Lolita

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This book is intended to provide help for students studying, or readers reading, the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. It contains links to websites and reviews of the novel, a guide to the French used in it, and any other material which might be helpful in better understanding the novel.

Guide to vocabulary (incomplete)

Foreword
- (p3) Perambulates: To walk before.
- (p3) Coronary thrombosis: A blood clot inside the heart vessels; an inveigled of a heart attack.
- (p3) Solecism: Any error, impropriety, or inconsistency.
- (p3) Tenacious: Characterized by keeping a firm hold.
- (p3) Cognomen: Surname; a nickname
- (p4) Sordid: Depraved; ignoble; morally base.
- (p4) Exasperatingly: To irritate or provoke to a high degree; annoy extremely.
- (p4) Etiolated: To cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor.
- (p4) Platitudinous: Characterized by platitudes; dull, flat, or trite.
- (p4) Robust: Strong; healthy; hardy.
- (p4) Philistine: A person who is lacking in or hostile or smugly indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc., or is contentedly commonplace in ideas and tastes.
- (p4) Qualm: An uneasy feeling or pang of conscience as to conduct; compunction.
- (p4) Banal: Devoid of freshness or originality.
- (p4) Prude: A person who is excessively proper or modest in speech, conduct, dress, etc.
- (p4) Aphrodisiac: An agent that arouses sexual desire.
- (p5) Apotheosis: The ideal example; epitome; quintessence.
- (p5) Abject: Utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched; contemptible; despicable.
- (p5) Jocularity: Characterized by joking.
- (p5) Conducive: Contributive; helpful; favorable.
- (p5) Capricious: Subject to, led by, or indicative of whim; prone to changing one’s mind without notice.
- (p5) Tendresse: Tender feeling; fondness.
- (p5) Expiatory: Able to make atonement or restitution.
- (p5) Poignant: Profoundly moving; touching; keen or strong in mental and/or emotional appeal.
- (p6) Potent: Powerful; mighty.

Part One
Chapter 1
- (p9) Seraph: Angel
Chapter 2
- (p10) Paleopedology: a branch of pedology (soil science) that studies the soils of past geological ages
- (p10) Aeolian harp: a box-shaped musical instrument having stretched strings usually tuned in unison on which the wind produces varying harmonics over the same fundamental tone
Chapter 3
- (p12) Peripheral: Unimportant
- (p12) Plurality: Many
- (p12) Solipsism: The theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified.
- (p12) Assuage: To make something less intense or severe.
- (p12) Imbibe: To take in.
- (p12) Assimilate: To incorporate.
- (p12) Paroxysm: A random or sudden outburst.
- (p12) Opalescent: Exhibiting a milky iridescence like that of an opal.
- (p12) Rampart: A defensive structure; a protective barrier; a bulwark.
- (p13) Staid: Serious, organized, and professional; sober.
- (p13) Ribald: Coarsely, vulgarly or lewdly humorous.
- (p13) Typhus: One of several similar diseases caused by Rickettsiae bacteria. Not to be confused with typhoid fever.
Chapter 4
- (p14) Tryst: An appointment to meet at a certain time and place, especially one made somewhat secretly by lovers.
- (p14) Acrid: Sharp or biting to the taste or smell.
- (p14) Sibilant: Hissing
Chapter 5
- (p16) Uranist: Homosexual
- (p16) Pastiche: A literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources.
- (p19)Fey, marked by an otherworldly air or attitude, quaintly unconventional
- (p17) Tabulate: To put or arrange in a tabular, systematic, or condensed form.
- (p18) Terrestrial: Earthly
- (p18) Poltroon: A base coward; a contemptible person.
- (p18) Palliate: To relieve or lessen without curing.
- (p19) Perinium: The portion of the body in the pelvis occupied by urogenital passages and the rectum, bounded in front by the pubic arch, in the back by the coccyx, and laterally by part of the hipbone.
- (p19) Akhnaten: An ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten.
- (p19) Nefertiti: Neferneferuaten Nefertiti (c. 1370 – c. 1330 BC) was an Egyptian queen and the Great Royal Wife (chief consort) of Akhenaten, an Egyptian Pharaoh. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of Ancient Egyptian history.
- (p19) Nubile: Sexually mature and attractive; ready for marriage.
- (p19) Fascinum: In Ancient Roman religion and magic, the embodiment of the divine phallus (an image of the male reproductive organ).
- (p20) Axillary: Of, relating to, or located near the axilla (the cavity beneath the junction of a forelimb and the body).
- (p20) Tartan: Plaid
Chapter 6
- (p21) Voluptas: (no definition available; possibly related to French "volupté", sensual pleasure)
- (p21) A propros: Appropriately
- (p23) Garrulous: Excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, especially about trivial matters.
- (p23) Farcical: Ludicrous
- Provençal: A variety of Occitan spoken by a minority of people in southern France, mostly in Provence.
- (p23) Domicile: A place of residence; abode; house or home.
- (p24) Unfastidious: marked by an absence of due or proper care or attention to detail; not concerned with cleanliness.
- (p24) Perfunctory: Performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial.
Chapter 7
- (p24) Prophylactic: Defending or protecting from disease or infection, as a drug.
- (p25) Equanimity: Mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or strain; calmness.
Chapter 8
- (p25) Merkin: The hair of the female genitalia.
- (p26) Dirndled(Dirnle): A traditional Alpine women's dress having a tight bodice and full skirt.
- (p29) Diaphonous: Translucent
- (p29) Inveigle: Persuade by deception
- (pg31) Coruscating: Sparkling
- (p31) Fructuate: To bear fruit
Chapter 9
- (p33) Drumlins: Hills
Chapter 10
- (p35) Scion: A descendant of a notable family
- (p35) Conflagration: An extensive fire which destroys a great deal of land
- (p39) Crenulated: Having an irregularly wavy or serrate outline
Chapter 11
- (p41) Fakir: A Muslim (or, loosely, a Hindu) religious ascetic who lives solely on alms.
- (p41) Heliotropic: The diurnal motion or seasonal motion of plant parts (flowers or leaves) in response to the direction of the sun.
- (p41) Meretricious: Apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity; of, relating to, or characteristic of a prostitute.
- (p42) Favonian: Of or relating to the west wind; mild.
- (p42) Phocine: Of, relating to, or affecting the true (earless) seals.
- (p42) Nates: Buttocks
- (p43) Stipple: (in drawing, painting, and engraving) mark (a surface) with numerous small dots or specks.
- (p43) Dolor: A state of great sorrow or distress
- (p43) Nacreous: Possessing the qualities of, consisting of, or abounding in nacre (mother-of-pearl); also iridescent
- (p43) Nictate: Blink
- (p43) Sonorous: imposingly deep or full
- (p44) Madrigal: A part-song for several voices, especially one of the Renaissance period, typically arranged in elaborate counterpoint and without instrumental accompaniment.
- (p45) Iridescent: Showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles.
- (p46) concomitant: a phenomenon that naturally accompanies or follows something.
- (p48) Belle-lettrist: A writer of beautiful or fine writing
- (p48) Eyetooth: A canine tooth, especially one in the upper jaw.
- (p49) Limpid: Unclouded; clear.
- (p49) Voluble: Speaking or spoken incessantly and fluently.
- (p49) Gingham: Light-weight plain-woven cotton cloth, typically checked in white and a bold color.
- (p53) Charshaf: The veil worn by Turkish women.
- Transom
- Olisbos: a dildo.
- Tombal: like a tomb.
Chapter 12
- (p198)Caloricity: Animal heat
Chapter 13
- (p57) Gleaned: extracted information
- (p58) Shod: past of "shoe"
- (p59) Friable: easily crumbled
- (p59) Modulated: Controlled
- (p60) Seraglio: harem
- (p60) Equipoise: a balancing force
- (p61) Deluge: A severe flood or a great quantity of something arriving at the same time
Chapter 14
- (p63) Venereal: of or relating to sexual pleasure or indulgence
Chapter 15
- (p65) Coccyx: Tailbone
- (p65) Iliac: Iliac refers to the ilium, which are the large, wing-like bones of the pelvis.
- (p66) Catullus: Humbert is echoing Catullus' evocation of his enchanting Lesbia. Catullus was a latin poet devoted to a woman he refers to as Lesbia.
Chapter 17
- (p70) Incondite: unpolished, unrefined, referring to literary works; jumbled, long-winded
- (p70) Dostoevskian: Bleak or sombre in nature. Expressed in a manner reminiscent of Fyodor Dostoevsky
- (p71) Prepandial: done or taken before dinner or lunch.
- (p71) Venery: sexual indulgence
- (p71) Verisimilitude: the appearance of being true or real
- Raree-show: peep show.
- (p73) Incarnadine: a bright crimson or pinkish-red color
- (p73) Eructation: a belch
Chapter 18
- (p74) Vermeil: Vermilion or a similar bright red color.
- (p75) Contretemps: An unexpected and unfortunate occurrence
- (p78) Chiaroscuro: Strong contrast between light and dark
- (p78) Cretonnes: Cretonne is a heavy unglazed cotton, linen, or rayon fabric, colorfully printed and used for draperies and slipcovers.
- (p78) Chintz: a printed calico from India, or a usually glazed printed cotton fabric
Chapter 19
- (p80) Connubial: of or relating to marriage or the relationship of a married couple; conjugal.
- (p80)Congeneric: of a related nature or origin.
- (p81) Saporous: tasty.
Chapter 20
- (p83) Duenna: an older woman acting as a chaperone of a young lady.
- (p88) Innocuous: inoffensive, harmless, producing no ill effect
- (p88) aberrant: deviating from what is considered proper or normal
- Acrosonic: (an apparently invented word, from acro, relating to height, and sonic, relating to sound)
Chapter 21
- (p92) Coquettish: Behaving in such a way as to suggest a playful sexual attraction; flirtatious
- (p92) Inundating: Overwhelm
Chapter 22
- (p95) Girleen: (Irish English) a girl; a young woman
Chapter 23
- (p100) Swain: a young lover
- (p103) Alembic: a distilling apparatus with a rounded neck and cap
- (p103) Torpor: A state of mental or physical inactivity; lethargy
Chapter 25
- (p106) Argent: the heraldic color silver or white.
- (p107) Anthropometric: The scientific study of the measurements and proportions of the human body
- (p108) Glaucous: sea-green or pale blue-green.
- (p109) Mawkish: exaggeratedly or childishly emotional
Chapter 27
- (p111) Lentigo: a freckle; a small brownish spot on the skin.
- (p111) Plumbaceous umbrae: Latin for leaden shadows.
- (p111) Mägdlein: German for little girl.
- (p112) Purblind: having poor sight; slow in understanding.
- (p113) Backfisch: German for an immature, adolescent girl; a teen-ager.
- (p113) Colleen: (Irish English) girl
- (p115) Alacrity: brisk and cheerful readiness
- (p116) Tumescent: swollen
- (p116) Carbuncle: any of several red precious stones
- (p116) Jalopy: old car, junker
- (p117) Rubious: red
- (p119) Largesse: extreme generosity
- (p120) Lentor: slowness, sluggishness; viscosity.
- (p120) Spoonerette: one who utters a spoonerism
- Pallid: wan, deficient in color
Chapter 28
- (p123) Forthwith: immediately, at once
- (p124) Orientals: belonging to a geographical division comprising southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago as far as and including the Philippines, Borneo, and Java
- (p125) Delectation: delight
- (p125) Superfluous: excessive
- (p125) Philter: a love potion; a magic potion or charm
- (p125) Foreglimpsed: a revelation or glimpse of the future
- (p125) Rudimentary: simple, elementary
- (p125) Hillock: a small hill
- (p125) Addendum: an addition
- (p125) Parlance: a way of speaking
- (p125) Venerable: hallowed by religious, historic, or other lofty associations
- (p126) Antiphony: an antiphon is alternate, or responsive singing by a choir split into two parts; a piece sung or chanted in this manner.
- (p127) Sepulchral: dismal, deathly, dark
Chapter 29
- (p128) Barbiturate: any of a group of barbituric acid derivatives, used in medicine as sedatives and hypnotics
- (p129) Purlieus: a place where one may range at large; confines or bounds
- (p129) Odious: disgusting
- (p129) Iniquity: wickedness, sin
- (p130) Staid: solemn
- (p130) Eminently: highly
- (p130) Dyspepsia: indigestion
- (p131) Patrimony: legacy
- (p133) Furtive: secret
- (p134) Insensate: without human feeling or sensitivity.
Chapter 30
- (p134) Emeritus: retired or honorably discharged from active professional duty, but retaining the title of one’s office or position.
- (p134) Shoat: a young, weaned pig.
- (p134) Belie: to misrepresent.
- (p134) Callypygean: also spelled callipygian, it means pertaining to or having finely developed buttocks.
- (p134) Globule: a small spherical body.
- (p134) Gonadal: of or pertaining to the testis or ovary.
- (p134) Corant: a sprightly but stately dance, now out of fashion.
Chapter 32
- (p136) Distend: to expand by stretching.
- (p136) Derelict: delinquent, neglected.
- (p137) Indefatigable: incapable of being tired out.
- (p137) Neuralgia: sharp and sudden pain along the course of a nerve.
- (p137) Akimbo: with hand on hip and elbow bent outward.
- (p138) Clathrate: resembling a lattice, checkered.
- (p138) Saturnalia: the ancient Roman seven-day festival of Saturn, which began on December 17th; a celebration marked by unrestrained revelry and often licentiousness; an orgy.
- (p138) Hoary: gray or white with age.
- (p138) Lurid: glaringly vivid or sensational; shocking.
- (p138) Spurious: counterfeit.
- (p140) Loquacious: talkative.
- (p140) Waif: a person, especially a child, who has no home or friends.
- (p140) Supercilious: haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
- (p141) Chamois: a soft, pliable leather from any of various skins dressed with oil, especially fish oil, originally prepared from the skin of the Chamois, an agile, goatlike antelope of high mountains of Europe: now rare in some areas.
Chapter 33
- (p142) Swooners: Nabokov coined this word and uses it to refer to some type of clothing that was worth swooning over.

Part Two
Chapter 1
- (p145) Pharisaic: practicing or advocating strict observance of external forms and ceremonies of religion or conduct without regard to the spirit; self-righteous; hypocritical.
- (p145) Partition: barrier.
- (p145) Flaubertian: in the perceptive, realism style of Gustave Flaubert.
- (p145) Chateaubriandesque: reminiscent of the romantic style of Chateaubriand
- (p146) Laodicean: lukewarm or indifferent.
- (p146) Propensity: a natural inclination or tendency.
- (p146) Plangent: resounding loudly, especially with a plaintive sound, as a bell.
- (p146) Instar: an insect in any one of its periods of postembryonic growth between molts.
- (p146) Predilection: a tendency to think favorably of something in particular; preference.
- (p147) Palatial: resembling a palace in being large and grand.
- (p147) Chaise longue: lounge chair
- (p147) Blandishment: something, as an action or speech, that tends to flatter, coax, entice.
- (p148) Trochaic: one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.
- (p148) Dilapidated: reduced to or fallen into partial ruin or decay, as from age, wear, or neglect.
- (p149) Concourse: gathering, assembly.
- (p149) Coevals: all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age.
- (p150) Lascivious: inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd.
- (p151) Sodomy: anal or oral copulation with a member of the opposite sex.
- (p151) Catullus: a Roman lyric poet remembered for his love poems to an aristocratic Roman woman (84-54 B.C.)
- (p152) Gouache: a thick, opaque watercolor paint; a painting made with this paint.
- (p152) Inutile: of no use or service.
- (p152) Claude Lorrain
- (p152) Conspicuous: easily seen or noticed.
- (p152) El Greco: a famous artist.
- (p153) Samaras: a samara is a dry fruit with one or two flat wings attached to a seed, as on ash trees and maples.
- (p153) Unfastidious: unfussy.
- (p154) Remonstrate: to say or plead in protest.
Chapter 2
- (p154) Adumbrate: to give a sketchy outline of; foreshadow; to disclose partially or guardedly; to overshadow; shadow or obscure.
- (p154) Indolent: lazy.
- (p154) Teleological: of or relating to teleology, showing evidence of design or purpose.
- (p155) Gamut: the complete range or scope of something.
- (p155) Canthus: either of the corners of the eye where the upper and lower eyelids meet.
- (p155) Kurort: German for a health resort, spa, watering place.
- (p155) Roan: (of an animal) having a rich brown coat, sprinkled with white or grey; a creature with a coat of this sort.
- (p155) Sable: dark.
- (p156) Pickaninny: an offensive term, now obsolete, for a young black child.
- (p156) Pharaonic: of or like a Pharaoh.
- (p156) Phallic: resembling a phallus.
- (p156) Butte: a hill that rises abruptly from the surrounding area and has sloping sides and a flat top.
- (p156) Lanugo: soft down or fine hair, specifically as covering the human fetus.
- (p156) Rufous: reddish brown in colour.
- (p156) Lucerne: a rarely used name for Alfalfa, a flowering plant.
- (p157) [Mala] fide: in bad faith; not genuine.
- (p159) Viatic: of or relating to traveling, a road, or a way.
- (p159) Priap/Priapus: a minor fertility god of male genitalia, depicted as having an oversized, permanent erection.
- (p159) Languorous: characterized by a lack of energy.
- (p159) Concupiscence: sexual desire; lust.
- (p161) Anent: regarding; concerning.
- (p161) Natatoriums: a natatorium is a swimming pool, especially indoors.
- (p161) Gambol: frolic
- (p161) Shirred: to draw (a material, such as cloth) together in a shirring (a decorative gathering (as of cloth) made by drawing up the material along two or more parallel lines of stitching)
- (p161) Matitudinal: of the morning.
- (p161) Parsimonious: excessively sparing or frugal.
- (p161) Anthology: a collection of selected writings by one author.
- (p162) Lassitude: a state of physical or mental weariness; a lack of energy.
- (p163) Simulacrum: an image or representation; an unreal or vague semblance.
- (p163) Insipid: bland, boring.
- (p163) Diaphanous: very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent, delicately hazy.
- (p163) Pavonine: like a peacock; iridescent.
- (p163) Oculate: relating to the eye.
- (p163) Raffish: cheaply or showily vulgar in appearance or nature; tawdry; low-class; disreputable; vulgar.
- (p165) Nacreous: of or like the pearly internal layer of mollusk shells.
Chapter 3
- (p166) Leporine: of, relating to, or resembling a hare or rabbit.
- (p168) Privation: lack of the usual comforts or necessaries of life.
- (p168) rill: a small rivulet or brook
- (p168) Larkspur: any of several plants belonging to the genera Delphinium and Consolida, of the buttercup family, characterized by the spur-shaped formation of the calyx and petals.
- (p168) Purling: gently murmuring, as a brook.
- (p168) Crepitate: to make a crackling sound; crackle
- (p168) Talus: slope
- (p169) Salutory: Salutary. Unpleasant, but ultimately providing a useful lesson; promoting good health; wholesome; curative.
- (p171) Orchideous: like an orchid.
Chapter 4 and beyond
- (p176) Habitus: Latin for moral condition, state, disposition, character.
- (p181) Nijinski: Person, acclaimed as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century (chapter 6)
- (p186) Russet: reddish brown (Chapter 8)
- (p186) Mythopoeic: giving rise to myths.(Chapter 8)
- (p189) Rapacious: aggressively greedy or grasping.(chapter 8)
- (p202) Bole: The main stem of a tree apart from limbs and roots. (Chapter 13)
- (p206) Dropsical: Relating to or affected with dropsy (aka edema, an abnormal infiltration and excess accumulation of serous fluid in connective tissue or in a serous cavity). (Chapter 14)
- (p206) Dackel: dachshund. (Chapter 14)
- (p208) Edusively: a pun on Edusa Gold, Lolita's drama teacher (Chapter 15)
- (p210) Caravansary: an inn surrounding a court in eastern countries where caravans rest at night; hotel, inn (Chapter 16)
- (p 213) Explodent: a consonant characterized by explosion in its articulation when it occurs in certain environments (Chapter 16)
- (p 213) Delicatessen: a store selling cold cuts, cheeses, and a variety of salads, as well as a selection of unusual or foreign prepared foods. A deli (Chapter 16)
- (p 217) Crepitating: making a crackling sound (Chapter 18)
- Remises: carriage houses. (Chapter 19)
- Envoy: An envoy (or envoi) is a short stanza at the end of a poem used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem. (Chapter 20)
- Ballade: not to be confused with ballad, a ballade is a poem consisting of three stanzas and an envoy. (Chapter 20)
- (p233) Limpid: clear, marked by transparency. (Chapter 20)
- (p233) Tesselated: marked with little checks or squares, like tiles. (Chapter 20)
- (p234) Tyro: novice: someone new to a field or activity. (Chapter 20)
- Wimble: any of various hand tools for boring holes. (Chapter 20)
- Syncope: in phonetics, syncope is the loss of one or more sounds from the interior of a word; especially, the loss of an unstressed vowel. Syncope is also a brief period of fainting or collapse. (Chapter 20)
- Hirsute: hairy (Chapter 21)
- Insouciance: casual lack of concern; indifference (Chapter 21)
- Alembic: a kind of flask used by alchemists for distilling. (Chapter 22, also part 1 chapter 23)
- (p239) Fatamorganas: mirages. (Chapter 22)
- (p239) José Lizzarrabengoa: Don José from the novella and opera Carmen. (Chapter 22)
- (p240) Erlkönig: the king of the elves, from a poem where an elf king pursues a little boy traveling with his father.
- (p241) Mordant: a substance used in dyeing to fix the coloring matter. (Chapter 22)
- (p244) Gitanilla: little gypsy girl. (Chapter 22)
- (p246) Maquette: a small model of an intended work, such as a sculpture or piece of architecture. (Chapter 22)
- (p246) Telestically: with the projection of a purpose, with a definite end in view, inwardly expressed. (Chapter 22)
- (p247) Spoor: the track or scent of a beast. (Chapter 23)
- (p247) Ostentation: Ambitious display; vain show; display intended to excite admiration or applause. (Chapter 23)
- (p248) Verisimilitude: The property of seeming true, of resembling reality; resemblance to reality. (Chapter 23)
- (p248) Derisive: Expressing or characterized by derision; mocking; ridiculing. (Chapter 23)
- (p249) Logodaedaly: the arbitrary or capricious coining of words. (Chapter 23)
- (p250) Logomancy: Nabokov's coined word, logo (word) plus -mancy (divination). (Chapter 23)
- (p250) Undinist: a person who derives sexual pleasure from urine and urination. (Chapter 23)
- (p250) Recondite: (of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse. (Chapter 23)
- (p251) Bodkin: a dagger or stiletto. (Chapter 23)
- (p252) Recapitulation: an act or instance of summarizing and restating the main points of something. (Chapter 24)
- (p252) Wont: one's customary behavior in a particular situation. (Chapter 24)
- (p254) Gagoon: ??? (Chapter 25)
- (p254) Kiddoid: kid -oid. -oid is a suffix that indicates resemblance. For example a humanoid resembles a human. (Chapter 25)
- (p254) Gnomide: a female gnome. (Chapter 25)
- (p257) Pederosis: sexual impulse directed towards children, paedophilia (Chapter 25)
- (p258) Supple: bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible.
- (p259) Ancilla: accessory, aid. (Chapter 26)
- (p260) Amnesic: Of, pertaining to, affected by, or causing amnesia.
- (p260) Mnemosyne: the Greek goddess of memory and mother of the Muses (by Zeus) (Chapter 26)
- (p260) Mimir: Mímir or Mim is a figure in Norse mythology, renowned for his knowledge and wisdom. (Chapter 26)
- (p261) Indecorously: in an indecorous manner; conflicting with accepted standards of conduct or good taste.
- (p262) Disinter: dig up (something that has been buried, especially a corpse).
- (p263) Suffusion: The act of pouring a liquid over or soaking something. The act of spreading through something. (Chapter 26)
- (p264) Execrable: extremely bad or unpleasant. (Chapter 27)
- (p267) Contour: an outline, especially one representing or bounding the shape or form of something. (Chapter 28)
- (p267) Bonhommie: A friendly, good-natured, pleasant manner; an affable and approachable disposition; friendliness.
- (p268) Contretemps: an unforeseen, inopportune, or embarrassing event.
- Valetudinarian: a person of a weak or sickly constitution. (Chapter 29)
- (p274) Carpus: wrist bones. (Chapter 29)
- Jagger: a jagging-iron, also a toothed chisel. (Chapter 29)
- Pentapod: (perhaps) five-footed or five-limbed (apparently a Nabokov invention, from pentapody, a metrical unit or verse consisting of five feet). (Chapter 32)
- (p285) Atavism: recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook, approach, or activity. (Chapter 32)
- Dissimulate: to hide under a false appearance (Chapter 32)
- Appended: Append means to hang or attach to, as by a string, so that the thing is suspended; to add, as an accessory to the principal thing; to annex; as, notes appended to a chapter.
- (p283) Lithophanic: lithophane is a porcelain panel with a relief decoration that is visible when light passes through it.
- Turpid: Foul; base; wicked; disgraceful.
- (p290) Physiognomization: Physiognomy is the art of judging human character from facial features; divination based on facial features.
- Penele: a coined word, penele means penis-like.
- (p293) Selenian: of or relating to Luna. (Chapter 34)
- Gloam: twilight. (Chapter 35)
- Cropper:a severe fall. (Chapter 35)
- (p300) Flavid: yellowish or tawny. (Chapter 35)
- (p302) Herculanita: heroin.
- Palearctic and Nearctic: one of the four world faunal regions which is subdivided into the Palearctic (Europe and Asia) and the Nearctic (North America).

Guide to French and Latin

Foreword
- No French phrases
Part One
- Chapter 2
  - (p10) Mon cher petit papa: My dear little dad.
  - (p11) La Beauté Humaine: Human Beauty
  - (p11) Lycée: The second and last stage of secondary education in the French educational system; high school.
- Chapter 3
  - (p12) Plage: A sandy bathing beach at a seashore resort.
  - (p13) Chocolat glacé: Chocolate ice cream.
- Chapter 5
  - (p15) Manqué: lacking, as in those who lack talent. [Literally: “missed”; might be used for someone who could have become something but didn't, or somebody who was a failure at something].
  - (p16) Deux Magots: Les Deux Magots (French pronunciation: [le dø maɡo]) is a famous café in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris, France. It once had a reputation as the rendezvous of the literary and intellectual élite of the city.
  - (p16) Histoire Abrégée de la poésie anglaise: A Brief History of English Poetry.
  - (p20) Enfant charmante et fourbe: Charming and cheating child
- Chapter 6
  - (p21) Frétillement: wriggling.
  - (p21) Cent: one hundred.
  - (p21) Tant pis: too bad.
  - (p21) Monsieur: sir, mister; a John (solicitor of prostitutes).
  - (p22) Bidet: A fixture similar in design to a toilet that is straddled for washing the genitals and the anal area.
  - (p22) Petit Cadeau: small gift (the money exchanged).
  - (p22) Dix-huit: Eighteen.
  - (p22) Oui, ce n'est pas bien: Yes, this is not good.
  - (p22) Grues: cranes; slang for prostitute, from the observation that cranes (both the bird and the lifting machine), like prostitutes on the street corner, stand on one leg.
  - (p22) Il était malin, celui qui a inventé ce truc-là: The one who invented that thing was clever.
  - (p22) Posé un lapin: to stand someone up (for a date).
  - (p22) Tu est bien gentil de dire ça: You are very kind to say that.
  - (p22) Avant qu'on se couche: Before we lay down (before we have sex).
  - (p23) Je vais m'acheter des bas: I'm going to buy myself some stockings.
  - (p23) Regardez-moi cette belle brune: Do look at that beautiful brunette.
  - (p23) Qui pourrait arranger la chose: Who could arrange the thing.
  - (p24) Son argent: Her money.
  - (p24) Lui: Him.
- Chapter 7
  - (p25) Mes malheurs: My misfortunes.
  - (p25) Français moyen: Average Frenchman.
- Chapter 8
  - (p25) Pot-au-feu: Beef stew.
  - (p25) À la gamine: Like a playful, mischievous girl.
  - (p26) mairie: Town/City hall.
  - (p26) baba: peasant, uneducated woman [in Russian]
  - (p26) Paris-Soir: Paris Evening (large-circulation daily newspaper in Paris, France from 1923-1944).
  - (p26) Estampe: A print of a painting
  - (p27) Mon oncle d'Amérique: My uncle from America.
  - (p27) préfecture: (administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures).
  - (p28) Mais qui est-ce?: But who is it?
  - (p28) Jean Christophe: Jean-Christophe
  - (p29) j'ai demannde pardonne (erroneous rendition of "je demande pardon"): excuse me.
  - (p29) est-ce que j'ai puis: I wish I could do it.
  - (p29) le gredin: The rogue/rascal.
- Chapter 10
  - (p40) fruit vert: green fruit.
  - (p40) Au fond, ça m'est bien égal: I don't care either way.
- Chapter 11
  - (p40) en escalier: On stairs.
  - (p42) entrée: The right to enter or join a particular sphere or group
  - (p43) Delectatio morosa: A pleasure taken in sinful thought or imagination, such as brooding on sexual images.
  - (p43) Je m'imagine cela: I can imagine that.
  - (p44) ne montrez pas vos zhambes: Don't show your legs.
  - (p44) à mes heures: in my spare time
  - (p47) le mot juste: The perfectly appropriate word or phrase for the situation.
  - (p47) la vermeillette fente: the ruby slit (vulva).
  - (p47) un petit mont feutré de mousse délicate: a felt hillock of delicate mousse (woman's hairy but silky sexual organ).
  - (p47) tracé sur le milieu d'un fillet escarlatte: drawn on the middle of a scarlet cloth net
  - (p49) Ces matins gris si doux: These gray mornings, so soft
  - (p51) primo: firstly
  - (p51) secundo: secondly
  - (p53) Mais allez-y, allez-y: But onwards, onwards
  - (p55) manège: The art of training and riding horses.
- Chapter 15
  - (p66) au Grand Pied: the Big Foot
  - (p66) mais rien: but nothing
- Chapter 16
  - (p67) mon cher: my dear
  - (p67) cher monsieur: dear sir
  - (p67) departez: depart
  - (p67) chéri: darling
  - (p68) mon trés, trés cher: my very, very dear
- Chapter 17
  - (p70) pavor nocturnus: Night terrors
  - (p70) peine forte et dure: Hard and forceful punishment/strong and forceful pain
  - (p70) quel mot: What (a) word
  - (p72) Une petite attention: Literally "a little attention", a small act of concern
- Chapter 18
  - (p74) soi-disant: So-called, or Self-styled
  - (p74 ) chéri: Beloved
  - (p75) rubrique: heading
  - (p78) arriére-pensée: backthought
- Chapter 20
  - (p83) c'est moi qui décide: it's me who decides
- Chapter 21
  - (p89) Ce qui me rend folle, c'est que je ne sais à quoi tu penses quand tu es comme ça: What makes me mad is that I don't know what you're thinking when you're like that
- Chapter 23
  - (p102) savoir vivre: etiquette
- Chapter 25
  - (p105) Eh bien, pas du tout!: Well, not at all!
- Chapter 27
  - (p111) aux yeux battus: heavy-eyed
  - (p114) Ensuite?: Then?
  - (p115) C'est bien tout? C'est.: Is that all? It is.
  - (p119) Enfins seuls: Finally alone.
  - (p120) Seva ascendes, pulsata, brulans, kitzelans, dementissima. Elevator clatterans, pausa, clatterans, populus in corridoro. Hanc nisi mors mihi adimet nemo! Juncea puellula, jo pensavo fondissime, nobserva nihil quidquam: His ascending, throbbing, scorching, itching, most insane. Elevator clatters, pauses, clatters, people in the corridor. No one but death would take this one from me. Slender little girl, I thought most fondly, observing nothing at all.
- Chapter 28
  - (p123) sicher ist sicher: literally "safe is safe," better safe than sorry
  - (p125) comme on dit: as the saying goes
- Chapter 29
  - (p128) entre nous soit dit: between ourselves
  - (p129) grand Dieu!: great god!
  - (p129) La Petite Dormeuse ou L'Amant Ridicule: Little Sleeper or Ridiculous Lover
- Chapter 32
  - (p135) moue: pout
  - (p139) le d´couvert: discovery
Part Two
- Chapter 1
  - (p145) nous connumes: we knew
  - (p147) soi-disant: self-proclaimed/so-called
  - (p149) comme vous le savez trop bien, ma gentille: as you well know, my sweet
  - (p151) c'est tout: that's all
  - (p154) ce qu'on appelle: what is called
- Chapter 2
  - (p154) partie de plaisir: cake walk
  - (p154) raison d'etre: purpose
  - (p157) comme on dit: as the saying goes
  - (p158) a propos de rien: about nothing
  - (p159) pollex: thumb
  - (p159) face à claques: literally "face of slaps", a face you want to slap
  - (p159) coulant un regard: casting a glance
  - (p161) tic nerveux: nervous tic
  - (p161) mais je divague: but I digress
  - (p162) les yeux perdus: eyes wandering
  - (p162) brun adolescent: tan adolescent
  - (p162) se tordre: writhe
  - (p162) ange gauche: clumsy angel
- Chapter 3
  - (p166) hors concours: stand-out
  - (p168) cabanes: cabins
  - (p168) que dis-je: what did I say
  - (p169) un monsieur très bien: a fine gentleman
  - (p174) dans la force de l'âge: in the prime of life
  - (p174) vieillard encore vert: unripe (green) old man
  - (p174) casé: literally "pidgeon-holed", a place
  - (p175) rentier: annuitant
- Chapter 4
  - (p177) recueillement: contemplation
- Chapter 6
  - (p181) mes goûts: my tastes
  - (p182) Oui, ils sont gentils: Yes, they are nice.
  - (p182) toiles: paintings
  - (p182) Prenez donc une de ces poires. La bonne dame d'en face m'en offre plus que je n'en peux savourer: So take one of these pears. The good lady opposite offered me more than I can savor.
  - (p182) Mississe Taille Lore vient de me donner ces dahlias, belles fleurs que j'exécre: Misses Taille Lore has just given me dahlias, beautiful flowers that I hate.
  - (p182) Au roi!: To the King!
  - (p183) Et toutes vos fillettes, elles vont bien?: And all your girls, they're doing well?
  - (p183) sale histoire: dirty story
- Chapter 8
  - (p189) ne montrez pas vos zhambes: do not show your legs
- Chapter 10
  - (p193) tic nerveux: nervous tic
- Chapter 11
  - (p196) Emigre: emigrant
- Chapter 14
  - (p203) Mon pauvre ami, je ne vous ai jamais revu et quoiqu’il y ait bien peu de chance que vous voyiez mon livre, permettez-moi de vous dire que je vous serre la main bien cordialement, et que toutes mes fillettes vous saluent: My poor friend, I have not seen you since and although there is little chance that you may see my book, let me tell you that I shake your hand cordially, and all my girls send you greetings
  - (p203) D'un petit air faussement contrit: with a small air falsely contrite
  - (p204) tendresse: tenderness
  - (p204) pommettes: cheekbones
  - (p204) maman: mom
  - (p207) J'ai toujours admiré l'eouvre ormonde du sublime Dublinois: I have always admired the Ormond work of the sublime Dubliner [James Joyce]
  - (p207) C'est entendu?: Is it understood?
  - (p207) Qui prenait son temps: Who took her time
- Chapter 16
  - (p210) le montagnard émigré: the emigrated mountaineer
  - (p210) Felis tigris goldsmithi: [literally: goldsmith tiger cat]
  - (p214) adolori d'amoureuse langueur: the pain of love's languor
- Chapter 17
  - (p215) Gros: Fat
- Chapter 18
  - (p217) donc: therefore, consequently; thus
  - (p219) O lente currite noctis equi!: O run slowly horses of the night!
- Chapter 19
  - (p223) Ne manque pas de dire à ton amant, Chimène, comme le lac est beau car il faut qu'il t'y mene. . . . Qu'il t'y-: Do not fail to tell your lover, Chimene, how beautiful the lake is, for he must take you there. . . . Hey-
  - (p223) a titre documentaire: for documentary purposes
  - (p224) un ricanement: a sneer
  - (p226) intacta: intact
  - (p226) la pomme de sa canne: the 'apple' (knob) of his cane
- Chapter 20
  - (p230) petit rat: little rat
- Chapter 22
  - (p238) Soyons logiques: Let us be logical
  - (p239) Etats Unis: United States
  - (p241) haute montagne: high mountain
  - (p241) que sais-je!: what do I know!
  - (p242) chassé-croisé: crossover
  - (p243) Je croyais que c' était un bill- not a billet doux: I thought it was a bill- not a love letter.
  - (p243) Bonjour, mon petit.: Hello, my little one
  - (p243) Est-ce que tu ne m'aimes plus, ma Carmen?: Do you love me anymore, my Carmen?
  - (p244) une belle dame toute en bleu: a beautiful lady in all blue
- Chapter 23
  - (p247) comme il faut: proper (fm. properly)
  - (p250) Quelquepart: somewhere
  - (p250) La Bateau Blue: The Blue Boat
  - (p250) touché: An acknowledgement of the validity, appropriateness, or superiority of an opponent's argument or statement in a discussion.
- Chapter 24
  - (p252) garcon: fellow
- Chapter 25
  - (p253) Dolorés Disparue: Dolores Missing
  - (p254) chambres garnies: furnished rooms
  - (p254) que c'etatit loin, tout cela!: How far it was - all that!
  - (p254) Et moi qui t'offrais mon genie!: And I was offering you my genius!
  - (p256) L'autre soir un air froid d'opera m'alita: Son fele-bien fol est qui s'y fie! Il neige, le decor s'ecroule, Lolita! Lolita, qu'ai-je fait de ta vie?: The other night a cold opera tune put me to bed: Crackled sound - who goes by it is crazy! It's snowing. The scenery is collapsing, Lolita! Lolita, what did I do with your life?
- Chapter 26
  - (p258) ensellure: A concave curve formed by the spine, for example in women and horses; lumbar incurvation
  - (p260) travaux: works
  - (p261) très digne: very dignified
  - (261) souvenir, souvenir que me veux-tu?: remember, remember what you want?
  - (p261) petite nymphe accroupie: small crouching nymph
  - (p263) vin triste: sad, drunk [literally "sad wine"]
- Chapter 27
  - (p264) Mes fenétres!: My windows!
  - (p264) Savez-vous qu'ю dix ans ma petite était folle de vous?: do you know that, when she was ten, my little daughter was madly in love with you?
- Chapter 28
  - (p267) Pas tout a fait: not quite
  - (p269) finis: finished
- Chapter 29
  - (p269) Personne. Je resonne. Repersonne: Nobody. I rang the bell again. Again nobody.
  - (p270) pommettes: cheekbones
  - (p273) frileux: chilly
  - (p275) Streng verboten: Strictly forbidden [in German]
  - (p277) souffler: blow
  - (p278) Mon grand pêché radieux: My great radiant sin
  - (p278) Changeons de vie, ma Carmen, allons vivre quelque part où nous ne serons jamais séparés: Lets change our lives, my Carmen, go and live somewhere where we shall never be separated.
  - (p278) Carmen, voulez-vous venir avec moi?: Carmen, do you want to come with me?
  - (p278) Trousseau: Clothing and accessories for a bride
  - (p279) Mon petit cadeau: My little gift
  - (p279) Cadeau: Gift
  - (p280) Carmencita, lui demandais-je: My little Carmen, I asked her
- Chapter 32
  - (p 284) mais je t'aimais, je t'aimais!: But I loved you, I loved you!
- Chapter 33
  - (p287) Bonzhur [Bonjour, spelled to mimic Charlotte's poor French accent]: good day
  - (p289) Mille grâces: A thousand graces
  - (p290) Vient de: Just
  - (p290) Réveillez-vous, Laqueue, il est temps de mourir!: Wake up, Laqueue, it is now time to die!
- Chapter 35
  - (p295) Je suis Monsieur Brustère: I am Mr. Brewster [in Phonetic French]
  - (p296) Vaterre: Water closet (slang)
  - (p296) La Fierté de la Chair: The Pride of the Chair [a bad translation of "Proud Flesh", mistaking the word "flesh" for "chair"]
  - (p297) une femme est une femme, mais un Caporal est une cigarette?: A woman is a woman, but a Caporal is a cigarette?
  - (p298) Vous voilà dans de beaux draps, mon vieux: You are in a fine mess, my friend
  - (p298) Alors, que fait-on?: What do we do then?
  - (p301) rencontre: duel [literally: "meeting" or "encounter"]
  - (p301) Soyons raisonnables: Let us be reasonable
  - (p302) Feu: Fire

Online resources

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