Glossary
Here are some brief definitions to help you navigate the medieval world of the Immortal Highlanders.
Abyssinia - ancient Ethiopia
acolyte - novice druid in training
addled - confused
advenae - Roman citizen born of freed slave parents
afterlife - what happens after death
animus attentus - Latin for "listen closely"
apotheoses - highest points in the development of something
Aquilifer - standard bearer in a Roman legion
arse - ass
auld - old
Ave - Latin for "Hail"
aye - yes
bairn - child
banger - explosion
banshee in a bannock - making a mountain out of a molehill
barrow - wheelbarrow
bastart - bastard
bat - wooden paddle used to beat fabrics while laundering
battering ram - siege device used to force open barricaded entries and other fortifications
battle madness - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
bawbag - scrotum
Belgia - Belgium
birlinn - medieval wooden boat propelled by sails and oars
blaeberry - European fruit that resembles the American blueberry
blind - cover device
blood kin - genetic relatives
bonny - beautiful
boon - gift or favor
brambles - blackberry bushes
bran'y - brandy
Brank's bridle mask - iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head
Britannia - Latin for “Britain”
brownie - Scottish mythical benevolent spirit that aids in household tasks but does not wish to be seen
buckler - shield
Caledonia - ancient Scotland
caligae - type of hobnailed boots worn by the Roman legion
cannae - can't
cannel - cinnamon
canny - shrewd, sharp
catch-fire - secret and highly combustible Pritani compound that can only be extinguished by sand
Centurio - Latin for “Centurions”
century - Roman legion unit of 100 men
chatelaine - woman in charge of a large house
Chieftain - second highest-ranking position within the clan; the head of a specific Pritani tribe
choil - unsharpened section of a knife just in front of the guard
Choosing Day - Pritani manhood ritual during which adolescent boys are tattooed and offer themselves to empowering spirits
chow - food
cistern - underground reservoir for storing rain water
claymore - two-edged broadsword
clout - strike
cohort - Roman legion tactical military unit of approximately 500 men
cold pantry - underground cache or room for the storage of foods to be kept cool
comely - attractive
conclave - druid ruling body
conclavist - member of the druid ruling body
contubernium - squad of eight men; the smallest Roman legion formation
COP - Command Observation Post
cosh - to bash or strike
couldnae - couldn't
counter - in the game of draughts, a checker
courses - menstrual cycle
cow - derogatory term for woman
Coz - cousin
croft - small rented farm
cudgel - wooden club
da - dad
daft - crazy
dappled - animal with darker spots on its coat
defendi altus - Latin for “defend high"
detail - military group assignment
dinnae - don’t
disincarnate - commit suicide
diviner - someone who uses magic or extra sensory perception to locate things
doesnae - doesn’t
dories - small boats used for ship to shore transport
draughts - board game known as checkers in America
drawers - underpants
drivel - nonsense
drover - a person who moves herd animals over long distances
dung - feces
EDC - Every Day Carry, a type of knife
excavators - tunnel-diggers
fack - fuck
facking - fucking
faodail - lucky find
fash - feel upset or worried
fathom - understand
fere spectare - Latin for “about face"
ferret out - learn
festers - becomes infected
fetters - restraints
fibula - Roman brooch or pin for fastening clothes
filching - stealing
fisher - boat
fishmonger - person who sells fish for food
floor-duster - Pritani slang for druid
foam-mouth - rabies
Francia - France
Francian - French
free traders - smugglers
frenzy - mindless, savagely aggressive, mass-attack behavior caused by starving undead smelling fresh blood
fripperies - showy or unnecessary ornament
Germania - Germany
god-ridden - possessed
Great Design - secret druid master plan
greyling - species of freshwater fish in the salmon family
gut rot - cancer of the bowel
hasnae - hasn’t
heid doon arse up - battle command: head down, ass up
Hetlandensis - oldest version of the modern name Shetland
Hispania - Roman name for the Iberian peninsula (modern day Portugal and Spain)
hold - below decks, the interior of a ship
holk - type of medieval ship used on rivers and close to coastlines as a barge
hoor - whore
huddy - stupid, idiotic
impetus - Latin for “attack"
incarnation - one of the many lifetimes of a druid
isnae - isn’t
jeeked - extremely tired
Joe - GI Joe shortened, slang for American soldier
jotunn - Norse mythic giantess
justness - justice
kelpie - water spirit of Scottish folklore, typically taking the form of a horse, reputed to delight in the drowning of travelers
ken - know
kirtle - one piece garment worn over a smock
kuks - testicles
lad - boy
laird - lord
lapstrake - method of boat building where the hull planks overlap
larder - pantry
lass - girl
league - distance measure of approximately three miles
Legio nota Hispania - Latin name for The Ninth Legion
loggia - open-side room or house extension that is partially exposed to the outdoors
magic folk - druids
mam - mom
mannish - having characteristics of a man
mantle - loose, cape-like cloak worn over garments
mayhap - maybe
milady - my lady
milord - my lord
missive - message
mormaer - regional or provincial ruler, second only to the Scottish king
motte - steep-sided man-made mound of soil on which a castle was built
mustnae - must not
naught - nothing
no’ - not
Norrvegr - ancient Norway
Noto - Latin for "Attention"
Optia - rank created for female Roman Legion recruit Fenella Ivar
Optio - second in command of a Roman legion century
orachs - slang term for chanterelle mushrooms
orcharders - slang for orchard farmers
ovate - Celtic priest or natural philosopher
palfrey - docile horse
paludamentum - cloak or cape worn fastened at one shoulder by Romans military commanders
parati - Latin for “ready"
parched - thirsty, dry
parlay - bargain
penchants - strong habits or preferences
perry - fermented pear juice
Pict - member of an ancient people inhabiting northern Scotland in Roman times
pillion - seated behind a rider
pipes - bagpipes
pisspot - chamber pot, toilet
plumbed - explored the depth of
poppet - doll
poppy juice - opium
pottage - a thick, stew-like soup of meat and vegetables
pox-ridden - infected with syphilis
praefectus - Latin for “prefect”
Prefect - senior magistrate or governor in the ancient Roman world
Pritani - Britons (one of the people of southern Britain before or during Roman times)
privy - toilet
quim - woman's genitals
quinie - a girl or unmarried woman
quoits - medieval game like modern ring toss
repulsus - Latin for “drive back"
rescue bird - search and rescue helicopter
roan - animal with mixed white and pigmented hairs
roo - to pluck loose wool from a sheep
rumble - fight
Sassenachs - Scottish term for English people
scunner - source of irritation or strong dislike
sea stack - column of eroded cliff or shore rock standing in the sea
Seid - Norse magic ritual
selkie - mythical creature that resembles a seal in the water but assumes human form on land
semat - undershirt
seneschal - steward or major-domo of a medieval great house
shouldnae - shouldn't
shroud - cloth used to wrap a corpse before burial
skelp - strike, slap, or smack
skin work - tattoos
smalls - men's underwear
SoCal - slang for southern California
solar - rooms in a medieval castle that served as the family's private living and sleeping quarters
spellfire - magically-created flame
spellmark - visible trace left behind by the use of magic
spew - vomit
spindle - wooden rod used in spinning
squared - made right
stad - Scots Gaelic for “halt"
staunch weed - yarrow
stupit - stupid
Svitiod - ancient Sweden
swain - young lover or suitor
swived - have sexual intercourse with
taobh - Scots Gaelic for "Flank"
tempest - storm
tester - canopy over a bed
the pox - smallpox
thickhead - dense person
thimblerig - shell game
thrawn - stubborn
’tis - it is
’tisnt - it isn’t
toadies - lackeys
tonsure - shaved crown of the head
TP - toilet paper
traills - slaves
trencher - wooden platter for food
trews - trousers
trials - troubles
Tribune - Roman legionary officer
tuffet - low seat or footstool
’twas - it was
’twere - it was
’twill - it will
’twould - it would
Vesta - Roman goddess of the hearth
wand-waver - Pritani slang for druid
warband - group of warriors sent together on a specific mission
wasnae - wasn’t
wee - small
wench - girl or young woman
wenching - womanizing or chasing women for the purposes of seduction
white plague - tuberculosis
whoreson - insult; the son of a prostitute
widdershins - in a direction contrary to the sun's course, considered as unlucky; counterclockwise.
willnae - will not
woad - plant with leaves that produce blue dye
wouldnae - would not
ye - you
yer - your