Key terms & definitions

A siege engine in which a falling counterweight rotates a throwing arm and launches a projectile from a sling.

A demonstration of bravery in warfare, such as approaching and touching a living enemy rather than killing him.

An office where a business keeps its accounts and conducts financial work.

The number of events recorded by a radiation detector each second.

The number of radiation detections recorded by a detector per unit time. It is not necessarily equal to the source’s activity because not all emitted radiation is detected.

A country gentleman, usually a parish’s chief landowner, with considerable local standing.

A court that deals with most civil cases in England and Wales, including disputes over debts, contracts, property and compensation for injuries.

An attempt by a small group to seize control of a government outside the normal legal process.

Two consecutive lines of poetry, sometimes forming a separate stanza; they do not have to rhyme.

The willingness to do what is right despite fear, difficulty or danger.

A horizontal row of loops in a knitted fabric.

The royal household and the people gathered around the monarch, including advisers, nobles, servants and royal companions; also the setting in which they met.

A group at court united by shared interests and seeking influence over the monarch.

A person attached to a royal court, whose position could provide access to the monarch, influence and rewards.

Noble men and women who attended the monarch’s court, providing company, entertainment and advice.

A literary convention presenting a lover as devoted to an idealised, often unattainable beloved, whose rejection makes the lover suffer.

Polished, formal behaviour associated with courtly society, including elaborate compliments and respectful gestures.

The government institution established under Cromwell to administer property and income acquired from dissolved religious houses.

The critical nickname for Roosevelt’s 1937 proposal to expand the Supreme Court, which opponents believed would let him appoint judges sympathetic to the New Deal.

Competition among people close to the monarch for royal favour, influence and positions of power.

A written record of a court’s business, traditionally kept on a roll of parchment.

The process of developing a relationship with a possible marriage partner, shaped in Austen’s novel by social visits, dances and expectations about appropriate behaviour.

A bond formed by the electrostatic attraction between two positive nuclei and a shared pair of electrons.

A strong electrostatic attraction between a shared pair of electrons and the nuclei of the bonded atoms.

A strong bond formed when atoms share a pair of electrons.

A compound formed when non-metal atoms share pairs of electrons.

A substance made of atoms joined by bonds in which they share electrons.

One of the two variables measured and compared in correlational research.

The written agreement setting out the League of Nations’ aims, organisation and members’ obligations; it formed part of the 1919 peace settlement.

A solemn agreement or commitment; in Christian marriage, the couple make promises before God.