[ 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 |
|---|---|
| Goffs | Goths, a Germanic people that raided Rome amongst other places. [WH40k Ork Clan] |
| Moulder | "Moulder", to decay or rot. [WHFB AoS Chaos Skaven Clan] |
| Pestilens | Latin pestilens, "infected". [WHFB AoS Chaos Skaven Clan] |
| Snakebites | Snakebite, a mixed drink made of lager and cider in equal parts, popular in the UK in the 1980s. [WH40k Ork Clan Snakebites] |
| 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 Plagues