Three Cups of Tea vocabulary list

katherine F. (United States of America)
the following words are essential to the understanding of the geographic significance of this wonderful book.
77 words 126 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acclimatize
    get used to a certain environment
  2. arduous
    characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion
  3. armada
    a large fleet
  4. bivouac
    temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
  5. overawe
    subdue, restrain, or overcome by affecting with a feeling of awe; frighten (as with threats)
  6. precipitous
    extremely steep
  7. stupor
    a state of being half-awake
  8. subterranean
    being or operating under the surface of the earth
  9. brigand
    an armed thief who is (usually) a member of a band
  10. cairn
    a mound of stones piled up as a memorial or to mark a boundary or path
  11. catacomb
    an underground tunnel with recesses where bodies were buried
  12. colossus
    someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
  13. crevasse
    a deep fissure
  14. neuromatous
    of or relating to or caused by neuromas
  15. panorama
    the visual perception of a region
  16. taciturn
    habitually reserved and uncommunicative
  17. topi
    a lightweight hat worn in tropical countries for protection from the sun
  18. transcendent
    exceeding or surpassing usual limits
  19. chapatti
    flat pancake-like bread cooked on a griddle
  20. cookery book
    a book of recipes and cooking directions
  21. kwashiorkor
    severe malnutrition in children resulting from a diet excessively high in carbohydrates and low in protein
  22. prelapsarian
    of or relating to the time before the Fall of Adam and Eve
  23. billet
    provide housing for (military personnel)
  24. impetuousness
    rash impulsiveness
  25. bomber
    a military aircraft that drops bombs during flight
  26. unassailable
    impossible to attack
  27. serendipity
    good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
  28. sinewy
    consisting of tendons or resembling a tendon
  29. behemoth
    someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
  30. divertimento
    a musical composition in several movements
  31. frugality
    prudence in avoiding waste
  32. world council
    a council with representatives from different nations
  33. ablution
    the act of washing oneself, as for ritual purposes
  34. cacophony
    loud confusing disagreeable sounds
  35. carboy
    a large bottle for holding corrosive liquids
  36. choke down
    suppress
  37. diatribe
    thunderous verbal attack
  38. hew
    make or shape as with an axe
  39. madrasa
    a Muslim college or school
  40. phalanx
    any closely ranked crowd of people
  41. precipice
    a very steep cliff
  42. rakish
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
  43. salaam
    a deep bow; a Muslim form of salutation
  44. shaheed
    Arabic term for a holy martyr
  45. sonorous
    full and loud and deep
  46. crenulated
    having a margin with small rounded teeth
  47. dacoit
    a member of an armed gang of robbers
  48. escarpment
    a long steep slope at the edge of a plateau or ridge
  49. solicitous
    full of anxiety and concern
  50. Zambia
    a republic in central Africa
  51. animist
    of or pertaining to the doctrine of animism
  52. buttressed
    held up by braces or buttresses
  53. alliance
    the state of being joined in an association or coalition
  54. Mutawa
    religious police in Saudi Arabia whose duty is to ensure strict adherence to established codes of conduct; offenders may be detained indefinitely; foreigners are not excluded
  55. placation
    the act of placating and overcoming distrust and animosity
  56. Havel
    Czech dramatist and statesman whose plays opposed totalitarianism and who served as president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992 and president of the Czech Republic since 1993 (born in 1936)
  57. Duma
    a legislative body in the ruling assembly of Russia and of some other republics in the former USSR
  58. stonewall
    engage in delaying tactics or refuse to cooperate
  59. phlegmy
    characterized by phlegm
  60. purdah
    a screen used in India to separate women from men or strangers
  61. fatwa
    a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority
  62. Usher
    Irish prelate who deduced from the Bible that Creation occurred in the year 4004 BC (1581-1656)
  63. skim over
    move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of
  64. zakat
    the third pillar of Islam; almsgiving as an act of worship
  65. Bharat
    a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia
  66. bayat
    an oath of allegiance to an emir
  67. Jirga
    a Pashto term for a decision making assembly of male elders
  68. kirpan
    a ceremonial four-inch curved dagger that Sikh men and women are obliged to wear at all times
  69. mujahadeen
    a group of Muslim guerrilla warriors engaged in a jihad
  70. shunt
    a conductor diverting a fraction of current from a device
  71. tabis
    a sock with a separation for the big toe
  72. insolvency
    the lack of financial resources
  73. cordon
    a series of sentinels or posts enclosing some place or thing
  74. detritus
    loose material that is worn away from rocks
  75. hawala
    an underground banking system based on trust whereby money can be made available internationally without actually moving it or leaving a record of the transaction
  76. proselytize
    convert or try to convert someone to another religion
  77. burka
    a loose garment (usually with veiled holes for the eyes) worn by Muslim women especially in India and Pakistan
Created on Sun Oct 09 15:44:50 EDT 2011 (updated Mon Oct 10 07:31:36 EDT 2011)

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