Julius
Caesar
Vocabulary
Act I
knave
• noun
• A dishonest,
untrustworthy person
• Spanish= belaco, picaro
• Because he would often
steal, he was known as a
knave.
cull
• verb
• To choose, select, or pick
• Spanish= entresacar
• The farmers had to cull
out the most ripe
strawberries in the patch.
intermit
• verb
• To discontinue temporarily;
to stop or pause at intervals
• Spanish= pararse
• She had to intermit the
meeting because the
weather was bad.
countenance
• noun
• Appearance; the expression
of the face; calm facial
expression
• Spanish= semblante, rostro
• Her countenance clearly
indicated how she felt.
cogitation
• noun
• A thought or reflection
• Spanish= reflexion
• As he sat under the
tree, he had many
cogitations.
accouter
• Verb
• To equip or outfit, esp.
with military clothes
• Spanish= equipar
• The soldiers were
accoutered in their best
uniforms.
conjure
• verb
• To influence by spell; to bring
about with magic or miracle
• Spanish= evocar
People in Salem were
accused of conjuring spirits.
fain
• adverb and adjective
• Gladly; willingly
• Content; willing
• Spanish= con gusto
They were fain to clean up
their neighborhood.
portentous
• adjective
• Ominously significant or
indicative; foreboding;
hinting at something bad
• Spanish= porfetico
• The portentous clouds
upon the horizon indicated a
bad storm.
obscurely
• adverb
• Indirectly; subtly;
unclearly
• Spanish= sutilmente
• The directions were very
unclear and written
obscurely.
chidden
• verb and adjective
• To express disapproval of; to
scold or harass
• Scolded or chastised
• Spanish= reprender
• He was chidden by his mother
after he didn’t clean his room.
encompass
• verb
• To form a circle about;
encircle; surround; envelop
• Spanish= rodear
• The fence encompasses
the whole yard.
blunt
• adjective
1. Slow in perception or
understanding
2. having a thick or dull edge
3. honest
Spanish= despuntar, tonto
• He was known to be very blunt
while in school and never got good
grades.
construe
• verb
• To give the meaning or intention
of; to interpret or analyze the
syntax of; to understand
• Spanish= interpretar
• I hope you can construe the
information that I’m about to give
you.
lament
• verb
• Mourned for, as a person
who is dead; to feel or
express sorrow or regret for
• Spanish= lamentar
• Those who loved her
lamented her death.
hinder
• verb
• To cause delay; to
prevent from doing
• Spanish= impedir
• The power outage
hindered the playing of
the Super Bowl.
doublet
• noun
• A tight fitting jacket,
sometimes quilted or
reinforced with mail and
worn beneath armor;
popular during the
Elizabethan Period
• Men who lived during the
Elizabethan Period wore
doublets.
• adjective
• Curved like a segment of
the interior of a circle or
hollow sphere
• Spanish= concavo
• We studied concave
shapes in geometry class.
• adjective
• Extraordinary in size,
amount, or degree
• Spanish= prodigioso
• The prodigious sky
scrapers tower over New
York City.
retentive
• adjective
• Having the power to
remember or hold in
• Spanish= retentivo
• Having a retentive mind
is a valuable thing.
Act II
serpent
• noun
1. a snake
2. a wily, treacherous, untrustworthy
person
Spanish= serpiente, culebra
• The SERPENT tempted Eve into eating
the forbidden fruit in the Bible story.
•
“And therefore think of him as a
serpent’s egg—which hatched, would as
his kind grow mischievous—and kill him
in the shell” (ii.i)
instigation
• noun
• Instigate= verb
• The act of bringing about
excitement
Spanish= incitacion
She was known to INSTIGATE
fights by picking on people’s
insecurities.
“Such instigations have been
dropped where I took them up”
(ii.i)
carrion
• noun
• Dead and putrefying flesh;
rottenness; anything vile
(evil/despicable)
• The rotting CARRION was stinking
up the whole area.
• “Swear priests and cowards and
men cautelous, old feeble carrions,
and such suffering souls that
welcome wrongs” (ii.i)
haste
• noun
• Swiftness of motion; speed;
urgent need of quick action
Spanish= prisa
In order to get there on time, we
must make HASTE.
“Leave me with haste” (ii.i)
affability
• noun
• Warmth and friendliness;
pleasantness; politeness
Spanish- afabilidad, cortesia
She was most likely to brighten your
day because of her AFFABILITY.
“Seek non, conspiracy, hide it in
smiles and affability, for if thou
path, thy native semblance on, not
Erebus itself were dim enough to
hide thee from prevention” (ii.i)
• noun
exorcist
• One who summons spirits
• Exorcists are known to be
able to CONJURE spirits of
the dead.
• “Thou like an exorcist hast
conjured up my mortified
spirit” (ii.i)
• verb
beseech
• To beg eagerly for
Spanish= suplicar, implorar
The student BESEECHED her teacher for
another chance to make up the
assignment.
“That I have lady, if it will please Caesar to
be so good to Caesar as to hear me, I
shall beseech him to befriend himself”
(ii.iv)
• adjective
feeble
• Physically weak, as from age or
sickness; weak intellectually or
morally
Spanish= debil
The FEEBLE old many walked slowly
down the road.
“Vouchsafe good morrow from a
feeble tongue” (ii.i)
entrails
• noun
• The internal parts of the trunk of the
body; the intestines; the internal parts of
anything
Spanish- entranas
After killing an animal, a hunter will scoop
out its ENTRAILS.
‘They would not have to stir forth today,
plucking the entrails of an offering forth,
they could not find a heart within the
breast” (ii.ii)
void
• adjective
• Without content; empty
Spanish= vacio
Their house was completely VOID of
furniture.
“I’ll get me to a place more void, and
there speak to great Caesar as he
comes along” (ii.iv.)
Act III
apprehensive
• adjective
• Uneasy or fearful about
something that might happen
• She was apprehensive about
getting up in front of the room to
give her speech.
• “So in the world: ‘tis furnished
well with men, and men are flesh
and blood, and apprehensive”
(III.i)
ascend
• verb
• To move, climb, or go upward; to
mount or rise
• Because of his hard work, he
quickly ascended to president of
the company.
• “The noble Brutus is ascended.
Silence!” (III.ii)
appease
• verb
• To soothe or calm down
• The sound of the gentle waves
appeased her.
• “Only be patient til we have
appeased/The multitude, beside
themselves with fear” (iii.i)
firmament
• noun
• The expanse of the sky; the
heavens
• If you live in the country, you can
more easily see the stars within
the firmament.
• “But I am constant as the Northern
Star, of whose true fixed and
resting quality, there is no fellow in
the firmament” (iii.i)
inter
• verb
• To place ( a dead body) in a grave or
tomb; to bury; to put into the earth
• People who die are often interred with
their special belongings.
• “ I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men to lives after them, the
good is oft interred with the bones” (iii.ii)
mutiny
• noun
• Revolt or rebellion against authority,
esp. by sailors against a captain
• The sailors formed a mutiny against
their captain because they wanted
higher pay.
• “Good friends, sweet friends, let me
not stir you up to a sudden flood of
mutiny” (iii.ii)
render
• verb
• To cause or become; make;
provide
• After eight hours of deliberation,
the jury rendered a verdict.
• “Those that will hear me speak,
let ‘em stay here. Those that will
follow Cassius, go with him, and
public reasons shall be rendered
of Caesar’s death” (iii.i)_
treason
• noun
• The offense of acting to overthrow or go
against one’s government or to harm or kill
its sovereign (ruler)
• Because Caesar returned home with his
army when the Senate asked him not to, it
was considered an act of treason.
• “Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,
whilst bloody treason flourished over us”
(iii.ii)
valiant
• adjective
• Boldly courageous; brave;
worthy; excellent
• The valiant soldier saved the
lives of many people.
• “As Caesar loved me, I weep for
him; as he was fortunate, I
rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I
honour hm. But, as he was
ambitious, I slew him” (iii.ii)
vanquish
• verb
• To conquer or subdue by superior
force, as in battle; to defeat in any
conquest
• Their forces were vanquished by
their enemies in a matter of days.
• “For when the noble Caesar saw
him stab, ingratitude, more strong
than traitors’ arms, quite
vanquished him” (iii.ii).
Act IV
• noun
slander
• A false and hateful statement about
someone that is injurious or bad for a
person’s reputation.
• Spanish= difamatorio
• The tabloids often make slanderous
remarks about celebrities.
•
“Octavius, I have seen more days than
you, and though we lay these honours on
this man, to ease ourselves of divers
slanderous loads...” (IV.i)
salutation
• noun
• A word or phrase serving as the
greeting in a letter or speech
• Spanish= saludo
• Before the President began his
speech, he offered salutations.
• “He is at hand, and Pindarus is
come to do you salutation from
his master.” (IV.ii).
mettle
• noun
• Courage and fortitude; disposition and
temperament
• Spanish= temple; espiritu
• When he ran into the burning home, it
was a clear display of hit mettle.
•
“There are no tricks in plain and simple
faith, but hollow men, like horses hot at
hand, make gallant show and promise of
their mettle. . .” (IV.ii).
wrangle
• Verb
• To argue or dispute
• Spanish= discutir
• The coaches often wrangle with referees
about unfair calls.
•
“Cassius, be content. Speak your griefs
softly. I do know you well. Before the eyes
of both our armies here, which should
perceive nothing but love from us, let us
not wrangle.” (IV.ii).
mirth
• noun
• Amusement or laughter; jollity;
happiness
• Spanish= alegria
• Upon the birth of their daughter, they
were full of mirth.
•
“By the gods, you shall digest the
venom of your spleen, though it do
split you. For, from this day forth, I’ll
use you for my mirth, yea for my
laughter, when you are waspish (quick
to take offence).” (IV.iii).
covetous
• adjective
• Eagerly desirous; wrongly desirous of
wealth or possessions; greedy
• Spanish= codicioso
• Julius Caesar was covetous of the crown.
•
“When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous,
to lock such rascal counters from his friends,
be ready gods with all your thunderbolts,
dash him to pieces!” (IV.iii).
rive
• verb
• To tear apart; to separate by striking; split
• Spanish= partir
• Because her family moved, she and her
boyfriend were rived never to see each
other again.
•
“I did not. He was but a fool that brought
my answer back. Brutus hath rived my
heart. A friend should bear his friend’s
infirmities, but Brutus makes mine greater
than they are.” (IV.iii).
chide
• verb
• To express disapproval of; scold;
harass
• Spanish= reganar
• His mother chided him for not
cleaning his room.
• “Yes, Cassius, and from henceforth,
when you are over-earnest with your
Brutus, he’ll think your mother
chides, and leave you so.” (IV.iii).
cynic
• noun
• A person who believes that only
selfishness motivates human
actions; a pessimist who looks
at the negative side of life
• Spanish= cinico
• “Ha, ha! How vilely doth this
cynic rhyme!” (IV.iii).
apparition
• noun
• A supernatural appearance of a person or
thing; a phantom or ghost
• Spanish= aparicion
• She swore that she saw an apparition of
her deceased grandmother.
•
“How ill this taper burns! Ha! Who comes
here? I think it is the weakness of mine eyes
that shapes this monstrous apparition.”
(IV.iii).