Name Meanings of Greyhawk Forests
Some trivial trivia for everyone.
Dreadwood - a place of dread
Silverwood - a place of silver-barked trees
Axewood - a place which has been logged extensively
Hornwood - a place with hornwood trees
Oytwood - uncertain, possibly derived from "Hoyt", a personal name, which could mean "at the high gate" (it is the entry to Geoff) or as a nickname for a tall, skinny person
Dim Forest - a place of shadows
Suss Forest - a place of whispering trees (susserous)
Welkwood - uncertain, several derivations, like "grand" or "lively", possibly "withered" or "mild"
Gnarly Forest - a place of gnarled trees
Bramblewood - a place of brambles (yarpick)
Udgru - very uncertain, possibly a variant of ogre/eiger
Burneal - likely a variant on Boreal
Vesve Forest - widow's forest (French)
Forlorn Forest - a forlorn place
Fellreev Forest - a fell place
Hraak Forest - a wretched place, perhaps a place of wretches, the Flan according to the Cruski
Sablewood - a place of sable trees
Spikey Forest - a place spiked pine trees and their pinecones
Timberway - a place to find timber
Loftwood - a place of lofty trees
Phostwood - a place of phost trees, which are phosphorescent when decaying
Nutherwood - a "nother" forest
Celadon - light green pottery glaze
Gamboge - a type of yellow from Cambodia
Adri - uncertain, possibly "sea" or "water" from Latin, possibly "stone" or "mountain" from Hindi
Grandwood - a grand forest (duh)
Rieuwood - possibly a place of small streams (French) or laughing fae (Catalan), perhaps a combination of both - small streams that sound like laughing
Menowood - LGG says it is named for a druid, Sverdas Meno, otherwise "abiding in place" (Greek), so maybe "Enduring Forest"
Amedio Jungle - jungle of Amadeus (who rocks me)
Pelisso Swamp - uncertain, perhaps related to "Pelisse", which refers to hides or pelts and was used for a type of fur-trimmed jacket worn by hussars in the 17th century or a fur-lined coat worn by women in the early 19th century, perhaps they take spotted jungle cat pelts from the region?
Thank you.
It is something that has rummaged around in my head for years, though I could never complete it. I started discussing it with Norker and he filled in a bunch for me so I figured I would share it with everyone.
Some late additions:
From Gary Holian, who created Sverdras Meno in the LGG:
"The name is an in joke. Sverdras after the oceanographic unit named after the Norweigian scientist and Meno is a coincidental anagram of Verne's Nemo, which is how I play the character in my campaign. He's a misanthrope."
Also from him and Woesinger:
The Sable Wood may be named for the sable, a type of marten, a relative of weasels and minks, with particularly fine fur, found in the northern forests of Russia and Mongolia.
I would lean to this myself if it were not for the existence of the specific tree in the setting books.
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