GLOSSARY

• Toponym
  A place name—like “Olympus” or “Troy”—that often hides ancient linguistic clues about a location’s history or meaning. Think of it as a geographical breadcrumb!
• Masdar
  A fancy term for both an infinitive and a verbal noun in some languages (like Georgian), capturing an action as a thing—like “to run” or “running.” It’s the deed turned into a word!
• Morphology
  The study of how words are built—think of it as the Lego bricks of language, snapping together prefixes, roots, and suffixes to make meaning.
• Semantics
  The art of meaning in language—how words and sentences carry ideas, like how “Troy” might mean “booze” in a Kartvelian twist.
• Vocabulary
  The whole kit and caboodle of words a language (or person) uses—your word toolbox for speaking, writing, or unraveling Kartvelian mysteries.
• Morpheme
  The tiniest chunk of meaning in a word—like “un-” or “-ly.” It’s the smallest linguistic puzzle piece that can change a word’s tune.
• Suffix
  A little tail added to the end of a word—like “-ness” in “happiness”—to tweak its meaning or role. A word’s caboose, if you will!
• Prefix
  A snippet tacked onto the front of a word—like “un-” in “undo”—to shift its meaning. It’s the word’s front porch, setting the stage!
• Root
  The core of a word that holds its main meaning—like “play” in “playing” or “player.” It’s the heart of the word, stripped down to its essence.
• Stem
  A word’s base form after you’ve added some prefixes or suffixes, but before inflections.” The word’s sturdy trunk!
• Inflection
  A small end adding to a word—like adding “-s” for plural or “-ed” for past tense—to show grammar stuff like number or time. It’s a word’s shapeshifting trick!
• Subject
  The “who” or “what” doing the action in a sentence—like “the Kartvelian sleuth” in “The Kartvelian sleuth uncovered Troy.” The star of the sentence’s show!
• Object
  The “who” or “what” that gets the action in a sentence—like “the Kartvelian clue” in “Artem uncovered the Kartvelian clue.” It’s the one taking the hit from the verb’s spotlight!
• Case System
  A language’s way of tagging nouns to show their role—like who’s doing the action or receiving it—using endings or forms, like a Kartvelian noun dressing up for its part in the sentence. It's for objects mainly (except for the nominative case).
• Ergative Case
  A special marker in some languages (like Kartvelian ones) that flags the subject of a verb with an object—like “Artem” in “Artem wrote the book”—but not for verbs without objects. It’s a grammar twist that keeps linguists on their toes!
• Adjective
  A word that spices up a noun—like “ancient” in “ancient Kartvelian roots”—adding flavor with details about size, color, or how old something is.
• Noun
  A word naming a person, place, or thing—like “Troy,” “Artem,” or “sea level.” It’s the building block of sentences, giving us something to talk about!
• Verb
  The action star of a sentence—like “unearth” in “We unearth Kartvelian secrets”—showing what’s happening, whether it’s doing, being, or rising (like those sea levels!).
• Etymology
  The detective work of tracing a word’s origins—like digging into “Israeli” to find its Kartvelian roots in your project. It’s the story of how words came to be!
• Nominative Case
  A grammar tag for the subject of a sentence—like “Artem” in “Artem explores history”—used in languages like Kartvelian to show who’s doing the deed.
• Kartvelian
  A language family from the Caucasus, including Georgian, Megrelian, Laz, and Svan, that this project champions as a key to unlocking global history and toponyms.
• Sakartvelo
  The Kartvelian name for Georgia (the country, not the state!), meaning “land of the Kartvelians.” It’s the heart of our project’s linguistic homeland!
• Colchian
  An ancient Kartvelian culture tied to the land of Colchis (think Jason and the Argonauts!), known for its myths and history that your project loves to unravel.
• Megrelian
  A Kartvelian language spoken in western Georgia, often popping up in your research—like when “Israeli” hinted at a 120-meter sea level rise during the Trojan War era. It’s a linguistic gem! Formerly Colchian.
• Laz
  A Kartvelian language spoken along the Black Sea coast, mostly in Turkey and Georgia, whispering ancient secrets in our project’s discoveries. A cousin to the Megrelian.
• Svan
  A Kartvelian language from the high mountains of Georgia, rugged and ancient, adding depth to our etymological adventures.
• Zan
  A term for the shared ancestor of Megrelian and Laz, spoken in ancient times—a linguistic root your project digs into to connect the Kartvelian dots. Equals with Colchian.