Vocabulary List 2ESO
Week 1
Unit 1
Empire (n): a group of states ruled by a single monarch
Stretch (v): extend over an area
Depose (v): to remove from a powerful position
Kingdom (n): a territory ruled by a king or queen
Crusader (n): a member of the military expeditions that fought to recover Holy Land from the
Muslims
Week 2
Unit 1
Civil Servant (n): a member of the state administration
Serf (n): agricultural laborer who was tied to working on his lord’s estate
Riot (n): violent protests by a crowd
Dynasty (n): a line of hereditary rulers
Feudalism (n): the dominant social system in medieval Europe based on the holding of land by
lords and the resulting relationship with vassals and serfs
Week 3
Unit 2
Prophet (n.): a member of some religions who delivers messages that are believed to have come
from God
Semitic (adj.): of or relating to the language family that includes Hebrew and Arabic, and also the
people originally from southwestern Asia
Settle (v.): to adopt a sedentary style of life
Doctrine (n.): a set of principles taught by a Church
Conquest (n.): taking a territory by military force
Week 4
Unit 2
Crop (n.): a plant cultivated for food
Mosque (n.): a place of worship for the Muslims
Compass (n.): an instrument which shows the direction of magnetic north
Astrolabe (n.): an instrument used in navigation for calculating latitude using astronomical
measures
Inhabitant (n.): a person that lives in a place
Week 5
Unit 2
Caliph (n.): the civil and religious leader of a Muslim state, regarded as a successor of
Muhammad
Province (n.): territory governed as an administrative or political unit of a country or empire
Aristocracy (n.): a governing body or upper class usually made up of a hereditary nobility
Water wheel (n.): a large wheel moved by the power of flowing water used to make machinery
work
Vaulted roof (n.): covering of a building made of a parallel series of arches, a dome, etc.
Week 7
Unit 2
Wind (v.):
Quarters (n.): a place of residence, especially the buildings or barracks
Epigraph (n.): an engraved inscription
Courtyard (n.): an enclosure adjacent to a building
Carve (v.): the cutting of material such as stone or wood to form a figure or design
Week 8
Unit 3
*Swear (v.): to bind oneself by oath
*Allegiance (n.): loyalty or the obligation of loyalty, as to a nation
Seek (v.): to try to locate or discover
Duchy (n.): the territory ruled by a duke or duchess
Ecclesiastical (adj.): relating to a church, especially as an organized institution
Week 9
Unit 3
*Adversary (n): an opponent; an enemy
Banquet (n.): a ceremonial dinner honoring a particular guest or occasion
Holding (n.): a small plot of land that lords rented to the peasants
Manor (n.): the house of a lord and the lands attached to it
Demesne (n.): all of the territory used by the lords
Week 10
Unit 3
*Fallow (adj.): plowed but left unseeded during a growing season
Blacksmith (n.): a person that forges and shapes iron with an anvil and hammer
Toll (n.): to charge a fee for using something
Fief (n.): a feudal estate
*Vassal (n.): person who held land from a feudal lord and received protection in return for
homage and allegiance
Week 11
Unit 3
Tithe (n.): a tax for the support of the Church and clergy
Harvest (v.): to collect or gather the crops
Intervene (v.): to be involved in a situation so as to alter an action or development
Arbitrate (v.): to make a judgment to settle a dispute
Pilgrim (n.): a person who journeys to a religious place for religious reasons
Week 13
Unit 4
Plunder (v.): to steal goods in a time of war
Encourage (v.): to give support to
Proclaim (v.): to announce publicly
Tribute (n.): a periodical payment by one state to another
Prosperous (adj.): to be financially successful
Week 14
Unit 4
Disintegrate (v.): break up into small parts
Mercenary (n.): a professional soldier that serves in a foreign army
Reservoir (n.): an artificial lake used as a source of water
Well (n.): a hole in the ground used to get water
Refugee (n.): a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war or
persecution
Week 15
Unit 4 & 6
Successor (n.): person that takes the place of another after their death or retirement
Reign (n.): the period of rule of a monarch
Hermit (n.): person living in solitude as a religious choice
Martyr (n.): person who faces suffering or death for not renouncing ones faith
Annex (v.): to add to a territory