antimony
A chemical element with a long history of use in medicine and cosmetics, including kohl. Nina uses antimony to darken Matthias's hair.
backless book
A book with two lenses set into the back cover, which together act as a long glass for spying. Similar devices can be made to look like makeup compacts to cheat at table games.
baleen
A small disk that, when bitten, buys the user 10 minutes of breathing time underwater. Baleen covers the mouth in a transparent film. Kaz gives one to each member of the team.
brigantine
A two-masted sailing ship. Van Eck comes to the final meetup with a brigantine.
bunk biscuit
A thieving term for an object that replaces the object being stolen (ex: a stone placed by a pickpocket when stealing a wallet). At the end of the novel, Kaz uses a turnip as a bunk biscuit when he steals Pekka Rollins's watch.
cardsharp
A person who makes money by cheating at card games, or a particularly skilled card player.
clandestine
Conducted in secret or marked by secrecy; surreptitious.
Corporalki
An order of Grisha known as the "Order of the Living and the Dead." Corporalki are divided into Healers and Heartrenders. Healers have the ability to accelerate natural healing. Heartrenders have the ability to stimulate or relax heart rates, breathing, and muscles. Nina is a Heartrender.
demjin
Fjerdan for demon. What Matthias calls Kaz.
Djel
Fjerdan god; the wellspring, which feeds and is fed by the energy of Fjerdans.
drüsje
Fjerdan for "witch." Used to describe Grisha; what Matthias calls Nina before he learns her name.
drüskelle
Fjerdan word for a witchhunter tasked with hunting down Grisha, allegedly to face trial and execution. Matthias Helvar was a drüskelle before being imprisoned at Hellgate.
Etherealki
An order of Grisha known as the "Order of Summoners." Etherealki are divided by what the element they can control: Squallers control air flows, Tidemakers control water, and Inferni control fire.
felötobjer
Fjerdan word for dying, literally “taking root”; part of their belief that all the world is connected through its waters, all of which feed and are fed by Djel, and that when a Fjerdan dies they become “as roots of the ash tree, drinking from Djel wherever we are laid.”
flophouse
A cheap rooming place or hotel. There are many flophouses in the Barrel.
Ghezen
Kerch god of industry and commerce. Ghezen frowns on broken contracts and is believed to show favor to those who build cities and promote industry.
Grisha
Humans who possess special abilities, called "the Small Science" in Ravka. They are hunted and burned at the stake in most of the world, particularly in Fjerda. In Ketterdam, sanctuary is offered to Grisha who indenture themselves to merchants. There are three orders of Grisha: Corporalki, Etherealki, and Materialki. Nina and Jesper are both Grisha.
Hringkälla
Fjerdan Day of Listening, when new drüskelle are initiated on the White Island in the Ice Court. They believe that the ash tree in the middle of the island represents Djel; the initiates listen to hear his voice.
jurda parem
Jurda is a tobacco-like plant used as a mild stimulant; jurda parem is a drug derived from a similar plant that grants a Grisha immense power but is debilitatingly addictive. Bo Yul-Bayur, its developer, named the drug because "parem" means "without pity."
kefta
Ravkan word for a robe worn by Grisha in battle; different colors indicate different Grisha powers. In Ketterdam, Nina has to wear a Kerch-made kefta she feels “isn’t made right.”
kind steel
A Barrel word for knives kept to give one’s self a quick death, instead of being captured and tortured.
kruge
Kerch money. Kaz assembles the team to perform the heist in exchange for 30 million kruge.
Materialki
An order of Grisha known as the "Order of Fabrikators" and divided into Alkemi (specializing in chemicals) and Durasts (manipulating and altering molecular structure). Jesper is a Durast; Bo Yul-Bayur is an Alkemi.
panache
A particular style or flamboyance in the way one behaves.
paraffin
A waxy flammable substance used in many contexts, including candles, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.
podge
A derogatory term for someone weak or naive, presumably from "podgy," a chiefly British term for pudgy or fat.
pomdrakon
Ravkan for “dragonbowl,” a dish/activity in which you soak raisins in brandy, turn off the lights, set the raisins on fire, and try to grab and eat them. Matthias says it sounds insane, but by the end of the novel, he and Nina plan to try it together.
quay
A platform lying alongside or projecting into water for loading and unloading ships; similar to a dock, but parallel to the shore.
Rinca moten
A desert lizard with venomous saliva; one of many animals prisoners are forced to fight in the Hellshow.
röed fetla
Fjerdan for “little red bird.” What Matthias calls Nina.
sesh-uyeh
Shu for "heartsick." Sesh-uyeh is the safe word given to Bo Yul-Bayur so he knows he is being rescued.
shevrati
Suli word for “know-nothings,” used to describe the non-Suli people who go to performers for fortunetelling.
skiv
A derogatory term used in the Barrel, similar to "punk" or "asshole."
