Terminology

Below is a glossary of some of the lexicon, slang, and colloquialisms used by the dragons and humans of Pyrrhia and Pantala:

Terms:

Pyrrian Terms:

• Scavenger Claw: Sword, dagger, or knife. Often long, sharp, or curved item that belongs to a scavenger. A scavenger claw was used to kill Queen Oasis.
• Scavenger Den: A human settlement such as a village, town, or small kingdom.
• Scavenger paw: The human hand.
• The Scorching: An event that happened over five thousand years ago, when dragons rose, took the continent from the scavengers, the dominant Pyrrhian species, and formed kingdoms and proper tribes.
• Sleephouse: A tall tower of mud that MudWing troops sleep in, present in the MudWing village near the Diamond Spray Delta.
• Wing: A large group of dragons (more than seven). May also be used to describe a large group of soldiers as a battalion.
• Winglet: A smaller group of dragons (seven or less).
• Scavenger: Human, referred to as scavenger by all Pyrrhian dragons. Used to be the dominant life form until the Scorching.

Pantalan Terms:

• Hive-Mind: The term for when the HiveWings are under the control of Queen Wasp.
• Pod: A group of LeafWing soldiers, similar to a troop.
• Scales: Dragon currency in Pantala.
• Reading Monkey: The Pantalan term for a scavenger.

Human Terms:

• Mountain Dragon: The human term for a SkyWing.
• Ice Dragons/Arctic Dragons: The human term for IceWing.
• Swamp Dragons: The human term for MudWing.
• Night Dragons: The human term for NightWings.
• Rainforest Dragons: The human term for RainWings.
• Sand Dragons/Desert Dragons: The human term for SandWings.
• Sea Dragons/Ocean Dragons: The human term for SeaWings.

Languages:

• Aquatic: The SeaWing tribe's underwater language, communicated through talon signals and glowing scales that are exclusive to SeaWings.
• Dragon: The language used by Dragons.
• The old language: The language orginally used by Pantalans before Clearsights time to describe Dragon. Now used to describe the language used on Pantala before Clearsight.

Objects:

• The Orb in the Sky: The comet or asteroid that appeared in the events of The Brightest Night.
• Skyfire: A mysterious black rock that fell out of the sky and blocks mind-reading (found and worn by Turtle and Onyx).

Pantalan Objects:

• Treestuff: A term used to describe a mixture of wood pulp, clay, silk, and other materials used to build hives.

Ceremonies:

• Talons of Power ceremony: A ceremony where royal SeaWings attend to see if they are animus.
• Diamond Trial: A trial used by the IceWings. It is a competition where a seventh circle IceWing dragonet challenges a first circle dragonet for their position. If completed properly, one contestant will always die.
• Circle rankings: Circle rankings are used by the IceWings for ranking the obedience and skill of the tribe's population. Dragons who ignore the Circles are frowned upon by the rest of the tribe and are considered outcasts.

Titles:

Dragon Titles:

• Queen: The female ruler or monarch of a tribe.
• Dragonet: A baby dragon or a child dragon up to seven years old.

Pyrrian Titles:

• Bigwings: The eldest of a group of MudWing siblings, also known as sibs; the bigwings is usually the leader of the group.
• Sibs: The term for MudWing siblings.
• Unsibs: term for MudWings who join a new group of MudWing siblings when they lose too many of their sibs.
• Clawmates: Dragonets attending Jade Mountain Academy who share a cave, usually in groups of two or three. Similar to the term "roommates" or "classmates."
• Animus: A dragon with the ability to enchant both inanimate objects and living beings.
• Firescales: A SkyWing hatched with too much fire. SkyWings with firescales involuntarily set things on fire by touch.

Pantalan Titles:

• Lady: A title used for female members of the Pantalan royalty who are not Queen or princesses.

Human Titles:

• Lords: A title used for a male human ruler. Unknown if Lady is also used.
• Dragonmacers: A leader in Tailsmen who pretend to be able to have visions of dragons.

Organizations:

Pyrrian Organizations:

• Talons of Power (organization): An organization of dragons, mainly SandWings, led by Vulture to restore Onyx to power.
• Outclaws: A group of dragons that is lead by Thorn, who were in charge of Scorpion Den.
• The Enclave: A type of organization or leader system used in Possibility.
• Talons of Peace: An organizazion that was lead by Nautalis to stop the War of SandWing Succession

Pantalan Organizations:

• Chrysalis : An organzazion on Pantala solely made up of SilkWings to bring down the reign of Queen Wasp.

Human Organizations:

• Wingwatchers: Humans in Valor who observe and study dragons.

Abreviations:

Dragon Abreviations:

• AS: Short for After Scorching, it is used as a way to measure years.

Human Abreviations:

• IC: An abbreviation for the Indestructible City used by Grove.

Slang:

Pyrrian Slang:

• Blazing: A term often used to express awe or astonishment towards something. It was commonly used by Scarlet and Peril in The Dragonet Prophecy. E.g., "That was blazing! I want to try that again!"
• Blood-red eggs and fireballs: An exclamation used by Thorn.
• Bright smashing suns: An exclamation used by Thorn. E.g. "The markets on fire?! Bright smashing suns!"
• By the teeth of the Great Ice Dragon: A remark used by IceWings. It was used by Icicle and Snowfall. E.g. "By the teeth of the Great Ice Dragon this plan better work."
• Camel Farts: A mild exclamation similar to dang it, darn it, etc. It is often used by Qibli, with similar expressions used by Thorn. E.g., "Camel farts! Why didn't that work?"
• Cleverclaws: A saying used by Darkstalker as a friendly or mild insult, possibly also used as a compliment. Similar to the terms "genius" or "smarty-pants," and usually used in a sarcastic manner. E.g., "Which one of you cleverclaws did this?"
• Crocodile Spawn: An insult used by Six-Claws.
• Desert-Munchers: An insult used to describe SandWings.
• Don't be a rotting tooth: An insult towards a grumpy dragon. It was used by Tsunami.
• Fancyscales: A compliment used by Qibli. E.g., "A writer! So fancyscales."
• Fiddlesquids: A SeaWing exclamation of annoyance, similar to 'fiddlesticks.' It was used by Webs.
• Fourth moons and fireballs: An exclamation used by Thorn.
• Frog-faced blob of camel spit: An insult used by Thorn.
• Frog spit and goat tongues: An exclamation of frustration. Ex-Queen Scarlet used it.
• Jerboa-head: An insult used by Thorn.
• Kelp Face: A SeaWing insult.
• Lazy RainWing: An insult and a stereotype.
• Lizards: An insult that compares a dragon to a lizard.
• Moons-Blasted: An exclamation of irritation with something, an equivalent to the term "blasted." E.g., "That moons-blasted idiot took my scroll!"
• Moonfire and Star Vomit: A NightWing exclamation of pain,though this is uncertain as it was only used once by Darkstalker at the end of Talons of Power.
• Moonlickers: An insult used by Thorn.
• Not the sharpest claw on a dragon: Expression used to comment on the wits of a particular dragon in a negative way. Similar to 'not the sharpest tool in the shed.'
• On the same roll of the scroll: A saying Qibli used that is similar to "on the same page."
• Pain in the tail: Similar to the phrase "pain in the neck."E.g., "That moron is such a pain in the tail!"
• Sand Snorter: an insult from Queen Thorn to Qibli in Darkness of Dragons, close to "An idiot." It is an insult usually used by other tribes (or sometimes even other SandWings, in the case of Prickle remarking about Smolder) to describe SandWings. E.g., "Stop being such a sand snorter!"
• Seal Guts: An expression used by Winter to indicate disgust or frustration. E.g. "Seal Guts! Why can't I remember this?"
• Slime weasel: An insult used to describe someone.
• Smoke-breather: An insult of sorts, usually used to describe a lazy or whiny dragon. It may be used mainly by non-firebreathing tribes. E.g., "Don't be a smoke-breather! Let's go!"
• Slithering over my grave: A figure of speech dragons use to describe that something bad is going to happen. It was used by Anemone. It is equivalent to the human phrase, "Someone had walked over my grave."
• Son of a Snail: An insult used by SeaWings meaning slow.
• Snail droppings: A SeaWing exclamation of exasperation, used by Tsunami.
• Snails-for-brains: An insult used by Thorn.
• Screaming scavengers: An expression used by Clearsight. E.g., "Screaming scavengers! It sounds just like Professor Truthfinder."
• Salamander-brain: An insult equivalent to squid-brain, associated with stupidity.
• Squid-brain: An insult, calling someone stupid or unintelligent. It seems to be used primarily by SeaWings and is represented by three flashes of the tail-stripes in Aquatic.
• Talons and Tails: A mild exclamation, often used in frustration. E.g., "Talons and tails, he got away!"
• Talons and Teeth: A mild exclamation of pity Darkstalker used. E.g. "Talons and teeth, you poor little dragonet."
• The Three Moons in a bowl: Remark used by Coral when Gill reminds her not to be too hard on the SeaWing Guards assigned to protect their unhatched daughters. It means one doesn't expect something/someone to be perfect. Eg. " I'm not asking for the Three Moons in a bowl! I just want a snack!"
• Three Moons: (and multiple variations of) Exclamation of surprise or exasperation; reference to the three moons. Similar to the expression "good grief."E.g., "Three moons, you scared me."
• Viper-Licking: An insult used to describe an annoying or mean dragon.E.g., "What kind of viper-licking idiot are you?"

Pantalan Slang:

• Moon-Moth: A term used by Cricket to describe a romantic or lovestruck dragon.
• Trolls: An insult that was used by Admiral. It is similar to the use of "jerks."
• What in the Hive: Remark used by Pantalans to signal astonishment, shock, or annoyance. Similar to the phrase, "What in the world?" E.g., "What in the Hive …?"
• Thank Clearsight: Remark used by HiveWings and SilkWings, similar to "Thank goodness." E.g., "Thank Clearsight you're okay!"
• By Clearsight: Exclamatory remark used exclusively by Pantalans, similar to "good grief." This remark's origins are likely in Pantalan history, with Clearsight being worshipped by many Pantalans for her journey and delivery of visions of the future. E.g., "By Clearsight! What's wrong with you?"
• By the Hive: Remark used by Pantalans to signal astonishment or irritation. E.g., "By the Hive, what a bore it must be to be wingless."
• Fight me like a reptile: A taunt used by Sundew. It is similar to "Face/Fight me like a man."
• Level the wind currents: A metaphor used by Belladonna. It is similar to "Level the playing field."
• I don't care two frogs: A statement used by Sundew. It is similar to "I don't give two craps."

Human Slang:

• Wings above: A human exclamation of shock, irritation, or fear. E.g., "Wings above! Stop standing around and help me!"
• Fire butts: An exclamation of frustration. It was used by Wren. E.g., "Oh, fire butts."