Daniel a prophet from the Old Testament.
dark miner worker of the devil; in this case, Chillingworth.
David and Bathsheba the biblical story of King David’s adultery with Bathsheba.
deleterious harmful or causing injury.
deportment the manner of conducting or bearing oneself; behavior; demeanor.
depredations robbing, plundering, laying waste.
disquietude a disturbed or uneasy condition; restlessness; anxiety.
disquietude a disturbed or uneasy condition; restlessness; anxiety.
draught of the cup of wormwood and aloes symbolically, a cup of bitter herbs; here, representing what Hester feels inside behind her composed face.
dryad a nymph living in the forest among the trees.
effluence a flowing forth or outward.
eldritch eerie, weird.
Election Sermon the speech given when a governor is installed. It is a great honor to be asked to give this speech.
Elixir of Life a subject of myth, a substance that was supposed to extend life indefinitely.
Elizabethan epoch the late 1500s, named for Elizabeth I and called the Golden Age in arts and literature.
Elizabethan ruff an elaborate collar worn around the neck, consisting of tiny accordion pleats.
emolument profit that comes from employment or political office.
erudition learning acquired by reading and study; scholarship.
escutcheon a shield or shield-shaped surface on which a coat of arms is displayed.
exigencies great needs; a situation calling for immediate action or attention.
expiation atonement; to pay a penalty for something.
fathomless too deep to be measured; incomprehensible.
folio tome; here, a large book.
from Bunyans’ awful doorway Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress was an allegory of the late 1600s; the doorway is the entrance to hell.
