Vocabulary

Antarctic Circle: imaginary line near Antarctica; areas south of the line have at least one day in the winter when the sun never rises

Apprentice: to work for someone in exchange for learning a trade

Caravel: a sturdy ship with broad hulls, a high narrow deck, three masts, and triangular sails

Circumnavigate: to sail around

Colonize: to establish a settlement or territory

Continent: one of the seven large landmasses of Earth

Deceptive: causing one to believe what is not true or fail to believe what is true

Dirigible: airship

Elusive: seemingly inaccessible or unreachable; remote, out-of-the-way. Exile: enforced removal from one’s country

Expedition: journey taken by people with a set goal

Explorer: person who travels into little known regions

Hemisphere: half of the Earth

Historians: people who study past events

Interpreter: someone who translates one language to another

Logs: written records kept by the captain of a ship

Maritime: relating to the sea or navigation

Mast: vertical pole used to hold the sails on a ship

Mate: person authorized to serve in a position on a ship

Merchant: person whose career is buying and selling goods

Mutiny: rebellion against a ship’s captain

Navigation: method of setting the course of a ship

Northwest Passage: water route once believed to exist across North America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

Pension: fixed amount of money paid to a person on a regular basis

Scurvy: deadly disease caused by not getting enough Vitamin C for a long period of time

Surveyor: person who measures and maps land or a building site to establish boundaries

Trader: someone who exchanges goods

Vessel: a ship

Voyage: a journey to some distant place usually by sea, air or space