A Lexicon of Mediatan (transcript)

Being a Comprehensive Dictionary of the Mediatan Tongue, Compiled for the Use of Scholars, Merchants, Diplomats, and the Curious Traveller

Compiled by Relshan Kortis
Senior Linguist, Arakcadian Institute of Linguistic Studies

First Edition — Published by the Arakcadia Royal Library Press, 584 NA

Foreword

This lexicon represents the first attempt to gather, in a single volume, the known vocabulary of the Mediatan language into an ordered and accessible reference. It has been a labour of many seasons—of dust-choked roads between villages, of firelit conversations with elders who were kind enough to speak slowly for my pen, and of long hours cross-referencing my notes against the invaluable fieldwork of Rothmar Ironquill and others at our Institute.

I must stress from the outset what this dictionary is and what it is not. It is a collation of attested words: terms verified through multiple sources, whether the comparative wordlists of the Institute, the living speech of savannah communities, folk texts recorded by scholars, or the inscriptions near Arakcadia Bay. It is not an invention. Where I have been uncertain of a word's precise meaning or its boundaries of usage, I have said so. Where dialectal variation exists, I have noted it. I have resisted the temptation—so strong in a lexicographer—to fill gaps with supposition.

The reader will observe that Mediatan vocabulary clusters richly around certain domains: the land and its grasses, trade and the road, kinship and community, the body and its ailments, and the spiritual life of a people who see kam—spirit, life force—threaded through all things. Other domains are thinner, relying on loanwords from Xeamian, Veurim, or Zilaphelian neighbours to express concepts that the savannah alone did not demand. This unevenness is not a deficiency. It is a portrait.

A note on organisation: entries are arranged alphabetically by their romanised transcription, which follows the conventions established in the Institute's Handbook of Canaanese Languages. Roots and bound morphemes are listed separately from free words, marked with a hyphen to indicate their dependent status. Loanwords are identified by their language of origin. Grammatical affixes receive their own section at the rear of the volume.

I hope this lexicon finds use on trading floors and in classrooms, in diplomatic chambers and around campfires. If it brings even one reader closer to understanding the people of the savannah—their warmth, their caution, their quiet pride—then the dust on my boots has been worthwhile.

Relshan Kortis Arakcadia, Harvest-month, 584 NA

Guide to the Reader

Each entry follows this form:

headword · part of speech · definition. Usage notes and context where relevant. Origin: etymological note, if applicable.

Abbreviations employed throughout:

n. — noun
v. — verb
adj. — adjective
adv. — adverb / intensifier
pron. — pronoun
dem. — demonstrative
part. — particle
interj. — interjection
num. — numeral
quant. — quantifier
interrog. — interrogative
conj. — conjunction
postp. — postposition
root — bound morpheme; cannot stand alone
(loan.) — loanword from another language
lit. — literally
cf. — compare with
pl. — plural
coll. — collective
arch. — archaic or ceremonial usage

Stress in Mediatan falls predictably on the penultimate syllable of most words, though suffixation may shift it. This is not individually marked in entries except in unusual cases.

The Lexicon

— A —

akra · n. · a star. Origin: < akum (sky); a light of the heavens.

akum · n. · the sky; the heavens. Used in both literal and spiritual senses. Appears in ceremonial invocations and folk poetry, often marked with the object-emphasis suffix -tu when addressed directly, as one might address the sky in prayer. Attested in the folk tale "The Crane and the Rain": ne tali-in akum-tu, "you speak to the heavens."

akumi · v. · to fly; to soar. Origin: < akum (sky).

akva · n. · a bird. Origin: < akum (sky) + creature element; "sky-thing."

ala · adj. · other; another; a different one.

anu · interrog. · what; which thing. One of the core interrogatives. Example: Anu ne muna? "What do you want?" Cf. shen (who), dalu (which), soha (how many).

ara · v. · to open; to begin; to commence. The free verb formed from the ancient root ara-. Cf. ara-, arsi, talar.

ara- · root · to open; to begin. One of the foundational native roots of Mediatan, carrying meanings related to openings, gateways, dawn, and initiation. Provides the etymological basis for the city name "Arakcadia," which suggests an opening or gateway—fitting for a port connecting disparate regions. Also functions as an interrogative of place in certain constructions; cf. the phrase Ara Arakcadia vel tu? ("Where is Arakcadia indeed?"), where ara serves a locative-interrogative role. Cf. ara, arna, arsha, arsi.

ari · num. · five. Considered sacred in Uinheit religious tradition, reflecting the five gods of the Inner Group who guard the world from corruption. Cf. arisha, arineha.

arineha · num. · seven. Lit. five-no (i.e. five-and-two-more, by a counting logic that treats six as the base and adds one; the precise morphological analysis remains debated among scholars). Cf. ari, neha.

arisha · num. · six. Formed from ari (five) with the addition of a unit. The morpheme -sha in numerical compounds appears to indicate an additive increment, though its origin is uncertain. Cf. ari.

arna · adj. · new; fresh; recent. Origin: < ara- (to begin); that which has newly begun.

arsa · adj. · clean; pure; unspoiled.

arsali · v. · to wash; to cleanse; to bring to a state of cleanliness. Origin: < arsa (clean) + the verbal element -li; "to bring to cleanness." Employed for washing the body, cleaning tools, and—in ritual contexts—the purifying of objects before ceremony. The imperfective arsali-in carries the sense of ongoing cleansing, while arsali-al denotes the completed, ritual act.

arsha · n. · the morning; daybreak. Origin: < ara- (to open); the opening of the day. Cf. rasha (evening), arshan (east).

arshan · n. / adv. · the east; eastward. Origin: < arsha (morning); the direction of sunrise. Cf. rashan, shoshan, keshan, and the directional element -shan.

arsi · v. · to wake; to awaken; to rouse. Origin: < ara- (to open); the opening of the eyes.

aru · n. · water. A core vocabulary item appearing across all dialects without significant variation. Featured prominently in polite requests: Aru-tu basir ("Water, please," with object-emphasis). The word carries no metaphorical extensions of the kind found in desert languages; water in Mediatan is simply water—vital, but not mythologised. Cf. arula, arun, arusi, arva, arvan, arudal.

arudal · n. · a well; a watering hole; a communal water-source. Origin: < aru (water) + dal (place); "the water-place." The compound follows the productive pattern of teqdal (market, "trade-place") and shedal (village, "community-place"). In the deep savannah, where rivers are seasonal and rainfall uncertain, the arudal is more than a practical structure—it is the physical centre of daily social life, the place where news circulates, disputes are raised, and the bonds of community are maintained through the shared act of drawing water. During the vesharu (dry season), the arudal may be the only reliable source of aru in a community's territory. Cf. aru, aruntira, vesharu.

arula · adj. / n. · blue. Origin: < aru (water). A compound colour-term of the kind grammarians predict for the secondary hues; "water-coloured." Cf. the colour formant -la.

arulun · n. · mist; fog; a low-hanging water-cloud. Origin: < aru (water) + lulun (cloud), with the final vowel of aru elided before the following consonant; "water-cloud." Distinct from lulun, which refers to the sky's high clouds that carry or withhold the rains; arulun describes the ground-level vapour that settles in river valleys before dawn and after light rains. Savannah elders sometimes call the arulun "the world's slow breathing."

arun · n. · rain. Among the most culturally weighted nouns in the savannah lexicon, where the coming of the rains is the difference between plenty and famine. Origin: < aru (water); the water that falls from akum. Cf. lulun eqa, "the cloud's favour."

aruntira · n. · the wet season; the rains; the season of rainfall. Origin: < arun (rain) + tira (day); "rain-days." The more common colloquial contraction arunim is attested in some eastern dialects, though the full form aruntira prevails in formal and ceremonial speech. The wet season is the fulcrum of savannah life: rivers fill, grasses surge, crops are planted and grow, and communities that were dispersed by the vesharu's hardships reconvene at shared grounds for trade, ceremony, and the renewing of bonds. Many of the most important kamali (ceremonies) are timed to the first rains, understood as eqa—a favour bestowed by the land itself. Cf. vesharu, arun, tira.

arusi · v. · to swim. Origin: < aru (water).

arva · adj. · wet; damp; moist. Origin: < aru (water).

arvan · n. · a river; a stream; flowing water. Origin: < aru (water) + -an.

arvi · adv. · again; once more; anew. Origin: < ara- (to begin); to begin again.

— B —

bani · v. · to bring; to fetch; to bear toward. Origin: < bori (to carry) + motion toward the speaker. Cf. bori, soni.

basi · v. · to ask; to request; to entreat. Origin: < basir (please). Cf. tendi (to answer).

basir · part. / interj. · please; kindly. Lit. "(I) ask humbly." Conventionally appended to the end of a request, though modern urban usage increasingly permits sentence-initial placement for special emphasis. One of the most essential words for the traveller to master, as its use signals respect and cultural awareness. Omission in formal or unfamiliar contexts may be perceived as rudeness. Cf. basi.

bora · adj. · heavy; weighty; burdensome. Origin: < bori (to carry); that which must be carried with effort.

bori · v. · to carry; to bear; to bear a load. Cf. bani, bora, soni.

brashi · v. · to fear; to be afraid; to dread. Origin: < brasti (cold wind); fear conceived as a cold feeling that moves through the body.

brasi · adj. · cold; chill. Origin: < brasti (cold wind).

brasti · n. (loan.) · a cold wind. Borrowed from Zilaphelian, where it refers more specifically to the harsh highland gales. In Mediatan, the word is employed primarily in poetic or elevated registers—one is unlikely to hear it in a marketplace. A savannah farmer describing the chill wind before the rains would reach for a native term; a poet composing verses about distant mountains might choose brasti for its exotic colour. Cf. brashi, brasi, shavu (native "wind").

— D —

da · adv. · now (colloquial, clipped form). Origin: < dal (this); "this [moment]." The fuller form dama is preferred in careful speech.

dal · dem. · this; here (of a place). Used as a demonstrative pronoun or adjective, most commonly in reference to locations or lands. Attested in the phrase Dal esha kam-tu, "This place has spirit," an expression of reverence for sacred ground or the savannah itself. Cf. lal (that), dama (now), davi (here).

dala · adj. · same; identical; the very same. Origin: < dal (this).

dalan · n. · a land; a country; a region. Origin: < dal (place) + -an.

dalu · interrog. · which; which one. Origin: < dal (this); "this—which?"

dama · adv. · now; at this moment; presently. Origin: < dal (this) + mara (time). Cf. da, lema (then).

dani · v. · to sit; to be seated; to settle. Cf. tasi (to stand), lasi (to lie down).

daraa · n. (loan.) · a port; a harbour. Borrowed from Xeamian during the Age of Peace, when coastal trade between Mediatan-speaking peoples and Xeamian merchants flourished. The word retains its original Xeamian phonological form with minimal adaptation, suggesting relatively recent adoption into the language. Used primarily in coastal and urban contexts; interior villages with no connection to maritime trade may not employ it at all.

datira · n. / adv. · today; this day. Origin: < da (now) + tira (day). Cf. santira (tomorrow), raltira (yesterday).

davi · adv. · here; in this place. Origin: < dal (this) + vi (at). Cf. lavi (there).

dele-sha · v. · to heal; to cure. A compound form, likely related to the root delel (to arrive, bearing calm) with the verbal extension -sha, suggesting "to bring peace to the body." Used in both practical and spiritual healing contexts. Cf. delel, kamha-lin.

delel · v. · to arrive; to come bearing peace or calm. Carries connotations beyond mere physical arrival—implies that one approaches with benign intent. Central to the important greeting formula Ye delel mohal ("I arrive bearing calm"), spoken when approaching an unfamiliar community. The word thus sits at the intersection of movement and diplomacy, a characteristically Mediatan fusion. Cf. sani, vani.

delara · n. / interj. · pardon; sorry. An expression of apology or request for forgiveness, used in everyday social interaction. Lighter in tone than a formal atonement—suitable for bumping someone in a crowded market, not for grave offences.

dreha · adj. · difficult; hard (of a task); demanding. Cf. luha (easy), kreta (hard, of a substance).

dula · adj. / n. · brown; earth-coloured. Origin: < duma (earth). Cf. the colour formant -la.

duma · n. · earth; soil; the ground. Cf. dalan (land), kara (stone).

dur · postp. · behind; after (in space or time). Follows the noun it governs. Example: tira dur, "after the day / behind the day." Cf. kor (before).

dura · adj. · old; worn; aged (of things, not persons). Origin: < dur (behind, past); that which lies in the past. Cf. lamri (old, of persons), arna (new).

— E —

en · postp. · of; belonging to (genitive marker). Used to mark possession or association, placed between possessed and possessor: tal en ye, "the house of me / my house." In casual speech the marker is often dropped and possession shown by simple juxtaposition (tal ye). See Appendix IV on possession.

enu · conj. · if; in the case that. Introduces a conditional clause. Example: Enu ne sani, ye mohal, "If you come, I am at peace."

eqa · n. · favour; blessing (particularly of nature or the divine). Attested in the folk-tale compound lulun eqa, "the cloud's favour," referring to the savannah's longing for rain. The word suggests a grace bestowed rather than earned—one does not demand eqa, one hopes for it. Cf. eqi.

eqi · v. · to hope; to wish for; to long for. Origin: < eqa (favour); to hope is to await a favour.

esha · v. · to have; to possess; to hold within. Used both for ordinary possession (Ye esha tal, "I have a house") and, more characteristically, for inherent qualities or spiritual attributes. Attested in the phrase Dal esha kam-tu, "This place has spirit," where the having is intrinsic, not transactional. Cf. tanu (to hold, to keep).

— F —

fal · postp. · from; out of; away from. Also used as the standard of comparison ("than"). Follows the noun it governs. Example: Ye sani daraa fal, "I come from the port." See Appendix IV on comparison. Cf. ven (to, toward).

fala · adj. · far; distant; remote. Origin: < fal (from). Cf. vina (near).

fali · n. · the ear. One of the basic body-part terms. Phonologically straightforward and consistent across dialects. Cf. shuna (to hear).

fani · v. · to find; to discover; to come upon. Cf. mishi (to lose), tanu (to hold).

fari · v. · to drink. One of the core verbs of daily life. Conjugated with the standard aspectual suffixes: fari-in (drinking, ongoing), fari-al (drank, completed).

faru · num. · four.

faselu · n. · a stranger; an outsider; one from afar. Origin: < fala (far) + shelu (person). Cf. sanelu (guest), shelu.

fashu · n. · a spouse; a marriage partner; a chosen bond-companion. Gender-neutral, as is typical of Mediatan nouns. Context or additional lexical specification clarifies the gender of the referent when relevant. The word implies a bond of choice rather than of blood—one does not become fashu by accident of birth but by deliberate commitment. This connotation makes fashu a favoured word among poets: in the proverb Kam-ral kam-li, fashu krasha lu-ral, death and life are called fashu—spouses, chosen partners—implying that their bond, too, is willed rather than merely inevitable.

fendi · v. · to trust; to believe (in a person); to rely upon. Cf. noli (to know a fact).

fina · n. · the nose.

— G —

goja · adv. · also; too; as well. Origin: < gojen (together); "in company with [what was said before]."

goji · v. · to help; to assist; to aid. Origin: < gojen (communally). Cf. kovi (to protect).

gojen · adv. · together; communally; in the manner of a group. Attested in the phrase Yera shakra gojen, "We group-eat together," an invitation to share a meal. The word carries warmth—it is not merely spatial proximity but shared purpose and fellowship. Cf. shel, goja, goji.

— H —

hala · adj. · happy; glad; joyful. Origin: < hali (to laugh). Cf. krasa (sad).

hali · v. · to laugh; to be merry. Cf. krashi (to weep).

halu · num. · two. Cf. halushel (both).

halushel · quant. · both; the two together. Origin: < halu (two) + shel (together).

— K —

kam- · root · spirit; life; life force. One of the most culturally significant roots in Mediatan, pervading religious, medical, and social vocabulary. Words derived from kam- overwhelmingly carry positive connotations and appear frequently in blessings, greetings, and ritual language. The root connects physical vitality, spiritual essence, and communal wellbeing into a single semantic domain—a fact that reveals much about Mediatan metaphysics. Crucially, the Mediatan words for "to live" and "to die" are not separate concepts as they are in Zarkhan or Zilaphelian. They are inflections of the same spirit: kam-li (spirit-ongoing) and kam-ral (spirit-completed). Life is the soul in motion; death is the soul at rest. They are, grammatically and philosophically, the same word in two states. This is a distinction unique among Canaan's languages, and one that has not escaped the notice of poets—see kamrali. Cf. kama, kamha, kamha-lin, kamali, kam-li, kam-ral, kamrali, kamora, kamu, kamsana, kamura, karma.

kama · n. · the soul; the animating spirit; the life essence of a person. Derived from the root kam-. Central to Mediatan spiritual thought, where the soul is understood not as a separate substance trapped in the body but as the vital current that connects an individual to community and land alike. Cf. kava (the body).

kamha · n. · a blessing; a benediction. Derived from the root kam- with the suffix -ha. Appears in the standard expression of gratitude, Zhem kamha ("Freedom blessing," i.e. "Thank you"), and in numerous ritual and ceremonial contexts. To offer kamha is to wish the life force upon another.

kamha-lin · n. · medicine; a curative preparation. Lit. "blessing-substance" or "spirit-remedy," compounding kamha (blessing) with -lin. The term reflects the Mediatan understanding that healing is as much spiritual as physical—a medicine carries the blessing of life within it. Cf. dele-sha.

kamali · n. · a ceremony; a ritual gathering; a communal spiritual occasion. *Origin: < kam- (spirit) + the element -ali, of uncertain morphological status; "a spirit-occasion." The precise analysis of -ali is unresolved: it does not appear as a productive suffix elsewhere in the attested lexicon, and may represent either a lexicalized compound of *-al* (completion) + -i (nominalising element, as in lumeli), or a frozen derivational suffix that once operated more broadly. Whatever its history, the meaning is clear and the word is unambiguous. The kamali is the foundational ritual structure of savannah communal life: gatherings that mark the seasons, the passing of elders, the coming of age, the beginning of the rains, and the honouring of the kamura (ancestors). They are led by the lamora and accompanied by vasha (drums), sola (songs), and rumi (dance). The kamali is not merely a religious event—it is the mechanism by which community knowledge, history, and identity are transmitted from one generation to the next. A people without kamali is, in Mediatan thought, a people without memory. Cf. vasha, sola, rumi, kamura.*

kam-li · v. · to live; to be alive. Lit. "to have spirit" or "to possess life force." Compound of the root kam- with the verbal element -li. Cf. kam-ral.

kam-ral · v. · to die; to cease living. Lit. "spirit-completed" or "life-finished," combining kam- with what appears to be the perfective suffix -al and an intervening element. The euphemistic quality of the term is notable: death is framed not as destruction but as completion. Cf. kam-li, kamrali, ralsi (to kill).

kamora · n. · a god; a great or eternal spirit; a deity. Origin: < kam- (spirit) + -ora (an element of greatness or eldership, cf. lamora). Used of the gods of the Uinheit pantheon and of powerful spirits generally.

kamrali · n. · (poetic / philosophical neologism) · the state of being simultaneously dead and alive; the grief of a spirit divided against itself; an unresolved ending. A portmanteau fusing kam-ral (spirit-completed, death) and kam-li (spirit-ongoing, life) into a single word that deliberately violates Mediatan grammar—a verb in Mediatan may take either the perfective -al (completed) or the imperfective -li (ongoing), but never both. Kamrali applies both at once, and the impossibility is the meaning. The soul that has finished and the soul that continues, pressed together like two hands. Any native speaker would hear the two words buried inside and feel the grammatical wrongness the way one feels a dissonant chord—not as an error, but as an ache. There is no clean translation into Common. The word appears most notably in the proverb Kam-ral kam-li, fashu krasha lu-ral and in the funerary expression kamrali shel (q.v. Appendix III). Cf. kam-ral, kam-li, shel.

kamu · n. · self; one's own being; oneself. Used reflexively and emphatically. Origin: < kam- (spirit); one's own spirit. Example: Ye kamu, "I myself."

kamsana · n. · fate; destiny; the spirit's path. Origin: < kam- (spirit) + san (a path, a way) + the nominal suffix -a; "the path that the spirit travels." Mediatan thought does not conceive of fate as a fixed decree imposed from without—the kamora do not dictate kamsana. Rather, kamsana is understood as the trajectory that naturally emerges from the nature of one's own kama (soul): one's fate is the road that one's spirit is already walking. Whether or not it can be altered is a matter of ongoing debate between the community's lamora, and remains one of the great unresolved questions of savannah philosophy.

kamura · n. · an ancestor; a spirit of the lineage; one of the honoured dead. Origin: < kam- (spirit) + -ura, an element of eldership found also in lamora (elder); "the elder spirit." The kamura are understood not as the fully departed—the idea of a spirit wholly gone is difficult to accommodate within Mediatan metaphysics—but as those whose kama has completed its living form while remaining connected to the community through memory, ceremony, and the lusaral (burial). The kamura are addressed in ceremony, invoked before important decisions, and remembered through motina (offerings). To act in ways that would shame the kamura is considered among the gravest of social failures. Cf. kamali, motina, lusaral.

kara · n. · a stone; a rock. Cf. kreta (hard), duma (earth).

karma · n. · the heart (the organ and, by extension, the seat of emotion and spirit). Derived from the root kam-, reflecting the Mediatan perspective that the heart is the dwelling-place of the life force. The similarity to kama (soul) is not coincidental—in savannah thought, heart and soul are intimately linked. Cf. karmi.

karmi · v. · to feel; to experience emotion or sensation. Origin: < karma (heart); "to heart." Cf. sheli (to love), brashi (to fear).

kava · n. · the body; the physical form. Cf. kama (the soul).

kavan · n. · the chest; the upper trunk; the front of the body. Origin: < kava (body) + the expanse-suffix -an; "the foremost expanse of the body." The kavan is understood in Mediatan thought as the body's face toward the world—the part one presents when one delel (arrives in peace), the surface against which another's hand is placed in formal greeting in some communities. It is distinct from the karma (heart), which dwells within it. Cf. kava, karma.

kel · conj. · but; yet; however. Joins two clauses in contrast. Example: Ye muna sani, kel ye neha muli, "I want to come, but I cannot."

kemi · adj. · hot; warm. Cf. brasi (cold), kemu (fire).

kemu · n. · fire; flame. Origin: < kemi (hot).

kemula · adj. / n. · orange; fire-coloured. Origin: < kemu (fire) + the colour formant -la; "fire-coloured." The second of the secondary hues in the -la colour system, following shola (yellow, "sand-coloured"). In the savannah, orange is strongly associated with the evening sky as the sun sets over the luphan, and with the colour of certain flowers that bloom briefly after the first rains. The phrase arsha kemula ("an orange morning") is considered an ill omen in some communities—a red sky at dawn has different connotations than a properly gold-and-pink one. Cf. the colour formant -la.

kemuri · v. · to cook; to prepare food with fire. Origin: < kemu (fire) + the verbal suffix -ri; "to apply fire [to food]." Distinct from shakri (to eat), which denotes the consumption of food, and from the broader kesi (to make), kemuri specifies the culinary act. Conjugated normally: kemuri-in ("cooking, in the act of"), kemuri-al ("cooked, prepared"). The word carries slight connotations of hospitality—to kemuri for another is to commit one's fire to their nourishment, which is not a trivial gesture on the open savannah where fuel must often be gathered and conserved. Cf. shakri, shakra, kemu.

kena · conj. / adv. · then; so; therefore; in that case. Marks consequence. Example: Arun sela, kena yera dani davi, "It is raining, so let us sit here."

kesa · adj. · short (in length); brief. Cf. vena (long).

kesha · n. · a tooth.

kesi · v. · to do; to make; to build; to fashion. The general verb of action and creation. Example: Anu ne kesi-in? "What are you doing / making?"

ket · postp. · on; upon; on top of. Follows the noun it governs. Cf. zal (under), keta, keti.

keta · adj. · high; lofty; tall (of things and places). Origin: < ket (on, up). Cf. zala (low).

keti · v. · to rise; to climb; to ascend. Origin: < ket (up). Cf. zali (to fall).

keshan · n. / adv. · the north; northward. Origin: cardinal-direction series; cf. arshan, rashan, shoshan, and the directional element -shan.

kor · postp. · before; in front of; ahead of (in space or time). Follows the noun it governs. Example: tal kor, "in front of the house." Cf. dur (behind, after).

korash · n. · a storm; a thunderstorm; a violent weather event. The basic term for a storm in all its forms—wind, rain, lightning, and thunder together. Savannah storms arrive fast and hit hard; the word korash carries an urgency absent from the gentler weather vocabulary (arulun, arun). In ceremonial contexts, the korash is sometimes spoken of as an outburst of the akum's emotion—the sky's version of krasha. Cf. krashu, lumeli, arun, shavu.*

kovi · v. · to guard; to protect; to defend; to keep safe. Cf. goji (to help), vekri (to fight).

krasa · adj. · sad; sorrowful; grieving. Origin: < krasha (grief). Cf. hala (happy).

krasha · n. / interj. · 1. a cry; a plea; an exclamation. 2. grief; sorrow; lamentation. Onomatopoeic in origin, evoking the sound of distant thunder. In its first sense, used as a verb-like exclamation meaning "cry out!" or "call upon!" in poetry and prayer. In its second sense, employed as a modifier denoting deep sorrow, as in fashu krasha ("grieving lovers"). The dual meaning is fitting: the cry of thunder and the cry of mourning share a quality of vastness, of sound rolling across open ground without comfort. Attested in the folk tale "The Crane and the Rain": Krasha lu, krasha kam, "Cry for the land, cry for the spirit." Cf. krasa, krashi, krashu.

krashi · v. · to weep; to cry; to lament. Origin: < krasha (cry, grief). Cf. hali (to laugh).

krashu · n. · thunder; the voice of the storm. Origin: < krasha (a cry; grief; the cry of the sky) + the noun-forming element -u; "the sky's great cry." In Mediatan understanding, thunder is not a mechanical phenomenon but an utterance—the akum speaking in grief or anger. The folk tale "The Crane and the Rain" turns on this resonance: the crane's cry (krasha) and the sky's thunder (krashu) share a root, suggesting that lamentation and the natural world echo one another. Cf. korash, lumeli, krasha.

krava · n. · a bone.

kraven · n. · a joint; specifically the knee; the place where bones meet. Origin: < krava (bone) + ven (toward); "the bone-toward," the meeting-place of bones. Mediatan medicine attends carefully to the joints, which are understood as the body's points of negotiation—places where the body chooses its direction of movement. An elder with troubled kraven is said to be "arguing with the path." Cf. krava, shari, sharivan.

kreta · adj. · hard; firm; rigid (of a substance). Cf. muha (soft), dreha (difficult, of a task).

krula · adj. / n. · red. Origin: < krursha (blood); "blood-coloured." Cf. the colour formant -la.

kruna · v. · to hate; to loathe; to despise. Cf. sheli (to love), krunsa (enemy).

krunsa · n. · an enemy; a foe; an adversary. Origin: < kruna (to hate). Cf. nera-sor (friend), faselu (stranger).

krursha · n. · blood. The resemblance to Zarkhan krurroz ("of blood") is noted by comparative linguists, though whether this represents ancient common ancestry or early borrowing remains debated. In Mediatan, the word lacks the oath-related connotations it carries in Zarkhan Veuritz. Cf. krula (red).

ku · conj. · that (complementiser). Introduces a reported or embedded clause. Example: Ye noli ku le sani-al, "I know that he/she came."

kura · interrog. · why; for what reason. Cf. vash (because), mela (how).

— L —

lal · dem. · that; that one (distal). The far counterpart to dal (this). Cf. dal, lavi (there), lema (then).

lamora · n. · an elder; a person of age and wisdom within a community. A term of deep respect in savannah culture, where elders serve as repositories of oral history, mediators of disputes, and keepers of tradition. Cf. lamri, lamoru, lamori.

lamori · n. · a grandmother; the elder woman of one's blood-lineage. Origin: < lamora (elder) + the feminine marker -i; parallel to the pair netara/netari (brother/sister). The lamori occupies a distinct and honoured position in savannah communities. While the lamora (gender-neutral) designates any community elder, lamori and lamoru specify the grandparental relationship—those whose kama was present before one's own parents drew breath. The lamori is often the keeper of the household's oral history, the one who sings the old sola at kamali and tends the motina for the kamura. Cf. lamora, lamoru, kamura.

lamoru · n. · a grandfather; the elder man of one's blood-lineage. Origin: < lamora (elder) + the masculine marker -u; parallel to lamori. Cf. lamori, lamora.

lamri · adj. · old; aged; elderly (of persons). Origin: < lamora (elder). Cf. dura (old, of things), lura (young).

lan · postp. · for; on behalf of; for the sake of (benefactive). Follows the noun it governs. Example: nera-sor lan, "for a friend." Cf. ven (toward), ru (with).

lani · v. · to put; to place; to set down. Cf. tin (to give), bori (to carry).

lasi · v. · to lie down; to recline. Cf. dani (to sit), tasi (to stand).

lavi · adv. · there; in that place. Origin: < lal (that) + vi (at). Cf. davi (here).

le · pron. · he; she; it (third person singular). Gender-neutral, as Mediatan lacks grammatical gender. Speakers add lexical specifications when the gender of the referent is relevant to the discourse. Cf. lera.

leksi · v. · to read. Cf. lekta (to write), maela (word).

lekta · v. · to write; to inscribe. Origin: < leksi (to read).

lema · adv. · then; at that time; back then. Origin: < le (that) + mara (time). Cf. dama (now).

lera · pron. · they; them (third person plural). Formed by applying the standard plural marker -ra to the third person singular le. Cf. le.

lu- · root · grass; field. By metaphorical extension: life, growth, vitality. One of the foundational roots of Mediatan, reflecting the central importance of grassland ecology to the culture. Appears in place names throughout the savannah (notably Lujidia) and in the greeting Luka. Cf. luka, luphan, lulun, lu-ral, lui, lula, lura, lu-shan.

lui · v. · to grow; to flourish; to thrive. Origin: < lu- (grass, growth).

luha · adj. · easy; simple; effortless. Cf. dreha (difficult).

luka · n. / interj. · hello; life; a greeting. Lit. "Life (to you)!" Derived from the root lu- (grass, field, life). The standard informal greeting of Mediatan, suitable for most casual encounters. Carries inherently positive connotations—to greet someone with Luka is to wish them the vitality of the green savannah. Cf. luka-ral, luka-shan.

luka-ral · interj. · goodbye; farewell. Lit. "life-completed," combining luka with the perfective suffix -al. Not morbid in connotation despite the literal sense—rather, it frames the parting as the completion of a shared moment of life together. The encounter has run its natural course.

luka-shan · interj. · beware; danger; take care. Lit. approximately "life-warning." The element -shan here functions as an alert or cautionary modifier; note its homophony with the directional -shan (as in arshan, east), which the language tolerates without confusion. Used to warn of physical threats or dangerous situations.

luksa · adj. / n. · white; light; bright. Origin: < lu- (light/life). The brightness terms luksa and muksa form a pair distinct from the spectral colours in -la. Cf. muksa.

lula · adj. / n. · green. Origin: < lu- (grass); "grass-coloured." Cf. the colour formant -la.

lulun · n. · a cloud. Derived from the root lu- (grass, life), perhaps reflecting the savannah understanding that clouds are the bearers of life-giving rain. Attested in the folk-tale phrase lulun eqa, "the cloud's favour." Cf. arun (rain), arulun (mist).

luma · adj. · light (in weight); not heavy. Cf. bora (heavy).

lumel · n. · the sun. Origin: < lu- (light); "the great light." Cf. nela (moon), akra (star), lumeli (lightning).

lumeli · n. · lightning; the sudden fire of the sky. Origin: < lumel (sun) + the action-nominal element -i; "a sun-strike," an instance of the sun's fire descending. The -i suffix here functions as an action noun marker—it names the event rather than the continuous state, in the same way that certain other -i formations in the language refer to discrete acts rather than ongoing verbs. (The apparent similarity to the verbal -i suffix is noted; Mediatan tolerates this ambiguity, and native speakers do not confuse lumeli with a verb form, as no context calls for such a reading.) Lightning in savannah thought is understood as the sun briefly touching the earth—a fast, violent version of the way lumel nourishes the lu-. Its association with the korash (storm) places it in the register of emergency rather than benediction. Cf. korash, krashu, lumel.

lu-ral · n. (compound, poetic) · the place where the grass ends; the edge of the world; the end of all things. Formed from lu- (grass, field, life) with the perfective suffix -al (completed), yielding a compound that means, literally, "field-completed." But for a savannah people, the place where the grass finally stops is the edge of everything—the end of the world, the end of time. The word appears in the proverb Kam-ral kam-li, fashu krasha lu-ral—"Death and life, grieving lovers at the grass's end." Cf. lu-, luphan, lu-shan.

lusaral · n. · a burial; an interment; the returning of the body to the earth. Origin: < lusa (seed) + the completion element -al; "the seed completed [in the earth]." The metaphor embedded in this term reveals the Mediatan understanding of death and burial not as an ending but as a planting: the body is returned to the duma (earth) as a lusa (seed) at the close of its growing. What precisely is meant to grow from it varies by community—some understand it as the ongoing presence of the kamura in the land itself, others as a more abstract renewal. The lusaral is conducted by the lamora of the community and accompanied by motina (offerings) and, where traditions permit, by the funerary expression kamrali shel. Cf. lusa, kamura, motina, lushin.

lusal · v. · to sow; to plant seed; to commit seed to the earth. Origin: < lusa (seed) + the denominative verbal suffix -al, which in a small class of cases forms activity verbs from nouns (see note in Appendix I). "To perform the act of the seed; to give seed to the earth." The planting of crops is, in savannah thought, an act of both practical survival and spiritual resonance: to lusal is to mirror the lusaral, to place living potential in the earth and trust the aruntira to bring it forth. The word is thus used both in the agricultural sense and, in elevated registers, metaphorically for any act of patient beginning. Cf. lusa, lusaral, lushin.

lushin · n. · grain; a harvested crop; the substance of growth. Origin: < lu- (growth, life) + the substance-suffix -lin (as in kamha-lin, "medicine, blessing-substance"), contracted through regular phonology to -shin; "growth-substance." The word denotes grain in the broad sense—the primary cultivated crop of a given community, whether millet, sorghum, or the varieties grown along the arvan-fed plains east of Arakcadia Bay. That the word for grain shares a root with the word for life (lu-) is remarked upon by speakers in ways that suggest a deep cultural understanding of grain as the material form of life's continuation. Cf. lu-, lusal, lushaki.

lushaki · n. · the harvest; the reaping; the time of gathering. Origin: < lu- (growth) + shakra (food), contracted; "the growth's food," or "the gift of growth." The lushaki is the culmination of the agricultural year—the point at which the patient act of lusal yields its reward. It is accompanied by communal kamali (ceremony) and is one of the few occasions when even the most isolated deep-savannah communities will travel to a shedal or mordal to participate in collective celebration. The word functions as both a noun (the harvest, the event) and, in some dialects, a verb (to harvest, to bring in the crop). Cf. lushin, lusal, shakra, kamali.

lu-shan · n. · the horizon; the edge of the visible world; the place where grass meets sky. Origin: < lu- (grass) + -shan, the directional-edge element (cf. arshan, rashan, luka-shan); "the grass-edge." For a people of the flat savannah, the horizon is not merely a feature of the landscape—it is the boundary of the knowable world, the point at which luphan becomes akum, where the earthly and the spiritual interpenetrate. Scholars have noted that lu-shan shares its suffix with luka-shan (beware), and while homophony is generally tolerated in Mediatan without ambiguity, the proximity of meanings is not coincidental: the horizon is a gentle warning, a reminder that beyond the edge of the grass lies the unknown. Travellers departing for long journeys are sometimes told: Ne vespin-in lu-shan-tu—"You are travelling toward the horizon"—which is simultaneously encouragement and caution. Cf. lu-, luphan, lu-ral, luka-shan.

luphan · n. · the savannah; open grassland. A compound from lu- (grass) with the element -phan, denoting expanse or breadth. The word that Mediatan speakers use for their homeland in its most elemental sense—not a political entity but the living landscape itself. Cf. dalan (a land, a country).

lura · adj. · young; fresh; new-grown (of living things). Origin: < lu- (fresh growth). Cf. lamri (old, of persons).

lusa · n. · a seed. Origin: < lu- (growth); the origin of the grass. (The savannah proverb "a people's words are the seeds of their soul" turns upon this image.)

lusha · n. · hair (of the head); a hair. Origin: perhaps < lu- (grass); the grass of the body.

lushu · n. · a grazing animal; a herd-beast. The savannah keeps many words of fine distinction for its grazing herds; lushu is the generic term. Origin: < lu- (grass) + beast element; "grass-eater." Cf. shuva (animal).

lutan · n. · a tree. Origin: < lu- (plant) + -tan.

luva · n. · a plant; vegetation; growing things. Origin: < lu-.

luvan · n. · a year; a full cycle of growth and harvest. Origin: < lu- (the growth-cycle).

luvel · n. · a flower; a blossom. Origin: < lu-.

luven · n. · rope; cord; a length of twisted binding. Origin: < lu- (grass) + ven (toward); "the grass stretched toward [something else]"—that is, the grass drawn out and reaching from one point to another, which captures both the material and the function of savannah rope. Rope on the savannah is made from twisted grass-fibre—specifically from the long, tough grasses of the outer luphan—and luven captures both its material origin and its function. The word carries, in certain ceremonial contexts, a secondary sense of connection or obligation: one speaks of the luven between communities when describing the bonds of longstanding trade and kinship. Shel (chosen togetherness) is the abstract of this; luven is its physical expression. Cf. lu-, shel.

— M —

mael · n. · the mouth. Origin: < maeli (to speak); the speaking-organ. Cf. maelu (voice).

maela · n. · a word. Origin: < maeli (to speak). Cf. maelan, leksi.

maelan · n. · a story; a tale; an account. Origin: < maeli (to speak). Cf. talan (legend, lore).

maeli · v. · to speak; to talk; to converse. One of the core verbs of the language. Conjugated with standard aspectual suffixes: maeli-in (speaking, ongoing), maeli-al (spoke, completed). Attested in the phrase Ye neha maeli-in, "I don't understand" (lit. "I not speak-IMPF"), the essential confession of the struggling language learner. Cf. tali, shuna (to hear), mael, maelu.

maelu · n. · the voice. Origin: < maeli (to speak).

mahena · adj. · ill; sick; unwell. Used for both physical and, in some dialects, emotional malaise. Cf. kamha-lin, dele-sha.

malun · n. · the belly; the stomach; the abdomen. One of the body-part terms I regret omitting from the First Edition. The malun is understood in Mediatan folk medicine as the seat of courage and gut-feeling—secondary to the karma (heart) as the home of emotion, but prior to the karma in terms of instinct. Phrases like malun-tu shuna ("listen to your belly") advise attending to one's instincts before one's more reasoned feelings. Cf. karma, kavan.*

mara · n. · time; duration. Cf. dama (now), lema (then), uvi (when).

marineha · num. · nine. Cf. marish, neha.

marish · num. · eight.

maru · n. · the sea; an ocean; a great body of water. Cf. arvan (river), aru (water), marva (fish), marudal, marushan.

marudal · n. · an island; a piece of land surrounded by sea. Origin: < maru (sea) + dal (place/land); "land within the sea." Follows the productive compounding pattern of teqdal (market), mordal (city), and shedal (village). The term has become significantly more common in savannah communities since the expansion of coastal trade along Arakcadia Bay; interior communities may know the concept through tale and traveller's account without ever having seen one. Cf. maru, dal, daraa.

marushan · n. / adv. · the coast; the shore; the littoral region. Origin: < maru (sea) + -shan (directional); "toward the sea." Used both as a noun (the marushan is rocky here) and as an adverb or direction marker (we travel marushan, coastward). The directional sense parallels arshan (east), rashan (west), keshan (north), and shoshan (south). In inland savannah communities, marushan is understood primarily through the direction of travel needed to reach the coast rather than as a place one inhabits. Cf. maru, -shan.

marva · n. · a fish. Origin: < maru (sea); "sea-creature."

mata · n. · father. One of the basic kinship terms. Phonologically distinct from nata (mother) by the initial consonant—a pattern noted by scholars as characteristic of how Mediatan differentiates gendered kinship roles through consonant alternation rather than suffixation. Cf. matu (man).

matu · n. · a man; a male person. Origin: < mata (father, male). Cf. natu (woman), shelu (person).

mei · postp. · between; among; amid. Also a noun: the middle, the centre. Example: aru mei kara, "water among stones."

mela · interrog. · how; in what manner. Example: Mela ne kesi-al? "How did you do it?" Cf. kura (why), anu (what).

mesha · n. · a thing; an object; an item. The generic term for an inanimate object. Cf. shelu (a person).

mina · n. / adv. · the left; the left side; leftward. Cf. rina (right).

mishi · v. · to lose; to misplace; to let slip. The counterpart to tanu (to hold, keep). Cf. tanu, fani (to find).

moha · n. · peace; tranquillity; calm (as an abstract noun). The nominal form, denoting peace as a concept or quality rather than a state one inhabits. Appears in compound expressions such as tal moha ("good night," lit. "house-peace") and in the proverb Zhem kamha shel, ye vespin moha. Learners frequently confuse moha with mohal; the distinction is that moha is what peace is, while mohal is what one is in. A house can be full of moha; a person standing in that house is mohal. Cf. mohal, mohi.

mohal · v. / adj. · to be at peace; to stand in calm; peaceful (as a state of being). The verbal or stative-adjectival form, describing peace as a condition one occupies rather than an abstract concept. One of the most important words in the Mediatan social vocabulary. Central to the greeting response Ye mohal ("I am at peace," i.e. "I am well") and the arrival formula Ye delel mohal ("I arrive bearing calm"). To be mohal is to be right with oneself, one's community, and the land. Cf. moha.

mohi · v. · to rest; to repose; to be still. Origin: < moha (peace, calm).

mola · adj. · slow; unhurried; gentle in pace. Origin: < moha (calm). Cf. vana (fast).

mora · adj. · big; large; great. Cf. niki (small). Appears in compounds: mordal (great-place, city), moshel (great-person, leader).

mordal · n. · a city; a great town. Origin: < mora (great) + dal (place). Cf. shedal (village), teqdal (market).

moshel · n. · a leader; a chief; a head of community. Origin: < mora (great) + shelu (person). Cf. lamora (elder).

motina · n. · an offering; a gift to the departed; a peace-gift to the kamura. Origin: < moha (peace) + tina (gift); "a peace-gift." The motina is placed at the site of a lusaral (burial) or at the community's ancestor-stones during kamali. Its contents vary by region and tradition—food, small carved objects, woven grass, fragments of the deceased's tools—but the principle is consistent: the living extend the generosity of moha toward those whose kam has completed its living form. To neglect the motina of one's kamura is considered a source of communal unease. Cf. tina, moha, kamura, lusaral.

muha · adj. · soft; yielding; tender. Cf. kreta (hard).

muksa · adj. / n. · black; dark. Origin: brightness pair with luksa (white). Cf. musha (night).

muli · v. · to be able; can; to have the power to. Functions as an auxiliary, accompanying a main verb. Example: Ye muli vani, "I can go." Negated: Ye neha muli, "I cannot."

mun · postp. · in; inside; within. Follows the noun it governs. Example: tal mun, "in the house"; Aru sela mun tal, "there is water in the house." Cf. ket (on), zal (under), mei (between).

muna · v. · to want; to desire; to wish. Example: Ye muna shakra, "I want food." Cf. veshi (to need), eqi (to hope).

munta · n. · a secret; that which is held within and not spoken. Origin: < mun (inside, within) + a contracted form of tanu (to hold, to keep); "that which is held inside." The compound is phonologically regular, with the final syllable of tanu elided after the postposition mun. A munta is not understood in savannah culture as something intrinsically shameful—secrets are sometimes necessary to the survival of the community—but keeping munta from one's nera-sor (friends) or shelu (community members) is considered a form of veshvensi (shame) if done out of self-interest. The sharing of munta is, conversely, one of the strongest acts of trust between individuals. Cf. mun, tanu, veshvensi.

mura · adj. / quant. · many; much; a great deal. Also serves in comparison ("more"). Cf. nika (few). See Appendix IV on comparison.

musha · n. · night; the night-time. Origin: < muksa (dark). Note: the greeting "good night" is tal moha (house-peace), but the noun for night itself is musha.

— N —

na · conj. · and. The basic coordinating conjunction, joining words or clauses. Example: ye na ne, "you and I."

naksha · n. · courage; bravery; the quality of facing danger without flinching. Origin: perhaps related to nakva (lion), the savannah apex predator regarded as the exemplar of fearless motion—the creature that does not turn from what it faces. If this etymology holds, naksha is "the lion-quality." The derivation is not certain, however, and some scholars propose a separate native root. What is not disputed is the cultural weight of the concept: naksha in Mediatan thought is not the absence of fear (brashi) but the choice to act despite it, which is why the word is treated as a more morally significant term than mere vurna (strength). Cf. nakva, vurna, brashi.

nakva · n. · a lion. The great predator of the luphan—a large, tawny, maned cat whose presence is felt along the grassland's edges and near the waterholes at dusk. The nakva occupies an ambivalent place in savannah culture: feared as a hunter of lushu (grazing animals) and, occasionally, of people, and simultaneously revered for its naksha (courage) and its sovereignty over its territory. In the oral tradition, the nakva appears as a figure of magnificent self-possession—not cruel, merely complete. The word denotes specifically the lion; the suffix -va connects it to the creature vocabulary (cf. marva, akva, shuva). Cf. naksha, shuva.*

nata · n. · mother. Cf. mata, natu (woman).

natu · n. · a woman; a female person. Origin: < nata (mother, female). Cf. matu (man), shelu (person).

ne · pron. · you (second person singular, informal). Used among friends, family, social equals, or when addressing those of lower status. Choosing ne when nera is expected may cause offence; choosing nera when ne would suffice may create unwanted distance. The line between them is a matter of social intuition that marks the advanced speaker. Cf. nera.

neha · part. · no; not; a negation. Used both as a standalone negative response and as a negating element placed before the verb. Example: Ye neha vani, "I do not go." Cf. oi (yes). See Appendix IV on negation.

nehmara · adv. · never; at no time. Origin: < neha (not) + mara (time); "no-time." Cf. shomara (always).

nela · n. · the moon. Origin: related to nelu (month). Cf. lumel (sun), akra (star).

nelala · adj. / n. · purple; violet; the colour of the moon's light. Origin: < nela (moon) + the colour formant -la; "moon-coloured." Purple and violet do not appear commonly in the savannah's landscape—they are the colours of certain night-blooming flowers and of the sky in the brief interval between full darkness and dawn, when moonlight still touches the world. Nelala is accordingly a colour of the liminal, the between-time: neither day nor night, neither living nor dead. Its use in ceremonial contexts is notable; some lamora wear nelala-dyed cloth at kamali that honour the kamura, and the colour is sometimes associated with kamrali (the state of being between living and dying). Cf. nela, the colour formant -la, kamrali.

nelu · n. · a month; a moon-cycle. Origin: < nela (moon). Cf. luvan (year).

nera · pron. · you (second person plural, or singular polite/formal). Employed when addressing multiple people, or a single person to whom one wishes to show respect—strangers, elders, persons of authority, or anyone with whom one has not established the familiarity that warrants ne. Cf. ne.

nera-sor · n. · a friend; a companion. Lit. approximately "respected-you companion," combining the polite pronoun nera with the element -sor. The term implies a relationship of mutual regard. Attested in the usage example: Ye maeli-in nera-sor, "I speak to my friend." Cf. krunsa (enemy).

netara · n. · a brother. Distinguished from netari (sister) by the final vowel—a characteristic Mediatan pattern of using vowel alternation for gender distinction in kinship terms. Cf. netari, mata, nata.

netari · n. · a sister. Cf. netara.

nika · adj. / quant. · few; little; not many. Origin: < niki (small). Cf. mura (many).

niki · adj. · small; little; tiny. Cf. mora (big), nika (few).

nola · adj. · true; real; so. Origin: < noli (to know); that which is known to be so. Cf. vola (false), nolan (truth).

noli · v. · to know (a fact); to be aware of. Cf. fendi (to trust a person), nolu (to think), nolsi (to learn).

nolan · n. · truth; that which is known to be so. Origin: < noli (to know). Cf. volan (a lie).

nolsi · v. · to learn; to come to know. Origin: < noli (to know).

noltin · v. · to teach; to instruct. Origin: < noli (to know) + tin (to give); "to give knowledge."

nolu · v. · to think; to ponder; to consider. Origin: < noli (to know).

non · n. · a name. Origin: < noni (to name). Example: Anu non en ne? "What is your name?"

noni · v. · to name; to call; to give a name to.

nuri · v. · to wait; to await; to bide.

nyare · n. · the eye. Cf. yekesh (to see).

— O —

oi · part. / interj. · yes; an affirmation. Direct and unambiguous. May be softened with politeness markers in formal contexts. Cf. neha (no).

— P —

No headwords beginning with /p/ are recorded in the present edition. The sound exists in Mediatan phonology—the Institute's Handbook confirms its presence in the consonant inventory—but appears to be rare or altogether absent in word-initial position among the vocabulary currently attested. Interior savannah communities consulted during fieldwork produced no p-initial common nouns or verbs, though one informant in the eastern luphan offered a term I was unable to verify with a second source and have therefore excluded. Whether this gap reflects a genuine phonological restriction on initial /p/ in the language, a gap in the fieldwork, or the simple statistical fact that /p/ is uncommon word-initially in many of the world's languages, I cannot say with confidence. Collectors are encouraged to record any p-initial vocabulary they encounter.

— R. Kortis

— Q —

qem · v. · to buy; to purchase. One of the essential verbs of the mercantile vocabulary that has made Mediatan a lingua franca of trade across central Canaan. Cf. qemta, qema.

qema · n. · price; cost; the sum asked. Origin: < qem (to buy). Cf. teqa (money).

qemta · v. · to sell. Formed from qem (to buy) with the suffix -ta, which appears to reverse or redirect the action—a morphological pattern of some elegance, whereby buying and selling are understood as two faces of the same transaction. Cf. qem.

— R —

rali · v. · to finish; to end; to complete; to bring to a close. Origin: related to the perfective element -al / -ral (completion). Cf. ara (to begin).

ralsi · v. · to kill; to slay; to cause to die. Origin: < -ral (completion of the spirit, death) + causative; "to bring about death." Cf. kam-ral.

rasha · n. · the evening; dusk; nightfall. Origin: < rali (to end); the ending of the day. Cf. arsha (morning), rashan (west).

rashan · n. / adv. · the west; westward. Origin: < rasha (evening); the direction of sunset. Cf. arshan (east).

rina · adj. / n. · 1. right; correct; proper. 2. the right; the right side; rightward. Cf. vrana (wrong), mina (left).

ru · postp. · with; using; by means of (instrumental). Follows the noun it governs. Distinguished from shel (with, in company): one cuts bread shara ru (with a hand, instrument) but walks nera-sor shel (with a friend, company). Cf. shel, vesh (without).

rumi · v. · to dance.

— S —

san · n. · a way; a path; a route. The free noun corresponding to the bound path-element -san. Cf. teqsan (trade route).

sanelu · n. · a guest; a visitor; one who comes. Origin: < sani (to come) + shelu (person). The guest holds a place of honour in savannah custom. Cf. faselu (stranger).

sani · v. · to come; to approach; to arrive. Distinguished from delel in that sani is a neutral verb of motion, while delel carries the specific connotation of arriving in peace. One may sani with hostile intent; one cannot delel so. Cf. delel, vani, bani.

santira · n. / adv. · tomorrow; the coming day. Origin: < sani (to come) + tira (day). Cf. datira (today), raltira (yesterday).

sela · v. · to be (present); to exist; to be located. The existential and locative verb. Mediatan uses no copula for predicate adjectives or nominals (Ye mohal, "I [am] well"; Le matu, "he [is] a man"); sela is reserved for statements of existence and location. Example: Aru sela mun tal, "There is water in the house." See Appendix IV.

shakra · n. · food; sustenance; a meal. A core vocabulary item. Appears in the communal invitation Yera shakra gojen ("Let us share food") and in compound expressions related to eating. Cf. shakri, shaka (full).

shaka · adj. · full; filled; sated. Origin: < shakra (food); filled as with food. Cf. veka (empty).

shakri · v. · to eat. The verbal form corresponding to the noun shakra (food). Conjugated with standard aspectual suffixes. Cf. shakra.

shara · n. · the hand. Cf. shari, sharaki, sharavan.

sharaki · n. · a finger; (by extension) the fingers collectively. Origin: < shara (hand) + a diminutive element -ki; "the small of the hand." The element -ki appears in a small set of formations where a diminutive or constituent relationship is intended, and its productivity beyond these cases is uncertain. Sharaki is used for fingers of both hand and foot; where distinction is necessary, shara-sharaki (hand-fingers) and shari-sharaki (foot-fingers) are employed. Cf. shara, shari, sharavan, sharivan.

sharavan · n. · the arm; the upper limb. Origin: < shara (hand) + the expanse-suffix -an; "the expanse of the hand," i.e. the full limb that culminates in the hand. Follows the same derivational logic as arvan (river, from aru + -an) and other -an formations denoting extent. Cf. shara, sharaki, sharivan (leg).

shari · n. · the foot. Distinguished from shara (hand) by the final vowel—another instance of Mediatan's tendency toward minimal-pair distinctions in body-part vocabulary.

shariki · n. · a toe; the toes. Origin: < shari (foot) + the diminutive element -ki; "the small of the foot." Parallel to sharaki (finger) in both formation and usage. See sharaki for notes on the -ki element. Cf. shari, sharakan, sharivan.

sharivan · n. · the leg; the lower limb. Origin: < shari (foot) + the expanse-suffix -an; "the expanse of the foot," the full limb that culminates in the foot. Parallel to sharavan (arm). Cf. shari, shariki, kraven (knee/joint), sharavan.

shava · n. · skin; hide.

shavu · n. · wind. The native, everyday term, as against the poetic Zilaphelian loan brasti (cold wind). Cf. brasti.

shedal · n. · a village; a settlement; a small community. Origin: < shel (community) + dal (place). Cf. mordal (city).

shel · adv. / part. / postp. · together; mutually; in shared company; with (in company); choosing to remain with. One of the most emotionally loaded words in Mediatan. Shel appears in blessings, in shared meals, in the phrase a caravan leader speaks before departing into dangerous country. For a people who survive by staying close on an open plain, shel does not merely mean "in proximity"—it means choosing to belong to the same story. As a postposition it marks comitative "with" (accompaniment), distinct from instrumental ru. Attested in the proverb Zhem kamha shel, ye vespin moha. Also in the funerary expression kamrali shel, "together, in the state of being both dead and alive." Cf. gojen, sheli, shelu, kamrali, luven.

sheli · v. · to love; to cherish; to be devoted to. Origin: < shel (chosen togetherness); to love is to choose to remain with. Cf. kruna (to hate), karmi (to feel).

shelu · n. · a person; a member of the community; (coll.) people, folk. Origin: < shel (togetherness); literally "one who belongs," reflecting the communal philosophy at the heart of the culture. Cf. matu, natu, sanelu, faselu, moshel.

shemu · conj. · although; even though; despite. Example: Shemu arun sela, yera vani, "Although it is raining, we go."

shen · interrog. · who; which person. Example: Shen ne? "Who are you?"

shiru · num. · three.

shola · adj. / n. · yellow. Origin: < shon (sand); "sand-coloured." Cf. the colour formant -la.

shomara · adv. · always; at all times; forever. Origin: < so/sho- (all) + mara (time); "all-time." Cf. nehmara (never).

shomi · quant. · every; each. Origin: < so (all) + umi (one); "all, one by one." Cf. shora.

shon · n. (loan.) · sand. Borrowed from Veurim (Zarkhan Veuritz). Used primarily when discussing desert landscapes or in contexts involving Veurim trade and geography. Native Mediatan speakers in the deep savannah, who may never have seen true desert sands, have limited occasion to employ this word. Cf. shoni, shola (yellow), shoshan (south).

shoni · n. (loan.) · the desert; a desert landscape. Borrowed from Veurim. Like shon, this term entered Mediatan through trade contact with the Veurim Empire and is used when speaking of the arid lands to the south. Cf. shon.

shora · quant. · all; everything; the whole. Origin: < so (much, all) + -ra (plural). Cf. shomi (every).

shoshan · n. / adv. · the south; southward. Origin: < shon (sand, desert); the direction of the deserts and the Veurim Empire. Cf. arshan, rashan, keshan.

shuna · v. · to hear; (in the imperfective, shuna-in) to listen. Origin: related to the ear; cf. fali (ear). The completed form is to hear; the ongoing form is to listen attentively.

shuva · n. · an animal; a beast; a living creature (generic). Cf. lushu (grazing beast), akva (bird), marva (fish), nakva (lion), veshu (snake).

sisar · v. · to stand (in acceptance); to remain at peace; to hold one's ground serenely. Attested in the folk tale "The Crane and the Rain" in the phrase ye mohal sisar-al, "I stand at peace (now completed)," expressing dignified acceptance of circumstances beyond one's control—a quintessentially Mediatan sentiment. Distinct from tasi, the neutral verb of physical standing. Cf. tasi, sisva.

sisva · n. · a crane; the great wading bird of the rivers and floodplains. Origin: < sisar (to stand in acceptance; to hold one's ground serenely), with the root reduced to its initial syllable sis-, plus the creature suffix -va (as in akva, marva, nakva); "the standing-creature." The reduction of sisar to sis- in compound formation is phonologically regular when the full root would produce an unwieldy stem. The crane is the central animal figure of the folk tale "The Crane and the Rain," and its name encodes the character it is given there: the creature that stands at the river's edge and does not flinch when the storm comes. The sisva is associated in savannah thought with mohal (peaceful steadiness), with the arvan (river), and with the liminal space between arsha (morning) and the coming of the rains. Its cry is said to echo krasha—an observation that some communities take as meaningful and others merely as observation. To call someone a sisva is a significant compliment. Cf. sisar, akva, arvan.

so · adv. · very; greatly; to a high degree. An intensifier that precedes the adjective it modifies. Example: so yeki tal, "a very tall house." Also carries the sense of magnitude ("big, much"), and underlies the quantifiers shora (all) and shomi (every).

soha · interrog. · how many; how much. Origin: < so (much, many). Example: Soha qema? "How much is the price?" Cf. mura (many), anu (what).

sola · n. · a song. Origin: < soli (to sing).

soli · v. · to sing.

soni · v. · to send; to dispatch. Cf. bani (to bring), bori (to carry).

suna · v. · to sleep. Cf. arsi (to wake), sunel (dream), suneli.

sunel · n. · a dream. Origin: < suna (to sleep). Cf. suneli (to remember).

suneli · v. · to remember; to call back to the waking mind. Origin: < sunel (dream) + the verbal suffix -i; "to dream awake," to summon a memory as one summons a dream. The metaphor embedded in this derivation is worth attending to: in Mediatan thought, memory and dreaming are not opposites—both are the kama reaching toward things that are not immediately before it. The imperfective suneli-in (remembering, ongoing) carries a sense of sustained, sometimes melancholy, dwelling in memory that is distinct from the flash of recollection. For the counterpart—forgetting—see veshsunel. Cf. sunel, veshsunel.

— T —

ta · part. · a question particle, placed at the end of an interrogative sentence to mark a yes/no question. Attested in Ne vespin ta?, "Are you traveling in well-being?" (i.e. "How are you?"). For content questions, the interrogative word (shen, anu, vel, etc.) does the work and ta is not required. See Appendix IV.

tal · n. · a house; a dwelling; a home. One of the most frequently cited nouns in grammars of the language, often used to demonstrate the nominal morphology: talra (houses), talka (the house), talraka (the houses). Cf. talo, talar.

tal moha · n. (compound) · good night. Lit. "house-peace"—a wish for peace within the home as one retires for the evening.

talan · n. · a legend; lore; a tale of old. Origin: < tali (to tell, to speak toward); a thing handed down in the telling. Cf. maelan (a story, an account).

talar · n. · a door; a doorway; an entrance. Origin: < tal (house) + ara (opening); "the opening of the house."

tali · v. · to speak; to address; to speak toward. Possibly a dialectal or archaic variant of maeli, or a distinct verb carrying the specific nuance of directed speech (speaking to or at something, as in prayer or invocation). Attested in the folk tale "The Crane and the Rain": ne tali-in akum-tu, "you speak to the heavens." Cf. maeli, talan.

talo · n. · a child; a young person. Possibly derived from tal (house) with a diminutive or relational suffix, suggesting "one of the house" or "the small one of the home"—though this etymology remains speculative. Cf. taloru, talori.

talori · n. · a daughter; one's female child. Origin: < talo (child) + the feminine marker -i; parallel to the pair netara/netari (brother/sister). The formation follows the same gender-differentiation pattern visible throughout Mediatan kinship vocabulary. Cf. taloru, talo.

taloru · n. · a son; one's male child. Origin: < talo (child) + the masculine marker -u; parallel to talori. The pair taloru/talori completes the immediate generational kinship set alongside mata, nata, netara, netari, lamoru, and lamori. A community's continuity is spoken of as its talo—its children collectively—and the care of the talo is understood as a communal obligation, not merely a parental one. Cf. talori, talo.

tani · v. · to take; to receive; to accept. Cf. tin (to give), tanu (to hold, keep).

tanu · v. · to hold; to keep; to retain. Origin: < tani (to take); to take and keep holding. The opposite action, "to lose / to misplace," is rendered by the verb mishi. Cf. tani, esha.

taran · num. · twenty. A milestone number in Mediatan counting and in Uinheit religious symbolism, where twenty represents universal completeness across the full structure of the pantheon (five Inner, five Middle, five Outer, and five liminal deities).

tari · v. · to count; to reckon; to number. Origin: < the numeral root in taru, taran.

taru · num. · ten. The practical base for mercantile transactions, particularly in Arakcadia. In Uinheit symbolism, ten evokes "two sets of five," merging commerce with spiritual reflection. Compounds with unit numerals to form the teens. Cf. taran, tarun (hundred).

tarun · num. · one hundred. Origin: < taru (ten); "ten of tens." Higher numbers are formed by further compounding. See Appendix II.

tasi · v. · to stand; to be upright (physical, neutral sense). Distinguished from sisar, which carries the spiritual sense of standing in acceptance. Cf. dani (to sit), lasi (to lie down), sisar.

tendi · v. · to answer; to reply; to respond. Cf. basi (to ask).

teq · n. · trade; commerce; the act of trading. Both a standalone noun and the root from which an important family of trade-related vocabulary derives. That such a short, punchy syllable denotes trade speaks to how fundamental exchange is to Mediatan identity. Cf. teq-, teqor, teqsan, teqa, teqdal.

teq- · root · trade; journey. The semantic overlap between trading and journeying in this root is no accident—in the savannah, the two activities are inseparable. One does not trade without travelling, and one rarely travels without trading. Cf. teq, teqor, teqsan.

teqa · n. · money; coin; currency. Origin: < teq (trade). The common currency is reckoned in silver marks; teqa is the generic word for money. Cf. qema (price).

teqavesh · n. · a debt; money owed; an obligation of exchange as yet unfulfilled. Origin: < teqa (money) + vesh (without, lacking); "money-without," following the standard postpositional compound order, the money that is absent from what has been promised or owed. The philosophical weight of the entire vesh cluster (see vesh, veshi, vesra) makes teqavesh not merely a neutral accounting term but a morally weighted one—to carry teqavesh is to carry a veshvensi (shame) in the commercial realm. Defaulting on a teqavesh in a trading community is understood as a failure of vensi (honour), not merely a financial matter. Cf. teqa, vesh, vensi, veshvensi.

teqdal · n. · a market; a marketplace; a place of trade. Origin: < teq (trade) + dal (place). Cf. mordal (city).

teqor · n. · a merchant; a trader. Derived from the root teq- (trade, journey) with the agentive suffix -or. Cf. teq, teqsan.

teqra · adj. · rich; wealthy; prosperous. Origin: < teq (trade); rich in the fruits of commerce. Cf. vesra (poor).

teqsan · n. · a travel route; a trade road; a caravan path. Derived from the root teq- (trade, journey) with the path-element -san. Central to the farewell blessing Teqsan-al sir! ("May your journey be complete with respect!"), one of the most commonly heard phrases in caravan culture. Cf. teq, teqor, san.

tin · v. · to give; to offer; to bestow. Cf. tani (to take), lani (to put).

tina · n. · a gift; a present; an offering. Origin: < tin (to give).

tira · n. · a day; daytime. Cf. musha (night), datira (today), arsha (morning).

— U —

umhid · n. (loan., disputed) · a mountain; a peak; a high place. Borrowed from Zilaphelian, where the word is native and carries extensive cultural weight. Its status within Mediatan is debated; the comparative tables record no native term for "mountain," a natural absence for a flatland people, and whether umhid has achieved genuine naturalisation or remains a foreign term of educated registers is unresolved. In practice, speakers in Arakcadia and along the northern trade routes use it freely; deep-savannah villages may not employ it at all. Origin: Zilaphelian umhid, "mountain."

umi · num. · one. In Uinheit religious symbolism, represents the foundational principle of unity across deities and planes. Underlies uma (only) and shomi (every).

uma · adv. · only; just; merely. Origin: < umi (one); "one and no more."

uvi · interrog. · when; at what time. Also a noun: an occasion, an instance of time. With a numeral, marks "times": halu uvi, "two times, twice." Cf. mara (time).

— V —

vaki · adj. · bad; poor in quality; ill-made. A deliberate near-antonym of yeki (good). Cf. yeki, vaksha (ugly).

vaksha · adj. · ugly; unlovely; ill-favoured. Origin: < vaki (bad), intensified, paralleling yeki → yeksha. Cf. yeksha (beautiful).

vana · adj. · fast; quick; swift. Origin: < vanu (to run). Cf. mola (slow).

vani · v. · to go; to travel; to walk. Perhaps the single most important verb for understanding Mediatan grammar, as it is the example most frequently employed in pedagogical contexts. Vani-in: "I am walking / I walk." Vani-al: "I walked / I have walked." Vani-al-sir: "I walked (with respect)." The word carries no inherent sense of destination—it is motion itself. Cf. sani, vespin, vanu.

vanu · v. · to run; to move at speed. Origin: < vani (to walk), in an intensive vowel-grade. Cf. vana (fast).

vash · conj. · because; for; since. Introduces a clause of reason. Example: Ye dani, vash ye mahena, "I sit, because I am ill." Cf. kura (why).

vasha · n. · a drum; a ritual drum. The primary percussion instrument of savannah ceremony, constructed from a hollowed section of lutan (tree) or carved from hardwood and covered with lushu (animal) hide. The vasha is struck with the hands or with padded strikers and is not merely a musical instrument—it is understood as a voice: the community's heartbeat made audible, the means by which the kamali calls across distance to those who need to hear it. A community without a vasha is sometimes said to be "silent inside," in the same way a community without kamali is said to be "without memory." The sound of the vasha before dawn signals ceremony; its sounding in the middle of the day signals emergency. Cf. kamali, sola, rumi.*

veka · adj. · empty; void; vacant. Origin: < vesh (without). Cf. shaka (full).

vekri · v. · to fight; to make war; to do battle. Cf. kovi (to protect), ralsi (to kill).

vel · interrog. · where; in what place. Attested in the phrase Ara Arakcadia vel tu?, "Where is Arakcadia indeed?"

ven · postp. · to; toward; in the direction of. Follows the noun it governs. Origin: related to the motion-verbs vani, vespin. Cf. fal (from), vi (at).

vena · adj. · long; lengthy; extended. Cf. kesa (short).

vensi · n. · honour; dignity; communal standing; the quality of being regarded with respect by one's shelu. Among the most socially significant abstract nouns in the Mediatan moral vocabulary. Vensi is not a personal vanity—it is not how one regards oneself, but how one stands in relation to one's community, how one's actions are measured against the obligations of the shelu. To act with vensi is to act in ways that one's kamura would recognise as proper; to lose vensi is to become, in a social sense, less fully shelu. Cf. veshvensi, shelu, kamura.*

vesa · adj. · weak; feeble; lacking strength. Origin: < vesh (without, lacking). Cf. vurna (strong).

vesh · postp. · without; lacking; absent of. Follows the noun it governs. Example: shakra vesh, "without food." A note on compound behaviour: in free syntax, vesh is a postposition and always follows its noun (thus teqavesh, "debt," from teqa + vesh, money-without). However, in a class of lexicalized nominal compounds, vesh appears as a prefix—veshkam, vesharu, veshvensi, veshsunel—where it takes the role of a qualitative modifier ("the condition of being without X"). This prefix use parallels the behaviour of the negation particle neha in the compound nehmara (never, "no-time"), where neha similarly moves to initial position. Both patterns represent lexicalization rather than productive syntax; the postpositional rule holds in all free-syntax constructions. Cf. ru (with, instrumental), shel (with, company); veshi, vesa, vesra, veka, teqavesh, veshkam, veshvensi, veshsunel, vesharu, veshu.

vesharu · n. · the dry season; the drought months; the waterless time. Origin: < vesh (without, lacking) + aru (water); "waterless time." The vesharu is the counterpart of the aruntira—the dry season of the savannah when rivers fall, grasses brown, and the arudal (well) becomes the community's centre of survival. Journeys are curtailed; animals range further in search of water; the community draws inward. The vesharu is not spoken of as evil—it is part of the rhythm of things—but it is spoken of honestly, with a gravity that the richer season does not require. Proverbs about the vesharu tend to concern endurance: "a community that mohal (stands at peace) through the vesharu knows its own strength." Cf. aruntira, aru, vesh.

veshkam · n. · magic; an uncanny working; spirit-force displaced from its natural order. Origin: < vesh (without, lacking) + kam (spirit); "spirit-without-proper-home." This is the term used in savannah communities for what scholars and city-dwellers call arcane magic—the manipulation of forces that in Mediatan metaphysics are understood as spirit detached from its natural dwelling and compelled into unnatural purposes. The word does not denote all interaction with the spiritual (which is understood as normal and encompassed by kamali and the relationship with the kamura), but specifically the kind of working that feels wrong to the kama—spirit called from where it belongs and put to ends it would not choose. The word carries neither the excitement nor the admiration that some urban contexts attach to magic; in the savannah, veshkam is spoken of with wariness, as one speaks of arulun in a closed valley—something that may not harm you but which belongs somewhere else. Its use is not forbidden in all communities, but the lamora regard it with consistent caution. Cf. kam-, vesh.

veshsunel · n. · forgetting; the loss of memory; the state of being without the dream of the past. Origin: < vesh (without, lacking) + sunel (dream; memory); "without the dream." Distinct from a simple failure to recall—veshsunel carries the weight of a loss, the particular grief of a memory that was once held and is now gone. In a culture where the kamura (ancestors) are remembered through sunel (the waking-dream of the past), veshsunel is understood as a kind of severance: one cannot maintain the motina (offerings) for those one cannot remember. Communities that suffer collective veshsunel through catastrophe or displacement—through the destruction of their shedal, the loss of their lamora—are said to stand at a particular kind of lu-shan, a horizon beyond which their own history cannot be seen. Cf. sunel, suneli, vesh, kamura.

veshvensi · n. / adj. · shame; the state of being without honour; the condition of having acted in ways that diminish one's standing in the shelu. Origin: < vesh (without, lacking) + vensi (honour); "honour-without." Veshvensi is not precisely embarrassment—it is the social recognition that one has acted against the obligations of the community. It can be temporary (a matter of teqavesh unpaid, a promise broken, a munta kept from those who were owed it) or lasting (acts that the lamora judge to have fundamentally broken the bonds of shel). There are known ceremonies for the restoration of vensi following veshvensi, conducted at kamali and requiring public acknowledgment of the wrong done. Cf. vensi, vesh, shel.

vespin · v. · to travel; to journey (with connotations of well-being or purposeful movement). Distinguished from vani (neutral physical motion) by its association with the broader journey of life and livelihood. Attested in Ne vespin ta?, "How are you?" (lit. "Are you traveling in well-being?"), and in the proverb ye vespin moha, "I travel peace." That the standard greeting inquires about one's vespin rather than one's static condition reveals a culture that understands life as fundamentally a journey. Cf. vani.

vesra · adj. · poor; destitute; needy. Origin: < vesh (lacking). Cf. teqra (rich).

veshi · v. · to need; to lack; to require. Origin: < vesh (without); to need is to be without. Also serves where Common would say "must." Cf. muna (to want).

veshu · n. · a snake; a serpent. *Origin: < vesh- (without, lacking) + the creature-element -u; "the limbless one," the creature that is without the shara (hands) and shari (feet) that all others have. The -u creature suffix here parallels its use in *lushu* (grazing beast, lu- + -u element), as distinct from the -va creature suffix seen in akva (bird), marva (fish), and nakva (lion). Both -u and -va are attested creature markers in Mediatan; the distribution between them is not yet fully understood, though -va appears more commonly for creatures associated with water or sky, and -u for ground-dwelling animals. The savannah has several species of considerable size and danger; veshu is the generic term, with more specific names used in communities with close ecological knowledge of particular varieties. The veshu appears in some folk traditions as a figure of ambivalence—associated with the earth and with veshkam (uncanny workings), capable of great harm but also credited with a kind of wisdom belonging to those who move close to the duma (earth). Cf. vesh-, shuva, lushu.*

vi · postp. · at; by; near (of location). Also, with a numeral, marks frequency ("times"): see uvi. Follows the noun it governs. Cf. vina (near), davi (here), ven (toward).

vina · adj. · near; close; nearby. Origin: < vi (at). Cf. fala (far).

vo · conj. · or; either. Example: aru vo teqa, "water or money."

vola · adj. · false; untrue; deceitful. Cf. nola (true), vrana (wrong), volan (a lie).

volan · n. · a lie; a falsehood; an untruth. Origin: < vola (false). Cf. nolan (truth).

vrana · adj. · wrong; incorrect; mistaken. Cf. rina (right, correct).

vuran · n. · work; labour; toil. Origin: < vurni (to work).

vurna · adj. · strong; powerful; sturdy. Origin: < vurni (to work, to exert). Cf. vesa (weak).

vurni · v. · to work; to labour; to toil. Cf. vuran, vurna, mohi (to rest).

— W —

The approximant /w/ is attested in Mediatan phonology but does not appear as a word-initial sound in any headword recorded in the present edition. In the vocabulary collected, /w/ occurs in medial and final positions; whether it occurs word-initially in unrecorded vocabulary remains an open question. The romanization system uses 'w' where needed.

— Y —

ye · pron. · I; me (first person singular). Serves as subject, object, and possessive determiner depending on syntactic context—one of the most economical features of the Mediatan pronominal system. Cf. yera.

yeki · adj. · 1. good; fine; of quality. 2. tall; high. The dual sense of physical height and moral or qualitative goodness in a single word is characteristic of Mediatan, where verticality—standing tall like the grasses—is metaphorically linked to virtue. Example: so yeki tal, "a very tall house." Cf. vaki (bad), yeksha (beautiful).

yekesh · v. · to see; to perceive; to observe. Conjugated with the standard aspectual suffixes. The imperfective form yekesh-in carries particular poetic resonance: to see in the ongoing, unfinished sense—always looking, never ceasing to look. Used in an earlier form of the proverb on death and life: yekesh-in dal lu-ral, "forever seeing one another where the grass ends." Cf. nyare (eye), shuna (to hear).

yeksha · adj. · beautiful; lovely; fine to behold. Origin: < yeki (good), intensified. Cf. vaksha (ugly).

yera · pron. · we; us (first person plural). Formed by the standard plural suffix -ra applied to ye. Cf. ye.

yoka · n. · the head.

yoli · v. · to play; to sport; to amuse oneself.

— Z —

zal · postp. · under; beneath; below. Follows the noun it governs. Cf. ket (on, above), zala, zali.

zala · adj. · low; lowly; near the ground. Origin: < zal (under). Cf. keta (high).

zali · v. · to fall; to drop; to descend. Origin: < zal (under); to go under. Cf. keti (to rise).

zhari · v. · to break; to shatter; to smash.

zhem · n. / adj. (loan.) · freedom; free. Borrowed from Xeamian, entering Mediatan during the Age of Peace when coastal trade flourished. Despite its foreign origin, zhem has become thoroughly naturalised, appearing in one of the language's most essential phrases: Zhem kamha ("Freedom blessing," i.e. "Thank you"). That the Mediatan word for gratitude literally invokes freedom and blessing together is a fact that has not escaped the notice of cultural commentators.

zhona · adj. · dirty; soiled; unclean. Cf. arsa (clean).

Appendix I: Grammatical Affixes

The following bound morphemes attach to Mediatan roots and stems to convey grammatical or derivational meaning. They do not function as independent words.

-al · verbal suffix · perfective aspect marker. Indicates that an action is completed. Example: vani-al, "walked / have walked." Cf. -in. Note (2nd Ed.): A small class of nouns form denominative verbs by means of an -al suffix that is phonologically identical to the perfective marker but derivationally distinct. In these formations, -al does not mark completion but rather "the characteristic action of the noun." Attested in this edition: lusal (to sow, from lusa = seed). The class is small and not fully productive; scholars should be cautious about extending the pattern beyond attested cases.

-an · nominal suffix · forms nouns of place, expanse, or result. Example: dal (place) → dalan (a land); aru (water) → arvan (a river). Note (2nd Ed.): The -an suffix also forms body-part extensions denoting the full limb from a terminal body part: shara (hand) → sharavan (arm); shari (foot) → sharivan (leg). This extends the suffix's sense from spatial expanse to corporeal extent.

-in · verbal suffix · imperfective aspect marker. Indicates that an action is ongoing, habitual, or continuous. Example: vani-in, "am walking / walk regularly." Cf. -al.

-ka · nominal suffix · definiteness marker, equivalent to "the." Appended to nouns to signal specific reference. Example: talka, "the house." Combines with the plural: talraka, "the houses."

-ki · diminutive / constituent element · forms nouns denoting a small part or constituent of a larger thing. Attested in this edition: sharaki (finger, from shara = hand) and shariki (toe, from shari = foot). The element's productivity is uncertain beyond these cases. It should not be treated as a fully generative suffix.

-la · adjectival suffix (colour) · forms the spectral colour terms from concrete nouns. Example: krursha (blood) → krula (red); lu- (grass) → lula (green); aru (water) → arula (blue); shon (sand) → shola (yellow); kemu (fire) → kemula (orange); nela (moon) → nelala (purple/violet). The brightness terms luksa (white) and muksa (black) stand apart from this set.

-li · verbal suffix · an imperfective/durative element, seen chiefly in kam-li (to live). Closely allied to -in. The simultaneous presence of -al and -li is grammatically forbidden—a prohibition deliberately broken in the word kamrali (q.v.).

-lin · nominal suffix · forms nouns of substance or material. Example: kamha (blessing) → kamha-lin (medicine, "blessing-substance"); lu- (growth) → lushin (grain, "growth-substance").

-or · agentive suffix · forms nouns denoting the doer of an action. Example: teq (trade) → teqor (merchant). A parallel agentive in -r/-er is also attested.

-ra · nominal suffix · plural marker. Appended to nouns to indicate more than one. Example: talra, "houses." Also applied productively to pronouns: ye → yera, le → lera.

-san · nominal suffix · path; route; way. Example: teq (trade) → teqsan (trade route). The free noun san ("a way") derives from it.

-shan · directional/locative suffix · marks a direction or region. Example: arsha (morning) → arshan (east); rasha (evening) → rashan (west). Note the homophony with the cautionary -shan of luka-shan, which the language tolerates without ambiguity. Note (2nd Ed.): A third instance of -shan has been added in this edition: lu-shan (horizon, "grass-edge") and marushan (coast, "sea-ward"). Neither of these conflicts with the established directional or cautionary senses; the morpheme's function as an edge-or-direction marker unifies all three uses.

-sir · verbal suffix / particle · politeness marker; honorific. Appended after aspect markers on verbs to indicate respect. Example: vani-al-sir, "walked (with respect)." Also used as a standalone particle in certain expressions: Teqsan-al sir! ("Safe travels!"). Consistent use signals cultural competence; omission in formal contexts causes offence; overuse in casual situations creates unwanted distance.

-tu · nominal suffix / particle · direct object marker (emphatic). Optional in most contexts, but its use resolves ambiguity or highlights the object's prominence. Formal registers and careful speech favour its inclusion. Example: Aru-tu basir, "Water, please" (with emphasis on the water).

Appendix II: Numerals

The Mediatan numeral system operates on a base-ten structure with compound formation for numbers above ten. The teens are formed by prefixing taru- (ten) to the unit numeral. Twenty receives its own root, taran; the hundred is tarun.

Numeral	Mediatan
1	umi
2	halu
3	shiru
4	faru
5	ari
6	arisha
7	arineha
8	marish
9	marineha
10	taru
11	taru-umi
12	taru-halu
13	taru-shiru
14	taru-faru
15	taru-ari
16	taru-arisha
17	taru-arineha
18	taru-marish
19	taru-marineha
20	taran
100	tarun

Higher numbers compound regularly (e.g. taran-faru, "twenty-four"). The verb tari means "to count," and frequency is expressed with vi / uvi ("times"): shiru uvi, "three times." Scholars of Uinheit theology note that certain numbers carry spiritual significance: one (unity), five (the Inner Group), ten (two sets of five, bridging commerce and spirit), fifteen (three times five), and twenty (the total across all pantheon structures, symbolising universal completeness).

Ordinal Numerals. Mediatan expresses ordinal meaning periphrastically, using the postposition kor ("before; in front of; ahead of in sequence") placed after the cardinal numeral: umi kor (first, "the one at the front"), halu kor (second), shiru kor (third), faru kor (fourth), ari kor (fifth), arisha kor (sixth), and so on. This system avoids any collision with the existing cardinal vocabulary and is consistent with the postpositional grammar of the language. In the Second Edition of this lexicon I had proposed a suffix-based ordinal system using -sha, but this was in error: -sha already forms the cardinal arisha (six), which would make "fifth" and "sixth" homophones. The kor-based periphrastic system recorded here is the attested form. Higher ordinals compound regularly: taru-umi kor (eleventh), taran kor (twentieth). In ceremonial and archaic speech, the ordinal may be expressed by reversing the standard order: kor umi (the first-standing one), though this form is now confined to formal contexts.

Appendix III: Attested Phrases and Proverbs

Luka! — "Hello!" Lit. "Life (to you)!"

Ne vespin ta? — "How are you?" Lit. "Are you traveling in well-being?"

Ye mohal. — "I am well." Lit. "I am at peace."

Zhem kamha. — "Thank you." Lit. "Freedom blessing."

Basir. — "Please." Lit. "(I) ask humbly."

Anu non en ne? — "What is your name?" Lit. "What name of you?"

Shen ne? — "Who are you?"

Vel sela [X]? — "Where is [X]?" Lit. "Where exists [X]?"

Ara Arakcadia vel tu? — "Where is Arakcadia?" Lit. "Where is Arakcadia indeed?"

Teqsan-al sir! — "Safe travels!" Lit. "May your journey be complete (with respect)!"

Ye delel mohal. — "I come in peace." Lit. "I arrive bearing calm."

Yera shakra gojen. — "Let us share food." Lit. "We group-eat together."

Dal esha kam-tu. — "This land is sacred." Lit. "This place has spirit."

Ye neha maeli-in. — "I don't understand." Lit. "I not speak (ongoing)."

Ye neha muli. — "I cannot."

Anu qema? — "What is the price?" Lit. "What price?"

Luka-ral. — "Goodbye." Lit. "Life-completed."

Tal moha. — "Good night." Lit. "House-peace."

Krasha lu, krasha kam. — "Cry for the land, cry for the spirit." (From the folk tale "The Crane and the Rain.")

Ye mohal sisar-al. — "I stand at peace (now completed)." (From "The Crane and the Rain." An expression of serene acceptance.)

Zhem kamha shel, ye vespin moha. — "One attains peace in travel through shared freedom and goodwill." Lit. "Freedom-blessing together, I travel peace." (A proverb on diplomacy, oft-repeated among caravans.)

Kam-ral kam-li, fashu krasha lu-ral. — "Death and life, grieving lovers at the grass's end." (A proverb on mortality and love. Notable for the bare juxtaposition of kam-ral and kam-li without a conjunction—the shared root makes the bond self-evident—and for the omission of any verb, characteristic of Mediatan proverbial style.)

Kamrali shel. — "Together, in the state of the soul divided." (A funerary expression, whispered at gravesides or inscribed on lovers' memorials.)

Aruntira sela—yera lusal-al. — "The rains have come; we have planted." (An expression of relief and hope at the start of the wet season. In agricultural communities, this phrase is spoken at the first ceremony of the aruntira, sometimes as the opening words of the kamali.)

Vesharu esha kama en yera. — "The dry season has our souls." (A proverb on endurance; said when a community is in the depths of the dry season and must summon moha to continue. Not despairing in tone—more the savannah equivalent of "these are hard days." The implication is that the vesharu is a test of whether one's kama is strong enough to outlast difficulty.)

Ne vespin-in lu-shan-tu. — "You are travelling toward the horizon." (Said to a traveller embarking on an especially long or uncertain journey. The phrase combines encouragement with honest acknowledgment of the unknown: the horizon is both a direction and a boundary. A speaker who wishes only to encourage would say Teqsan-al sir; one who wishes to speak more honestly says this.)

Lusaral na lusal—dala san, umi talo. — "Burial and planting—the same path, one child." (A philosophical proverb on the continuity of death and growth. The lusaral (burial) and lusal (planting) are not opposites; both commit something to the earth in trust. The phrase is spoken at funerals but also—somewhat more gently—at planting ceremonies.)

Vasha-in, yera maeli-in. — "When the drum speaks, we listen." (Said to mean: attend to the community's call. A vasha sounding in the middle of the day is an emergency; this phrase affirms the communal obligation to respond.)

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