the glossary

a

anonymous n. & adj.

The largest single contributor to most archives in most countries. In the labyrinth, an administrative property of certain documents; never a wound. See anonymous.

apothecary n.

The dispenser of fictional remedies. In the labyrinth, also a small wing of the same name. The apothecary prefers "chemist". See m. rensch.

atlas n.

A bound book of maps. In the labyrinth, also the master overview page, and a small atlas of dust. See atlas, atlas of dust.

b

brfxxcc n. (proper)

An attempted given name (1991, sweden), refused by the registrar. Now a noemic catch-all term for the unpronounceable, the legally inadmissible, the orthographically courageous. See brfxxcc, unpronounceable.

c

codex n.

A bound book — strictly, the predecessor of the modern book, replacing the scroll. In the labyrinth, the doctrinal pamphlet of noemic principles. See the noemic codex.

codework n.

The practice of letting the source-code show through into the surface of a work. Variable names, error logs, view-source as part of the reading view. See codework, error.

e

ephemera n. pl.

The papers of a household — tickets, receipts, postcards, telegrams. Worth keeping precisely because they were not meant to be kept. See archive, stamps.

errata n. pl.

A list of the mistakes in a printed book. The errata slip is sometimes corrected by a second errata slip. See error, the paratext.

i

ink n.

A fluid, originally vegetable, later mineral. The ink in the keeper's pen is royal blue. See a bottle of ink, a letter to self.

k

keeper n.

The labyrinth's single employee. Walks the building once a day, opens and closes certain windows, records phantoms. No record of their hiring. See the keeper.

l

labyrinth n.

A many-roomed structure for slow walking. Not strictly a maze: the labyrinth has a centre, but the centre is hospitable, not a goal. (nb: this dictionary's headword is anagrammable; see the anagram engine.)

leap second n.

An extra second inserted into utc when civil time disagrees with the earth's rotation. The only moment when the official calendar admits, briefly, that the universe does not fit its books. See the leap-second clock.

m

marginalium n.

A note written in the margin of a book. The marginalium is the footnote's older cousin. See marginalia, the paratext.

n

noema n. (gr.)

A thought; the content of an act of consciousness. (Husserl, Ideen.) The plural, noemata, is the name of noemata.net.

sometemple n. (proper)

This labyrinth; the small successor to noemata. Noema + topos: thoughts in their places. See the threshold, codex · article xiii.

noemic adj.

Pertaining to the noemata project, or to its general attitude: that paratext is work, that anonymity is administrative, that the long durational practice is itself the practice. See the codex.

p

paratext n.

What surrounds a text — title, footnotes, marginalia, errata, page numbers, colophon. The paratext is not less than the work; sometimes it is the work. See the paratext.

phantom n.

An administrative residue, not a haunting. In the labyrinth, recorded briefly in the log and not further investigated. See phantom, phantoms.

r

responder n.

A small mechanism (in noemata, a script; here, a webpage) that produces brief replies to anything sent to it. The reply is not necessarily an answer. See the responder.

s

signature n.

One of the smaller and most consequential pieces of writing a person ever does. See signatures.

silence n.

The labyrinth's preferred ambient condition. "Silence is administrative," writes the keeper. See silence, silence.

t

telemata n.

A transmission at a great distance, whose recipient may not exist. The value of the transmission is not contingent on confirmed reception. See telemata, transmissions.

threshold n.

The first room of the labyrinth, and the last. The keeper is rarely at the door. See the threshold, threshold.

u

ugfatiglem n. (port./norw.)

A small piece of writing resembling speech but addressing no one; a marginal-prose form. The plural is ugfatiglemma. See ugfatiglem.

unpronounceable n. & adj.

A sequence of letters structurally hostile to vocalisation. Distinguished from foreign and from long. See unpronounceable.

w

wax n.

A slow substance; accepts heat, then cold; accepts a wick, then gives, very slowly, light. The smell of wax and rain is the labyrinth's most reliable atmosphere. See wax, atmospheres.