The Prisoner of Zenda (47 page)

move
VERB
move me not means do not make me angry
Move me not, Faustus
(
Doctor Faustus 2.1
by Christopher Marlowe)

muffin-cap
NOUN
a muffin cap is a flat cap made from wool
the old one, remained stationary in the muffin-cap and leathers
(
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens)

mulatter
NOUN
a mulatter was another word for mulatto, which is a person with parents who are from different races
a mulatter, most as white as a white man
(
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain)

mummery
NOUN
mummery is an old word that meant meaningless (or pretentious) ceremony
When they were all gone, and when Trabb and his men–but not his boy: I looked for him–had crammed their mummery into bags, and were gone too, the house felt wholesomer.
(
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens)

nap
NOUN
the nap is the woolly surface on a new item of clothing. Here the surface has been worn away so it looks bare
like an old hat with the nap rubbed off
(
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain)

natural
NOUN
a natural is a person born with learning difficulties
though he had been left to his particular care by their deceased father, who thought him almost a natural.
(
David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens)
ADJ
natural meant illegitimate
Harriet Smith was the natural daughter of somebody
(
Emma
by Jane Austen)

navigator
NOUN
a navigator was originally someone employed to dig canals. It is the origin of the word ‘navvy' meaning a labourer
She ascertained from me in a few words what it was all about, comforted Dora, and gradually convinced her that I was not a labourer–from my manner of stating the case I believe Dora concluded that I was a
navigator, and went balancing myself up and down a plank all day with a wheelbarrow–and so brought us together in peace.
(
David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens)

necromancy
NOUN
necromancy means a kind of magic where the magician speaks to spirits or ghosts to find out what will happen in the future
He surfeits upon cursed
necromancy
(
Doctor Faustus chorus
by Christopher Marlowe)

negus
NOUN
a negus is a hot drink made from sweetened wine and water
He sat placidly perusing the newspaper, with his little head on one side, and a glass of warm sherry negus at his elbow.
(
David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens)