Fifty

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
fifty: In the Bible it is the number for joy and the feast. The 50th day after Easter (originally after the beginning of the harvest) was a joyous harvest festival for the Hebrews. Every 50th year the slaves were freed, debts forgiven, and extended rest from work was taken. The first Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Ghost, took place 50 days after Christ's ascension. (Herder)

The Word-Hoard: Dhoze

Dhoze: A drink of intoxicating liquor; a bout of drinking (Michael Traynor's The English Dialect of Donegal, 1953)

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"The eightpointed star is a very old symbol for 41a07, the planet Venus. See 2911 in Group 29 for the reason behind that. It is hardly used in any of the established Western ideographic systems, but is, on the other hand, very common as a Christmas star or the star of Bethlehem."

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Deesis

Myths, Folklore & Symbolism
deesis: "The depiction of Christ enthroned as judge of the world between Mary and John then Baptist, who intercede for the souls. It is often a symbolically abbreviated representation of the Last Judgment.

The Word-Hoard: Flahooler

Flahooler: A generous, big-hearted, good-natured person, with also an implied sense of gaity or flippancy (Michael Traynor's The English Dialect of Donegal, 1953)

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"This is an alchemical time sign for winter."

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Cardinal virtues

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Cardinal virtues: these are bravery (personified by Fortitudo), justice (Justitia), prudence (Prodentia), and temperance (Temperantia). (Herder)

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"The star of Ishtar, i.e. the planet Venus. Ishtar, in other countries and times called Astarte, was the goddess of war, sex and fertility. An eightpointed star sign often represented this goddess in the Near East for a great many centuries before the birth of Christ..."

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Fat

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Fat: In various cultures it was considered to be a sign of prosperity (and thus was also a valuable sacrifice to the gods), or it was seen to be imbued with the powers of the animals from which the fat was rendered. (Herder)

Fires

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Fires (accidental): Various objects were thought to have magic power to preserve a house from fire if hung from the rafters or placed in the roofing, for example eggs laid on Ascension Day and a hawthorn twig gathered on the same day, and buns baked on Good Friday. Houseleeks growing on the roof were protective too. As one of the dangers of thunderstorms is that lightning may strike a building and set it alight, he various plants and objects listed as warding off thunder are also, indirectly, protections against certain types of fire. (Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore)

The Word-Hoard: Figaries

Figaries: Showy or fantastic adornments (G.F. Northall's Warwickshire Word-Book, 1896)

Clover

Myths, folklore, & symbolism
Clover: It is a widely distributed papilonaceous flower. Because of its vigorous growth, it is a sign of vital energy. For the Celts it was a sacred, magical plant. In the Middle Ages, clover was a Trinity symbol because of its three leaflets; as a medicinal plant, it sometimes referred to Mary. The four-leaved clover is still seen as bringing good luck; however, clover with more than four leaflets is usually considered unfavorable. The five-leaved clover, however, sometimes points to a happy marriage. (Herder)

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"An alchemic sign for tartar, tartrate, i.e. tartaric acid salts..."

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Whale

Myths, folklore, and symbolism:
whale: It is a symbol of the abysmal, multivocal dark. It appears, for example, in the Bible story of the prophet Jonah, who evaded the divine charge to preach in Nineveh, was cast overboard, swallowed by a huge fish (usually represented as a whale), and cast upon land three days later (symbolically interpreted as Christ's death, entombment, and resurrection). The whale, like other animals such as the crocodile, elephant, and tortoise, is seen in the mythologies of many peoples as carrying the universe. (Herder)

The Word-Hoard: Fragor

Fragor: A strong or sweet scent. (Rev. John Boag's Imperial Lexicon, c. 1850)

Symbols of the evangelists

Myths, symbolism, and folklore
symbols of the evangelists: In Christian art they are the attributes associated with the depictions of the Evangelists; these symbols may also stand for the Evangelists. The angel or human being is associated with Matthew, the lion with Mark, the steer with Luke, and the eagle with John. These associations derive from the vision of the Tetramorph described in the Apocalypse of John. The symbols of the Evangelists were originally interpreted in connection with Christ. Through birth, Christ became human; he died like a sacrificial steer; he arose from the grave like a lion; and rose to heaven at the Ascension like an eagle. Later another interpretation became common. The (often winged) human figure for Matthew was related to Christ's lineage and his birth (with the report of which the Gospel According to Matthew begins); the lion of Mark referred to the beginning of the Gospel According to Mark, which reports John's sermon in the wilderness; the steer (as sacrificial animal) of Luke was considered a sign of the beginning of the Gospel According to Luke, which commences with the sacrifice of Zechariah; and the eagle of John symbolized the spiritual heights of the Gospel According to John. (Herder)

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"The sign 4210a, with an entry of its own below, was adopted by Christian symbolism and given the name crux ansata or the Coptic cross."

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Sycamore

Myths, folklore, & symbolism
Sycamore: The designation includes various deciduous trees. In Egypt it refers to the sycamore fig (Ficus sycomorus), which was regarded as a manifestation of the sky goddess. Its foliage and shade signify rest and peace in the life beyond; sometimes the souls of the deceased were thought to be birds that lived in its branches. (Herder)

Horse

Myths, folklore, & symbolism
Horse: Early representations of horses appear in Paleolithic caves. They continued to play a great role in most cultures through the Industrial Age, hence the rich symbolism associated with this animal.

Originally the horse was considered to be a cthonic creature that was associated with fire and water, forces of life and of danger. Thus in many parts of Europe and the Far East it was said that its hooves could strike springs of water from the ground. The horse also appears in relation to the lunar realm. It was closely associated with the realm of death (e.g., in central Asia and among many Indo-European peoples) and consequently appears as a psychopomp (spirit guide); for this reason it was also sometimes buried with the dead or sacrificed when a person died.

The dark side of Zoroastrianism, where Ahriman, the spirit of opposition, is often embodied in the form of a horse. Also associated with the negative aspect of horse symbolism are the part-human, part-horse creatures of Greek mythology (centaurs, satyrs, sileni), the horse component of which usually represents uncontrolled drives.

The winged horse of Greek mythology, Pegasus, is related to the light symbolism of the horse that developed later (e.g., in China, India, and in antiquity), and is complementary to the cthonic. The white horse in particular was regarded as a solar and heavenly animal; it became the steed of the gods and a symbol of force subdued by reason (see, e.g., the well-known simile of the two horses in Plato's Phaedrus, or the representations of joy and victory on the graves of martyrs).

As a symbol of youth, strength, sexuality, and masculinity, the horse is part of the dark and light sides of the above-mentioned symbolism. The horse is the seventh sign in the Chinese zodiac and corresponds to Libra. (Herder)

The Word-Hoard: Blumf

Blumf: A fellow who grumpfs at all genuine sports and sits as sour as the devil when all around him are joyous. (John Mactaggart's Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia, 1824).