Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #33

(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)

33.) Kitthoge
-adjective or noun singular

a.) left-handed or awkward.

b.) A left-handed or awkward person.*

[Origin: from the Gaelic word ciotóg, “a left-handed person” or “strange one.”]

*Words and phrases for left-handed people in many languages (such as the Greek skaios, the Italian sinistra, the Portuguese canhoto, and the Latin sinister) illustrate a longstanding association of left-handedness with difference, awkwardness, and even devilry. A connection between handedness and sexual orientation has been suggested but not verified by a number of researchers, who report that homosexual individuals are somewhat more likely to be non-right-handed than heterosexual individuals.

Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #32

(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)

32.) Aspergillum
-noun singular, plural aspergilla or aspergillums

a.) A liturgical implement in the form of a brush or perforated container with a handle used to sprinkle holy water.*

[Origin: from Latin aspergere, "to sprinkle."]

*Surely anything resembling a wand whose name is derived from the verb to sprinkle will be of inherent interest to members of the tribe.

Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #31

(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)

31.) Naevus
-noun singular

a.) A birthmark or mole.

b.) A congenital mark on the skin.*

[Origin: from Latin naevus "mark" or "spot."]

*Such marks were often called witches’ marks (also called a Devil’s mark or a witches’ teat) and indicated that the bearer of the mark was associated with sorcery or other devious activities. These marks were assumed to be associated with the feeding of witches’ imps or familiars. Evidence of hysteria about witches’ marks reached its peak in 1645 with the height of the witch trials.

Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #30

(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)

30.) Dwale
-noun singular

a.) The deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), a plant having soporific or stupefying qualities.*
b.) A sleeping potion or opiate.
c.) The tincture sable or black when blazoned according to the fantastic system in which plants are substituted for the tinctures.

[Origin: Possibly of Scandinavian roots, from the Danish dvale
meaning “sleep” or “stupor.”]

*Dwale has also been known as banewort, divale, dwayberry, black cherry, devil’s herb, great morel, devil’s cherries, naughty man’s cherries, or belladonna (originating from its historic use by women in the form of eye-drops to dilate their pupils to produce a dreamy, intoxicated stare considered to be the height of fetching beauty). It is one of two species to be known as deadly nightshade; the other is Solanum nigrum. It was thought that a combination of belladonna and aconite was used by witches and sorcerers to fly in the Middle Ages.

Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #29

(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)

29.) Nidifugous
-adjective

a.) Leaving the nest almost immediately after birth or hatching.*

[Origin: from Latin nidus, "nest" and fugere, "to flee."]

*The young of nidifugous species, such as guinea pigs, chickens, geese, hares, and most ungulates are also usually precocial (relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching). Like such beasts, I have observed that many members of our tribe have had to display nidifugous and precocial survival techniques due to increased vulnerability to attack from the predatory general public.