Glossary

I’ve been told that I have given many people’s dictionaries a workout. Mostly, these were just the words that came to mind, some after many years in hiding. Other times, they were cool words I run across. A few uniquely described what I'm after. I’ve included the ones I think people might be least familiar with.

• Adjuvant therapy – Chemo and radiation treatments after surgery for cancer
• Adriamycin – A chemo drug, aka The Red Devil, the A in AC treatments
• Agora – An ancient Greek marketplace, a place of gathering and congregation
• Amnestic – Relating to amnesia
• Apothecary – Someone who makes medicines, a medieval pharmacist
• Aranesp – A red blood cell booster, specifically for hemoglobin
• Armillary sphere – an old astronomical model using a solid rings to show the relationships among principal celestial circles
• Arimidex - a chemo drug in pill form taken for 5 years after treatment, taken by post-menopausal survivors
• Axillary lymph node dissection – A procedure where a surgeon takes out several levels of lymph nodes around the sentinel node to look for cancer
• Bailey – The courtyard in a castle enclosed by the wall, sometimes the wall itself
• Ballista – A medieval siege engine shaped like a giant crossbow that hurls stones or spears
• Barbican – The fortification of a castle over a gate or drawbridge
• Beltane – A Celtic festival and fertility rite celebrated on May 1
• Birkenau – A WWII Nazi concentration camp, a part of Auschwitz
• Black Friars – Dominican monks
• Boudicca – A Celtic queen who led a major revolt against the Romans in Britain after she was flogged and her daughters were raped by their soldiers as punishment
• Buckskin – A grayish yellow horse
• Byzantine - characterized by intrigue. Scheming or devious
• Caduceus – The staff representing the medical profession with two snakes entwined below a pair of wings, the symbol of Hermes
• Caer – The Welsh word for fortress
• Caernarfon – A medieval castle in Wales
• Cairn – A mound of stones used to mark and cover communal graves
• Cassandra – In Greek mythology, a princess of Troy who had the gift of prophecy but was cursed to never being believed
• Charger – A cavalry horse
• Chestnut – A reddish brown horse
• Circe – A sorceress from The Odyssey
• Coruscating – Flashing, sparkling, glittering
• Courser – A swift cavalry horse
• Cytoxan – A chemo drug, aka The Clear, the C in AC treatments
• Demesne – A realm or domain
• Destrier – A war horse
• Difference engine – A mechanical computer designed by Charles Babbage
• Donjon – The fortified tower of a castle, the keep or last line of defense
• Doomsday Book – The written record of the census of England taken by William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest
• Dovecote – a place where doves and pigeons are housed, usually a separate domed structure on a castle bailey
• Dragon*Con – A very large science fiction and fantasy convention held in Atlanta every year over Labor Day. Karen’s chosen reward vacation after treatment
• Exchequer – A British treasury dating to medieval times
• Eyrie – A hawk’s or eagle’s nest on a cliff, a stronghold built on a height. A griffin’s nest
• Falchion – A type of heavy sword
• Fortnight – Two weeks
• Fyrd - An Anglo-Saxon home guard of free farmers
• Garderobe – A private chamber in a castle, usually containing a latrine that empties outside the wall
• Golem – A creature in Jewish mythology created from clay and other natural elements then imbued with life
• Glyph – An arcane, magic symbol usually of protection
• Granulocytes - A type of white blood cell, one of the many markers in detailed blood tests
• Greaves – leg armor worn on the shins
• Greek fire – A potently incendiary substance used by the Byzantine Greeks, whose formula has been lost
• Grendel – The monster from the Old English epic poem Beowulf
• Griffin – A mythological creature with the body of a lion, and the head, talons and wings of an eagle. Heraldic symbol on the Morgan family crest
• Geas – A powerful spell commanding a quest that must be fulfilled
• Hercepton – A chemo drug that Karen didn’t need
• Hoarding – A temporary wooden structure atop a castle’s wall to protect its defenders
• Hobbyhorse – A small horse or pony (before it became the word for a toy or rocking horse)
• Homunculus – A diminutive human-like creature created by a sorcerer, sometimes believed to be a demon or familiar
• Hospitallers – A medieval, military order of knights dedicated to caring for the sick
• Housecarls – Household troops or bodyguards of a medieval Danish or Anglo-Saxon lord
• Indulgence – A medieval practice of absolving sins before they are committed, usually involving money
• Interdict – A Catholic a ritual like excommunication only over an entire region
• Interstice – A small or narrow space between parts
• Irenic - promoting peace, conciliatory
• Issus – A decisive battle where Alexander the Great defeated Darius III that is still studied in military academies
• Larder – A pantry in a castle
• Legerdemain – Slight of hand
• Leukocytes - A type of white blood cell, one of the many markers in detailed blood tests
• Lich – A powerful undead sorcerer. Derives from corpse in Old English
• Lumpectomy – A procedure where a surgeon removes only a cancerous lump and some of the surrounding tissue
• Lycanthropy – The magical ability to change oneself into a wolf or other animal
• Lymphedema – A condition that causes swelling of an extremity due to damage of the lymph system, one of Karen’s side effects
• Maid of Orleans – Joan of Arc
• Matins – A nighttime hour of prayer in a Catholic monastery
• Medecins Sans Frontieres – The French for Doctors without Borders
• Monocytes – A type of white blood cell, one of the many markers in detailed blood tests
• Morrigan – The Irish goddess of battle, strife and fertility. One of three primary Irish gods/goddesses of war
• Murder – A flock of crows
• Mutagenic – A chemical or substance that causes mutations
• Naphthalene – A chemical used in explosives, also the fumigant in mothballs
• Napier's bones – A set of rods used to perform multiplication
• Necromancer – An evil sorcerer who specializes in spells dealing with the dead
• Nepenthe - A potion easing pain and inducing amnesia, a remedy for grief
• Neulasta – A bone marrow stimulant
• Neupogen – A white blood cell booster
• Nibelung – In Norse mythology, a race of dwarves that hoarded riches and magic rings, specifically one of the dwarves in Wagner’s Ring Cycle
• Nightshade – A poisonous plant used in medieval potions
• Norns – The Norse goddesses of fate, similar to the Greek Fates
• Orrery – A mechanical model of the solar system
• Ossuary – A container or stone box to hold the bones of the dead
• Palfrey – A saddle horse, usually for a woman
• Poor Clares – Franciscan nuns
• Port – A medical device installed beneath the skin just under the collarbone that gives direct access to a vein, used to inject chemo drugs and for drawing blood
• Postern– A small gate in the side or rear of a castle used as a sally port for sorties
• Prime - An early morning hour of prayer in a Catholic monastery
• Receptor 25 – The site one of the steroids bonds to prevent allergic reactions to one of the chemo drugs
• Rouncey – An all-purpose horse trained for riding or war
• "Rule Britannia" – A British patriotic song heard when a movie or TV show is set in London that English soccer fans sing in disturbing numbers
• Scry – To predict the future or spy upon someone using a crystal ball
• Sentinel node biopsy – A procedure during a lumpectomy where a surgeon removes and examine the lymph nodes nearest a lump for cancer
• Sigil - An arcane, magic symbol, usually a signet or picture
• Simulacrum – a simulation or representation, usually a small doll or statue
• Skald – A medieval Viking poet, like a bard
• Sortilege – To foretell the future by drawing lots
• Surcoat – A tunic marked with a soldier or knight’s heraldic symbol
• Tamoxifen – a chemo drug in pill form taken for 5 years after treatment, taken by pre-menopausal survivors
• Taxol - A chemo drug
• Taxotere – A chemo drug, The Crystal, the T treatment
• Technetium – A radioactive metal used in medical scans
• Tellurion – A mechanical apparatus showing how the Earth rotates and revolves causing day and night
• Thaumaturgist – A sorcerer specializing in miracles or magic feats
• Trebuchet – A large, medieval siege engine with an arm that hurls heavy stones, seen in the movie Kingdom of Heaven.
• Valhalla – The hall where the Norse god Odin receives the best Viking warriors killed in combat in preparation for the last battle
• Valkyries – Odin’s handmaidens who conduct warriors killed in battle to Valhalla, fierce female Viking warriors called the Choosers of the Slain
• Vespers - An early evening hour of prayer in a Catholic monastery
• Ward – The courtyard of a castle enclosed by its walls
• Water gate – A castle gate opening to a dock on a river or sea, usually used for resupply during a siege
• Woad – A natural, blue, medieval dye

My Valkyrie

Karen

October 2010