The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Vocabulary Analysis
Garrulous-1610s, from Latin. garrulus "talkative," from garrire "to chatter," from PIE root *gar- "to call, cry," of imitative origin
The narrator described an old friend of his as good-natured and wordy. Garrulous an adjective that elaborates the friends position, was used to bring about more of the story to build upon. From its Latin origins, the word garrulous from the very beginning meant to chatter. An in depth view of the word, the stem gar means to call or cry which brought about the modern meaning of garrulous
Append-late 14c., "to belong to as a possession or right," from Old French apendre (13c.) belong, be dependent (on); attach (oneself) to; hang, hang up," and directly from Latin. appendere "to cause to hang (from something), weigh," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + pendere "hang" (see pendant). Meaning "to hang on, attach as a pendant" is 1640s; that of "attach as an appendix" is recorded by 1843.
The verb append is used as its meaning to add or to attach. With context of the story, the narrator's friend asked of a story in which Simon Wheeler told. The usage of the word append is how he attached the stories results in a letter back to his friend in the East.
Appendage has 13th century origins mostly from the words latin root appendere. The usage of append has a modern meaning which probably brought about Twain’s usage of the word in his essay
Conjectured-late 14c., "interpretation of signs and omens," from Old French conjecture "surmise, guess," or directly from Latin coniectura "conclusion, interpretation, guess, inference," lit. "a casting together (of facts, etc.)," from coniectus, pp. of conicere "to throw together," from com- "together" (see com-) + iacere "to throw" (see jet (v.)). Sense of "forming of opinion without proof" is 1530s. The verb is from early 15c. In Modern English also with a parallel conjecte (n.), conjecten (v.).
With consideration of the context, conjectured means to presume or infer. The narrator talked about how his friend inferred if he talked to Mr. Wheeler, memories would bring about the story of Jim Smiley and the frog. Conjectured is used as the word to infer. From the perspective of the etymology of the word conjecture, the word has endured much shifting from different language forms and meanings. A modern definition of the word would consider it as an inference or a conclusion.
Dilapidated-1560s, "to bring a building to ruin," from L. dilapidatus, pp. of dilapidare "to squander, waste," originally "to throw stones, scatter like stones;" see dilapidation. Perhaps the English word is a back formation from dilapidation.
The adjective dilapidated is used to describe the tavern where the narrator found Simon Wheeler, the storyteller of the Frog of Calaveras County. The purpose of the word dilapidated in the sentence is to give a better picture of the tavern. Twain used the 1560s meaning of the word dilapidated as a picture of a wasted broken down object.
Interminable-late 14c., from Late Latin interminabilis, from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + terminabilis, from terminalis (see terminal). Related: Interminably.
The word interminable is to describe the feeling of the elongated narrative told by Simon Wheeler. Part of the seemingly endless story is brought about by the monotonous tone in which it was told. The late Latin roots of the words 14th century origins would be a hard word to understand for the time period of Twain’s writings were 5 centuries later.
Cavorting-1793, cauvaut, American English, perhaps from ca- colloquial intens. prefix + vault "jump, leap." Modern form attested by 1829.
The verb cavorting is used to describe the actions of the horse that Jim Smiley gambled on. Around the end of the race the horse would get excited and start jumping, so the verb cavorting was used as the horses action. The word cavorting had a young American English root from the early 19th century and was most likely easily understood by the audience for the words creation was of Twain’s generation.
Monstrous-mid-15c., "unnatural, deviating from the natural order, hideous," from Latin monstruosus "strange, unnatural," from monstrum (see monster). Meaning "enormous" is from c.1500; that of "outrageously wrong" is from 1570s.
Monstrous is used in the sentence as scale for a large amount instead of a scary monster like appearance. The adjective describes Smiley’s pride for his frog for his frog’s jumping ability earned him money. Monstrous, a 16th century word used as its origins describe an object as strange, unnatural, or enormous
Calaveras County-A county in California, Mark Twain set his story in this county for he spent years writing there. Calaveras County was incorporated in 1850, the same time the state of California was admitted into the United States. Every this year this county holds the Jumping Frog Jubilee, inspired from Twain’s story.
Vagabond-early 15c. (earlier vacabond, c.1400), from Modern French vagabonde, from Late Latin vagabundus "wandering, strolling about," from Latin vagari "wander" (from vagus "wandering, undecided;" see vague) + gerundive suffix -bundus. The noun is first recorded c.1400, earlier wagabund (c.1300).
The adjective vagabond describes the position of Jim Smiley in how he did not settle, he was always moving. Vagabond’s origins point back to the 15th century Latin term “vagari” which means to wander. This old word remains somewhat the same as its origin so misinterpretation or the lack of understanding the definition would most likely not occur with the 19th century audience.
Twain’s writings are easier understood than some of the older writers of past centuries for the vocabulary used back then and now have not endured significant change in definition. The audience back then would have very little struggle with understanding Twain’s writings for they spoke and heard the vocabulary used in his works. The only reason 19th century works are easier to read than 18th century works, is the fact that less time has passed for the definitions to change or become archaic.
Etymology found from the Etymology Online Dictionary at: http://www.etymonline.com