# Name for a substance



## Smurthwaite (May 28, 2013)

I've been writing this same story for quite some time now. I'm very bad about over-editing, so I never seem to get anywhere. That aside, I need a good name for the substance that is the central source of conflict in said story. Simply put, it is pure energy. Life, magic, etc. It's everything. It's _in_ everything. It's more than a soul. It's the substance that enables life. But, of course it must have a base form, right? And --at least in my opinion-- it would certainly be more interesting if that form was physical, thereby allowing a reason for it to be sought and fought over. Hello central plot. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I need a name for this substance, in its base form or otherwise, and perhaps a deviation for when it reacts with living and/or non-living organisms. I've been leaning toward Latin when it comes to most technical terms in this story. I know that's stereotypical, but Latin makes the most sense to me, for reasons that don't need to be said.
I hope this makes sense. 
Any ideas?


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## krunchee (May 29, 2013)

I like the sound of the following:
-Primenium 
-Paragen 
-Chemocite 

Dunno if that helps but they were some chemical sounding names that I thought sounded cool.


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## Smurthwaite (May 29, 2013)

Thanks. That was very helpful. ^.^


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## Smurthwaite (May 29, 2013)

Oh. Just one more thing... How do I upload a profile picture? :-S I'm having a very hard time with this... >.<


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## adampjr (May 29, 2013)

Settings > Edit Avatar.


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## RedAndy (May 29, 2013)

Have a think about what form your substance takes. If it's a particle (or something particle-like), it'll most likely end in -on (proton, electron, Higgs boson etc). To use the examples from above, something ending in -ium is likely to be a chemical element (e.g. strontium); something ending in -ite is likely to be a mineral (e.g. haematite). I'm not saying that these are hard-and-fast rules that you must follow, but your readers might have an easier time understanding what your substance is if you stick to real-world naming conventions.

Alternatively you could be non-technical and name it something like Philip Pullman's "Dust," which is easy enough to envisage even if its precise function is somewhat different to our own real-world understanding of what dust is. If it's something that has been known about and described for generations, it is less likely to have a technical-sounding name.


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## Zak9 (Jun 1, 2013)

Consider the following:
vita, caput, stamen, anima, animula, vigor, spiritus, lumen, alacritas, medium, spirabilis


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## The Unseemly (Jun 2, 2013)

Hmm... sounds slightly mythical to me. Perhaps try Mantra. It's a derivation of the word manatara, which symbolises in mythology (Maori, I think, though I'm probably wrong) exactly what you described: the substance of everything and nothing at the same time.


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## Ireth (Jun 2, 2013)

I thought a mantra was a certain often-repeated phrase for a certain person, kinda like a creed?


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## Xabrina (Jun 3, 2013)

Ireth said:


> I thought a mantra was a certain often-repeated phrase for a certain person, kinda like a creed?



That's right, because in certain meditation forms, one is reciting a "mantra," or repeated phrase. Of course, it doesn't mean you can't play with the source word in other forms. "Manatara" could easily become:

Mantara
Matara
Taraman (simple derivation from the source, but sounds more physical than the other two)

...or some further variation. Really neat source word, though. Never heard of it before!

If you're still leaning towards element-like names, when I am really stuck, I... sorta cheat and use a generator for mine. (Seventh Sanctum has a "Materials" generator as well as a "substances" generator). But beyond that, I'd consider hunting through other languages for words similar to "Manatara" in meaning. Energy in the scientific sense or a life-force. I can do a preliminary search and get back to you on that stuff, should I find anything worth considering. 

Once you have those, though, try to break them down or manipulate the term so it sounds cool and even more mythical and you're not taking the word _exactly_ as it's written in another language. ^_^ That's what I do, anyways. Of course... in my story, I ended up stuck on this kind of thing and stuck with "energy" (boring, I know!), but it is understood in society as something greater than even the worshiped gods.


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## Elfangle (Jun 5, 2013)

What is the setting of your story? Is it set in classic medieval times or the future? For me substances ending on -ium sound really futuristic (tiberium and unobtanium anyone). 

You say that it does have a physical form? Is that physical form a product of your energy or is thtat the energy? For example, you can have mana (which is the pure, raw non physical embodiement of a type of energy. But you also have mana stones that are the physical embodiement of mana. If that's the case you can name the physical substance in such a way that there is a thematic link with the esotheric energy. 

When i read your description of the energy, I immediately tought of ADEM, which is the dutch word for breath. In dutch the intonation is on the A but to make it sound more mystic you could put the intonation on the E.


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## Varamyrr (Jun 14, 2013)

What about _matter_? Unless I'm mistaken, dark matter is everywhere and nowhere.


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