Glossary

[ookami]

Terminology 

1. Tom - a male cat.
2. Molly - a female cat, also called a she-cat.
3. Kit - a newborn or very young cat. Less than six moons old.
4. Kit-mother - A queen.
5. Apprentice - an adolescent cat in training. Six moons or older.
6. Warrior - An apprentice that has completed their training, usually around 12 moons.
7. Queen - A pregnant or nursing cat who has moved to the nursery. Also refers to a cat who stays in the nursery to help out, even without their own kits. Sometimes called kit-mothers.
8. Mentor - A warrior who is training an apprentice.
9. Elder - A cat who cannot hunt or fight anymore, either because of age or injury.
10. Medicine Cat - A cat who has trained or is training in herblore to heal their clanmates.. Has a deep connection with StarClan.
11. Deputy - A warrior who is second-in-command and organizes patrols for the leader. They replace the leader, when the leader dies.
12. Leader - A cat who leads their Clan. Granted nine lives by StarClan, to be first in battle and last to take a piece of fresh-kill.

Curses 

1. Beetle-brained - Similar to mouse-brained.
2. Buzzardfood - Prey that has begun to stink and rot.
3. Crowfood, crow-food - Prey that has begun to stink and rot.
4. Dungface
5. Flea-brain
6. Fox-dung, similar to mouse-dung, but a little more harsh.
7. Fox-hearted - Implies cowardice or a malicious intent.
8. Furball - Similar to fuzzbrain.
9. Fuzzbrain - A mild insult, sometimes used as a term of endearment between close friends, especially when they are acting silly.
10. Hare-dung
11. Mouse-brained - Mild insult comparing the target's intelligence to that of a mouse. Sometimes friendly.
12. Mouse-dung - Mild insult implying that the target is mouse feces. Also used as an exclamation of bad luck.
13. Mousefodder - Harsh insult describing worthlessness.
14. Rabbit-brain - Similar to fuzzbrain.
15. Snake-hearted - Implies malicious intent or a corrupt soul.
16. Snake-tongue - Cold, unfair.

Exclamations and Phrases 

1. 'Sorries' catch no prey, fill no bellies - Apologies don't change the past.
2. (What) In StarClan's name - Exclamation or inquery.
3. A fox in a fit - "You're crazier than a fox in a fit."
4. A load of badger droppings - Nonsense.
5. Doesn't catch so much as a whisker - I don't care.
6. Great StarClan! StarClan's kits! By StarClan! - Exclamations of surprise or disbelief.
7. I don't give a mousetail - Same as "doesn't catch so much as a whisker."
8. StarClan knows - Answer to impossible questions.
9. Tabbies don't change their stripes - When a cat will not change their nature
10. Thistles and thorns - similar to mouse-dung, an exclamation of bad luck
11. When prairie dogs fly - Disbelief that an event will come to pass
12. Who made dirt in their nest? - Describing a moody cat or unexplainable behaviour.
    

General Vocabulary 

1. Crowfood, crow-food - Prey that has begun to stink and rot. Also an insult, see above.
2. Dawn Patrol - A group of warriors sent to check the perimeter of Clan territories at sunup. If encountered, may show aggression.
3. Dirt - Feces
4. Fresh-kill - Prey, fresh and consumable.
5. Gathering - A monthly meeting taking place at the Palegrounds, where all four clans socialize during the full-moon under a universal truce.
6. Greencough - Chest and respiratory infection, fatal in young cats and elders.
7. Hunting Patrol - a group of warriors and occassionally apprentices hunting for fresh-kill. If encountered, may show aggression.
8. Loner - A clanless cat.
9. To make dirt - To defecate.
10. To share tongues - Cats grooming one another while conversing.
11. Whitecough - A milder form of greencough, usually not fatal.

Measurements & Time 

1. Claw-moon - A crescent moon.
2. Foxlength - about three feet.
3. Half-moon - Two weeks.
4. Heartbeat - A second.
5. Kittenstep, kitstep - The length of a kit's step.
6. Moon - 28-day cycle between full moons, a month.
7. Moonhigh - Midnight.
8. Mouse length - Two or three inches.
9. Pawstep - The length of an adult cat's step.
10. Quarter-moon - A week.
11. Rabbit hop, rabbit length - about a foot and a half.
12. Sundown - Dusk
13. Sunhigh - Noon.
14. Sunrise - A day.
15. Sunup - Dawn
16. Tail length - The length of a cats tail, used to measure distance. Approximately a foot.
17. Tree-length - About 50 feet.
18. Whisker - a small amount, used as measurement, as generalization, and to emphasize how small a situation is. See "Exclamations and Phrases" for more uses.

Seasons & Weather 

1. Cracked-river - When the river is nearly empty.
2. Fish-river - When the river is full.
3. Frog-river - When the river in begins to get low.
4. Green-leaf - Summer.
5. Leaf-bare - Winter.
6. Leaf-fall - Autumn.
7. New-leaf - Spring.
8. River-rise - When the river in the Clans' territory begins to fill back up.
9. Snowmelt - Slush, dirty snow.

Areas & Environments 

1. Apprentices' den - The den shared by apprentices of each clan.
2. Camp - Each clan's permanent home.
3. Dirtplace - Where clan cats go to eliminate.
4. Elders' den - A comfortable den shared between the elders of each clan.
5. Fresh-kill pile - Where Hunting Patrols return to place their kills, providing easy access to food for all cats in the clan.
6. Leader's den - The Clan leader's den.
7. Medicine cat's den - Sometimes called the medicine den, belonging to the Clan's medicine cat and apprentice.
8. Nursery - A comfortable den shared by the queens and kits of each clan.
9. StarClan - The spirits of ancestors, who continue to watch over living cats of the Clans.
10. The Eternal River - the Milky Way. A representation of StarClan.
11. The MoonClaw - Where medicine cats travel each half-moon to commune with their ancestors. Leaders also receive their new name and nine lives there.
12. The Palegrounds - Where Clan Gatherings take place each full moon.
13. The Palerock - An oddly balanced, angular boulder upon which the clan leaders sit during Gatherings.
14. The White River - A seasonal river cutting through the Badlands.
15. Warriors' den - A den shared by the warriors and deputy of each clan.
16. Vale of Spirits - The sacred, communal graveyard shared by all four Clans, sometimes just called the Vale.
17. Skyless Canyon - An afterlife for cats who were not particularly virtuous in life. It is a lonely, dark place, and there is no way out.