Lexicon · core roots
Core Roots
162 core roots across 12 domains. Every entry carries its pronunciation and meaning. All further vocabulary is derived from these roots using the affixes in the grammar.
Family & Kin
Kin roots take -eth for the elder line and -in for the younger; the House is spoken of as a single body.
mont
/mont/
House of Mont Azaluado; the hearth-mountain
kanreth
/ˈkanreθ/
father
kanrin
/ˈkanrin/
mother
veldun
/ˈveldun/
child
veldeth
/ˈveldeθ/
eldest child, heir
sarn
/sarn/
brother, sworn peer
sarna
/ˈsarna/
sister, sworn peer
þolneth
/ˈθolneθ/
grandparent, keeper of memory
orunn
/ˈorunː/
lineage, bloodline
hearnd
/hearnd/
hearth, household
belka
/ˈbelka/
beloved
kinvar
/ˈkinvar/
guest under our roof
morvel
/ˈmorvel/
ancestor, one who walked before
nendun
/ˈnendun/
descendant, one who will walk after
The Nine Virtues
The founding words. Each is a closed root: it may be compounded but never shortened.
halr
/halr/
honour — the weight a name can carry
orunkar
/ˈorunkar/
legacy — what outlives the maker
þern
/θern/
truth — what remains when pressure is applied
vaelun
/ˈvaelun/
exploration — the walk past the known
sennhold
/ˈsenːhold/
stewardship — holding without owning
þolm
/θolm/
wisdom — knowledge that has cooled
gorvat
/ˈgorvat/
courage — motion that fear did not stop
kalmed
/ˈkalmed/
craftsmanship — the honest joint
iskarn
/ˈiskarn/
curiosity — the question kept alive
Government & Justice
Offices are named for what they hold, never for who holds them.
montreth
/ˈmontreθ/
sovereign of the House
þernvard
/ˈθernvard/
keeper of truth; judge
raadmot
/ˈraːdmot/
council, assembly
hordan
/ˈhordan/
law, the written measure
hordanel
/ˈhordanel/
statute, single article of law
varnek
/ˈvarnek/
right, entitlement
skuld
/skuld/
duty, debt owed to the House
dommar
/ˈdomːar/
verdict
felsak
/ˈfelsak/
crime, breach of the measure
aterhold
/ˈaterhold/
restitution
seldrek
/ˈseldrek/
charter, founding document
vetnar
/ˈvetnar/
witness
frimont
/ˈfrimont/
citizen of the House
staðhold
/ˈstaðhold/
office, post of responsibility
Science & Mathematics
Scientific terms are compounds: measurable + domain. New terms must be transparent to a child.
iskun
/ˈiskun/
science, disciplined asking
mædrun
/ˈmɛːdrun/
measurement
talra
/ˈtalra/
number
talkarn
/ˈtalkarn/
mathematics
nulra
/ˈnulra/
zero, the empty measure
veksel
/ˈveksel/
variable, changing quantity
þernprof
/ˈθernprof/
proof
vagat
/ˈvagat/
hypothesis, held guess
kraftun
/ˈkraftun/
energy, force
mazan
/ˈmazan/
mass, matter
lysar
/ˈlysar/
light
hitun
/ˈhitun/
heat
elkun
/ˈelkun/
electricity, the caught spark
livkorn
/ˈlivkorn/
cell, seed of life
orunkod
/ˈorunkod/
inheritance code, genome
Engineering & Craft
Every tool word is built from the motion it makes, so an unfamiliar tool can still be described.
kalm
/kalm/
to make well, to craft
kalmvar
/ˈkalmvar/
engineer, maker
smiðja
/ˈsmiðja/
workshop, forge
vergun
/ˈvergun/
machine
dregun
/ˈdregun/
engine, driver
brygg
/brygː/
bridge, span
stelun
/ˈstelun/
steel
kernstein
/ˈkernstein/
keystone, load-bearing element
mælskrift
/ˈmɛːlskrift/
blueprint, measured drawing
faltun
/ˈfaltun/
failure, honest fault
prufkalm
/ˈprufkalm/
test, trial of a made thing
liðgang
/ˈliðgaŋ/
joint, articulation
vaktun
/ˈvaktun/
maintenance, keeping-in-order
Mountain, Ocean & Sky
Landscape roots are the oldest layer of the language and appear in most place names.
mor
/mor/
mountain
morhald
/ˈmorhald/
mountainside, slope
skardun
/ˈskardun/
pass, gap between peaks
iskmor
/ˈiskmor/
glacier
hav
/hav/
sea, ocean
havdyp
/ˈhavdyp/
deep water
strand
/strand/
shore, coast
nen
/nen/
river
skogun
/ˈskogun/
forest
vindar
/ˈvindar/
wind
stormun
/ˈstormun/
storm
sten
/sten/
stone
eldun
/ˈeldun/
fire
jorð
/jorð/
earth, ground
himal
/ˈhimal/
sky
sunnar
/ˈsunːar/
sun
manar
/ˈmanar/
moon
stjarn
/ˈstjarn/
star
stjarnvei
/ˈstjarnvei/
constellation; a charted route
himalkarn
/ˈhimalkarn/
astronomy
Animals & Agriculture
Living things take -ar for wild and -ek for kept.
dyrar
/ˈdyrar/
wild animal
dyrek
/ˈdyrek/
kept beast, livestock
hastek
/ˈhastek/
horse
hundek
/ˈhundek/
dog
bjornar
/ˈbjornar/
bear
hafnar
/ˈhafnar/
whale, great sea-beast
fuglar
/ˈfuglar/
bird
fiskar
/ˈfiskar/
fish
korn
/korn/
grain
akrun
/ˈakrun/
field, cultivated land
saðun
/ˈsaðun/
to sow
skurun
/ˈskurun/
harvest
rotel
/ˈrotel/
root
bladun
/ˈbladun/
leaf, blade of a plant
Time & Season
Luadan treats the past as ahead (it can be seen) and the future as behind (it cannot).
tið
/tið/
time
dagun
/ˈdagun/
day
natun
/ˈnatun/
night
arun
/ˈarun/
year
veknun
/ˈveknun/
week (of eight days)
nulið
/ˈnulið/
now, the standing moment
forlið
/ˈforlið/
the past, what lies before the eyes
bakrið
/ˈbakrið/
the future, what lies behind
morgin
/ˈmorgin/
morning
kvelun
/ˈkvelun/
evening
vorun
/ˈvorun/
spring
sumar
/ˈsumar/
summer
haustun
/ˈhaustun/
autumn
vintar
/ˈvintar/
winter
War & Peace
There is no verb meaning to conquer. Force is always named with its cause attached.
skjold
/skjold/
shield, defence
brandun
/ˈbrandun/
blade
vardun
/ˈvardun/
to guard
stridun
/ˈstridun/
armed struggle (with stated cause)
fridun
/ˈfridun/
peace, the settled measure
saðfrid
/ˈsaðfrid/
treaty, sown peace
eiðun
/ˈeiðun/
oath
hersk
/hersk/
company, band under one command
vaktvar
/ˈvaktvar/
sentry
retreð
/ˈretreð/
honourable withdrawal
Emotion & Mind
Emotion words are marked on the face in HMSL; the spoken form carries the tone particle.
glaðun
/ˈglaðun/
gladness
sorgun
/ˈsorgun/
grief
ragun
/ˈragun/
anger held in check
ottun
/ˈotːun/
fear named aloud
hopun
/ˈhopun/
hope
skamun
/ˈskamun/
shame
stoltun
/ˈstoltun/
earned pride
rovun
/ˈrovun/
calm, steadiness
saknun
/ˈsaknun/
longing for what is far
þolvun
/ˈθolvun/
patience
Food, Trade & Colour
Colour terms name a material first and the hue second.
brauð
/brauð/
bread
vatn
/vatn/
water
saltun
/ˈsaltun/
salt
kjotun
/ˈkjotun/
meat
olun
/ˈolun/
brewed drink
markað
/ˈmarkað/
market
skiftun
/ˈskiftun/
trade, exchange
verðun
/ˈverðun/
worth, price
montel
/ˈmontel/
the mont, unit of currency
stensvart
/ˈstensvart/
basalt-black
iskvit
/ˈiskvit/
glacier-white
bloðrauð
/ˈbloðrauð/
blood-red
havblá
/ˈhavblaː/
sea-blue
korngul
/ˈkorngul/
grain-gold
skoggron
/ˈskogːron/
forest-green
Speech, Greeting & Ceremony
Ceremonial register lengthens the first vowel and adds the particle -ha.
velmont
/ˈvelmont/
greeting: well be the House
velmontha
/ˈveːlmontha/
ceremonial greeting
farvel
/ˈfarvel/
parting: walk measured
þakun
/ˈθakun/
thanks
beðun
/ˈbeðun/
request
javel
/ˈjavel/
yes, affirmed
neka
/ˈneka/
no, refused
saglun
/ˈsaglun/
to speak
hoyrun
/ˈhoyrun/
to listen
skriftun
/ˈskriftun/
to write
lesun
/ˈlesun/
to read
teiknun
/ˈteiknun/
to sign, to hand-speak
blesun
/ˈblesun/
blessing
minnun
/ˈminːun/
to remember, to keep record