The Great Gatsby Vocabulary

Proprietary

(adjective) relating to an owner or ownership (or) behaving as if one were the owner of someone or something. "She came in with such a proprietary haste and looked around so possessively at the furniture that I wondered if she lived here" (Fitzgerald, 30). Etymology - late Middle English (as a noun denoting a member of a religious order who held property): from late Latin proprietarius 'proprietor', from proprietas. Synonyms - owned, private, registered, patented, exclusive.

Epigram (4)

(noun) a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way. The newspaper published witty epigrams poking fun at local politicians. Etymology - late Middle English: from French épigramme, or Latin epigramma, from Greek, from epi 'upon, in addition' + gramma. Synonyms - witticism, quip, jest, pun

Septic (106)

1 (chiefly of a wound or a part of the body) infected with bacteria. 2 [attributive] denoting a drainage system incorporating a septic tank. North American a drainage system incorporating a septic tank. Synonym- diseased. Sentence- The sight of the patient's septic wound made me queasy and I couldn't eat lunch for a week. Etymology- early 17th century: via Latin from Greek sēptikos, from sēpein 'make rotten'.

Contemptuous (98)

Adj. showing or expressing disdain; scornful; disrespectful. He knew women early, and since they spoiled him he became contemptuous of them. Etymology: mid 16th century (in the sense 'despising law and order'): from medieval Latin contemptuosus, from Latin contemptus 'contempt,' from contemnere Synonyms: disrespectful, disdain, haughty, scornful, insulting, condescending

Jaunty (79)

Adjective 1.sprightly in appearance or manner, lively or cheerful, self-confident air. 2. Stylish, marked by an up-to-date dress or manners. Synonyms: 1.cheerful, happy, merry 2.stylist, updated Etymology: Jaunty is derived from the French word gentil meaning "nice or pleasing" and in Old French meaning "noble".

Supercilious (24)

Adjective coolly and patronizingly haughty, contempt for others. "Adam is so supercilious that he refuses to be seen with poor than he is." Synonyms: arrogant, bumptious, haughty, high-and-mighty. Etymology: supercilious is derived from the Latin word supercilium meaning eyebrow. The meaning was derived from the Latin word superciliosus meaning haughtiness.

Punctilious (64)

Adjective painstakingly meticulous, showing great attention to details or correct behavior. "Because Stella is so punctilious, she must check to make sure that all of her pens were organized by color." Synonyms: meticulous, ceremonious, correct, formal, decorous. Etymology: Punctilious is derived from the Italian punctiglio meaning "fine point" and from the Latin word punctum meaning "stick".

Corrugated (92)

Adjective, (of a material, surface, or structure) shaped into alternate ridges and grooves; The roof was made of corrugated iron; synonyms - ridged or grooved; Etymology - late Middle English: from Latin corrugat- 'wrinkled,' from the verb corrugare, from cor- (expressing intensive force) + rugare (from ruga 'a wrinkle')

Languid (11)

Adjective, (of a person's, manner, or gesture) displaying or having a disinclination for physical exertion or effort; slow and relaxed. Synonym: peaceful, relaxed. Etymology: From Latin word languidus- faint.

Discordant (53)

Adjective, 1. disagreeing or incongruous 2. (of sounds) harsh and jarring because of a lack of harmony. Synonyms 1 - different, divergent, contradictory; Synonyms 2 - dissonant, shrill, off-key. Etymony - late Middle English: from Old French descordant, present participle of descorder

Meretricious (98)

Adjective, apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity; "His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty" (from the book); Synonyms - worthless, fake, cheap; Etymology - early 17th century: from Latin meretricius (adjective from meretrix, meretric- 'prostitute,' from mereri 'be hired') + -ous.

Infinitesimal (13)

Adjective- extremely small: an infinitesimal pause. Etymology- mid 17th cent.: from modern Latin infinitesimus, from Latin infinitus,, on the pattern of centesimal.

Prodigality (40)

Adjective. characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure. Synonym- Lavish. Antonym- moral, modest. Poor. "laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipper out at a cheerful word." (40 Fitzgerald) Etymology: 15th century, used as meaning above. Derived from latin word, prodigere (to drive away)

Laudable (97)

Adjective: (of an action, idea, or goal) deserving praise and commendation. Sentence - This was his day off and with laudable initiative he had hurried out "to see" (Fitzgerald 97). Synonyms = worthy, deserving, praiseworthy, commendable, admirable. Etymology - Latin: Laus Laud (praise) → able

Convivial (50)

Adjective:(of an atmosphere or event) friendly, lively, and enjoyable. (of a person) cheerful and friendly; jovial. "...girls were putting their heads on men's shoulders in a puppyish, convivial way..." Synonyms: sociable, companionable, genial. Etymology: 1660-70 Latin equivalent to feast or festive.

Gaudiness (99)

Noun, extravagantly bright or showy, typically so as to be tasteless. Synonym: gleam, radiance. Etymology: Late 15th Century English, probably from gaud + -y. Sentence: "A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the washstand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor"

Echolalia (49)

Noun, meaningless repetition of another person's spoken words as a symptom of psychiatric disorder. Etymony - late 19th century: modern Latin, from Greek ēkhō 'echo' + lalia 'speech.'

Euphemism (107)

Noun- a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing: "downsizing" as a euphemism for cuts. Etymology- late 16th cent.: from Greek euphēmismos, from euphēmizein 'use auspicious words,' from eu 'well' + phēmē 'speaking.'

Omnibus (39)

Noun- a volume containing several novels or other items previously published separately. Adj. - comprising several items. "On weekends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight." Etymology: it stems from the latin root omnibus, meaning for all and from there evolves through french to omnibus. Synonyms: autobus, charabanc, coach, double-decker, jitney, motorbus, motorcoach, passenger vehicle, anthology, combination of manythings.

Reverie (99)

Noun: a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream."For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality..." Synonyms: daydream, trance, musing. Etymology: 17th-century French reverie, meaning 'rejoicing' or from rever, meaning 'to be delirious'.

Vestige (89)

Noun: a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists. Sentence - Every vestige of embarrassment soon disappeared. Synonyms = remnant, fragment, relic, echo, and legacy. Etymology - c. 1600, from French vestige "a mark, trace, sign" (16c.), from Latin vestigium "footprint, trace," a word of unknown origin.

Marred (2)

Verb, impair the quality of; spoil: violence marred a number of New Year celebrations. Synonym: hinder, waste. Etymony: from Old english word "merran" - to hinder, waste.

Caterwauling (55)

Verb, to make a shrill howling or wailing noise. Synonyms - wail, bawl, screech. Etymony - late Middle English: from cat + imitative waul. Example - we could hear the caterwauling of the cats piercing the air all night.

Somnambulate (69)

Verb: to walk during sleep; sleepwalk. Sentence - On my walk to bed, I drifted in and out of a somnambulate walk. Synonyms = sleepwalk, drowsiness in walking. Example - when you get up in the middle of the night to get something and then go back to bed, yet you do not remember that you got up.

Corpulent (49)

adjective (of a person) fat. synonyms: fat, obese, overweight, plump, portly, stout, chubby, paunchy, beer-bellied, heavy, bulky, chunky, well upholstered, well padded, well covered, meaty, fleshy, rotund, broad in the beam; More antonyms: thin. late Middle English: from Latin corpulentus, from corpus 'body.'

Truculent (140)

eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant: his days of truculent defiance were over. His truculent manner made it very hard to argue with him; every time you would suggest he was wrong he immediately tried to pick a fight a with you. Truculent is used to describe a certain type of aggression that people show. Etymology: mid 16th century: from Latin truculentus, from trux, truc- 'fierce'.

Homogeneity (44)

the quality or state of being all the same or all of the same kind. The homogeneity of the students' outfits made it seem like there was a uniform at the school. Etymology - early 17th century: from medieval Latin homogeneitas, from homogeneus (of the same kind; alike) + -ity. Synonyms - uniformity, identicality.