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Myth Vocabulary Wish-List

Jul 09, 2012

By Reem Shaddad (dreamer) and Anealla Safdar (traditionalist), Digital Department

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are several dreamers at Doha Film Institute who live in a world of fantasy.

As part of our inaugural Mythology Fortnight celebration, we put together a wish list of words we would like to see incorporated into the mythology dictionary.

Below are our top five. If you are interested in the semantics of mythology, send us the words and meanings you day-dream about to Facebook, Twitter or below in our comments section.

Under the wish list are some examples of existing mythological vocabulary, you know, for the traditionalists out there.

The Wish List

molokhiaite [pronounced moh-loh-khee-ayt]
Predator which feeds off the earth’s salinity. When provoked, the molokhiaite launches itself into the human body’s blood stream and procreates rapidly as a result of the chemical reactions of high sodium levels and oxygen.

Example sentence: The final stages of a human life after a molokhiaite invasion is internal herbal solidification and death.

emborgification
Act of transforming a being of flesh and blood into a partly robotic entity, resulting in a technologically enhanced creation.

Example sentence: Gandalf the Grey, who had a hardy spirit of fire but a mortal’s body, experienced emborgification into a wizborg.

nanobic ziggurat
Miniscule nerve centres of power resulting from plague-like morphology of funghi and Martian meteorites. Nanobic ziggurats, 20 nanometres in diameter, are the smallest organisms known to man.

Example sentence: The rarity of nanobic ziggurats is likely to ignite battles between good and evil to determine either their extinction, marking the end of mankind, or the rise of a higher authority.

odyssire [pronounced oh-dee-sire]
Winged creatures of the night used by murderous, militant dictators in the inevitable War of the Worlds to weaken the leaders of the New Age Resistance. Abilities include injecting a potent elixir into the pericardium using 4-inch crystallised fangs.

Example sentence: Odyssires latched onto the victim’s chest and injected him thus overtaking regular functions of the human heart.

dune guard
A protective creature formed of gas, solid and liquid residing in the Saudi Arabian desert. Millions of vibrating granules of sand and star dust form its body.

Example sentence: The dune guard, with a thermogenic phlebotomiser at its core, grew in size and power after the meteor attacked the land.

The Existing Words

soothsayer
One who professes to know the future. The word originated from the old English noun ‘sooth’, which means truth.
Example sentence: That soothsayer was so wrong about “John Carter”. It turned out to be a great movie!

ectoplasm
Substance emanating from a body or a medium during trances which enables telekinesis, the moving of objects by using mental power.

Example sentence: It is still a matter of debate whether Uri Geller uses ectoplasm in his performances.

ambrosia
The food or drink of Greek gods which offers ageless immortality. Ambrosia can be used as an ingredient for perfume and could have had a honey-taste.

Example sentence: Athena prepared Penelope with ambrosia in her sleep so that her beauty increased before the suitors came to see her.

elysian
Of relating to Elysium, a paradisiacal conception of the afterlife. On a separate note, the Pet Shop Boys next album will be titled Elysium.

Example sentence: “If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you’re already dead!” – General Maximus (“The Gladiator”)

zombie
Originally the name of a snake god, a zombie is now known as corpse revived a long time after death date by mystical means.

Example Sentence: After watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the fifth time, I felt like a zombie.

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