About Site

Origins of the Word List
Most simply: I read Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

At more length: The Chronicles are seven books that are split into two trilogies, The First Chronicles (comprised of Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War, and The Power that Preserves), The Second Chronicles (comprised of The Wounded Land, The One Tree, and White Gold Wielder), and a four-book cycle, The Last Chronicles (currently being written; the second book, Fatal Revenant, was published in October 2007). When the books originally came out, they were bestsellers, and are now subject to the appelation "modern fantasy classics." Donaldson's frequent use of words such as "cynosure" and "suzerainty" also made them notorious for their formidable vocabulary, to such an extreme that it's one of the books' most recognized features.

One of my initial reactions to Lord Foul's Bane was "Drink when you see the word 'coruscate.'" Facetious, yes, but of all the book's oft-used large words, that was the one stuck in my mind. Fortunately, I never went on to type out a "Thomas Covenant Drinking Game," but I did start to take special note of the words used. I have a pretty large vocabulary, and usually I find only a few unknown words in a typical book. So I wrote down the words that I didn't know and looked them up. Then I started writing down unusual forms of words I did know, and words that I knew or kind of knew but had hardly ever encountered before.

The first Post-it™ Note

Once I'd finished the First Chronicles, I'd filled up two sides of a Post-it™ Note with small, cramped columns of words. Then I got a bigger piece of paper and started in on the Second Chronicles. The more I added to the list, the more indiscriminate I became about adding words, particularly ones I knew but that are rarely seen in novels, and so the list flourished until it became more than a list of unknown words and instead a more general list of "ten-dollar" words. Now, obviously, it has become an exercise in the humor that is found in the absurdity of excess—but also an often illuminating expedition into language (well, to me, anyway).

Organization
Obviously, the words are arranged alphabetically. All instances of the "vocabulary words" or their alternative forms, or other words used in defintions that are themselves defined, are in bold typeface. Only words in the Chronicles are entries in the list, though not all boldfaced words are in the Chronicles.

Not all definitions pertain to the words as they are used in the Chronicles. For example, "bale" does not refer to a bale of hay in the Chronicles, but to evil, though both definitions are given. These other definitions are included in an effort to be thorough. In some cases a quotation from one of the books is included for reference and context. These are viewable by moving your mouse over the word or its definition (if a quotation exists for that word, a gray box should pop up unless your browser does not support Java Script). The quotations were selected randomly, usually on the basis of whether or not I'd written down the page number and could find the word again.

Definitions on the Site
The individual definitions listed here are sometimes a pure extract from a single dictionary (see About Sources), but are sometimes an amalgamation of two or more dictionaries' definitions, since sometimes one dictionary's entry did not fully explain the word as it was used in the Chronicles. No pronunciation guide, word history, or derivation is included. Parenthetical "Nota Bene" (N.B.) additions following definitions are my own comments and provide further information I thought was pertinent.

Why a List?
Mainly because often I didn't have a dictionary at hand and wanted to be able to look a word up later, but also because what started as a practical exercise became first a vocabulary workshop and then an amusement in itself. The list is more or less "complete," or at least it now has all the words I wrote down, though the quotations are not as thoroughly documented.

Why a Website?
When I typed "Stephen R. Donaldson" into a search engine, I mainly found reviews, on amazon.com, bn.com, and elsewhere. Many people remarked (or complained) on the vocabulary used in his books, particularly the Thomas Covenant trilogies. So I put my list on the web for fun, just to show that the words actually do exist, as a reference for anyone who has read or is reading the series, as a wry (and affectionate) comment on the vocabulary found in the books, and (yes) to help people find a dictionary definition of "roynish."

Dictionaries Abused
No dictionaries were actually harmed as a result of reading the books or making this site, despite the picture on the main page. I have two copies of Webster's New World, and one is brand-new, pristine, beautiful, and the other one (which is the second edition) is the fraying, decaying, disintegrating copy that has actually been used for a decade or so.

And Technically Speaking
Stephen R. Donaldson Ate My Dictionary was designed, in its rudimentary entirety, on Notepad. It was created and compiled by me, Lindsay Addison, who enjoyed reading the Chronicles. Direct questions, comments, and large, archaic words my way via e-mail.