Stephen Donaldson's Luxurious Lexicon Quiz

Answer: A magician or miracle-worker

A thaumaturge has magical or miraculous powers that enable them to perform wondrous deeds, the performance of which is known by the related word thaumaturgy. This word comes from Greek roots that mean "wonder working", and has been attested in English since the sixteenth century.

It has been applied to those who are supposed to obtain their powers through the practice of magic as well as to saints who are said to perform miracles on behalf of God or a higher power. Thomas Covenant met quite a few people with thaumaturgic powers in his travels.

Answer: Not deserved or justified

A condign response is one that is fitting or merited, especially when used in relation to punishment, as in "let the punishment fit the crime." Behavior that is not condign may be disproportionate or otherwise unfair. Thomas Covenant was often brusque to people who had shown him only kindness, which he admitted was not condign.

Answer: Overweening pride; arrogance

Surquedry comes from an Old French word "surcuidier", which means to presume. In an interview, Stephen Donaldson stated that he used the word surquedry because it conveys his intended meaning more precisely than "arrogance", although he went on to joke that, "Well, all right, nobody knows what surquedry is but me and Sir Walter Scott." The latter used the word in the following line from "The Betrothed": "What so reasonable as that we should be punished for our pride and contumacy, by a judgment specially calculated to abate and bend that spirit of surquedry?"

Answer: A doddering old woman

Anile comes from a Latin word meaning "old woman" and may be used to describe an actual old woman or to compare a person to one, implying that they are feeble and incapable. One of Lord Foul's lieutenants calls another character an "anile fool." These guys know how to insult people!

Answer: Silk cloth

Sendaline comes from an archaic English word "sendal", which means a kind of light silk cloth. The word in its current form appears to have been coined by the poet Swinburne in the 1866 poem, "A Ballad of Death", which contains the line, "Upon her raiment of dyed sendaline were painted all the secret ways of love."

Answer: Lamentation, mourning

Threnody derives from a Greek word that literally means "wailing ode". Synonymous with dirge and elegy, a threnody is a poem or song typically written or performed as a memorial to someone who has died. Stephen Donaldson often delves into heavy emotional themes of tragedy and loss, and he uses words like threnody to set this kind of tone.

Answer: Roborant

Roborant can be used either as an adjective meaning fortifying or increasing strength, or as a noun referring to a medication or other substance that has such an effect, with a similar meaning to tonic (in the medical sense, not the soft drink).

Chatoyant can refer to a gemstone that has a changeable color or luster, such as a cat's-eye. Nacreous is another gemstone-related word, as it can be used to refer to something that is iridescent like mother-of-pearl. Mephitic means foul-smelling and putrid ,or poisonous, so something mephitic is not likely to be a roborant!

Answer: Periapt

Periapt is similar in meaning to charm, amulet, or talisman, and came into English from Greek via French. Stephen Donaldson uses it in the sense of an item that a magician or a sorcerer might keep handy.

Cynosure means something or someone that is the center of attention. (I suppose if you had a genuine periapt, you may be apt to attract considerable attention.) Taffrail means a rail around the stern of a ship, often one that is ornately decorated. Scoria can refer to slag, i.e., refuse from molten ore, as well as a rough crust on top of cooled lava (so, probably not very magical).

Answer: Chrysoprase

Chrysoprase is a crystalline mineral that is typically apple-green although it may also be deep green. The name comes from Greek roots that mean gold-green. There is a scene in one of Stephen Donaldson's books where Thomas Covenant notices that the sun is surrounded by a green ring, which is described as "a coronal of chrysoprase."

Cerulean is a shade of blue often used to describe the sky. Jacinth is a zircon with a red-orange color. Incarnadine refers to the blood-red color of raw flesh and may be used figuratively to mean bloodstained.

Answer: A reward

In the scene in question, the Creator expresses his propound gratitude to Thomas Covenant for protecting the Land from Lord Foul, saying that he is therefore in Covenant's debt and must reward him. As well as meaning reward, guerdon can also mean payment or recompense.

The word appeared in Middle English in the fourteenth century and came via French, although it originated in Old High German.