Wonderful Words

A List Of Rare Archaic Adverbs – How To Sound Medieval/Renaissance

Want to add a historical touch to your words without sounding like Shakespeare? Experiment with some of the adverbs below to find the historical touch you were looking for.

Cap-a-pie (16th century) – “from head to foot” – Example: The wolf was covered cap-a-pie in mud.

Tête-à-tête (17th century) – “face to face in private” – Example: I slowed my horse to chat tête-à-tête with the captain.

Well-nigh (11th century) – “almost” “nearly” – Example: The siege was well-nigh lifted.

Widdershins (16th century) – “counterclockwise” “in a left hand” “against the sun’s course” – Example: I rolled the dice widdershins across the floor.

Alfresco (18th century) – “out in the open air” – Example: With our tour of Florence complete, we stopped at the loggia for a refreshment alfresco.

Aloft (13th century) – “overhead” “at a great height” – Example: The knights waved their weapons aloft.

Certes (13th century) – “assuredly” “I assure you” – Example: Certes, Your Magnifico, I meant no harm!

Forsooth (12th century) – “indeed” – Example: It was a sad day forsooth.

Shillyshally (18th century) – “in a hesitating manner” – Example: The pardoned boy bowed shillyshally to his frowning mother.

Whilom (12th century) is synonymous with Erstwhile (16th century) – “in the past” “formerly” – Example: The cardinal, who was whilom a mere priest, said the evening prayer.

Yon (11th century) – “that” – Example: I wouldn’t go near yon graveyard if I were you.

Anywise (13th century) – “in any manner or way” – Example: The queen gets what she wants anywise.

Singly (14th century) – “individually” “one by one” – Example:  Come singly to see His Magnificence!

Anon (11th century) –  “soon” “shortly” – Example: Indeed, my dear brother, the world shall anon be ours!

Lief (13th century) – “readily” “willingly” “gladly” – Example: His Majesty lief accepted the proposition.

Thanks for visiting and I hope this list helps you anon.

 

 

 

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Brigandine vs. Brigantine vs. Barkentine vs. Barquentine vs. Barque (Brain Bubblegum)

BRIGAN’d’INE

realistic fantasy art

Inspired by the 11th century coat of plates, a brigandine is a 12th to 16th century vest or jacket of armor. It consists of many metal plates held together by a sturdy textile. Many times in history the plates were small, overlapping and hidden under fabric. In movies and videogames today, however, the most popular version of a brigandine is a long coat of canvas covered with visible rectangular plates (somewhat similar to the Japanese kikko in appearance).

BriganTine

boat-2022434_1280

In the early 17th century, a brigantine (the most talked about version of it today) was a two-masted sailing vessel with a square-rigged foresail and a fore-and-aft mainsail (like in the picture above). Much earlier in the 13th century, a brigantine was a sexy lateen rigged ship, popular among Mediterranean pirates for its nimbleness in action. Later in the 17th century, when ‘brigantine’ was being used throughout the New World, the word meant a ship that was slightly different than the early 17th century version: it’s foresail was still square-rigged, but the mainmast was gaff-rigged and had a few extra square-rigged sails on the top of it. Other unique ways of rigging a ship became associated with the word brigantine during the 18th century and onwards. Overall, though, a brigantine was simply naught more than a quick way to board ya for some pieces of eight, ya scallywag! I hope ya captain’s ready for a good keelhauling! Shoulda handed da booty while ya had the chance. Yar!

Barkentine aka Barquentine

(also called schooner bark or schooner barque)

A barkentine is a 17th to 21st century sailing ship similar to an early 17th century brigantine, though instead of only having one fore-and-aft sail behind the square-rigged foresail, a barkentine can have two or more fore-and-aft sails (like in the picture below). Therefore, a barkentine was longer than a brigantine, too. The extra triangular staysails corded to the nose are called jibs.

brigandine vs barkentine vs brigantine

Barque, Barke, Bark, Barc, Barca (no it doesn’t mean ‘dog’)

Barque is an ancient word which has sailed throughout many cultures, hence the many ways to spell it. It’s hard to say if every culture used the same rigging on their barques because in many places the word simply meant “boat.” Today, however, people of the world have come to agree that a barque is a 15th to 21st century three-masted ship. The front two sails are square-rigged, but the mizzenmast has fore-and-aft rigging. It’s naught more than an early 17th century brigantine with an extra square-rigged mast plunked in amidships. So grab ya spyglass, matie! Brace yourself and spot the barque in the picture below. Yar! And don’t forget to surrender ya booty next time or we’ll keelhaul ya captain thrice over!

best pirate boats

 

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Lazar, Lazarus, Lazaret, Lazarette vs. Lazaretto (A “Lazy” Comparison)

Whether you’re a poet looking for words that start with L or a student trying to understand what a lazarette is, I have made this list to assist you. So now let’s begin.

LAZAR

define lazar a diseased person

A lazar is a diseased person, especially a poor person with a feared disease such as leprosy.

LAZARUS

lazarus compared to lazar

According to the online Merriem-Webster dictionary, Lazarus was: “… a brother of Mary and Martha raised by Jesus from the dead according to the account in John 11. 2 : the diseased beggar in the parable of the rich man and the beggar found in Luke 16.”

LAZARETTE

lazarette vs lazaret

On a sailing vessel, a lazarette is a storage compartment near the stern, typically accessed by a trapdoor on the deck. A lazarette could be used to store many things but it is interesting to note that a lazarette was and could be used as quarantine space if diseased members were on the ship.

LAZARETTO

what is a lazaretto

Throughout history, especially during times of plague, isolation hospitals known as lazarettos were erected, and in times of emergency, buildings and even moored boats were quarantined to act as temporary hospitals. A lazaretto is an isolation hospital or barricaded place to house diseased people (sometimes called a lazar house). Even a market square, for example, could be barricaded to act as a lazaretto and hence be called a lazaretto. Modern hospitals have hundreds of functions, but a lazaretto’s function is purely to hold and sometimes treat diseased people, especially people with a feared and contagious disease.

LAZARET

lazaret vs lazaretto

It’s important to note that the word lazaret is interchangeable with lazarette and lazaretto, though lazaret is most commonly used to mean lazaretto. Here is lazaret’s threefold definition:

  1. A lazar house; an isolated hospital for people with infectious diseases.
  2. A building, boat or barricaded area used for quarantine.
  3. On a sailing vessel, a storage compartment near the stern, typically accessed by a trapdoor on the deck.

I hope this comparison aids you in your studies! Stay healthy 🙂

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Vintenar vs Vintner vs Verderer

VINTENAR

define vintenar

Vintenar means, in medieval England, a leader of a score of footmen, more specifically a leader of twenty draft men. During wars or anarchies, freemen such as farmers were paid to become infantry soldiers in order to help quell a tumult, defend a fortification or join a greater army and march to battle. Whatever the cause, a vintenar was responsible for leading his twenty infantry to victory. Whether the leader hired the footmen himself or was charged with them doesn’t matter, so long as he leads them he earns the title vintenar.

VINTNER

define vintner

A winemaker or a wine merchant can both be called vintners. A wine connoisseur, a grape farmer or a sot, however, cannot claim the title of vintner, sadly. Only those who make or sell wine can claim such a sexy title.

VERDERER

define verderer

Someone has to make sure no one shoots the king’s deer. That’s one of a verderer’s many responsibilities as a verderer is a judicial officer of a royal forest. Footpads stalk the swamps waylaying and accosting drovers and peddlers, but the local verderer is hiring men to deal with the quandary. Hungry peasants may mock a verderer behind his back, hate him, because being unable to use the king’s coppices and hunt the king’s precious boars can mean a night without dinner. So if you’re breaking the law–hunting in the king’s forest–watch your back because the verderer in these parts is a stern man who likes to take the law into his own hands.

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Springalds versus Ballistae – What is the Mechanical Difference?

This is not a historical lesson with dates and events, but a mechanical lesson to explain the physical differences between these two magnificent ancient artillery weapons.

Springalds and ballistae are both “catapults” that loose either spear-like bolts, Greek fire or round stones. The major difference between them is in how they hold the power necessary to launch these projectiles. I would like to start by clarifying the definition of the word “catapult” because many people confound that word with “mangonel.” A catapult is any stationary device that uses built-up tension to fire or, in more accurate terms, loose or shoot a projectile. Like ballistae and springalds, a mangonel is a certain kind of catapult. So do not picture a mangonel every time you hear the word catapult like I did for many years 🙂

Springalds (also known as espringals)

ballista compared with espringal

how do springalds operate

Like many arbalests or heavy crossbows, springalds use devices known windlasses to build-up tension in skeins, bow arms and draw cords. However, springalds have inward-facing bow arms and ballistae have outward-facing bow arms. A springald, at first glance, may look odd because they are not as common in movies and video games as ballistae are. Some springalds look very similar to ballistae (their only difference being in which direction the bow arms face) but other springalds, like the example below, look like bizarre wooden cages.

the difference between a ballista and a springald or espringal

Whatever the design, a springald can always be differentiated from a ballista by gandering at the bow arms. Ballistae have outward-facing bow arms that are always facing outwards even when they are not bearing tension; they simply look like over-sized crossbows on mounts. Springalds, on the other hand, when they are not bearing tension, have smaller arms that face forwards and they do not face inwards until accumulated tension bends them towards the operator using the cranequin. It is easy to see how these rectangular springalds on wheels would be better for besieging whereas the mounted ones that look like ballistae would be better for defending because they could be permanently installed atop turrets and bastions.

Ballistae

ballista vs springald

We’ve already done a sufficient comparison for there is not much difference between these two famed weapons of ancient war, but it may be good to cap off what we’ve learned by briefly comparing a ballista to an arbalest. An arbalest is either a cranequin crossbow or a windlass crossbow. Below I will show a picture of a cranequin crossbow so you can see just how similar it is to a ballista and also how different it is from a springald.

similarities between crossbows and ballistae and springalds

See how the bow arms of the crossbow and ballista face outwards while the springald has bow arms that face forwards until tension brings them inwards? If you see the difference, you now know what separates a springald from a ballista! Yay! Now let’s do a little test: what type of catapult is the bolt thrower in the scene of the Greek siege at the top of this article? Is it a springald or a ballista?

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GUAR versus GAUR

The other day I added guar to my Book of Words. Then I thought, wait … am I getting guar mixed up with gaur? It’s like that time I got auger mixed up with augur. That was a few days ago, and now this is my attempt to never get guar mixed up with gaur again!

GUAR

Popular for its seeds (peas) which can be reformed into a gum known as “guar gum” (oft used in processed foods as a binder or thickener) a guar is a drought-resistant plant of the pea family, native to the dry climes of Africa and Asia. The word guar can refer to a single plant, or it can be used as a plural noun to refer to the seeds. An example: “From one guar I got a whole bowl of guar.” Indeed, guar can also refer to the various refined forms, such as guar flower or guar gum. So next time someone tells you the soccer ball is off behind the guar somewhere, hopefully you’ll remember this boring blog post you read.

guar-vs-gaur

GAUR

Native to Malaysia and India, a gaur (pronounced gower) is a bulky wild ox. Like the word bison (which is an ox native to North America and Europe), gaur can be used as a singular noun or as a plural, albeit saying gaurs to mean plural is also acceptable. So next time you’re in India and you see a wild ox, you’ll know what to call it. But for the almighty’s sake, you better not get it mixed up with guar!

the-difference-between-guar-and-gaur

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A List of Synonyms for “Horse” with their Unique Definitions

  1. Palfrey – a compliable horse for casual riding, especially by women.
  2. Mule, hinny – the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, usually sterile and used as a beast of burden.
  3. Dray horse, draft horse, cart horse, sled horse – a burly and formidable horse for pulling drays, carts, buggies, sleds, etc.
  4. Rounsey, rouncey – an all-purpose horse, able to be trained for war if needed.
  5. Courser – a swift or spirited horse, in any application.
  6. Destrier – a medieval knight’s horse for battles or tourneys.
  7. Warhorse – a big, mighty horse trained for war, whether it be modern or historical.
  8. Mount, steed – a horse being ridden or is available for riding.
  9. Remount – a fresh horse to replace one that is no longer usable.
  10. Charger – a swift warhorse or cavalry horse.
  11. Cob – a brawny, short-legged horse, typically for riding.
  12. Pony, hobby – a small stocky horse, especially one of several specific breeds, like the Pottok for example.
  13. Nag, plug, rocinante – a horse that is old or in poor health.
  14. Colt – an uncastrated male horse under four years of age.
  15. Stallion, stud – any uncastrated male horse.
  16. Gelding – a castrated male horse.
  17. Mare – a female horse, especially one available for breeding.
  18. Bronco – a wild or half-tamed horse.
  19. Stepper – a horse with a quick, beautiful gait, such as a trained marching horse.
  20. Filly – a female horse under four years of age.
  21. Foal – any young or baby horse.
  22. Yearling – any horse that is only one or two years old.
  23. Garron – a sturdy horse for working, typically small.
  24. Mustang – a wild horse.
  25. Suckling – an unweaned horse.
  26. Weanling – a newly weaned horse.
  27. Equine – any animal of the horse family, such as a donkey.
  28. Workhorse – could be any hired or draft horse, but typically refers to a farm horse.
  29. Racehorse – a horse raised for professional racing.
  30. Packhorse – a horse with panniers, or any horse that is not ridden but used to carry loads, usually led in a line or tied behind the riding horse.
  31. Sumpter – any animal used as a beast of burden, including horses.
  32. Hackney – a horse with a high-stepping trot, typically a trained riding horse or carriage horse.
  33. Padnag, pad, ambler – a horse that moves along at an ambling pace.
  34. Grey, gray – any white or gray horse. For example, “Jon saddled the gray then spurred off.”
  35. Sorrel – a horse with a brownish-red coat or a sorrel coat.
  36. Caballine – an adjective meaning: of or related to a horses or horses.
  37. Genet, Jennet – a type of small Spanish horse; also, a female donkey.

I use this list as a helpful reference during writing and research. I will be updating it whenever I feel the need, so please let me know if I missed synonyms or think something should be changed or improved. Thanks!

mêlée

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