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Jeff Lilly

@druidjournal.bsky.social

110 followers 150 following 460 posts

Linguist who talks to computers + creates languages. Druid wanderer writing fiction, snapping pics, and sketching dreams. He/him.

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Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · Dec 5

Hello! I’m Jeff. Lo these many years I’ve explored the edges of language, storytelling, and nature. A computational linguist, writer, and Druid, I share art, stories, and musings here. Find fanfic & my novel Axon at patreon.com/user?u=100856, and my blogs at druidjournal.net and axonfirings.com.

Stylized photo of bearded man with glasses and a blue shirt in a natural setting

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Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 10h

#NewWordsDaily2025 Nov 6
#conlang
furaw
/fjuɹə/
Mid Eng feuraw, OE fewræwe.
PGmc /fewɹawe/, from PIE péH₂wr̥,h2weh1-.
Bonfire + Blow.
A strong dry wind that tends to ignite and spread wildfires.
Ex. This hot and violent breath the shepherds call the furaw, a devil-wind, dry as blackened bones.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 1d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Nov 5
#conlang
enaurrar
/enəɹəɹ/
Mid Eng enaurar, OE enaurær.
From Proto-Germanic /enaeuzaz/, from PIE root H₂enH₁-H₂eusōs.
Breathe + Dawn.
The first breaths taken outdoors in the morning.
Ex. The morning's enaurrar smelled of petrichor and more wind and rain to come.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 2d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Nov 4
#conlang
leukell
/leəkəl/
Mid Eng lewakel, OE leugæcel.
PGmc /leuɣakel/, PIE leuk-gel-.
Light + Cold.
A day that is particularly bright and cold, especially if there is sun on snow.
Ex. The next day was leukell, and the snow was crisscrossed with tracks of hares and foxes.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 3d

So close to finishing my fantasy novel, Crown of Crows. One chapter to go!

In this chapter, "The Riddle of the Witch", Sarah changes from Queen Sarah the Gentle to... something else.

All chapters so far are now available on my Patreon.

www.patreon.com/post...

#fiction #ebook #fantasy

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 3d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Nov 3
#conlang
finwear
/finwəɹ/
Middle English finwear, Old English finwæer.
From Proto-Germanic /finɣweaeɹ/, from PIE root pénkʷeh1er-.
Five + Goat.
Someone who is too wealthy; a miser. Perhaps because five goats ought to be more than enough for anyone.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 4d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Nov 2
#conlang
gemmel
/ɡemməl/
Mid Eng gemmelgh, Old English gemæmelh.
From Proto-Germanic /ɣemamelɣ/, from PIE root ĝʰyem-,melk-.
Winter + Milk.
Yorgurt, and similar fermented milk products.
Ex. Gemmel's needful in the winter months, before the lambs bring in the new milk.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 5d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Nov 1
#conlang
ettawr
/etəɹ/
Middle English ettawer, Old English etaur.
From Proto-Germanic /etaauz/, from PIE root H₁ed-H₂ous-.
Eat + Ear.
A song you can't get out of your head.
Ex. Childrens' music is benighted with a wealth of ettawrs.

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Reposted by Jeff Lilly

miwwdu sitsom (they/them) @miwwdu-sitsom.bsky.social · 6d

Here are the prompts for #ConlangNovember! I've been busy lately, but I hope I'll still have time to host it.

#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompt #WritingPrompts #WritingQ #WritingQs #Conlang #Conlangs #Conlangers #LangSky #Linguistics #Languages #Worldbuilding

#ConlangNovember
hosted by @miwwdu-sitsom.bsky.social

1. Introduce your conlang. Who speaks it?
2. Purpose. Everyday? Lingua franca? Ceremonial? Magical?
3. Dialects and language family
4. Sources of inspiration? A priori or a posteriori?
5. Phonemic inventory. The sounds or gestures of your conlang.
6. Orthography. Script or transcription.
7. Weekly prompt: feather
8. Phonotactics
9. Allophonic variation and sandhi
10. Analytic or synthetic? Agglutinative? Isolating? Fusional?
11. Alignment. Nominative-accusative? Ergative-absolutive? And noun cases.
12. Tenses and aspects. How does your language conceive of time?
13. Morphology. How does your language mark case, number, tenses, etc.? Grammatical gender, if it has it?
14. Weekly prompt: stand
15. Word order
16. Questions, negations, orders
17. Recursion and dependent clauses
18. Formality and registers
19. Language evolution. Sound/gesture changes and semantic drift.
20. Common expressions
21. Weekly prompt: bone
22. Borrowings from other languages
23. Onomatopoeia
24. Cultural influence/references
25. Taboos
26. Important texts or oral traditions
27. Your characters' idiolects
28. Weekly prompt: say
29. Challenge: The North Wind and the Sun (translate as much as you can) – or free day!
30. Reflection

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Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 6d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 31
#conlang
esraveck
/esɹəvjək/
Mid Eng esravuck, OE esræfewc.
PGmc /esɹavewk/, PIE ésH₂r̥,bhewgh-.
Blood + Bend.
Magically controlling fluids within a victim's body, forcing them to the mage's will.
Ex. Through esraveck, I control every muscle, every vein in your body.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 7d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 30
#conlang
lukelugh
/ljuklə/
Mid Eng leukaleugh, OE lewcaleuh.
PGmc /lewkaleuɣ/, PIE lewgh-leuk-.
Tell A Lie + Light.
A light, often seen in a bog at night, that leads unwary travelers to their deaths.
Ex. Follow it not; 'tis but a lukelugh sent by the dickens to drown us.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 8d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 29
#conlang
crayew
/kɹeəjə/
Mid Eng creayuw, OE creæiw.
From Proto-Germanic /kɹeaew/, from PIE root ghreh1-h2ew-.
Grow + Help.
Manure, bone meal, fish waste, or other material used as fertilizer.
Ex. Such richenesse was the soyl in that time that no crayew was needful.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 9d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 28
#conlang
lenneth
/lenəð/
Middle English lenaweth, Old English hlenæweþ.
From Proto-Germanic /xlenaweθ/, from PIE root klen-wet-.
Maple + Year.
A batch of maple syrup from a particular year.
Ex. Last year's lenneth was particularly rich and flavorful.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 10d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 27
#conlang
skintarall
/skintəɹəl/
Mid Eng skintarall, OE scintaræl.
PGmc /skintazal/, PIE (s)kend-sal-.
Shine + Salt.
Salt from a salt flat, esp. from evaporating water.
Ex. Tis well knowne that skintarall is best for cleansing woundes and cuts made by traitors.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 11d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 26
#conlang
duomanem
/dʒuəmənəm/
Mid Eng duomanem, OE degwamanem.
PGmc /ðeɣamanem/, from PIE root dʰeĝʰom-nem-.
Earth + Allot.
A portion of owned land, eg a farm, yard, or park.
Ex. Lord McQuarrie's duomanem stretched from the river up into the southern highlands.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 12d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 25
#conlang
warnackraff
/wæɹnəəkɹəv/
Mid Eng warnackrave, OE wernacræf.
PGmc /weɹnaakɹav/, from PIE root wer-no-grabh-.
Ram + Oak.
A long, heavy pole for hammering down doors and gates.
Ex. The warnackraff warped and shattered the gates, and the orcs poured through the gap.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 13d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 24
#conlang
quedeman
/kwedəmən/
Mid Eng quedamen, OE cwedamen.
PGmc /kweðamen/, from PIE gweh2dh-men-.
Sink + Think.
A state of gloomy reverie; brooding; a brown study.
Ex. The cruel man dislikes people, and is moody, oscillating from quiet quedeman to sudden explosions.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 14d

Latest chapter of my fantasy novel Crown of Crows now available on Patreon.

The full price of Sarah's terrible choice becomes clear to her. She again faces the Ape, this time as his betrothed.

But she is not without friends.

#fiction #fantasy #ebook

www.patreon.com/posts/crown-...

Crown of Crows - The Paw of the Wolf | Jeff Lilly

Get more from Jeff Lilly on Patreon

www.patreon.com

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 14d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 23
#conlang
cyoramy
/kɪoɹemə/
Middle English cyoremy, Old English ciræmig.
From Proto-Germanic /kiɹamij/, from PIE root ǵher-mey-.
Enclose + Small.
A small box for keeping valuables.
Ex. Lizzie kept her ring in a tiny cyoramy hidden under her belt.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 14d

Three great modern authors of witch fiction talk about their inspirations and understanding of the Witch archetype.

Archetypes of the Witch I: Transformer at the Edge

In my previous posts on the the Archetype of the Druid, I trace my personal journey. Literary figures (Gandalf, Merlin, Sherlock Holmes, and Hari Seldon) shaped my intuitive understanding of the kind of person I wanted to be, and (along with guidance from community and Spirit) ultimately led me to find Druidry in the modern world. I speak from inside that experience, as someone who has walked the Druid path for nearly two decades.

druidjournal.net

Reposted by Jeff Lilly

C. Buck (shh) @tlacamazatl.bsky.social · 15d

If you have a #conlang with a unique #neography, #writingsystem or #orthography, maybe you'd like for some nerd on YouTube to review it, well, you're in luck. I am that nerd:

youtu.be/BOxD5R5CUNU?...

How to Submit for Review

YouTube video by Neography A to Z

youtu.be

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Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 15d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 22
#conlang
aghwit
/æwət/
Middle English aghwaet, Old English ahwæet.
From Proto-Germanic /axwaet/, from PIE root H₃okʷ-ḱeh2d-.
Eye + Hate.
A spell or curse cast by looking; the Evil Eye.
Ex. The old woman gave me such an aghwit I shivered in my boots.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 16d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 21
#conlang
nishawithy
/niʃwəði/
Mid Eng nessewimthy, OE nasæwigmþi.
From Proto-Germanic /nasawiɣmθi/, from PIE root nas-wī́k̂m̥tiH₁.
Nose + Twenty.
A committee, esp. in the context of committees who make things worse.
Ex. A camel is a horse designed by a nishawithy.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 17d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 20
#conlang
backaur
/bækəəɹɹ/
Mid Eng backawer, OE bacæwer.
PGmc /vakawezɹ/, PIE bhaǵh-wés-r̥,.
Forearm + Spring.
A gymnastic side rotation, keeping limbs outstretched, spinning like a spoked wheel.
Ex. He would never stand still if a backaur or flip would spice things up.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 18d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 19
#conlang
tearmar
/teəməɹ/
Mid Eng tearmar, OE teærmer.
PGmc /teazmeɹ/, from PIE root deH₃-,(s)mer-.
Give + Remember.
A speech of rememberance; a euology (though not necessarily favorable to the desceased).
Ex. She gave such a tearmar that none left with a dry eye.

Jeff Lilly @druidjournal.bsky.social · 19d

#NewWordsDaily2025 Oct 18
#conlang
nitleck
/nitlək/
Mid Eng nittelick, OE hnitæligc.
From Proto-Germanic /xnitalijk/, from PIE root knid-leyǵh-.
Louse + Lick.
A person who behaves in a servile or obsequious manner; a toady.
Ex. He was seen as a harmless nitleck, to be ridiculed rather than feared.

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