Since implementing a Dictionary in The 24hourlies, I’ve decided it might be a good thing to have one I’ll be able fill in as the books progress online as well.
So in case you were wondering what certain Slovenian words meant, or were curious about the details of the world of Slavic mythology, scroll down!
Belobog: (pronunciation: bell-oh-bogh) the god of good, the opposite of Chernobog (literal translation would be White God); can be used as a substitute for God in various expression pertaining to gratitude, like Thank Belobog!
Chernobog: (pronunciation: chern-oh-bogh) the god of shadows and light, a destroying force (literal translation would be Black God); popularly used in the phrase Damn (someone/something) to Chernobog! which is the equivalent of our Damn (someone/something) to hell!
Jarilo: (pronunciation: yah-real-oh) the god of spring and vegetation; substitutes God! or Jesus! when used to express disbelief
Koliada: (pronunciation: kohl-ee-adah) divine personalization of the newborn winter infant Sun; as an exclamation it substitutes Jesus!
Kolduny: (pronunciation: koll-doony) practitioners of (light) magic
Kolovrat: (pronunciation: koll-oh-wrath) Slavic symbol of the Sun
Lada: (pronunciation: lah-dah) the goddess of love and merriment
Likhoradka: (pronunciation: leek-whor-rad-kah) an evil spirit created by Chernobog that has the ability to possess people
Miška: (pronunciation: meesh-kah) a term of endearment; literally it means “small mouse”
Metulj: (pronunciation: met-ool) butterfly; in Slavic lore one of the symbols that represent vampires
Mokoš: (pronunciation: mo-kosh) goddess of fertility, the protector of women; one of her supposed consorts was Veles
Mora: (pronunciation: moh-rah) nightmare
Morana: (pronunciation: moh-rah-nah) the goddess of death and winter
Mračaj: (pronunciation: mrah-chai) vaguely translates into “the land of darkness”; in Slovenian, the root of the word (“mrak”) means darkness
Refošk: (pronunciation: reh-foshk) type of wine
Simargl: (pronunciation: see-marh-gull) a winged hound or wolf, sometimes perceived as the god of fire
Sojenice: (pronunciation: soy-eh-ni-seh) mythological creatures that determine a person’s fate
Srček: (pronunciation: sir-check) sweetheart
Vedmak: (pronunciation: vedh-mack) a shape-shifting warlock
Veles: (pronunciation: vell-es) the god of the underworld, connected to earth and water
Velin: (pronunciation: vell-in) Veles’ father; the first ruler of the underworld*
*With the exception of Velin, all deities and creatures are based on actual Slavic lore.
GAJA J. KOS 