Glossary
absolute monarch | n. | a king or queen who has complete control over the people |
acre | n. | a piece of land that is 43,560 square feet |
across | adv. | to the other side of |
allegiance | n. | faithfulness to your country |
Aphrodite | n. | the Greek goddess of love |
Apollo | n. | the Greek god of the sun who is believed to bring the sun every day on his golden chariot. Apollo and his twin sister Artemis are the children of Zeus. |
Ares | n. | the Greek god of war |
Artemis | n. | the Greek goddess of hunting and the wilderness. Artemis is Apollo’s twin sister, and they are children of Zeus. |
Athena | n. | the Greek goddess of wisdom; known for her wisdom and battle strategy |
author | n. | a person who writes |
bald eagle | n. | This bird is found in North America. It is mostly brown, but has a white head, neck, and tail feathers. |
banner | n. | a flag; a piece of cloth with a design |
battle | n. | a fight between two people or armies |
bell | n. | a hollow, metal object that makes a ringing sound when hit |
borrow | v. | to take something with the promise of returning it later |
boundary | n. | something that marks the end or limits of a territory |
bounty | n. | a generous reward |
caravel | n. | a small sailing ship made of wood |
cliff | n. | a high, very steep face of rock |
coast | n. | Land along a sea or ocean |
constable | n. | a police officer |
copper | n. | a reddish-brown metal that conducts electricity and heat |
cotton bale | n. | a large, tightly bound bundle of cotton |
currency | n. | money |
czar | n. | a ruler of Russia |
desert | n. | an area of dry land with very little rainfall or plant life |
dune | n. | a hill of sand created by wind |
explorer | n. | a person who travels to new places |
Forty-niner (49er) | n. | a person who came to California during the Gold Rush of 1849 |
glacier | n. | a large mass of ice that moves slowly across land or down a mountain |
god | n. | a powerful being believed to be greater than humans that can control certain aspects of nature |
goddess | n. | a god in female form; a woman who is admired for her beauty or charm |
Hades | n. | the Greek god of the Underworld; controlled the dead and determined whether they would spend eternity in Elysium (heaven) or torture |
Hera | n. | the Greek goddess of marriage; the wife of Zeus |
hill | n. | a raised area of land smaller than a mountain |
holiday | n. | a special day set aside to remember or celebrate |
honesty | n. | the quality of being truthful |
immigrant | n. | a person who leaves the country where he or she was born to live in a new country |
import | v. | to buy goods from other countries |
in | adv. | toward the inside |
indigenous | adj. | growing or living naturally in a certain country or region |
island | n. | land with water on all sides that is too small to be a continent |
isthmus | n. | a strip of land that connects two larger bodies of land |
job | n. | work that is often done for pay |
judge | n. | the person who sits in the front of the courtroom and makes decisions about the cases |
kingdom | n. | an area that is ruled by a king or queen |
lawyer | n. | a person who studies the law and speaks for people in court |
minotaur | n. | a mythical creature whose bottom half is a man and whose top half is a bull |
Mount Olympus | n. | the tallest mountain in Greece, where the Greek gods and goddesses are said to reside |
myth | n. | a made-up story that tells how or why things happened or what people believe |
negotiate | v. | to make a deal |
oasis | n. | an area of rich land in a desert |
ocean | n. | the body of salt water that covers about 70% of the earth's surface |
Olympic Games | n. | an event held every four years in which countries around the world sponsor athletes who compete in a variety of sports contests |
patent | n. | a document that states only the inventor can make and sell his or her invention for a certain number of years |
peninsula | n. | an area of land that is surrounded by water on three sides |
plain | n. | flat or gently rolling land with little or no trees |
Poseidon | n. | the Greek god of the sea; believed to control the seas and its creatures |
prince | n. | the son of a king and queen |
princess | n. | the daughter of a king and queen |
reef | n. | a living underwater ridge of coral, rocks, sand and sea life |
river | n. | a large, natural stream of water |
satyr | n. | a mythical creature whose bottom half is a goat and whose top half is a human |
sea | n. | a large body of salt water |
secede | v. | to break away from; to leave |
soldier | n. | a person in the army |
spangle | v. | to sparkle |
spike | n. | a very large, heavy nail |
suffrage | n. | the right to vote |
symbol | n. | something that stands for something else |
terrifying | adj. | extremely scary |
through | adv. | from one sideor end to the other |
translate | v. | to take something said or written in one language and change it into another language |
tributary | n. | a small stream or river that flows into a larger river or lake |
trip | n. | a visit to a different place |
under | adv. | below |
up | adv. | to a higher place or position |
valley | n. | the area of low land between hills or mountains |
voyage | n. | a trip to a faraway place |
wizard | n. | a person with amazing skill or intelligence |
wool | n. | the soft, curly hairs of a sheep that are used to make yarn and fabric |
world | n. | the Earth and all of the land, water, plants and animals on it |
Zeus | n. | the Greek god of the sky; believed to rule the sky, including the weather |