Names - Interesting names in Star Trek, etc.

[Scooter]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]I was just doing my Latin homework this afternoon when suddenly it dawned on me that Dukat means "he would lead" in Latin. And that seems particularly apt for someone who kept trying to gain power within the Cardassian system and over our heroes at Deep Sleep Nine.

If you're interested: Assuming you convert the seldom-used K in Dukat to a C, you have Ducat. Ducat is the third person singular present active subjunctive of duco, ducere, "to lead." In other words, "ducat" means "he would lead."

It could be coincidence, but I would not be at all surprised if this was the intent of whoever invented the character (presumably Rick Berman).

So that got me thinking... I wonder if there are other names in Star trek (or other series) that have struck anyone as meaningful or otherwise significant?[/colorost_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Well, Kirk rhymes with...jerk. Um, yeah.

Seriously, that's all I've got.

If one knew enough about names or language though I guess you'd probably find quite a few Trek names that had some significant meaning.[/colorost_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000ost_uid0][quoteost_uid0]Ducat is the third person singular present active subjunctive of duco,[/quoteost_uid0]
... And then you remember why you never took Latin at school.

Well, I do. :eyeroll:[/colorost_uid0]

[Scooter]

[color=#000000ost_uid0][bost_uid0]Latin[/bost_uid0] is fun. [bost_uid0]Grammar[/bost_uid0] sucks.[/colorost_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]I know that. I did take German. Or well, I was force-fed it.

And I forgot to mention - I like your new avatar. [/colorost_uid0]

[admiral sab]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]*drooolls*

huh? sorry I was distracted by PHJ's new avatar.

LOL Kirk does rhyme with Jerk!

Does anyone know why Jean Luc was named French when Patrick Stewart is British? Or is that just one of those unexplained anomoly things like the Klingon forehead ridge?

Sab[/colorost_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Maybe because they wanted to make clear that the whole world speaks English, and not just Americans and Britons can captain a starship?

Just a thought.[/colorost_uid0]

[Scooter]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Maybe there are no good French actors.

There was a discussion about Picard's accent, the consensus being that when the French learn English they generally do it from Brits and so pick up a British accent; so Brits can be hired for French parts as well. (For some reason, though, Germans always sound like Germans. Have there been any Germans in Star Trek?)

Also we might assume that the use of English as a common language will have increased by the 24th Century. And in the Binars episode, the holdeck character speaks French by accessing the "foreign language" database--so maybe French is not a native language on Earth anymore! [/colorost_uid0]

[admiral sab]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]I thought of that. Maybe there are no French accents just French names that have been passed down. And he lived in France with a French sounding brother...maybe it's been too long since I've seen Family. I might be a bit rusty.

Sab[/colorost_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]It sounds plausible. Especially in Europe. We already have a common currency*, the next logical step would be a common language.

*Yes I know, some fools did not participate. :eyeroll: [/colorost_uid0]

[mudshark]

[quoteost_uid0="Scooter"][color=#000000ost_uid0]For some reason, though, Germans always sound like Germans.[/colorost_uid0][/quoteost_uid0]
[color=#000000ost_uid0]I wouldn't say that. There are probably hundreds of WWII movies where the Nazis all speak with English accents, and many other examples in American film where an English accent stands in for some "foreign" accent or other.
[quoteost_uid0]Have there been any Germans in Star Trek? [/quoteost_uid0]
Not sure if Theodor Bikel (Sergei Rozhenko) counts, but he was born in Vienna.

OT: Now that you've changed your avatar, [bost_uid0]Scooter[/bost_uid0], and before I forget, who was that in your previous one?

Back OT: Interesting idea about Dukat. Lemme think about this for a bit and see if I can come up with any other ones.[/colorost_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Jean Picard was a French astronomer.

My mum's first language was French but she has a Canadian accent. Many people schooled abroad will adopt the accent of people around them.

"Kirk" means "church" by the way.[/colorost_uid0]



Edited By Nan on 1085182189

[Nan]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Hmmm...

Jadzia is a Polish name. Pronounced Yah-dja. Dj as in "judge". Dunno what it means.

Kira means "star" in Turkish (or "marketplace," IIRC, after a woman named Esther Quira). Hoshi is Japanese for "star".

Benjamin can be rendered as "favoured son", which is funny considering his arc.

Julian means "youthful", and Bashir is, I believe, Arabic for "bearer of good news." Henh. Kinda funny, 'cause he's a doctor.

Lessee... Spock was a famous Doctor; in the novels Uhura was given the first name Nyota ("star"); Chekov was a famous writer; Hikaru means "shining cloud" in Japanese, IIRC; Jake (as in Sisko) means "supplanter"; phlox is a plant; Malcolm means "dove," which is funny given his blow-it-up-now attitude; Reed means "redhaired" or, well, reed; Archer means "bowman" unsurprisingly, which one could interpret to mean someone who strikes a mark; Jonathan means "the Lord has given," and brings to mind the second half of "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away"...

Hmmm. That's all I can think of. Bit of a theme going with girls with names meaning "star", though, y'notice?

Edit: Ah. "Sisko" is apparently Spanish for "Frenchman." Go figure.[/colorost_uid0]



Edited By Nan on 1085184153

[Nic Corelli]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Locutus means something like "He who speaks" in Latin, right? Rather fitting... The Borg sure know their Latin,

About French, in some TNG season 1 episode (might be Code of Honour or The Naked Now) Data mentions French as an "obscure Earth language". Picard immediately protests,

Oh, and Dukat, in Croatian, A)means = a golden coin (not literally, though), and

B) Dukat is the leading Croatian milk, cheese and dairy product brand.

[imgost_uid0]http://www.lura.hr/slike/450_slika-trajna-mlijeka.jpg[/imgost_uid0]

[imgost_uid0]http://child.fest.sibensko-kazaliste.hr/sponzori_files/dukat.gif[/imgost_uid0][/colorost_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Another example of a Latin-named character is Vir from B5, which means "man." There was also a Vir in VOY's "Distant Origin"; he was the assistant of the Galileo figure, Gegen, whose name is German for "against."

Locutus is a participle; it translates as "having spoken."[/colorost_uid0]



Edited By Zeke on 1085194347

[Nan]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Yep. Actually, "vir" comes from an indo-european root word expressed in several languages. I believe the Sanskrit is virah.

The distortion most people are familiar with is "were," as is werewolf, werebeast, etc.[/colorost_uid0]

[sweetclover]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Not individuals' names, but Vulcan, Romulus, and Remus are all out of mythology. Someone else can tell you the specifics; I'm tired. [/colorost_uid0]

[Scooter]

[color=#000000ost_uid0][quoteost_uid0="mudshark"]OT: Now that you've changed your avatar, [bost_uid0]Scooter[/bost_uid0], and before I forget, who was that in your previous one?[/quoteost_uid0]
Previous avatar was Roger Delgado, who played The Master, the Doctor's nemesis, in Doctor Who during the early Seventies.

[imgost_uid0]http://www.gallifreyone.com/graphicsseries/3e-1.gif[/imgost_uid0][/colorost_uid0]

[Scooter]

[quoteost_uid0="Nan"][color=#000000ost_uid0]in the novels Uhura was given the first name Nyota ("star")[/colorost_uid0][/quoteost_uid0]
[color=#000000ost_uid0]Hmmm... I remember reading a novel in which her first name was Penda ("freedom" in Swahili, I think), and that's what always stuck in my head. I think this is the same source as Hikaru, which was made official in the movies. But this was probably a very early novel, perhaps one of the Vonda McIntyre novelizations...[/colorost_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Uhura means "freedom" in Swahili. Dunno what Penda means.

Wikipedia stub[/colorost_uid0]