The Witch of Blackbird Pond: Chapters 3–5

by Elizabeth George Speare
After emigrating from Barbados to Connecticut Colony, sixteen-year-old Katherine (Kit) Tyler finds herself at odds with her Puritan neighbors, which turns dangerous when she befriends a Quaker woman accused of being a witch.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–15, Chapters 16–21
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    Then the door opened and a thin, gray-haired woman stood on the threshold.
  2. burnished
    made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing
    There was a gleam of rubbed wood and burnished pewter.
  3. nondescript
    lacking distinct or individual characteristics
    In her eagerness to make a good impression Kit had selected this dress with care, but here in this plain room it seemed overelegant. The three other women were all wearing some nondescript sort of coarse gray stuff.
  4. crude
    devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment
    Rachel Wood was setting out a pewter mug and spoon and a crude wooden plate.
  5. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “Poor Katherine! It must have been terrible for you! You were perfectly right to come to us. You do believe she was right, don’t you Matthew?”
    "Yes,” her husband conceded harshly.
  6. rebuke
    censure severely or angrily
    “Why, Judith,” Mercy rebuked her gently. "What would you have her do? You know what the Scriptures tell us about caring for the poor and the widows.”
  7. idleness
    the trait of being inactive or lazy
    “Father says the Lord loveth not idleness. But then, the Lord doesn’t send us a new cousin every day. Perhaps He would forgive us for a little rejoicing—”
  8. chagrin
    cause to feel shame
    “Goodness, what use would I have for such things?” Mercy laughed. “I scarcely ever get to Meeting.” Kit hesitated, chagrined.
  9. delicate
    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing
    Kit unfolded the delicate English shawl and dropped it across Mercy’s shoulders.
  10. frippery
    something of little value or significance
    "No one in my family has any use for such frippery,” he said coldly.
  11. beholden
    under a moral obligation to someone
    “Nor are we beholden on anyone’s charity for our clothing.”
  12. vanity
    feelings of excessive pride
    This will be your home, since you have no other, but you will fit yourself to our ways and do no more to interrupt the work of the household or to turn the heads of my daughters with your vanity.
  13. unseemly
    not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
    No member of my household will appear in public in such unseemly apparel.
  14. gaudy
    tastelessly showy
    “Will you allow Mercy to keep the shawl?” she pleaded. “’Tis not gaudy, and ’twill keep off the draft there by the chimney.”
  15. calico
    coarse cloth with a bright print
    “In that dress!” Judith protested.
    “I’ll find something else. Here, this calico will do, won’t it?”
  16. repent
    feel sorry for; be contrite about
    Kit shortly repented her offer. For four mortal hours she sat on a wooden bench and struggled to grasp the tricky process of carding wool.
  17. deft
    skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
    In one deft motion she plucked the wool from the teeth and rolled it into a fluffy ball.
  18. devise
    come up with after a mental effort
    Toward evening they set her at the easiest task they could devise—the making of corn pudding.
  19. trencher
    a wooden board or platter on which food is served or carved
    She learned her mistake when the lumpy indigestible mass was ladled onto her wooden trencher.
  20. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “Oh, that! That’s only a wolf!” scoffed Judith. “Goodness, you’re not making all that fuss about one old wolf? Wait till you hear a pack of them.”
  21. affront
    a deliberately offensive act
    The modish bonnet with curling white feathers seemed to her uncle a crowning affront.
  22. airily
    in a manner that is overly casual or lacking seriousness
    An hour ago she had declined to go to Meeting, saying airily that she and her grandfather had seldom attended divine service, except for the Christmas Mass.
  23. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    Rachel laid a placating hand on her husband’s sleeve.
  24. auspicious
    indicating favorable circumstances and good luck
    This first venture outside her new home was not starting out auspiciously for Kit, but as they set out along the road she could not repress her curiosity and bouncing spirits.
  25. substantial
    of good quality and condition; solidly built
    The family walked along High Street, past a row of substantial frame houses, and came out on a small square clearing.
  26. tactless
    lacking what is considerate in dealing with others
    Kit stared, too aghast to realize her own tactlessness.
  27. turret
    a small tower extending above a building
    The Meeting House stood in the center of the clearing, a square unpainted wooden structure, topped by a small turret.
  28. pillory
    a wooden instrument of punishment on a post
    As they crossed the clearing Kit recoiled at the objects that stood between her and the Meeting House; a pillory, a whipping post and stocks.
  29. garb
    clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
    Not all of them shared her uncle’s opinions of seemly garb; some were as fashionably dressed as Kit herself.
  30. soberly
    in a serious or subdued manner
    But the majority were soberly and poorly clad, and here and there, in the farthermost pews, Kit glimpsed the familiar black faces that must be slaves.
  31. reverent
    feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
    All of them however were alike in their reverent silence.
  32. undulate
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    On the stairs leading to the gallery nearly twenty small boys were clustered, shoulder to shoulder, and the solid ranks undulated with the constant jerking of restless elbows straining under tight woolen jackets.
  33. convulse
    be overcome with laughter
    Four boys nearest him were convulsed. Snickers spilled out past the hands they clapped over their mouths.
  34. rapt
    feeling great delight and interest
    The cause of all the commotion sat serenely, his rapt, innocent gaze never straying from the minister’s face, his hand still cupped over the imprisoned fly.
  35. discreet
    not easily noticeable
    She tilted her chin so that one plume swept gracefully against her cheek, discreetly curled and uncurled her numb toes inside the kid slippers, and set herself to endure.
  36. staid
    characterized by dignity and propriety
    In the shadow of his teacher an extra staidness had fallen over the young divinity student, and his smile was lukewarm with dignity.
  37. nonplussed
    filled with bewilderment
    “I was glad to see you in Meeting,” he said gravely, “you must have found the sermon uplifting.”
    Kit was nonplussed.
  38. demure
    suggestive of modesty or reserve
    “Dr. Bulkeley’s sermons are always inspired,” she said demurely, “especially when he preaches about the final judgment.”
  39. adornment
    a decoration that is added to relieve plainness
    Kit curtsied, noting with satisfaction that this was one woman who did not despise vain adornment.
  40. damask
    a fabric with a reversible pattern woven into it
    Mistress Ashby’s dove-colored damask with its gilt-edged lace must have come straight from England.
Created on Fri Aug 19 14:32:07 EDT 2016 (updated Sat Jun 17 11:16:25 EDT 2023)

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