More than one person has commented they found a few unusual words in The Unflinching Ash. I was unsure which words raised an eyebrow for readers, as each of our vocabularies is like a linguistic fingerprint, being entirely unique. So I've asked readers, and I invite readers now -- please, send me words you found unfamiliar, perhaps they are unfamiliar to others as well.
Here are the words I've been sent, and how I'd define them. Thank you for your help in growing this list! (Please note: I am not claiming mastery over this ever-evolving gargantuan language. I am certain you will know words I do not, and I will ask you to tell me what those words mean if you say them in my company! Then I may collect and carry them thereafter, as I have these.)
If you'd prefer a flashcard format set to music, you can view this glossary on TikTok (4 x 30sec clips).
Low Frequency Modern English Words
arid – bone–dry, parched
brangle – a squabble, a noisy or angry dispute
chary – wary, cautious
citrine – dark greenish–yellow
concussive – strong, headache–inducing force
corona – crown
eburnean – ivory–coloured
eristic – seeking to argue well rather than seeking truth
euphony – pleasing or sweet sound (sometimes from harmonious words, but used in Ash to describe music)
flavescent – turning yellow or yellowish
inveigler – one who wins over by coaxing and flattery
lacertine – lizard-like
leviathan – hulkish, monstrous
marquis – a nobleman (below a duke and above an earl)
paramour – lover
preternatural – outside of nature
redolent – reminiscent, scented
retinue – a group of assistants or advisors accompanying someone important
scattershot – broadly and randomly inclusive, all over the show
serotinal – occurring in late summer
susurrus – a whispering "s" sound
vociferous – loud and forceful, passionately opinionated
woodnote – a wild or natural musical tone, like one sung by a forest bird
Old English / Non-English Words
apéritif – The pre-dinner tipple to whet the appetite, in the form of liquored confectionary, in Ash
bowyer – a bow-maker
canticle – hymn or verse
coronach – funeral song of lament
cruck – a structural form of medieval peasant housing
ḍieṁgī – archaic for dinghy
dimpse–time – the delicate grey of twilight
kilbuck – a big man or derogatory term for a butcher
mayhap – from “may happen,” archaic for “maybe”
mimping – to put on acting dainty and prim
minnesingers – lyric poets and musicians of centuries gone by, chief subject: courtly love
mung – filth, muck
nesh – too soft (now sometimes used to describe a person who is “too soft” or delicate about the weather)
scroggling – the process or result of gathering
sugill'd – beaten
tutmouth – having lips that stick out or an underbite
veneur - a medieval role, person in charge of hunting hounds
Coined Words
val – the currency of Mórlough, named after Queen Valencia