Short National Geographic Class

Vocabulary:

Source: Hoagland, Edward, To Paradise and Beyond, National Geographic, March 2009. National Geographic Magazine, New York, N.Y. 2009.

1. Harbored, verb; protected from the outside. Example, “ the teacher harbored his students from criminal influences”
2. Clustered, verb; in a close group.
3. Ribbony, adjective; something that is like a ribbion.
4. Queue, verb; to wait in a line.
5. Mysticism, noun; believing in things too big for man.
6. Primeval, noun; a very old, simple, place, or time
7. Edict, noun; a law or rule.
8. Ethic, noun; a moral belief that doing something, or not doing something, is correct, and good.
9. Relic, noun; something very old, and precious
10. Vestigial, adjective; something that once existed, but is now only there in name
11. De rigueur, adjective; as it is supposed to be, or is intended to be

12. Novel, adjective; new or interesting.
13. Metronomic, adjective; making regular sounds, like a metronome (tool used to keep time for instruments)
14. Frenetic, adjective; very excited, out of control, (think about frantic)
15. Lugging, verb; to carry something slowly, which is usually heavy.
16. Ubiquitous, adjective; always visible, or noticeable
17. Stoic, noun; to appear indifferent to pleasure or pain.
18. Ambiguity, noun; possible of being understood in two different ways.
19. Sinuous, adjective; to be wavy – like a snake.
20. Unblitzed, verb; undisturbed (to blitz is to attack quickly)
21. Pell-mell, adjective; crazy, or out of control situations. Example: “In Seoul at rush hour everyone is running about, pell-mell.”
22. Tchotchkes, noun; a small trinket or other object bought for a small price (many people sell tchotchkes around Subway stations)

Source: White, Mel. Path of the Jaugar. National Geographic. March 2009. National Geographic Magazine, New York, N.Y. 2009.

23. Wanderer, noun; someone, or something, that moves around a lot – without one specific home.
24. Instinct, noun; an instinct is a skill or desire an animal or organism is born with. It is the opposite of learned.
25. Telltale, adjective; a telltale sign is something recognizable – easily seen. Example: “The murderer was discovered because of his telltale hat”.
26. Roam, verb; to move from place to place – a wanderer roams.
27. Subspecies; a small part of an animal family – the house cat is a subspecies of the feline family.
28. Crucial, adjective; very important. A crucial thing is something that everything else depends on.
29. Aura, noun; a glow, or feeling, surrounding an object. “There is an aura around Michael Phelps before he swims”
30. Indigenous, adjective; a people that are native to a location or country.