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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 |
|---|---|
| Barbgaunt | Blend of "barb" (a backwards-pointing spike) and Hormagaunt. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Behemoth ¹ | Behemoth, a monster from the Book of Job in the Bible. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Biovore ¹ | "Bio-", relating to life + "-vore", an organism that devours this. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Broodlord ¹ | "Brood", offspring + "lord", master of a household. [WH40k Tyranid Genestealer] |
| Carnifex ¹ | Latin carnifex, "butcher". [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Charybdis ¹ | Charybdis, a sea monster in Greek mythology. See also: Scylla. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Collossus ¹ | Ancient Greek κολοσσός, large statue. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Dactylis ¹ | Ancient Greek δάκτυλος, "finger". [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Deathgaunt ¹ | Blend of "death" (the cessation of life) and Hormagaunt. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Dimachaeron | Dimachaerus, a Roman gladiator that fought with two swords. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Dominatrix ¹ | Latin dominatrix, "female ruler". [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Exocrine ¹ | "Exocrine", producing external secretions that are released through a duct. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Expectorator ¹ | "Expectorator", one that spits. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Gargoyle ¹ | Gargoyle, a flying monster from medieval French mythology. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Genestealer ¹ | "Gene", the basic building block of encoded life + "stealer", thief. [WH40k Tyranid Genestealer] |
| Gorgon | Gorgon, a snake-haired monster in Greek mythology. [WH40k Imperial ImperialGuard Vehicle SpaceMarine IronHands Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Harpy ¹ | Harpy, a half-human half-bird creature in Greek mythology. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Harridan ¹ | "Harridan", a vicious woman. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Haruspex ¹ | Haruspex, a diviner through reading the entrails of sacrificed animals in Roman culture. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Hierodule ¹ | "Hierodule", a sacred prostitute. See also: Hierophant. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Hierophant ¹ | Hierophant, an interpreter of sacred mysteries. See also: Hierodule, Hydraphant. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Hive Crone ¹ | "Hive", the home of a bee swarm + "crone", an old woman. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Hive Tyrant ¹ | "Hive", the home of a bee swarm + "tyrant", one who rules through absolute power. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Hormagaunt ¹ | "Hormagaunt", an immortal creature that steals children from The Killing Machine, a 1964 novel by Jack Vance. The name might be derived from Ancient Greek ὁρμή ("assault") + "gaunt", bony. See also: Termagant. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Hydra | Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed water monster in Greek mythology. [WHFB Elf DarkElf AoS Order Aelf WH40k Imperial ImperialGuard Vehicle Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Hydraphant ¹ | Blend of Hydra and Hierophant. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Jormungandr ¹ | Jörmungandr, the world serpent in Norse mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Kraken ¹ | Kraken, a sea monster from Norwegian folklore of the 1700s onwards. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Kronos ¹ | Cronus, the leader of the Titans in Greek Mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Leviathan ¹ | Leviathan, a sea serpent in Judaic mythology. [WH40k Imperial SpaceMarine Vehicle Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Lictor ¹ | Latin lictor, "one who binds", a type of Roman officer. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Magalodon ¹ | Megalodon, a huge prehistoric shark. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Maleceptor ¹ | Blend of Latin malus ("evil") and "interceptor" (one that stops something). [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Malefactor ¹ | "Malefactor", an evil-doer. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Mawloc ¹ | Blend of "maw" (the upper digestive tract) and Morlock (a monstrous species from the 1895 H. G. Wells novel The Time Machine). [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Medusa | Medusa, a snake-haired monster in Greek mythology. [WH40k Imperial ImperialGuard SpaceMarine Vehicle Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Moloch ¹ | Moloch, a biblical term that may refer to sacrifice or a Canaanite god. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Mucolid ¹ | "Mucoid", relating to mucus. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Mycetic Spore ¹ | Ancient Greek μύκης, "fungus" + "spore", reproductive particle of flora. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Naga ¹ | Nāga, a race of serpent-people in South and Southeast Asian mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Neurogaunt | Blend of "neuro-" (relating to nerves) and Hormagaunt. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Neuroloid | Blend of "neuro-" (relating to nerves) and "neural" (relating to nerves) + "-oid", having the likeness of. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Neurothrope ¹ | Blend of "neuro-" (relating to nerves) and Zoanthrope. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Neurotyrant | "Neuro-", relating to nerves + "tyrant", one who rules through absolute power. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Old One Eye ¹ | Old One Eye is a Tyrannosaurus character from the story Flesh which ran in 2000 AD issues 1 to 19, from February 1977. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Ouroboris ¹ | Ouroboros, a symbol of a serpent eating its own tail. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Parasite of Mortrex ¹ | See: Mortrex. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Psychophage | Ancient Greek ψυχή, "soul" + -φάγος "eater". [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Pyrovore ¹ | "Pyro-", relating to fire + "-vore", an organism that devours this. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Pythos ¹ | Python, a legendary serpent from Delphi in Greek mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Ravener ¹ | "Ravener", one that plunders. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Red Terror ¹ | The Red Terror was a campaign of political oppression in Russia that ran from 1918 to 1922. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Screamer-killer | "Screamer", one that cries out sharply + "killer", one that murders. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Scylla ¹ | Scylla, a monster in Greek mythology. See also: Charybdis. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Spinegaunt ¹ | Blend of "spine" (a needle-like protuberance) and Hormagaunt. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Sporocyst ¹ | "Spore", reproductive particle of flora + "cyst", a pouch of diseased biological matter. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Swarmlord ¹ | "Swarm", mass of animals + "lord", master of a household. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Termagant ¹ | "Termagants", man-sized dragon creatures from The Dragon Masters, a 1962 story by Jack Vance. The name comes from Termagant, a god that Middle Ages Christians thought was worshipped by Muslims. See also: Hormagaunt. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Tervigon ¹ | Corruption of Middle English Tervagant, an alternative spelling of Termagant. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Thornback ¹ | "Thorn", plant spike + "back", the rear of the body. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Tiamet ¹ | Tiamat, a goddess of the sea in Mesopotamian mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Toxicrene ¹ | Blend of "toxic" (poisonous) and Exocrine. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Trygon ¹ | Latin trygon, "stingray". [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Tyranid ¹ | "Tyranny", ruling through absolute power. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Tyrannocyte ¹ | Tyranid + "-cyte", used to form cell names. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Tyrannofex ¹ | Blend of Tyranid and Carnifex. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Venomthrope ¹ | Blend of "venom" (a toxin delivered by bite or sting) and Zoanthrope. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Vituperator ¹ | "Vituperator", one that harshly criticises. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Zoanthrope ¹ | "Zoanthrope", someone who believes themselves to have transformed into an animal. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| Zoat | Ancient Greek ζῷα, "animals". [WHFB WH40k Tyranid] |
| Zoatibix ¹ | Blend of Zoat and Weetabix, a breakfast cereal. [WH40k Tyranid] |
| 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