Harlem Renaissance Vocab, Part IIAmerican Lit.

Word List1. dutiful 2. dwindle3. elusive4. exalt5. illumination6. jilt7. perception8. persistence9. piety10. plague11. repress

12. tactful13. tumultuous14. vanity15. impulse16. constrain17. sonnet18. passionate19. pompous20. squelch

1. dutiful (adj.) obediently fulfilling one's

duty

late 13c., from Anglo-Fr. duete, from O.Fr. deu "due, owed; proper, just," from V.L. *debutus, from L. debitus, pp. of debere "to owe“ + ful: O.E. -full, -ful

2. dwindle(v.) diminish gradually in size,

amount, or strength ORIGIN late 16th cent.:

frequentative of Scots and dialect dwine [fade away,] from Old English dwīnan, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch dwīnen and Old Norse dvína.

3. elusive(adj.) difficult to remember or

recall ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from

Latin elus- ‘eluded’ (from the verb eludere) + -ive .

4. exalt (v.) to lift up or hold (someone or

something )in high regard. ORIGIN late Middle English : from

Latin exaltare, from ex- ‘out, upward’ + altus ‘high.’

5. illumination (n.) intellectual or spiritual

enlightenmentORIGIN Middle English : via Old

French from late Latin illuminatio(n-), from the verb illuminare (see illuminate ).

6. jilt(v.) suddenly reject or abandonORIGIN mid 17th cent. (in the

sense [deceive, trick] ): 1670s, "woman who gives hope then dashes it," perhaps ultimately from M.E. gille "lass, wench," a familiar or contemptuous term for a woman or girl (mid-15c.),

7. perception(n.) the ability to see, hear, or

become aware of something through the senses

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin perceptio(n-), from the verb percipere ‘seize, understand’ (see perceive ).

8. persistence(n.) firm continuance in a course

of action in spite of difficulty ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from

French persistance, from the verb persister; influenced in spelling by Latin persistent- ‘continuing steadfastly.’

9. piety(n.) a belief or point of view that

is accepted with certainty. ORIGIN early 16th cent. (in the

sense [devotion to religious observances] ): from Old French piete, from Latin pietas ‘dutifulness,’ from pius (see pious ).

10. plague(v.) to cause continual trouble or

stressORIGIN late Middle English : Latin

plaga ‘stroke, wound,’ probably from Greek ( Doric dialect) plaga, from a base meaning ‘strike.’

11. repress(v.) suppress (a thought, feeling,

or desire) in oneself so that it remains unconscious.

ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense [keep back (something objectionable)] ): from Latin repress- ‘pressed back, checked,’ from the verb reprimere, from re- ‘back’ + premere ‘to press.’

12. tactful(adj.) diplomatic, understanding.

1650s, "sense of touch or feeling"from L. tactus "touch, feeling, handling, sense of touch," from root of tangere "to touch" Meaning "sense of "discernment, diplomacy, etc." first recorded 1804, from a sense that developed in French cognate tact.+ ful: O.E. -full, -ful, from suffix use of full

13. tumultuous(adj.) intense, violentORIGIN late Middle English : from

Old French tumulte or Latin tumultus.

14. vanity(n.) excessive pride in or

admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.

ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French vanite, from Latin vanitas, from vanus ‘empty’ (see vain ).

15. impulse(n.) a strong and unreflective

desire or urge to perform an action.

ORIGIN early 17th cent. (as a verb in the sense [give an impulse to] ): the verb from Latin impuls- ‘driven on,’ the noun from impulsus ‘impulsion, outward pressure,’ both from the verb impellere (see impel ).

16. constrain(v.) compel or force (someone)

toward a particular course of action

ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French constraindre, from Latin constringere ‘bind tightly together.’

17. sonnet(n.) a poem of fourteen lines

using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French, or from Italian sonetto, diminutive of suono ‘a sound.’

18. passionate(adj.) a way someone conveys

strong feelings or beliefs.ORIGIN late Middle English (also

in the senses [easily moved to passion] and [enraged] ): from medieval Latin passionatus ‘full of passion,’ from passio

19. pompous(adj.) self-importantORIGIN late Middle English : from

Old French pompeux ‘full of grandeur,’ from late Latin pomposus, from pompa ‘pomp.’

20. squelch(v.) to suppress or silenceORIGIN early 17th cent.

(originally denoting a heavy crushing fall on to something soft): imitative. O.E. acwencan "to quench" (of fire, light), from P.Gmc. cwandjan, probably a causative form of root of O.E. cwincan "to go out, be extinguished,"