An Open Book

or

Why the Words Make Little Sense

I know there have been, and there most certainly will be, names or places you are unfamiliar with. There are also those which I have chosen with great care to impart a meaning beyond what I have written into the story; it would take a novel to explain the whole of words so rich with history. As such, I have attempted to accommodate both the need for information and the desire of a quick read; I know most of you do not want to go sifting through a wordy list of names just to understand a simple passage.

So I have devised a simple working dictionary which includes every name thus far, and some that will appear later in the series. I do not include the more minor of the names and/or places. They are merely placeholders in your imaginations for a town, face, or road.

This dictionary is, as I have said, a living text; it will be updated and revised as the story progresses. More names will be added at a later date, and some my be removed for lack of use. If there is a name that you find unjustly represented here, please let me know. I am more than willing to modify a definition if there is ample basis to do so.

Disclaimer: I have taken many of the definitions for these names from name dictionaries and online sources (mostly name guides, which usually need to be taken with a grain of salt). This is not to say I am entirely accurate on some of the more obscure histories found here (there are those that take some hard research to find). Again, if you feel there is something I should change, let me know.

Naomh: (pron. NEEV) holy or saint in Irish Gaelic.

Aisling: (pron. ASH-ling) dream or vision in Irish Gaelic.

Anselm: (pron. AN-selm) Derived from the Germanic elements ans "god" and helm "helmet, protection". Saint Anselm was a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and a Doctor of the Church.

Crobh Dearg: (pron. CRov dahr RiG) Means "red claws"; see also Lasair,Lassar Fhína or Lasairíona.

Daithi: (pron. DAH-hee) Possibly means "swift" in Irish Gaelic.

Danu: (pron. DA-noo) The mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Dearbháil: (pron. DER-val) "daughter of Fál", derived from Gaelic der"daughter" and Fál, a legendary name for Ireland; additional meanings are poet's or Ireland's daughter.

Derry or Londonderry: (pron. DERE-ee; "ere" like the modern "there") often called the Maiden City; a city in Northern Ireland; one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Ireland; it is one of the few towns in Europe which has not had its defensive walls breached (though the original fortified gates have been replaced); see Doire.

Doire: (pron. DEIR-ee) an Anglicization of the old Irish Daire; translates as oak-grove. The name derives from the settlement's earliest references, Daire Calgaich (‘oak-wood of Calgach’); see Derry or Londonderry.

Duleek: (pron. DUl-eek) from the Irish word daimh liag, meaning house of stones and referring to an early stone-built church, St Cianan’s Church, the ruins of which are still visible in Duleek today; St. Patrick placed St. Cianan over the first church in Ireland in the 5th century; St. Cianan is credited with the building of the first stone church in Ireland, died in 489 and his body was said to have been preserved without decay; also known as Daimhliag Chianain (the churchstone of St Cianan)

Éire: (pron. AIR-ruh) The nominative form in modern Irish of the name for the goddess called Ériu in Old Irish. It is still used in the Irish language today to refer to the whole island of Ireland.

Ériu: (pron. 'eer-iu) A mythical figure and queen who helped the Gaels conquer Ireland as described in the Book of Invasions. Daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, she was the eponymous patron goddess of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Gréine (‘Son of the Sun’); Éire is the modern Irish form of Old Irish Ériu.

Fintan: (pron. FIN-tan) Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Fionntán, which possibly means either "white fire" or "white bull" in Gaelic.

Garban: (pron. GAHR-vawn) Means "little rough one" from Irish garbh "rough" combined with a diminutive suffix.

John: (pron. JAHN) English form of Iohannes, which was the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן(Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious".

Lasair: (pron. LAS-er) light beam or flame; In Irish mythology, the eldest of three sisters, a goddess triad representing the growing, ripening and harvesting of crops. Lasair, goddess of the spring budding, wears a silver crown, silver jewelry and armbands. She lives in a Red Castle (another reminder of her fiery nature) with an orchard; Her throne is Cathair Crobhdhearg; To demonstrate her power she lept on a five pointed spear and suffered no injury; also known as Lassar Fhína or Lasairíona (pron. la sar EE na; both mean 'flame wine' or 'fire of wine').

Leith: (pron. LEE-th) From the name of a Scottish town, which is derived from Gaelic leathann "broad".

Linnet: (pron. li-NET, LIN-et) English; Possibly from the name of the small bird, a type of finch.

Morrigan: Derived from Irish Mhór Rioghain meaning "great queen". In Irish myth she was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow; see also Morrigu.

Notus: (Gr. Νότος), was the Greek god of the south wind. He was associated with the desiccating hot wind of the rise of Sirius after midsummer, was thought to bring the storms of late summer and autumn, and was feared as a destroyer of crops.

Rin: (pron. RIN) Means cold in Japanese (unsure).

Rowan: (pron. RO-an) little red one, derived from Gaelic ruadh "red" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name can also be given in reference to the tree.

Saoirse: (pron. SEER-sha) freedom in Irish Gaelic.

Siobhan: (pron. shi-VAWN) Irish form of Jehanne, a Norman French variant of Jeanne; an Old French feminine form of Johannes; see John.

Tuatha Dé Danann: (pron. TOO 'ha dA Dah n'n) "peoples of the goddess Danu", are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg.

Ward: (pron. WAHRD) From a surname meaning "guard" in Old English.