Staying    Vocabulary Lists

You must know the italicized, bold roots and their definitions each week.

THE BELEAGUERED BARTERER - List 4

 

Beleaguered - To surround (surrounded) an enemy. In Old English be- meant “by,” and leger is “camp” in Dutch. When a city is beleaguered, it is surrounded by an army or other hostile forces. In other words, the soldiers "camp by" the town until the enemy gives up or fights.

 

Barterer - One who exchanges by commodities instead of money. This word is of unknown origin and can be traced only as far back as Middle English. It may have entered the language from the Middle French word barater, meaning “to cheat”. In Icelandic, the word baratta means “confusion, trouble, deceit”, and probably was "borrowed" by the French and "loaned" to the English. In modern society, bartering may not necessarily be cheating, unless it is used as a way to avoid paying income taxes.

 

Vocabulary                     Definitions

1.       beleaguered                besieged

2.       barterer                      trader

3.       bleak                          gloomy

4.       bombastic                   pompous, pretentious

5.       braggadocio               boaster

6.       brazen                        shameless

7.       bravado                      boastfulness

8.       blandishments             flattery

9.       beguiled                     deceived

10.       baubles                       trinkets

11.    bullion                       gold bars

12.    blatant                       obvious, offensive

13.    bogus                        counterfeit

14.    bereft                        deprived

15.    berserk                      insane

(15 words)

Rothstein, Evelyn. Staying at the Top. Nyack, NY: ERA/CCR Corp, 1986.