The Akashic Record: O


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oak: Any of the trees or shrubs in the genus Quercus, notably some hardy, long-lived timber trees whose lumber is used in structural members, furniture, millwork, and cooperage.

Obliviate: The incantation for a Memory Charm.

Etym: Just the English word.

Ogden's Old Firewhisky: A favorite of Gilderoy Lockhart.

Etym: Place in Yorkshire, from Old English aac "oak" + denu "valley"; probably just picked for alliterative value.

Olive Hornby: Etym: Olea europaea or Olea sativa. ECN: "In the Roman martyrology there is a St. Oliva, a virgin of Anagni of unknown date, and also a St. Oliva, venerated in the place so named and the patroness of olive-trees, which looks suspiciously as though she started life as a tutelary goddess."

Oliver Wood: Etym: With a small o, an olive tree. The name is more likely from the Old German Alfihar, "elf-host".

Ollivander, Mr.: Proprietor of a wand shop in Diagon Alley. According to its sign, his family have been "Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC".

Etym: OED thinks this is an error for olivaster, meaning "olive-colored" or "having an olive complexion".

One Minute Feasts -- It's Magic!: A cookbook in Molly Weasley's collection.

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi: A first-year textbook for Herbology.

Order of Merlin: An award given by the Ministry of Magic; the highest honor available to a British wizard.

There is a real-life Order of Merlin, but it's nothing like the fictional one. It's given by the International Brotherhood of Magicians for 25 years of membership.

Order of Suspension: Issued by the governors of Hogwarts to temporarily remove Dumbledore.

Ordinary Wizarding Levels: Exams to demonstrate basic competence in a subject at graduation, equivalent to "O-levels" (ordinary levels) in British schools.

Ottery St. Catchpole: The fictional village where The Burrow is located.

Ouagadougou: The capital of Burkina Faso, where Gilderoy Lockhart claims to have halted a series of supernatural attacks.

owls: Popular as familiars, owls are also the basis of the wizard postal system, able to find anyone, anywhere, to deliver their mail.

O.W.L.s: Ordinary Wizarding Levels.

Owlery: The place where the Hogwarts-owned owls, and sometimes student ones, roost when not delivering mail.


Index & Introduction | Format
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| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Spoilers to end of: Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3 | Book 4 | Book 5 | Book 6 | Book 7 | Full Spoilers |
Abbreviations & Sources | Contributions

Petréa Mitchell
pravn@m5p.com