Vocabulary of Contemporary Imperial

The terms on this page are, where the actual Imperial words are not yet provided, intended to give an idea of what concepts the separate Imperial words cover. Bear in mind that where a short-form English term is used, it is not always intended as a literal translation of the Imperial word.

• Dark: Black, but also up to moderately dark grays, as well as very dark hues, particularly blues, greens, and purples. Used of the night sky, of rain or storm clouds as well as any nighttime clouds.
• Blue/green: viile. Almost all shades of green, as well as most blues of a darker hue or having even a hint of green; often a kind of saturation or lively quality is implied. Used for healthy foliage, and (usually) for the color of the ocean.
• Blue/gray: Blues or grays lighter than moderately dark or relatively desaturated. Used particularly of the sky and of animals with gray fur or coloration.
• Purple: Approximates the English definition, though shifted slightly away from blue and toward red; that is, colors that in English might be purple bordering on blue (violet, indigo) are shades of blue/gray in Imperial, while colors that might be reddish bordering on purple might instead be purple in Imperial (magenta, crimson).
• Brown/red: Dark to moderately light browns, and dark to moderately dark reds without vibrancy. Used of blood and bloodstains, rust, dirt and mud, most brown furs, or dead leaves. Very dark yellows, such as that of dried mustard, are also included.
• Red/orange: Reds and oranges, particularly bright shades. Includes some pinks, but not pale ones. Sunsets are described with this color.
• Yellow/tan: Most shades of yellow, as well as the paler brown shades.
• Pale: This color can be used to describe white, but also used for any hue that approaches white; the use of this is wider than English “off-white”, verging into what we would call “very light” shades of a color, particularly browns, reds, and yellows. Used for snow, crop milk, the color of takma eggs. Also used for many shining things, particularly celestial objects and fire, unless their light has a very strong hue.

• Mother: Either the individual who is accepted as being the referent's biological mother, or someone who has permanently (and usually formally) taken on the same responsibilities.
• Father: Generally any male who is or was a husband or otherwise bound mate of the referent's mother, but particularly one who had a role in the referent's care or upbringing. This word has no connection to biological paternity, which is generally not acknowledged in any case.
• Grandmother: The referent's mother's mother.
• Grandfather: Generally any male who is or was a husband or otherwise bound mate of the referent's grandmother, in the same sense as “father”.
• Foremother or ancestrix: Any matrilineal female ancestor of the referent from a great-grandmother on back; being more specific requires constructions such as “grandmother's grandmother's mother”. There are no separate terms at all for any foremother's husbands.

• Daughter: A female child for whom the referent has taken on a permanent (and usually formal) parental role; if the referent is female this is most often her biological daughter.
• Son: A male child for whom the referent has taken on a permanent (and usually formal) parental role; if the referent is female this is most often her biological son.
• Sororal parallel niece: A daughter of a female referent's sister, or any of her descendents.
• Sororal parallel nephew: A son of a female referent's sister.
• Fraternal cross-niece/nephew: A child, of either gender, of a female referent's brother.
• Sororal cross-niece: A daughter of a male referent's sister, or any of her descendants.
• Sororal cross-nephew: A son of a male referent's sister.
• Fraternal parallel niece/nephew: A child, of either gender, of a male referent's brother.
• Matrilineal female descendant: A female with matrilineal descent from the referent and his/her daughters; used of matrilineal granddaughters on forward.
• Granddaughter: A daughter of one of the referent's sons.
• Grandson: A son of any of the referent's children.

• Same-clutch sister: A female child of the referent's mother, hatched from the same clutch of eggs. The same word tends to be used by any group of females that choose to express close bonds in familial terms.
• Same-clutch brother: A male child of the referent's mother, hatched from the same clutch of eggs.
• lakye - other-clutch sister: A female child of the referent's mother, hatched from a different clutch of eggs; generally distinguished as older or younger than the referent.
• Other-clutch brother: A male child of the referent's mother, hatched from a different clutch of eggs; generally distinguished as older or younger than the referent.

• Same-clutch maternal aunt: A sister of the referent's mother, hatched from the same clutch.
• Other-clutch maternal aunt: A sister of the referent's mother, hatch from a different clutch; generally distinguished as older or younger than the mother.
• Maternal uncle: A brother of the referent's mother, from any clutch.
• Matrilineal female cousin: Any female relative who shares with the referent a matrilineal descent from further back than the referent's own mother.
• Matrilineal male cousin: Any male relative who shares with the referent a matrilineal descent from further back than the referent's own mother.
• Paternal elder: Any relation on the referent's father's side of the same or a previous generation as the father: paternal aunts, uncles, grandparents, father's first cousins, etc.
• Cousin: Any relation on the referent's father's side of a generation subsequent to the father's, as well as any descendant of a maternal uncle.

Given the close links that form between the members of takma male bands, they tend to consider such links, and the specialized terms associated with them, in the same or similar familial way as their childhood families. This link is often made at an early age, where the same terminology is applied privately between favorite fathers and sons, particularly close brothers and friends, and - as time goes on - among an individual's chosen group of cronies. These terms tend to be difficult to fully translate into English; “buddy” or “bro” convey some of the camaraderie and fraternal spirit, but not the range of relations available.

Due to lack of exposure to them, it is frequent for females to either not understand these terms or to misunderstand their importance in males' lives.

• Mentor: A bandmate who is of higher seniority to the referent and who has had substantial responsibility for teaching him the band's ways and traditions. The same term tends to be used for a favorite father, and could be translated “dad” in this sense.
• Pupil: The counterpart of “mentor”; a bandmate who is of lower seniority to the referent and is taught the band's ways and traditions by him. The same term tends to be used for a favorite son.
• Elder: A bandmate who is of higher seniority than the referent, by whichever measure of seniority the band uses: overall age, time with the band, experience in some particular activity, or some combination of these.
• Comrade: A bandmate who is of approximately equal seniority to the referent.
• Youngling: A bandmate who is of lower seniority than the referent. The counterpart of “elder”.
• Leader or boss: A bandmate who has a recognized leadership role or acknowledged authority. Though the nature of this term implies a certain amount of seniority within the band, it is not formally linked to it, and a young up-and-coming leader could well also be a “youngling” to a common member who is much older, though the deliberate choice of “youngling” over “leader” in such a case would be either extremely familiar or an insult.

There is a rich variety of terms to describe the type of personal relationship that one person has with another. Each section is arranged below in approximately increasing order of emotional closeness, though there may be slight irregularities due to the specific nature of the relationship in question. Where a pair of words is given, the relationship is considered in some way asymmetrical between two roles, often (if not always) due to gender.

• ereta - outcast: One who is ereta has only the most rudimentary contact with society at large or none at all. This may be due to being shunned, exiled, imprisoned in isolation, or made an outlaw for some particularly socially intolerable behavior (depending on the society, this may be anything from a horrible crime to mental illness to overt gender nonconformity), but someone who has a distaste for society may become a hermit and are said to have made themselves ereta. Eretar may have people that they maintain positive relations with on an individual basis, but are geographically or socially unintegrated. Despite the asymmetrical nature of the relationship, there is no specific counterpart term for one who considers another ereta; that is considered simply being “normal”.
• tinaak - enemy: A tinaak is one who is the subject of at least intense dislike, if not disgust, hatred or loathing, from another - essentially, someone who another cannot interact with in a civil manner. By the very nature of the relationship, the perception of being tinaak is usually mutual. While one may be tinaak to someone and operate quite normally in society, a person who too many people begin to consider tinaak may slide into ereta as a social antagonist.
• jurekol - gadfly: One who is jurekol is someone who one can interact with in a civil fashion - unlike a tinaak - but inspires enough negative feeling that they would prefer not to if it can be avoided. One can be considered jurekol for any number of reasons, ranging from a disagreeable personality to an annoying habit to a dangerous level of clumsiness, and as such might be acknowledged as a decent person by the user of the term. Because seriously calling someone jurekol to their face runs the risk of turning both parties into at least mild tinaakar, mutual jurekolar tend to treat each other as sayelar and use the term jurekol only when speaking to third parties. This peculiarity also means that it is possible for a jurekol to be unaware of their status with the other person, and to in turn consider them sayel or even, in unfortunate cases, tham.
• sayel - stranger: In essence, any individual who one does not know well enough to have strong feelings about. Anyone who is not obviously a social superior, or does not have a fairly significant reputation to precede them, generally starts out as a sayel, and remains one unless more than a passing acquaintance is achieved.
• rehnama/alhrama - illustrious/humble: these terms are used in describing an asymmetrical relationship based on social position. A rehnama is one of a higher class or rank than oneself or has a positive public reputation: they are someone who one considers to be due respect and deference. The use of the term's counterpart, alhrama, is technically correct in all cases, but in practice occupies a continuum with sayel for the inferior position, based on the nature of the distance between the two participants. Alhrama is used for those who have an official position of subservience, who are a greater social distance beneath the rehnama, or generally when the difference between the two is being emphasized (ex. queen/vassal, teacher/student, decorated war hero/peasant), whereas informal or less dramatic social differences tend to contrast rehnama with sayel (musician/fan, supervisor and a worker they are close to, etc.). While relationships of these kinds do not necessarily have a sexual dimension, rehnamar are often in a position to elicit sex from their followers, if sexual orientation and marital status permit. Rehnama-based distinctions are generally considered impersonal, since they do not depend on how well, or even whether, the participants know each other; as a result, it is possible for the terms to represent the public face of a relationship while others are used in private, though this is more difficult the more alhrama-like the inferior's position is.
• tham - friend: a tham is someone who one knows well enough to consider them pleasant, or at least non-threatening, to be around or talk to. The term is somewhat looser than the English word friend; thamar are perfectly happy to socialize when they meet, but may or may not go out of their way to spend significant time with each other and do not usually feel in a position to ask unconditional favors of each other. A tham relationship is generally a minimum requirement for grooming of more than the most perfunctory sort, or for sexual contact beyond the purely transactional.
• arrai/davlakye - companion/bond-sister: those who are aryir are, in human terms, close friends. They carry a significant share of each others' trust, they spend time together and pursue various activities together, they are comfortable with one-on-one grooming, and they provide aid without guarantee of repayment. Forming arrai relationships is generally easier with and between men, for whom they form the cores of most male bands. The often competitive nature of relationships between females means that the ability to relax one's guard sufficiently to form this kind of bond with another woman is a relatively rare and treasured thing, and although it is accepted as a variant of arrai, when it does occur it is usually said of the women in question that they are davlakyer. It is generally felt that an arrai-level bond is necessary for romantic love or for a successful marriage, though the latter two are not necessarily expected to be found together.

These relationship terms run in parallel to the social ones. Though, as noted, there may be correspondences with particular sorts of social bond, they are often somewhat flexible.

Terms of this type tend to be heteronormative/cisnormative, as most cultures that use Imperial extensively have this outlook. Where one or both participants are not the “correct” ones, they will, if acknowledged at all, generally be referred to by the terms most closely corresponding with their behavioral roles in the relationship. Those cultures with less restrictive outlooks may employ local terms, but generally do not have wider currency of use.