Glossary

Glossaries have been created to provide the definition for words specific to each theme area. It is suggested that students review the glossaries before they examine a specific theme area. For example, the Ranching Glossary contains many terms such as "greenhorn," "heifer," or "wrangler," that only a rancher or cowboy might know.

Agricultural: The science and art of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

Anti-Semitism: Antagonism or prejudice toward Jews or Judaism.

Aristocrat: A member of a ruling class or of the nobility.

Austro-Hungarian Empire: A Dual Monarchy established by the Habsburg Franz Joseph in 1867 between his empire of Austria and his kingdom of Hungary (which included territory that became Czechoslovakia as well as parts of Poland, the Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Italy). It collapsed in the autumn of 1918 with the end of the First World War.

Barnstorm: To appear at county fairs and carnivals in exhibitions of stunt flying and parachute jumping.

Baron: A European nobleman, ranked differently in various countries.

Barracks: A building or group of buildings used to house military personnel and soldiers.

Boer War: A war fought from 1899 to 1902 between the Boer governments and Great Britain in South Africa. The war was over the sovereignty and commercial rights in these lands and ended with British victory.

Bootlegging: To make, sell, or transport (alcoholic liquor) illegally.

Brownie Camera: Introduced in 1900, it was a simple camera anyone could use and also that almost anyone could afford.

Buckskin: Soft, yellowish leather having a suede finish made from deerskins.

Conscripted: Forcing individuals to enroll for service in the armed forces.

Cree: A First Nations people inhabiting a large area from eastern Canada, west to Alberta and the Great Slave Lake. There are the Woodland Cree, who lived in the forests, and the Plains Cree, who lived on the prairies.

Cultivation: To improve and prepare land for raising crops by plowing or fertilizing.

Czar: One of the male monarchs or emperors who ruled Russia until the revolution of 1917.

Distiller: A person that makes alcoholic liquors by the process of distillation.

Dominion: A self-governing nation within the British Commonwealth.

Doukhobors: A member of a Russian Christian movement founded in the eighteenth century, many of whom migrated to Canada in the 1890s to escape persecution for their views.

Emigrate: To leave one country to move to and settle in another.

Flora: Refers to the plants of a particular country, region, or time period.

Forty-Niner: A gold prospector who took part in the 1849 California gold rush.

Great Depression (1929): Term referring to the period in Canada from 1929 until 1939. Western Canada's economy had massive unemployment, breadlines, relief camps, protest marches and dust storms. The beginning of the Second World War in 1939 brought Canada out of the Great Depression.

Hudson's Bay Company (HBC): The oldest (formed in 1670) company in Canadian history, which was very important in the fur trade and the exploration of Canada.

Homesteader: A person who settles lawfully on government land with the intent to acquire ownership of it.

Immigrant: A person who entered and settled in a country they were not born in.

Lantern slide: A type of transparency mounted in a frame and viewed with a slide projector.

Manuscript: A typewritten or handwritten version of a book or article prepared and submitted for publication.

Maverick: There are two main definitions.

1. Originally, it referred to cattle that have not been branded yet, usually meaning a calf that has become separated from its mother. They were usually considered the property of the first person to brand them.

2. Today, it refers to a person who is independent in thought and deed, or who refuses to "go along with the group."

MÃtis: A person of mixed First Nations and French-Canadian ancestry.

Mission: The job of being sent to do religious or charitable works, usually in a foreign country, and attempting to persuade or convert others to their own beliefs.

Monopoly: A business that is the only supplier of a particular good or service.

Muskeg: A swamp or bog formed by a buildup of sphagnum moss, leaves, and decayed material.

Nakoda: Also called the Stoney, the Nakoda are a First Nations people whose traditional lands include large parts of B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Montana.

Natural History: The study of the natural development of an organism over a long period of time.

New World: Refers to the hemisphere that includes North and South America.

Oeuvre: The total lifework of an artist, writer, or composer.

Photo-engraving: The procedure of reproducing graphic material by transferring the image photographically to another surface, which is then etched for mass printing.

Photojournalism: Journalism in which a news story is presented primarily through photographs.

Pioneer: A person or family that ventures into unknown territory to settle.

Prohibition: The forbidding by law of the manufacture, transportation, sale, and possession of alcoholic beverages.

Prospector: A person who explores an area searching for mineral deposits or oil.

Quaker: A member of a religious group called the Society of Friends founded by George Fox. Members have never called themselves Quakers though.

Ranching: Comes from the Spanish word "rancho" which means a small farm, hut, or group of people who eat together. Ranching is running an extensive farm where large herds of cattle or horses are raised.

Sawmill: A building equipped with machinery for sawing timber into boards.

Settler: A person who settles in a new region or country.

Stetson: A type of cowboy hat having a high crown and wide brim.

Symphony: A symphony orchestra plays lengthy pieces of music for their audience's entertainment.

Threshing: To beat the stems and husks of grain with a machine to separate the grains or seeds from the straw.

Trailblazer: A person who first to explore and enter an area and marks a trail for people to follow by leaving a mark cut or painted on trees.

Transcontinental railway: A railway that goes from coast-to-coast across Canada.

War Bonds: A form of savings bond used in Canada to help fund the First and Second World Wars. They were issued by the government for the purpose of financing military operations during times of war.

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