Vocabulary for
The Velveteen Rabbit
with Sniffy the Hamster, resident wordsmith
Printable Version (opens in new window).
Note: Read with gusto!
Velveteen(from the Title)
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Sniffy Says: "Ahhhhh, velvet." Sniffy rolls in his shavings and lounges on his back, belly up, paws in the air—completely relaxed. " Fuzzy cloth, shiny and soft—it feels so good against my furry little face." He roots in his shavings then pops up with a cotton ball in his mouth. "Shred it a little." Shred, shred. "Mix in a little cotton," mix, mix, fluff, fluff, "and voilá! You have the most exquisite rodent mattress in the whole rodent world!" Sniffy plops down face first and starts snoozing instantly.
swagger(12)
Sniffy Says: "Yah! Yah! I know da verd. Svagga. My Grandmama from Sveeden used to svagga. See? Yah! Like dis! Ven you valk vith your hips goin' from side to side. Yah! Ya! Like dis. Step, swing, step, swing, slip . . . step . . . slip . . . slip . . . whoops! Yahhhhh! Oops, luckily I vell in some cotton balls!"
shabby(13)
Sniffy Says: "Shabby. Scabby. 'When you're scabby you're shabby,' my Mama used to say. Then she'd say, 'You look bad, run down, not neat and tidy at all. Now stop scratching those flea bites and go clean your shabby room!'"
bracken(21)
Sniffy Says: "Bracken! Bracken!! Packen! Smacken! Hmmmmmm . . . sounds thick and weedy." Sniffy shreds a little cotton and smacks his lips. "Green. Yep, yep. Furry? Nope, nope. Ferny? Yep, yep. Lots of 'em growing in a field. Good place to hide from naughty kitties. Used to play in the bracken when I was a wee mite. Hmmmm—I remember! Made my brother sneeze. Force of it blew him backwards one day, and he fell down the opening of our tunnel and landed on his furry little behind. PAFOOM!! Moved to the city not long after . . . "
bonfire(32)
Sniffy Says: "Bonfire!! Bonfire!!!! Where?! Is my tush aflame?" Sniffy scampers in circles patting his tush. PAT, PAT, Scamper, Scamper. "Huh? Oh, I seeeeeeeeee. Definition. Hmmmm. Bonfire. Bonefire. Bones on fire? Nope! Maybe logs instead. Yep, yep. All stacked up." He runs to the top of his cage. "Huge pile of logs all a burnin' bright! Very, very warm—very light. Glows too much. Owls can see you if you're too near the bright. Not good, not good at all. Singe your little furry whiskers. You don't have whiskers? Too bad. Great things those whiskers. Once knew a hamster named of Whiskers . . ."
On-Line Dictionaries
The Free Dictionary: This is now my favorite on-line dictionary (the box above links to this dictionary). Not only does it provide you with audios to pronounce the word, but it also gives you examples of the word used in context. They also have a "References in classic literature" section which provides entire sentences from classic literature in which the word is used. Also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedia and more.
Answers.com: This is not just a dictionary, but it has a dictionary and the reason I list it is because the dictionary has an audio pronunciation feature which is very helpful when one comes across words that are difficult to pronounce or have never been seen before. Access is free.
The Dictionary of Difficult Words: Good resource for those words that your dictionary doesn't have or that other on-line dictionaries do not have.
A Latin Dictionary: This is great resource for Latin. There is even a downloadable version for your computer that will do both Latin/English and English/Latin.
Dictionary.com Free Access. You can purchase additional features.
Merriam-Webster Free Access.
WordSmyth A children's dictionary is also available. This dictionary requires registration. Free Access.
Oxford English Dictionary The best English dictionary in the world! This dictionary requires paid subscription. $29.95 per month or $295.00 per year.
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