Habibi: List 3

by Naomi Shihab Nye
When her Arab-American family moves to Jerusalem, Liyana is unprepared for the prejudice they face — or for the close bond she forms with a Jewish boy named Omer.

This list covers Invisible–Detective Work.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 12 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. plunge
    thrust or throw into
    Turning her back on the scene, Mom stared into the street as the butcher plunged his hand into a cage toward one very upset white chicken.
  2. writhe
    move in a twisting or contorted motion
    The chicken’s body trembled and writhed after the head was severed, then fell still.
  3. sever
    cut off from a whole
    The chicken’s body trembled and writhed after the head was severed, then fell still.
  4. deftly
    in an agile manner
    The butcher turned to plunge the body into a steaming pot, then deftly stripped the feathers off, wrapping the body in white paper.
  5. pudgy
    short and plump
    Rafik shouted, “Liyana’s on a diet! Someone told her she has pudgy cheeks!”
  6. scepter
    a ceremonial or emblematic staff
    Liyana held her fork straight up like a scepter.
  7. primitive
    characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
    She has a very primitive hairdo and wears mostly the same three shirts and blue jeans or one skirt over and over.
  8. genuinely
    in accordance with truth or fact or reality
    They seemed genuinely glad she was among them, as if grateful for a newcomer to liven things up.
  9. dashing
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    She learned that Armenian boys are dashing and have a mischievous glint in their eyes.
  10. veneration
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    He spoke about William Blake and John Keats with veneration in his voice, though Liyana wished he would pick somebody a little more modern to talk about soon.
  11. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    On the twenty-ninth day a funeral procession passed slowly beneath the open classroom windows.
  12. falafel
    fried croquette of mashed chickpeas and spices
    She liked the falafel sandwiches at a place called Abu Musa’s Falafel House.
  13. bellows
    a mechanical device that blows a strong current of air
    Please hand me the bellows for my fire.
  14. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    She could still feel the quiet leaves unfurling inside her mouth.
  15. pinafore
    a sleeveless dress resembling an apron
    All the little faces turned in her direction. She felt like a giant lost from her homeland. They wore white pinafores. Their cheeks were glowing and peachy.
  16. stationery
    paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters
    A crooked sign on the stationery store said, SPECIAL BIG GOODIES SALE GOING FAST AND NOW.
  17. rosary
    a string of beads used in counting prayers
    You can buy glass vases handblown in Hebron and olive-wood rosaries and creamy white mother-of-pearl star pins and shiny brocade from big bolts of cloth at Bilal’s Tailor Shop.
  18. brocade
    thick expensive material with a raised pattern
    You can buy glass vases handblown in Hebron and olive-wood rosaries and creamy white mother-of-pearl star pins and shiny brocade from big bolts of cloth at Bilal’s Tailor Shop.
  19. bolt
    a roll of cloth or wallpaper of a definite length
    You can buy glass vases handblown in Hebron and olive-wood rosaries and creamy white mother-of-pearl star pins and shiny brocade from big bolts of cloth at Bilal’s Tailor Shop.
  20. saffron
    aromatic dried stigmas of a crocus flower, used as flavoring
    You can buy painted Palestinian plates and roasted chickpeas and olive oil soap made in Nablus with a red camel on the package and saffron, that spice that costs a lot of money in American grocery stores, very cheaply.
  21. vial
    a small bottle that contains liquid medicine
    You can also buy vials of holy oil and fancy jars of water from the River Jordan (stamped: For External Use Only, so you don’t get carried away and drink it) that has a Certificate of Authenticity in Arabic, German, and English on the side of the box.
  22. gruff
    blunt and unfriendly or stern
    He stared at her as if she were a thief digging for secrets. “Security,” he said gruffly, and turned away.
  23. bereft
    lacking or deprived of something
    Liyana, feeling suddenly bereft without her friend, saw a crowd of tourists heading in there, so she turned and followed them, as if she were part of their group.
  24. calligraphy
    beautiful handwriting
    She couldn’t understand it because the writing was so fancy, like calligraphy.
  25. ream
    a quantity of paper
    She motioned to a boy standing behind the counter with his arms folded, near the reams of tissue paper and stacks of cardboard boxes.
  26. pita
    round flatbread that can open into a pocket for filling
    Abu Musa slid her crispy planets of falafel into pockets of warm, fresh pita bread and Liyana bit down hard.
  27. compose
    produce a literary work
    They could write the answers down or tape them, then choose the most interesting parts and compose a paper.
  28. luscious
    extremely pleasing to the sense of taste
    “She said, ‘I will soon appear to your husband, who is carrying luscious dates in his pockets and I will ask him to share them with me and he will not be able to say no. Check with him when he comes back. That will prove it. Now here’s the advice’—and she gave it to me...."
  29. superstitious
    showing faith in magic and ignorance of the laws of nature
    Poppy said he became a doctor because he grew up with such superstitious people.
  30. incidental
    minor or casual or subordinate in significance or nature
    From her bed, she could hear her family continuing their lives without her. Clinking. Opening doors. Rafik running water in the bathroom.
    She was—incidental—to the planet's actions.
  31. infuse
    fill, as with a certain quality
    Each time Liyana read a Dickinson line she really liked, she’d close her eyes and make up a line of her own inside her head. I’m not copying, she thought. I’m being infused.
  32. profusely
    in very large amounts or quantities; extremely
    Then Liyana began sweating profusely. Sitti acted happy now. She took towels, wiping Liyana’s face and arms and legs very hard.
  33. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
    All through dinner, Rafik reported to his sister later, Sitti chastised Poppy for not having let her heal Liyana earlier.
  34. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    Beyond the lettuce cart, a donkey sprawled by the road on his side, head down, as if he were sick, too.
  35. humble
    low or inferior in station or quality
    Some people say a donkey is a “humble” beast—unlike a proud Arabian horse, for example.
  36. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
    Liyana began visiting the Sandrounis’ ceramics shop every other day, memorizing the intricate curls of vines on fancy tiles.
  37. dignity
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
    Liyana, she said to herself, Poppy would flip!
    Here, in the land of dignity.
    Here, where a girl was hardly supposed to THINK about a boy!
  38. sprig
    a small branch or stem, usually with leaves or flowers
    They ordered hummus, which came swirled with sprigs of parsley for garnish.
  39. garnish
    something added to a dish for flavor or decoration
    They ordered hummus, which came swirled with sprigs of parsley for garnish.
  40. kindling
    material for starting a fire
    Old men were trudging up the skinny street with baskets of kindling tied to their backs.
Created on Wed Jan 23 19:40:47 EST 2019 (updated Tue Jan 29 11:58:26 EST 2019)

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