The Hobbit: Chapters 3–6

by J.R.R. Tolkien
In this prequel to The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet life until a group of dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf enlist him in their quest for a dragon's treasure.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–14, Chapters 15–19

Click here to explore our other lists about Middle-Earth.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ford
    cross a river where it's shallow
    One morning they forded a river at a wide shallow place full of the noise of stones and foam.
  2. parapet
    a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
    There was only a narrow bridge of stone without a parapet, as narrow as a pony could well walk on; and over that they had to go, slow and careful, one by one, each leading his pony by the bridle.
  3. venerable
    profoundly honored
    He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer.
  4. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    "I will keep this sword in honour," he said. "May it soon cleave goblins once again!"
    "Cleave" is a contranym, which means it can be its own antonym: it can also mean "come or be in close contact with." In his words, Thorin shows that he does not fear goblins that want to cleave to him, because he will cleave them with a sword called the Goblin-cleaver.
  5. guffaw
    laugh boisterously
    They could hear the giants guffawing and shouting all over the mountainsides.
  6. antiquity
    extreme oldness
    He knew, of course, that the riddle-game was sacred and of immense antiquity, and even wicked creatures were afraid to cheat when they played at it.
    With its use of the adjectives "sacred" and "immense" ("unusually great in amount"), the example sentence emphasizes that the extreme oldness of the riddle-game makes it valuable, just like an antique.
  7. gall
    irritate or vex
    Gollum used to wear it at first, till it tired him; and then he kept it in a pouch next his skin, till it galled him; and now usually he hid it in a hole in the rock on his island, and was always going back to look at it.
  8. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    He was on his island, scrabbling here and there, searching and seeking in vain.
  9. splay
    widen or spread apart
    He seemed to be crouched right down with his flat hands splayed on the floor, and his head thrust out, nose almost to the stone.
  10. abominable
    exceptionally bad or displeasing
    "If we have got to go back now into those abominable tunnels to look for him, then drat him, I say."
  11. helter-skelter
    haphazardly
    There was no time to count, as you know quite well, till we had dashed through the gate-guards, out of the lower door, and helter-skelter down here.
  12. bracken
    large coarse fern often several feet high
    Soon the danger was over, the slide had stopped, and the last faint crashes could be heard as the largest of the disturbed stones went bounding and spinning among the bracken and the pine-roots far below.
  13. smite
    inflict a heavy blow on, with the hand, a tool, or a weapon
    Over them swooped the eagles; the dark rush of their beating wings smote them to the floor or drove them far away; their talons tore at goblin faces.
  14. tumult
    violent agitation
    He just managed to catch hold of Dori's legs, as Dori was borne off last of all; and they went together above the tumult and the burning, Bilbo swinging in the air with his arms nearly breaking.
  15. precipice
    a very steep cliff
    There was no path down on to it save by flying; and no path down off it except by jumping over a precipice.
Created on Thu Dec 05 19:57:16 EST 2013 (updated Mon Jun 23 17:18:32 EDT 2025)

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