AP World HistoryMs. SheetsUniversity High School

Discipline-Specific Academic Vocabulary Quiz – Study Guide

UPDATE: The quiz will be matchingthe definition to the correct term from a word bank.

AP World HistoryMs. SheetsUniversity High School

  1. Absolutism: a political theory that absolute power should be vested in one ruler
  2. Louis XIV was an absolutist ruler
  3. Agrarian: relating to cultivated land or farmers
  4. Agrarian populations have dwindled after the Industrial Revolution.
  5. Anachronistic: something or someone that is not in its correct historical time
  6. A cellphone would be anachronistic in the 1800s.
  7. Anarchy: political or social disorder due to the absence of government control
  8. The death of the king was followed by a year of anarchy.
  9. Annex: to incorporate (territory) into the domain of a state
  10. International law decrees that no nation can annex the moon for itself.
  11. Aristocracy: a class of persons holding exceptional rank, privileges; noble and elite
  12. The French Revolutionaries wanted to overthrow the French aristocracy.
  13. Armistice: temporary suspension of hostilities; a truce
  14. Japan proposed an armistice after the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
  15. Authoritarian: exercising complete control over the will of the people
  16. Hitler was an authoritarian leader.
  17. Autocrat: an absolutist ruler
  18. Louis XIV was an autocrat.
  19. Autonomous: self-governing; independent; subject to its own laws
  20. The process of decolonization granted colonies autonomy.
  21. Barbarian: a person living outside, especially north of, the Roman Empire; uncivilized, crude
  22. Barbarians attacked the northern borders of the Roman Empire.
  23. Bourgeoisie: 18th-century wealthy French middle class; in Marxist theory, the class that is concerned with private property and controlling means of production
  24. The bourgeoisie advocated for greater rights in the French Revolution.
  25. Bullion: gold or silver in the form of bars
  26. Spanish ships carried silver bullion from the New World to Spain.
  27. Bureaucracy/bureaucrat: The body of officials, administrators, and workers in a government
  28. China utilized bureaucrats to organize its vast empire.
  29. Capitalism: an economic system in which the means of production are owned by private individuals
  30. “Capitalism works better than it sounds, while socialism sounds better than it works.” – Richard Nixon
  31. Cartography: the production of maps
  32. Columbus’s missions gave valuable information to cartographers.
  33. Cavalry: the part of a military force composed of troops that serve on horseback
  34. The Mongol cavalry was renowned for its speed.
  35. Chattel: a movable article of personal property, specifically a slave
  36. Despite being moved from a slave state into a free state, slaves were always considered chattel.
  37. Codify: to arrange into a collection and make official
  38. Justinian codified a new Byzantine law code.
  39. Coercive/Coerce/Coerced: to compel by force, intimidation, or authority
  40. Africans were coerced to work for Belgian colonizers.
  41. Colonialism: the control of governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, and/or people
  42. The British Empire practiced colonialism to enlarge their territory and provide themselves with additional resources at a low cost.
  43. Communism/Socialism: a system of social and economic organization where all property and means of production are held in common with ownership belonging to the state.
  44. Russia was a communist state.
  45. Conservative: traditional and disposed to preserve existing conditions; limit change
  46. Janissaries were a conservative force in the Ottoman Empire.
  47. Cultural: developed by the human mind; literature, art, music, fashion, mathematics, science
  48. 1950s American culture included Elvis Presley, pop art, blue jeans, and Coca-cola.
  49. Decry: to condemn or criticize; to speak disparagingly of
  50. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom decried the corruption they saw in the Qing.
  51. Deity: a god or goddess; divine character or nature
  52. Ancient Mesopotamia had multiple deities.
  53. Demographics: the statistical data of a population, especially showing average age, race, education, etc.
  54. The demographics of Latin America before and after Columbus are dramatically different.
  55. Diaspora: any group that has been dispersed outside its traditional homeland, especially involuntarily.
  56. The African Diaspora was created primarily because of the slave trade.
  57. Diffusion: the transmission of elements or features of one culture to another
  58. Buddhism in Southeast Asia is an example of cultural diffusion.
  59. Diplomacy: conducting negotiations or relations between nations or other groups
  60. Diplomacy was utilized to end World War I and create the Treaty of Versailles.
  61. Disseminate: to scatter or spread widely
  62. Martin Luther’s Protestant ideas disseminated quickly thanks to the printing press.
  63. Dissolution: the breaking up of an assembly or organization
  64. The USSR officially dissolved in 1991.
  65. Domesticate: to tame an animal, especially by generations of breeding, so that an animal loses its ability to live in the wild
  66. Neolithic settlers domesticated cattle and pigs.
  67. Economic: pertaining to the production, distribution, and use of income, wealth, and commodities
  68. China’s economy thrived when they demanded payments in silver only.
  69. Embargo: any restriction imposed on trade or commerce
  70. Since Cuba had become a communist state, the United States placed a trade embargo on Cuban goods.
  71. Emigration: the act of leaving one’s country or region to settle in another; to migrate
  72. Jews emigrated from Eastern Europe to escape religious persecution.
  73. Entrepreneur: a person who organizes and manages any business enterprise
  74. Entrepreneurs were central to the Industrial Revolution.
  75. Ethnicity: a social group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, language etc.
  76. Jews were targeted in WWII by the Nazis because of their ethnicity.
  77. Exploit: to use selfishly for one’s own ends
  78. Native American laborers were exploited by conquistadors.
  79. Expulsion: to drive or force out or away
  80. Jews were expelled from Spain during the Reconquista in 1492.
  81. Forage: to wander or go in search of provisions
  82. Hunters and gatherers were foragers, constantly migrating to find food.
  83. Feudalism: nobility holds land from the ruler in exchange for military service and loyalty
  84. Zhou China, Mauryan India, and medieval Europe were feudal societies.
  85. Filial: familial, specifically relating to children and their parents
  86. Confucianism supports filial piety.
  87. Gentry: a wellborn class
  88. Bureaucrats and scholars in dynastic China were referred to as members of the scholar-gentry.
  89. Hegemony: leadership or predominant influence exercised by one nation over others
  90. The United States is largely considered the hegemonic power in the global world today.
  91. Imperialism/imperial: the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries; acquiring colonies
  92. British imperialism in the 19th century led to the largest empire in history.
  93. Indigenous: originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country
  94. The indigenous peoples of Latin America were severely depleted in numbers as a result of European diseases newly exposed to them.
  95. Infrastructure: the basic, underlying framework or features of a nation or organization
  96. Taxes are used by nations to support failing or old infrastructure.
  97. Interregional: of or relating to multiple regions
  98. The Columbian Exchange was an interregional trade network.
  99. Liberal: favorable to progress or reform; progressive in attitude
  100. First-wave and Second-wave feminism were liberal movements.
  101. Manorialism: landowners loan land and housing to peasants in exchange for labor
  102. After the Roman Empire collapsed, most European communities used manorialism as a local form of organization.
  103. Maritime: connected with the sea; navigation, shipping, etc.
  104. Maritime trade in the Indian Ocean by Muslim traders helped to expand Islam across the Indian Ocean region.
  105. Metallurgy: the working with metals, especially to produce tools
  106. Ancient Rome’s developments with metallurgy enabled them to have a formidable army.
  107. Monetary: of or relating to coinage or currency
  108. The monetary policy of the United States affects economic growth.
  109. Nationalism: devotion and loyalty to one’s own country; patriotism
  110. The Balkans region’s growing nationalism contributed to outbreak of WWI.
  111. Nomadic: no permanent settlement; move from place to place according to the seasons
  112. Hunters and gatherers were nomadic.
  113. Partition: a division or a separation, perhaps of territory
  114. The Soviet Union was partitioned into multiple countries in 1991.
  115. Pastoral/Pastoralist: pertaining to the country or to life in the country
  116. Pastoral life across England was interrupted by the enclosure movement.
  117. Piety: reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations
  118. Early medieval Europe was a deeply pious community where the Catholic Church existed as the most powerful institution.
  119. Pilgrimage: a journey made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion
  120. Muslims are required to make a religious pilgrimage – the hajj to Mecca – once in their life.
  121. Political: of, or relating to, the state or its government
  122. The politics of the Roman Empire allowed non-Roman groups to retain their religious practices.
  123. Primary source: a document or physical object which was written or created during the time of study
  124. The Tale of Genjiis a primary source for Heian Japan.
  125. Proliferate: to increase in number or spread rapidly, and often excessively
  126. The Cold War led to the proliferation of nuclear weapons across the world.
  127. Propaganda: information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, etc.
  128. Yellow journalism is a form of propaganda.
  129. Race: a group of persons related by common descent or hereditary
  130. Black South Africans were segregated from Afrikaners, due to racial differences.
  131. Reform/reformer: the improvement or amendment of what is wrong
  132. Ayatollah Khomeini was a religious reformer and a fundamentalist.
  133. Regional: of or relating to a particular region, district, area, or part
  134. Regional trade in China was aided by the creation of the Grand Canal.
  135. Religion: a set of beliefs concerning the power of a divine being, devotional practices, and a moral code
  136. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are Abrahamic religious.
  137. Rural: of, relating to, or characteristic of the country; rustic
  138. Much of the current Chinese population still resides in rural areas.
  139. Secondary source: documents written after an event has occurred, providing secondhand accounts
  140. A world history textbook is a secondary source.
  141. Sedentary: abiding in one place; not migratory
  142. The River Valley civilizations were sedentary communities.
  143. Social: of or relating to humans, their relations, and communities
  144. The Indian caste system is a type of social hierarchy.
  145. Specialization: focusing on or pursuing a particular line of study or work
  146. With the creation of agriculture, specialization of labor occurred.
  147. Stratification: the hierarchical division of society according to rank, caste, or class
  148. The Hindu caste system is a highly stratified social structure.
  149. Syncretism: the merging of practices
  150. Din-i-Ilahi is an example of syncretism; it is a mixture of Hinduism and Islam.
  151. Tariff: a tax, typically on foreign products
  152. During the Great Depression, many nations raised tariffs to protect their local industries.
  153. Urban: of or relating to a city
  154. Urban areas saw an increase in population during the Industrial Revolution.
  155. Veneration: to regard or treat with reverence
  156. Ancient Mesopotamians venerated idols of their gods in ziggurats.
  157. Xenophobia: an unreasonable fear or hatred for foreigners or strangers
  158. Ming China ended its interregional trade and expansion due to a wave of xenophobia throughout its scholar-gentry.