The page details the various terminology used in the His Dark Materials trilogy written by Philip Pullman. To enhance the feeling of being in a parallel universe, Pullman renames various common objects of our world with historic terms or new words of his own, often reflecting the power of the Church in Lyra's world. The alternative names he chooses often follow alternate etymologies, while making it possible to guess what everyday object or person he is referring to. Below are some of the significant renamings as well as new words the author has developed entirely on his own.
Glossary[]
- Aeronaut: Balloonist. Obsolete term. From the Greek aer 'air' and nautes 'sailor'.
- Alethiometer: "The Golden Compass". Literally meaning 'Truth Measure'. From the Greek alethes 'truth' and meter 'measure'. Compare to the modern English philosophical term alethiology 'study of truth'.
- Æsahættr: The formal name of the subtle knife. Literally meaning 'God-Destroyer'.
- Anbaric: Electric. From the Arabic anbar 'amber' and the Latin electrum 'amber'. Electric was originally adopted to describe objects that develop static electricity when rubbed, a property first observed in amber.
- Atomcraft: Research into particle physics, specifically using uranium.
- Brytain: Britain. Archaic spelling.
- Cathay: China. From the medieval Latin Cathaya.
- Cauchuc: Rubber. From the Quechua caoutchouc, meaning 'natural rubber or latex'.
- Celestial geography: Celestial navigation.
- Chapel: Scientific Laboratory.
- Chaplain: Head of a Scientific Laboratory.
- Chocolatl: Chocolate. From the Nahuatl chocolatl 'chocolate'.
- Chthonic Railway Station: Underground Railway Station. From Greek chthonos 'underground'.
- Cloud-pine: A type of wood used by Witches for flying.
- Coal-silk: Nylon. A synthetic fibre made from coal that was invented as a substitute for natural silk.
- Corea: Korea. Archaic spelling.
- Dæmon: The physical manifestation of a human soul in Lyra's world. This distinct spelling is intended to evoke the older sense of an "attendant spirit" and thereby distinguish it from the Judaeo-Christian use to refer to an evil spirit or devil.
- Dust: An elementary particle. Known as shadows, shadow-particles or dark matter in Will's world, and sraf in the mulefa world. The name Dust was chosen in Lyra's world based on an interpretation of the end of the Third Chapter of Genesis in the Bible, where God curses Adam and Eve for eating the fruit of the tree.
- Eastern Anglia: East Anglia. The region where John Faa's gyptians live.
- Eireland: Ireland. Archaic spelling. A country in the world of Cittàgazze equivalent to Ireland in Lyra's and Will's world.
- Fire-mine: A geothermal vent in which the panserbjorn work in metallurgy; supposedly impenetrable to humans and witches.
- Groenland: Greenland. Archaic spelling.
- Gyropter: Helicopter. Obsolete term. From the Greek gyros "spiral" and pteron "wing".
- Gyptians: Nomadic boat-dwellers. An archaic form of Gypsy, itself a reduced form of Egyptian. When Romani peoples first appeared in Britain in the late 16th century they were wrongly thought to be of Egyptian origin.
- Lake Enara: Lake Inari, a lake in Northern Finland. From the Swedish name for the lake Enare.
- Marchpane: Marzipan.
- Muscovy: Russia. A reference to the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
- Naphtha: Oil. A petrochemical like kerosene.
- New Denmark: America. A reference to the fact that the Vikings first discovered America. Lee Scoresby is described as a "New Dane", although he is from the country of Texas.
- New France: Quebec, or possibly Canada. A reference to the 17th and 18th century, during which the area around the St-Lawrence River was called New France.
- Nippon: Japan. Historical name. From the Japanese 'land of the rising sun'.
- Norroway: Norway. Referring to the inner-archipelago sailing route through the land ('narrow way').
- Panserbjørn: A species of giant anthropomorphic polar bear-like creatures with opposable thumbs, known for crafting powerful armour from meteoric iron.
- Peaceable Ocean: The Pacific Ocean. Name given in the 16th century in recognition of the calm seas experienced by explorer Ferdinand Magellan. A direct translation of the Latin pacific 'peace-making, tranquil' into English.
- Philosopher: Scientist. Reviving the pre-20th century use of the word to refer to a scholar involved in research into any branch of knowledge. From the Greek philein 'to love' and sophos 'wisdom'.
- Photogram: Photograph. Obsolete term. From the Greek photo 'relating to light' and gram 'something written'.
- Skraeling: Indigenous people of Groenland or New Denmark.
- Experimental Theology: Physics.
- Tokay: A rare golden wine. Probably based on the Hungarian wine Tokaji.
Pronounciation[]
The pronunciations given here are those used in the radio plays and the audio book readings of the trilogy (by Pullman himself). The transcriptions surrounded by square brackets are in the International Phonetic Alphabet, as spoken in Received Pronunciation.
- Alethiometer: al-eeth-ee-OM-et-er [ˌæliːθɪˈɒmɪtə]
- Æsahættr: AS-hatter [ˈæshætə] ('God-Destroyer')
- Chthonic: kuh-THON-ick [k(ə)ˈθɒnɪk] orTHON-ick [ˈθɒnɪk]
- Cittàgazze: chee-tuh-GAHT-s(z)ay (as Italian) [ˌtʃitaˈgatse]
- Dæmon: DEE-mon [ˈdiːmən] (pronounced identically with English demon)
- Iorek: YOR-ick [ˈjɔːɹɪk]
- Iofur: YO-fur [ˈjəʊfʊə]
- Kirjava: KEER-yah-vuh [ˌkiːrˈjɑːvə]
- Lyra: LIE-ruh [ˈlaɪɹə]
- Mulefa: moo-LAY-fuh [ˌmuːˈleɪfə]
- Panserbjørne: PAN-ser-byurn-eh [ˈpænsəbjɜːnə] ('Armoured Bears')
- Pantalaimon: pan-tuh-LIE-mon [ˌpæntəˈlaɪmən]
- Salmakia: sal-MACK-ee-uh [ˌsælˈmækɪə]
- Serafina Pekkala: SEH-ra-fee-nuh PEK-ka-luh ['sɛɹəfiːnə 'pɛkələ]
- Tialys: tee-AH-lis [tɪˈɑːlɪs]
- Torre degli Angeli: TOR-ay DAY-(y)-lee an-JEL-ee (as Italian) [ˈtɔrːe delɪ an'dʒelɪ] ('Tower of the Angels')
- Xaphania: za-FAY-nee-uh [zəˈfeɪnɪə]