dwelling a home.
Food Delivery people People in Jonas' community don't cook their own food. The food for each meal is delivered to community members by people who have been assigned to be Food Delivery people.
ironic a contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs. For example, in Chapter 1, when the Speaker informs the community that the errant pilot will be released, he uses an "amusing" tone in his voice, but the act of release is a serious, fatal matter.
Speaker the person whose voice the people hear over the loudspeaker system.
palpable here, meaning real.
hatchery Jonas' community includes a salmon hatchery, a place where salmon are raised for the people's consumption.
tunic a piece of clothing.
wheedle here, meaning to compete for attention.
animals a term used in Jonas' community to describe someone "uneducated or clumsy, or someone who didn't fit in."
usages ways in which words are used.
newchildren newborns; infants.
supplementary additional.
December Ceremony the ceremony during which the children in each peer group chronologically move from one age to the next; infants are placed with family units, and Twelves are assigned their lifelong careers.
Hall of Open Records a building that stores records about citizens and events, as well as other information that is available to citizens of the community.
comfort object a stuffed animal that is issued to an infant until the child becomes an Eight, at which time the stuffed animal is recycled for another child's use.
