Guest Article: Latin Runewords

[Flux]

Guest Article: Latin Runewords

http://purediablo.com/columnists/a-latin-runewords.shtml

This guest article by Funnelweb investigates the apparently Latin origins of numerous rune names, and even includes a short play in which all dialogue is in Latin, and uses rune names to create the words. Now there's something you don't see every day.

 

[Daral]

As a speaker of latin, I have to say; this is a really weak connection. I mean seriously, could anyone think that Blizzard randomly chose short and common sections of latin words to use as pseudocharacters? I think your time would be better spent trying to figure out a syllabic-based interpretation. Even more so, I think we may have to accept the fact that rune names are either completely made up, or some sort of incredibly complex trapdoor encryption that no human or computer will solve in the next 10,000 years.

 

[Baboon]

Of course it's a weak connection, it's crypto-latin . Nice article! I somehow never thought of latin, most runewords don't sound latin, but 'surio' and 'malum' do. Maybe Blizz should have used those words instead of crap like IthElEth and JahIthBer

 

[funnelweb2]

As a speaker of latin, I have to say; this is a really weak connection. I mean seriously, could anyone think that Blizzard randomly chose short and common sections of latin words to use as pseudocharacters?

You speak Latin? Excellent! In that case you will be able to post your translation of 'Lingua in bucca'
For those readers who do not 'speak Latin', it never occurred to me that anyone would think I was serious. I was just having a bit of fun, OK?

 

[Xenon[XoA]]

Iunno, its a change from the usual 1.10 ones. I liked it!
Io is also one of jupiter's moons.

 

[Ferrous]

1. That's no real suprise that Io is one of Juppiter's moons, considering that all of the planets have some sort of classical mythological connection.

2. Semper ubi sub ubi

3. Blizzard makes a lot of connections the classics beyond the runes....some are obvious, some are not...I'll try to list all that I can here.

Pilum - (under normal javelins) - a heavy javelin of the roman infantry

Trident - (under normal spears) - obvious for the being the staff of Poseidon

Tower Shield - (under normal shields) - the first tower shields were used by the Roman legions

Cestus - (under normal assasin weapons) - actually has no relevance. I looked it up, and it apparently means a girdle.

Scutum - (under exceptional shields) - latin for a large quadrangle shield

Spiculum - (under exceptional javelins) - latin for a sharp point, dart, or spear.

Fusicina - (under exceptional spears) - latin for a trident

Jo staff - (under exceptional staves) - this is questionable. In Latin, the "I" can be used as either a vowel or a consonent, the consonent sounding like a "y". In later latin, the "I" consonent became a "J" so this could in fact be an "Io" staff. Io has already been discussed by the author though, so I won't go into more detail.

gladius - (under exceptional swords) - latin for a sword, and also makes an allusion to the gladiators in the colloseum (gladiators comes from the latin word gladius, obviously).

fascia -(under exceptional assasin weapons) - Latin for a bandage , band, girdle, or girth. Don't know what relevance this has to a slicer and dicer...

Hydraskull - (under elite helms) - the hydra is found in tales of Hercules, as a multiheaded beast. Most of you guys know about this guy...

Corona - (under elite helms) - latin for a crown. Go figure

Luna - (under elite shields) - latin for the moon

Aegis - (under elite shields) - the shield of Zeus, with the golden fleece of a particular ram, the same one that nursed Zeus when he was young.

Myrmidon Greaves - (under elite boots) - the myrmidons were the people under the command of Achilles at Troy. They literally mean the "ant people" as they were created from ants...that story is long and I don't feel like getting into it.

Hydra bow - (under elite bows) - see hydraskull

Gorgon crossbow - (under elite crossbows) - The Gorgons were three sisters, the most fameous of whom was Medusa, slain by Perseus.

Caduceus - (under elite scepters) - the caduceus was the staff (or wand) of Hermes/Mercury, which gave him powers to help guide people and heal people.

Hydra edge - (under elite swords) - see hydraskull

Elite Amazon weapons all have the root word "mater" in them, meaning mother (e.g. matriarchal javelin)

Without going through the uniques and sets, those are the classical references that I could find in the items for DII....I'll do uniques later, unless someone else feels like doing those.

 

[WylderlanNation]

I don't know if this would help you much with your problems with the Shael rune, but early in 1.08 it was originally a Shae rune, converted to Shael with 1.09.

 

[KWBishop]

Nice rundown of the items, Ferrous, but you missed one thing in your searches. A cestus was a type of fighting glove, usually adorned with metal to make it a really wicked variant on brass knuckles. Used mainly in gladiator combat.

Also wanted to add that the gladius was the sword used by the Roman armies. Great little dirk-like sword that was perfect for combat while standing as part of a shield wall.

 

[Diab]

Very cool article. I always wondered where the rune names came from, and now this gives me an idea of they mean. So next time I'm making a "white" runeword, I'm actually making a wand of the gods!... or something of that sort. :lol:

Just wanna add that it earlier versions of the game, the rune "Jah" was named "Jo". Keep in mind that I've only heard about this, and don't know the validity of this, but can anyone confirm this?

If this is true, then as Ferrous mentioned, Jo is another way to say Io, which makes yet another reference to Greek mythology.

 

[Jugalator1]

In relation to this, there's a little known hidden feature in Blizzard's runewords. The first letter in each rune of the runeword have a relation to what the runeword does. This doesn't apply to *all* runewords, but some of them:

1.09:

Ancient's Pledge: Rot (RalOrtTal). Guess what ancient people does?

Black: Tin (ThulIoNef). I can't see a relation here. Maybe coincidence.

King's Grace: Art (AmnRalThul). Art of war? Being graceful and artistic also have a sort of relation.

Maybe these are coincidences, however the following definitely aren't:

1.10:

Bramble: Rose (RalOhmSurEth). Don't need any explanation

Breath of the Dying: Vheeze (VexHelElEldZodEth). From wheeze.

Call to Arms: Armio (AmnRalMalIstOhm). Note: this one was changed for balance reasons. The original was, as you may imagine -- Armi. Most likely from "Army".

Eternity: Abiss (AmnBerIstSolSur). Probably from "abyss". As when you're sent to the abyss / hell, you stay there for an eternity.

Exile: Void (VexOhmIstDol).

Famine: Fooj (FalOhmOrtJah). Might have been "Food" in a 1.10 beta and changed for balance reasons.

 

[lone_wolf]

intresting article just a note several of the names of the runes are for swedes quite funny.

and sol is the name for sun in swedish too.

now one of the fun runes are Ko with from swedish to english translates to cow

mal is the swedish name for a insect that feeds on garment

i think the rune names mean alot of different thing in different languages

 

[Zechs_Zechs]

As a speaker of latin, I have to say; this is a really weak connection. I mean seriously, could anyone think that Blizzard randomly chose short and common sections of latin words to use as pseudocharacters? I think your time would be better spent trying to figure out a syllabic-based interpretation. Even more so, I think we may have to accept the fact that rune names are either completely made up, or some sort of incredibly complex trapdoor encryption that no human or computer will solve in the next 10,000 years.

I also speak (or am learning, Latin III) a bit of latin, and I too agree that the conection is weak and furlative at best.

It is cool that you spent time to explore the different latin roots of these runes and runewords.

For the author, have no fear at what others think for "Audaces fortuna juvat"



And lastly, for one of my favorite quotes....


CARPE DIEM!!! (Sieze the day)

 

[Ferrous]

In relation to this, there's a little known hidden feature in Blizzard's runewords. The first letter in each rune of the runeword have a relation to what the runeword does. This doesn't apply to *all* runewords, but some of them:

1.09:

Ancient's Pledge: Rot (RalOrtTal). Guess what ancient people does?

Black: Tin (ThulIoNef). I can't see a relation here. Maybe coincidence.

King's Grace: Art (AmnRalThul). Art of war? Being graceful and artistic also have a sort of relation.

Maybe these are coincidences, however the following definitely aren't:

1.10:

Bramble: Rose (RalOhmSurEth). Don't need any explanation

Breath of the Dying: Vheeze (VexHelElEldZodEth). From wheeze.

Call to Arms: Armio (AmnRalMalIstOhm). Note: this one was changed for balance reasons. The original was, as you may imagine -- Armi. Most likely from "Army".

Eternity: Abiss (AmnBerIstSolSur). Probably from "abyss". As when you're sent to the abyss / hell, you stay there for an eternity.

Exile: Void (VexOhmIstDol).

Famine: Fooj (FalOhmOrtJah). Might have been "Food" in a 1.10 beta and changed for balance reasons.

Interesting finds.....that's kinda interesting....

On another note, kinda related....for anyone who plays Star Wars Galactic Battle Grounds:

In the first mission of the Rebellion, there are two imperial camps, the blue chachol, and the purple sagol. In hebrew, blue is chachol, and purple is sagol....I love it when programmers do that sorta thing.

 

[Baboon]

In relation to this, there's a little known hidden feature in Blizzard's runewords. The first letter in each rune of the runeword have a relation to what the runeword does. This doesn't apply to *all* runewords, but some of them:

1.09:

Ancient's Pledge: Rot (RalOrtTal). Guess what ancient people does?

Black: Tin (ThulIoNef). I can't see a relation here. Maybe coincidence.

King's Grace: Art (AmnRalThul). Art of war? Being graceful and artistic also have a sort of relation.

Maybe these are coincidences, however the following definitely aren't:

1.10:

Bramble: Rose (RalOhmSurEth). Don't need any explanation

Breath of the Dying: Vheeze (VexHelElEldZodEth). From wheeze.

Call to Arms: Armio (AmnRalMalIstOhm). Note: this one was changed for balance reasons. The original was, as you may imagine -- Armi. Most likely from "Army".

Eternity: Abiss (AmnBerIstSolSur). Probably from "abyss". As when you're sent to the abyss / hell, you stay there for an eternity.

Exile: Void (VexOhmIstDol).

Famine: Fooj (FalOhmOrtJah). Might have been "Food" in a 1.10 beta and changed for balance reasons.

Nice one Jugalator, didn't know that.

Funny thing I did notice how sometimes the runes make the word (Stealth from TalEth) but most of the time not (rhyme from shael eth)

 

[Cloud_Walker]

I still don't understand why a figure of Greek mythology (Io) is included in a discussion of Latin-founded rune names.

Albeit the Romans stole basically all of the Greek mythology, but they changed the names, and that is rather important in a discussion of names.

EDIT: Changed runes:
Shael used to be Shae
Io used to be Po
Jah went through two other names: Jo and Cho

 

[Ferrous]

I still don't understand why a figure of Greek mythology (Io) is included in a discussion of Latin-founded rune names.

Albeit the Romans stole basically all of the Greek mythology, but they changed the names, and that is rather important in a discussion of names.

EDIT: Changed runes:
Shael used to be Shae
Io used to be Po
Jah went through two other names: Jo and Cho

Well, they changed most names....Apollo is still Apollo is still Apollo (and he rocks. Favorite God)

The topic has seemed open up to be more of the classics rather than just of Latin. Regardless, I do believe Io retains her name in Latin literature from Greek literature.

 

[Ferrous]

alright, and now on a run down of set items and uniques with classical references...you know, for the pure hell of it. No pun intended.

Titan's Revenge - The titans were the gods who ruled the earth before the Olympian gods (Zeus, Hera, etc.). They supposedly look just like the olympian gods in basic shape.

Homunculus - Latin for a little man or maniken

The Oculus - Oculus is Latin for eye

Cerebus' Bite - Cerebus was a three headed dog seen in numerous tales who guarded the underworld. Though there was only one of them, I believe "Fluffy" in Harry Potter was a recreation of Cerebus.

Alma Negra - I don't know if this is from Latin or not, but I'm convinced that it is...if someone could give me some insight, it would be appreciated.

Pelta Lunata - Pelta is Latin for a small sheild, and Lunata comes from the Latin word "Luna" meaning moon.

Umbral disk - Umbra is Latin for Shadow. For those of you Pokemon dorks, think of your favorite dark pokemon, Umbreon... (there is some other latin in Pokemon, but this is DII, not pokemon).

Ichorsting - this is a rather clever name...ichor is the...I believe it's what the classic gods possess instead of blood. So you have a god stinger...

Pompeii's wrath - this could have two meanings. Pompeii was, as most people know, a city that was buried under the ashes of a nearby volcano. However, as a city buried underashes is not particularily threatening, I think the weapon was named after the city's founder, Pompeii, one of Julius Caesar's rivals in his acquisition of power.

The Minotaur - this is an obvious one. The minotaur was a half-man, half-bull beast that lived in a maze below the palace on Crete, later killed by Theseus...one of my favorite monsters from mythology.

The Gladiator's Bane - well...I think everyone knows what a gladiator is...

Medusa's Gaze - The Medusa was the one mortal Gorgon, who's face could turn mortals into stone. Her hair was made out of snakes....the monster didn't last long, but the shield is kinda nice.

Annihilus - I'm not sure what the entirety of the word means, but it clearly comes from the root latin word "nihil" meaning nothing.....

Magnus' Skin - Magnus in latin means great or mighty, though here it's clearly used as a name.

That's all that I could find....going through all the items (from here and from my previous post on this thread listing classical references), I found some other cultures mixed in...Norse and middle eastern Islam that I could readily recognize.

 

[Super5]

Alma Negra - I don't know if this is from Latin or not, but I'm convinced that it is...if someone could give me some insight, it would be appreciated.

"Alma Negra" is not latin, but it is probably italian or spanish since it does have a latin root in it (alma means caretaker/giver/provider in latin). My guess is it's spanish.

 

[funnelweb2]

"Alma Negra" is not latin, but it is probably italian or spanish since it does have a latin root in it (alma means caretaker/giver/provider in latin). My guess is it's spanish.

I am most gratified that my little article has provoked such an interesting, even learned, set of posts.
Alma Negra can't be Latin. There is no Latin word 'negra'. Black is 'nigra'.
My knowledge of Spanish is minimal, but according to the dictionary I have just consulted, Alma Negra looks as though it would mean 'Black Soul' or 'Black Spirit' in that language. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Ferrous]

I am most gratified that my little article has provoked such an interesting, even learned, set of posts.
Alma Negra can't be Latin. There is no Latin word 'negra'. Black is 'nigra'.
My knowledge of Spanish is minimal, but according to the dictionary I have just consulted, Alma Negra looks as though it would mean 'Black Soul' or 'Black Spirit' in that language. Can anyone confirm this?

I knew negra had something to do with the color black! So I did have somewhere to go...thank you for the responses.