Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
#206466 07/18/12 10:29 AM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
bexter Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
Hey guys,
wow I haven't started a topic off for a while!
Was trying to do a litcrit on a WiP for someone on another forum I visit and they were having issues with the word exsangue, right sort of meaning but not quite. They are looking for a latin/romance language word that means roughly "of the wrong blood", umm the wrong blood having copper rather than iron, if I surmise correctly and exsangue doesn't really hit on the meaning they're looking for.
So, thought I, I shall be all knowledgeable and clever and go ask the word people on my favourite forum if they have any ideas for a word meaning what they want it to mean...then I can go back and report my findings (mentioning you of course! I won't take allīthe credit wink )
Thanks guys, I look forward to the argument um discussion...


----The next sentence is true. The previous sentence is false----
bexter #206467 07/18/12 10:53 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
What is the audience for this WiP?

bexter #206468 07/18/12 10:57 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
And what language is this WiP in? Exsangue does not appear to be an English word and as a French word it looks its meaning is not even of the right sort, but I'll leave that to people who have a much better command of French than I do.

Faldage #206469 07/18/12 11:41 AM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
bexter Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
Haha sorry, forgetting important info! I believe it to be Young Adult, it's in English, but fantasy, and the word would be in common use in the WiP world...the writer wants a Latin/Romance word...as it sounds a bit better than the English "wrong type of blood" as a caste type...but at the moment is stuck with exsangue...although they're very happy to swap to a better word...but unable to come up with one themselves, lacking the Latin or Romance language knowledge...thought we may be able to help smile


----The next sentence is true. The previous sentence is false----
bexter #206470 07/18/12 02:51 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
English does have the fine word exsanguination (and others), the process of draining or losing blood, which nicely aligns with F. exsangue, bloodless.

fr. L. exsanguinatus, drained of blood

I agree, this doesn't at all approach what the writer seems to want..

tsuwm #206471 07/18/12 03:57 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
How about Grecian? Anhemoglobinic blood. Sounds almost medically terminologically speaking plausible. The adjective could also be anhaemoglobine I suppose if in a UK context.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
bexter #206473 07/18/12 04:22 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
These days you can get away with pretty much anything in words for strange conditions in sci-fi and fantasy. Back in the Golden Age you had to explain everything because people weren't prepared to accept weird stuff without having it all laid out for them. It would be like if, in writing about a 20th century storyline, having one of the characters say, "You know, of course, when you change the position of this switch the circuit is completed and it allows the electricity to flow through the filament in the light fixture causing it to emit photons." Nowadays you can say, "He slid the cube into the reader and pulled up all the information he needed to refute his opponent's fallacious arguments." I like Nuncle Z's suggestion but might use cupro- instead of anhemo-.

bexter #206474 07/18/12 04:57 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
bexter Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
They do both sound good...I think, those with copper in their blood can do a certain type of magic, which is illegal unless you are born into certain families/crafts sort of thing...so it's a name for a caste of people really I think, who have the wrong blood, from the excerpt up for critique it seems they get killed...so anything that could cover that, I think Greek probably counts as an option on Latin, so I'll expand it to Latin, Greek or Romance languages...a couple of people have suggested, and put up their lack of Latin, so only as a guess "malasangue", "essangue" "insangue", "unsangue" and "utsangue"...but the discussion is still trying for more of a wrong blood, not of the correct blood etc


----The next sentence is true. The previous sentence is false----
bexter #206477 07/19/12 01:17 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
bexter Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
You've been reading some very shoddy Sci-Fi then Faldage! Although I suppose it does depend on the hardness how well explained the technology will be...any more exsangue improvements are welcome... wink


----The next sentence is true. The previous sentence is false----
bexter #206479 07/19/12 04:55 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
The shoddy sci-fi was stuff from the so-called Golden Age, back in the '30s and '40s. They really did feel that they had to explain things because the audience wasn't quite tuned into the genre. That's not the case any more.

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,629
Members9,187
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo
9,187 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
1 members (A C Bowden), 546 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,746
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,934
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5