[ 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 |
|---|---|
| Daedelos Krata | Daedalus, a genius inventor in Greek mythology (who amongst other things designed the Minotaur's labyrinth) + Ancient Greek κραταιός, "mighty". [WH40k Imperial Minotaurs Starship] |
| Eisenstein | Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948), a film director whose work includes Battleship Potemkin in which a ship's crew rebels against their officers. [WH40k Imperial DeathGuard Starship] |
| Misericord ¹ | Latin misericordia, "pity" or (figuratively) "wretchedness". [WH40k CalixisSector Imperial Starship] |
| Mjalnar | Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor, god of thunder in Norse mythology. [WH40k SegmentumObscurus FenrisSector FenrisSystem SpaceWolves Starship] |
| Rock | There is a persistent fan theory that the Rock is named after a Nottingham gay club. This has absolutely no basis in fact. The Rock is called that because it is a large rock, and as a reference to Castle Rock on which stands Nottingham Castle. [WH40k Imperial DarkAngels Starship] |
| Terminus Est | "Terminus Est" is the name of a sword in The Book of the New Sun (first published 1980), a series of novels by Gene Wolfe (which include a character called Typhon). [WH40k Chaos Nurgle DeathGuard Starship] |
| 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 Lord of Plague