The following is a list of unique terminology used in the books. They are typically italicized, however, here they are in bold for improved legibility and uniformity.
Contents: A B C D E F G H L M N P R S T W X Y Z
A[]
ahstrux nohtrum (noun): Private guard, given license to kill by the king while defending their master.
- The protected must be a person of interest, which is someone whose presence the king has judged significant.[1]
- They're expected to lay down their life for their charge and the role is for life until the King says otherwise.
- Traditionally, they were "fired" via a guillotine.[2]
- The one guarded pays all restitution incurred whilst protecting them.[1]
- They're tattooed with a red tear outlined in black under their eye to signify their willingness to shed their own blood.[2]
- If John dies, it's filled in with black to signify they served someone of interest honourably.
- If not, then it's boxed with an X to display their shame.
- They wear a thick chain bearing the crest of their charge around their neck; it lacks a clasp so it cannot be removed without either cutting the links or chopping off the head.[2]
ahvenge (verb): term for an act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male related/mated to the victim.
aumahne (noun): aunt[3]
B[]
blood slave (noun): Male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood, and sometimes sexual, needs of another vampire.[4] The practice of keeping blood slaves has recently been outlawed in by Wrath II.
bonded male (noun): An emotional and physiological reaction in a male vampire to a potential mate.
C[]
challa (noun): scribe[3]
The Chosen (proper noun): The order of female vampires who serve the Scribe Virgin and provide blood and sexual services to the Brotherhood.[5]
chrih (noun): Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language of the Vampires.
cohntehst (noun): Conflict between two Vampire males competing for the right to be a female's mate.
D[]
Dhunhd (proper noun): The non-temporal realm where the dead exist in a state of ceaseless agony to pass eternity. The vampire's version of Hell ruled by The Omega. Demons serve here (see the Fallen Angels series).
Doggen (noun): Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors, following a formal code of dress and behaviour. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly.[6] Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.
E[]
ehros (noun): A Chosen trained in the matter of sexual arts.
exhile dhoble (noun): The cursed twin, the one born second.[7]
F[]
The Fade (proper noun): The non-temporal realm where the dead reunite with their loves ones and pass eternity. The Vampire's version of Heaven. Ruled by The Creator. Angels serve here.
farshi (noun): The style of clothing worn by lower class, un-mated male servants in the Shadows' realm. Described as a loose, gray garment. The shoes were made of thin leather and were thong styled (described as being "more like gloves than shoes").
G[]
ghardian (noun): Custodian of an individual within Vampire society. There are varying degrees of ghardians, with the most powerful being that of a sehcluded female.
glymera (noun): The vampire aristocracy
granhmen/granmahmen (noun): grandmother[8][9]
H[]
hellren (noun): Male Vampire who is mated. Males may take more than one mate.[6] Not all hellren bond with their mates, see bonded male and Vampire for more information.
hyslop (noun or verb): a term referring to a lapse in judgment, typically resulting in the compromise of the mechanical operation or rightful possession of a vehicle or other motorized conveyance of some kind. For example, leaving one's keys in one's car as it is parked outside the family home overnight, said oversight resulting in felonious joyrides by unknown third parties is a hyslop.[10]
L[]
leahdyre (adjective): A person of power or influence within Vampire society.[11]
leelan (adjective): A term of endearment in the Vampire's old language, loosely translated as "dearest one".[6]
lewlhen (noun): A gift given in the Vampire tradition.
lheage (noun): A Vampire term of respect used by a sexual submissive to refer to her Dominant.[11]
Lhenihan (proper noun) A mythic beast renown for its sexual prowess. In modern slang, refers to a male of preternatural size and sexual stamina.
M[]
mahmen (noun): Vampire term for 'mother'. Used both as an identifier and a term of affection.
maichen (noun): "maid" in the Shadow dialect.[12]
mhis (noun): The magical masking of a given physical environment; creation of a field of illusion. From the outside, it feels like a wall of cold water.[13] It can be strong enough to hold up a landing Cessna for a short period of time[14] and can obfuscate the blood sense of a person who's fed from someone within the mhis[15].
N[]
nalla (noun): A Vampire term for 'beloved' when discussing females.[4]
nallum (noun): A Vampire term for 'beloved' when discussing males.
Needing period (noun): A female Vampire's time of fertility, generally lasting for one to two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings, which become painful to the female if left unsatisfied.[4]
newling (noun): A vampire virgin.
O[]
The Old Language (proper noun): the language historically used by vampires. The written language has been described by humans as an amalgamation of Mandarin characters and Egyptian hieroglyphs.[16]
P[]
phearsom (adjective): Vampire term for referring to the potency of a male's sexual organs. Literal translation is something close to "worthy of entering a female".
pretrans (noun): Vampire term for a member of their race who has passed the stage of childhood and become a teenager, but hasn't yet gone through their transition into adulthood.[11]
princeps (noun): The highest level of the Vampire aristocracy, second only to members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgin's Chosen. Must be born to this title; it may not be conferred.[11]
pyrocant (noun): Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.
R[]
rahlman (noun): Old Language term for "savior."[17]
red smoke (noun): an intoxicant that smells "chocolatey," comparable to marijuana.[6]
rythe (noun): Vampire ritual manner of assuaging honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offender chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents himself or herself without defenses.[18]
S[]
sehclusion (noun): Status conferred by the Vampire King upon a female of the aristocracy as a result of a petition by the female's family or the glymera Council. Places the female under the sole discretion of her ghardian, typically the eldest male in her household. The ghardian then has the legal right to determine all manner of her life, restricting at will any and all interactions she has with the world.[11]
shellan (noun): Female Vampire who has been mated.[6] Females generally do not take more than one mate (in heterosexual relationships, this is due to the high territorial nature of bonded males), however, it's not inconceivable that she could, given the circumstances of the first mating.
s'Hisbe (proper noun): The term Shadows use to refer to themselves.
sin-eater (noun): a derogatory nickname for sympaths.
Sympath (noun): Subspecies within the Vampire race characterized by the ability and desire to manipulate emotions in others (for the purposes of an energy exchange), among other traits. Historically, they have been discriminated against and, during certain eras, hunted by Vampires. They are near to extinction.
T[]
trahyner (noun): Vampire word used between males of mutual respect and affection. Translated loosely as "beloved friend."[19]
Transition (noun): Critical moment in a vampire's life when they transform from their pretrans state into an adult vampire.
U[]
Unknowables (noun): Shadow term referring to the other races, who are believed to contaminate Shadows through interacting with them.[20]
W[]
wahlker (noun): Vampire term for an individual who has died and returned to the living from the Fade. They are accorded great respect and are revered for their travails.[18]
whard (noun): someone who formally has another under their protection.[21]
Z[]
zemuh (noun): a unit of measurement approximately an inch.[22]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lover Enshrined, Ch. 28
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lover Enshrined, Ch. 30
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lover Awakened
- ↑ Lover Revealed, Ch. 44
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Dark Lover
- ↑ Lover Enshrined, Ch. 1
- ↑ Lover Avenged, Ch. 34
- ↑ Lover at Last, Ch. 19
- ↑ Lover at Last
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Lover Revealed
- ↑ The Shadows, Ch. 28
- ↑ Lover Revealed, Ch. 45
- ↑ Lover at Last, Ch. 20
- ↑ Lover at Last, Ch. 39
- ↑ Lover Unbound, Ch. 8
- ↑ Lover Unbound, Ch. 15
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lover Eternal
- ↑ Lover Revealed, Ch. 48
- ↑ Lover at Last, Ch. 34
- ↑ Lover Unbound, Ch. 20
- ↑ The Shadows, Ch. 70