anodyne
Innocuous or inoffensive; can also refer to something that relieves pain.
apotheosis
The highest/best point of something (like "the apotheosis of his career"), or the perfect example of something (like "the apotheosis of 90s R&B").
argot
Language used by a particular group of people; a specialized or secret vocabulary.
the double V
The goal of black Americans during WWII, as articulated by James Thompson: “the first V for victory over our enemies from without, the second V for victory over our enemies within. For surely those who perpetuate these ugly prejudices here are seeking to destroy our democratic form of government just as surely as the Axis forces.”
draconian
Excessively harsh or severe laws. Shetterly describes the decision made by Prince Edward County, Virginia, to defund their schools rather than desegregate as "draconian."
erudite
Very knowledgeable, as developed by study or learning. Similar to "scholarly" or "well-read."
esoteric
Something only understood by/taught to a specific group of people; niche.
hoosegow
Informal term for jail (usually humorous).
inchoate
Only partly existing or just begun; unformed.
intransigent
Uncompromising; refusing to abandon a position or belief (often an extreme one).
microcosm
Something that encapsulates, in miniature, the features of a much larger thing. Shetterly says that "the laundry room was a microcosm of the war itself," expressing that the laundry room contains the central features/struggles of the war on a smaller scale.
NACA
Acronym for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the United States federal agency founded in 1915 for aeronautic research. Its headquarters were at Langley in Hampton, Virginia. During World War II, the NACA began hiring black female mathematicians to further American air supremacy. In 1958, the NACA was dissolved and transferred to NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
paroxysm
A sudden, violent expression or outburst. Can be used medically to refer to a sudden appearance of symptoms.
phlegmatic
Unemotional or steady; having a stolid temperament.
reconversion
Term used by the US to describe their goal after WWII, as the country's economic production had to "reconvert" from wartime manufacturing to consumer goods.
Reynolds number
For the purpose of Hidden Figures, the Reynolds number measures how closely a wind tunnel mimics actual flight. This mathematical idea is important for the West Computers as they perform computations based on wind tunnel experiments, which engineers convert into real-world aircraft improvements.
sit-in
A tactic of civil disobedience typically employed to protest discrimination, in which demonstrators refuse to leave a place until they are forcibly removed or their grievances are answered. The 1960 Greensboro sit-in is described in Hidden Figures. Today, sit-ins are still used as a form of nonviolent protest—for example, college students might perform a sit-in outside a dean's office to encourage the college to divest from fossil fuels. The idea of a sit-in has expanded to "virtual sit-ins," in which demonstrators access a website simultaneously to slow or shut down the site they're protesting.
sylvan
Associated with the woods; rural, often pleasantly so.
toothsome
Delicious, or attractive/appealing.
West Computers
The black female mathematicians hired at Langley, beginning during World War II. The West Computers (including Vaughan and Mann) perform complex math equations by hand, assigned by engineers. They are supervised by white female computers until Dorothy Vaughan becomes the NACA's first black supervisor. The West Area is dissolved when the NACA becomes NASA, following a trend of specialization rather than generalized mathematics.
White female computers at Langley are called East Computers, named for their initially segregated working areas.
