I’m finally reading Go Set a Watchman with my book club this month! For those of you who don’t know, Watchman was written by Harper Lee and features the iconic characters of To Kill A Mockingbird two decades after Mockingbird’s setting. Jean Louise, aka “Scout” Finch, visits home and learns disturbing things about her home town and the people she loves. It’s set in the 1950’s, in the tension of the Civil Rights Movement, and I can’t wait to dig in! I love books that explore racial tension and find them applicable, unfortunately, today.
Harper Lee stumped me on page 13:
He began dating her [Scout] on her annual two-week visits home, and although she still moved like a thirteen-year-old boy and abjured most feminine adornment, he found something so intensely feminine about her that he fell in love.
Abjure \ab-ˈju̇r\ verb from the Latin jurare, which means “to swear” (related to perjury and justice, also based on the root jus, meaning “law”), plus the prefix ab-, meaning “away.”
- to renounce upon oath
- to reject solemnly
- to abstain from
According to Merriam-Webster, in the 15-16th centuries, to abjure something meant to reject something by oath and was subject to penalty of death. In modern language, the meaning isn’t as strong, as in the example above, in which Scout refrains from “feminine adornment.” No one is going to burn her at the stake for not wearing a necklace. 😉
Word Nerd Workout
Give a synonym for abjure. For Divergent fans, I’m offering “abnegate”, no deny.
If you like learning new words, please join in the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme, hosted by Kathy at Bermuda Onion.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!
I know I’ve come across this word before – the meaning sounded familiar, but I would have had to look it up again. I read lots of historical fiction, so when I read it, it probably meant under penalty of death!
I did not know this word. I need to read “Go Set A Watchman”. Now I won’t have to look up abjure. How about abandon for a synonym?
Sounds good to me!
That sounds like our Scout! How about forgo?
Another excellent synonym. Thanks for playing, Kathy.
This one I knew, I have to read this book.
Good for you. So far I like it, although it is a bit “rough” in spots – e.g. confusing jumps between character POV and or time. Worth the read, though.
repudiate – since I can’t give you a literary reference, I’ll have to credit to the bigger book of “life”