Daughters of the Lamp: Parts Four–Five

by Nedda Lewers
This first book of the series introduces twelve-year-old budding scientist Sahara Rashad from 1980s New York and thirteen-year-old servant Morgana Salem from 980s Baghdad, who are connected by their family's mission to protect an underground Egyptian chamber that contains magical treasures.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Parts Four–Five
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. curt
    brief and to the point
    After a few seconds of silence, her husband twisted around and gave a curt nod to his officers.
  2. succumb
    be fatally overwhelmed
    “Morgana Salem, you and those who will descend from you are the only hopes we have of keeping our world from succumbing to the darkness that would prevail if the lamp fell into the wrong hands,” Husnaya proclaimed.
  3. prevail
    prove superior
    “Morgana Salem, you and those who will descend from you are the only hopes we have of keeping our world from succumbing to the darkness that would prevail if the lamp fell into the wrong hands,” Husnaya proclaimed.
  4. conform
    be similar, be in line with
    The next size up would be four by six feet—if a carpet in a secret chamber even conformed to standard sizes.
  5. beckon
    signal with the hands or nod
    “But before you arrived, I had the same dream night after night—little wings flapping above me and a voice warning that someone was coming for the lamp, beckoning me to remove it from the chamber.”
  6. obligation
    the state of being bound to do or pay something
    “By the time Amani was old enough, she and your father had already decided to move to America. I didn’t dare burden her with an obligation she couldn’t honor from far away.”
  7. compromise
    expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute
    What if the journal’s warning that what was hidden in the dark would be unlocked was about the lamp? That would mean that the key that had kept the jinni under wraps all these years had been compromised.
  8. legacy
    anything handed down by someone or something in the past
    The image of Sittu beaming with pride as she’d described how generations of Salem women had guarded the chamber’s treasures rushed back. Knife or no knife, Sahara couldn’t let El Ghoula destroy their family’s legacy.
  9. revere
    regard with feelings of respect
    It couldn’t have been easy handing over the lamp, especially for Naima, who revered all things magic.
  10. appease
    cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
    “I’ll explain everything after we help Kitmeer. We can’t just leave him lying in the street.” Naima’s voice cracked.
    Fanta nodded, appeased for now.
  11. livid
    furiously angry
    Once, in the fifth grade, Sahara had returned from school livid after Corey Burke threw a paper airplane at her head.
  12. established
    settled securely and unconditionally
    A dismayed Amitu pointed out, “If no one ever challenged the rules or laws, some of your classmates wouldn’t be allowed to attend the same school as you because of their skin color. We must question the rules, even the most established.”
  13. feign
    make believe with the intent to deceive
    “Who said anything about a jinni lamp?” Naima feigned ignorance, but not well.
  14. compel
    necessitate or exact
    It had been a few years since Sahara had prayed with her father, but she felt compelled to do just that, particularly since he and Sittu couldn’t.
  15. benevolent
    intending or showing kindness
    “The spirit of love and friendship with which it was given to you resides in it. And if we are to create an amulet capable of locking the enchanted lamp, we must harness that benevolent energy.”
  16. confine
    to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement
    We cannot change these fated paths, but we can confine the powerful sorcery inside the lamp.
  17. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    Morgana wasn’t ready, but she’d promised her mawlay she would protect the treasures. And forever etched in her mind would be Princess Badr’s eyes imploring her to keep the lamp safe.
  18. fervently
    with strong emotion or zeal
    Morgana shook her head fervently. “I can’t give you the necklace! I won’t! Deena had it made for me. No one has ever had anything made for me before.”
  19. indignation
    a feeling of righteous anger
    In all her life, Morgana had never raised her voice to anyone, but her indignation boiled over like water left on the fire for too long.
  20. smolder
    have strong suppressed feelings
    The words smoldered between them as she stepped inside, blazing past him.
  21. naive
    lacking information or instruction
    Naima was bold but not naive. She heeded her brother’s advice.
  22. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    Zooming through, they careened up into the twilight sky.
  23. tendril
    something long, light, slender, and often curling
    The warm wind whipped her hair in front of her eyes. No scrunchie could withstand its power. She squinted through her curly tendrils, spotting the lights of the buildings and the cars below.
  24. reverie
    an abstracted state of absorption
    His howl traveled deep into the universe, touching the heavens, then falling back to earth. The stars seemed to join the reverie, relishing their final twinkles before the sun seized the celestial throne.
  25. insincere
    lacking the quality of being open and truthful
    “I thought we were going to die.”
    “Ma‘lish,” Naima shot back an insincere apology. “Magic carpet of ancient times and infinite power, be sure to stop more smoothly next time for my dear brother.”
  26. timbre
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
    As she reached the landing where the staircase made a quarter turn, there was no mistaking Magda’s icy timbre, though Sahara picked up a slight tremble in it.
  27. unassuming
    not arrogant
    “Fayrouz,” Sahara muttered as her grandmother’s maid, once so unassuming, boldly loomed over a slumped Magda—her wedding dress spread in a messy heap and the tiara of flowers askew on her head.
  28. diffuse
    move outward
    Though she’d absorbed most of the blast with her body, the rest of it diffused, knocking everyone else off their feet.
  29. unmarred
    free from physical or moral spots or stains
    Tan skin, bearing life’s marks and scars, had also taken the place of El Ghoula’s unmarred porcelain.
  30. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    Her gaze flitted to the lavish tables. This had to be the spinning restaurant her father had told her about.
  31. steadfast
    firm and dependable especially in loyalty
    Instead, the radiant silver rays emerged from her fingers. The more Sahara surrendered to the fullness of her being and her mother’s steadfast love, the bigger and brighter they became.
  32. helm
    steering mechanism for a vessel
    Floating in front of her was the enchanted carpet, with none other than Kitmeer at its helm—the lamp’s handle dangling from his mouth and the amulet around his neck.
  33. revel
    take delight in
    The dog reveled in her praise, his tail wagging wildly.
  34. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    If Morgana didn’t know better, she’d have sworn a grin flashed across the solemn seer’s face.
  35. debilitating
    impairing strength and vitality
    It seemed the blow he’d received from Fayrouz’s hand hadn’t been as debilitating as the one Noora had taken for his sister.
  36. vile
    morally reprehensible
    Hearing Noora refer to Fayrouz with the same vile nickname they’d used for her when she was Magda caught Sahara and her cousins off guard, to say the least.
  37. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    Sahara thought about stopping her cousin from divulging the family’s secret, but what was the point? Noora already knew so much.
  38. banter
    light teasing repartee
    The returned sound of her family’s rowdy banter was music to her ears, though her stomach clenched at the mention of the sharbat.
  39. boisterous
    marked by exuberance and high spirits
    Afterward, a boisterous zaffa of local musicians and neighbors accompanied the couple from Sittu’s building to the rooftop of Umm Zalabya’s garden for the reception.
  40. resounding
    unmistakable; clearly revealed to the mind or judgment
    Sahara drew a deep breath, quieting the familiar voice of guilt in her head. It had gotten way less noisy these days, drowned out by the resounding certainty of her mother’s love.
Created on Thu Aug 22 16:45:14 EDT 2024 (updated Fri Aug 23 16:58:14 EDT 2024)

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