From: mary whalen <marewhalen@yahoo.com>
Subject: (whorl) Names, animals and meanings (S)
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 17:38:33 

This is Sean Whalen (prion).

Saba.  Arabic for youth.  Also a cooking banana (Musa sapientum) in
the Philippines, or the textile made from the fiber of the plant. 
Commander of the Trivigaunti airship.

Sand.  Grains formed from the breakup of rocks.  Also slang for
courage.  Sergeant in Vironese army.

Sard.  Also sarda. Any fish species in genus Sarda.  Also could be
short for sardine (Sardina pilchardus).  Also the name for someone
from Sardinia or a type of chalcedony.  Owner of a pawnshop on Saddle
Street.

Scale.  A flat, plate-like extension of an animal's body, made of
various substances.  One of Bison's lieutenants.

Schist.  Also spelled shist.  An easily split crystalline rock. 
Vironese soldier.

Sciathan.  Irish word for wing, side, part, arm, or lid made of
wicker.  Spelled with an acute accent over the second a.  Flyer
captured by the Trivigauntis.

Scleroderma.  Plural sclerodermas or sclerodermata.  Greek for hard
skin.  A genus of fungi in family Sclerodermataceae.  They have
hard-skinned fruiting bodies that open irregularly.  Also a disease
causing skin to become stiff.  The cats' meatwoman.  Became a hero on
Blue.

Scup.  Either of two fish with large, close-together scales. 
Stenostomus chrysops or Stenostomus aculeatus. Captain hired by Crane
to watch the Pilgrim's Way.

Scylla.  Greek for either flayer or whelp.  In Greek myth, Scylla was
originally a beautiful nymph, the daughter of Cratais (or Ceto) and
Phorcys or Typhon and Echidna or of others.  She played with the sea
nymphs and remained a complete virgin.  Glaucos (Greyish green) the
sea god fell in love with her and tried to get help from Circe (Hawk
or Circle), but Circe fell in love with Glaucos and turned Scylla into
a monster.  The exact description of this form is disputed in myths. 
Basically, she had six heads with triple rows of teeth, twelve feet, a
ring of dogs' heads around her waist, and immortal.  She lived by the
sea in a cave near the whirlpool monster Charybdis.  She was immortal
and could only be stopped by invoking her mother's name.  She
eventually was turned into a rock.  A major goddess.  One of the Nine
and of the Seven.  Goddess of water, river, lakes.  Associated with
fish, camels, and horses.  Patron of the first day of the week and of
Viron.  Shown with eight, ten, or twelve arms.  Supposed child of
Typhon and Echidna.  Strong-willed, bossy, egotistical, and nasty.

Serval.  From Latin lupus cervalis (deer wolf).  A feline related to
lynxes.  Felis serval (also Felis capensis).  Looks like a thin bobcat
with large ears and a small head.  Captain who pretended to arrest
Silk in Limna. Was married to Hyacinth.

Sewellel.  From the Chinook word meaning a blanket of sewellel skins
(the name of the animal itself in Chinook is ugwulal).  The mountain
beaver (Aplodontidae Aplodontia rufa).  The sewellel looks like a
short-legged beaver with no tail.  It doesn't actually live in the
mountains.  They dig the burrows in which they live.  One of Spider's
spycatchers, killed in the tunnels.

Shale.  An easily breakable rock formed by the joining of mud, clay,
or or silt.  Also archaic English for shell or husk.  A Vironese
soldier.

Shell.  A protective structure that is part of certain animals'
bodies, made of various substances.  Patera who knew Silk in school.

Shrike.  Any species of family Laniidae, especially genus Lanius,
including the butcher-bird.  Birds with a strong notched bill hooked
at the tip that often impale their prey on thorns.  Scleroderma's
husband.  A butcher.

Sigada.  The meaning of this word is given to Silk by Hossaan, but I
don't remember it.  Real name of Dr. Crane.

Silah.  Daughter of the Rani.

Silk.  A substance produced by various insects, especially silk worms,
often used for cocoons, or the fabric made of those substances. 
Patera on Sun Street. Was a frozen embryo purchased by Calde Tussah. 
The books are about Silk's transformation (like animals do in
cocoons).  The name also relates to Tussah and Chenille.

Simuliid.  Any species of family Simuliidae.  The simuliids are small
biting two-winged flies with larvae that live in flowing water.  A
Commissioner in Viron.  He has connections to the Council.  The part
about larvae living in water reminds me of the pool scene.  Since
larva in Latin is a ghost, like a lemur, it gives further connection. 
I even have to wonder if Simuliid has been given a chemical body as
well.

Sinew.  Tendon, or strength.  Nettle's eldest son.

Sirka.  Officer in charge of the Trivigaunti advance party.

Siyuf. Reportedly this means swords in Arabic, but I can't confirm it.
 Commander of the Trivigaunti armed forces.

Skate.  Any species of genus Raja and related genera in family
Rajidae.  Their side fins are very large and triangular, making them
look like manta rays.  Oosik's subordinate.  Raja is the masculine of
Rani, so it's possible this is a clue to his real loyalties, or that
he is a spy for Trivigaunte.

Skin.  Organ found as the outer covering of many animals.  Bison's
subordinate.

Skink.  Any species of family Scincidae (Skinkidae).  Lizards who live
in dry, sandy places.  Many burrow.  Small, small scales, notched
tail.  Also archaic word meaning skunk.  Also a soup made of beef. 
Insurgent leader who attacks the Palatine.  Crippled.

Slate.  A type of rock made of compressed clay or other rocks.  Also a
slab of stone used to write on.  Vironese soldier.

Sphigx.  Greek for throttler, strangler.  Also Sphinx or Phix.  A
mythological monster with a lion's body, wings, and a woman's head. 
Child of Typhon and Echidna, or Echidna and Orthos.  Sent to Thebes to
plague the inhabitants.  She was sent either by Hera, goddess of
marriage, who wanted to Punish Laios (who was the father of Oidipous
(Oedipus)) for kidnapping Chrysippos (Golden Horse) from his father
Pelops (Chrysippos was a handsome boy who Laios had fallen in love
with, and Hera didn't like this since Laios was married to Iocaste
(Jocasta)), or by Apollon (the sun god) who wanted to punish the
Thebans for neglecting his worship.  She trapped her victims and then
asked them a riddle (which went something like, "what animal walks
first on four legs, then on two, and finally on three?").  No one
could answer this and she would strangle them.  About this time Laios
was killed by Oidipous (who didn't know he was Laios' son).  Creon
(ruler), the regent of Thebes, offered the kingdom to anyone who could
defeat the Sphinx.  Oidipous came and solved the riddle (the answer is
"a human").  The Sphinx then killed herself.  A major goddess.  One of
the Nine and of the Seven.  Goddess of war and courage.  Associated
with lions and other felines.  Patron of the seventh day of the week
and of Trivigaunte.  Supposed child of Typhon and Echidna. 
Bad-tempered.  Looking at the legend, it seems possible to me that
Silk is meant to have some connection with Oedipus, and that his
parents really are Typhon and Kypris, and that Kypris possessed
Hyacinth, and (this is what I know for sure) he kills off the worship
of Typhon (Pas).

Spider.  Any species in order Araneida, especially in class Arachnida.
 Arthropods with eight legs that often secrete a strong silk-like
substance to make complex webs.  Potto's chief spycatcher.  The name
sounds like spy.  He is in control of a web of informants and spies.

Sumaire.  Irish for sucker, blood-sucker, leech, vampire, parasite,
slow person.  Written with an acute accent over the u.  Flyer killed
by the Trivigauntis.  His name may be intended as mosquito, as that
would fit in with the other Flyers, but it seems odd for him to have a
name like this.

Swallow.  Any of many species of a large group in family Hirundinidae.
 Small, long-winged, short-billed, forked tail.  The swifts (family
Apodidae) are also often commonly called swallows.  Man in charge of
the talus factory.  It's possible that his name refers to chimney
swifts, which get sooty because of fires in chimneys.

prion
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