Some of the archaic and invented words and phrases used in The Dauntless Rook will doubtless be unfamiliar to the general public, and so are briefly explained in the glossary below.
abroche : opened wide.
accipiter : a special officer of the law distinctive to Ersentwyer, selected for mental prowess, charged with direct investigation and resolution of crimes.
adrad : afraid (“be not adrad”).
alemaster : one who runs a brewery.
alkin : of every kind.
alle and some : one and all / everyone (present).
allye : kinsman.
angwissous : anxious (“an angwissous man”).
anoy : trouble (anoys: troubles).
argent : silvery.
attend his/her/thy blood: to care for one’s family.
aventure : chance.
avarrites : supporters of Baron Avarr.
aye : yes.
bachilrie : knightly conduct.
barton : a large settlement.
bawdryk : sword or horn belt fastened diagonally from shoulder to hip.
blackguard : villain.
become thy name : to make oneself worthy of one’s family name / to make one’s family or countrymen proud.
boneless : cowardly.
by noon assent : not at all.
cad : a bounder / a blunderer.
cas : situation.
chere : face.
chthonic : earthy.
cinderplague : a deadly disease that causes the skin to crack and blacken and to look as if singed by flame.
comitem : a honorific meaning ‘companion’ bestowed upon the landed male nobles of Ersentwyer that denotes amicable affiliation with the Lord Paramount; similar, but not identical, to a ‘count.’
Coribahn : the spirit realm / the unseen world.
corvine : relating to crows / crow-like.
coxcombly : like a coxcomb (a conceited dandy) / foppish.
crackstaff : a long-ranged rifle.
Dactyl : the name of a deity, formerly worshipped across the continent; Dactyl worship is outlawed in most provinces.
dactyllic : to be of, or like, the god Dactyl.
duchy : the domain of a duke.
Ersentwyer : a large, industrial city; the principal setting of The Dauntless Rook.
gambesoned : garbed in gambeson (padded armor).
gamol : very old, ancient.
gaoled : imprisoned.
gealdor¹ / galdr² : spell / sorcery (“he moved as if weaving a galdr”). In Tor, the first form is used; in Ersentwyer, the second form is more common.
geomor : sadness / a state of misery.
ghyll : deep ravine / a small city south of Ersentwyer and Rivenlore.
glaze : a garment that covers most of the body.
glede : cinder / a word used to refer to the settled world (the glede).
gloam : dusk / dimness.
hanehecked : spiritually disordered.
ilhayl : bad luck.
jaw : to talk.
kilt : slain.
leechcrafter : a medical practitioner / a doctor.
malgre : in spite of.
mantlemaw : the continent (in which the series takes place).
Marta : a goddess; the most widely worshipped diety on the continent.
martaen : of, or like, the goddess Marta (the worshippers of Marta are referred to as the ‘Martaens’).
palfry : a riding horse.
primed : prepared / given knowledge of.
quarry : prey (of a hunter).
riven : stolen.
seax : a crossguardless, double-edged short-sword, purposed both for domestic work (carving, cooking, etc) and combat.
selt : sold (“it were selt”).
shifted : to remove oneself so as to evade a compromising situation.
sikerly : surely / of course / absolutely.
thou art : you are.
twyer : a small metal coin; the standard currency of Ersentwyer.
unverray : impossible.
verged : on the cusp of / just about to.
vexed : irritated / confounded.
visage : one’s facial expression / the outward appearance of a thing.
vitaille : provisions (of food).
voyden : get rid of / remove.
wanhope : despair.
wends : moves.
wherefore : what is the reason for.
ya wert : you were.
yeoman : a day-laborer for a company or household.
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