Breck Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Much speculation has gone into the meaning of Lewis Carroll's word "vorpal," with the author himself remaining unsure. However, if we take the word apart in the simplist way we could arrive at "vor" as the Latin for "eat" as in voracious, and "-pal" as the suffix meaning "with." Therefore, "vorpal" could mean "with great hunger" or even "with great appetite" or "with great eagerness," all of which describe Nightblood perfectly. 6
Quantus he/him Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 I prefer to believe none of the words from that poem have actual etymology. Still, nice catch, and I agree whole-heartedly with your Nightblood point.
Jace The Firesworn he/him Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 That's frickin hilarious! But you have a good point.
Going_North_cal Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 the dictionary defines vorpal as 1. resulting in or capable of causing death. a fatal accident. 2. bringing ruin; disastrous. which still works… so… ✨yeah✨ 1
Breck Posted June 13, 2023 Author Posted June 13, 2023 39 minutes ago, CalanoCorvus said: the dictionary defines vorpal as 1. resulting in or capable of causing death. a fatal accident. 2. bringing ruin; disastrous. which still works… so… ✨yeah✨ Just so you're aware, the word "vorpal" was coined by Lewis Carroll in the poem "Jabberwocky." The poem was filled with other nonsensical words, for some of which Carroll provided an explanation of the origin and/or meaning. "Vorpal" was not one of such words. Over the years there have been many proposed interpretations. It seems the authors of some dictionaries have decided to give it a formal meaning based on conventional use. The definition I propose is another interpretation based on the pattern Carroll used for some of the other words for which he provided an etymology.
Going_North_cal Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 i’m aware it’s origins. im just saying they all work :/
Recommended Posts