dracarys

English

Etymology

Coined by American writer and television producer George R. R. Martin as a word meaning "dragonfire" in the fictional language of High Valyrian featured in his A Song of Ice and Fire novel series. In the novel series, as well as its television adaptation Game of Thrones, the character Daenerys Targaryen uses dracarys (drakarys in the television series) to command her dragons to breathe fire. The language creator chosen for Game of Thrones, David J. Peterson, acknowledged that dracarys was influenced by Latin dracō (“dragon”).

Interjection

dracarys

1. (fandom slang) Used to underscore the act, intent, or desire to start a fire or burn something.
   • 2020, Sarah Rees Brennan, Sabrina: Path of Knight, unnumbered page:

     Tiny lines of blue lightning wrapped around the silver rings on my fingers. Hellfire came to me so easily.
     "Dracarys," murmured Harvey, and shot me a smile. "That's from a TV show. Just trying to be supportive."

   • 2022, E. M. Snow, Malice, unnumbered pages:

     They're watching me like they expected me to start yelling “Dracarys” and torching random buildings, even though they've no proof that I did anything wrong and the source of the fire is still under investigation.

   • 2022 April, Jonny Lieberman, “Attempt To Tame The Most Ferocious Pagani Yet”, in Motor Trend, page 37:

     The starter whirls for what seems like 15 seconds and then, Dracarys, the fire spitter behind your head starts howling.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:dracarys.

Verb

dracarys (third-person singular simple present dracaryses, present participle dracarysing, simple past and past participle dracarysed)

1. (fandom slang) To burn or destroy.
   • 2020, Joey Skladany, Basic Bitchen, page 35:

     It's no secret that I love hot and spicy food, so in addition to the hundred-plus people I'd like to dracarys on a daily basis, I'd do it to my Bloody to ensure it has extra heat.

   • 2021, Phoebe Robinson, Please Don't Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes: Essays, page 90:

     What Warren Buffett Should've Told Ya #5: You Didn't Get into This to Dracarys a Bitch

   • 2023, Sonja Hadj Said, Bluebird, unnumbered page:

     On my last day of work, when I wanted to Dracarys everyone (I'll get to that), I realised why.