The Prince — Page 2

Vocabulary

QU'ON

Contraction of 'que l'on'; that one, that we

DEVRAIT

Should, ought to (conditional of devoir)

ÉVITER

To avoid, to prevent something from happening

D'ÊTRE

Contraction of 'de être'; of being, to be

MÉPRISÉ

Despised, scorned, looked down upon by others

ET

And; basic coordinating conjunction

HAÏ

Hated, deeply disliked by others

CHAPITRE

Chapter, a division of a book or text

LES

The; definite plural article in French

FORTERESSES

Fortresses, strongholds used for military defense

BIEN

Well, good; also used for emphasis

D'AUTRES

Other, others; referring to additional things

CHOSES

Things, objects, matters of any kind

AUXQUELLES

To which, for which (feminine plural relative pronoun)

PRINCES

Princes, rulers, sovereign political leaders

ONT

Have; third person plural of avoir

SOUVENT

Often, frequently, on many occasions

RECOURS

Recourse, resort; the act of turning to something

SONT-ELLES

Are they; inverted interrogative form of être

AVANTAGEUSES

Advantageous, beneficial, favorable (feminine plural)

OU

Or; coordinating disjunctive conjunction

NUISIBLES

Harmful, damaging, detrimental to someone

COMMENT

How; interrogative adverb asking about manner

UN

A, an; indefinite masculine singular article

PRINCE

Prince, ruler, sovereign of a state

SE

Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun

CONDUIRE

To conduct oneself, behave, lead or drive

AFIN

In order to, so as to (purpose conjunction)

D'ACQUÉRIR

To acquire, gain, obtain something valuable

LA

The; definite feminine singular article

RENOMMÉE

Renown, fame, widespread reputation for something

CONCERNANT

Concerning, regarding, relating to a subject

SECRÉTAIRES

Secretaries, advisors, administrative assistants

DES

Of the, some; partitive or plural article

FLATTEURS

Flatterers, sycophants who excessively praise others

POURQUOI

Why; interrogative adverb asking for a reason

PERDU

Lost; past participle of perdre

LEURS

Their; possessive adjective for plural owners

ÉTATS

States, nations, political territories or domains

CE

This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective

QUE

That, what, which; subordinating conjunction or pronoun

FORTUNE

Fortune, fate, luck, chance in human affairs

PEUT

Can, is able to; third person singular of pouvoir

ACCOMPLIR

To accomplish, achieve, fulfill a task or goal

DANS

In, inside, within a space or context

AFFAIRES

Affairs, matters, business, concerns of importance

HUMAINES

Human, relating to people and their nature

LUI

Him, her, to him/her; personal or indirect pronoun

RÉSISTER

To resist, withstand, oppose a force or influence

UNE

A, an; indefinite feminine singular article

EXHORTATION

Exhortation, urgent appeal or strong encouragement

À

To, at, in; basic preposition of direction or place

LIBÉRER

To liberate, free, release from control or oppression

BARBARES

Barbarians, foreigners regarded as uncivilized invaders

DESCRIPTION

Description, detailed account of something observed

MÉTHODES

Methods, systematic ways of doing something

ADOPTÉES

Adopted, taken up, used (feminine plural past participle)

PAR

By, through, per; preposition indicating agent or means

LE

The; definite masculine singular article

DUC

Duke; a high-ranking nobleman or ruler

LORS

At the time of, during a specific event

DU

Of the; contracted masculine singular preposition-article

MEURTRE

Murder, killing, homicide committed against someone

DE

Of, from; very common French preposition

SEIGNEUR

Lord, nobleman, master of a feudal estate

VIE

Life, existence, the experience of living

né

Born; past participle of naître indicating birth

à

In, at, to; common French preposition

le

The; definite masculine singular article

mai

May; the fifth month of the year

De

From, of; preposition indicating origin or range

occupa

Occupied, held (a post); past tense of occuper

un

A, an; indefinite masculine singular article

poste

Post, position, job in an organization or government

officiel

Official, formal, relating to a recognized authority

qui

Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun

comprenait

Included, comprised; imperfect tense of comprendre

des

Some, of the; partitive or plural article

missions

Missions, assignments, official diplomatic tasks

diplomatiques

Diplomatic, relating to foreign relations and negotiations

auprès

Near, with, alongside; preposition of proximity

de

Of, from; most common French preposition

diverses

Various, diverse, several different (feminine plural)

cours

Courts; royal or noble courts of European rulers

européennes

European, relating to the continent of Europe (feminine)

Emprisonné

Imprisoned, jailed, confined in a prison

en

In, on, by; preposition of time, place, or manner

exilé

Exiled, banished from one's homeland or city

par

By, through; preposition indicating agent or means

la

The; definite feminine singular article

suite

After, following; par la suite means subsequently

et

And; basic coordinating conjunction

revenu

Returned, come back; past participle of revenir

Décédé

Deceased, died; formal past participle of décéder

juin

June; the sixth month of the year

INTRODUCTION

Introduction; opening section presenting a text

naquit

Was born; simple past tense of naître

Il

He, it; masculine third person singular pronoun

était

Was, were; imperfect tense of être

second

Second; ordinal number indicating position two

fils

Son; male child in relation to his parent

avocat

Lawyer, attorney; legal professional representing clients

quelque

Some, a certain; indefinite adjective of quantity

renom

Renown, reputation, fame in a community

son

His, her, its; possessive adjective for singular noun

épouse

Wife, spouse; a married female partner

Ses

His, her, its; possessive adjective for plural nouns

deux

Two; the cardinal number following one

parents

Parents, relatives; those related by family ties

étaient

Were; imperfect tense of être (third plural)

membres

Members, participants belonging to a group

l'ancienne

The old, the ancient (feminine with elided article)

noblesse

Nobility, aristocracy; the class of noble families

Sa

His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective

vie

Life; one's existence or biography over time

se

Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun

divise

Divides, splits; third person singular of diviser

naturellement

Naturally, of course, in a natural manner

trois

Three; the cardinal number following two

périodes

Periods, phases, distinct spans of time

dont

Of which, whose; relative pronoun indicating belonging

chacune

Each one, every one (feminine); distributive pronoun

constitue

Constitutes, forms, makes up something specific

chose

Thing, matter, something of interest or importance

assez

Quite, rather, fairly; adverb of degree

singulière

Singular, remarkable, unusual, noteworthy (feminine)

une

A, an; indefinite feminine singular article

ère

Era, age, epoch; a long period of history

distincte

Distinct, separate, clearly different (feminine)

importante

Important, significant, of great consequence (feminine)

dans

In, within, inside; preposition of location or time

l'histoire

History, the story of past events (with elision)