Unit 4: Vocabulary from Readings

This list covers "The Five 'Wanderers' of the Ancient Skies," "Developing Your Chops," and Gorillas in the Mist.
15 words 72 learners

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Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. relic
    an antiquity that has survived from the distant past
    Some of the oldest known relics created by human beings have astronomical significance.
  2. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    Cliff drawings and stone monuments found in many places also prove that people have been intrigued by the objects in the heavens since prehistoric times.
  3. associate
    make a logical or causal connection
    Ancient Jewish people did not associate the heavenly bodies with gods and goddesses, for their religion, Judaism, taught that there is only one God.
  4. concoct
    devise or invent
    Ptolemy concocted another explanation for the planets’ backward loops.
  5. reign
    be larger in power, status, or importance
    The Ptolemaic System reigned virtually unchallenged for nearly 1,400 years.
  6. influence
    have and exert an effect
    “I was heavily influenced by James Burton with Ricky Nelson,” he says in The Guitar Greats. “I used to put the needle back again and again, slow it down a few times, and hear it backwards and forwards and every way, just to learn all the different ways it could be done, which is really a good way of learning.”
  7. premier
    first in rank or degree
    Later, he studied with some real pros—Dave Garibaldi from the premier west coast funk band, Tower of Power, and L.A. studio drummer Ralph Humphrey.
  8. prospective
    of or concerned with or related to the future
    If you love heavy metal and your prospective teacher plays in a bluegrass band on the weekends, odds are you weren’t cut out for each other.
  9. ail
    be unwell
    As a teenager growing up in Miami, Florida, singer Gloria Estefan was too busy caring for her ailing father to study music.
  10. essential
    absolutely necessary
    Many musicians think reading music is an essential part of playing an instrument, especially if you hope to make music your career.
  11. intangible
    incapable of being perceived by the senses, especially touch
    The first occasion when I felt I might have crossed an intangible barrier between human and ape occurred about ten months after beginning the research at Karisoke.
  12. unfathomable
    impossible to come to understand
    The expression in his eyes was unfathomable.
  13. vegetation
    all the plant life in a particular region or period
    We found them feeding in the middle of a shallow ravine of densely growing herbaceous vegetation.
  14. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    Bob and I had just settled down on a comfortable moss-cushioned Hagenia tree trunk when Peanuts, wearing his “I want to be entertained” expression, left his feeding group to meander toward us.
  15. foliage
    the collective amount of leaves of one or more plants
    Since he appeared totally relaxed, I lay back in the foliage, slowly extended my hand, palm upward, then rested it on the leaves.
Created on Tue Feb 16 12:35:58 EST 2021 (updated Fri Feb 19 13:21:12 EST 2021)

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