The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
The importance of Names.
Serack:
--- Quote from: Thessaly on June 05, 2012, 01:57:18 PM ---@Serak: I never saw that article, re: Jim's naming of Harry. Thanks for that!
--- End quote ---
Ah, when you get the time, I highly recommend that you go through my "DF WoJ compilation" which is stickied in the WoJ section and also linked in my sig. It is absolutely chocked full of tidbits like that one. It's also something like 14 posts that are nearly 20k characters each so it might take a little while to get through it.
Serack:
I'm quoting from the Dresden Files Wikia article here:
--- Quote from: Lasciel article ---The name Lasciel most likely derives from the Latin, "lascivus", which can mean: wanton, playful, frisky, lustful, lewd, lascivious, etc. This is consistent with Lasciel's description as a temptress. It would then appear that "-el" was artfully affixed to the end, mimicking the Hebraic, theophoric naming convention of having a word for God in the name. For instance, one translation of "Uriel" is, "God is my light". Some credibility for this theory is that most angels in popular cultres have names that end in -el, and The Dresden Files convention of mixing and matching languages.
A much less likely origin of the name could be the Italian "lasciare", most often meaning "to leave (something behind)", which is used in one of Dante's most famous lines in his Inferno: "lasciate ogne speranza voi ch'intrate"/ "all hope abandon, ye who enter".
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There have been other topics delving into the subject of Lasciel's name... I'll look really quick and see if I can find them and will come back and edit this post with links if I do.
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,32214.0.html
Thessaly:
--> Updated to here <-- minus places&things which will be affixed shortly. Also trimmed some irrelevancy and broadened others for the sake of fun.
--- Quote from: peregrine on June 05, 2012, 06:19:05 AM ---There's a theory bouncing around that Harry has some flavor of Power based on his ability to Name people and things. You might want to look that one up. Some I agree with (Lash, Mouse) others I think are a stretch (Shagnasty, Uri) but it could tie into what you're talking about here.
--- End quote ---
The act of naming implies all beings with independent will have the ability to Name something, especially true of Wizards. When Harry shortens Uriel's name to Uri and dropping El, literally God, the removal of God from Uriel is a corruption of the archangel's name and a blow to his beliefs. It has an ominous significance. Call a man something (murderer, criminal, animal) and chances are eventually he'll believe it or otherwise act on or because of it.
Let all who Name things truly use care and wisdom.
dimpwnc:
Kumori Japanese for cloudiness/shadow.
Langtry, Arthur Last name is Old English for "tall tree" or "dweller by the long tree"; old established Devon family. First name: Arthurian legend is at least here a clear connection, given his position as Merlin. Etymology: several schools of thought; potentially Welsh for "Bear Man" (arth-gwr), or Latin for "brightest star" (Arturus).
Morgan, Donald Last name is Welsh in origin; actual meaning of name is disputed, with meanings ranging from "m'or" (sea) to "mawr" (big) and "cant" (100, cycle) to "can" (bright). Could also potentially (and more appropriately) be related to the Irish Murchadh ("sea warrior"). Donald: Gaelic; either an Irish Gaelic form of the Hebrew name Daniel, which means (appropriately) dan+el: "judge from God" or Scots Gaelic, from "Domhnall" (world ruler).
--- Quote from: Thessaly on June 05, 2012, 03:29:19 AM ---Mallory, Elaine: The name Elaine is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Elaine is "sun ray; shining light". French variant of Helen. Surname footnote: Mallory is an English surname thought to be derived from a French word meaning "beautiful." Possible connections: One potential choice is (author) Thomas Malory's Elaine who acted as bearer of the Holy Grail. The same Elaine who tricks Lancelot into sleeping with her, trapping him in the role of her lover. (Citation needed.) (contributers: dimpwnc)
McCoy, Ebenezar: The name Ebenazar is of Hebrew origin and means "Stone of help." Surname footnote: McCoy is an Anglicisation of its Irish Gaelic form Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh" (an old word for "Fire", a Celtic deity). Possible connection: The expression "The real McCoy", colloquially means "the genuine article." (Harry has used the idiom in the books - citation needed.) (contributers: Elegast, dimpwnc, and Serack.)
--- End quote ---
Here are the requested citations:
Example of "real mccoy" usage:
[Harry]:"Valmont duped the third party into taking a decoy. Then she grabbed the real McCoy and ran." (Ch. 14, Death Masks.)
I'm not sure what citations you want here; it's probably TMI, but it was fun skimming Morte. Feel free to pull out whatever you want, or leave it all here if it's too much speculative detail.
-Elaine of Astolat: Tennyson's "The mirror crack'd from side to side/the curse has come upon me cried/the Lady of Shalott." In Morte, she falls in love with Lancelot, cares for him when he is wounded, and, when he spurns her, dies of grief[XVIII,XX]. The physical description of Elaine Mallory and Elaine of Astolat are quite similar.
-Elaine of Corbenic, Pelles' daughter: bears the Holy Grail a few times[XI,II],[XII,I]. Falls in love with Lancelot and tricks him into sleeping with her--twice[XI,II-III],[XI,VIII]. Via an enchantment, he believes he is sleeping with Guinevere. Elaine has Lance's kid--Galahad [XI,III]. Lance goes mad with grief, and they stay together for a while [XII,IV-VI]; that's the end of her story in Morte. In Once and Future King, like Elaine of Astolat, she also commits suicide.
[edited to add] One question--are you only interested in etymologies, not in popular culture references? If the goal is actually finding JB's inspiration/allusions, pop culture refs are probably significant/useful. Some names also clearly are pop culture refs, e.g. the tiny tinkerbell-fairy Elidee->LED, the WOJ that explained the origin of Harry Dresden's name, and another WOJ I remember stumbling across that said that Billy and Georgia's names came from a TV program (I did a brief check and couldn't find it....Serack, as resident WOJ rockstar, do you remember it?)
Atunis:
--- Quote from: dimpwnc on June 06, 2012, 08:58:30 AM ---WOJ I remember stumbling across that said that Billy and Georgia's names came from a TV program (I did a brief check and couldn't find it....Serack, as resident WOJ rockstar, do you remember it?)
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Billy and Georgia cam from Ally McBeal, which Shannon watched a lot of while Jim was writing.
*looking for the WOJ now*
*I completely failed at finding the right WOJ. Help someone? Anyone? Help?*
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