Related Words

Axons: Long fibers that carry signals away from the cell body of a neuron.

Rune: In a writing system designed to be scratched or carved on a flat surface such as wood or stone, the individual letters are known as runes. Typically, these markings have few or no curves, ci . . . View Full Definition

Old English: Also known as Anglo-Saxon, Old English is the ancestor of Middle English and Modern English. It is a Germanic language that was introduced to the British Isles by tribes such as the Angles, . . . View Full Definition

Viking: Technically, in its most exclusive sense, a viking is a pirate, any individual that goes i-viking (plundering') regardless of the buccaneer's ethnicity. Historically, Irishmen, Anglo-Saxons, . . . View Full Definition

Volkerwanderung: Folk-wandering): Also called the Germanic migrations, this term refers to the mass migration of Germanic tribes westward across Europe between 375 CE and 750 CE. This demographic movement pu . . . View Full Definition

Wergild: The legal system of many Germanic tribes, including the Anglo-Saxons. This tradition allowed an individual and his family to make amends for a crime by paying a fine known as wergild to the . . . View Full Definition

Fame-Shame Culture: The anthropological term for a culture in which masculine behavior revolves around a code of martial honor. These cultures embody the idea of 'death before dishonor.' Such civilizations ofte . . . View Full Definition

Comitatus: (Latin: companionship or 'band'): The term describes the tribal structure of the Anglo-Saxons and other Germanic tribes in which groups of men would swear fealty to a hlaford (lord) in excha . . . View Full Definition

Schwann Cells: Specialized glial cells that form the myelin sheath that coats many axons. Cells surrounding the axons of some neurons, thus forming the myelin sheath.

Node Of Ranvier: A gap between two of the Schwann cells that make up an axons myelin sheath; serves as a point for generating a nerve impulse.