The key meaning for our term is that the young man had finished giving a shine to the instrument. Hence, he had burnished it by thus polishing it.

The key thing to note is that the insurgents not only overthrew the government but that they also replaced those in power. This means that they “usurped” it, a word that implies the taking over of a position or institution by force (not merely removing it from power, regardless of the new state after the overthrow). The word is distantly related to the base of many words regarding “use,” such as “utilize” and “peruse.”

The implication of the sentence is that Oswald would retain the alliance so long as the neighboring realm continued its deliveries. Such an alliance has conditions set for its continuance. Hence, one can call it “conditional” or (here) “conditioned” (e.g. if they continue deliveries, then he will remain an ally).  

The three companies needed to work together, and while this might seem to be an alliance or agreement, it is best described as a case of “collaboration.” The word is derived from Latin roots meaning to work. Related words would be “labor,” “laborious,” and “elaborate.”

The “col-” is derived from the Latin preposition “cum,” which becomes “col-” for phonetic reasons. The preposition means “with,” so in this sentence, “collaborate” means to work with or to work together.

We tend to think of the word “adulterate” as though it were directly linked to “adultery.”  While the latter does imply impurity, this usage is secondary to the sense of making impure, which is the primary meaning of the word’s Latin root; therefore, to “adulterate” is to make impure, which is the case with what Vernon is doing to the steel.

The key thing to note is that John finally “gives in.” The word “capitulate” comes from early French words that are ultimately related to the Latin for head, because legal documents for ending a conflict (giving in) would be arranged under headings.

When one concedes something, he or she recognizes that it a disputed point, once held, was indeed wrong. Here, the speaker’s concession is implied by the surprising nature of the concession (after defensive responses). The word is related to other words with “-cess-,” “-cede-,” and “-ceed” in them, derived from a Latin root meaning “to yield or depart,” such as “success,” “succeed,” “proceed,” and “precede.”

The contrast between the needed word and “watery flow” indicates that “coagulate” is the best choice. This word means to become more solid (from being liquid) and is often applied to blood and its process of clotting, though it does have a more general meaning. Although the word has close roots in the Latin for “curdling” (certainly a thickening process), it more literally means “to drive together” in the sense of pulling together the particles into a more solid formation. The “drive” portion is found in the “-ag-” of the word, which is related to words like “agent,” “agenda,” “act,” and many, many other English words. The prefix “co-” means “with,” as in “coworker.”

There is no sense of compensation or reward in the claim of “prerogatives,” merely being given or granted something. This is the meaning of “conferred,” which merely means to grant something to another. The “con-” prefix means “with” and the “-fer” means “to bear or carry” and is found in many words like “transfer,” “suffer,” and “infer.” Something “conferred” thus “comes with” the act of conferring.

To “endow” can mean to establish some institution with funds to continue to fund it. This is clearly the case here, where the college is thus enabled by the donation to have a lectureship happen annually.