nor very
bad.
Toll, to ring slowly ; as, the bell tolls when any
person is buried.
Tomb, a place where a person is buried.
ToMB-sTONE. Tombstone, a stone which is put I
upon a grave. ^
Tone, the sound of the voice. Tone, means also
the sound of any musical instrument.
Tongue, part of the mouth, an organ of speech.
Tongue, sometimes means a particular language, »
as we say, " the English tongue ;" our native
tongue, is the language of the country in which
we were born.
Tool, an instrument used when we make or do
something wath our hands : the saw, the ham-
mer, and the plane, are carpenters' tools,
To-PAZ. Topaz, a precious stone of a yellow
colour.
Tor-ic. Topic : the person or thing we are talk*
ing about is the topic of our conversation.
Torch, a light much larger than a candle, which
is not put into a candlestick, but is carried in
one's hand.
ToR-MENT. Torment, to put to pain, to vex, to
teaze. Torment, pain, misery. A torment, is
any thing which gives us pain or vexes us.,
ToR-Pii). Torpid, without feeling, without motion,
numbed.
ToR-RENT. Torrent, a large and violent stream
of water.
TRA 233
ToRT-ifRE. Torture, very great pain. To torture^
is to put to violent pain, or to vex very much.
To-TAL. Total, the whole number.
To-TAL-LY. Totally, entirely, completely.
Tough, not easily bent or broken. Tough, also
means sticky, like clay.
Tour, a ramble, a journey to several different
places to see them, or to amuse one's self.
Tow, flax or hemp betbre it is spun into thread.
To tow, is to draw any thing along by a rope.
Tow-ER. Tower, a very high building. To towet,
to rise very high.
Trace, the marks which any thing leaves as it
passes along, footsteps. To trace, to follow any
thing by observing the marks or footsteps which
it leaves in passing along. To trace, is also to
draw, to mark out.
Track, footsteps, or the marks which any thing
leaves in passing : we can see the track of a
person who has walked through the snow, and
the track of the carriage wheels on the high
road.
Tract, any quantity of land.
TracT'A-ble. Tractable, easily taught, or easily
managed.
Trade, commerce, exchanging articles for money.
Trade, any particular business which a person
employs himself in to get money ; we say, the
trade of a carpenter, the trade of a grocer, or a
linen-draper, &c. &c.
Trades-man. Tradesman, a shopkeeper.
Traf-fic. Traffic, trade, commerce. To trajic,
to trade, to buy, or sell, or exchange the goods
of different countries.
20*
5^ TRA
Trail, to drag along the ground.
Train, to bring up, or educate, to teach one to do
something ; as we say, " this Uttle girl has been
trained up in habits of industry. In Greenland,
dogs are trained to draw sledges and carriages,
instead of horses, which could not Hve in that
cold country. Train, a number of people who
follow and attend upon some great person. The
beautiful feathers in the tail of the peacock are
called his train.
Trait-or. Traitor, a person who is trusted with
some secret, or some employment, and betrays it.
Tram-ple. Trample, to tread under foot, or to
tread quick and loudly.
Tran-quil. Tranquil, quiet, still, not disturbed.
Tran-quil-li-ty. Tranquillity, peace, quietness.
Trans-act. Transact, to do business, to manage
affairs.
Trans- FER. Transfer, to give a thing from one
person to another, to remove.
Trans-form. Transform, to change the shape of
any thing.
Trans-form-a-tion. Transformation, a change of
the shape of a thing, as of a bell to a cup.
Trans-gress. Transgress, to disobey some laW;
or some command.
Trans-gress-ion. Transgression, a fault, some-
thing which we do contrary to the rule or com-
mand of another person.
Tran-sient. Transient, passing soon away.
Trans-late. Translate, to explain what is said
or written in one language, in the words of a
different language.
TRANs-rA-RENT. Transparent, admitting light ;
TRE 235
gliass is transparent, and water is transparent ;
paper, horn, and many other substances are also
semi-transparent.
Trans-plant. Transplant, to move a plant from
the place where it was growing and plant it in
another place.
Trans-port. Transport, to carry any thing in a
ship, or in a carriage of any kind, from one
place to another. To transport, often means to
put one into any violent passion, or violent joy ;
as we say, " he Avas transported with anger ;"
" I shall be transported with joy to see you,"
Transport, great pleasure, great joy, and delight.
Trap, a contrivance to catch animals, and some-
times to catch persons.
Trap-pings. Trappings, ornaments for a horse,
or fine dress of any kind.
Trash, any thing bad and of no use, or not good for
food.
Trav-el. Travel, to make a journey, to pass
from one place to another which is far off, or to
pass from one country to another.
Trav-el-ler. Traveller, a person who is on a
journey to a place. A traveller, means often a
person who travels to far distant countries, to
see different places, and to observe the manners,
dress, and customs of different nations.
Treach-e-rous. Treacherous, deceitful, not to
be depended upon, doing mischief secretly and
cunningly.
Trea-sures. Treasures, money, or precious things
laid up safe. A treasure, any precious thing.
Tbe-mend-ous. Tremendous, dreadful, astonish-
ing and frightening at the same time.
236 TRI
Trem-u-lous. Tremulous, trembling and shaking.
Trench, a ditch.
Trench-er. Trencher, a wooden plate.
Trep-i-da-tion. Trepidation, great hurry, fear
and trembling.
Tres-pass. Trespass, to commit a fault. To
trespass against a person, is to hurt him or dis-
please him. A trespass, a fault.
Tress-es. Tresses, curling hair.
Tri-al. Trial, something which is done to find
out the truth concerning which we are certain.
To make a trial, to examine something by trying.
The word trial, often means the questioning or
examining a person before a judge in court.
Tribe, a number of people distinguished from the
rest of the people of a country, either because
they are of the same family, or for some other
reason ; we read in the Bible of the twelve
tribes of Israel. The tribe of Judah, the tribe of
Levi, means the people who were of the family
of Judah, or the people of the family of Levi.
Tric-kle. Trickle, to fall down in drops.
Tri-fle. Trifle, to act or talk in a foolish man*
ner, to spend one's time in an idle silly manner.
A trifle, a thing which is of no consequence.
Tri-fling. Trifling, silly, of no consequence, of
no value.
Trim, to make neat. Trim, neat, nicely dressed.
Trim, also means dress or ornaments.
Trin-ket. Trinket, a toy, or any pretty orna«
ment.
Trip, to walk lightly and quickly along. To trip
up a person, is to make him fall by catching up
his feet.
TR13 237
Trite, common, not new.
Triv-ial. Trivial, of no consequent e, tridinfir.
Tri-umph. Triumpli, success over our enemies.
To iriumjjJi, to rejoice at being victorious oi suc-
cessful.
Troop, a company of people togetlier, or a num-
ber of soldiers. Troops, soldiers.
Troop-er. Trooper, a soldier who rides on horse-
back.
Trow, to think, to imagine ; as, " who have you
with you, I troio ?" an old-fashioned word.
Tru-ant. Truant, an idle person who amuses him-
self instead of minding his work. To jilay tru-
ant, to stay away from school without leave.
Trudge, to walk heavily along.
Trunk, the stem or stalk of a large tree. The
word trunk has other meanings; we say, " the
trunk of an elephant :" a timnk is also a sort of
box.
Truss, a bundle ; as we say, " a truss of hay."
Trust, to depend upon a person, to believe what he
says, and to thmk him honest.
Trus-ty. Trusty, honest, true, fit to be trusted or
depended upon.
Truth ; to tell the truth, to tell exactly what we
know or have seen, without hiding or inventing
any thing. People who love the truth never say
what is not true, even in play, and every body
loves, and trusts, and believes them. People
who do not always tell the truth are called liars,
and nobody ever believes them even when they
do speak the truth ; they are despised by every
body, and, what is worse, God is displeased with
them.
238 TWI
Tube, a pipe ; any tiling which is long, round, and
hollow, like the nose of a pair of bellows, or
like the barrel of a gun.
Tuft, a little bunch of feathers, leaves, or hair.
Tug, to pull with ail one's strength.
Tu-i-TioN. Tuition, the care which is taken to
teach a person.
Tu-MULT. Tumult, noise and confusion.
Tu-MULT-u-ous. Tumultuous, loud, violent ; full
of confusion and noise.
Tun, or Ton, a weight of two thousand two hun-
dred and forty pounds.
TuNE-FUL. Tuneful, musical, sounding sweet.
TuR-BAN. Turban, a long piece of cloth twisted
round the head, either as a covering, or as an or-
nament.
TuR-BU-LENT. Turbulcnt, violent and loud.
TuR-Bu-LENCE. Turbulcnce, confusion and noise.
Turf, that part of the ground which is covered with
grass.
TuR-PEN-TiNE. Turpentine, the juice of the pine
and fir trees.
TuR-RET. Turret, a small piece of a building whicbi
is higher than the rest ; a little tower. |
Tusks, long and strong teeth which project fromi
the mouths of some animals.
Tu-tor. Tutor, a man who teaches and takes cai*e
of a young person.
Twain, two.
Twice, two times.
Twig, a little thin branch.
Twi-LiGHT. Twilight, the faint light in the even-
ing just before the night comes on.
UNA
Twine, to twist. To tioine round any thing, is to
turn or twist closely round and round it.
TwiN-KLE. Twinkle, to sparkle like a star.
Twirl, to turn any thing round very quickly.
^TwixT, the same as between.
Type, the letters which are used in printing : thus
we say, " this book is printed in a small or in a
large type.^^ A type is also an emblem.
Ty-rant. Tyrant, a king or any person who
governs people in a cruel, severe, and proud
manner.
Ty-ran-ni-cal. Tyrannical, like a tyrant, cruel.
Ty-ran-nize. Tyrannize, to be like a tyrant ; to
behave cruelly and proudly to dependent peo-
pie.
Tyr-an-ny. Tyranny, the conduct of a tyrant.
U
Ud-der. Udder, that part of a cow from which
the milk is pressed.
Ul-ti-mate-ly. Ultimately, in the end, at last.
Um-brel-la. Umbrella, a portable canopy of silk
or cotton, used to keep off the rain or sun from
one who carries it.
Um-pire. Umpire, a person who settles disputes
between people.
Un-ac-quaint-ed. Unacquainted, not acquainted,
not knowing. The syllable un, put before a
word, always means noty or different from ; thus,
un-ahle means not able, un-hurt not hurt, un-
washed not washed, un-natiiral not natural ;
there are a great many words which begin with
«n, the meaning of which we mav easily find
240 IING
out by changing un into not : thus, an wn-civil
person, is a person that is not civil, that means,
one who is rude or ill-mannered.
Un-aii)-ed. Unaided, not helped.
U-NAN-i-Mous. Unanimous : several persons of
one mind or opinion, agreeing together to do
something, are unanimous,
Un-a-vail-ing. Unavailing, of no use.
Un-a-wares. Unawares, suddenly ; when one
does not expect or think about it.
Un-bouivd. Unbound, loose, not tied.
Un-con-cern-ed. Unconcerned, not caring about
a thing.
Un-couth. Uncouth, odd and strange.
Un-dauint-ed. Undaunted, not afraid.
Un-der-go. Undergo, to bear some pain ortrou*
ble, to suffer.
Un-der-hand. Underhand, secretly, slily, cun-
ningly.
Un-der-stand. Understand, to know a thing by
thinking ; to know the meaning of what we see
or what we hear.
Un-der-take. Undertake, to take upon ourselves
to do any thing, to say that we will do it, or that
we will try to do it.
Un-der-wood. Underwood, the low small bushes
and trees which grow among large trees.
Un-err-ing. Unerring, certainly right.
Un-feign-ed. Unfeigned, real, not pretended,
sincere.
Un-fold. Unfold, to spread open. To unfold,
sometimes means to tell, to show what was se-
cret or hidden before.
Un-god-ly. Ungodly, wicked.
UNS 241
U-Ni-roT?M. Uniform, always the same, alike, not
changing. A uniform y is a dress in which many
people are clothed alike.
Un-in-tel-li-gi-ble. Unintelligible, impossible
to be understood.
Un-ion. Union, joining together. Union, also
means agreement between persons.
U-NiTE. Unite, to join two or several things to-
gether into one. To unite, is also to join toge-
ther to do something.
U-NiT-ED. United, joined together, or agreeing
together.
U-Ni-VEKSE. Universe : this world, and all the
creatures, and all the things that are in it ; the
sun, the moon, the stars, the sky ; in short, all
things which God has made, are, together, called
the universe.
Un-just. Unjust, not just, not right ; wicked.
Un-mer-ci-ful. Unmerciful, without pity.
Un-mer-it-ed. Unmerited, not deserved.
Un-mind-ful. Unmindful, careless, not mindful,
not attentive.
Un-num-ber-ed. Unnumbered, uncounted.
Un-per-ceiv-ed. Unperceived, not seen ; not
known or observed.
Un-prof-it-a-ble, Unprofitable, of no use and
no advantage.
Un-ques-tion-a-bly. Unquestionably, certainly,
without a doubt.
Un-right-eous. Unrighteous, wicked, bad.
Un-ruf-fled. Unruffled, quiet, still.
Un-ru-ly. Unruly, violent, rude, not manageable.
Un-sea-son-a-ble. Unseasonable, done or hap.
pening at an improper time.
21
242 ASU
Un-ser-vice-a-ble. Unserviceable, of no use, of
no service.
Un-skil-ful. Unskilful, not knowing how to do
a thing we.ll.
Un-suc-cj^ss-ful. Unsuccessful, not happening as
one would wish a circumstance to happen.
Un-suit-a-ble. Unsuitable, not fit, not proper.
Un-time-ly. Untimely, too soon, happening be-
fore the natural, or usual time ; as we say, an k
untimely death. f
Un-truth. Untruth, not truth. Untruth, a lie.
Un-va-ri-ed. Unvaried, always the same, never
different.
Un-wa-ry. Unwary, not cautious and careful ;
hasty.
Un-wea-ri-ed. Unwearied, not tired ; it also
means never tiring.
Un-wield-y. Unwieldy, large and heavy, not
easily moved.
Un-will-ing. Unwilling, not liking to do a thing.
Up-braid. Upbraid, to tell a person that he has
done wrong, to blame him in a severe unkind
manner.
Up-per. Upper, higher.
Up-right. Upright, straight up ; as we say, to sit
upright, to stand upright. Lfpright also means
good and honest ; as we say, an upright man.
Up-roar. Uproar, noise, violence, disturbance
and confusion.
Ur-chin. Urchin : a lively and mischievous boy
is sometimes called an urchin.
Us-age. Usage, the manner in which we treat a
person, or behave to him ; we may give a per-
son good usage or bad usage.
VAL 243
U-su-AL, Usual, what often happens, or what is
commonly done.
U-suRr. Usurp, to take a thing by force from an-
other, or to have any thing we have no right to*
U-suRP-ER. Usurper, a person who takes or has
what he has no right to have.
U-TEN-siLS. Utensils, vessels for sundry pur-
poses ; thus we call pots, pans, and kettles,
kitchen utensils.
Ut-ter. Utter, to speak, to sound words.
Ut-ter-ance. Utterance, the manner of speak-
ing. Utterance^ is to speak or tell our thoughts
and feelings.
Ut-ter-ly. Utterly, quite, completely, entirely.
Va-cant. Vacant, empty. Vacant, also means
not busy.
Va-grant. Vagrant, a person who wanders about
without a home or a house.
Vague, not settled, not determined.
Vain, foolish, of no use, and of no consequence.
A vain person, is a person who is conceited or
foolishly proud. In vain, means to no purpose,
without any use ; as, " he tried in vain to break
the shell of the cocoa-nut." To take the name
of God in vain, is to say it too often in a thought-
less manner, and without that veneration with
which his great name ought always to be re-
peated.
Vale, or Valley, low ground between hills.
Val-iant. Valiant, strong, bold, and brave.
Val-our, Valour, boldness and strength.
2M VEL
Val-f-a-ble, Valuable, precious, costing much
Rioney.
Val-uk. \alue, a price set upon a thing. The
value of any thing, is its price, or what it costs.
To set a value upon a thing, is to think it pre-
cious, to like to have it, or to wish to keep it.
Van-ish. Vanish, to pass away out of sight, to
be gone suddenly.
Van-i-ty. Vanity, foolishness, conceitedness.
Va-pour. Vapour, rises from warm fluids, and
mixes with the air, like steam and smoke.
Va-ri-ance. Variance, a state of difference.
Va-ri-a-tion. Variation, difference, change.
Va-ri-e-ga-ted. Variegated, marked with difl^er-
ent colours.
Va-ri-e-ty. Variety, change, difference. A va-
riety of things, means a number of different
kinds ; as, " here are a variety of flowers."
Va-ri-ous. Various, several, different ; as, " there
are various kinds of trees."
Va-ry. Vary, to make different. To vary^ is also
to be different, not always to be the same ; to
change.
Vast, exceedingly great or large.
Veg-e-ta-ble. Vegetable, any kind of plant.
Veg-e-ta-tion. Vegetation, plants of every kind.
Ve-hi-cle. Vehicle, any thing in which some
other thing is carried from place to place ; there
are many kinds of vehicles^ such as carts, wag-
ons, coaches, ships, boats, sledges, &;c. dec.
Veil, something put over the head to hide the face.
To veil is to cover, to hide.
Ve-lo-ci-ty. Velocity, the quickness with which
any thing moves.
VER 2^5
Ven-er-a-ble. Venerable, worthy of love and
respect.
Ven-er-ate. Venerate, to love and respect a per-
son at the same time.
Ven-kr-a-tion. Veneration, love mixed with re
spect and fear.
Venge-ance. Vengeance, determination to pun-
ish offenders. To take vengeance, is to punish
a person.
Ven-i-son. Venison, the flesh of a deer.
Ven-om. Venom, poison.
Ven-om-ous. Venomous, poisonous.
Vent, an opening to let something out.
Ven-ture. Venture, to dare to do something.
To venture^ is also to put in danger ; as, he ven-
tured his life.
Ven-tur-ous. Venturous, bold, not afraid of dEUi-
ger.
Ye-ra-ci-ty. Veracity, truth or honesty in speak-
ing.
Ver-dant. Verdant, of a green hue like grass.
Ver-dure. Verdure, green colour of grass and
leaves.
Verge, the edge.
Ver-i-ly. Verily, truly, certainly.
Ver-mil-ion. Vermilion, a beautiful red colour.
Ver-mtn. Vermin, any little animal which we
think mischievous, such as rats, mice, fleas,
&;c. &;c.
Ver-nal. Vernal, belonging to the spring.
Vers-ed. Versed ; to be versed in any thing, is to
know it well ; as, " she is versed in the French
language."
21*
2m YIE
Vij»-Ti-CAL. Vertical, exactly over our heads*
Ves-sel. Vessel, what is used to put any thing
into ; a tub or a barrel is a vessel : cups, mugs,
goblets, and bottles are drinking vessels. Ves^
sel, often means a ship or a boat of any kind.
Vest, a coat, a dress.
Ves-ti-ges. Vestiges, marks which any thing
leaves behind as it passes along.
Vest-uee. Vesture, dress, clothes.
Vex, to plague, to trouble, to disturb.
Vex-a-tion. Vexation, trouble, uneasiness.
Vex-a-tious. Vexatious, troublesome, teasing,
tormenting.
Vi-ANDs. Viands, meat, food, victuals.
Vi-BRATE. Vibrate, to move from side to side like
the pendulum of a clock.
Vice, wickedness. A vice, is a fault, a bad quality.
Vi-cious. Vicious, wicked, bad, doing wrong.
Vi-ciN-i-TY. Vicinity, nearness. In the vicinity.
means near, not distant.
Vi-ciss-i-TUDE. Vicissitude, change.
Vic-TiM. Victim, some animal killed for a sacri.
fice. A victim, is also some animal or person
which is cruelly destroyed or killed.
Vio-TOR. Victor, a person who gains the victory-
Vic-TO-RY. Victory ; when two persons or two
armies fight against one another, and one beats
the other, we say, that the party which has bea-
ten has got the victory, or that it is victorious.
ViCT-UALs. Victuals, food, meat, and drink.
View, to look at any thing with attention, to see.
YieWy sight. A view^ often means a prospect ;
as we say, " what a beautiful view." To take
a view of any things is to look all over it in an
VIV 247
attentive manner. View, sometimes means in-
tention, something that we wish or mean to do.
ViG-i-LANT. Vigilant, watchful, very careful.
ViG-ouR. Vigour, strength, force.
ViG-oR-ous. Vigorous, strong, full of force and
life, not weak or unhealthy.
Vile, wicked and shameful.
ViL-LA. Villa, a country house.
ViL-LAG-ER. Villager, a person who lives in a vil-
lage, a country person.
ViL-LAiN. Villain, a very wicked man.
ViL-LA-NV. Villany, wickedness.
ViN-Dic-TivE. Vindictive, revengeful.
Vine, a climbing plant; grapes grow upon vines,
and a place or a garden planted with vines, is
called a vineyard,
ViR-GiN. Virgin, a young unmarried woman.
ViR-TUE. Virtue, goodness, excellence. A virtue^
is any good quality, as truth, love.
ViR-TU-ous. Virtuous, very good ; we say, a vir-
tuous person ; we do not say, a virtuous thing,
but a very good thing.
Vis-cous. Viscous, sticky, like gum or glue.
Vis-i-BLE. Visible, capable of being seen ; as, the
sun is visible by day, but the stars are not visible
till after the sun has set.
Vis-ioN. Vision, sight, the power of seeing. A
vision, is a dream.
Vis-iT. Visit, to visit a place, is to go to it. To
visit a person, is to go to see him.
Vi-TAL. Vital, necessary to life, having life.
Vi-VA-ci-TY. "N ivacity, liveliness, quickness, not
dullness.
248 VOR
Viv-iD. Vivid, lively, bright ; as when we say,
vivid colours.
Vo-CAL. Vocal, sounded by the voice : thus we
say, vocal music, that is, music which is sung,
not played upon instruments.
Vo-CIF-E-Rous. Vociferous, loud, noisy.
Vogue, fashion. To be in vogue, to be in fashion,
to be much worn or used by people.
Voice, sound from the mouth.
Void, empty. To be void, often means to be with-
out something; as we say, " this little boy is
not entirely void of good nature ;" that means,
not entirely without good nature.
VoL-A-TiLE. Volatile, of a lively, thoughtless,
changeable disposition.
VoL-CA-NO. Volcano, a burning mountain ; that
is a high hill, which sometimes bursts out with
a terrible noise, and throws up flames, and smoke,
and red-hot stones, and streams of fire.
VoL-iT-BLE. Voluble, speaking much and quickly.
VoL-u-BiL-i-TY. Volubility, quickness in speaking,
too much talk.
VoL-uME. Volume, a book. Volume, often means
something which is curled or rolled : thus we
say, volumes of smoke.
VoL-UN-TA-RY. Voluntary, done of one's own ac
cord, or by one's own choice. To do a tiling
voluntarily, is to do it willingly, to do it of one's
own accord, without being obliged.
Vo-RA-cious. Voracious, eating very greedily, as
if one was exceedingly hungry.
Vo-RA-cious-LY. Voraciously, greedily.
Vo-RA-ci-TY. Voracity, great greediness, raging
hunger.
WAN 249
VoR-TEX. Vortex, any thing which is whiiled vio-
lently round and round, a whirlpool.
VoucH-sAFE. Vouchsafe, to give any thing as a
favour.
Vow, to make a solemn promise. A vow, a solemn
promise made to heaven.
VoY-AGE. Voyage, a journey by sea. To make
a voyage, is to travel to some distant country by
sea ; that is, in a ship.
VuL-GAR. Vulgar, mean and low, common. The
vulgar, means the most ignorant people.
W
Wade, to walk through water, or through deep
mud.
Waft-ed. Wafted, carried lightly through the
air, or over the water.
Wa-ges. Wages, money which we pay to a per-
son for serving us, or working for us.
Wag-on. W^agon, a large cart for carrying heavy
things.
Wag-on-ee. Wagoner, a man who drives a
wagon.
Waiin-scot. Wainscot, the boards which are put
round the walls of rooms.
Wal-let. Wallet, a bag used for carrying meat
and clothes.
Wal-low. Wallow, to roll in mud and dirt like a
pig-
WAN, looking very pale and sickly.
Wand, a long thin stick.
Wan-der. Wander, to go here and there, to go
about from place to place, without knowing or
260 WAS
minding where we go. To wander^ means
sometimes to go out of the right way.
Wan-ton-ly. Wantonly, in sport, in play ; as,
" we should never wantonly torment any thing
that has life."
War : when the people of one country quarrel
with the people of another country, and fight
against them, it is called war ; we say, there is
^ fight between two men, but we say, there is a
war between England and France ; we do not
say there is ^ fight between England and France.
War-ble. Warble, to sing very sweetly; as,
" the birds warble in the green shade."
Wares, things to be sold ; Chin-d-v-are, is properly
wares which come from China, though now we
make China-w;are in England ; we also say,
edirthen-ware, wooden-tvare, &;c. &;c.
Ware-house. Warehouse, a place to keep the
goods which are to be sold.
War-like. Warlike, fond of fighting, fit or ready
for war.
Warn, to tell a person of a fault, or to tell him of
some danger, that he may avoid it.
Warp, to bend out of the proper shape, to grow
crooked.
War-ren. Warren, a piece of ground where a
great number of rabbits have their holes ; it is
sometimes called a rabbit-warren.
Warr-ior. Warrior, a soldier, a man who fights
in war.
Wa-ry. Wary, cautious, wise, and careful.
Wasp-ish. Waspish, peevish, and ill-natured like
a wasp.
WEB 251
Waste : waste-ground^ is ground which is not
planted, nor sown, nor built upon, nor put to any
use.
Waste, a desert place, a place without people or
houses.
Watch, not to sleep, to observe with attention.
Wave, to move loosely backwards and forwards.
Wav-er. Waver, to be uncertain, not to be set-
tled, not to be determined or sure.
Wax, to grow ; as, " he waxed strong."
Wax-en. Waxen, made of the wax which bees
extract from flowers ; as, a waxen doll.
Way-lay. Waylay, to watch for a person in the
way, in order to start out upon him to do him
mischief.
Weak, not strong, without force or power to do
any thing well.
Wealth, riches, plenty of money, or other pre-
cious things.
Wealth-y, rich.
Wea-pon. Weapon, any thing that is made use
of to fight with, such as sticks, swords, bows,
and arrows, &c. The horns and claws of ani-
mals are called weapons, because they use them
to fight with, or to save themselves from being
hurt.
Wear-i-some. Wearisome, tiresome and trouble-
some.
Wea-ry. Weary, tired. To weary, to tire, to be
fatiguing and troublesome.
Weave, properly to make thread into cloth, bui
spiders are said to weave their webs.
Web, a piece of cloth, or any thing which is
woven ; for we say, " the toeb of a spider."
ti
252 WES
Web-foot-ed. Web footed ; all birds that swim on
the water, such as ducks, geese, swans, and
some kinds of animals that swim, such as the
beaver, the otter, the water-dog, have their toes
joined together by a skin that grows between
. them ; this is being webbed or web-footed : it
helps them to swim well, for their feet are like
the fins of tish.
Wedge, a piece of wood or metal which has a
sharp edge at one end, and is very thick at the ,
other. Wedges^ are used to split wood and||
stone : men put the sharp edge into a little slit
or hole made on purpose, and then drive it fur-
ther in with a heavy hammer.
Wedg-ed. Wedged, stuck fast in between two
things, so as not to be able to move.
Weed, any plant which is hurtful, or which is of
no use to us.
Week, seven days.
Week-ly. Weekly, done or happening once in
a week.
Weep, to cry for sorrow, to shed tears.
Weight- Y. Weighty, heavy, of great weight.
Wel-come. Welcome, glad to see a person when
he comes to see us, to receive him kindly. WeU
comCy glad to have or to receive, what is pleasing
to us. Welcome^ kindness to those who come
to see us.
Well, a deep place full of water.
Well-bked. Well-bred, polite, not rude or unci-
vil in one's manners.
West, that part of the sky where the sun sets.
The loestj often means the places which are to-
WIC 253
wards the west; as, "he comes from the west^
he lives in the west of England."
West-er-ly. Westerly, coming from the west; as,
" a westerly wind." To go westward y to go to-
wards the west.
Wheat, a kind of grain ; the best and the whitest
bread is made o^ wheat.
Whelp, a young dog ; it also means the young of
some other beasts ; we say, a lion's wJielp,
Whence, from what place ; as, " whence come
you?" Whence, also means for which reason.
Where -BY. Whereby, by which.
Where-fore. Wherefore, for which reason.
Where-in. Wherein, in which.
Whet, to sharpen, to give a sharp edge to any
thing by rubbing it with something, or upon
something.
Whey, the thin part of milk separated from the
curds.
Whim, an odd fancy.
Whim-si-cal. Whimsical, fanciful, full of whims.
Whim-per. Whimper, to cry in a low voice.
Whine, to cry and complain with a low voice.
Whirl, to turn round violently and quickly.
Whirl-pool. Whirlpool, a place where the water
turns round and round with great violence.
W^hith-er. Whither, to which place.
Whole, all. Whole, means also not broken, not
hurt. Whole, may sometimes mean well, cured
of some sickness or hurt.
Whole-some. Wholesome, good for the health.
Whol-ly, Wholly, quite, entirely.
Wick, that part of a candle or a lamp which flames,
and which has oil, tallow, or wax within it.
22
254 WIT
WicK-ET. Wicket, a little gate.
WiD-ow. Widow, a woman whose husband is
dead.
WiD-ow-ER. Widower, a man whose wife is dead.
Wield, to move or use any heavy thing with case.
Wild, not tame ; as we say, " wild animals."
wild, growing without being planted ; as, " wild
flowers." Wild, means also disorderly. A
loild, a savage country, not planted, nor inhabited
by people.
WiL-DER-NEss. Wildemess, a wild.
Wile, a trick, a deceit.
Wi-LY. Wily, cunning, deceitful, sly.
WiL-FUL. Wilful, obstinate.
WiL-FUL-LY. Wilfully, obstinately. To do a thing
wilfully, is to act in opposition to others.
WiLL-iNG. Willing, liking to do a thing.
Wind, to turn, to twist, not to go straight along.
To wind a horn, is to sound it by blowing it.
Win-now. Winnow, to part the grains of grain
from the chaff.
WiN-TER. Winter, the season of the year when
the weather is cold, and when there are no flow-
ers, nor leaves on the tree.
Win-try. Wintry, like winter, cold and dismal.
Wire, long threads made of metal.
Wise, not foolish, knowing what is right, and doing
what is right.
WisT-FUL. Wistful ; to cast a wistful look, or to
look wistfully at any thing, is to look at it atten-
tively, as if we wished to have it, or to reach it.
WiTH-DRA w. Withdraw, to take back, to take away.
To mthdraw, is also to go back, to go away
from the company.
WRA 255
WiTH-ER. Wither, to fade away.
WiTH-HOLD. Withhold, to keep back.
WiTH-iN. Within, in the inside. Within, often
means in the house.
WiTH-STAND. Withstand, to act against, to oppose.
WiT-NESs. Witness, to say that a thing is true,
because we have either seen it, or know it to
be true. To witness a thing, is sometimes to see
it or hear it ourselves.
Woe, sorrow, grief, misfortune, or misery.
WoE-FUL. Woeful, sad, grieved, very sorry.
Wo-MAN-KiND. Womankind, all women in the
world.
Wood, a place where a great number of trees grow
together.
Work-man-ship. Workmanship, the skill with
which something is made, or the manner in
which it is made.
WoR-RY. Worry, to tear in pieces, as beasts tear
one another when they fight, or kill one another.
WoR-sHip, Worship, to adore, to perform acts of
religion ; as " we worship God."
WoRST-ED. Worsted, wool spun.
WoRTH-LEss. Worthless, mean, without any good
qualities, not precious.
WoR-THY. Worthy ; as, " a child who always
tells the truth is worthy to be trusted." Woii,hy,
also means good ; we say, ^^^ worthy man."
Wound, a violent hurt. To wound, to hurt by vio-
lence.
Wran-gle. Wrangle, to quaiTel, to dispute in a
cross peevish manner.
Wrath, violent anger.
Wkath-ful. Wrathful, very angry.
356 YEA
WreatH; a garland of fiowers twined together.
Wreck ships, when they sail on the great sea,
sometimes meet v/ith violent storms of wind,
which blow them about, and sometimes dash
them against the rocks, where they are broken
to pieces ; this is called a wreck, or a shipwreck.
Wreck-ed. Wrecked, dashed to pieces.
Wres-tle. Wrestle, to try which of two com-
batants shall throw the other down.
Wretch, a miserable unfortunate person. A
wretch, also means a wicked or a mean person.
Wretch-ed. Wretched, miserable and unhappy,
mean and bad.
Wright, a workman, a maker of any thing ; a
cartwright, is a maker of carts, a wheelwright, is
a maker of wheels, &c.
Wring, to squeeze ; it also means to turn, to twist
out of the proper shape, or to torment and dis-
tress very much.
Wrink-led. Wrinkled, marked with wrinkles, ,
like the face of a person who is very old.
Writ-ing. Writing, something which is written :
it also means a book.
Wrought, did, or worked ; as, " he wrought won-
ders," that is, he did wonders. Wrought, also
means made or formed, or worked in some
shape or manner.
Wry, crooked, or twisted out of the right shape.
Yard, a measure of three feet, or thirty-six inches.
Yarn, worsted, wool w^hich is spun into thread.
Yeah, twelve months, or three hundred and sixty-
zoo 257
live days. Years, old age ; he was full of
years, means that he was very old.
Yell, to scream out, to make a loud cry. Yell^ a
loud horrible cry.
Yelp, to cry like a dog.
Yes-ter-night. Yesternight, last night.
Y^ield, to give; as we say, '* these trees yield
fruit." To yield, is also to give up, not to be
obstinate, to submit. To yield, also means to
allow, to agree to something.
Yolk, the yellow part of an egg.
Yoke, a bandage put on the neck of animals to
draw any kind of carriage. Yoke, may. also
mean severe rule or government. To yoke, to
couple with another, to subdue.
YoN, or Yon-der. Yon or Yonder, at a distance,
but not out of sight ; as, " he lives in yonder
house."
YouNG-STER. Youngster, a young person.
Youth, that part of our lives when we are no long.
er children. A youth, a young man.
YouTH-FUL. Youthful, young.
Zeph-yr. Zephyr, a gentle soft wind.
Zest, taste, a relish.
Zone, a girdle.
Ze-nith. Zenith, that part of the heavens di-
rectly over our heads.
Zo-oL-o-Gy. Zoology, the history of animal life.
22*
OCT -0
(
Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process.
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide
Treatment Date: Oct. 2006
PreservationTechnologies
A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
(724)779-2111
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
003 337 252 8.
TVNews
OpenLibrary