TOEFL IBT – History

Vocabulary is promordial in order to improve your TOEFL score. Remember, Preparation is the key to succeed !

This vocabulary will be useful if you ever take a history course in school, for expanding your English vocabulary, or especially for any number of English language exams you may take. Here we will look at the most commonly used words in the field, along with their French translations.

acropolis	the upper part of a town	The climb to the acropolis summit is literally and figuratively breathtaking.	l’acropole
adobe	a building material composed of sandy clay and straw which can be cast into bricks or shaped directly into walls using wooden frames	Later, the pit structures evolved into rooms with adobe walls.	l’adobe
agnostic	the belief that the existence of God is unknowable	When I started out my career, I was an agnostic.	agnostique
agora	a central area in Greek cities used both as a marketplace and as a meeting place	The new excavation has uncovered the agora’s northern gate.	l’agora
anarchist	one who believes in the absence of government or law	I’m a conservative, not an anarchist.	l’anarchiste
atheist	one who does not believe in the existence of any god or divine being	There are no atheists on the program, only strict believers.	l’athée
Bastille	the Parisian political prison that was stormed on July 14, 1789, by city workers alarmed by the king’s concentration of troops at Versailles	During the 16^th century the area around the Bastille developed further.	la Bastille
Bible	the book that contains the writings or scriptures that Christians recognize as the written word of God	Bibles are available in large print for those with impaired vision.	la bible
bourgeoisie	the middle class, including merchants, industrialists, and professional people	The bourgeoisie of Africa are the most corrupt in the world.	la bourgeoisie
Buddhism	the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire and that suffering ceases when desire ceases	Buddhism is the majority religion, and they are very sensitive.	le bouddhisme
caste system	traditional division of Hindu society into various categories	Stories of the individual tragedies of India’s caste system are not rare.	le système des castes
Christianity	a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament	Halloween has roots both in Northern European paganism and in Christianity.	le christianisme
citizen	a member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to it by birth or naturalization and is entitled to full civil rights	Non-citizens are not accorded equal economic and political rights.	le citoyen/la citoyenne
civil war	conflict between opposing groups of citizens of the same country	The last reference was to a civil war in West Africa.	la guerre civile
Cold War	a conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union	India was close to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.	la guerre froide
colony	group of people who settle in a distant land but are still ruled by the government of their native land	There are 13 stripes on the American flag, one for each of the original colonies.	la colonie
communism	a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state	And the collapse of communism has opened Russia and Eastern Europe.	le communisme
the Constitution	formal document written in 1787 that explained the structure of the government of the United States and how power would be distributed	Presidents have no direct role in changing the Constitution.	la Constitution
the Crusades	a series of military expeditions in the 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th centuries held by Western European Christians to reclaim control of the Holy Lands from the Muslims	One Muslim leader called for the pope to apologize for the Crusades.	les croisades
democracy	a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them	An open democracy would be a rarity in the Arab world.	la démocratie
dictator	political leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force	We’re not interested in negotiating with dictators.	le dictateur/la dictatrice
dynasty	a powerful family or group of rulers that maintains its position or power for some time	They date from the Timurid dynasty.	la dynastie
feudalism	a political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land	Only by then it was too late; feudalism was over.	la féodalité
the Great Depression	the economic crisis and period of low business activity in the US and other countries, from 1929 through the 1930s	The Great Depression was underway and all the economic indicators pointed downward.	la Grande Dépression
Holocaust	the elimination of Jews, non-conformists, homosexuals, non-Aryans, and the mentally and physically disabled that took place in Germany from 1941 to 1945	I’m the son of a Holocaust survivor.	l’Holocauste
hacienda	plantation owned by the Spanish settlers or the Catholic Church in Spanish America	Rustic haciendas and convents dot the outlying areas to the east.	l’hacienda
Hinduism	a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being of many forms and natures	The Buddhist protesters say their religion has no links with Hinduism.	l’hindouisme
history	the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings	As much as anything, they are drawn to the history.	l’histoire
Ice Age	period of time when huge sheets of ice covered much of the earth’s land	During the Ice Age, it was wetter and full of deep lakes.	la période glaciaire
imperialism	a policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, socially, and economically	In the end, 19^th-century imperialism was a diversion.	l’impérialisme
indulgences	selling of forgiveness by the Catholic Church that led to the Reformation	The sale of indulgences motivated Martin Luther to begin the Reformation.	les indulgences
Industrial Revolution	the change from an agricultural to an industrial society and from home manufacturing to factory production, especially the one that took place in England from about 1750 to 1850	The Industrial Revolution created a demand for metal parts used in machinery.	la Révolution industrielle
Islam	the monotheistic religion of Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7^th century and based on the teachings of Muhammad	Islam and the Revolution have envisioned far greater opportunities for women.	l’Islam
Judaism	one of the oldest monotheistic faiths with the Torah as its biblical text	Fern has renounced Judaism and turned to new-age feminism.	le judaïsme
kingdom	a monarchy with a king or queen as head of state	He did not preach a new kingdom or a coming judgment.	le royaume
Quran	the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina	The God of the Quran is merciful, peaceful, and good.	le Coran
Magna Carta	a document that was signed by King John of England in 1215 and is the cornerstone of English justice and law	Certainly the Magna Carta rights are a cornerstone of the American Constitution.	la Grande Charte
medieval	a term that historians of Europe use for the period roughly 500 to 1500	One resembled a medieval princess, another a cocky sailor girl.	médiéval
migrate	move from one country or region to another and settle there	Within their habitat, turkeys migrate with the availability of food.	se déplacer
missionary	someone sent on a religious or charitable mission to a foreign country	As with any first missionary, more were bound to come.	le/la missionnaire
Mohammed	founder of Islam; regarded by Muslims as a prophet of God	The Prophet Mohammed supposedly never tidied his beard.	Mahomet
monarchy	autocracy in which a king, queen, or emperor exercises supreme powers of government	The monarchy, therefore, has always seemed a bit inappropriate.	la monarchie
nationalism	political ideology that stresses people’s membership in a nation	In some cases, religion has become an expression of nationalism.	le nationalisme
natural rights	the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property	Only by claiming them as natural rights could they be secured.	les droits naturels
nomad	a member of a people who have no permanent home but move about according to the seasons	Oases and plants bloomed, and nomads moved in with cattle.	le/la nomade
patriarch	father and ruler of a family or tribe; highly respected old man	Ancient omens cloud the lives of Old Testament patriarchs and matriarchs.	le patriarche
patriotism	the love of one’s country; the passion that inspires a person to serve his or her country	Patriotism has been confused as obedience to a handful of officials.	le patriotisme
pope	the bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church	For me, it is clear that the pope respects Buddhism.	le pape
rabbi	Jewish religious teacher; leader of a Jewish congregation	If you need help, see a priest or a rabbi.	le rabbin
the Reformation	a movement to improve the Roman Catholic Church begun by Martin Luther	The Norwegian church became a branch of Lutheranism during the Reformation.	la Réforme
the Renaissance	the great period of rebirth in art, literature, and learning in the 14^th-16^th centuries, which marked the transition into the modern periods of European history	Lorenzo de Medici shows the influence of Florence on the Renaissance.	la Renaissance
republic	a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them	Today, radicals again are threatening the stability of our republic.	la république
socialism	a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole	Some people were sure he would lead us peacefully to socialism.	le socialisme
superpower	nation with enough military, political, and economic strength to influence events in many areas around the globe	We are the superpower and people don’t like that.	la superpuissance
totalitarian	characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control	To do that we would have to go back to totalitarian rule.	totalitaire
utopia	a perfect world, or paradise	For young Republicans, Washington will be viewed as a utopia.	l’utopie

Our study sheets in vocabulary:

TOEFL IBT – History

TOEFL IBT – History

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