Julius Caesar Vocabulary

Act I

knave noun A dishonest, untrustworthy person Spanish= belaco, picaro Because he would often steal, he was known as a knave.

cull verb To choose, select, or pick Spanish= entresacar The farmers had to cull out the most ripe strawberries in the patch.

intermit verb To discontinue temporarily; to stop or pause at intervals Spanish= pararse She had to intermit the meeting because the weather was bad.

countenance noun Appearance; the expression of the face; calm facial expression Spanish= semblante, rostro Her countenance clearly indicated how she felt.

cogitation noun A thought or reflection Spanish= reflexion As he sat under the tree, he had many cogitations.

accouter Verb To equip or outfit, esp. with military clothes Spanish= equipar The soldiers were accoutered in their best uniforms.

conjure verb To influence by spell; to bring about with magic or miracle Spanish= evocar People in Salem were accused of conjuring spirits.

fain adverb and adjective Gladly; willingly Content; willing Spanish= con gusto They were fain to clean up their neighborhood.

portentous adjective Ominously significant or indicative; foreboding; hinting at something bad Spanish= porfetico The portentous clouds upon the horizon indicated a bad storm.

obscurely adverb Indirectly; subtly; unclearly Spanish= sutilmente The directions were very unclear and written obscurely.

chidden verb and adjective To express disapproval of; to scold or harass Scolded or chastised Spanish= reprender He was chidden by his mother after he didn’t clean his room.

encompass verb To form a circle about; encircle; surround; envelop Spanish= rodear The fence encompasses the whole yard.

blunt adjective 1. Slow in perception or understanding 2. having a thick or dull edge 3. honest Spanish= despuntar, tonto He was known to be very blunt while in school and never got good grades.

construe verb To give the meaning or intention of; to interpret or analyze the syntax of; to understand Spanish= interpretar I hope you can construe the information that I’m about to give you.

lament verb Mourned for, as a person who is dead; to feel or express sorrow or regret for Spanish= lamentar Those who loved her lamented her death.

hinder verb To cause delay; to prevent from doing Spanish= impedir The power outage hindered the playing of the Super Bowl.

doublet noun A tight fitting jacket, sometimes quilted or reinforced with mail and worn beneath armor; popular during the Elizabethan Period Men who lived during the Elizabethan Period wore doublets.

adjective Curved like a segment of the interior of a circle or hollow sphere Spanish= concavo We studied concave shapes in geometry class.

adjective Extraordinary in size, amount, or degree Spanish= prodigioso The prodigious sky scrapers tower over New York City.

retentive adjective Having the power to remember or hold in Spanish= retentivo Having a retentive mind is a valuable thing.

Act II

serpent noun 1. a snake 2. a wily, treacherous, untrustworthy person Spanish= serpiente, culebra The SERPENT tempted Eve into eating the forbidden fruit in the Bible story. “And therefore think of him as a serpent’s egg—which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous—and kill him in the shell” (ii.i)

instigation noun Instigate= verb The act of bringing about excitement Spanish= incitacion She was known to INSTIGATE fights by picking on people’s insecurities. “Such instigations have been dropped where I took them up” (ii.i)

carrion noun Dead and putrefying flesh; rottenness; anything vile (evil/despicable) The rotting CARRION was stinking up the whole area. “Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous, old feeble carrions, and such suffering souls that welcome wrongs” (ii.i)

haste noun Swiftness of motion; speed; urgent need of quick action Spanish= prisa In order to get there on time, we must make HASTE. “Leave me with haste” (ii.i)

affability noun Warmth and friendliness; pleasantness; politeness Spanish- afabilidad, cortesia She was most likely to brighten your day because of her AFFABILITY. “Seek non, conspiracy, hide it in smiles and affability, for if thou path, thy native semblance on, not Erebus itself were dim enough to hide thee from prevention” (ii.i)

exorcist noun One who summons spirits Exorcists are known to be able to CONJURE spirits of the dead. “Thou like an exorcist hast conjured up my mortified spirit” (ii.i)

beseech verb To beg eagerly for Spanish= suplicar, implorar The student BESEECHED her teacher for another chance to make up the assignment. “That I have lady, if it will please Caesar to be so good to Caesar as to hear me, I shall beseech him to befriend himself” (ii.iv)

feeble adjective Physically weak, as from age or sickness; weak intellectually or morally Spanish= debil The FEEBLE old many walked slowly down the road. “Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble tongue” (ii.i)

entrails noun The internal parts of the trunk of the body; the intestines; the internal parts of anything Spanish- entranas After killing an animal, a hunter will scoop out its ENTRAILS. ‘They would not have to stir forth today, plucking the entrails of an offering forth, they could not find a heart within the breast” (ii.ii)

void adjective Without content; empty Spanish= vacio Their house was completely VOID of furniture. “I’ll get me to a place more void, and there speak to great Caesar as he comes along” (ii.iv.)

Act III

apprehensive adjective Uneasy or fearful about something that might happen She was apprehensive about getting up in front of the room to give her speech. “So in the world: ‘tis furnished well with men, and men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive” (III.i)

ascend verb To move, climb, or go upward; to mount or rise Because of his hard work, he quickly ascended to president of the company. “The noble Brutus is ascended. Silence!” (III.ii)

appease verb To soothe or calm down The sound of the gentle waves appeased her. “Only be patient til we have appeased/The multitude, beside themselves with fear” (iii.i)

firmament noun The expanse of the sky; the heavens If you live in the country, you can more easily see the stars within the firmament. “But I am constant as the Northern Star, of whose true fixed and resting quality, there is no fellow in the firmament” (iii.i)

inter verb To place ( a dead body) in a grave or tomb; to bury; to put into the earth People who die are often interred with their special belongings. “ I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men to lives after them, the good is oft interred with the bones” (iii.ii)

mutiny noun Revolt or rebellion against authority, esp. by sailors against a captain The sailors formed a mutiny against their captain because they wanted higher pay. “Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up to a sudden flood of mutiny” (iii.ii)

render verb To cause or become; make; provide After eight hours of deliberation, the jury rendered a verdict. “Those that will hear me speak, let ‘em stay here. Those that will follow Cassius, go with him, and public reasons shall be rendered of Caesar’s death” (iii.i)_

treason noun The offense of acting to overthrow or go against one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign (ruler) Because Caesar returned home with his army when the Senate asked him not to, it was considered an act of treason. “Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, whilst bloody treason flourished over us” (iii.ii)

valiant adjective Boldly courageous; brave; worthy; excellent The valiant soldier saved the lives of many people. “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour hm. But, as he was ambitious, I slew him” (iii.ii)

vanquish verb To conquer or subdue by superior force, as in battle; to defeat in any conquest Their forces were vanquished by their enemies in a matter of days. “For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, ingratitude, more strong than traitors’ arms, quite vanquished him” (iii.ii).

Act IV

slander noun A false and hateful statement about someone that is injurious or bad for a person’s reputation. Spanish= difamatorio The tabloids often make slanderous remarks about celebrities. “Octavius, I have seen more days than you, and though we lay these honours on this man, to ease ourselves of divers slanderous loads...” (IV.i)

salutation noun A word or phrase serving as the greeting in a letter or speech Spanish= saludo Before the President began his speech, he offered salutations. “He is at hand, and Pindarus is come to do you salutation from his master.” (IV.ii).

mettle noun Courage and fortitude; disposition and temperament Spanish= temple; espiritu When he ran into the burning home, it was a clear display of hit mettle. “There are no tricks in plain and simple faith, but hollow men, like horses hot at hand, make gallant show and promise of their mettle...” (IV.ii).

wrangle Verb To argue or dispute Spanish= discutir The coaches often wrangle with referees about unfair calls. “Cassius, be content. Speak your griefs softly. I do know you well. Before the eyes of both our armies here, which should perceive nothing but love from us, let us not wrangle.” (IV.ii).

mirth noun Amusement or laughter; jollity; happiness Spanish= alegria Upon the birth of their daughter, they were full of mirth. “By the gods, you shall digest the venom of your spleen, though it do split you. For, from this day forth, I’ll use you for my mirth, yea for my laughter, when you are waspish (quick to take offence).” (IV.iii).

covetous adjective Eagerly desirous; wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions; greedy Spanish= codicioso Julius Caesar was covetous of the crown. “When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous, to lock such rascal counters from his friends, be ready gods with all your thunderbolts, dash him to pieces!” (IV.iii).

rive verb To tear apart; to separate by striking; split Spanish= partir Because her family moved, she and her boyfriend were rived never to see each other again. “I did not. He was but a fool that brought my answer back. Brutus hath rived my heart. A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities, but Brutus makes mine greater than they are.” (IV.iii).

chide verb To express disapproval of; scold; harass Spanish= reganar His mother chided him for not cleaning his room. “Yes, Cassius, and from henceforth, when you are over-earnest with your Brutus, he’ll think your mother chides, and leave you so.” (IV.iii).

cynic noun A person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions; a pessimist who looks at the negative side of life Spanish= cinico “Ha, ha! How vilely doth this cynic rhyme!” (IV.iii).

apparition noun A supernatural appearance of a person or thing; a phantom or ghost Spanish= aparicion She swore that she saw an apparition of her deceased grandmother. “How ill this taper burns! Ha! Who comes here? I think it is the weakness of mine eyes that shapes this monstrous apparition.” (IV.iii).