Lexember 2025

[äreo]

It's nearly December again, so let's get a Lexember thread going.

For those unfamiliar, the practice of Lexember is to coin a new word in one or more of your languages each day of December. With a thread like this, we can share what we come up with and typically also follow a prompt of some kind, but the latter isn't a requirement for participation in the thread.

In 2023 we had suggested themes for each week (and previous Lexembers have been similar AFAIK). Last year we used an Advent calendar of letters that xxx had made. This time around I'd like to go back to some kind of theme arrangement.

Here are this year's themes:

December 1st-7th: Culture and the Unusual
Words for highly specific things that may not lend themselves to 1:1 translation. Does your conculture worship a pantheon? Do the people wear a hat shaped like a sacred plant on the 23rd day of the 8th month? At that, is their calendar lunisolar, or what? Is there a specific word for the first slice of a cake or pie?

December 8th-14th: Movement and Exercise
Words for movements of the body or of objects and things/properties related to those. Can you talk in your language about pressing, curling, or squatting; body positions in rock climbing, dance, or sex; muscle soreness or stiff joints? What about rotation vs. revolution; planets in retrograde; wheels and axles? How do you describe weight, speed, torque?

December 15th-21st: Biology and Taxonomy
Words for living things, or formerly living things told of in stories and/or learned about from fossils. Also parts of the body if you like. Fungi, orange trees, marmosets; griffins, trilobites, archeopteryxes; tentacles, thumbs, antennae. How might one talk in your conlang about the Cambrian Explosion, or speciation, or descent from a common ancestor?

December 22nd-28th: Economy and Exchange
Words for goods, services, and how they are given and taken. How would you refer to a farmers' market or a stock market; a gift economy or a cryptocurrency; window shopping or free samples; IOUs or tally-sticks; a game of white elephant or secret Santa? Does your language allow you to complain that a relationship feels transactional? &c.

December 29th, 30th, and 31st: Anything Goes
Whatever you want.

[/ˌnɐ.ˈɾɛn.dɚ.ˌduːd/]

I would love to participate in this, it'll be a good excuse to expand the dictionaries of my more recent conlangs. at the moment, I have no ideas for themes, but I'll come back once I come up with something good like one does every once in a while.

[Man in Space]

Overly specific cultural terms (“culture” broadly interpreted).

[/ˌnɐ.ˈɾɛn.dɚ.ˌduːd/]

Here's an idea: names for specific kinds of living organisms

[Man in Space]

Here's an idea: names for specific kinds of living organisms

Bonus points if they appear in Cambrian explosion formations but are extinct IRL (e.g. Hallucigenia, Anomalocaris…).

[äreo]

Here's an idea: names for specific kinds of living organisms

Bonus points if they appear in Cambrian explosion formations but are extinct IRL (e.g. Hallucigenia, Anomalocaris…).

I just watched the first Jurassic Park film and that has me thinking it would be cool to have some words for dinosaurs.

[foxcatdog]

Overly specific cultural terms (“culture” broadly interpreted).

Seconding this.

[foxcatdog]

How about shops, markets and economy? The last term is for cultures without much interchange of goods.

[äreo]

OK, here's a way we can put this all together:

December 1st-7th: Culture and the Unusual
Words for highly specific things that may not lend themselves to 1:1 translation. Does your conculture worship a pantheon? Do the people wear a hat shaped like a sacred plant on the 23rd day of the 8th month? At that, is their calendar lunisolar, or what? Is there a specific word for the first slice of a cake or pie?

December 8th-14th: Movement and Exercise
Words for movements of the body or of objects and things/properties related to those. Can you talk in your language about pressing, curling, or squatting; body positions in rock climbing, dance, or sex; muscle soreness or stiff joints? What about rotation vs. revolution; planets in retrograde; wheels and axles? How do you describe weight, speed, torque?

December 15th-21st: Biology and Taxonomy
Words for living things, or formerly living things told of in stories and/or learned about from fossils. Also parts of the body if you like. Fungi, orange trees, marmosets; griffins, trilobites, archeopteryxes; tentacles, thumbs, antennae. How might one talk in your conlang about the Cambrian Explosion, or speciation, or descent from a common ancestor?

December 22nd-28th: Economy and Exchange
Words for goods, services, and how they are given and taken. How would you refer to a farmers' market or a stock market; a gift economy or a cryptocurrency; window shopping or free samples; IOUs or tally-sticks; a game of white elephant or secret Santa? Does your language allow you to complain that a relationship feels transactional? &c.

December 29th, 30th, and 31st: Anything Goes
Whatever you want.

[Lērisama]

December 1st-7th: Culture and the Unusual
Words for highly specific things that may not lend themselves to 1:1 translation. Does your conculture worship a pantheon? Do the people wear a hat shaped like a sacred plant on the 23rd day of the 8th month? At that, is their calendar lunisolar, or what? Is there a specific word for the first slice of a cake or pie?

December 8th-14th: Movement and Exercise
Words for movements of the body or of objects and things/properties related to those. Can you talk in your language about pressing, curling, or squatting; body positions in rock climbing, dance, or sex; muscle soreness or stiff joints? What about rotation vs. revolution; planets in retrograde; wheels and axles? How do you describe weight, speed, torque?

December 15th-21st: Biology and Taxonomy
Words for living things, or formerly living things told of in stories and/or learned about from fossils. Also parts of the body if you like. Fungi, orange trees, marmosets; griffins, trilobites, archeopteryxes; tentacles, thumbs, antennae. How might one talk in your conlang about the Cambrian Explosion, or speciation, or descent from a common ancestor?

December 22nd-28th: Economy and Exchange
Words for goods, services, and how they are given and taken. How would you refer to a farmers' market or a stock market; a gift economy or a cryptocurrency; window shopping or free samples; IOUs or tally-sticks; a game of white elephant or secret Santa? Does your language allow you to complain that a relationship feels transactional? &c.

December 29th, 30th, and 31st: Anything Goes
Whatever you want.

I'm a bit late, but I like these.

---

One of the first things I remember doing on the ZBB is last year's Lexember¹, so firstly, thank you last year's lexembrists for being so welcoming, and secondly, I've been on the ZBB for a year already! How‽.

¹ No spell check, I mean neither December nor Luxembourg

[/ˌnɐ.ˈɾɛn.dɚ.ˌduːd/]

I've been on the ZBB for a year already! How‽.

ey, congrats!

[foxcatdog]

Week 1 (In Amarin of course)

More: show

*juakan “The pass of the year a 24 day long celebration during new years with each day celebrating the most significant event one did in each month of the year, it’s very convenient that only festival days do not officially belong to a month in the Amarin calendar.”
From Proto Central Amaric *guakan

*inuanima “Love place a public building where one can make love in private (as clan complexes are generally too public). They are legally bound to be free of charge (including a meal) but also provide services for a fee.”
From *inu “love” + *anima “place”

*kakisi “A type of fluid made from mixing genital fluids which is lathered over those who took a vow of affection, unlike many similar concepts this can be given to members of the same sex.”
Onomatopoeic but attested as such in other Central Amaric languages.

*lakakasi “A type of fat/oil which is elucidated from eating the fruit *lakawaain from the *lakatin tree which causes them to vomit up the fatty substances in chienna stomachs. It is traditionally given on the first birthday of pre-adulthood life (200 for males and 250 for females) and is said to symbolise removal of regrets or purification from childhood sins”
From *laka “to lactate” + *kase “fat”

*musikawa “Clan art, art conforming to Amarin standards and customs as well as more broadly that of other central amaric or even other amaric speakers”
*musi “art” + *kawa “clan which is also used as a more general prefix indicating general amaric behaviour”

*śandiaika “Prime years 400-500, the time after having children when an Amarin individual isn’t supposed to be too burdened by advising younger individuals/taking care of clan matters and isn’t generally having children, named as such because its generally when a Chienna will fully develop in terms of secondary sexual characteristics, and also before they show the slight signs of age which are only obvious to other Chienna”.
*śandia “year” + *ika “buttock”

*kurunga “When one's birthday co-occurs with one’s deathday or alternatively when it co-occurs with the deathday of someone close to said individual.”
*kuru “date” + *naka “between’

[Lērisama]

Grr. I lost the post to the forum gods. This is not going to be as comprehensive.

1^st Lex

月ハン　pēdhan
ピーダゥハン　/pɛːdhan/
A month in the Punuic religious¹ calendar.
From PSP *pīnδëhan², from *pīnδu irregularly suffixed with an unknown element, probably a god(ess).

Bonus Words:
月　pīdu
ピード　/piːdu/
A month, either lunar³ or calendar.
From PSP *pīnδu, probably from *pīn ‘id.’

月　pīn
ピーネ　/piːn/
The larger moon, probably called Lūašm⁴.
From PSP *pīn ‘id.’

¹ i.e. the northern one, but the state religion kept using it even after a standard compromise one was introduced
² Or *pīnδuhan with a later irregular development, but it's unclear
³ The larger moon – Žōs has two
⁴ Note deciphering dependent

[Travis B.]

Lexember 1st

guur /ʁuːr/ [ʁuːr] m. inan. 'period of time'
guure kaarhi /ʁuːræ kɑːrhi/ [ˈʁuːɾɐ ˈkɑːrçe] m. inan. 'month' (lit. period of time of the moon)
stat. q'awt /qʼɑwt/ [qʼɔːt̪], imp. uq'awt /uqʼɑwt/ [oˈqʼɔːt̪] 'be between'
guure kaarhi iq'awt /ʁuːræ kɑːrhi iqʼɑwt/ [ˈʁuːɾɐ ˈkɑːrçe eˈqʼɔːt̪] m. inan. 'intercalary month'

(Yes, the traditional calendar of the Rihalle Kaafi speakers is lunisolar.)

[äreo]

Msérsca has a double function as both a personal language and that of a conculture, so I may further a bit of both with this week's theme. Let's start with the latter, since I haven't done much for it in a long time.

The speakers of Msérsca have a god, Drasonis or perhaps Zassonis in later speech, who is associated with technology and communication. He is said to have given to each of the three sons of the first man a gift: to the first he gave agriculture and animal husbandry; to the second he gave metallurgy; and to the third he gave writing. He is worshipped by a semi-secret society of technician-priests. Advanced technology (roughly that of the year 1900 in our world) is the exclusive purview of this priesthood; most of the surrounding society looks more or less pre-industrial but with trains and telephone poles in select areas, which these priests have a sacred duty to build, maintain, and repair, and whose proliferation is limited by law.

From his name* we can derive

Lexember 1:
zassoném
[ˈzasːɔniɛm]
engineer, technician, from Zassoniri genitive + cem man; with nella woman we can get zassonella, but words derived from cem are not typically thought of as strictly masculine

*Male names tend to end in -is and female names tend to end in -o

[Lērisama]

2^nd Lex

育ンく　　　　　Jēwāg
イꜜーワーンカゥ　/jɛːwɔːɣ/
A month of the Lēri Ziwi religious calendar, corresponding to April to May/June

Etymology:
From the PPS *jajwāhkë ‘they grow’, from the obselete verb *jajw-, to grow

[Man in Space]

I’m going to combine the ZBB and CBB Lexembers. (I understand I’m late to start here…I am so tired these past few days.)

Lexember 1

Culture and the Unusual

Proto-Taltic

*såqqiklı /*sɔkkʷitʲlɨ/ ‘to fail to notice s.t. because one is distracted doing something else’
*sʌlukæqʌs /*səlukɛtʲʷəs/ ‘to go hunting/fishing and return back empty-handed’

Tsəmbaktswəspwəyksma

-kəwun/-kəwuk- /-kəwək/ [-kəwun/-kəwuk-] ‘upwind’
-sn/-sk /-sk/ [-ʃn/-ʃk-] ‘downwind’
nasəyts /kasəjss/ [nãsəjt^s] ‘to hold a grudge (against s.o.)’

Xı̋xǒcq Tlar Canà

bsôrng /bʒõɹ^B2/ MB [bjỹˀu̯˧˩] : Gu [bjõt˩] : Gn [bzõˀɹ˨˥˦] ‘to heal s.o., to treat s.o.’s wounds’
glörùy /ʎo^D2ʒoi̯^A2/ MB [ʎøˀ˧˩ʒyi̯˥˩] : Gu [ɟo˩ʒac˧] : Gn [ʟo˧ɣei̯ˀ˩] ‘gossip, busybody, nosy person, snoopy person’
quiâongch /ki̯ɔ̃ʃ^B2/ MB [ki̯ø̃ˀi̯˧˩] : Gu [ki̯õʃ˩] : Gn [hɑ̃ˀx˨˥˦] ‘to prepare (food, material) without using red plants in the process’
xǎchluȧong /saʃ^B1lu̯ɔ̃^D1/ MB [sas˩˥lu̯ã˩˥] : Gu [saʃ˩lu̯õː˩] : Gn [sæˀx˩lu̯ɑ̃˧] ‘plant that looks like it has two trunks or stalks growing from one base’

Rocks, Minerals, Geology

Proto-Taltic

*æltestʌq /*ɛhteɕtəkʷ/ ‘topsoil’
*kælkæs /*kɛhkɛɕ/ ‘pass, route between two mountains’
*qaslı /*kʷaslɨ/ ‘ground, earth, land, soil’
*satiqultu /satitʷʲultu/ ‘glacial runoff’

Tsəmbaktswəspwəyksma

ngamadna /hapakka/ [ŋãmã^dnã] ‘fault line, crack, crevice, rift, split’
nganatsam /hakassap/ [ŋãnãt^sãm] ‘seasonal river, wadi, spring, stream’
nyewun /kjawək/ [njẽwun] ‘pebble’
unaypətyi /wØkajpəkjə/ [unãjpətji] ‘sinkhole’

Xı̋xǒcq Tlar Canà

chúngquia̋er /cũ^C1ki̯ɛɹ^D1/ MB [tʃỹ˦˩˧ki̯ɛu̯˩˥] : Gu [cõː˨˥ki̯ɛt˩] : Gn [cũ˥hæɹ˧] ‘crystal; grain (of rock, stone, or metal)’
coénhė /ku̯ẽn^C1e^D1/ MB [ku̯ĩn˦˩˧e˩˥] : Gu [ku̯ẽn˨˥eːˀ˧˩] : Gn [ku̯ẽʔ˥e˧] ‘basalt’
gnènhgû /ɲen^A2ŋu^B2/ (MB [dʒĩn˥˩guˀ˧˩], Gu [ɲẽn˧ŋuː˩], Gn [næ̃ʔ˩nuˀ˨˥˦]) ‘flint’
jayganc /ɟai̯^A1ŋãc^A1/ MB [dʒei̯˧gãt˧] : Gu [ɟac˥ŋãc˥] : Gn [ɟoi̯˩næ̃c˩] ‘chert’

[foxcatdog]

From the CBB Lexember
Week 1: Geology

*akai “pearl” from PA *jakapi

*kunameta “lava literally fires of the earth”
*aakuna “volcano literally fire mountain”

The word *kuna is first attested in these two compounds and is probably from Shiritisa *kuuna PCK *kuna. It however was previously created so it is ineligible for this relay.

*śakajaanna “natural disaster, literally fire storm although the word for fire is no longer attested”
*śakajajui “earthquake, literally earth storm”

*kumikawana “continent, literally north+south deriving from the fact the amarin archipelago is in between two continents” composed of two new coinages *kumi “cold/north” and *kawana “south”. In Proto Amaric *aśaĺ “east” was also the word for continent and *kamna “west” was also the word for Island (it still means big island in Amarin. North was instead *jankuśi and south *raat́i which would become Amarin *ajusi and *raasi respectively.

*anisii “be sticky” from PA *anet́ii “to swallow”
>*anisiimita “sticky earth/slime (the substance) (slime the creature is *ome)

Gems/Jewels (this one works for wealth/power/politics also)
*pajari “sapphire” from PA *pankari

*osuna “emerald” from PA *josona
*oso “precious stone” Onomatopoeic

*pajumita “ruby” from *paju “jewel” + *meta “earth”

[Travis B.]

Lexember 2nd

siixu /siːχu/ [ˈʃeːχo] m. inan. 'grapes', 'vine'
akka /ɑkkɑ/ [ˈɑkːɐ] f. inan. 'traditional intoxicating drink made by fermentation'
pfv. k'uuxa /kʼuːχɑ/ [ˈkʼoːχɐ], ipfv. k'aaxa /kʼɑːχɑ/ [ˈkʼɑːχɐ], imp. ak'uux /ɑkʼuːχ/ [ɐˈkʼoːχ] 'ferment'
pfv. zala /zɑlɑ/ [ˈzɑlɐ], ipfv. zela /zælɑ/ [ˈʒælɐ], imp. uzal /uzɑl/ [oˈzɑl] 'leaven'
akke siixi /ɑkkæ siːxi/ [ˈɑcːɐ ˈʃeːxe] f. inan. 'wine'
akke saqri /ɑkkæ sɑqri/ [ˈɑcːɐ ˈsɑkre] f. inan. 'beer'
sawma /sɑwmɑ/ [ˈsɔːmɐ] m. inan. 'the haoma of the Zoroastrians' (this is an early Indo-Iranian loan)

[Man in Space]

Lexember 2

Culture and the Unusual

Common Caber

rdavgia /ɾdavʑ(i)a ~ ɾdavj(i)a/ ‘copal, aromatic resin or sap burnt for its smell’
ŭtrava /ɨtsawa ~ ɨtɾawa/ ‘generational guilt due to transgression(s) of ancestor(s)’

Proto-Taltic

*ısælaqıs /*ɨsɛlakʷɨs/ ‘to die as a consequence of doing something stupid’
*ossæl /*ossɛ/ ‘to kick s.o. down a well, shaft, or similar enclosed area at the bottom of a drop-off with the intent to kill or seriously injure’
*qåtekʌkæsqal /*kʷɔtekəkɛskʷal/ ‘to preserve food by burying it outside (in snow or under dirt) to maintain a low temperature’
*tækolele /*tɛkolehe/ [tɛkolele] ‘to injure o.s. due to coughing, sneezing, sniffling, or yawning’

Xı̋xǒcq Tlar Canà

caefjáe /kɛ^A1ɸʃɛ^C1/ MB [kɛ˧ɸtʃɛ˦˩˧] : Gu [kɛː˥jɛː˨˥] : Gn [kæ˩ɸcæ˥] ‘art style characterized by fluid lines, use of gold and silver (esp. as applied foil) against dark backgrounds, gentle curves in preference to straight lines, and varying line widths’ (> kémłéa)
ciëgláng /ci̯e^D2ʎã^C1/ MB [tʃi̯eˀ˧˩ʎẽ˦˩˧] : Gu [ci̯eː˩ʎãː˨˥] : Gn [ci̯e˧ʎɑ̃˥] ‘cosmetic pigment sold in powdered form and applied after mixing it with a little seawater’
chayt /cai̯t^A1/ MB [tʃei̯t˧] : Gu [caʃt˥] : Gn [coi̯ʔ˩] ‘age of majority, age of adulthood, coming-of-age, maturity’
sőrgä /ʃoɹ^C2ŋa^D2/ MB [ʃøˀu̯˩˦gaˀ˧˩] : Gu [ʃoˀt˦˥ŋaː˩] : Gn [xoɹ˧næ˧] ‘blank page, empty canvas, unfilled-out form; ore, raw/unworked material’ (the former meaning is original)
tu̇hǎocq /tu^D1ɔk^B1/ MB [tu˩˥ɔk˩˥] : Gu [tsu˧ɔk˧] : Gn [tu˧ɑˀk˩] ‘social call involving meeting for tea’

Rocks, Minerals, Geology

Common Caber

bdençin /bɾɛnˈɕin ~ bdɛnˈɕin/ ‘loam’
cŏosc /kəˈɔsk/ [kəˈɔsk] ‘flowstone’
dagini /dagiˈni/ [daʑ(i)ˈni ~ daj(i)ˈni] ‘anthracite’
qorx /tɕɔɾks/ ‘soil horizon, layer of soil or deposited rock’

Çuvvaccoçim

bǵlaym’ /bʎajmʔ/ ‘to erode (s.t.), to gradually ruin (s.t.) via physical processes’
bincoy’ /biɲcojʔ/ ‘island’
gÿemoyinǵ /gɰɤmoɰiɲ/ ‘silt, fine wet sand or soil’
mboǵubbonggonǵ /mboɟubboŋgoɲ/ ‘granite’
nggyoǵlloc /ngjoɟʎoc/ ‘talc’
’ïgllec /ʔɯgʟɤc/ ‘to shake, to quake (of ground)’

Kgáweq’

’aqgo’ótła /qχoˈʔotɬa/ ‘river valley’
ark /aʕk/ ‘mountain range’
—> ne’ark /neˈʔaʕk/ ‘mountain’
—> Gna’árk /gnaˈʔaʕk/ ‘the Burning Mountains’
’ấntsâk /ˈʔəntsək/ ‘foothill’
—> ’âdâ’ấntsâk /ʔədəˈʔəntsək/ ‘tumulus, burial mound, dolmen’
—> ’u’ấntsấk /ʔuˈʔəntsək/ ‘hill, mount’
—> gnâ’ấntsấk /gnəˈʔəntsək/ ‘piedmont’
qu’âkgấltsur /quʔəˈkxəltsuʕ/ ‘graphite’ (< kgấltsur ‘supersede, overwrite, override, cover’)
tú’ree /ˈtuʔʕeᵊ/ ‘hole, pit, corridor, shaft’
—> ’itú’ree /ʔiˈtuʔʕeᵊ/ ’mineshaft’
—> sęęrtú’ree /sḛᵊʕˈtuʔʕeᵊ/ ‘sinkhole, deep pit; hazard’

Classical Khaya

althiĝ /altʰi^ŋg/ [altʰi^ŋg] ‘breccia’
funq’ih /funq’ih/ [fuɴq’ih] ‘basin, catchment’
ǧowsuhu /^ɴɢuwsuhu/ [^ɴɢowsuhu] ‘bajada’
qhowo /qʰuwu/ [qʰowo] ‘fumarole, geyser’
sulga /sulga/ [sulga] ‘coarse gravel largely comprising smallish, rounded stones or pebbles’
thaytam /tʰajtam/ [tʰæjtam] ‘mesa’

Proto-Taltic

*ækkol /*ɛkkol/ ‘to strike s.t. while digging underground or underwater (e.g., a mineral deposit, a shipwreck, one’s lost keys, bedrock)’
*kæsʌkkulo /*kɛsəkkulo/ ‘geode; place for hiding valuables; treasure vault’ (the first sense is original)
*loti /*loti/ ‘lava, magma’
*oqil /*okʷil/ ‘to run into something dangerous or deadly while digging underground or underwater’
*qiltukæs /*kʷiltukɛs/ ‘bedrock; foundation(s) of building(s)’ (the former sense is original)
*sæsikʌtåktıs /*sɛsikətɔktɨs/ ‘gabbro’
*tulåqqık /*tulɔkkʷɨk/ ‘bauxite’

Tsəmbaktswəspwəyksma

arat /asass/ [ãɾãt] ‘large cave, cave complex’
natsun /kasswØk/ [nãt^sun] ‘water table; (aug.) aquifer’
nyarum /kjaswØp/ [njãrum] ‘red clay’
yestyəkəy /jaskjəkəj/ [jãʃtjəkəj] ‘vein (of ore or mineral), layer, source or store of resource(s) incorporated into a larger environment’

Xı̋xǒcq Tlar Canà

duûyng /du̯õi̯^B2/ MB [dy̯ø̃ˀi̯˧˩] : Gu [dzu̯ãc˩] : Gn [du̯æ̃ˀi̯˨˥˦] ‘quicklime’
psı̋n /pʃĩn^C2/ MB [pjẽˀn˩˦] : Gu [pʃẽˀn˦˥] : Gn [psĩʔ˧] ‘to slake, to disintegrate or crumble due to exposure to moisture’
sőrgä /ʃoɹ^C2ŋa^D2/ MB [ʃøˀu̯˩˦gaˀ˧˩] : Gu [ʃoˀt˦˥ŋaː˩] : Gn [xoɹ˧næ˧] ‘ore, raw/unworked material; blank page, empty canvas, unfilled-out form’