Glossary

List of words that are special in the DragonKeeper Chronicles and the Chiril Chronicles, and collected from each book. Pronunciations found mostly for the unknown words within that world.

A

 * Amara (ä'-mä-rä) - continent surrounded by ocean on three sides
 * anvilhead snake - a long, thin snake whose outsized head is supported by thick neck muscles
 * armagot (är'-muh-got) - national tree of Amara, purple blue leaves in the fall
 * armagotnut (är'-muh-got-nut) - nut from the armagot tree
 * astiket (a-stik'-it) - a three-team ball game played on a triangular field with three goals
 * Ataradari (uh-tar'-uh-dar'-ee) - a tribe native to one of the smaller southern continents; primitive, but rich in folklore and tradition
 * azrodhan (az'-ro'-dan) - any of numerous, prolific vines, having clusters of bell-shaped flowers in various colors

B

 * ba - Ropma baby
 * ballyhoo bird (băl'-lē-hōō) - an insect-eating bird with dappled brown feathers; it is rarely seen, but its distinctive ballyhoo call is frequently heard in all types of woodland
 * batman - a soldier assigned as a personal servant to an officer
 * Battle of Ordray (ôrd'-rā) - Historic battle where a Bisonbeck army threatened to overcome kimens. Urohms, aided by wizards and dragons, fought to save them. Ordray is a province occupied mostly by urohms in southeast Amara, a wedge of land between the Morchain mountain range and the Dormanscz volcanic range.
 * beater frog (be'-ter frôg) - tailless, semi-aquatic amphibian having a smooth, moist skin, webbed feet and long hind legs; shades of green; no bigger than a child's fist; capable of making a loud, resounding boom
 * benders - a game played with a deck of cards
 * bentleaf tree - deciduous tree having long, slender, drooping branches and narrow leaves
 * bingham trees - flowering trees found at high altitudes
 * bisonbeck (bī-sen-bek) - most intelligent of the seven low races
 * blattig fish (blat'-tig) - freshwater fish often growing to a length of two to three feet, voraciously carnivorous, known to attack and devour living animals
 * blimmet (blim'-met) - one of the seven low races, burrowing creatures that swarm out of the ground for periodic feeding frenzies
 * bobbin bird - a small thrush
 * bodoggin (bō-dŏg-n) - a breed of short-haired dog with a large head, short bowed legs, and stocky body; strong jaws with dewlaps, useful on farms for curtailing vermin
 * The Bogs - made up of four swamplands with indistinct borders;located in southwest Amara
 * bordenaut (bôr'-deh-not) - a mold-ripened cheese with a white rind and a soft, pale center, made from creamy milk
 * borling tree (bôr'-ling) - having dark brown wood and a deeply furrowed nut enclosed in a globose, aromatic husk
 * bornut - nut from a borling tree
 * bossel (bôs'-l) - grain with flat edible chaff and seed in the center
 * bridesbark - the dried root of a deciduous tree with aromatic bark
 * brillum (bril'-lum) - a brewed ale that none of the seven high races would consume; smells like skunkwater, stains like black bornut juice; mariones use it to spray around their fields to keep insects from infesting their crops
 * broer (brôr) - a substance secreted by female dragons through glands in the mouth. used for nest building; it hardens into a rock-like substance resembling gray meringue
 * brook dabbler - a fresh water fish having silver scales on the belly, a coal black back, and fins the colors of a sunset
 * brouna (broo-nah) - beaten eggs, cooked in a skillet until firm, then folded over a variety of fillings
 * brushwood - spiny, dense shrubs having delicate purple flowers in the spring and black, poisonous berries in late summer
 * buzz-stinger - similar to a bumblebee

C

 * chigot deer (kī'-not) - a large deer with tangled antlers
 * chukkajoop (chuk'-kuh-joop) - a favorite o'rant stew mad from beets, onions, and carrots
 * cinamacress - a perennial water plant with peppery-flavored leaves and stems
 * cygnot tree (si'-not) - a tropical tree growing in extremely wet ground or shallow water; the branches come out of the trunk like spokes from a wheel hum and often interlace with neighboring trees
 * criantem (cree-an'-tem) - a smooth, hard, yellow cheese varying in flavor from mild to sharp
 * crocodile melon - shaped like a cantaloupe with a hard, green, bumpy rind; tastes bitter but not poisonous

D

 * da - father
 * daggarts (dag'garts) - a baked treat; a small crunch cake
 * deckit powder - yellow crystalline compound used for explosives
 * doneel (do'-neel) - one of the seven high races, these people are furry with bulging eyes, thing black lips, and ears at the top and front of their skulls; they are small in stature, rarely over three feet tall; generally are musical and given to wearing flamboyant clothing
 * doohan (doo'-an) - a woven seat used for passengers, encased in a small chamber and mounted on a major dragon
 * double-crested mountain finch - a small, colorful bird with a double crest on the crown of its head
 * dorker - large noisy bird, brightly colored, attractive to the eye, and annoying to the ear
 * Dormanscz Range (dôr-manz') - volcanic mountain range in Southeast Amara
 * druddum (drud'-dum) - weasel-like animal that lives deep in the mountains; these creatures are thieves and will steal anything to horde; they like to get food, but they are also attracted to bright things and things that have an unusual texture
 * drummerbug - small brown beetle that makes a loud snapping sound with its wings when not in flight
 * dryfus tree - a small spiny tree

E

 * eberbark tea (ĕb'-er-bark) - tea made of dried root bark from the eberbark tree, a deciduous having irregularly lobed leaves and aromatic bark, leaves, and branches; contains a volatile oil used as flavoring and for medicinal purposes
 * echo - a leader in the Follower movement
 * emerlindian (e'-mer-lin'-dee-in) - one of the seven high races, emerlindians are born pale with white hair and pale gray eyes; as they age, they darken; one group of emerlindians is slight in stature, the tallest being five feet; another distinct group is between six and six and a half feet tall
 * ernst - an evergreen shrub, flowering in late fall; tiny, star-like, pale yellow flowers give off a fragrance similar to cinnamon
 * ersatz (er-zäts') - imitation, substitute, artificial, and inferior to the real thing

F

 * Fairren Forest (fair'-ren) - a massive forest of mostly deciduous trees in southwest Amara
 * feather-petaled bonnie - a flower with a large crown of densely placed delicate petals; the blossoms come in a wide variety of colors
 * fire dragon - emerged from the volcanoes in ancient days; these dragons breath fire and are most likely to serve evil forces
 * Followers - a sect of people purporting to follow Wulder more closely than the average citizen
 * forms - a regimented set of exercises
 * fortaleen (for'-tuh-leen) - brush with two-inch long thorns

G

 * gaperlot (gā-per-lŏt) - one who stares rudely
 * giddinfish - a freshwater food and game fish; usually has a streamlined, speckled body with small scales
 * girder exercise - a demanding regimen of recalling actions taken during a day and justifying the decision to make such an action by reciting principles from one of the three Tomes of Wulder
 * glean band (gleen) - a bracelet delicately woven by kimens out of fines from the glean plant; it wards off wasps and other stinging insects, as well as poisonous reptiles
 * glommytucks (glŏm'-me'-tŭks) - large aquatic birds with a long slender neck and shorter, rounder bills than ducks; lay large clutches of eggs and are wonderful birds for roasting
 * gordon tree - named after the marione who cultivated them, the gordon trees are tall, thin, and shed their bark; the bark makes a superior paper and can be harvested each spring
 * gotza fruit - edible fruit from a spiny-stemmed cactus
 * grand emerlindian - grands are close to a thousand years old and are black
 * granny emerlindian - grannies are both male and female, said to be five hundred years old or older, and have darkened to a brown complexion with dark brown hair and eyes
 * grawlings (graw'-ligs) - one of the seven low races; mountain ogres
 * greater dragon - largest of the dragons; able to carry many men or cargo
 * grood - a basic unit of currency in Amara
 * guard - a fighting unit made up of a captain and four loes
 * gum tree - a tree with sticky leaves and yellow, rayed flower heads, the center of which may be plucked and chewed

H

 * hadwig (ad'-wig) - a sling-type weapon with a spiked ball at the end
 * halfnack bird - a brightly colored, medium-sized bird
 * heatherhens - chicken-like bird having brown plumage with a speckled breast and a short tail
 * heirdosh vines (hair'-dosh) - a vine with short, flat, glossy-green leaves with two white bans on the underside; the sap from the branches is poisonous and the fluid from the leaves is poisonous to a lesser degree
 * heirnot tree (âr'-nŏt) - slender, white-barked, pole-like trunks with light green, round leaves attached by a flattened stem, which causes them to rustle in the slightest breeze; people often say the trees whisper or chatter
 * Herebic continent (hair'-a-bik) - massive continent in the western/southern hemisphere
 * Himber (him'-ber) - a tribe of people who are prone to be isolationists; they value intelligence and are great inventers

I-J

 * icebears - carnivorous bears living at the northern and southern extremes of the planet
 * jimmin - any young animal used for meat; we would say veal, lamb, or spring chicken

K

 * Kere (keer) - an ancient language no longer in use; this language is thought to have been used by one of the first tribes to use written communication
 * kimen (kim'-en) - the smallest of the high races; kimen are elusive, tiny, and fast; under two feet tall
 * kindia (kin'-dee-uh) - a large land mammal noted for its speed, strength, and endurance; kindias are exceptionally adapted to traveling long distances with great efficiency and to surviving on a diet of nutrient-poor, high-fiber grasses; the shoulders are a foot or more taller than the hindquarters, giving the animal a slanted back
 * kitawahdo - tumanhofer bean soup
 * Korskan tea (kor'-skan) - a tea flavored with citrus and spices, such as cinnamon and cardamom

L

 * leecent - lowest-ranking officer in military service
 * lehman - lowest rank in military serivice
 * lightrocks - any of the quartz-like rocks giving off a glow
 * listener - one of the levels of the Followers
 * lo - rank between leecent and lehman
 * longfish - an extremely long and slender fish that is easily smoked and cured

M

 * ma - mother
 * major dragon - elephant-sized dragon most often used for personal transportation
 * marione (mer'-ē-own) - one of the seven high races; mariones are excellent farmers and warriors; they are short and broad, usually musclebound rather than corpulent
 * meech dragon - the most intelligent of the dragons, capable of speech
 * minneken - a small, mysterious race living in isolation on the Isle of Kye
 * minor dragon - smallest of the dragons, the size of a young kitten; the different types of minor dragons have different abilities
 * moerston bark (môr'-stun) - when shewed, it soothes hunger and freshens the mouth; bumpy, brown, and thing
 * moonbeam cloth - cloth made from the moonbeam plant
 * moonbeam plant - a three to four foot plant having large shiny leaves and round flowers resembling a full moon; the stems are fibrous and used for making cloth
 * moonbird - a nocturnal bird of prey, having soft plumage that allows for noiseless flight, feathered talons, large heads with large eyes set forward, and short hooked beaks; name relfects the coloring, which resembles the surface of the moon
 * Morchain Range - mountains running north and south through the middle of Amara
 * mordakleep - one of the low races, associated with freshwater sources; shape shifters
 * mordat (mōr-dât) - a tree that produces sap, out of which a sweet syrup is made
 * mountain dewdrops - small white flowers growing close to the ground in an almost moss covering
 * mullins (mŭl-lĭnz)- fried doughnut sticks
 * mumfers (mŭm'-fers) - a plant cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads of profuse petals and brilliant colors

N

 * ninny-nap-conder (nĭn'-ē-nâp-cŏn-der) - a type of con artist who uses the appearance of naiveté to dupe his victims
 * nordy rolls - whole-grain, sweet, nutty bread

O

 * o'rant - one of the high races; five to six feet tall
 * ordend (or'-den) - a basic unit of Amaran currency; twenty ordends equals on grood
 * ostal greens (ah'-stuhl) - a plant in the mustard family
 * owlwing fern - a plant that grows in the shade and has broad, feathery fronds

P

 * parnot (par'-not) - green fruit like a pear
 * peggle-pins - targets in the game peggledy pin
 * piggledy pin - a clublike target that stands on end in a children's ball game called piggledy
 * pnard potatoes (puh-nard') - starchy, edible tuber with pale pink flesh
 * poor man's pudding - a mound of custard with carmelized syrup or ale poured over the top, so it looks like a white island sitting in a brown lake
 * Pomandando River (po'-man-dan'-do) - a river running along the eastern side of Vendela
 * Pordactic Period - the period of Amaran history covering two thousand years when the Pordac family ruled
 * portamanca (por'-tuh-man-kuh) - evergreen shrub having fragrant orange blossoms and whorled leaves
 * portucads (por'-tuh-cadz) - a porcine creature whose fangs grow too long to be useful in a fight; the animal provides excellent meat
 * pricklebarrel - a large fruit with juicy yellow flesh, a thick prickly brown skin, and a sprout of tough pointed leaves at the top
 * Punipmats (puh-nee'-mats) - continent in the western/northern hemispheres; second p is silent

Q

 * quiss (kwuh'-iss) - one of the seven low races; these creatures have an enormous appetite; every three years they develop the capacity to breath air for six weeks and forage along the sea coast, creating havoc; they are extremely slippery

R

 * razterberry (ras'-ter-bâr-ee) - small red berries that grow in clusters somewhat like grapes on the sides of mountains; the vines are useful for climbing
 * repeat - one of the levels of the Followers
 * ribbets (rib'-bits) - a ball game played between two teams, similar to soccer
 * ring beetles - beetles with a target-ring pattern on their backs
 * River Away - marione village in eastern Amara
 * rock pine - evergreen tree with prickly cones that are as heavy as stones
 * rootup tree - appears to be upside down; a dense bush surrounds the base; in the center, leafless branches intertwine tightly; from a distance, they appear to be a solid trunk; at the top, the limbs spread apart, looking just like a root system
 * ropma (rōp'-muh) - one of the seven low races; these half-men, half-animals are useful in herding and caring for beasts

S

 * scarphlit (scar'-flit) - an oily substance used in medicinal potions
 * schoergs (skôrgz) - one of the seven low races; hairy, short; and lean
 * schop - a casserole made from pricklebarrel fruit and cheese
 * seeker - one of the levels of the Followers
 * Sellaran - an extinct bird that legend says was instrumental in the rebellion of Pretender
 * Sheridan - a household servant, armed and designed protector of the family and property
 * smoothergil - any of the marine flatfishes having a slick skin and large gills
 * Sniffer - an official at court responsible for enforcing hygiene
 * speckled thrush - small bird with white speckles on a brown background
 * stakes - a disease that leaves the victim stiff for weeks after the fever has passed and can recur when the patient becomes overtired; for children, the symptoms pass, but in an adult, the side effects can last ten to twenty years
 * steppesman (steps'-mun) - a large burrowing animal of the squirrel family, covered with light brown fur; social structure with a colony resembles extended families
 * stinger-schoergs - a variant of schoergs, having a scorpion-type tail instead of a prehensile tail

T

 * Tale of Durmoil (der-moil') - a folktale relating when the fire dragons emerged from the volcanoes
 * thornsnippers - tiny brown birds with bright red beaks, known to feed on thorns of various bushes
 * todden barrel - a wooden container of toddens, a pickled vegetable, yellow in color and crunchy, shaped somewhat like a hand
 * Torsk Tower - one of three towers at the Hall; four clocks adorn the top; it is rumored that a gateway through time exists in the tower
 * trang-a-nog tree - smooth, olive-green bark
 * trundle bear - a small, ferocious brown bear with enormous claws
 * tumanhofer (too'-mun-hoff-ers) - one of the seven high races; short, squat, powerful fighter, though for the most part they prefer to use their great intellect
 * tumpgrass - a tall grass that grows in a clump, making its own hillock
 * tumport - an infusion of root herbs served hot
 * tendra pear tree - an odd tree whose fruit is juicy considering the arid land it grows on

U-V

 * urohm (ū-rome') - largest of the seven high races; gentle giants, well proportioned and very intelligent
 * Vendela (vin-del-luh) - capital city of the province of Wynd

W-Z

 * waistcoater - a deep-chested bird with a small head and short legs; the coloring of feathers suggests the bird is wearing a dark vest
 * watch - a unit of dragons (like a gaggle of geese)
 * wild yellow dropsies - a wildflower; the stem is long, the flower heavy, and therefore the blossom bows
 * Wittoom (wit-toom') - region populated by doneels in northwest Amara
 * wizards' conclave - a cloistered gathering of a chosen group; the agenda is kept secret and the discussion within is undisclosed
 * writher snake (rī-ther) - a water snake, long and slender; the snake wraps its body around a victim, drags it under the water, and eats the body as it decomposes