Post by Azerane on Jun 5, 2011 22:16:53 GMT 9.5
I thought it might be interesting and/or helpful to have a list of Lapine words that Richad Adams uses in Watership Down. On the left, you'll find the Lapine word or saying, on the right, its meaning.
I'm not 100% sure on whether words should be italicised, for example, 'fu-Inlé' is italicised in one sentence in the book, and then in the very next, it's not. So I'm not sure on the consistancey of using italics. Names for rabbits aren't always italicised either, nor are other terms such as Frith or El-ahrairah.
ATTENTION: Updated and near completion. Let me know if I'm missing anything.
I have arranged the words by category, and following that, alphabetical order.
Hedgerow patois is also spoken by the rabbits which allows them to communicate with other animals, however we are only given the basic english translation. The language is also reffered to as lingua franca.
Names:
Hlao - Pipkin's Lapine name. Defined as a small concavity in grass where moisture may collect. Is also referred to as Hlao-roo (Little Pipkin) at times.
Hrairoo - Fiver's Lapine name, meaning little one of the lot (a runt of the litter)
Hyzenthlay - 'Sine-Dew-Fur', fur shining like dew.
Kehaar - Not lapine, describes the sound the ocean makes as it breaks against the land.
Laburnum - posion-tree. Name of the rabbit who created the shape of El-ahrairah with stones on the wall of Cowslip's warren.
Nildro-hain - song of the blackbird. The name of Strawberry's doe. Most likely attributed to the rabbits of Cowslip's warren having a peculiar bird-like singing habit.
pfeffa-rah - King of Cats. A nick-name used by Hazel-rah towards Bigwig as a compliment of his ability to fight off cats.
Thethuthinnang - Movement-of-leaves. A doe of Efrafa.
Thlayli - Bigwig's Lapine name. Translates directly to 'furhead'
Threarah -Lord Rowan Tree. The Chief rabbit of the Sandleford Warren
Things:
Bob-stones - a traditional rabbit game. A rabbit hides a set stones or small sticks under their paw and the opponent must make a guess as to the nature of the stones, eg. one or two, light or dark, rough or smooth, under one or both paws etc.
elil - The enemies of rabbits (foxes, stoats etc)
flay - food, grass or other fodder.
flayrah - translates to princely food. Prized food items by rabbits such as carrots or lettuce etc.
hlessi - a rabbit living in the open without a hole. The plural 'hlessil' is used in reference to wanderers or vagabonds.
homba - a fox, one of the Thousand.
hraka - droppings
hrududu - a car, tractor or any motor vehicle. Plural form is hrududil. The term hrududu is derived from the sound that tractors or other vehicles make, and the rabbits probably more often hear than see them.
lendri - a badger, one of the Thousand.
marli - mother, or doe.
Owsla - a group of rabbits assigned positions of rank by the chief rabbit, often act as protectors, raiders, fighters etc.
pfeffa - cat, one of the Thousand.
thlay - fur
threar - rowan tree or mountain ash.
thrennion - berries of the rowan tree.
sayn - groundsel.
U Hrair - The Thousand (collectively all enemies of rabbits)
yona - a hedgehog. Plural form is yonil.
Verbs
silflay - go above ground to feed (verb), also used as a noun much like 'lunch' or 'dinner' eg "General Woundwort was watching the near hind mark at silflay..."
vair - to excrete (droppings).
Descriptive words:
embleer - Stinking, the term for the smell of a fox
hrair - a lot, or a thousand (rabbits can only count to four, so any number above is hrair)
il - a suffix used to form a plural of some lapine words eg. Hrududu - Hrududil, Hlessi - Hlessil. (It could perhaps be assumed that homba and lendri be made plural in the same way eg. hombil, lendril)
ni-Frith - noon.
fu-Inlé - after moonrise
marli tharn - 'the maiden all forlorn.' A forlorn doe
narn - nice, pleasant (to eat).
rah - a suffix used to acknowledge rank. Meaning Prince, or Chief
roo - little. A suffix used to add description to something. Eg. Pipkin's Lapine name is Hlao, however Hazel often refers to him as Hlao-roo as Pipkin is quite small.
tharn - stupified, or distraught. A tharn rabbit is one struck by so much fear that it can't move. Can also be used to denote a rabbit looking foolish or forlorn.
zorn - finished or destroyed as a result of a catastrophe.
Places
Big water - the ocean
Crixa - crossing point of two bridal paths among trees by Efrafa.
Efrafa - large, overcrowded military-like warren run by General Woundwort
Sandleford - the original home warren of hazel-rah and company, lead by the Threarah and subsequently destroyed by man.
Watership Down - the location of the new warren created by Hazel-rah and companions.
Sayings:
Frithrah - an exclamation of surprise, disbelief or realisation. Translates to Lord Frith
Frith and Inlé - an exclamation, used much the same as Frithrah.
Frith on the hills - an exclamation of wonder.
"Hoi, hoi u embleer Hrair, M'saion ulé hraka vair" - "Hoi, hoi, the stinking Thousand, We meet them even when we stop to pass our droppings." Vair translates to 'excrete' or 'pass' droppings. It is possible that 'M'saion' translates to 'we meet' or 'meeting' and (hraka). However is is not written in the text and only assumptions can be made on which words translate to which.
"In the warren, more stories than passages." - meaning that 'a rabbit can no more refuse to tell a story than an Irishman can refuse to fight.'
"My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today." - a rabbit proverb, recited at the death of another rabbit.
O embleer Frith! - an exclamation of frustration or anger. 'O stinking Frith/Lord'
Oh, Frith in a barn! - an exclamation of frustration or anger.
One cloud feels lonely - an expression used to say that the appearance of one cloud, often means that the sky will soon be overcast.
"sayn lay narn, marli?" - "is groundsel nice, mother?"
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah - eat faeces, the?/you stinking chief/prince. An insult spoken by Bigwig to General Woundwort.
Rabbit beliefs/folklore:
Black Rabbit of Inlé - a rabbit of "fear and everlasting darkness. The Black Rabbit brings sickness and death and is the means by which the rabbit does not smell the fox or hear a gun. Rabbits go by the will of the Black Rabbit, and although he brings death, he does no more than the task appointed to him by Lord Frith.
El-ahrairah from Elil-Hrair-Rah - The Prince with a Thousand Enemies. A rabbit trickster and folklore hero, much like Robin Hood or Brer Rabbit.*
Frith - the sun. Also representative of Lord Frith, creator of the world and all the animals.
Hufsa - a rabbit sent by Price Rainbow to spy on El-ahrairah.
Inlé - the moon. Also has a meaning of darkness, fear and death.
Kelfazin - the marshes that El-ahrairah and his people were held captive in for playing too many tricks.
King Darzin - Once ruler of one of the biggest and richest animal cities.
Prince Rainbow - Servant of Lord Frith, told to order the world as he thought best and having the power of the hills and sky.
Rabscuttle - El-ahrairah's best friend and faithful righ-hand rabbit. Rabscuttle helps El-ahrairah to plan and execute his tricks.
*El-ahrairah: The first two syllables are pronounced "Ella" (like the girl's name). These are followed by the single syllable "hrair," rhyming with "fair," and finally "rah," rhyming with "spa." All the syllables are equally stressed except the "la" in "Ella," which is almost (but not quite) elided. The two r's should be lightly rolled. -A note from Richard Adams' Tales from Watership Down.
I'm not 100% sure on whether words should be italicised, for example, 'fu-Inlé' is italicised in one sentence in the book, and then in the very next, it's not. So I'm not sure on the consistancey of using italics. Names for rabbits aren't always italicised either, nor are other terms such as Frith or El-ahrairah.
ATTENTION: Updated and near completion. Let me know if I'm missing anything.
I have arranged the words by category, and following that, alphabetical order.
Hedgerow patois is also spoken by the rabbits which allows them to communicate with other animals, however we are only given the basic english translation. The language is also reffered to as lingua franca.
Names:
Hlao - Pipkin's Lapine name. Defined as a small concavity in grass where moisture may collect. Is also referred to as Hlao-roo (Little Pipkin) at times.
Hrairoo - Fiver's Lapine name, meaning little one of the lot (a runt of the litter)
Hyzenthlay - 'Sine-Dew-Fur', fur shining like dew.
Kehaar - Not lapine, describes the sound the ocean makes as it breaks against the land.
Laburnum - posion-tree. Name of the rabbit who created the shape of El-ahrairah with stones on the wall of Cowslip's warren.
Nildro-hain - song of the blackbird. The name of Strawberry's doe. Most likely attributed to the rabbits of Cowslip's warren having a peculiar bird-like singing habit.
pfeffa-rah - King of Cats. A nick-name used by Hazel-rah towards Bigwig as a compliment of his ability to fight off cats.
Thethuthinnang - Movement-of-leaves. A doe of Efrafa.
Thlayli - Bigwig's Lapine name. Translates directly to 'furhead'
Threarah -Lord Rowan Tree. The Chief rabbit of the Sandleford Warren
Things:
Bob-stones - a traditional rabbit game. A rabbit hides a set stones or small sticks under their paw and the opponent must make a guess as to the nature of the stones, eg. one or two, light or dark, rough or smooth, under one or both paws etc.
elil - The enemies of rabbits (foxes, stoats etc)
flay - food, grass or other fodder.
flayrah - translates to princely food. Prized food items by rabbits such as carrots or lettuce etc.
hlessi - a rabbit living in the open without a hole. The plural 'hlessil' is used in reference to wanderers or vagabonds.
homba - a fox, one of the Thousand.
hraka - droppings
hrududu - a car, tractor or any motor vehicle. Plural form is hrududil. The term hrududu is derived from the sound that tractors or other vehicles make, and the rabbits probably more often hear than see them.
lendri - a badger, one of the Thousand.
marli - mother, or doe.
Owsla - a group of rabbits assigned positions of rank by the chief rabbit, often act as protectors, raiders, fighters etc.
pfeffa - cat, one of the Thousand.
thlay - fur
threar - rowan tree or mountain ash.
thrennion - berries of the rowan tree.
sayn - groundsel.
U Hrair - The Thousand (collectively all enemies of rabbits)
yona - a hedgehog. Plural form is yonil.
Verbs
silflay - go above ground to feed (verb), also used as a noun much like 'lunch' or 'dinner' eg "General Woundwort was watching the near hind mark at silflay..."
vair - to excrete (droppings).
Descriptive words:
embleer - Stinking, the term for the smell of a fox
hrair - a lot, or a thousand (rabbits can only count to four, so any number above is hrair)
il - a suffix used to form a plural of some lapine words eg. Hrududu - Hrududil, Hlessi - Hlessil. (It could perhaps be assumed that homba and lendri be made plural in the same way eg. hombil, lendril)
ni-Frith - noon.
fu-Inlé - after moonrise
marli tharn - 'the maiden all forlorn.' A forlorn doe
narn - nice, pleasant (to eat).
rah - a suffix used to acknowledge rank. Meaning Prince, or Chief
roo - little. A suffix used to add description to something. Eg. Pipkin's Lapine name is Hlao, however Hazel often refers to him as Hlao-roo as Pipkin is quite small.
tharn - stupified, or distraught. A tharn rabbit is one struck by so much fear that it can't move. Can also be used to denote a rabbit looking foolish or forlorn.
zorn - finished or destroyed as a result of a catastrophe.
Places
Big water - the ocean
Crixa - crossing point of two bridal paths among trees by Efrafa.
Efrafa - large, overcrowded military-like warren run by General Woundwort
Sandleford - the original home warren of hazel-rah and company, lead by the Threarah and subsequently destroyed by man.
Watership Down - the location of the new warren created by Hazel-rah and companions.
Sayings:
Frithrah - an exclamation of surprise, disbelief or realisation. Translates to Lord Frith
Frith and Inlé - an exclamation, used much the same as Frithrah.
Frith on the hills - an exclamation of wonder.
"Hoi, hoi u embleer Hrair, M'saion ulé hraka vair" - "Hoi, hoi, the stinking Thousand, We meet them even when we stop to pass our droppings." Vair translates to 'excrete' or 'pass' droppings. It is possible that 'M'saion' translates to 'we meet' or 'meeting' and (hraka). However is is not written in the text and only assumptions can be made on which words translate to which.
"In the warren, more stories than passages." - meaning that 'a rabbit can no more refuse to tell a story than an Irishman can refuse to fight.'
"My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today." - a rabbit proverb, recited at the death of another rabbit.
O embleer Frith! - an exclamation of frustration or anger. 'O stinking Frith/Lord'
Oh, Frith in a barn! - an exclamation of frustration or anger.
One cloud feels lonely - an expression used to say that the appearance of one cloud, often means that the sky will soon be overcast.
"sayn lay narn, marli?" - "is groundsel nice, mother?"
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah - eat faeces, the?/you stinking chief/prince. An insult spoken by Bigwig to General Woundwort.
Rabbit beliefs/folklore:
Black Rabbit of Inlé - a rabbit of "fear and everlasting darkness. The Black Rabbit brings sickness and death and is the means by which the rabbit does not smell the fox or hear a gun. Rabbits go by the will of the Black Rabbit, and although he brings death, he does no more than the task appointed to him by Lord Frith.
El-ahrairah from Elil-Hrair-Rah - The Prince with a Thousand Enemies. A rabbit trickster and folklore hero, much like Robin Hood or Brer Rabbit.*
Frith - the sun. Also representative of Lord Frith, creator of the world and all the animals.
Hufsa - a rabbit sent by Price Rainbow to spy on El-ahrairah.
Inlé - the moon. Also has a meaning of darkness, fear and death.
Kelfazin - the marshes that El-ahrairah and his people were held captive in for playing too many tricks.
King Darzin - Once ruler of one of the biggest and richest animal cities.
Prince Rainbow - Servant of Lord Frith, told to order the world as he thought best and having the power of the hills and sky.
Rabscuttle - El-ahrairah's best friend and faithful righ-hand rabbit. Rabscuttle helps El-ahrairah to plan and execute his tricks.
*El-ahrairah: The first two syllables are pronounced "Ella" (like the girl's name). These are followed by the single syllable "hrair," rhyming with "fair," and finally "rah," rhyming with "spa." All the syllables are equally stressed except the "la" in "Ella," which is almost (but not quite) elided. The two r's should be lightly rolled. -A note from Richard Adams' Tales from Watership Down.
