I Lived on Butterfly Hill: List 5

by Marjorie Agosín
With their country in turmoil, Celeste's parents go into hiding and send Celeste to Maine to keep her safe.

This list covers Part III: "Her Bare Feet Make No Sound" to Epilogue.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
30 words 92 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    Everyone gathers around us—overjoyed, tongue-tied, incredulous, and grateful.
  2. willowy
    slender and graceful
    My mother puts her willowy arm around me and pulls me close.
  3. sophisticated
    intellectually appealing
    In high school, our classes, as Marisol put it, “are more sophisticated now, like us!”
  4. physiology
    the science dealing with the functioning of organisms
    There are so many new things to explore—philosophy, psychology, physiology—and best of all, languages.
  5. feeble
    lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    Tonight my parents return before dinner, and Papá hands a burlap bag to a scowling Delfina, who frets about “Delfina’s Esmeralda working long hours for peanuts, and with her feeble health!”
  6. annihilate
    do away with completely, without leaving a trace
    “If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.”
  7. bask
    derive or receive pleasure from
    We all bask in the rays of Abuela Frida’s smile.
  8. idly
    in a lazy, casual, or aimless way
    I look down at my own feet hanging idly above the grass.
  9. impish
    naughtily or annoyingly playful
    Delfina smiles impishly. “How about, Celeste is small, but her brain makes her tall?”
  10. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    Marisol throws me a question mark with her eyes and scuttles out of the classroom.
  11. audible
    heard or perceptible by the ear
    I breathe an audible sigh of relief.
  12. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
    “I want you to write a letter, Celeste. Use your gift of words and all the experiences you have gained in the past few years, to show Chile how resilient we are, and what wondrous possibilities await in our future.”
  13. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
    I take this opportunity to write to you with humility and gratitude. My Abuela Frida, who came to Valparaíso as a Jewish refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria, taught me that placing these two words—“humility” and “gratitude”—side by side makes the most generous offering in any language.
  14. occupy
    march aggressively into a territory by military force
    I take this opportunity to write to you with humility and gratitude. My Abuela Frida, who came to Valparaíso as a Jewish refugee from Nazi- occupied Austria, taught me that placing these two words—“humility” and “gratitude”—side by side makes the most generous offering in any language
  15. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    Suddenly I spot Marisol—she is turning heads and causing men’s cigars to drop to the ground, sauntering down the pier in a new red dress.
  16. chignon
    a roll of hair worn at the nape of the neck
    Slowly she walks my way and pulls a red carnation from the braided chignon at the nape of her neck.
  17. revel
    celebrate noisily or engage in uproarious festivities
    My friends pull me down from the roof to join the masses of revelers dancing on the pier.
  18. elated
    full of high-spirited delight
    Someone hands me a cup of lemonade that tastes more like champagne, and I gulp it down, thirsty and elated.
  19. nape
    the back side of the neck
    I wind her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck, the elegant way she has worn it every day I have known her.
  20. gauzy
    so thin as to transmit light
    I drape the gauzy peach-colored shawl over my grandmother’s shoulders, then gently sit down on the bed by her side.
  21. ignorance
    the lack of knowledge or education
    For Delfina and me, a Mapuche peasant and an Austrian Jewess, the time to fear ignorance dressed up in a uniform already passed long ago.
  22. haphazardly
    without care; in a slapdash manner
    Old blankets and cloaks are haphazardly strewn over the various shapes.
  23. calico
    coarse cloth with a bright print
    Over one box I recognize the calico dress Abuela Frida wears in the photograph where she is holding Tía Graciela days after she was born.
  24. mysticism
    a religion based on communion with an ultimate reality
    I look through the various titles. Mapuche Medicine, Mysticism, the cello music to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the famous “Ode to Joy.”
  25. frantic
    marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
    I check the mail frantically every day, hoping to get my hands on the letter with the presidential seal first so that no one asks me a million questions about it.
  26. serendipitous
    lucky in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
    “What a serendipitous occasion, to find you here today!” he says.
  27. gracious
    exhibiting courtesy and politeness
    I can hear Abuela Frida telling me a lady always accepts favors graciously, and treats her elders with respect.
  28. parasol
    a handheld collapsible source of shade
    Señora Atkinson is strolling beneath a violet parasol.
  29. prim
    exaggeratedly proper
    Ever prim and proper, she somehow manages to shout in a demure voice.
  30. demure
    suggestive of modesty or reserve
    Ever prim and proper, she somehow manages to shout in a demure voice.
Created on Fri Jun 11 14:41:00 EDT 2021 (updated Thu Jun 17 09:27:56 EDT 2021)

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