Game of Thrones dictionary – What all the keywords mean from Turncloak to Wildlings

THE end is nigh as the final season of Game of Thrones is underway.

But it's not too late to get your head around some of the tricky keywords and sayings used in the GoT universe. Here's all you need to know.

What are the keywords in Game of Thrones?

* WARNING: This list is dark and full of terrors spoilers*

Aerys Targaryen

Also known as "The Mad King". He’s crazy actions on the throne meant he was eventually killed by Jamiei Lannister, who was meant to be his guard at the time. The Mad King's surviving family members, Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow, have the most legitimate claim to become ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

Crow

A derogatory nickname that the Free Folk/Wildlings call the members of The Night’s Watch.

Direwolf

A giant wolf that is actually named after a real breed of wolves that have been extinct for over 10,000 years. They are also the sigil for the Stark family and all six Stark children had their own direwolf at the start of the series.

Dothraki

A tribe of nomadic warrior Horse lords from the east. They travel around raping and pillaging the villages of “lamb men” that get in their way.

Faceless Men

A religious group based in Braavos who are assassins for hire. They are particularly good at the job thanks to their ability to change their faces at will.

Greyscale

A disease that causes the sufferer to slowly turn to stone. There was thought to be no known cure but Samwell Tarly seems to have figured it out.

Hand of the King

The King's top of the top adviser. The hand is able to make decisions on the King's behalf which is a pretty big deal. As the popular saying in Westeros goes, "What the king dreams, the hand builds."

Iron Throne

A grand throne made by Aegon I Targaryen, the first king of the Seven Kingdoms. Legend has it that Aegon the Conqueror had the throne made by melting 1000 swords together – swords which had previously belonged to his enemies before they surrendered. However, it has also been suggested that the throne was actually made from around 200 swords.

Khaleesi

The Dothraki word for “queen” - and one of the many titles of Daenerys Targaryen. After marrying Khal Drogo, she became the leader of a Khalasar (Dothraki tribe) following his death. Normally the Khalasar would ditch the Khaleesi and find a new Khal, but Daenerys is worth changing the rules for.

Long Night

The Long Night is a winter that spanned an entire generation. Those who lived through it had to battle starvation, as well as the rise of the White Walkers. Though the Kingdoms eventually recovered, the Long Night, along with the White Walkers' return, is a constant threat that has finally arrived.

Maester

Maesters are the wisest men in the land. They are scholars who act as tutors, doctors, lawyers and advisors to members of the noble houses of Westeros.

Milk of the Poppy

Made from crushed poppies, an anaesthetic or painkilling drink with addictive properties.

Name Day

They don’t do birthdays in the Game of Thrones universe. Instead they celebrate the feast day of the saint who they are named after, or the day when they were christened. Babies usually get named on the day they are born so a name day tends to be their birthday anyway.

Night's Watch

An army of men who guard The Wall. They aren’t allowed to marry or have children as "love is the death of duty". They spend their days fighting threats that come to The Wall.

Raven

Birds that are used to send messages to various places across the seven kingdoms. The three-eyed raven is a supernatural messenger that appears to Bran Stark in his dreams.

Rhaegar Targaryen

The popular son of the Mad King who was expected to reunite the kingdom after his father's rule. But He fell in love with Robert Baratheon's intended, Lyanna Stark, and “kidnapped her”, leading to Robert's Rebellion and a civil war. Robert killed him shortly before King's Landing fell. But the end of Season 7 confirmed that Rhaegar and Lyanna were in love with each other and bore a son – Jon Snow.

R'hllor

AKA Lord of the Light, the Fire God and the Red God. This is a god worshipped beyond Westeros. The religion is based around the current world being hell and the belief that R'hllor will save them from the darkness.

Sellsword

A mercenary that can be hired to fight. The Golden Company is the largest, most expensive and most famous company of mercenaries in the Free Cities. They were founded by theh Great Bastard, Aegor Rivers – also known as Bittersteel.

Septon

A septon is the male member of the clergy for the Faith of the Seven – a religion worship one that has seven faces.

Sigil

Every major family in Westeros has a “house seal” known as a sigil. The sigil is almost like a stamp to show who they are to other people. Sigils can seen on armour, rings, letter seals and pins. For example, the sigil of the Tagaryen family is dragons, while the Stark’s family sigil is the Direwolf.

The Seven

The main religion in the Seven Kingdoms (except in the North) based on the belief that there is one god with seven faces. The seven faces are supposed to represent different aspects of life.

The Wall

A 700-foot ice barrier that was made to keep the wildings and other threats on the North side of the wall. It is protected by the Night’s Watch but was seen being destroyed by the Ice King and his army of white walkers at the end of Season 7.

Turncloak

A traitor who has turned against the team/noble house they were fighting for and join another team.

Unsullied

An elite army of men made up of eunuch slaves who are bought and trained from the age of five. They train from dusk till dawn until they are adults and are completely obedient to their masters. However, they choose to fight for Daenerys Targaryen after she frees them.

Valyrian

The language spoken in Essos - the eastern continent in the Game of Thrones world. The Valyrian Freehold had an empire that reigned for 5,000 years before “The Doom” wiped everything out. Only the House Targaryen survived and so did a few rare swords made of Valyrian steel.

Valar Morghulis

Valyrian for "all men must die". It is half of the slogan of the free city of Braavos. The other half is “valar dohaeris” which means "all men must serve".

Warg

A person who is able to enter the mind of an animal, including other human beings. The person is able to control the subject’s movement completely, but it can have horrible consequences to the subject’s brain.

White Walker

The ice creatures who were created eight thousand years ago by the children of the forest, as an attempt to fight off the first humans who took over what became known as Westeros. White Walkers have the power to reanimate dead bodies who become their servants and are known as Wights.

Wildfire

An extremely flammable and explosive concoction that creates a huge destructive green flame which literally destroys just about everything it touches. Used very effectively by Cersei Lannister.

Wildlings

The Wildlings are the people who live beyond The Wall, but they refer to themselves as Free Folk as they bow to no one. They ended up behind the wall simply because they were on the wrong side when it was built.