The Garden :: Petals and Thorns

Gorean Glossary D-E

Gor is a complex lifestyle based on a series of novels by John Norman featuring a strict caste system of highly trained Free and slaves. For more information, check out the Garden's section on Gor.

Note about this Glossary: items marked with a K are Kassar or Old Gorean, online-created languages used to augment Gorean. Kassar was not created or endorsed by John Norman and is not consistent within the Gorean language or universe. Kassar should be used cautiously and sparingly as many Goreans do not use or approve of the language.

da	Literal meaning: "These are" or "Here are."
Da	enough, right amount	K
Dagger	A small knife; a weapon of stealth. Daggers take many forms, depending upon the needs and whims of their users, and such weapons are the most common form of side-arm used on Gor. Daggers are worn openly in a belt-sheath or concealed beneath one's clothing, often strapped to the wrist beneath the owner's sleeve, tucked into the collar behind the neck, or hidden in a boot. Carried by foolish free women as a personal means of self-defense, perhaps a false sense of security.
Dais	On Earth, a dais is a raised platform, used to designate where a person of high honor is to sit or stand, as in ceremonies. The dais on Gor is no different.
Dalun	Awake	K
Daluni	Awaken	K
dance collar	A collar with chains or jewels attached, secured to the wrists and ankles with enough room to dance
Dance of Newly Collared Slave	One of the many slave dances. It has many variations, in the different cities of Gor, but the common theme is that the girl dances her joy that she will soon lie in the arms of a strong master.
Dance of the Larl Hunters	One of the dances of the panther girls. This particular quote is one in which males dance during Kajuralia.
Dance of the Six Thongs	One of the many slave dances. In this dance, six men participate as well, each holding a length of binding fiber, which are attached to the girl at various points (each wrist and ankle, and two at the waist). The girl will then struggle in her dance, exhibiting terror and fury at first, before her submission. This dance is very similar to the Tether Dance
Dance of the Tuchuk Slave Girl	One of the barbaric dances of the girls of the wagon tribes.
Dancing Silks	The beautiful diaphanous costumes worn by a slave girl while dancing.
Dani	Drink	K
Dan'le	Beats	K
dar	holy; priest
Dar Kosis / Holy Disease, The / Sacred Affliction	He was now bent and crooked, like a broken blasted shrub in his yellow shroudlike robe. The hood concealed his face. Pointing to its shadowed concealed face it whispered "The Holy Disease." That was the literal translation of Dar Kosis--the Holy Disease or equivalent the Sacred Affliction. The disease is named that because it is regarded as being holy to the Priest Kings, and those who suffer from it are regarded as consecrated to the Priest Kings. Accordingly it is regarded as heresy to shed their blood. On the other hand, the Afflicted, as they are called, have little to fear from their fellow men. Their disease is so highly contagious, so invariably devastating in its effects, and so feared on the planet that even the boldest of outlaws gives them a wide berth. Accordingly, the afflicted enjoy a large amount of freedom of movement on Gor. They are of course, warned to stay away from the habitations of men, and if they approach too closely, they are sometimes stoned. Oddly enough, casuistically, stoning the Afflicted is not regarded as a violation of the Priest Kings supposed injunction against shedding their blood. As an act of charity, Initiates have arranged at various places Dar Kosis pits where the Afflicted may voluntarily imprison themselves to be fed with food hurled downward from the backs of passing tarns. Once in a Dar Kosis pit the Afflicted are not allowed to depart. ...... I was glad that it was night and that the hood of the man was drawn, for I had no desire to look on what pieces of flesh might still cling to his skull. (Tarnsman pg. 150--151)
Darek	Could be, Might, Could have been	K
Dar-Kosis Pits	Huge cavernous pits which serve as a voluntary home for those Afflicted with the Dar-Kosis disease. Living in such pits are voluntary, however, once a person has gone to live in the pits, they must remain there until their death.
Date	The sweet fruit of the date palm, dates are the staple diet of the people of the Tahari.
Date Brick	The sweet fruit of the date palm compressed into "bricks;" the principal export of the city of Tor.
Date Palm	The highly valued palm tree of the Tahari which bears the date fruit.
Daver/Davere	Door(s), Cover(s), Lip(s), Gate	K
Davi	(to be) friendly (show ten... ie. empty hands)	K
Davu	friend, close friend	K
De	Not	K
Deck Cage	Small cages found on cargo ships, which are fastened on the deck; used for the transporting of slaves.
Deck Stones	Soft, white rounded stones which are used to smooth and sand the boards of the deck of a ship.
Defensive Picket Formation	Military tactic in which an equal number of men are forward as there are standing back within the interstices (the gaps between the forward men), thusly sealing the line making it solid. It allows a good amount of mobility, with allowances for the swordsmen to engage their weapons and properly defend themselves. Similar to the Torian Squares.
Defensive Square	A common Gorean defense against tharlarion attack utilizing braced spears.
Degalbi	(to) honor, respect, show respect	K
degradation stripe	a 2"-wide band shaved into the hair of men captured by talunas, or panther girls; it runs from the forehead to the nape of the neck
Degraded Woman	a woman of Tharna that once wore the silver mask but became slave due to infraction of rules set in the city of Tharna.
Dela	Welcome	K
dela tre'sha Avan'shea	welcome precious Mistress	K
Delka	A weapon of the Kurii.
Delka	The delka is the 4th letter of the Gorean alphabet, triangular in shape, which corresponds to the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet, the "delta," from which origin it was likely derived. In Gorean, the delta of a river is referred to as a "delka." The reasoning is the same as in the Greek on Earth as in the resemblance of a delta region to a cartographic triangle.
Delta Brigade	A rebel group of Ar formed solely by Tarl Cabot and Marcus; their symbol was a bloody "delka" to symbolize the delta region (see: "Delka") slashed into the skin of their victims or painted on walls with the blood of their victims. The growth of this unorganized group began from a comment made in a tavern by Tarl Cabot; that rumor led others, independent of each other, to use similar tactics, which convinced the Cosians of a large concerted effort against them assuming them to be traitors of their own.
Demotic	In reference to Tarl's comments on how perhaps some of the letters of the Gorean alphabet derived, demotic refers to the following: "... of relating to written in the simplified form of ancient Egyptian hieratic writing." - American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition ©2001
Denkisti	(to be) evil, the most bad. (and through some strangeness of translation, Denk also seems to refer to technology or equipment. The meaning comes through as: "Technology is bad")	K
Denkisti	Are you Watching? Do you see(it)? Can you see?	K
Desert Kaiila/ Sand Kaiila	a species of kaiila native to the Tahari.
Dhow	The dhow that Tarl Cabot describes is probably much like these Arabian ships.
Di	With	K
Di Braks	I'm fine
Diamonds	Valuable gemstones
Diaries, The	Refers to the field diaries of a famous officer of Argentum, Carl Commenius. In these diaries can be found many adages and words of wisdom
Dice	Unlike dice of Earth, symbols are generally painted on their surfaces to keep an even balance. Some are sold in sealed boxes bearing their cities imprint.
dina	....my own brand was the "dina"; the dina is a small, lovely, multiply petaled flower, short-stemmed, and blooming in a turf of green leaves, usually on the slopes of hills, in the northern temperate zones of Gor; in its budding, though in few other ways, it resembles a rose; it is an exotic, alien flower; it is also spoken of, in the north, where it grows most frequently, as the slave flower; it was burned into my flesh; in the south, below the Gorean equator, where the flower is much more rare, it is prized more highly; some years ago, it was not even uncommon for lower-caste families in the south to give the name `Dina' to their daughters; that practice has now largely vanished, with the opening and expansion of greater trade, and cultural exchange, between such cities as Ko-ro-ba and Ar, and the giant of the southern hemisphere, Turia. (Slave Girl of Gor, pgs. 61-62)
Dina Brand	Named from and shaped as the dina flower, a small, short-stemmed flower indigenous to hillsides, resembling a rose of Earth; sometimes called the "slave flower."
Dina of Turia	A slave to the Wagon Peoples. Was freed by Tarl Cabot and returned to her Home Stone of Turia. A baker's daughter, she resumed her Caste and her place within that city. Was guarded by order of Tarl Cabot, when the Tuchuks took Turia, which prevented her re-enslavement. Was given the riches she had won for her Master by running the bola, and became once more a baker of Turia and freewoman. (Nomads of Gor, book iv)
Discipline Sign	Used often to discipline a slave, the girl is marked for free use of all; used most commonly in paga taverns.
Disk Lock	One of the more common forms of cylinder locks on Gor, similar to the pin-tumbler, but rather than pins, moving disks are used.
Display Chain / Selling Chain	A method of chaining girls to exhibit girls to be sold.
display slave	the most beautiful slave owned by a Master, to display the wealth of the owner
Display Wagon	A flat-bedded wagon used in the transportation of female slaves; the framework of the wagon enables the slaves inside to be viewed, thus enticing buyers. At times, these wagons serve as traveling markets, selling girls directly from them.
Disruptor Cone	The nose of the gravitational disruptor; these are banned weapons, even to the Priest-Kings, which were used during the Nest Wars, which caused gravitational (or Ur) disruptions all over the planet. The drawback to this weapon, is that it would ultimately destroy the planet.
Dissection Chambers	Found in the Nest of the Priest-Kings, where Muls are sent to die.
djellaba	desert garb. A loose long sleeve hooded robe.
Djinn	In certain cultures, the djinn was believed to be a powerful spirit.
dock eel	a black freshwater fish, 4' long & weighing 8-10 lb.; carnivorous; they inhabit the shallow waters around the dock and wharves of river ports
Dominant, The	The "higher male" of the Kur.
Don/Dona	And, With, Also, Plus	K
Doo	sword	K
Dool	quiet	K
Dooshi	(to) kill	K
Doovi	Chop, Dice, Cut Up Small	K
Double Flute	Common wind instrument on Gor; not really a true flute but more akin to an oboe.
Double Gold Tarns	The most valuable of coinage.
Double Knowledge	the two forms of knowledge provided, simpler to the lower castes, esoteric to the higher
Double Leashing	A method of slave and prisoner control; often used with male prisoners due to its effectiveness and strength; there are several such leashing arrangements.
Double Pin Hitch	One of the many simple, common Gorean knots.
Draf(a)	maybe, possibly	K
Drafichi	Believe On Faith	K
Draft Slave	A slave utilized for manual labor.
Drak	truth (There is rarely a female version of this word used)	K
Drakeemi	Admit, Tell Truth	K
Drakeki	(to) wish to learn	K
Draki	(to) learn, understand	K
drena/kirou	open	K
Dukmi	(to) desire, (to) hope, (to) wish	K
dukmi braksa	I wish you well
Dumri	Apologize, Bow To Superior Judgement	K
Dune Country	The "Death Valley" of the Tahari Desert; this region is generally avoided, although there are a few scattered oases in this zone.
Dung Sack	Used by the Wagon Peoples, this is a leather sack in which dried dung is collected and placed in to be used as fuel for the fires in camp. The sack is often also used as punishment for slaves by placing them in the sack for several hours at a time.
Dur, (Durma)	dark, (night)	K
Dur/Durma	Black	K
Dust Legs	a tribe of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens; so called because they were the last tribe to domesticate Kaiila
duty of a slave	"What is your duty?" asked my master. "Absolute obedience," I replied, in Gorean. He held the whip to my lips. I pressed my lips to it, and kissed it. "Absolute obedience," I said. Slave Girl of Gor, p. 106
Duty Of The Twelve Joys	A daily requirement of the Matoks and Muls is to wash 12 times each day. The Priest-Kings are tenacious with regards to cleanliness. This ritualistic cleansing is known as the Duty of the Twelve Joys.
Dwor/Dwora	Collar	K
Dwori	Collar, Enslave	K
Dyers	Not much is said about this caste, or its trade.
E	A, An, The, This	K
Ear Notching	First offense penalty for thievery.
earrings; pierced ear girl	a slavegirl whose ears have been pierced; as piercing a girl's ears is consider the ultimate degradation, it virtually guarantees that the girl will never be freed; the practice first became popular in Turia, but is gaining acceptance in the northern cities, esp. Ar
Earth girls	These general remarks, of course, if they were to be made more accurate, would require numerous qualifications. For example, the prices of Earth girls have tended to improve in the past few years on Gor. Gorean men tend to enjoy teaching them their slavery. Too, once they have learned the meaning of their collar, they are extraordinarily delicious slave girls. Some authorities believe that Earth girls should be a special category of slaves. Others dispute this, I agree with those who dispute it, regarding Earth girls as only being women like other women. To be sure, there is a special spice and flavor in owning them. I have not mentioned exotics, incidentally, slaves bred or trained for unusual purposes. I have not mentioned, either, slaves with professional competences, such as medicine or law, or fighting slaves, in effect gladiators, men purchased for use as bodyguards or combatants in arranged games. The intricacy of the institution of slavery on Gor is prodigious. (Fighting Slave of Gor, book 14, pages 164-165)
Edin/Edina	Desert, Plains	K
Eel	Snakelike fish which is commonly fished in Cos, and a culinary delicacy.
Eem, Eema	name	K
Egg-Carrier	A "female" of the Kur.
ehn	the Gorean minute, of which there re 40 in an ahn
Electronic Slave Control Device	Developed by one of the Priest-Kings after the Nest War.
eleven kisses	There are over a thousand kisses taught to pleasure slaves. However, the first eleven are considered to be the most important and erotic. "component of training for a pleasure slave." Book 13: Explorers of Gor, page 36
Emerald	Gemstone found on Gor; used in adorning weaponry and jewelry.
Emergent Zone	Refers to the ecological tier of the rainforest 125 to 200 feet Gorean above the floor of the jungle, thrusting themselves high above the zone of the canopies. In this highest level, the trees have thrust above the canopies below them.
Emotions	(warriors/soldiers): "Tears are not unbecoming to the soldier," said Callimachus. "The soldier is a man of deep passions, and emotion. Many men cannot even understand his depths. Do not fear your currents and your powers. In the soldier are flowers and storms. Each is a part of him, and each is real. Accept both. Deny neither." (pg.238, Guardsman of Gor)
Emptiness, The / Wastes, The	The vast area of the Tahari that lies east of Tor, hundreds of pasangs deep, thousands of pasangs long; also know as the Wastes. See: "[The] Wastes."
en	first
Enameller, Caste of	Caste which enamels such things as collars, kaiisa boards and dagger handles.
Enemy	"Gorean enemies, if skilled, often hold one another in high regard." (pg.70, Marauders of Gor) The Gorean word for "Stranger" is enemy.
energy bulb	Not a light bulb, as we know them on earth, but a self-contained energy unit which can produce light for years; used to illuminiate hallways, corridors, etc., invented by the Caste of Builders.
Energy Lamp	Most probably similar to, or another name for, energy bulbs; something of a rarity in private Gorean homes.
En'Kara	first turning'; the first month of the Gorean calendar, that of the vernal equinox, which is the Gorean new year; roughly equivalent to the Earth calendar month of March
En'Kara-Lar-Torvis	Literal translation is "First Turning of the Central Fire." This is the full expression for the first month of the Gorean year. See "En'kara."
En'Var	first resting'; the fourth month of the Gorean calendar, that of the summer solstice, roughly equivalent with the Earth calendar month of June
En'Var-Lar-Torvis	Literal translation: "First Resting of the Central Fire." The full expression for the fourth (4) month of the Gorean year; preceds the Third Passage Hand. See also: "En'Var."
Er/Era	Arrow	K
Errand Capsule	A narrow, capped leather cylinder often worn about the neck by slave girls running errands, such as carrying notes and such.
Esalinus	One of the major cities of slave trade.
eta	a letter of the Gorean alphabet; corresponds to the Earth letter 'E' (?); apparently adapted from the Greek alphabet; sometimes used as a name for slavegirls
Etem	Inland (Schendi) word for "sitting place."
Exchange Islands / Free Islands	Islands which are administered as free ports for commercial exchange of goods, administered by the Caste of Merchants
Exhibition Cages / Plastic Cage	Often made of plastic, these cages are found outside an auction house used to display slaves as an advertisement tool; not to be confused with "Exposition Cages."
Exotics	Slaves bred for particular deforming traits which are considered to be appealing, such as a physical deformity to things more subtle as poisonous saliva; very rare.
Exposition Cages	Cages inside an auction house that are used to display slaves that are for sale, often such are specialty slaves; not to be confused with "Exhibition Cages."
Eye	Highly militaristic and organized, with divisors and multiples having to do with seemingly, a base-twelve mathematics, an Eye is a Kurii military leader in charge of the "Hands."