The Canterbury Tales: The Reeve's Prologue and Tale

Anna
This famous collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 14th century, depicts a group of pilgrims journeying to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. Each pilgrim tells a tale, showcasing a diverse range of characters and narratives that offer insights into medieval English society. Its significance lies in its portrayal of social commentary, religious themes, and the evolution of the English language, making it a cornerstone of English literature and a timeless work that continues to captivate readers centuries later. These were translated into Modern English by Nevill Coghill.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lark
    any carefree episode
    When all had laughed at the preposterous lark
    Of Absalon and Nicholas the Spark,
    Various folk made various comment after
  2. doddering
    mentally or physically infirm with age
    But I am old. Dirt doesn’t go with doddering
  3. hoary
    having gray or white hair as with age
    My hoary top-knot writes me down for old;
    Same as my hair, my heart is full of mould
  4. dotage
    mental infirmity as a consequence of old age
    An old fool’s tongue will run away with him
    To chime and chatter of monkey-tricks that’s past;
    There’s nothing left but dotage at the last!
  5. lathe
    a machine tool for shaping a piece of rotating wood or metal
    He could play bag-pipes too, fish, mend his gear,
    And turn a lathe, and wrestle, and poach deer.
  6. dowry
    money brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
    He had a wife and she was nobly born;
    Her father was the parson of the town;
    A dowry of brass dishes he put down
    In order to have Simpkin his relation.
  7. levy
    impose and collect
    This miller levied toll beyond a doubt
    On wheat and malt from all the land about
  8. forthright
    characterized by directness in manner or speech
    On hearing which the miller robbed him more
    A hundred times than he had robbed before;
    For up till then he’d only robbed politely,
    But now he stole outrageously, forthrightly.
  9. bluster
    act in an arrogant, overly self-assured, or conceited manner
    The miller didn’t give a bean,
    Blustered it out and swore it wasn’t so.
  10. behoove
    be appropriate or necessary
    And it behoves a man that has nie servant
    To work, as say the learned and observant.
  11. sidle
    move unobtrusively or furtively
    And when he saw his chance he sidled out
    Into the yard behind and looked about
    Without their noticing until at last
    He found their horse where they had made him fast
  12. bridle
    headgear for a horse
    Up to the horse he goes with quiet skill
    And strips the bridle off him there and then.
  13. fen
    low-lying wet land with grassy vegetation
    And when the horse was loose, off to the fen
    Through thick and thin, and whinneying ‘Weehee!’
    He raced to join the wild mares running free.
  14. frugality
    prudence in avoiding waste
    Alan forgot his meal and corn and cost,
    Abandoning frugality and care.
  15. daft
    foolish or mentally irregular
    Why didn’t you put the palfrey in the stall?
    You must be daft, bad luck to you! Haway!
  16. grouse
    complain
    So back they went, John grousing all the way,
    Towards the mill and put the horse in byre.
  17. carouse
    revelry in drinking; a merry drinking party
    They supped and talked and had a fine carouse
    And drank a lot of ale, the very best.
  18. furlong
    a unit of length equal to 220 yards
    His wife joined in the chorus hot and strong;
    Two furlongs off you might have heard their song.
  19. aggrieve
    cause to feel distress
    “If in one point a person be aggrieved,
    Then in another he shall be relieved.”
  20. easement
    the reduction of something unpleasant
    And since no compensation has been offered
    Against wor loss, I’ll take the easement proffered.
  21. treacherous
    tending to betray
    You beast! You treacherous blackguard! Filthy rat!
    God’s dignity! I’ll murder you for that!
  22. grapple
    the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat
    He grabbed at Alan by his Adam’s apple,
    And Alan grabbed him back in furious grapple
    And clenched his fist and bashed him on the nose.
  23. strife
    bitter conflict; heated or violent dissension
    She had heard nothing of this foolish strife,
    For she had fallen asleep with John the clerk
  24. incite
    urge on; cause to act
    Up started John, he needed no inciting,
    And groped about the chamber to and fro
    To find a stick
  25. bumptious
    offensively self-assertive
    And thus the bumptious miller was well beaten
    And done out of the supper they had eaten,
    And done out of the money that was due
    For grinding Alan’s corn, who beat him too.
Created on Wed Mar 30 15:35:13 EDT 2022 (updated Tue May 14 12:50:51 EDT 2024)

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