Transcript Vocabulary - Mrs. O's Brit Lit Webpage

Vocabulary
Unit 13
Abstruse (adj.)
• Extremely difficult to understand
• The physicist tried to explain her abstruse
research in the field of quantum
mechanics.
• Syn: esoteric, arcane, recondite, occult
• Ant: simple, straightforward
Because “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is not
written in modern English, the language can seem
abstruse at first, but with further study, it can be a fun
story to read.
Affront (n.)
• An open or intentional insult; a slight
• The prisoner felt that being referred to by
number rather than name was an affront
to her dignity.
• Syn: offense
• Ant: compliment, praise
The Green Knight affronted King Arthur and his men
when he suggested that none of them was brave enough
to face his challenge.
Affront (v)
• To insult to one’s face; to face in defiance,
confront
• In the nineteenth century, Irish immigrants
to the United States were affronted by
signs reading: No Irish Need Apply.
• Syn: offend
• Ant: compliment, praise
Canard (n)
• A false rumor, fabricated story
• The tabloid journalist was responsible for
spreading the canard about the
candidate’s mental health.
• Syn: hoax
The Green Knight thinks that the rumors about the
bravery of Arthur’s court must be some kind of canard or
fabricated story; the men do not seem brave to him.
Captious (adj)
• Excessively ready to find fault; given to
petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse,
or show up
• She is an invariably captious critic.
• Syn: faultfinding, nit-picking, carping
• Ant: uncritical
The Green Knight is
very captious in his
attitude towards
Arthur and the
Knights of the
Round Table. He
finds fault with
everything about
them—how they
dress, what they
eat, how they react
to him, etc…
Cognizant (adj)
• Aware, knowledgeable, informed; having
jurisdiction
• Police officers must make sure that crime
suspects are made cognizant of their
rights before they are questioned.
• Syn: conscious, acquainted
• Ant: unaware, unconscious, oblivious
Even though the
Green Knight
spends his three
days hunting in the
woods, he seems
very cognizant of
what is going on in
his home (his wife
tempting Gawain
and giving Gawain
the green girdle).
Contrite (adj)
• Regretful for some misdeed or sin;
plagued by a sense of guilt; thoroughly
penitent
• The convicted felon had the look of
someone who was truly contrite and
ready to pay for his crimes.
• Syn: remorseful, rueful
• Ant: unrepentant
Gawain was very
contrite when he was
caught lying to the
Green Knight about
receiving the green
girdle from his wife.
He only lied to save
his life, but still,
Gawain considered it
dishonorable, and he
was deeply
embarrassed that he
showed such
weakness.
Cynosure (n)
• The center of attraction, attention, or
interest; something that serves to guide or
direct
• For over a century, the Statue of Liberty
has been the cynosure for millions of
immigrants entering New York Harbor.
• Syn: focus
One can see why the Green Knight would be the
cynosure of attention at any gathering; he really
is an imposing figure.
Decorous (adj)
• Well behaved, dignified, socially proper
• On formal occasions, like weddings and
graduations, participants are expected to
behave in a decorous manner.
• Syn: seemly, becoming, tasteful
• Ant: unseemly, unbecoming, improper,
tasteless
All of the characters
in “Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight”
are dressed
decorously. Look at
the details in this
picture—the shield,
the helmet. Even
the horse is dressed
in a decorous
manner.
Deign (v)
• To think it appropriate or suitable to one’s
dignity to do something; to condescend
• The enlisted men were surprised that the
four-star general deigned to speak to
them as he toured the camp.
• Syn: deem, stoop
In “Sir Gawain
and the Green
Knight,” King
Arthur would not
deign to accept
the challenge of
the Green Knight
who so rudely
intruded on his
meal and began
making
demands;
instead, on of the
knights, Sir
Gawain, steps up
to accept the
challenge.
Desiccated (adj)
• Thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or
vitality; arid and uninteresting
• The cornfield was desiccated by the
scorching sun after the long, hot summer
without rain.
• Syn: dehydrated, shriveled, parched
• Ant: sodden, soggy, waterlogged,
drenched
When Gawain
realizes that he
is expected to
be still while
the Green
Knight swings
at his bare neck
with a sharp
axe, his spirits
shrink and he is
completely
desiccated.
Efficacy (n.)
• The power to produce a desired result
• The pharmaceutical company has done
extensive research to prove the efficacy
of the new drug they are marketing.
• Syn: effectiveness, potency, reliability
• Ant: ineffectiveness, impotence
The green girdle
gifted to Gawain by
the Green Knight’s
wife had the
efficacy of
protecting
Gawain’s neck
from being
severed.
Engender (v.)
• To bring into existence, give rise to, to
produce; to come into existence, assume
form
• The university has made an appealing
videotape in order to engender student
interest in studying abroad.
• Syn: beget, generate, cause, form
• Ant: stop, deter
It doesn’t seem to
matter how much
energy I put into
teaching “Sir Gawain
and the Green
Knight;” I can never
seem to engender an
interest in Medieval
Literature and
manuscripts in my
students 
Ethereal (adj.)
• Light, airy, delicate; highly refined;
suggesting what is heavenly (rather than
earthbound)
• The Renaissance painter Fra Angelico
captured the ethereal beauty of angels in
his famous frescoes.
• Syn: heavenly, celestial, gossamer
• Ant: infernal, hellish, thick, heavy
There is a light,
airy, and
ethereal quality
to this picture
that makes it
seem almost
more ghost-like
than real.
Façade (n.)
• The front or face of a building; a surface
appearance (as opposed to what may lie
behind)
• After years of neglect, the sooty façade of
the cathedral is finally getting a much
needed cleaning.
• Syn: exterior, surface, mask, pretense
• Ant: interior
In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” the character of the
Green Knight is just a façade. He is really the Lord of the
Green castle. The thing that makes him different is that he
possesses the magic green girdle.
Ghoulish (adj)
• Revolting in an unnatural or morbid way;
suggestive of someone who robs graves
or otherwise preys on the dead
• The ghoulish practice of grave robbing is
sometimes motivated by the desire to find
and sell valuables.
• Syn: fiendish, barbarous, monstrous
The idea of the Green
Knight is ghoulish and
revolting. Equally
ghoulish is his
challenge. Can you
imagine being at the
banquet that day and
watching his severed
head roll around on
the ground still
talking? I bet Gawain
almost fainted when
the Knight picked up
his head and rode
away with it under his
arm.
Incongruous (adj.)
• Not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible
• Abraham Lincoln, the backwoods lawyer,
and Mary Todd, the rich socialite, seemed
an incongruous couple.
• Syn: discordant, jarring
• Ant: compatible, harmonious, consistent
This picture is
incongruous with
my mental image of
The Green Knight.
I’m thinking of
someone fierce and
terrifying, so seeing
this hat of fruit and
flower really
doesn’t match up
with what is in my
brain.
Machination (n.)
• A crafty, scheming, or underhanded action
designed to accomplish some (usually
evil) end
• Shakespeare’s Othello was the victim not
only of Iago’s evil machinations but also
his own jealous nature.
• Syn: plot, scheme, maneuver
Many people accuse the Green Knight of using crafty,
scheming, evil machinations to draw Gawain into his plot. The
knight knew he was cheating by using magic that Gawain
didn’t have.
Mesmerize (v.)
• To hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate,
enthrall, bewitch
• The magician was able to mesmerize the
audience with his fast-moving hands and
distracting chatter.
The whole idea
of the
Medieval time
period and
castle life is
mesmerizing
to some
people. They
can just
fantasize
about what
their lives
would have
been like if
they lived back
then.
Opprobrium (n.)
• Disgrace arising from shameful conduct;
contempt, reproach
• Despite the passage of centuries,
opprobrium is still attached to the name of
the traitor Benedict Arnold.
• Syn: infamy, dishonor, odium, shame
• Ant: acclaim, honor, glory, renown
After betraying his
own moral values,
Gawain goes home
with opprobrium.
In this picture, even
his horse is
hanging its head in
shame.
Putative (adj.)
• Generally regarded as such; reputed;
hypothesized, inferred
• Ancient Celtic rituals and ceremonies are
the putative origins of some of our modern
Halloween customs.
• Syn: supposed, presumed
• Ant: known, corroborated, confirmed
The ancient
“Sir Gawain”
text is the
putative
original on
which many
translations
and
adaptations
have been
based.