Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: First Part: Chapters 9–16

by Jules Verne
Board the Nautilus and travel under the sea with the mysterious Captain Nemo as you learn these words from the science fiction novel by Jules Verne. Read the full text, translated from the original French by F.P. Walter, here.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: First Part: Chapters 1–8, First Part: Chapters 9–16, First Part: Chapters 17–24, Second Part: Chapters 1–7, Second Part: Chapters 8–14, Second Part: Chapters 15–23
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. limit
    restrict or confine
    Did he simply limit himself to storing the air in high–pressure tanks and then dispense it according to his crew's needs?
  2. economical
    using the minimum of time or resources for effectiveness
    Or, proceeding in a more convenient, more economical, and consequently more probable fashion, was he satisfied with merely returning to breathe at the surface of the water like a cetacean, renewing his oxygen supply every twenty–four hours?
  3. smother
    deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
    And if these pirates—I say pirates out of consideration for the professor's feelings, since he doesn't want us to call them cannibals—if these pirates think they're going to smother me in this cage without hearing what cusswords spice up my outbursts, they've got another think coming!
  4. tether
    restraint consisting of a rope or chain
    I refuse to believe that an American is at the end of his tether.
  5. warden
    the chief official in charge of a prison
    "But we fix things by kicking out all the jailers, guards, and wardens," Ned Land added.
  6. hermetic
    completely sealed or airtight
    I didn't see any way out of this sheet–iron, hermetically sealed cell.
  7. isolation
    the act of setting something apart from others
    As for our neglect, our isolation in the depths of this cell, I was afraid to guess at how long it might last.
  8. cramp
    prevent the progress or free movement of
    But even so, was the man going to let us die of starvation, locked up in this cramped prison, exposed to those horrible temptations to which people are driven by extreme hunger?
  9. oblige
    force somebody to do something
    Nothing obliged me to grant you hospitality.
  10. sever
    cut off from a whole
    I've severed all ties with society, for reasons that I alone have the right to appreciate.
  11. regulation
    an authoritative rule
    Therefore I obey none of its regulations, and I insist that you never invoke them in front of me!
  12. conscience
    motivation deriving from ethical or moral principles
    God, if he believed in Him, his conscience if he had one—these were the only judges to whom he was answerable.
  13. condition
    a statement of what is required as part of an agreement
    You'll be free here, and in exchange for that freedom, moreover totally related to it, I'll lay on you just one condition.
  14. confine
    to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement
    It's possible that certain unforeseen events may force me to confine you to your cabins for some hours, or even for some days as the case may be.
  15. obedience
    dutiful or submissive behavior toward another person
    Since I prefer never to use violence, I expect from you in such a case, even more than in any other, your unquestioning obedience.
  16. yoke
    an oppressive power
    But giving up that intolerable earthly yoke that some men call freedom is perhaps less painful than you think!
  17. renounce
    turn away from; give up
    I renounced terrestrial foods long ago, and I'm none the worse for it.
  18. infinity
    time without end
    The sea is simply the vehicle for a prodigious, unearthly mode of existence; it's simply movement and love; it's living infinity, as one of your poets put it.
  19. tyrant
    a cruel and oppressive dictator
    The sea doesn't belong to tyrants.
  20. ban
    prohibit especially by law or social pressure
    Written in every language, books on science, ethics, and literature were there in abundance, but I didn't see a single work on economics—they seemed to be strictly banned on board.
  21. resource
    aid or support that may be drawn upon when needed
    Captain Nemo must have spent millions in acquiring these different specimens, and I was wondering what financial resources he tapped to satisfy his collector's fancies
  22. ultra
    far beyond the norm
    But I confess that my curiosity is aroused to the limit by this Nautilus, the motor power it contains, the equipment enabling it to operate, the ultra powerful force that brings it to life.
  23. austere
    severely simple
    It had an austere, almost monastic appearance.
  24. potential
    the inherent capacity for coming into being
    "But, Captain, you have a tremendous speed of movement that doesn't square with the strength of electricity. Until now, its dynamic potential has remained quite limited, capable of producing only small amounts of power!"
  25. deplete
    use up, as resources or materials
    The electric cells you use to generate this marvelous force must be depleted very quickly.
  26. quantity
    how much there is or how many there are of something
    Obviously your batteries could do the extracting; but if I'm not mistaken, the consumption of sodium needed by your electric equipment would be greater than the quantity you'd extract
  27. exceed
    be greater in scope or size than some standard
    So I was obliged not to exceed this weight while building it to the aforesaid dimensions.
  28. proportionate
    being in due magnitude or extent
    "When I wanted to determine what increase in weight the Nautilus needed to be given in order to submerge, I had only to take note of the proportionate reduction in volume that salt water experiences in deeper and deeper strata."
  29. capacity
    the amount that can be contained
    When I want to rise again and lie flush with the surface, all I have to do is expel that water; and if I desire that the Nautilus emerge above the waves to one–tenth of its total capacity, I empty all the ballast tanks completely.
  30. rigidity
    the physical property of being stiff and resisting bending
    There are no structural deformities to worry about, because the double hull of this boat has the rigidity of iron
  31. eccentric
    conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
    Would I ever learn the nationality of this eccentric man who had boasted of having none?
  32. refrain
    resist doing something
    Since he made no allusion to his absence the past eight days, I also refrained from mentioning it, and I simply answered that my companions and I were ready to go with him.
  33. fetter
    restrain with shackles
    He's attached to a pump that sends him air through an india–rubber hose; it's an actual chain that fetters him to the shore, and if we were to be bound in this way to the Nautilus, we couldn't go far either.
  34. enclose
    enfold completely with or as if with a covering
    But in my case, since I face considerable pressures at the bottom of the sea, I needed to enclose my head in a copper sphere, like those found on standard diving suits, and the two hoses for inhalation and exhalation now feed to that sphere.
  35. reservation
    an unstated doubt that prevents you from accepting something
    I'd like to register some reservations about the rifle with which you'll equip me.
  36. resistance
    any mechanical force that tends to slow or oppose motion
    "to fire underwater in a medium that's 855 times denser than air, you'd have to overcome considerable resistance."
  37. impede
    be a hindrance or obstacle to
    The fabric of the jacket was reinforced with copper mail that shielded the chest, protected it from the water's pressure, and allowed the lungs to function freely; the sleeves ended in supple gloves that didn't impede hand movements.
  38. inert
    unable to move or resist motion
    I was no longer an inert mass, and I had, comparatively speaking, great freedom of movement.
  39. saturate
    infuse or fill completely
    There the dust that saturates the air gives such rays the appearance of a luminous fog; but above water as well as underwater, shafts of electric light are transmitted with incomparable clarity.
  40. inexhaustible
    incapable of being entirely consumed or used up
    It filled me with real chagrin to crush underfoot the gleaming mollusk samples that littered the seafloor by the thousands: concentric comb shells, hammer shells, coquina (seashells that actually hop around), top–shell snails, red helmet shells, angel–wing conchs, sea hares, and so many other exhibits from this inexhaustible ocean.
Created on Fri Mar 03 12:57:14 EST 2017 (updated Tue Sep 25 15:22:12 EDT 2018)

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