The Faulkner Glossary
D - F
PAGE 2
Drawers: another name for underpants, or old fashioned bloomers
"Then she didn't have on anything but her bodice and her drawers" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 18).
Dregs: the sediment in a liquid
"I fling the dipper dregs to the ground…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 11).
Dropsical: swollen with an excessive accumulation of fluid
"She had been a big woman once but now her skeleton rose, draped loosely in unpadded skin that tightened again upon a paunch almost dropsical…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 265).
Drummer: a traveling salesman
"There was a drummer there. It was a couple of minutes to ten, and I invited him up the street to get a dope" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 191).
Dry up: stop talking
"'Ah, dry up,' the second said" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 120).
Durns't: "doesn't", although "durn" often substitutes for "damn" or "damned"
"If he had been a man, he would a been there instead of making his sons do what he durns't" (As I Lay Dying, p. 153).
E
Egvice: as in "advice"
"Soon as Quentin need any of yo egvice, I'll let you know" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 298).
Ejaculent: a sudden, short exclamation
"We hear sudden voices, ejaculent" (As I Lay Dying, p. 229).
Elefump: as in "elephant"
"Hum up, elefump" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 319).
Ellum: Elm tree
[Quentin's attention to pronunciation reflects his consciousness of difference between Southern and Northern speech.] "…a rippling shawl of leaves. Elm. No: ellum. Ellum" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 124).
En: as in "and"
"'Put hit down dar en g'awn back to bed" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 267).
Engendered: produce, procreate
"She is looking out the window, at Cash stooping steadily at the board in the failing light, laboring on toward darkness and into it as though the stroking of the saw illumined its own motion, board and saw engendered" (As I Lay Dying, p. 48).
Ere: traditionally, ere is a conjunction for "before," or "rather than." Faulkner's characters seem to use it as in "ever" or "every."
"I mislike undecision as much as ere a man" (As I Lay Dying, p. 17).
"She will be grateful to ere a one of you" (As I Lay Dying, p. 182).
Et: as in "eat," "ate"
"…maybe throwed away for him to lie about the dogs et it" (As I Lay Dying, p. 38).
"'Like a lady I et. Like a lady travelling'" (Light in August, p. 26)
Et ego in arcadia: from the Latin for "Here I am in Arcadia." Arcadia refers to an idyllic region in ancient Greece.
"'Et ego in arcadia I have forgotten the latin for hay.' Father said" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 44).
Euboeleus: variant of "Eubuleus," in Greek myth the swine herder witnesses Hades' abduction of Persephone and loses some of his herd
"…running the swine of Euboeleus running…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 148).
Evincing: showing or demonstrating clearly
"…evincing an enigmatic profundity because it had but one hand, a cabinet clock ticked, then with a preliminary sound as if it had cleared its throat, struck five times" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 274).
Ev'y: as in "every"
"'Mr. Jason,' he says. 'Please, suh. I'll fix dem tires ev'y day fer a mont'" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 255).
Expiation: to make amends
"And she [Addie] said, 'My daily life is an acknowledgment and expiation of my sin'" (As I Lay Dying, p. 167).
"… I suffered to expiate it…" (Light in August, p. 129) Extemporised: variant of "extemporized," improvised
"… harsh, extemporised dissertations…" (Light in August, p. 242).
F
Fack: as in "fact"
"Dat's a fack" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 114).
Faustus: a magician and alchemist in German legend who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge
"…exulting perhaps at that moment as Faustus had, of having put behind now at once and for all the Shalt Not, of being free at last of honor and law" (Light in August, p. 207).
Fecundity: fruitfulness or fertility
"A kind of still and violent fecundity that satisfied even bread-hunger like" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 113).
"Now it was still, quiet, the fecund earth now coolly suspirant" (Light in August, p. 281).
Feint: a feigned attack
"Luster fed him with skill and detachment. Now and then his attention would return long enough to enable him to feint the spoon and cause Ben to close his mouth upon the empty air…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 276).
Female dope: patent medicine used to alleviate pain of menstrual cramps
"So I thought that maybe her ma or somebody had sent her in for some of the female dope…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 199).
Fer: as in "for"
"'Mr. Jason,' he says. 'Please, suh. I'll fix dem tires ev'y day fer a mont'" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 255).
Fetlock: a tuft of hair on the back of the leg above the hoof of a horse
"Fetlock, hip, shoulder and head; smell and sound" (As I Lay Dying, p. 57).
Fice: as in "feist," a small, wiry dog of mixed ancestry prized for hunting
"She wasn't even listening, with her face all gummed up with paint and her eyes hard as a fice dog's" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 187).
Figger: as in "figure"
"If you had any actual proof, I'd have to act. But without that I dont figger it's any of my business" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 304).
Finitude: in a limited state
"…you are not thinking of finitude you are contemplating an apotheosis…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 177).
Fixing up to: preparing to
"It's fixing up to rain" (As I Lay Dying, p. 18).
Flac-soled: Faulkner is referring to the lighter-colored skin of Dilsey's palms
"…one gaunt hand flac-soled as the belly of a fish…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 265).
Flat-iron: an instrument used before the invention of the electric iron, made of cast iron with a smooth bottom, heated on top of a wood stove and used for pressing cloth
"Until on the Day when He says Rise only the flat-iron would come floating up" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 80).
Florid: ruddy, or flowery in style
"He responded with a hearty florid gesture" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 302).
Flotsam: floating debris
"It [the current] clucks and murmers among the spokes and about the mules' knees, yellow, skummed with flotsam…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 141).
"… his body empty and lighter than a forgotten leaf and even more trivial than flotsam lying spent and still…" (Light in August, p. 492).
Fo'c's'le: variant of "forecastle," section of the upper deck of a ship
"A man naked to the waist was coiling down a line on the fo'c's'le head" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 89).
Forehanded: prudent or well to do
"Well, I [Anse] got a little property. I'm forehanded; I got a good honest name" (As I Lay Dying, p. 171). Frailed: to whip or beat
"Inventing devilment to devil her till I would have frailed him time and time" (As I Lay Dying, p. 21).
Frail: to whip or beat
"Inventing devilment to devil her till I would have frailed him time and time" (As I Lay Dying, p. 21).
"'I'm going to frail the tar out of you!' he roared" (Light in August, p. 245).
French Lick: a resort and spa area in Indiana (where Herbert Head is from) known for its mineral springs; named "The Lick" by early settlers because animals flocked to lick the salty waters and wet rocks
"Bringing empty trunks down the attic stairs they sounded like coffins French Lick. Found not death at the salt lick" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 95).
Frieze: This is one of four words of Latin origin that Faulkner uses in his description of the fire (frieze, proscenium, nimbus and portière)
"They are like two figures in a Greek frieze…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 221).
Fulcrum: the point on which a lever pivots
"A piece of rotting log for fulcrum…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 52).
Fur piece: as in "far piece," or a long way
"Lena thinks, 'I have come from Alabama: a fur piece'" (Light in August, p. 3).
Furriners: as in "foreigners"
"Them furriners. I cant tell one from another" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 130).
"Then she didn't have on anything but her bodice and her drawers" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 18).
Dregs: the sediment in a liquid
"I fling the dipper dregs to the ground…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 11).
Dropsical: swollen with an excessive accumulation of fluid
"She had been a big woman once but now her skeleton rose, draped loosely in unpadded skin that tightened again upon a paunch almost dropsical…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 265).
Drummer: a traveling salesman
"There was a drummer there. It was a couple of minutes to ten, and I invited him up the street to get a dope" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 191).
Dry up: stop talking
"'Ah, dry up,' the second said" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 120).
Durns't: "doesn't", although "durn" often substitutes for "damn" or "damned"
"If he had been a man, he would a been there instead of making his sons do what he durns't" (As I Lay Dying, p. 153).
E
Egvice: as in "advice"
"Soon as Quentin need any of yo egvice, I'll let you know" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 298).
Ejaculent: a sudden, short exclamation
"We hear sudden voices, ejaculent" (As I Lay Dying, p. 229).
Elefump: as in "elephant"
"Hum up, elefump" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 319).
Ellum: Elm tree
[Quentin's attention to pronunciation reflects his consciousness of difference between Southern and Northern speech.] "…a rippling shawl of leaves. Elm. No: ellum. Ellum" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 124).
En: as in "and"
"'Put hit down dar en g'awn back to bed" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 267).
Engendered: produce, procreate
"She is looking out the window, at Cash stooping steadily at the board in the failing light, laboring on toward darkness and into it as though the stroking of the saw illumined its own motion, board and saw engendered" (As I Lay Dying, p. 48).
Ere: traditionally, ere is a conjunction for "before," or "rather than." Faulkner's characters seem to use it as in "ever" or "every."
"I mislike undecision as much as ere a man" (As I Lay Dying, p. 17).
"She will be grateful to ere a one of you" (As I Lay Dying, p. 182).
Et: as in "eat," "ate"
"…maybe throwed away for him to lie about the dogs et it" (As I Lay Dying, p. 38).
"'Like a lady I et. Like a lady travelling'" (Light in August, p. 26)
Et ego in arcadia: from the Latin for "Here I am in Arcadia." Arcadia refers to an idyllic region in ancient Greece.
"'Et ego in arcadia I have forgotten the latin for hay.' Father said" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 44).
Euboeleus: variant of "Eubuleus," in Greek myth the swine herder witnesses Hades' abduction of Persephone and loses some of his herd
"…running the swine of Euboeleus running…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 148).
Evincing: showing or demonstrating clearly
"…evincing an enigmatic profundity because it had but one hand, a cabinet clock ticked, then with a preliminary sound as if it had cleared its throat, struck five times" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 274).
Ev'y: as in "every"
"'Mr. Jason,' he says. 'Please, suh. I'll fix dem tires ev'y day fer a mont'" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 255).
Expiation: to make amends
"And she [Addie] said, 'My daily life is an acknowledgment and expiation of my sin'" (As I Lay Dying, p. 167).
"… I suffered to expiate it…" (Light in August, p. 129) Extemporised: variant of "extemporized," improvised
"… harsh, extemporised dissertations…" (Light in August, p. 242).
F
Fack: as in "fact"
"Dat's a fack" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 114).
Faustus: a magician and alchemist in German legend who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge
"…exulting perhaps at that moment as Faustus had, of having put behind now at once and for all the Shalt Not, of being free at last of honor and law" (Light in August, p. 207).
Fecundity: fruitfulness or fertility
"A kind of still and violent fecundity that satisfied even bread-hunger like" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 113).
"Now it was still, quiet, the fecund earth now coolly suspirant" (Light in August, p. 281).
Feint: a feigned attack
"Luster fed him with skill and detachment. Now and then his attention would return long enough to enable him to feint the spoon and cause Ben to close his mouth upon the empty air…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 276).
Female dope: patent medicine used to alleviate pain of menstrual cramps
"So I thought that maybe her ma or somebody had sent her in for some of the female dope…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 199).
Fer: as in "for"
"'Mr. Jason,' he says. 'Please, suh. I'll fix dem tires ev'y day fer a mont'" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 255).
Fetlock: a tuft of hair on the back of the leg above the hoof of a horse
"Fetlock, hip, shoulder and head; smell and sound" (As I Lay Dying, p. 57).
Fice: as in "feist," a small, wiry dog of mixed ancestry prized for hunting
"She wasn't even listening, with her face all gummed up with paint and her eyes hard as a fice dog's" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 187).
Figger: as in "figure"
"If you had any actual proof, I'd have to act. But without that I dont figger it's any of my business" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 304).
Finitude: in a limited state
"…you are not thinking of finitude you are contemplating an apotheosis…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 177).
Fixing up to: preparing to
"It's fixing up to rain" (As I Lay Dying, p. 18).
Flac-soled: Faulkner is referring to the lighter-colored skin of Dilsey's palms
"…one gaunt hand flac-soled as the belly of a fish…" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 265).
Flat-iron: an instrument used before the invention of the electric iron, made of cast iron with a smooth bottom, heated on top of a wood stove and used for pressing cloth
"Until on the Day when He says Rise only the flat-iron would come floating up" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 80).
Florid: ruddy, or flowery in style
"He responded with a hearty florid gesture" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 302).
Flotsam: floating debris
"It [the current] clucks and murmers among the spokes and about the mules' knees, yellow, skummed with flotsam…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 141).
"… his body empty and lighter than a forgotten leaf and even more trivial than flotsam lying spent and still…" (Light in August, p. 492).
Fo'c's'le: variant of "forecastle," section of the upper deck of a ship
"A man naked to the waist was coiling down a line on the fo'c's'le head" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 89).
Forehanded: prudent or well to do
"Well, I [Anse] got a little property. I'm forehanded; I got a good honest name" (As I Lay Dying, p. 171). Frailed: to whip or beat
"Inventing devilment to devil her till I would have frailed him time and time" (As I Lay Dying, p. 21).
Frail: to whip or beat
"Inventing devilment to devil her till I would have frailed him time and time" (As I Lay Dying, p. 21).
"'I'm going to frail the tar out of you!' he roared" (Light in August, p. 245).
French Lick: a resort and spa area in Indiana (where Herbert Head is from) known for its mineral springs; named "The Lick" by early settlers because animals flocked to lick the salty waters and wet rocks
"Bringing empty trunks down the attic stairs they sounded like coffins French Lick. Found not death at the salt lick" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 95).
Frieze: This is one of four words of Latin origin that Faulkner uses in his description of the fire (frieze, proscenium, nimbus and portière)
"They are like two figures in a Greek frieze…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 221).
Fulcrum: the point on which a lever pivots
"A piece of rotting log for fulcrum…" (As I Lay Dying, p. 52).
Fur piece: as in "far piece," or a long way
"Lena thinks, 'I have come from Alabama: a fur piece'" (Light in August, p. 3).
Furriners: as in "foreigners"
"Them furriners. I cant tell one from another" (The Sound and the Fury, p. 130).
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