The Prophet: The Coming of the Ship–On Eating and Drinking

by Kahlil Gibran
In this collection of fables, published in 1923, a prophet tells instructive stories to a group of listeners. Read the full text here.

This list covers "The Coming of the Ship"–"On Eating and Drinking."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
30 words 154 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

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!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reap
    gather, as of natural products
    And in the twelfth year, on the seventh day of Ielool, the month of reaping, he climbed the hill without the city walls and looked seaward; and he beheld his ship coming with the mist.
  2. tarry
    stay longer than you should
    Yet I cannot tarry longer.
  3. fain
    in a willing manner
    Fain would I take with me all that is here.
  4. ether
    a medium that was once thought to fill all space
    A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that gave it wings. Alone must it seek the ether.
  5. prow
    the front part of a vessel
    Now when he reached the foot of the hill, he turned again towards the sea, and he saw his ship approaching the harbour, and upon her prow the mariners, the men of his own land.
  6. furrow
    a long shallow trench in the ground
    And what shall I give unto him who has left his plough in midfurrow, or to him who has stopped the wheel of his winepress?
  7. laden
    filled with a great quantity
    Shall my heart become a tree heavy- laden with fruit that I may gather and give unto them?
  8. sow
    place seeds in or on the ground for future growth
    If this is my day of harvest, in what fields have I sowed the seed, and in what unremembered seasons?
  9. entreat
    ask for or request earnestly
    And others came also and entreated him.
  10. hail
    greet enthusiastically or joyfully
    And she hailed him, saying: Prophet of God, in quest of the uttermost, long have you searched the distances for your ship.
  11. disclose
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    Now therefore disclose us to ourselves, and tell us all that has been shown you of that which is between birth and death.
  12. beckon
    summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture
    When love beckons to you, follow him
  13. yield
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
    Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
  14. pinion
    wing of a bird
    And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
    Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
  15. prune
    cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of
    For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
    Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
  16. sheaf
    a package of several things tied together
    Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
  17. thresh
    beat the seeds out of a grain
    He threshes you to make you naked.
  18. pliant
    capable of being bent or flexed or twisted without breaking
    He kneads you until you are pliant
  19. ecstasy
    a state of elated bliss
    To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy
  20. lute
    a stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body
    Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
    Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
  21. strive
    attempt by employing effort
    You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
  22. prudent
    marked by sound judgment
    And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
  23. wholesome
    characteristic of physical or moral well-being
    There are those who give little of the much which they have—and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
  24. bounty
    the property of being richly abundant or plentiful
    These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
  25. coffer
    a chest especially for storing valuables
    These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
  26. rend
    tear or be torn violently
    And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
  27. unabashed
    not embarrassed
    And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
  28. deem
    judge or regard in a particular way
    For in truth it is life that gives unto life—while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
  29. yoke
    an oppressive power
    And you receivers—and you are all receivers—assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
  30. sustain
    supply with necessities and support
    Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.
Created on Tue Sep 21 10:50:43 EDT 2021 (updated Mon Sep 27 12:35:17 EDT 2021)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.