| A | B |
|---|
| crucible | vessel that withstands high heat, severe test, etc. |
| Joseph McCarthy | senator who led Communist "witch hunt" |
| Ruth | means "mercy" |
| Proctor | supervises a test |
| Abigail | slang for "maidservant" |
| original sin | "In Adam's fall, we sinned all." |
| theocracy | government run acc. to a religion |
| protagonist | character whom we root for |
| antagonist | villain |
| poppet | doll (cognate of "puppet") |
| misogyny | hatred of women |
| spectral evidence | allowed people to say others' spirits attacked them |
| Predestination | belief that one was born saved or damned |
| lechery | perversion |
| pressing | death by crushing under lg. stones |
| Tituba | West Indian maid |
| "pleading her belly" | claiming pregnancy to postpone execution |
| ergotism | disease caused by bacteria in flour |
| Goody | short for "Goodwife" |
| Reverend Hale | truly believed in witches |
| Paradox | A statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd,but may be true in fact. |
| dissemble | to conceal under a false appearance; disguise. |
| autocracy | a government in which one person has absolute power; dictatorship; despotism. |
| prodigious | notable; meaning ominous. |
| arbitrate | to act as an impartial judge in order to settle disputes. |
| defamation | damaging another individual's character or reputation, generally through false accusations. |
| diabolism | dealings with the Devil or devils, as by sorcery or witchcraft. |
| licentious | morally unrestrained, especially in sexual activity; lascivious. |
