Preface to ‘The Guild of Worshipful Compendologists’ Almanack’
The Foster Concise Compendium of Definitions was discovered in a cavern under the Great Metropolis, and is believed to date from the mid-21st century. It is remarkably singular for a compendium of the era, in that there exist clear links between certain definitions, as illustrated below by the oft cited 'Man and Earth’:
man - noun \ˈman, in compounds ˌman or mən\ 1 d : a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens) distinguished especially by notable development of the brain with a resultant capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning, is usually considered to form a variable number of freely interbreeding races which inhabit the planet Earth, and is the sole living representative of the hominid family. <Napoleon Bonaparte><Jon Tickle><Kevin Rowland>
Middle English, from Old English man, mon human being; akin to Old High German man human being, Sanskrit manu
E.g There was once a man called Lars
Who had a bad case of SARS*
*Severe acute respiratory syndrome
earth - noun \ˈərth\ 1 a : the planet on which we live.
Middle English erthe, from Old English eorthe; akin to Old High German erda earth, Greek era
E.g He said ‘The air on this earth
is no good for my mirth’
So now he is living on Mars
Theorists have long maintained that there exists a causal chain which links the entire compendium together, using each definition only once. They maintain that, once decoded, the Compendium will reveal the long lost third volume of Malepth and tell of the Sixth Coming. Artificial Intelligence has long proved ineffective at decoding the Compendium; the most ambitious attempt was made by the great scholar Truskdu of the Citadel of Watford. His attempt, though congruous and a landmark in the field of Compendiology, used just 76,000 of the 303,074 defintions, and was forced to use the term ‘Brantano’ over six hundred times.
WE asked our most avid practitioners to submit their best discoveries. Here is one of our favorites, sent in by David, 8, from the Lower Plate region, entitled ‘Winged Terror’.
Winged Terror
-p·tera - noun combining form - \-pt(ə)rə\ : organism or organisms having (such or so many) wings or winglike parts —in taxonomic names especially in zoology<Hymenoptera> <Physaloptera>
New Latin, from Greek, neuter plural of -pteros -pterous
E.g On her third day in the wilderness she fled from a great swarm of hymenopterans.
-p·ter·ous - adjective combining form \pt(ə)rəs\ : having (so many or such) wings or winglike parts<anisopterous> <hexapterous> <hymenopterous>
Greek -pteros -winged, from pteron wing, feather
E.g Not since the days of Khepri had such a multitude of hymenopterous creatures been seen in those parts.
pteron - noun \ˈteˌrän, ˈtiˌr-\ : (of a classical temple) a passageway between the walls of the cella and the columns of the peristyle.
Latin, from Greek, literally, wing, feather
E.g Had she not fallen through the undergrowth into the pteron of the Long Since Forgotten Temple Of Boreas, God Of The North Wind And Bringer Of Winter, the seething mass would have fallen upon her with the wrath of a thousand years of injustice. Her blood, confused by so much ancient poison, would have spewed forth from her eyes and fingers in a dying homage to the Superman® that did not save her.
cel·la - noun \ˈselə\ : the principal enclosed chamber of a classical temple, containing the statue of the deity. <naos><chamber><enclosure>
Latin: storeroom, shrine, akin to cēlāre to hide, see kel-1 in Indo-European roots
E.g I crawled into the cella to seek further refuge. Not since the days of the days of Khepri had the Temple Of Boreas been used as a sanctuary. I found a match and lit it. The stone roof hangs just above my head. The statue of Boreas rises high into the air in front of me, head bowed, stone eyes burning into the ground, his two great wings folded across his back.
de·i·ty - noun \ˈdē-ə-tē, ˈdā-\ 1 : A god or goddess; a supernatural power as worshipped by a people, religion or cult. <Huitzilopochtli><Lei Gong><Faravahar><The Divine Incubus><Boreas>
3 : b) A representation of a god or goddess, such as a statue or carving:
Middle English deitee, from Anglo-French deité, from Late Latin deitat-, deitas, from Latin deus god; akin to Old English Tīw, god of war, Latin divus god, dies day, Greek dios heavenly, Sanskrit deva heavenly, god
E.g She turned to leave but she was surrounded by stone. She lit another match and the statue rose high into the air, eyes fixed on her lithe body. In the flickering light of the flame a wry grin spread across his face. She could feel the seething, pulsating, raging, churning within the corporeal form of the deity. The marmoral body burning with the light of epochs of inertia. There could be heard an eon-shattering roar as he spread his wings.
in·cu·bus - noun \ˈiŋ-kyə-bəs, ˈin-\ 2 : an imaginary demon or evil spirit supposed to descend upon sleeping persons, and are associated with feelings of intense terror.
Middle English < Late Latin: a nightmare induced by such ademon, noun derivative of Latin incubāre to lie upon;
E.g. His eyes pulsed with man's greed. Terror grips my throat with a marble hand. He presses himself down into my chest, he is the divine incubus. The walls close in until all I can feel is his cold hard burning form inside me. I am the eternal sacrifice.
The Foster Concise Compendium of Definitions was discovered in a cavern under the Great Metropolis, and is believed to date from the mid-21st century. It is remarkably singular for a compendium of the era, in that there exist clear links between certain definitions, as illustrated below by the oft cited 'Man and Earth’:
man - noun \ˈman, in compounds ˌman or mən\ 1 d : a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens) distinguished especially by notable development of the brain with a resultant capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning, is usually considered to form a variable number of freely interbreeding races which inhabit the planet Earth, and is the sole living representative of the hominid family. <Napoleon Bonaparte><Jon Tickle><Kevin Rowland>
Middle English, from Old English man, mon human being; akin to Old High German man human being, Sanskrit manu
E.g There was once a man called Lars
Who had a bad case of SARS*
*Severe acute respiratory syndrome
earth - noun \ˈərth\ 1 a : the planet on which we live.
Middle English erthe, from Old English eorthe; akin to Old High German erda earth, Greek era
E.g He said ‘The air on this earth
is no good for my mirth’
So now he is living on Mars
Theorists have long maintained that there exists a causal chain which links the entire compendium together, using each definition only once. They maintain that, once decoded, the Compendium will reveal the long lost third volume of Malepth and tell of the Sixth Coming. Artificial Intelligence has long proved ineffective at decoding the Compendium; the most ambitious attempt was made by the great scholar Truskdu of the Citadel of Watford. His attempt, though congruous and a landmark in the field of Compendiology, used just 76,000 of the 303,074 defintions, and was forced to use the term ‘Brantano’ over six hundred times.
WE asked our most avid practitioners to submit their best discoveries. Here is one of our favorites, sent in by David, 8, from the Lower Plate region, entitled ‘Winged Terror’.
Winged Terror
-p·tera - noun combining form - \-pt(ə)rə\ : organism or organisms having (such or so many) wings or winglike parts —in taxonomic names especially in zoology<Hymenoptera> <Physaloptera>
New Latin, from Greek, neuter plural of -pteros -pterous
E.g On her third day in the wilderness she fled from a great swarm of hymenopterans.
-p·ter·ous - adjective combining form \pt(ə)rəs\ : having (so many or such) wings or winglike parts<anisopterous> <hexapterous> <hymenopterous>
Greek -pteros -winged, from pteron wing, feather
E.g Not since the days of Khepri had such a multitude of hymenopterous creatures been seen in those parts.
pteron - noun \ˈteˌrän, ˈtiˌr-\ : (of a classical temple) a passageway between the walls of the cella and the columns of the peristyle.
Latin, from Greek, literally, wing, feather
E.g Had she not fallen through the undergrowth into the pteron of the Long Since Forgotten Temple Of Boreas, God Of The North Wind And Bringer Of Winter, the seething mass would have fallen upon her with the wrath of a thousand years of injustice. Her blood, confused by so much ancient poison, would have spewed forth from her eyes and fingers in a dying homage to the Superman® that did not save her.
cel·la - noun \ˈselə\ : the principal enclosed chamber of a classical temple, containing the statue of the deity. <naos><chamber><enclosure>
Latin: storeroom, shrine, akin to cēlāre to hide, see kel-1 in Indo-European roots
E.g I crawled into the cella to seek further refuge. Not since the days of the days of Khepri had the Temple Of Boreas been used as a sanctuary. I found a match and lit it. The stone roof hangs just above my head. The statue of Boreas rises high into the air in front of me, head bowed, stone eyes burning into the ground, his two great wings folded across his back.
de·i·ty - noun \ˈdē-ə-tē, ˈdā-\ 1 : A god or goddess; a supernatural power as worshipped by a people, religion or cult. <Huitzilopochtli><Lei Gong><Faravahar><The Divine Incubus><Boreas>
3 : b) A representation of a god or goddess, such as a statue or carving:
Middle English deitee, from Anglo-French deité, from Late Latin deitat-, deitas, from Latin deus god; akin to Old English Tīw, god of war, Latin divus god, dies day, Greek dios heavenly, Sanskrit deva heavenly, god
E.g She turned to leave but she was surrounded by stone. She lit another match and the statue rose high into the air, eyes fixed on her lithe body. In the flickering light of the flame a wry grin spread across his face. She could feel the seething, pulsating, raging, churning within the corporeal form of the deity. The marmoral body burning with the light of epochs of inertia. There could be heard an eon-shattering roar as he spread his wings.
in·cu·bus - noun \ˈiŋ-kyə-bəs, ˈin-\ 2 : an imaginary demon or evil spirit supposed to descend upon sleeping persons, and are associated with feelings of intense terror.
Middle English < Late Latin: a nightmare induced by such ademon, noun derivative of Latin incubāre to lie upon;
E.g. His eyes pulsed with man's greed. Terror grips my throat with a marble hand. He presses himself down into my chest, he is the divine incubus. The walls close in until all I can feel is his cold hard burning form inside me. I am the eternal sacrifice.