Land-hugger

A colloquialism from the Northsong and Southsong Cycles

In Waveborne cultures, the expression land-hugger referred to a soul born outside of Nordling or Southron society. Most land-huggers hailed from the Redeemed kingdoms occupying the northeastern coastal regions of the Fledgling World.

Land-huggers did not constitute a formal class of individuals. Nor was "land-hugger" always derisive—though depending on the individuals involved, the situation, and the tone in which it was uttered, the word certainly was employed as an insult. A man or woman born outside Nordling or Southron culture who assimilated to Waveborne ways as an adult might be called "land-hugger" as a friendly jest. A soul adopted by Nordlings or (more often) Southrons in childhood would likely take offence.

In any case, the term usually connoted an imperfect grasp of Waveborne culture, oddity of habit and belief, lack of finesse in seafaring, or softness of physical, mental, or emotional constitution.