# Words you didn't know you knew from sword&sorcery **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458 "2011-01-05T04:40:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/21 "2011-01-06T03:55:42Z")
**Wendall Wagner** - I was speaking somewhat in jest. I’m sure “scry” is in the dictionary. However, not every word that is in the dictionary is actually used in real life by real people. I presume he does actually believe me, it’s just that he’s still teasing me about it (and saying “a scry” instead of “to scry”). ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/22 "2011-01-06T04:00:33Z")
Oh, and thanks everyone. I think I’m going to further flummox Dad with “glyph” and “melee”. _rubs hands in glee_ ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/23 "2011-01-06T05:05:31Z")
Among my “normal” friends and co-workers I forget that not everyone knows the words for medieval/cultural weapons and armor Cuirass Greaves Epaulette Kris Wakizashi Naginata Sabaton I’ve been teased among the normals for knowing these - all of which come from gaming. I’m not a weapons geek at all, the deadliest thing I own is a Chef’s knife. “Cuirass? Queer-ass? You sure are!” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/24 "2011-01-06T05:11:21Z")
Bailiwick which goes along with demesne. ---
**Author:** ![ebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@ebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ebb)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/25 "2011-01-06T15:39:56Z")
Here’s a great list: [Vocabulary Words We Learned By Playing Dungeons & Dragons](http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/lists/vocabulary.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/26 "2011-01-06T16:08:04Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > From Magic: The Gathering I had cause to use “taiga” the other day which I first saw in M:tG. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/27 "2011-01-06T16:20:12Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I had cause to use “taiga” the other day which I first saw in M:tG. It has its uses in Scrabble from time to time (though not a very high-scoring word). ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/28 "2011-01-06T16:50:12Z")
You can learn a lot of armor and weapon vocabulary by playing any RPG (especially WoW because they have so many friggin’ items for so many slots). Magic: The Gathering cards are also a useful vocabulary learning tool. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/29 "2011-01-06T17:14:35Z")
“Acolyte” and “hierophant” spring to mind. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/30 "2011-01-06T17:16:10Z")
* * * > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Everyone knows “centaur,” “unicorn,” and “griffin,” but only fantasy readers are likely to know “manticore,” “golem,” “hippogriff,” “basilisk,” “kraken,” or “wyvern.” Not a fantasy fan (this is heresy, but I outgrew it a half century ago… or to be kind I’ll say I got tired of it). But I do know all the words here! _Manticore_ from Emerson, Lake and Palmer–they even had an illustration; _Golem_ from Jewish mythology; _Hippogriff_ from Hogwarts (ok, SOME fantasy is so well-written that EVERYONE likes it); _Basilisk_ from literature where it describes a stare; _Kraken_ from ancient _(greek?)_ mariner tales; and _Wyvern_ from _ **“Seize The Night”** _\* by Dean Koontz. I have no idea where I picked up weapon and supernatural terms, but I’ve recognized everything but Buffing in this thread. _Just like Dark Angel had Manticore, Koontz’s best 2/3 of a trilogy (_ **“Fear Nothing”** \* and _ **“Seize The Night”** _) had the mysterious govt. installation called “_Fort Wyvern_”. Fun read, but the audiobook is even better. [okay, maybe I DO read SOME fantasy…] ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/31 "2011-01-06T19:30:59Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > “Staves” as a plural form of “staff” It wasn’t until I read Tolkein that I realized that it was Dwarves not Dwarfs. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/32 "2011-01-06T21:32:08Z")
“Buffing” doesn’t really count as it’s slang. Or used to be slang. Or something. In MMORPGs, enhancement spells are informally called “Buffs”. As in “I cast a strength buff on my pet before buffing the paladin with a haste spell”. Or the reverse, “I debuffed the werewolf with a slow spell”. I don’t play pen & paper RPGs these days so I don’t know if the terminology has made its way into D&D games but it’s common parlance in MMORPGs. Doesn’t have much application outside in the real world though. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/33 "2011-01-06T22:17:18Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > “Staves” as a plural form of “staff” Sadly, it appears that Wizards of the Coast has forgotten this (along with the proper plural form of “cyclops”). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/34 "2011-01-06T22:43:33Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > “Acolyte” and “hierophant” spring to mind. “Hierophant” is also a word you can learn from Tarot cards; as is “pentacle.” But anyone who knows that probably reads fantasy too. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/35 "2011-01-06T23:00:19Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > It wasn’t until I read Tolkein that I realized that it was Dwarves not Dwarfs. My understanding is that it can actually be either (see “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”). I suspect that Tolkien played a strong role in popularizing the dwarves spelling in fantasy literature (and probably did the same for elves vs. elfs). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/36 "2011-01-06T23:04:17Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I don’t play pen & paper RPGs these days so I don’t know if the terminology [“buffing”] has made its way into D&D games but it’s common parlance in MMORPGs. It’s crept in as fairly common slang in the past few years among pen-and-paper players (and undoubtedly came over from MMORPG players), though I don’t think it appears much (if at all) in the actual rulebooks. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/37 "2011-01-06T23:06:25Z")
**Thews** –Conan always had mighty ones. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/38 "2011-01-06T23:20:01Z")
I wonder how many people encountered words like that young enough and made up a pronunciation, that you never really got around around to check until you made an total ass out of yourself in college one day? Hypothetically speaking of course. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/39 "2011-01-06T23:23:58Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I wonder how many people encountered words like that young enough and made up a pronunciation, that you never really got around around to check until you made an total ass out of yourself in college one day? > Hypothetically speaking of course. A bunch I’m sure. There are probably even threads about it on here. ---
**Author:** ![Edwardina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Edwardina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edwardina)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458/40 "2011-01-06T23:25:17Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > First day of grad school, I went to lunch with my new housemate’s crowd of established students. For some reason they were trying to remember “the thingies that you drop to stop someone on horseback from following you, it’s like a nail with four sides, one of which is always up, and the horse steps on it?” > > With no hesitation I said “caltrops”. Instant cred. Thanks Gary. I was specifically going to mention caltrops, which I would have little reason to know about if it weren’t for my fantasy fixation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-didnt-know-you-knew-from-sword-sorcery/566458.md?page=3)