[Old Hunch Arbat]

:DHow about the Edur names? Did anyone get triggered by "Sengar" or "Hannan Mosag"? "Binadas" suggested two/binary and "Trull" vaguely suggested trolling, and to an extent troll, but not much more. Most of the remainder of the Edur names brought nothing else to mind.

I also found many of the Letheri names intriguing in their construct - some invoking but most, not. "Invictad" gave me vindictive. The rest were good names for characters, but not particularly resonant thereafter. Anyone else get anything thought provoking from the Letheri names?

I wonder if our authors are running out of name metaphors. Perhaps we should start a "Cool Name" competition and forward the best to them.

[Khellendros]

Crone is a pretty obvious one - old woman/hag, which, let's face it, if she wasn't a great big raven, Crone would be

I enjoy the way Erikson's naming follows general set forms depending on the people the individual belongs to - for example the Grey Swords all had distinctive names but similar in form and sound to each other - Brukhalian, Itkovian, Karnadas - the -an, -as endings, the hard 'k' denoting strength and solidity.

I would be very interested to find out why SE chose to name the eldest Sengar brother Fear.




(Gee, I wonder what reasons lay behind Erikson naming everyone's favourite sapper Fiddler )

[Nequam]

Lisheo;341456 said:

Not sure of Beddict tho.

Beddict always made me thnk of Benedict (as in Benedict Arnold), and so then immediately a traitor came to mind. This made instictly not trust anyone of the Beddict family, and expect disaster to follow them.

funny though, Tehol became one of my most favorite characters.

[D'rek]

How come Kuru Qan doesn't have kuru (the disease) ???

[Zendog13]

Beddict brought me visions of Benedictine ...the drink not the monks, and all the supposed illusions/drug related visions one had, which suited the image of our happy ex-rooftop dweller just fine...or at least the way he wished people to see him.

Onos T'oolan: Onos in Greek means "ass" or "donkey" and we all know our once un-dead friend is pretty damn strong-headed about things (rescuing Toc for one) and Donkeys are very resilient animals, as is Tool... which brings us to the second part of his name. A utensil to be used accordingly. So far he has done just that, both Lorn and later Lady Envy (in a way) used him as a means to accomplish things and please DO get your minds out of the gutter if you think I will go on to the Barghast princess and her use of....oh never mind!

Grub is just that....a small larvae that is feeding of (the remains) of the Adjuncts army and slowly evolving into something completely different and mayhap grandiose, assuming he is not of the green-bottle fly variety. A metamorphosis at hand.
Fiddler is an instrument player. Think of "Fiddler on the roof" if you will or any good barnyard party where the Fiddle player is the leader of the band....he leads the band, the dancers and everyone involved though he is not strictly speaking a Maestro as such.
"Devil went down to Georgia" is a good song to think of Fidd, especially if you try the Primus version, I highly reccomend it!

Mapo Runt: Though most definately ot the runt of the littler he may well be( or was) the MAP leading Iccy about, and yes I like the thought of Iccarus. He sought to fly high and lost his wings to the overwhelming power of the sun. Much like Iccy who may well(if he has not all ready) ultimately be destroyed by that which he seeks, the power of his own memories, the power of his own self.

Brain hurts now....need more drink....

[bhok'arala]

mapo is an acronymn for a couple of things:

MAPO Martin A Pomerantz Observatory
MAPO Multiple Assembly of Procurement Officials
MAPO Manufacturing and Production Organization (Disney)
MAPO Maryland Association of Professional Organizers
MAPO Magazina Popullore (Popular Store; Albanian term describing the supermarkets during the communist regime)

doubt SE was thinking of them at the time however...

[eekwibble]

Dokter;340717 said:

Anomander Rake.
And as I edit this post I start to think that this first name also raises the possibilty of ANOMAly, as well.

Great one to start on!

'An/Ano' to me signifies (from the Greek) 'without', and as you said before; 'C/om(m)ander'. It just fits right in for me (even though I had to read this post to realise it) so thanks for getting the little grey cells moving.

So:
'Anomander'; 'Without - leader/person ranking above/anyone-telling-what-to-do!'.
'Rake'; 'Gardening implement'.

Ergo; A council worker!

No wonder Moons Spawn was such a dump!

It could be something completely different of course, like an extension of 'mandrake'.

Laseen. Lassen is a volcanic peak in Americaland in a rather large area called something shit like; 'Vulcan's thrones'. Large in that, I think, it describes an area of volcanoes, kind of like San Andreas describes an area of the West US with a lot of faults. *ahem*
Stick with me!
No proof of course, but it says in the prologue of GotM that 'Laseen' means 'throne'?
My only link.

Weak!

Funny though!!!

Maybe she's gonna blow soon?!?

"Look out, Ganoes!"

Don't forget that most of the Malaz soldier's names are given to them by Braven Tooth. All except Fid and BT himself iIrc.
'Fiddler' came from WJ and 'BT' from Fid.
So stuff like 'Bottle', 'Tarr', 'Hedge', 'Mallet', we can only guess at but SE has his specific reasonings behind them that have nothing to do with anything other than their personal, fictional history.
It doesn't say so but maybe Tattersail was one of those too? Not really sure about the mages. Certainly I don't know about 'Tayschrenn' or 'Bellurdan', but I can't believe 'Quick Ben' was called that by his mother. Unless he's actually Beak's elder brother returned from the dead! :angel:

:shocked:

There are others, like 'Cutter' that have taken their own names, and even more - 'Envy', 'Spite' - that have been given certain names for a reason we have yet (if ever) to discover.

Dolorous Menhir;341175 said:

Great thread. (seconded - eekwibble!)

Clip: not sure, but I hope he gets clipped.

Crokus: Like a flower? Decorative but not very practical?

I hope he croaks!

Zendog13;341771 said:

Beddict brought me visions of 'Benedictine'... the drink, not the monks!

You see, I got the monks; trustworthy, stalwart, decent... deluded!

Dokter;341535 said:

I also found many of the Letherii names intriguing in their construct. "Invictad" gave me vindictive. Anyone else get anything thought provoking from the Letherii names?

Karos Invictad was a great character. Massive depths - to which he plummeted with consumate ease - and great dialogue. First name didn't promote much emotional response but the use of the letter 'K' in names always seems to get FF readers' attentions, just have a look around the local book shop's FF section.

'Invictad' though!
I got both 'invite' and 'evict' all rolled into one. Not so much a paradox, but definately a contradiction in terms - it kind of summed him up.
"All clever but no intelligence!" - as my foster-mother used to say.
Also the 'vict' of both 'victim' and 'convict' (and 'evict'), words initiating an immediately negative response from my corpuscles.

bhok said:

mapo is an acronymn for a couple of things:

MAPO Martin A Pomerantz Observatory
MAPO Multiple Assembly of Procurement Officials
MAPO Manufacturing and Production Organization (Disney)
MAPO Maryland Association of Professional Organizers
MAPO Magazina Popullore (Popular Store; Albanian term describing the supermarkets during the communist regime)

doubt SE was thinking of them at the time however...

Indeed!

SE called him 'Mappo'.

[D'rek]

ooooh just thought of one:

You know how Rake runs around finding causes the keep his people goin' and all that, in other words he doesn't have a permanent home. Clearly he's "a nomad", and then u just add an 'n' and the 'er'

[Shalok-Gul]

QB is Adephon Delat or Ben Adephon Delat (not sure which he was born with and my spelling of Adephon may be off

[Old Hunch Arbat]

Well, this is very interesting. I decided to look up "Ben", as I know that some Jews use the name "Ben" to denote...well...something. Thus the trip to Dictionary.com. And indeed "Ben" means something. It means "son of" - but it also means "within" or "inside". "Well" I say to myself, "That seems to be relevant."

More will be revealed. I'll keep at the analysis. See if any of you can come up with meanings for the other 2 names.

Old Hunch Arbat (I'm soon to be given a name change, by the way)

[Old Hunch Arbat]

Oh my, I do believe SE was taking the piss...

Delate: To carry, or convey

So sayeth Dictionary.com

OHA

[Old Hunch Arbat]

Adelopod

A*del"o*pod, n. [Gr. ? invisible + ?, ?, foot.] (Zo["o]l.) An animal having feet that are not apparent.

The whole name Ben Adaephon Delat, becomes very interesting in final analyis - carrying within, invisible.

Was Quick's whole name presented to us, as a hint, before his true nature was revealed to us in the story?

OHA

[bhok'arala]

eekwibble;341999 said:

Great one to start on!

'An/Ano' to me signifies (from the Greek) 'without', and as you said before; 'C/om(m)ander'. It just fits right in for me (even though I had to read this post to realise it) so thanks for getting the little grey cells moving.

So:
'Anomander'; 'Without - leader/person ranking above/anyone-telling-what-to-do!'.
'Rake'; 'Gardening implement'.

Ergo; A council worker!

No wonder Moons Spawn was such a dump!

It could be something completely different of course, like an extension of 'mandrake'.

Laseen. Lassen is a volcanic peak in Americaland in a rather large area called something shit like; 'Vulcan's thrones'. Large in that, I think, it describes an area of volcanoes, kind of like San Andreas describes an area of the West US with a lot of faults. *ahem*
Stick with me!
No proof of course, but it says in the prologue of GotM that 'Laseen' means 'throne'?

it could also be shorthand for drake. the name druids gave to small dragon-like creatures from one of their spirit worlds.

[Old Hunch Arbat]

Triban Gnol - Chancellor of the New Empire

I could possibly go with Triban = Tribe, or better yet Triban = Tribune, in roman history, an administrative officer.

But the next name is a killer...

Gnoll
Gnolls are a fictional race of humanoid creatures, usually described as anthropomorphic hyenas. They are strongly associated with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, but while that is the origin of their appearance and character, the name is based on an undescribed Fairy creature in the works of Lord Dunsany.

Talk about a wholesale condemnation of all of the Letheri! A nation of man-shaped hyenas.

Anyone care to comment upon the relationship between the Malazan series and the Dungeons and Dragons game?

OHA

[Old Hunch Arbat]

I seem to be on a roll this morning. I promise this will be the last...until I've done my chores. And Happy Canada Day to any other Canadians reading this post.

Nisall The First Concubine

Could this be an oblique, not so flattering, reference to "Nissel" (you folks do the rest of detective work)? You know, those creative writing workshops, and the urge to make movies, write scripts, etc., brings all sorts of people together.

Shurq Elalle becomes Shark Ella - a great name for a pirate.

A little research yields "Sangar" for "Sengar" A sangar is a small, temporarily fortified position. Lends a little depth to the identities of some of the Edur family members.

But here's a real stretch, which, nonetheless, I wouldn't put past our fearless authors (I understand the tend to travel in pairs, for protection). Could Rhulad Sengar actually be...

Sangar Rihad Sangar Rihad is an Afghani from the Kandahar area who was identified by several of the Guantanamo detainees as a Taliban leader.

I have increasingly seen "politics" appearing in the Malazan series, particularly as descriptions of Letheras, and the Letheri seem to point critically at countries (not mentioning any names) which dominate by economic and cultural means. Now this could be entirely my own fevered imaginings, and I could have my head firmly inserted up my fundament (flaming me will be met with complete agreement on my part), but a few moments pondering of the above, in the context of my "political" ruminations, left me feeling just a little disoriented.

With that I bid you all good morning...

Oh yes...I really liked the "drake" analysis. "Exactly right" I said to myself. And I completely agree with the "Ano" analysis, as well as the conclusions from your research on the meaning of Laseen. Well done.

OHA

[OtataralDragon]

I doubt Dragnipur is supposed to have anything to do with dragging - the Drag(o)n reference is so much more obvious, especially since it was made by Draconus.

Kruppe always makes me, a native Swedish speaker, think of the Swedish word kropp, which means body. He certainly has that!

Rhulad is ruled by things he can't control.

Invictad sounds like Latin invictus - invincible. A misnomer, obviously, but very appropriate for his position, the kind of name the Letherii would approve of.

Blistig - is he supposed to blister his troops?

Kalam causes quite a bit of calamity.

In general, though, I think the names are chosen more on a basis of sounding and feeling right. Exceptions obviously for names like Tiam...

[bhok'arala]

Dokter;342241 said:

I seem to be on a roll this morning. I promise this will be the last...until I've done my chores. And Happy Canada Day to any other Canadians reading this post.

nice D&D pun.

otataral could be a mutation of the word totara which is a valuable timber tree of New Zealand yielding hard reddish wood used for furniture and bridges and wharves

this would explain the reddish rust color of it.

[Old Hunch Arbat]

bhok said:

nice D&D pun.

otataral could be a mutation of the word totara which is a valuable timber tree of New Zealand yielding hard reddish wood used for furniture and bridges and wharves

this would explain the reddish rust color of it.

Good one.

Ah cain't hep ma'sef...

Karsa Orlong Karsa could refer to Kars, an area in NE Turkey (in the mountains) of ancient and uncertain history. This could suggest the notion of isolation, remoteness, and forgotten origins. SE's training could certainly taken him to the Middle East, but I'm sure he's not saying.

More intriguingly the name "Orlong" could refer to "Arlong", the leader of a bunch of pirates in an anime series, who believed that all but he and his followers were sub-human maggots. This certainly describes Karsa's attitude towards the "children", and his first name, as above, suggests that he is from a remote, mountain-fast locale.

Samar Dev "Dev" seems likely to refer to "Deva", the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a spirit, god, celestial being, angel, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence.

And "Samar", perhaps can belikened to "sa·ma", the Sufi practice of gathering to listen to religious poetry that is sung, often accompanied by ecstatic dance or other ritual.

Oblala Pung This has possibilities, but not probabilities..."Oblala" perhaps refences "Bilala", or "Bulala", an ancient middle eastern people, with a history of martial prowess, but now diminished and numbering but a few.

"Pung" is the name of a small hand drum, often used in religious ceremonies.

The combination could suggest the single, persistent voice (the drum) of an old and dimished race (Toblaki/Tarthenal) whose declarations, through Oblala's actions, predict the return of ancient gods, whose existence is made new by ritual, and whose will is made manifest by the implacable actions of Karsa Orlong.

I gotta find something better to do with my time today.

OHA
PS, and I won't even get started on "Arbat"

[bhok'arala]

looks like dictionary.com has another win. her's some acronymns for osric:

Old School Reference and Index Compilation (gaming)
Oh Shucks, Run in Circles (polite form)

Temul could come from the word emul which is an abreviation for the word emulsion

there is a little known sapper in the 8th legion 3rd army of the malazans named Strap Mull. one of the definitions of mull is to mix (clay and sand) under a roller for use in preparing a mold. (when used as a transative verb) sounds like BT should have named every sapper that.

BT's names however severely limit the number of people we can twist into mangledness. (see third paragraph from the bottom in above post)

fine, ill do it for you. arbat stands for Artilleriebataljon. not sure what that has to do with anything though. change the ending of the word to 'onen' and you get this however: http://www.reference...lleribataljonen

here's my take on bottle: A receptacle having a narrow neck, usually no handles, and a mouth that can be plugged, corked, or capped. for those of you that read traditional chinese: 瓶

[edit] hmmm, this is getting a little long. This one actually may be true: Paran could come from paragon which is a model or pattern of excellence or of a particular excellence ---in verb form: to surpass.