Princess Academy: Chapters 1–3

by Shannon Hale
This first book of the series introduces fourteen-year-old Miri Larendaughter, who must train in the royal ways of Danland, so that the prince can choose one of the girls in her mountain village to be his bride.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–8, Chapters 9–14, Chapters 15–20, Chapters 21–25
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bleat
    cry plaintively like a sheep or goat
    Miri woke to the sleepy bleating of a goat.
  2. casual
    without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
    She kept her voice casual, as though the idea had just occurred to her.
  3. quarry
    a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate
    Miri recognized the tune as one the quarry workers sang when dragging stones out of the pit.
  4. bleak
    unpleasantly cold and damp
    Her mouth watered at the thought of hot sweet cakes, honeyed nuts for a holiday, and a bit saved to drizzle on biscuits some bleak winter evening.
  5. stingy
    unwilling to spend
    This year, she was determined to get that stingy lowlander trader to give up more than he had intended.
  6. strew
    spread by scattering
    Rock debris was strewn and stacked and piled deeper than Miri could dig, and scree littered the slopes that touched the village lanes.
  7. livelihood
    the financial means whereby one supports oneself
    Linder. It was the mountain's only crop, her village's one means of livelihood.
  8. vein
    a layer of ore between layers of rock
    They had mined linder marbled with pale veins of pink, blue, green, and now silver.
  9. chisel
    an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
    Below her, the quarry was a jangle of odd rectangular shapes, blocks half-exposed, men and women with wedges and mallets to free chunks from the mountain, levers to lift them out, and chisels to square them straight.
  10. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    He was tall and lean, with a head of tawny curls and limbs still brown from the summer sun.
  11. fanfare
    a short lively tune played on brass instruments
    "Traders, I guess. But why the fanfare?"
    "You know lowlanders," said Peder. "They're so important."
    "Maybe one had some gas, and they trumpeted so the whole world would know the good news."
  12. patronizing
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    One of the traders looked their way with a patronizing smile. "Clearly, it's a messenger from the king."
  13. coarse
    lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
    Miri felt herself gawk like a coarse mountain girl, but she could not help it.
  14. delicate
    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing
    A delicate man with a short, pointed beard emerged from the carriage, squinting in the sunlight that reflected off the white walls of the old quarry.
  15. delegate
    a person appointed or elected to represent others
    "People of Mount Eskel. As your territory has no delegate at court to report to you, His Majesty the king sent me to deliver you this news."
  16. divine
    perceive through some inexplicable perceptive powers
    "This past summer, the priests of the creator god took council on the birthday of the prince. They read the omens and divined the home of his future bride. All the signs indicated Mount Eskel."
  17. notion
    a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
    The chief delegate paused, seemingly waiting for a response, though what kind Miri had no notion.
  18. remote
    inaccessible and sparsely populated
    "Are you so remote that you don't know the customs of your own people?"
  19. supplication
    a prayer asking God's help as part of a religious service
    After days of fasting and supplication, the priests perform a rite to divine which city or town is the home of the future princess.
  20. noble
    of or belonging to hereditary aristocracy
    Then the prince meets all the noble daughters of that place and chooses his bride.
  21. lank
    long and lean
    He was lank and pale, and the way he looked down his thin nose at her reminded Miri of a bird that had gone too long without a grub.
  22. sheer
    very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front
    The back of her house leaned against the sheer wall of a dead quarry, the one of her father's childhood that had offered linder with soft blue streaks.
  23. falter
    be or become weak, unsteady, or uncertain
    When the sunlight streaking through her shutters was orange and hazy, the sound of pounding began to falter.
  24. tend
    have care of or look after
    "Who'd help you in the quarry with Marda gone? And without me, who would do all the housework and tend the rabbits and the goats and all the things that I do?"
  25. beckon
    appear inviting
    The crunching noise of the girls on the march beckoned her with a promise of something different, a place to go, a chance to move forward.
  26. wager
    stake on the outcome of an issue
    "I'd wager this princess nonsense is a trick thought up by the traders," said Miri.
  27. wrangle
    herd or round up
    The lowlander girl was fifteen and delicate, as though she had never wrangled a goat or pounded out a wheel of cheese.
  28. ruddy
    inclined to a healthy reddish color
    Her cheeks were ruddy like the sun side of an apple, and the feature gave her a merry, pretty look when she flashed a rare smile.
  29. sentiment
    tender, romantic, or nostalgic feeling or emotion
    "We're the ones on the mountain," said Miri, "so aren't we the ones above them?”
    Esa smirked at one of the soldiers, and Frid made fists. Miri smiled, warmed by their shared sentiments.
  30. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    It was called the stone minister's house, and the villagers assumed that the structure had once housed a court minister who oversaw the quarry.
  31. fathom
    come to understand
    Frid's expression became troubled, and she looked around, trying to fathom what she had done wrong.
  32. rustic
    awkwardly simple and provincial
    "We must seem pretty rustic to you," said Katar, "but we're ready to enter the academy, learn the rules, and do our best."
  33. luster
    the property of something that shines with reflected light
    Miri stared down as she entered the building, letting the tip of her boot slide across a floorstone—white as cream, with the palest streaks of rose. It seemed remarkable that with no one to tend it, the stone had held its luster for so many decades.
  34. pallet
    a mattress filled with straw or a pad made of quilts
    They followed Olana into a long room that would serve as a bedchamber. Several rows of pallets lay on the floor.
  35. muse
    reflect deeply on a subject
    Miri mused that the girls on pallets farthest from the fire would be mighty cold.
  36. brusque
    rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner
    "He will be very busy," said Olana, "as will you all, so don't waste time addressing him."
    The introduction seemed brusque to Miri, so she smiled at Knut as they left, and he returned a flicker of a smile.
  37. undertaking
    any piece of work that is attempted
    Well, deserved or not, you are now part of a historic undertaking. In the past two centuries, the princess academy has merely been a formality, with the noble girls of the chosen town gathering for a few days of society before the prince's ball.
  38. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Therefore the king granted me the solemn responsibility to verify that every girl sent to the ball is fit to become the princess.
  39. appease
    overcome or allay
    She knew it was a letter, that it had something to do with reading, but she did not know what it meant. Her embarrassment was appeased somewhat by the general silence that followed.
  40. revel
    take delight in
    Miri waited for her to spout the brilliant answer and revel in her knowledge, but Britta hesitated, then shook her head.
Created on Wed Aug 21 11:04:24 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Aug 22 12:37:38 EDT 2024)

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