Three Cups of Tea Vocabulary List Introduction: “In Mr. Mortenson’s Orbit” sortie: n – the flying of an airplane on a combat mission. ibex: n – any of several wild goats of the genus Capra, inhabiting mountainous regions of Eurasia and North Africa, having long, recurved horns. paiya chu: n – a type of butter tea, “forms of the basis of the Balti diet” (21), green tea, salt, baking soda, goat’s milk and yak’s butter jirgas: n – a tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by consensus madrassa: n – a school or college, especially a school attached to a mosque where young men study theology Chapter 1: “Failure” shalwar kamiz: n – a traditional dress worn by both women and men, a tunic shirt with loose- fitting trousers scree: n – loose rock debris covering a slope promontory: n – a bluff, or part of a plateau, overlooking a lowland aerie: n – a lofty nest of any large bird; a house or fortress Chapter 2: “The Wrong Side of the River” cornice: n – a mass of snow, ice, etc., projecting over a mountain ridge colossi: n – anything colossal, gigantic, or very powerful cairns: n – a heap of stones set up as a landmark or monument Allah Akbhar : n – “God is Great”, often used as a form of greeting cha: n – tea rupees: n – a form of currency, 40 rupees approximately equals $1 kurba: n – skull-shaped unleavened bread, baked each morning by the Balti zamba: n – a bridge, often made of yak hair rope lashed together and hung between two rocks angrezi: n – Balti word for Greg, a “strange white man” topi: n – lambswool pillbox cap nurmadhar: n – the chief of a village, Haji Ali was the chief of Korphe As-Salaam Alaaikum: n – a greeting, means, “peace be with you” balti: n – the large, central room of a home naswar : n – strong, green chewing tobacco cheezaley : n – Balti word that means, roughly, “What the hell?” Inshallah: n – means “God-willing” Chapter 3: “Progress and Perfection” lassi and chapatti: n – Balti breakfast food urdwa: n – a wool cap biango: n – roasted hen chogo rabak: n – large ram prelapsarian: adj – characteristic of or pertaining to any innocent or carefree period Chapter 4: “Self-Storage” serendipity: n – emerging from seemingly good luck and/or fortunate circumstance avocation: n – a person’s “calling” or work Chapter 5: “580 Letters, One Check” maw: n – the mouth or throat of an animal vertiginous: adj – whirling, spinning, dizzy quixotic: adj – impulsive, extravagantly chivalrous or romantic tempestuous: adj – characterized by storms Chapter 6: “Rawalpnidi’s Rooftops at Dusk” charpoy: n – a light bed frame chokidar: n – the owner of a hotel hazzan: n – a call to prayer muezzin: n – the crier who, from a minaret or other high part of a mosque, at stated hours five times daily, intones aloud the call summoning Muslims to prayer wudu: n – ritualistic cleaning before prayer infidel: n – a person who does not accept a particular faith zakat: n – Urdu word for charity azarband: n – the waist string on a pair of pants (shalwar) Chapter 7: “Hard Way Home” cricket: n – a game, popular especially in England salaamed: n – a respectful ceremonial greeting dua: n – a prayer for a safe journey sisyphian: adj – an activity that is unending and/or repetitive riverine: adj – of or pertaining to a river irremediable: adj – not remitting to repair or rest Chapter 8: “Beaten by the Braldu” solicitous: adj – considerate; caring topis: n - A helmet worn for protection against sun and heat biryani: n - a spicy Indian dish of rice with meat or vegetables wizened: adj – wrinkled; shriveled balti: n - a type of one-pot cooking involving very spicy dishes flailing: adj – thrashing; floundering Chapter 9: “The People Have Spoken” rancorous: adj – revengeful; unforgiving traverse: v – to cross or pass through Chapter 10: “Building Bridges” mullah: n - a title of respect for a person who is learned in, teaches, or expounds the sacred law vagaries: n – whims; unpredictable behaviors naswar: smokeless tobacco that one inhales buttressed: adj – reinforced; supported animist: n – one who believes that spirits exist in everything pilgrimage: n – a religious or spiritual journey odysseys: n – long, difficult journeys Bedouin: n - a nomad or wanderer of the desert Chapter 11: “Six Days” accruing: adj – accumulating; growing venture capitalist: n – one who invests money in a newly started project stupor: n – unconsciousness; daze; trance paunch: n – stomach or abdomen of a human or animal bloke: n – slang for “man” indefatigable: adj – untiring; unrelenting Chapter 12: “Haji Ali’s Lesson” derelict: adj – neglected; abandoned austere: adj – severe; strict; plain sheath: n – cover; casing sanctify: v – to bless or make holy mandate: n – permission; authorization cadences: n – rhythms, beats pilfered: adj – stolen; filched kafir: n – a slang term for “rejector of religion,” or infidel Chapter 13- “A Smile Should be More than a Memory” Taliban: n – Muslim fundamentalist group in Afghanistan shunted: v – pushed, shoved, moved guerilla: n – member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, purdah: n – the seclusion of women from the sight of men or strangers, practiced by some Muslims and Hindus hookah: n – a tobacco pipe of Near Eastern origin with a long, flexible tube by which the smoke is drawn through a jar of water and thus cooled phalanx: n – body of troops in close array winnowed: adj – narrowed down fundamentalist: n – strict adherence to any set of basic ideas or principles fawning: adj – submissive fledgling: n – baby bird Chapter 14- “Equilibrium” contrarian: n – someone who is disagreeable sheepishly: adv – done with embarrassment septic shock: n – A condition of physiologic shock caused by an overwhelming infection Chapter 15: “Mortenson in Motion” fatwa: n – an Islamic religious decree issued by a religious leader fakhir: n – a Muslim or Hindu religious ascetic or monk commonly considered a wonder-worker convivial: adj – welcoming, warm mired: adj – delayed, caught up sectarian: adj – narrowly confined to a certain sect volubly: adv – fluently dervish: n – A member of any of various Muslim ascetic orders, some of which perform whirling dances and vigorous chanting as acts of ecstatic devotion zakat: n – a tax, comprising percentages of personal income of every kind, levied as almsgiving for the relief of the poor: the third of the Pillars of Islam Chapter 16: “Red Velvet Box” licentiousness: n – extravagance, wastefulness pantheon: n – a public building containing tombs or memorials of the illustrious dead of a nation transcend: v – exceed, rise above Chapter 17- “Cherry Trees in the Sand” wrest: v – extract behest: n – request, command incursion: n – storming, attack, raid parity: n – equality apparition: n – a ghost or spirit tasbih: n – is a form of prayer that involves the repetitive utterances of short sentences glorifying God. torrent: n – an overflow, inundation arabesques: n – complex, ornate design of intertwined floral, foliate, and geometric figures opaque: adj – dense, thick, not clear ochre: n – a moderate orange-brown color Chapter 18: “Shrouded Figure” phantasmagorical: adj – other-wordly; characterized by mystery or magic self-aggrandizing: adj – conceited; stuck-up kowtowing: adj – flattering Chapter 19: “A Village Called New York” loath: adj – unwilling; reluctant monotheist: n – a person who believes in only one God proselytize: v – to attempt to convert someone to a given religion jihad: n - a holy war undertaken as a sacred duty by Muslims. enclave: n – commune; cooperative ostensibly: adv – apparently; seemingly cordon: v – to barricade obstinacy: n – stubbornness; determination posh: adj – classy; stylish Chapter 20: “Tea with the Taliban” discombobulated: adj – confused; frustrated conviction: n – belief; passion Chapter 21: “Rumsfeld’s Shoes” AARP: n – American Association of Retired Persons bureaucracy: n – system of government; administration pandering: adj – catering to the lowest tastes burkha: n – a long loose body-covering garment with veiled holes for the eyes, worn by some Muslim women Chapter 22: “’The Enemy is Ignorance’” ruminate: v – ponder; think over encroaching: adj - intrusive defiantly: adv – disobediently; rebelliously Chapter 23: “Stones into Schools” askew: adj – crooked; off center mete: v – to allot; to distribute devout: adj – religious; devoted Three Cups of Tea List of People Mentioned in the Book (Western names are listed last name first alphabetically and Pakistani names are listed first name first alphabetically.) Abdul Jabbar: Pakistani professor at the City College of San Francisco who joined the board of directors of the Central Asia Institute. Abdul Shah: the watchman at the hotel where Mortenson is staying in Rawalpindi, who aided Mortenson in bargaining for supplies for building the school in Korphe. Akhmalu: the cook who accompanied Mortenson’s K2 expedition, who later tried to pressure Mortenson into building a school in his village of Khane before building one in Korphe. Ahmed Rashid: leading authority on the link between madrasa education and the rise of extremist Islam. Ahmed Shah Massoud: known as the Lion of the Panjshir, charismatic leader of the Northern Alliance, former mujahadeen, whose military skill had kept the Taliban from taking northernmost Afghanistan, who was murdered by Al Qaeda assassins on September 9, 2001. Amartya Sen: Nobel Prize winner whose key idea it was that you can change a culture by giving its girls the tools to grow up educated so that they can help themselves. Apo Razak: a veteran at feeding large groups in inhospitable mountain terrain, he became head cook for the Karakoram Porter Training and Environmental Institute’s training expedition. Atal Bihari Bajpayee: India’s prime minister. Aziza Hussain: Zuudkhan woman, village’s first health care worker sent to Gulmit Medical Clinic by CAI. Badam Gul: the man met in Peshawar who volunteered to guide Mortenson to Ladha, his home village, when Mortenson was scouting locations for more schools.