CLASSIC LITERATURE: WORDS AND PHRASES
adapted from the Collins English Dictionary
Accoucheur NOUN a male midwife or doctor
I think my sister must have had some general idea that I was a young offender whom an Accoucheur Policeman had taken up (on my birthday) and delivered over to her (
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)
addled ADJ confused and unable to think properly
But she counted and counted till she got that addled (
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
admiration NOUN amazement or wonder
lifting up his hands and eyes by way of admiration (
Gulliverās Travels by Jonathan Swift)
afeard ADJ afeard means afraid
shake itāand donāt be afeard (
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
affected VERB affected means followed
Hadst thou affected sweet divinity (
Doctor Faustus 5.2 by Christopher Marlowe)
aground ADV when a boat runs aground, it touches the ground in a shallow part of the water and gets stuck
what kepā you?āboat get aground? (
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
ague NOUN a fever in which the patient has alternate hot and cold shivering fits
his exposure to the wet and cold had brought on fever and ague (
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)
alchemy ADJ false or worthless
all wealth alchemy (
The Sun Rising by John Donne)
all alike PHRASE the same all the time
Love, all alike (
The Sun Rising by John Donne)
alow and aloft PHRASE alow means in the lower part or bottom, and aloft means on the top, so alow and aloft means on the top and in the bottom or throughout
Someoneās turned the chest out alow and aloft (
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson)
ambuscade NOUN ambuscade is not a proper word. Tom means an ambush, which is when a group of people attack their enemies, after hiding and waiting for them
and so we would lie in ambuscade, as he called it (
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark
Twain)
amiable ADJ likeable or pleasant
Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves (
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
amulet NOUN an amulet is a charm thought to drive away evil spirits.
uttered phrases at once occult and familiar, like the amulet worn on the heart (
Silas Marner by George Eliot)
amusement NOUN here amusement means a strange and disturbing puzzle
this was an amusement the other way (
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe)
ancient NOUN an ancient was the flag displayed on a ship to show which country it belongs to. It is also called the ensign
her ancient and pendants out (
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe)
antic ADJ here antic means horrible or grotesque
armed and dressed after a very antic manner (
Gulliverās Travels by Jonathan Swift)
antics NOUN antics is an old word meaning clowns, or people who do silly things to make other people laugh
And point like antics at his triple crown (
Doctor Faustus 3.2 by Christopher Marlowe)
appanage NOUN an appanage is a living allowance
As if loveliness were not the special prerogative of womanāher legitimate appanage and heritage! (
Jane Eyre b...