Back | Next
Contents

Glossary

Jao terms

ata:

Suffix indicating a group formed for instructional purposes.

az:

Jao measurement, slightly longer than a yard.

azet:

Jao measurement, about three fourths of a mile.

bau:

A short carved baton, usually but not always made of wood, issued by a kochan to those of its members it considers fit for high command. The bau serves as an emblem of military achievement, with carvings added to match the bau-holder's accomplishments.

bauta:

An individual who has retired from service honorably and has chosen to relinquish his automatic kochan ties.

bodyspeech:

Postures, used to communicate emotions.

bodystyle:

Individual kochan's style in bodyspeech.

dehabia:

Traditional soft, thick blankets used for lounging.

dry-foot:

Dry-footed, as in incapable of swimming; insult.

early-light:

The period between dawn and early morning.

emerged:

Officially released from one's childhood (as in natal pool).

first-mate:

First sexual partner in one's marriage group.

first-light:

Dawn.

formal movement:

Codified postures, taught to young Jao.

fraghta:

An older and experienced batman/valet/advisor/bodyguard assigned to young Jao of high kochan status.

framepoint:

A stargate, the means for interstellar transit.

hai tau:

Life-in-motion.

heartward:

Right.

jinau:

Sepoy troops recruited from conquered species.

jints:

Huge, lumbering land animals native to Mannat Kar, one of the Krant homeworlds, notable for their awkwardness.

kochan:

Jao clan. The term is used also to refer to "root clans" or "great kochan."

kochanata:

Instructional group taught in the kochan.

kochanau:

The leader of the clan, at any given time, chosen by the elders. The office is neither hereditary nor permanent, although some kochanau retain it for long periods of time.

kroudh:

Outlawed, officially severed from one's clan.

last-sun:

Yesterday.

late-dark:

Midnight or after.

late-light:

Afternoon.

lurret:

A large herbivore found on Hadiru, a Dano world. Specifically, an old rogue male, notorious for its belligerence and unstable temperament.

mank:

Sea creature that inhabits Mannat Kar, about the size of a manatee, very strong swimmer, not aggressive.

medician:

Combination of doctor and medical technician.

mirrat:

Small finned swimmers on Jithra's homeworld.

namth camiti:

To be of highest ranking in an emergent generation, sometimes referred as "of the clearest water." Loosely equivalent, in human terms, to graduating first in the class from a military academy.

natal compound:

Where one was born.

Naukra:

Assembly of all the kochan called to deal with a specific issue.

next-sun:

Tomorrow.

ollnat:

Conceiving of things-that-never-were, or what-might-be, lies, imagination, creativity, etc. It is a quality mostly lacking in Jao, except in a frivolous manner.

oudh:

In charge, having official authority in a situation.

pool-sib:

Children born during the same season of mating so that they are raised together: they may or may not be born of the same parents; the relationship is equally close, either way.

sant jin:

A formal question requiring a formal answer.

smoothface:

An insult, implying no incised bars of rank or experience; roughly equivalent to such humans expressions as "wet behind the ears" or "greenhorn."

stub-ears:

An insult.

tak:

Woody substance burned for its aromatic scent.

taif:

A kochan-in-formation, affiliated to and under the protection and guidance of a kochan.

timeblind:

Having no innate sense of time as the Jao do.

timesense:

Innate ability to judge the passage of time and sense when something will happen.

vai camiti:

The characteristic facial pattern by which one may often recognize a Jao's kochan; faint vai camiti are considered undesirable, a mark of homeliness.

vaim:

Traditional Jao greeting between two who are approximately equal in status. Can also be used as a compliment by a higher status Jao to a lower. The literal translation is "We see each other."

vaish:

Traditional Jao greeting of inferior to superior. The literal translation is "I see you."

vaist:

Traditional Jao greeting of superior to inferior. The literal translation is "You see me."

vithrik:

Duty, what one owes to others, the necessity of making one's self of use.

what-is:

Reality.

what-might-be:

Something imagined.

windward:

Left.

wrem-fa:

A technique of instruction through body-learning in which nothing is explained, laid down in the brain too deep for conscious understanding. Also, in a broader sense, used to refer to life experience.

Lleix terms

Boh:

Ancient guardian spirits, left behind during the exodus.

Children's Court:

Home for youth before they are released for the Festival of Choosing that takes place in their fifteenth year; if they are not chosen, they must live thereafter in the dochaya.

dochaya:

Unskilled laborers' living area at the far edge of the city, a slum.

elian:

Social and occupational grouping; similar to a human caste, except members are selected, not born into it.

Han:

Meeting of all the most senior elders of the elian.

Last-of-Days:

Long foretold time when the Ekhat will finally exterminate the Lleix.

newest:

Term of low age-rank.

oyas-to:

Shunning, not-seeing, disciplinary mode for being disharmonious and flaunting social order.

sensho:

The correct manner of behavior which includes order in the Han and elian according to age-rank.

shortest:

Term of low age-rank.

unassigned:

Those without an elian who must live in the dochaya.

vahl:

Black cosmetic stick with which to emphasize the upswept lines of the eye.

 

Back | Next
Framed