Vocabulary in Les Miserables

I have recently taken up the task of reading Les Mis. Now this is a large book and it is a complex novel to read. The book has a high vocabulary level in some of the parts. The diction in the novel allows me to expand my vocabulary.

Scanty:
"He arrived one day at Senez, a former episcopal city, riding a donkey, his means at the moment being so scanty that he could afford no other conveyance." (Hugo 26)

Prediction- Small

Definition- small or insufficient in quantity or amount.

Now that I have an understanding of what the word means I am able to better understand the meaning of the quote. The person in the quote had no money or a very little amount so he could only afford to travel by donkey.

Wholly:
"He was good-looking although of small stature, elegant, graceful and entertaining; his early life was wholly devoted to worldly matters and affairs of gallantry."

Prediction- Only or one thing

Definition- Entirely; Fully

The sentence now makes a lot more sense. He is very elegant because he was fully devoted to affairs of gallantry as a child.

Something else that I found very interesting about this word is that it was very popular in the 1800's when this book was written but throughout the years the use of this word has gone down. The link is to a chart of the usage of wholly. Graph of word usage

I have found that when you take the time to look up the definition of a word it can really enhance the novel.