Hi again Sandy:
I understand - we were once all newbies.
WordPress is software that, in layman's terms, runs your web site. It makes it very easy for you to add new articles (called 'posts' within WordPress) or pages, to your site; all without needing to know html. You just type the words into a box, much like you do here on this message forum.
cPanel is short for control panel. Some web hosts have cpanels, some have vdecks, etc... This is the login area for your web host to access the features available to you with your hosting account - like setting up new email accounts, accessing web site statistics, and the
Fantastico icon - which simply is an area where you can quickly and easily install many different software with a few mouse-clicks. It's a feature available on most cpanel enabled web hosts. HostGator is a web host that Lynn gave you a coupon link for, has cPanel. I use HostGator too and they are very good and reliable.