The Dalek Dictionary (feature)

The Dalek Dictionary
Key crew
Publisher:	Souvenir Press
Writers:	David Whitaker and Terry Nation

The Dalek Dictionary was one of the features original to The Dalek Book, a Dalek annual published in 1964, which were not so much a story as an informative feature on Dalek society. Although mostly non-narrative (and, as such, not currently considered a valid source by this Wiki), it featured a wealth of new information about Dalek language and culture, as well as other worldbuilding details about ancient Skaro.

It most notably saw the first mention of Yarvelling, who would later appear in the flesh in Genesis of Evil as the inventor of the Dalek War Machine (the first form of Dalek casing). Also mentioned in the Dictionary were War Minister Zolfian and Dalek leader Drenz, two other characters who played a larger part in Genesis of Evil's account of the Daleks' beginnings.

References

• Arkellis is a rare species of flower from the planet Skaro, which is said to only take root in metal.
• In the Dalek language, a Brindigulum is a conference or talk between four or more Daleks. None may be held without the Emperor Dalek's agreement. The world clyffil is used by the Daleks to signify "I understand you but I do not agree with you".
• A baz is a Dalek screw made of platinum and which has two threads.
• The Emperor Dalek's casing's is made of Flidor Gold, fused Quartz and sap from the Arkellis flower.
• After Drenz's assassination in 2003, the Daleks abandoned the use of personal names altogether.
• Insli means "It is ready" in the Dalek language. Galkor, meanwhile, means "Follow me, I am your guide", and Nesd means "I warn you to beware." The word Preblin simply means rock or pebble, "Zerinza!" is an exclamation of good success before a battle, and "Zyquivilly" is the Dalek word meaning "farewell".
• Gaxes are the metal roadways employed by the Daleks.
• The Griltis is the underground river of Skaro, mistakenly stated by legends to be a "huge tunnel of crude oil" (the planet at large not being very rich in oil).
• Dalek casings are manufactured from Dalekenium, a metal found only on the planet Skaro. Dalek gun-sticks, however, are made of Silcronian, which is particularly heat-resistant, allowing it to withstand the laser rays and ruby heat used by the Daleks as ammunition.
• Vel Karneen was a famous Martian, their Commander of the Space Armies, who defeated the Daleks in the skies.
• Lallapalanges, or "harmony birds", were a species of beautiful birds native to Skaro, with two voices which sang in harmony with one another. They are now excinct.
• Magnodons are one of the metal creatures of Skaro made extinct because of the Neutron War.
• "Nizzial", meaning "the one beside you is yourself", is an old, and unusually warm and friendly, Dalek saying signifying brotherhood and an offer to help with trouble and hardship.
• The Oquolloquox is a violent wind that rages through Skaro once every six years.
• A Quirradill is "a Dalek term of office or mark of appreciation", loosely equivalent to the honorific of being Master of one's craft.
• Rels are a measure of hydro-electricity.
• The rislaigle is a Dalek machine which can compress a gallon of water into the size of a small particle.
• Thals are particularly tall, sometimes growing to be seven foot six.
• The Urvacryl is a "dreaded" two-headed eel inhabiting the Lake of Mutation, quite near to the Dalek City.
• Veps are a measure of artificial sunlight.
• Wibbial is the Dalek term for any lifeform alien to Skaro; a human is, to a Dalek, "a wibbial".
• "Xabs", pronounced "Ex-abbs", is a Dalek verb meaning "to be looked down upon favourably by those in authority".
• The famous Yarveling was an inventor, explorer and discoverer; after being the first to travel beyond Skaro and bring blue-veined gold back from Flidor, he also invented the rislaigle and discovered Silcronian.
• The letter J is the "forbidden letter" of the Dalek language; added before any word or sentence, it carries a meaning of great insult.
• Zolfian, who "triumphed in war and was popular in war", is a famous Dalek hero, understood to belong to myth and legend.

Story notes

• In terms of its take on the creation of the Daleks, The Dalek Dictionary inspired the version shown in Genesis of Evil (and, like it, has the Daleks' humanoid ancestors also be called Daleks) but does not match it completely; the Dictionary's account implies a slow transition from the humanoids to the familiar cyborgs, with the last pacifist leader Drenz being murdered by his own people who then choose to forego individual names, showing that they are already on the way to becoming the militaristic machine-like Daleks familiar to Doctor Who viewers. This means that it is not always clear which form of "Dalek" is being meant in some of the entries; as far as the readers of The Dalek Dictionary knew, Yarvelling, Drenz and Zolfian could all have been machine Daleks rather than members of the humanoid race.
• The Dictionary employs the adjective "Skaroian" to refer to things from the planet Skaro, whereas "Skarosian" later became the most commonly-used form. It also spells Dalekanium "Dalekenium" (like other material of this period), Magnedon "Magnodon", and Yarvelling "Yarveling".