[ Models | Lore | Sources | Inspiration ]
With a rich background stretching back decades in time, the various Warhammer games contain a vast array of names (of people, places, items, and so on). Many of these names are original, but some happen to have a meaning in the real world, as obscure terms, foreign words, or cultural references. This page lists some of these underlying etymologies for your edification. Note that some of these are best guesses (speculative fan theory) rather than confirmed derivations.
Where a name is followed by the symbol ¹, if you hover over or click on that symbol you will see when that name was first mentioned in a publication.
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Alpharius | Ancient Greek ἄλφα, "alpha", the first letter of the Greek Alphabet. See also: Omegon. [WH40k Chaos Primarch AlphaLegion] |
| Exodus | "Exodus", a departure of many people. [WH40k Chaos SpaceMarine AlphaLegion] |
| Hydra Dominatus | Hydra, a many-headed snake monster in Greek mythology + Latin dominatus, "absolute power". This gives the Dog Latin meaning of either "the dominating hydra" (for which correct Latin would be hydra dominans) or "the power of the hydra" (for which correct Latin would be hydrae dominatus). [WH40k Chaos AlphaLegion] |
| Omegon | Ancient Greek ὦ μέγα, the last letter of the Greek alphabet. See also: Alpharius. [WH40k Chaos Primarch AlphaLegion] |
| Inspiration | |
| Warhammer Setting | The Dark Tongue; Daemonic Names; Lexicon; Short Stories; Cut-ups; Cool Stuff |
| Art | Golden Demon; Nurglesque Music |
| Speculation | Chaos God Correspondence; Dark Heresy Backgrounds; Sevenfold Path; Sevenrot; Seven Deadly Sins |
| Real World References | Nergal in Mesopotamian History; Symbolism of Three Circles; Symbolism of Seven |
dedicated to the Grandfather of Pestilence