Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #88
July 26, 2009
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
88.) Aliped
-adjective
a.) Wing-footed.*
b.) Having a wing-like membrane connecting the toes.
[Origin: From the Latin ala meaning "wing" and pes or pedis meaning "foot."]
*Surely the God Hermes with his famous winged sandals could be described as such.
Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #87
July 19, 2009
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
87. Pizzle
-noun singular
a.) An animal’s penis.
b.) A flogging instrument made from a bull’s penis.*
[Origin: From Old English, derived from Low German pesel or Flemish Dutch pezel, diminutive of pees meaning "sinew".]
*Pizzle’s were often represented in heraldry, made distinct by a color differentiation from the rest of the beast’s body. They are used today almost exclusively as chewing treats for dogs, but the pizzles of Scottish deer are considered to improve stamina and are sometimes consumed by Olympic athletes. Many members of the tribe may agree that “consuming” or “being flogged by” a penis would be considered an improvement in general.
Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #86
July 12, 2009
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
86.) Gyromancy
-noun singular
a.) Divination by walking or spinning on a circle of letters until dizzy and stumbling on significant letters.*
b.) Divination by whirling a coin on a circle of letters.
[Origin: from Greek gyros meaning "circle" and manteia meaning "oracle."]
*Gyromancy somehow reminds me of an early, full-bodied version of a more recent oracle known as the Ouija board. Some religious dances, particularly the rotation of certain Sufi devotees (whirling dervishes) on one foot with arms out stretched, also employ dizziness or vertigo to induce prophetic delirium. In addition, in the spiraling phenomenon known as the St. Vitus’ Dance, manifestations of spirit intelligence were also observed in the movements of those in convulsions.
Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #85
July 5, 2009
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
85.) Nanism
-noun singular
a.) Dwarfism.
b.)The condition of being exceptionally small, stunted, or dwarfed.*
[Origin: From the Latin nanus meaning "dwarf."]
*One theory about the origin of certain faeries is that some of the most ancient members of the tribe, once revered as pre-Christian Gods and Goddesses of great stature, endured a sort of nanism by which they were reduced in size and stature (but somehow not squelched entirely) by the onset of the new religion.
