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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 |
|---|---|
| Callidus | Latin callidus, "cunning". [WH40k Imperial Assassin] |
| Culexus | Latin culex, "gnat". [WH40k Imperial Assassin] |
| Divisio Assassinorum | Latin divisio, "division" + "assassin", professional killer + Latin -orum, genitive masculine plural suffix. This gives the Dog Latin meaning, "division of assassins". Correct Latin would be divisio sicariorum. [WH40k Imperial Assassin] |
| Eversor | Latin eversor, "destroyer". [WH40k Imperial Assassin] |
| Legienstrasse ¹ | Legienstraße is a road (and corresponding metro station) in Hamburg, named after the unionist and politician Carl Legien. [WH40k Imperial Assassin Maerorus] |
| M'Shen | Martin Sheen (1940-), an actor whose roles include Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now, the man sent to assassinate Colonel Kurtz. [WH40k Imperial Assassin Callidus] |
| Officio Assassinorum | Latin officio, "for the service" + "assassin", professional killer + Latin -orum, genitive masculine plural suffix. This gives the Dog Latin meaning, "for the service of assassins". Correct Latin would be officio sicariorum. [WH40k Imperial Assassin] |
| Vanus | Latin vanus, "empty" or "deceptive". [WH40k Imperial Assassin] |
| Venenum | Latin venenum, "poison". [WH40k Imperial Assassin] |
| Vindicare | Latin vindicare, "to avenge". [WH40k Imperial Assassin] |
| 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 Chaos God of Decay