Glossary of His Dark Materials Terminology - Alternative Terms

Alternative Terms

To enhance the feeling of being in a parallel universe, Pullman renames various common objects of our world with historic terms or new words of his own, often reflecting the power of the Magisterium (Pullman's all-powerful spiritual authority, with echoes of the Roman Catholic Church) in Lyra's world. The alternative names he chooses often follow alternate etymologies, while making it possible to guess what everyday object or person he is referring to. Below are some of the significant renamings as well as new words the author has developed entirely on his own.

• Aerodock: Airport likely deriving from airships are the dominant form of air travel, which need to dock at a tower rather than land.
• Æsahættr: (literally "God-destroyer") The formal name of the subtle knife; deemed the "last knife of all"
• Anbaric, and the prefix anbaro-: Electric or electrical. From anbar, Arabic for amber; the English word "electric" is based on the Greek ήλεκτρον (élektron), meaning "amber". Both words derive from the electrostatic properties of amber.
• Atomcraft: Research into particle physics, specifically using uranium.
• Brantwijn: Brandywine.
• Byanroping or roping: in the Gyptian dialect, a formal meeting of all the Gyptian families to discuss urgent or important matters.
• Cauchuc: Rubber and possibly also plastic, from the Native American word cauchuc or caoutchouc meaning the sap of the rubber tree.
• Celestial geography: Celestial navigation.
• Chapel: A scientific laboratory. All scientific enquiry derives from the church and so the language that describes them has religious overtones.
• Chaplain: The head of a scientific laboratory.
• Chocolatl: Chocolate. Sometimes hot chocolate, sometimes "a bar of chocolatl" (a chocolate bar). From chocolatl, the Nahuatl word for chocolate.
• Chthonic Railway Station: An underground railway station. "Chthonic" is from Greek χθόνιος (chthonios), meaning pertaining to the earth; earthy.
• Cloud-pine: A type of wood used by witches for flying (akin to broomsticks in other literature)
• Coal-silk: Nylon, a synthetic fibre made from coal, was invented as a substitute for natural silk.
• Coal spirit: Petroleum or other hydrocarbon fuels derived from it.
• Dæmon: The animal embodiment of a human's inner-life and thought. It is pronounced 'demon'
• Dust: Dark matter or dark energy (although as more of a "life force") which carries intelligence or consciousness; in the real world, particles which make up most of the mass of the universe, but which cannot be directly observed.
• Experimental Theology: Physics. A term derived from the fact that the Magisterium (see above) controls scientific research in Lyra's world.
• Electrum: An occasionally used Latin word for amber; see "anbaric" above.
• Fire-mine: A geothermal vent in which the panserbjorne work in metallurgy; supposedly impenetrable to humans and witches.
• Gyropter: A helicopter.
• Marchpane: Marzipan. In reality, "Marchpane" is an archaic word for "marzipan".
• Naphtha: Oil or petroleum (as in oil-lamp, rather than naphtha-lamp). A petrochemical like kerosene.
• Night-ghast: A nightmare (in the mythological sense).
• Oratory: An individual church.
• Ordinator: A computer (from the same root as ordinateur (French) and ordenador (Spanish)).
• Philosophical: Having to do with the study of physics. In our own world, physics were once considered a part of philosophy.
• Photogram: A photograph; more primitive than those in our own world but able to be developed in multiple ways.
• Projecting lantern: A magic lantern used for photograms. (Pullman noted in Northern Lights's Lantern Slides addendum that he based the projector in the book on one his grandfather owned.)
• Shadow (capitalised): See Dust.
• Smokeleaf: Tobacco
• (Experimental) Theologian: A physicist. From "Natural Theology" meaning science.
• Tokay: Either an Anglicised form of tokaji (a famed wine of the Tokaj-Hegyalja region in Hungary), or a reference to Tokay d'Alsace, a name for pinot gris created in the Alsace region of France. The golden color of the wine in the book could fit either definition.