Thursday, May 23, 2013

Herbal Terminology for Role Playing Games



I'm in the process of making a fairly comprehensive herb-related document which could be used for about any game - it has information and random charts, for randomly generating known plants as well as new ones.

I have to do a lot of research for various aspects and I'm putting these up as a kindness to other gamers looking for info on the topic of the various etymology (origins) and meanings of a lot of typical herbal/botanical terms, with examples.



Apple = round; any non-berry fruit (crab apple)
Bane = slay, wound (wolfbane)
Bar = red or fruit (barberry)
Bay = berry or seed (bay leaf, bayberry)
Bell(a) = fair or pretty (belladonna)
Bil = roots or ball (bilberry)
Boysenberry = named after “inventor”
Choke = poisonous or very acidic (chokeberry, chokecherry)
Clote = burdock, cloud, clod
Conkle/Conker = conch shell (conkerberry)
Cran = crane (cranberry)
Cress = devour or grass (watercress)
Donna = lady (belladonna)
Fal = call or invite, curved blade or grey (falberry)
Farkle = sparkle (farkleberry)
Hack = hag, meaning "bird cherry" (hackberry)
Haw = hedge or fence (hawthorn)
Hem = hops (hemlock)
Huckle = hook/coffin handle (huckleberry)
Lock = like/akin (hemlock)
Meg = musk (nutmeg)
Mul = dull/dark (mulberry)
Nard = name of tree or smell, aromatic unguent (spikenard)
Poke = N. American: stain, smoke, dye, possibly sack, puck (poke salad)
Privet = prime or first (privet berry)
Quarters = tithing time bloom, area, fourth or side of meat (lamb's quarters)
Rasp = sweet, rose colored wine (raspberry)
Ri = another/repeating or laughter (riberry)
Ruff = turbulent, wading bird, swagger, frilled (woodruff)
Saxifrage = "herb"
Seal = crowd/bunch, fastening emblem or plough or crop (goldenseal, solomon's seal)
Serviceberry = blooms when religious services are common
Snap = beak, mouth, quick movement, bite (snapdragon)
Sop = gift to appease or wisdom (sweetsop)
Sorrel = sour or reddish brown or yellowish brown (wood sorrel)
Spike = ear of grain, thorn, nail, splinter (spikenard)
Tay = engineered; named after river (tayberry)
Tea = inner integrity and power (teaberry and tea)
Whortle = hurtle (whortleberry)
Wim/Whin = whistle/whiz through air (wimberry)
Wort = weed (mugwort)
Wrack = marine vegetation, seaweed, kelp (sugar wrack)

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