Enemy Name Origins - Revisited

[Femboy Thighs]

A long time ago, on another thread, I tried figuring out where all the names of all the bugs in the game come from. Since then, lots of new enemies - and passive creatures - have been added! So let's drink some Smart Stout and try and figure them all out (again):

Glyphids

"Glyphid" - "Glyph" can mean "to cut" or chisel, referring either to their sharp teeth and claws, or how they potentially burrow through the ground.
The "-id" at the end most likely comes from arachnid, meaning an 8-legged arthropod. Despite having 3 body parts, Glyphids are technically arachnids, since they have 8 legs. This is further backed up by the fact some of them make (and shoot) webs.

Note: (Stuff like "Guard," "Slasher," "Swarmer," etc, is self-explanatory).

"Praetorian" - The Praetorian Guard was a group of elite Roman soldiers. Most of them were bodyguards. The Praetorians of Hoxxes fill a similar role, being able to block most damage from the front, protecting the smaller Grunt militia.

"Warden" - A ward is a large medical room used to house patients, and wardens were the people who would take care of the patients. It seems that on Hoxxes, light-pink denotes "healing" (as seen by the Korlok healing pods), and despite Wardens not actually being able to heal anything, they still fill a purely supportive role.

Side note; The design of the Warden's armor is similar to old-fashioned warden hats. Just go to the Darkest Dungeon Wiki page for the Sanitarium, and look at the lady's hat. You'll see what I mean.

"Dreadnought" - A Dreadnought (as far as I know) is a term used to describe powerful battleships. There's not really any deeper meaning than that, Dreadnoughts are just big and powerful. And... I guess they can shoot cannon-ball-like projectiles?

Mactera

"Mactera" - "Tera" may mean 2 different things here - or both. It may come from "pteron," which means "wing." For instance, the order that flies belong to in real life is called Diptera, meaning "two wings." Tera also literally translates to "monster" in Greek.
The "Mac-" part is what's confusing. In Medieval times, the prefix "Mac" (later shortened to Mc) meant "son of." It's possible Mactera means "winged son?" This might go along with how most of them are called Mactera spawn, suggesting a Mactera Queen that spawns them. Perhaps all the Mactera we fight are male offspring of some, yet unseen, giant Mactera brood mother.

This would make them somewhat similar to real-life bees, with the Queen alone giving birth to the entire hive. However, male bees are called "drones," and cannot sting (ergo, they can't fight or defend the queen). But we can dismiss this detail because it's Hoxxes, and Hoxxes forces almost everything to become a killing machine.

"Tri-Jaw" - Just refers to how they have 3, uhm... well, they look like tubes, but I guess they're "jaws." So it probably eats with them too? It's not uncommon for bugs in the real world to secrete an acidic saliva through their mouthparts to dissolve prey for consumption. I guess Tri-Jaws take it a step further, and shoot their saliva.

"Brundle" - Martin Brundle was the lead protagonist in the 1989 horror sci-fi movie, "The Fly," which was all about a dude turning into a part-human, part-fly monster. This is why one of the voice lines for killing a Brundle is, "Die, fly!" (P.S. Do not google what a "brundle" is on the Urban Dictionary. You've been warned).

Nayaka

"Nayaka" - This is a tricky one. Searching the word directly brings up many definitions, mainly from Hindu, Sanskrit, and Buddhist cultures. Although the general trend among all of these definitions is something like, "chieftain," or "hero."

There's... uhm... also a river called the Myakka, I dunno... Nayaka Trawlers kind of "swim" in the sand? I... think this might just be a name chosen purely because it sounds cool, which just so happened to be a real word, because there's millions of words. Coincidences are bound to happen eventually when choosing sci-fy alien names at random.

"Trawler" - Comes from the fact that they literally "trawl" the sand. Trawling is the act of slowly dragging a large net behind a boat to catch fish (there's that aquatic connection again?), and Trawlers basically fish for Dwarves. Fun fact: This is where the internet slang, "trolling" comes from, as trolling is a type of trawling done with a fishing rod instead of a net. Trolling is literally "baiting" angry replies out of people.

Q'Ronar

"Q'Ronar" is another tricky one. I have 3 possible theories. Theory one; It's just another random sci-fy alien-sounding name. Theory two; it comes from "corona," which actually means "crown" (the viruses are called such because their binding proteins - the pointy buds that surround the virus - resemble tiny crowns). The Q'Ronars' eye stalks kind of resemble a little crown... sorta?
Theory three, it's a play on the word "coroner," who basically examines bodies and tells other people your time of death. It's a very vague connection at best, because all the enemies on Hoxxes are trying to pronounce you dead, but whatever.

Naedocyte

"Naedocyte" - A play on the word "cnidocyte" (the 'c' is silent). Cnidocytes are the stinging cells in jellyfish. They contain a tightly-coiled harpoon-like tether, tipped with a barb, that explodes out on contact to inject venom. Jellyfish aren't actually electrical, but their paralyzing stings can give a similar effect to electrocution. "Electric jellyfish" is listed among the many tropes on the TVtropes website.

Also, fun fact, but did you ever notice how the Naedocyte Breeder is actually part jellyfish? Depending on how you look at it, it's either an up-right Cave Cruiser with a giant sac shooting out of it's "head" sideways, or it's some sort of jellyfish creature - titled sideways - with the sac being where it's previous mouth would be, and it's new mouth actually jutting sideways out of it's head. Perhaps the Breeder is simply the final stage of life for a Naedocyte Shocker?

Also, in an early beta version, there was a jellyfish-looking creature that could spawn smaller jellyfish directly. This enemy was later cut, then slowly re-added into the game in this order: Cave Cruisers (the original model) > Shockers > Breeders.

Xynarch

"Xynarch" - Sounds like another sci-fy name. However, there's still some hope! The prefix "Xylo-" refers to something wooden, and the suffix "-arch" means "superior" (like in 'monarch'). It's just a hunch, but maybe the Xynarch Charge Suckers are some kind of parasitic plant? It wouldn't be the first time the plants of Hoxxes tried to kill us, after all.

Korlok

"Korlok" - I've got very little here, but I do have something. In Old Norse, "Kor" can mean a choir, or a circular gathering. The Korlok Tyrant Weed spawns, what you could argue is, a "choir," or gathering, of Sprouts. Also in Old Norse is the word "Lok," meaning... well, to lock, or shut. Possibly in reference to how the central unit locks itself shut until enough Sprouts have been killed.

Deeptora

"Deeptora" - This one is simple. I'm fairly certain it's a slight perversion of "Tera," or Terra, meaning 'earth.' So, it means "deep ground." The word "tora" also means tiger in Japanese, but I doubt this connection is anything but sheer coincidence. Maybe not?

"Bough" - From the Deeptora Bough Wasp nests. A bough is a tree branch. Deeptora Bough nests only spawn in the Hollow Bough.

Side note here; Is it possible that the entire Hollow Bough biome is a reference to Yggdrasil, the Norse "world tree?" I mean, the name implies that the entire biome is merely a branch of some enormous tree. And Dwarves certainly are tied to Norse mythology very closely. Just a thought.

Honorable Mentions

"Silicate Harvester" - Silicate rock is a type of stone estimated to make up around 90% of the Earth's crust. Presumably, the Silicate Harvester eats rock (for breakfast). In real life, there are organisms that eat by sifting through mineral debris, but they're usually simple fungi or microorganisms. For something as big as a Harvester to exist, Hoxxes would have to have incredibly nutrient-rich minerals. Maybe the Driller really could eat rock for breakfast if he wanted to.

"Mobula Cave Angel" - Mobula is a genus of rays in the real world, most known for containing Manta Rays. The Dwarves incorrectly pronounce Mobula as "moab-ulla," when it should be pronounced "mob-you-la." Fun fact; Did you know that rays are the closest relatives of sharks? They're both technically cartilaginous fishes, and are believed to share a relatively recent ancestor!

"Hexawing Gniffer" - The "Hexawing" part of their name refers to the fact that they have... wait for it... 6 wings. Personally, I also think their wings look rather polygonal from a distance as well. You can sort of see how their biggest wings almost look like hexagons themselves. The "Gniffer" part is (as far as I'm aware) totally made up, just to sound funny.

"Huuli Hoarder" - Possibly yet another sci-fy name, however, I yet again offer another possibility. In Old English, the word "hulu" meant the shell of a seed - from that word came, "hull," which as a noun, means "to cover or conceal." This could reference how the Hoarder conceals minerals, as well as itself, if you let it escape.
In Proto-Finnic, there is a word spelled exactly as "huuli." It translates, in Old English, to the verb "lip," meaning to sag, or hang loose. The Hoarder's pouch-thingy is probably based on a thief's bag, and notably sags behind the Hoarder, flailing around and dropping minerals as it runs away. I would, however, say that this is a bit of a stretch.

"Fester Flea" - When something "festers," it means it has become infected and diseased, usually in a gross, swelling sort of way. DRG makes a point about killing these things no matter what, even going far as to mention that failure to kill them on sight is liable to fines, reprimands, "or worse." Fleas in real life, of course, also carry a very disgusting reputation, and usually invoke a "kill on sight" response from humans.

"Maggot" - I just want to point out that maggots aren't actually maggots. The miner's manual says that each one is actually a collection of smaller organisms acting as one creature, and that they migrate to the surface of the planet to absorb solar radiation. Interesting! They're still not really maggots, though. And you can't pet them.

Conclusion

I hope someone at least learned something from this. I, for one, made this because I was incredibly tired and bored. So, if my boredom can make other people happy, I'll consider that a victory.

[Ninja Zyborg]

cool, here's some gold.

[Caspian]

Goodness gracious, this is a very well put together post. You certainly did a lot of research! I never would have guessed or even thought of researching most of this.

Rock and stone!

[michael.strom]

Great work!

Just a thought, but in the legend of Zelda series, the Korok are a race of tiny tree-people, could be connected.

[The God of Capy, Cappers]

yooo this is neat, it would be awesome as trivia in wiki imo!

[Colonel Tyborc]

Originally posted by Femboy Thighs:

A long time ago, on another thread, I tried figuring out where all the names of all the bugs in the game come from. Since then, lots of new enemies - and passive creatures - have been added! So let's drink some Smart Stout and try and figure them all out (again):

Glyphids

"Glyphid" - "Glyph" can mean "to cut" or chisel, referring either to their sharp teeth and claws, or how they potentially burrow through the ground.
The "-id" at the end most likely comes from arachnid, meaning an 8-legged arthropod. Despite having 3 body parts, Glyphids are technically arachnids, since they have 8 legs. This is further backed up by the fact some of them make (and shoot) webs.

Note: (Stuff like "Guard," "Slasher," "Swarmer," etc, is self-explanatory).

"Praetorian" - The Praetorian Guard was a group of elite Roman soldiers. Most of them were bodyguards. The Praetorians of Hoxxes fill a similar role, being able to block most damage from the front, protecting the smaller Grunt militia.

"Warden" - A ward is a large medical room used to house patients, and wardens were the people who would take care of the patients. It seems that on Hoxxes, light-pink denotes "healing" (as seen by the Korlok healing pods), and despite Wardens not actually being able to heal anything, they still fill a purely supportive role.

Side note; The design of the Warden's armor is similar to old-fashioned warden hats. Just go to the Darkest Dungeon Wiki page for the Sanitarium, and look at the lady's hat. You'll see what I mean.

"Dreadnought" - A Dreadnought (as far as I know) is a term used to describe powerful battleships. There's not really any deeper meaning than that, Dreadnoughts are just big and powerful. And... I guess they can shoot cannon-ball-like projectiles?

Mactera

"Mactera" - "Tera" may mean 2 different things here - or both. It may come from "pteron," which means "wing." For instance, the order that flies belong to in real life is called Diptera, meaning "two wings." Tera also literally translates to "monster" in Greek.
The "Mac-" part is what's confusing. In Medieval times, the prefix "Mac" (later shortened to Mc) meant "son of." It's possible Mactera means "winged son?" This might go along with how most of them are called Mactera spawn, suggesting a Mactera Queen that spawns them. Perhaps all the Mactera we fight are male offspring of some, yet unseen, giant Mactera brood mother.

This would make them somewhat similar to real-life bees, with the Queen alone giving birth to the entire hive. However, male bees are called "drones," and cannot sting (ergo, they can't fight or defend the queen). But we can dismiss this detail because it's Hoxxes, and Hoxxes forces almost everything to become a killing machine.

"Tri-Jaw" - Just refers to how they have 3, uhm... well, they look like tubes, but I guess they're "jaws." So it probably eats with them too? It's not uncommon for bugs in the real world to secrete an acidic saliva through their mouthparts to dissolve prey for consumption. I guess Tri-Jaws take it a step further, and shoot their saliva.

"Brundle" - Martin Brundle was the lead protagonist in the 1989 horror sci-fi movie, "The Fly," which was all about a dude turning into a part-human, part-fly monster. This is why one of the voice lines for killing a Brundle is, "Die, fly!" (P.S. Do not google what a "brundle" is on the Urban Dictionary. You've been warned).

Nayaka

"Nayaka" - This is a tricky one. Searching the word directly brings up many definitions, mainly from Hindu, Sanskrit, and Buddhist cultures. Although the general trend among all of these definitions is something like, "chieftain," or "hero."

There's... uhm... also a river called the Myakka, I dunno... Nayaka Trawlers kind of "swim" in the sand? I... think this might just be a name chosen purely because it sounds cool, which just so happened to be a real word, because there's millions of words. Coincidences are bound to happen eventually when choosing sci-fy alien names at random.

"Trawler" - Comes from the fact that they literally "trawl" the sand. Trawling is the act of slowly dragging a large net behind a boat to catch fish (there's that aquatic connection again?), and Trawlers basically fish for Dwarves. Fun fact: This is where the internet slang, "trolling" comes from, as trolling is a type of trawling done with a fishing rod instead of a net. Trolling is literally "baiting" angry replies out of people.

Q'Ronar

"Q'Ronar" is another tricky one. I have 3 possible theories. Theory one; It's just another random sci-fy alien-sounding name. Theory two; it comes from "corona," which actually means "crown" (the viruses are called such because their binding proteins - the pointy buds that surround the virus - resemble tiny crowns). The Q'Ronars' eye stalks kind of resemble a little crown... sorta?
Theory three, it's a play on the word "coroner," who basically examines bodies and tells other people your time of death. It's a very vague connection at best, because all the enemies on Hoxxes are trying to pronounce you dead, but whatever.

Naedocyte

"Naedocyte" - A play on the word "cnidocyte" (the 'c' is silent). Cnidocytes are the stinging cells in jellyfish. They contain a tightly-coiled harpoon-like tether, tipped with a barb, that explodes out on contact to inject venom. Jellyfish aren't actually electrical, but their paralyzing stings can give a similar effect to electrocution. "Electric jellyfish" is listed among the many tropes on the TVtropes website.

Also, fun fact, but did you ever notice how the Naedocyte Breeder is actually part jellyfish? Depending on how you look at it, it's either an up-right Cave Cruiser with a giant sac shooting out of it's "head" sideways, or it's some sort of jellyfish creature - titled sideways - with the sac being where it's previous mouth would be, and it's new mouth actually jutting sideways out of it's head. Perhaps the Breeder is simply the final stage of life for a Naedocyte Shocker?

Also, in an early beta version, there was a jellyfish-looking creature that could spawn smaller jellyfish directly. This enemy was later cut, then slowly re-added into the game in this order: Cave Cruisers (the original model) > Shockers > Breeders.

Xynarch

"Xynarch" - Sounds like another sci-fy name. However, there's still some hope! The prefix "Xylo-" refers to something wooden, and the suffix "-arch" means "superior" (like in 'monarch'). It's just a hunch, but maybe the Xynarch Charge Suckers are some kind of parasitic plant? It wouldn't be the first time the plants of Hoxxes tried to kill us, after all.

Korlok

"Korlok" - I've got very little here, but I do have something. In Old Norse, "Kor" can mean a choir, or a circular gathering. The Korlok Tyrant Weed spawns, what you could argue is, a "choir," or gathering, of Sprouts. Also in Old Norse is the word "Lok," meaning... well, to lock, or shut. Possibly in reference to how the central unit locks itself shut until enough Sprouts have been killed.

Deeptora

"Deeptora" - This one is simple. I'm fairly certain it's a slight perversion of "Tera," or Terra, meaning 'earth.' So, it means "deep ground." The word "tora" also means tiger in Japanese, but I doubt this connection is anything but sheer coincidence. Maybe not?

"Bough" - From the Deeptora Bough Wasp nests. A bough is a tree branch. Deeptora Bough nests only spawn in the Hollow Bough.

Side note here; Is it possible that the entire Hollow Bough biome is a reference to Yggdrasil, the Norse "world tree?" I mean, the name implies that the entire biome is merely a branch of some enormous tree. And Dwarves certainly are tied to Norse mythology very closely. Just a thought.

Honorable Mentions

"Silicate Harvester" - Silicate rock is a type of stone estimated to make up around 90% of the Earth's crust. Presumably, the Silicate Harvester eats rock (for breakfast). In real life, there are organisms that eat by sifting through mineral debris, but they're usually simple fungi or microorganisms. For something as big as a Harvester to exist, Hoxxes would have to have incredibly nutrient-rich minerals. Maybe the Driller really could eat rock for breakfast if he wanted to.

"Mobula Cave Angel" - Mobula is a genus of rays in the real world, most known for containing Manta Rays. The Dwarves incorrectly pronounce Mobula as "moab-ulla," when it should be pronounced "mob-you-la." Fun fact; Did you know that rays are the closest relatives of sharks? They're both technically cartilaginous fishes, and are believed to share a relatively recent ancestor!

"Hexawing Gniffer" - The "Hexawing" part of their name refers to the fact that they have... wait for it... 6 wings. Personally, I also think their wings look rather polygonal from a distance as well. You can sort of see how their biggest wings almost look like hexagons themselves. The "Gniffer" part is (as far as I'm aware) totally made up, just to sound funny.

"Huuli Hoarder" - Possibly yet another sci-fy name, however, I yet again offer another possibility. In Old English, the word "hulu" meant the shell of a seed - from that word came, "hull," which as a noun, means "to cover or conceal." This could reference how the Hoarder conceals minerals, as well as itself, if you let it escape.
In Proto-Finnic, there is a word spelled exactly as "huuli." It translates, in Old English, to the verb "lip," meaning to sag, or hang loose. The Hoarder's pouch-thingy is probably based on a thief's bag, and notably sags behind the Hoarder, flailing around and dropping minerals as it runs away. I would, however, say that this is a bit of a stretch.

"Fester Flea" - When something "festers," it means it has become infected and diseased, usually in a gross, swelling sort of way. DRG makes a point about killing these things no matter what, even going far as to mention that failure to kill them on sight is liable to fines, reprimands, "or worse." Fleas in real life, of course, also carry a very disgusting reputation, and usually invoke a "kill on sight" response from humans.

"Maggot" - I just want to point out that maggots aren't actually maggots. The miner's manual says that each one is actually a collection of smaller organisms acting as one creature, and that they migrate to the surface of the planet to absorb solar radiation. Interesting! They're still not really maggots, though. And you can't pet them.

Conclusion

I hope someone at least learned something from this. I, for one, made this because I was incredibly tired and bored. So, if my boredom can make other people happy, I'll consider that a victory.

Every time i see a post by you i'm impressed by how thoughtful most of your comments are then come to the eldritch realization your name is Femboy Thighs any way i gave you the fancy pants award keep it up you strange creature

[Nosteru]

Awesome stuff!
My adding note about warden. This word often referring to somekind of protector/watcher or sentinel. Can work as he inspect us and inform the glyphids about our power so they come to us prepared and by that get the guard buff on them.