So, Luna. Hard to write, nigh(t) impossible to perfect. Terrible puns are asinine. If you, like me, have encountered a plethora of strange and foreign words while reading Luna orientated stories, then this guide is for you.
In it, I'll be listing each word that is either no longer in circulation or has a different meaning etymologically to the one a modern English speaker might be familiar with. I'll be defining them in my own words, rather than cutting and pasting from online sources (because hey, you guys are worth the effort) and I'll try to provide a little information on their origin too.
The words Luna will occasionally be found using throughout this story are primarily sourced from Middle English and Early Modern English.
Now, let's begin.
A-D
Afeared (1200's): A word that means afraid, with origins routed in Old English and links to Shakespearean works, fell out of use around the 1700's.
Beseech (1200's): Urgently or desperately beg. Cognate to other West Germanic languages such as Old High German bisuochan or Dutch bezoeken.
Betwixt: (1500's): A word that originates from Old English term betweox, meaning between or amidst. The 't' on the end of the word was not common until the 1500's. Betwixen is a variant of betweox that was also common in Old and Middle English.
Brazen (1200's) Word that originated in Old English meaning 'of brass' or 'made of brass'. Modern meaning to be bold and shameless is linked to old meaning, someone without shame could be described to be made of brass, although here it has both a literal and figurative meaning.
E-J
Egregious (1530's): Originating from latin, this word once meant extraordinary or excellent. In the late 1500's, the meaning was altered to 'extremely bad', a complete dichotomy, the antithesis of its original meaning.
Ere (1200's): Germanic word meaning 'before' or 'previous'.
Folly (1200's): A word meaning foolishness or idiocy, originating from Old French word folie, which was defined as madness or stupidity. At a point, folie also had a positive denotation in France.
Froward (1200's): Difficult to deal with, adverse, or difficult. A culmination of Old English term Fromward (meaning doomed to die) and Old Saxon term Fro, meaning backwards or away from.
K-Q
Gyve (around 1200's): Shackles or fetters. Origin of this word is unknown.
Mayhaps (1500's): An archaic word for perhaps, or maybe, originating from the term 'it may hap', hap meaning happen.
Naught (1400-1500's): A word that means 'nothing', and can be used as a replacement for zero in arithmetic, although this is most often occurs in Britain. Before meaning 'nothing', it meant 'an act of evil'. The old English 'naught' develops from cognates with other germanic languages (such as Old Saxon).
Nay (1200's): A word simply meaning 'no'. Originated in Scandinavia.
Nowise (1800's, not certain): A word meaning 'in no way'.
S-Z
Scrying (1520's): This is the act of magically viewing an event occurring in another place through a reflective medium such as a mirror or crystal ball. Scrying can also be related to foresight. This word comes from the early French word descrier, someone who published and shared information. From here, the word descry appeared in France, which once meany describe, but this is now obsolete. The English used and adapted this word in the sixteenth century, which led to the meaning used here.
Swith (1200's): A word which can strong, fast, strongly, or quickly. Derived from Old English word 'Swithe' (coined before 900), which only meant strong.
Trinity (1200's): A word derived from Latin, describing the state of being three, or a group of three. This was originally used by Christians to describe "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit", and the unity between the godhead. It has later been adapted for use outside of religion.