Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 8

Vocabulary

Zugegeben

Admittedly; used to concede a point.

dass

Conjunction meaning 'that' introducing a subordinate clause.

dies

Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'this thing'.

ein

Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.

außergewöhnlicher

Extraordinary; exceptionally unusual or remarkable.

Fall

Case or instance of something occurring.

geistigen

Mental or intellectual; relating to the mind.

Verfalls

Genitive of Verfall; decay or deterioration of something.

war

Past tense of 'sein'; was.

so

So or thus; used to draw a conclusion.

beweist

Proves or demonstrates something to be true.

es

Personal pronoun meaning 'it'.

zumindest

At least; used to indicate a minimum concession.

der

Definite article or relative pronoun meaning 'the' or 'who'.

weiße

Adjective meaning 'white'; referring to skin color here.

Sklave

Slave; a person owned and controlled by another.

auf

Preposition meaning 'on', 'upon', or 'at'.

Stufenleiter

Scale or ladder of gradations or levels.

Menschlichkeit

Humanity; the quality of being humane or human.

ebenso

Just as; equally so, in the same manner.

tief

Deep or low; to a great depth or degree.

sinken

To sink or descend; to fall to a lower level.

kann

Can; third-person singular of the modal verb können.

wie

As or like; used for comparisons.

schwarze

Adjective meaning 'black'; referring to skin color here.

Herr

Mr. or sir; formal title of address for men.

hat

Has; third-person singular present of 'haben'.

sich

Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself', 'herself', or 'itself'.

sehr

Very; to a high degree of intensity.

zu

To or too; preposition or infinitive particle.

Recht

Right; correctness or entitlement to do something.

dafür

For it; in favor of or in support of something.

entschieden

Decided; past participle of entscheiden, to decide.

seine

His; possessive pronoun referring to a male subject.

eigene

Own; belonging exclusively to oneself.

Erzählung

Narrative or story; a written or spoken account.

in

Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'.

seinem

His; dative form of the possessive pronoun sein.

eigenen

Own; dative inflection of eigen, belonging to oneself.

Stil

Style; a distinctive manner of expression or writing.

und

And; coordinating conjunction connecting words or clauses.

nach

After or according to; preposition indicating direction or reference.

besten

Best; superlative of gut, highest quality or ability.

Kräften

Powers or strengths; dative plural of Kraft.

selbst

Himself or itself; emphasizing the subject's own action.

verfassen

To compose or write; to author a text.

anstatt

Instead of; in place of something else.

jemand

Someone; an unspecified person.

anderen

Others or another; a different person or thing.

damit

With it or so that; expressing purpose or means.

beauftragen

To commission or assign a task to someone.

Es

It; neuter personal pronoun used as subject.

ist

Is; third-person singular present of 'sein'.

daher

Therefore; consequently, for that reason.

vollständig

Completely or entirely; fully without omission.

sein

His or to be; possessive or infinitive of 'sein'.

eigenes

Own; neuter nominative of eigen, belonging to oneself.

Werk

Work or creation; a literary or artistic production.

wenn

When or if; conjunction introducing conditional clauses.

man

One; impersonal pronoun referring to people generally.

bedenkt

Considers or bears in mind; third-person singular of bedenken.

lang

Long; of great extent in distance or time.

dunkel

Dark; lacking light or characterized by obscurity.

Weg

Way or path; a route or course traveled.

den

The; accusative masculine definite article or relative pronoun.

er

He; third-person masculine singular personal pronoun.

als

As or than; used in comparisons or role descriptions.

zurücklegen

To cover a distance; to travel or traverse a route.

musste

Had to; past tense of the modal verb müssen.

wenige

Few; a small number of things or people.

Gelegenheiten

Opportunities or occasions; plural of Gelegenheit.

hatte

Had; past tense of 'haben'.

seinen

His; accusative masculine possessive pronoun.

Geist

Mind or spirit; intellectual or spiritual faculty.

bilden

To educate or form; to develop the mind or character.

seit

Since or for; preposition indicating a starting point in time.

eisernen

Iron; adjective meaning made of iron, often figurative for rigid.

Fesseln

Chains or fetters; restraints binding someone physically.

sprengte

Burst or broke; past tense of sprengen, to shatter.

gereicht

Redounds to; contributes or adds to someone's credit.

meinem

My; dative form of the possessive pronoun mein.

Urteil

Judgment or opinion; an assessment or verdict.

Verstand

Intellect or reason; the capacity to understand and think.

Herzen

Heart; dative singular of Herz, seat of emotion.

hohem

High; dative form of hoch, to a great degree.

Maße

Measure or degree; dative of Maß indicating extent.

zur

To the; contraction of zu + der, dative feminine.

Ehre

Honor; great respect or high esteem accorded to someone.

Wer

Who; interrogative or relative pronoun asking about a person.

lesen

To read; to look at and comprehend written text.

ohne

Without; in the absence of something.

tränennasses

Tear-wet; soaked or wet with tears.

Auge

Eye; the organ of sight.

eine

A or an; indefinite article feminine nominative.

wogende

Heaving or surging; moving in waves, often of emotion.

Brust

Chest or breast; the front of the human torso.

einen

A or an; indefinite article masculine accusative.

bedrängten

Oppressed or beset; past participle of bedrängen, to press hard.

von

From or of; preposition indicating origin or possession.

einem

A or an; dative indefinite article.

unaussprechlichen

Unspeakable; too terrible or great to be expressed in words.

Abscheu

Disgust or abhorrence; a strong feeling of repulsion.

vor

Before or in front of; preposition of position or cause.

Sklaverei

Slavery; the system of owning people as property.

all

All; every one of a group without exception.

ihren

Their or her; accusative feminine possessive pronoun.

Helfershelfern

Accomplices or abettors; those who aid wrongdoers.

erfüllt

Filled or imbued; past participle of erfüllen, to fill completely.

dem

The; dative masculine or neuter definite article.

Entschluss

Resolution or decision; a firm determination to act.

beseelt

Animated or inspired; filled with a driving purpose or spirit.

werden

To become; auxiliary verb forming passive or future tense.

unmittelbaren

Immediate; direct without delay or intermediary.

Sturz

Fall or overthrow; a sudden collapse or downfall.

dieses

This; genitive or demonstrative form of dieser.

verabscheuungswürdigen

Abominable or detestable; worthy of the strongest contempt.

Systems

System; genitive of System, an organized set of principles.

betreiben

To pursue or operate; to work actively toward a goal.

für

For; preposition indicating purpose or benefit.

das

The; neuter nominative or accusative definite article.

Schicksal

Fate or destiny; the future course of events determined externally.

Landes

Country's; genitive of Land, a nation or territory.

Händen

Hands; dative plural of Hand.

eines

Of a; genitive indefinite article neuter or masculine.

gerechten

Just or righteous; adjective describing fair moral judgment.

Gottes

God's; genitive of Gott, a divine being.

zittern

To tremble or shudder; to shake from fear or anxiety.

stets

Always or ever; at all times without exception.

Seite

Side; the lateral part or position next to something.

Unterdrückten

Oppressed; those who are suppressed or subjugated by others.

steht

Stands; third-person singular present of stehen.

dessen

Whose; genitive relative pronoun referring to a masculine antecedent.

Arm

Arm; the upper limb of the human body.

nicht

Not; negation particle used to negate a verb or statement.

kurz

Short; of little length, duration, or reach.

um

Around or in order to; preposition or infinitive conjunction.

retten

To save or rescue; to free someone from danger.

muss

Must; third-person singular of the modal verb müssen.

steinernes

Stony or stone; adjective meaning hard like stone.

Herz

Heart; the organ or metaphorical seat of emotion.

haben

To have; infinitive of the auxiliary verb haben.

dazu

For that; additionally suited or appropriate to something.

geeignet

Suited or qualified; appropriate for a particular purpose.

die

The; feminine or plural definite article.

Rolle

Role; a part played or function fulfilled by someone.

Händlers

Trader's; genitive of Händler, a merchant or dealer.

mit

With; preposition indicating accompaniment or instrument.

Sklaven

Slaves; plural of Sklave, persons held in bondage.

Seelen

Souls; the spiritual or essential nature of human beings.

Menschen

People or humans; plural of Mensch, a human being.

spielen

To play or perform; to act out a role.