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Moby Dick SAT Primer: Vocabulary                  

Nautical terms in alphabetical order (not required, but interesting to know)
ballast, boom, bulkhead, bulwarks, cleat, forecastle, gaff, grapnel, halyard, hawser, helm, jib, league, luff, reef, scuttle, spar, tiller, yaw

For each of the following words, you need to be able to ¹write the literal definition (denotation) of the word, then ²specifically apply it to some aspect of the novel itself. For at least 10 (total) of all the words, ³apply the word in an elevated context.

Example:circumambulate--¹to circle on foot, especially ritualistically. 
²When Ishmael arrived in New Bedford, he circumambulated the town, observing its places and its people.
³Sometimes in a discussion of a sensitive topic, we circumambulate; we step carefully, fearful that we will offend others.

Chapters 1-21:  Back to Reading Section 1

cataract

  
monopolize 

palsy 

sufferable

 
tanning

 
skylarking

patrician

 
congregate

 
tarpaulin

 
impregnable

 
trifling

  
immutable

incorrigible

 
inordinate

apoplexy

 
tattered

enshrine

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 Chapters 22-42:                 Back to Reading Section 2

superfluous

 
anoint 

ignominy

circumvention 

vindictive

deprecate

leviathan 

punctilious 

seaboard  

progenitor 

embodiment

vehement 

smitten 

vicissitude

shroud

hue

incarnation

apprehension

abode

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Chapters 43-65:           Back to Reading Section 3

celestial

squall

conflagration

insurgent

ingenuous

spasmodic
 
perdition

tumultuous

discriminate

venerable

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Chapters 66-86:                     Reading Section 4

impel

embalm

protuberance 

dexterous

salvation

jurisprudence

stigma

omnipresent

tawny

talisman

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Chapters 87-109:             Back to Reading Section 5

somnambulist

Chapters 110-130:

None

Chapters 131-Epilogue:

None

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Vocabulary list adapted from list at Vocabulary .com