Did you know “Mat” actually means “control” in the language of The Wheel of Time’s Old Tongue?
Leading up to the release of The Wheel of Time Companion on November 3, Tor.com and Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons are excerpting portions and entries from its massive store of notes, illustrations, and encyclopedia entries. Unfamiliar with the Companion? Long-time series editor and Robert Jordan’s wife Harriet explains its compilation here and offers a thank you to fans of the series.
Today, we’re offering a glimpse at the Old Tongue dictionary tucked inside the Companion’s pages: the listings for M, N, and O. The full dictionary itself includes additional sections on popular phrases, pluralization, construction of verbs, how apostrophes work, and more.
Read more excerpts from The Wheel of Time Companion at this link.
M
m—(prefix) means “of”
ma—(prefix) indicates importance
ma—(v.) “you give”
maani—(adv.) very
maast—(adj.) necessary
machin—(n.) destruction
Machin Shin—(n.) “journey of destruction”; the Black Wind, a major threat in the Ways
mad—(adj.) loud
mael—(n.) hope
mafal—(n.) mouth or pass
Mafal Dadaranell—(n.) “pass at the father of mountain ranges”; ancient name for Fal Dara
magami—(n.) little uncle; what Amalisa called King Easar in private
mageen—(n.) daisy
mah’alleinir—(n.) he who soars; literally “seeking man of the stars”; the name Perrin gave to his Power- wrought hammer
mahdi—(n.) seeker; used for leader of Tuatha’an caravan
mahdi’in—(n.) seekers
mahrba—(v.) paint
mai—(n.) maiden(s)
makitai—(n.) wheel
mamai—(n. & adj.) future
mamu—(n.) mother
man—(adj.) related to blade/sword (“man” has the same root as “war,” “violence” or “aggression”)
mandarb—(n.) blade; name of Lan’s stallion
Manetheren—(n.) mountain home; one of the Ten Nations
manetherendrelle—(n.) waters of the mountain home
manive—(v.) drive
manivin—(n.) driving
manshima—(n.) sword/blade
manshimaya—(n.) my own sword
mar—(n.) game
maral—(adj.) destined
marath—(prefi x) indicates that something must be done, suggesting urgency; Seanchan word
marath’damane—(n.) those who must be leashed/one who must be leashed; Seanchan term
marcador—(n.) hammer
marna—(v.) swim
maromi—(v.) crush
mashi—(n. & v.) love
mashiara—(n.) my love; but a hopeless love, perhaps already lost; Lan to Nynaeve
masnad—(n.) trade
maspil—(n.) butter
mastri—(n.) fish
mat—(v.) control
matuet—(adj.) important
ma’vron—(n.) watchers of importance
mawaith—(n.) reaction
medan—(n.) sugar
melaz—(n.) inn
melimo—(n.) apple
mera—(prep.) without; lacking
Mera’din—(n.) the Brotherless; used by Aiel
merwon—(adj.) boiling
mesaana—(n.) teacher of lessons;
name of one of the Forsaken
mestani—(n.) lessons
mestrak—(n.) necessity
m’hael—(n.) leader (capitalized implies “Supreme Leader”; title Taim gave himself)
mi—(poss. pron.) my
mia—(pron.) me; myself
Mia’cova—(n.) One Who Owns Me, My Owner; term used by Moghedien after she was enslaved by a mindtrap
miere—(n.) ocean/waves
mikra—(n.) shame
min—(adj.) little
minyat—(adj.) eight, a quantifier of material objects
minye—(adj.) eight, descriptive of the immaterial, such as ideas, arguments or propositions
miou—(n.) cat
mirhage—(n.) pain, or the promise or expectation of pain
misain—(v.) am (insistent; emphatic)
mist—(n. & adj.) middle
mitris—(adj.) dirty
modan—(n.) approval
moghedien—(n.) a particular breed of spider; small, deadly poisonous and extremely reclusive; name of a Forsaken
mokol—(n.) milk
mon—(adj.) related to scythe
moodi—(adj.) frequent
mora—(n.) the people or a population
morasu—(n.) morning
morat—(n. prefix) handler/controller; i.e., one who handles or controls; used by the Seanchan (as in morat’raken, one who handles raken)
mordero—(adj.) death
moridin—(n.) a grave; tomb; also, the name of a Forsaken, for whom the word’s meaning refers to death
moro—(adv. & conj.) so
mos—(adj., adv. & prep.) down
mosai—(adj.) low
mosiel—(v.) lower
mosiev—(adj.) lowered or downcast
motai—(n.) Aiel name for a sweet crunchy grub found in the Waste
mourets—(n.) mushroom(s)
mozhlit—(adj.) possible
m’taal—(adj.) of stone
muad—(n., adj. & adv.) foot/on foot/afoot
muad’drin—(n.) infantry/footmen
muaghde—(n.) meat
mukhrat—(adj.) private
mund—(adj.) high
mustiel—(n.) sock
mystvo—(n.) office
N
n—(prep. prefi x) means “of” or “from”
nabir—(n.) fire
nachna—(n.) science
nadula—(n.) force
Nae’blis—(n.) title of Shai’tan’s first lieutenant
nag—(n.) day
nagaru—(n.) snake
nahobo—(adj.) full
nahodil—(n.) cushion
nai—(n.) knife, dagger, blade; a blade smaller than a sword’s blade; can be used in modification also to mean “stabbing”
nais—(v.) smell
naito—(n.) flame
nak—(pron.) who
nakhino—(n.) month
n’am—(adj.) beautiful
naparet—(adj.) parallel
nar’baha—(n.) traveling boxes; literally, “fool box”; used by Sammael
nardes—(n.) thought
narfa—(adj.) foolish
nasai—(n., v. & adj.) wrong
nausig—(n.) boat
navyat—(adj.) nine, a quantifier of material objects
navye—(adj.) nine, descriptive of the immaterial, such as ideas, arguments or propositions
nayabo—(n.) prison
n’baid—(adj.) automatic
n’dore—(adj.) of/from the mountains
neb—(n.) mist
nedar—(n.) tusked water pig found in the Drowned Lands
neidu—(adj.) new
neisen—(adv.) why
nemhage—(n.) distribution
nen—(suffix) like adding “er” to an English verb, indicating one who or that which does, or those who cause
nesodhin—(prep.) through; through this; through it
ni—(prep.) for
niende—(adj.) lost
nieya—(v.) step
ninte—(poss. pron.) your (used more formally than “ninto”)
ninto—(poss. pron.) your
nirdayn—(n.) hate
no—(conj.) but
no—(pron.) me
nob—(v.) cut
nodavat—(n.) produce
nolve—(v.) give
nolvae—(v.) is given
nor—(n.) cutter or slicer
no’ri—(n.) ancient game now called stones
norvenne—(n.) account
nosane—(v.) speak
nothru—(n.) nose
noup—(adj. & adv.) only
nupar—(n.) base, as in bottom or support
nush—(adj.) deep
nyala—(n.) country
nye—(adv.) again
Nym—(n.) a construct from the Age of Legends, a being who has beneficial effects on trees and other living things
O
o—(adj.) a
ob—(conj.) or
obaen—(n.) a musical instrument of the Age of Legends
obanda—(n.) door
obidum—(n.) spade
obiyar—(n.) position
obrafad—(n.) view
obram—(n.) impulse
ocarn—(n.) toe
odashi—(n.) weather
odi—(pron. & adj.) some
odik—(n.) secretary
oghri—(n.) sky
ohimat—(n.) comparison
olcam—(n.) tin
olesti—(n.) pants
olghan—(n.) drawer
olivem—(n.) pencil
olma—(n. & adj.) poor
ombrede—(n. & v.) rain
on—(suffix) denotes plural form
onadh—(n.) arch
onguli—(n.) ring
onir—(n.) star(s)
oosquai—(n.) a distilled spirit; used by Aiel
orcel—(n.) pig
ordeith—(n.) wormwood; name taken by Padan Fain among the Whitecloaks
orichu—(n. & v.) plow
orobar—(n.) danger
ortu—(adj.) open
orvieda—(v.) print
osan—(adj.) left-hand or left-side
osan’gar—(n.) left-hand dagger; name of a Forsaken
ospouin—(n.) hospital
ost—(prep.) on
otiel—(n.) sponge
otou—(n. & adj.) top
otyat—(adj.) four, a quantifier of material objects
otye—(adj.) four, descriptive of the immaterial, such as ideas, arguments or propositions
ounadh—(n.) wine
ovage—(n.) window
o’vin—(n.) a promise; agreement
ozela—(n.) goat
This one is much better. It gives an idea of who one of my favorite “late introduction characters” was: Nakomi:
nak: Who
mi—(poss. pron.) my
makitai—(n.) wheel
She is an avatar of the Wheel. Not a new character at all. Gives a new meaning to “The Wheel weaves…”
This is more of what I expected out of the Companion. Good to see.
mesaana—(n.) teacher of lessons;
miou—(n.) cat
Awesome!
I like that Mat’s name meant something in the Old Tongue. I wonder how the name Mat became a name in Two Rivers. I also liked we were told the meaning of Mesaana in the Old Tongue. As an insult, how appropriate. She always wanted to be a researcher but she was denied that position. Once she turned to the Shadow, Mesaana was given an name that included “teacher” in its meaning. I am also glad we will learn what all the other Forsaken names mean.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
Nakomi
Nak – Who
O – a
mi- my
Who Am I.
It fits.
@@.-@: Except his name is Matrim, so it doesn’t actually come from this.
@5, Yehuda, I started to go with that, then I noticed that since there’s no grammar, we don’t really know how the words are combined into names. I noticed makitai and wondered about the possibility. Her actions seem to indicate something other than an elevated human and why not. She is definitely weaving changes in the pattern.
Nolvae that it’s only three consonants given, the grammar is somewhat difficult to deduce. Nolve me more complete examples and I’ll wrinkle out the grammar … but in what context misain ye M’olcam Olesti ob N’olcam Olesti? Is it like Deutsches Grammaphone and Ludwig van Beethoven?
@8, I think we may have enough to at least make a teeny start on some longstanding puzzles about Old Tongue grammar:
1. It has grammar. That’s significant. Creating any degree of invented language, as opposed to just mutually phonetically plausible vocabulary bits, is not necessary to write a fantasy novel, and WoT fans have been arguing for years about whether Old Tongue grammar even exists. But at the very least, we have well-defined parts of speech and an implication, though not the details, of verbal inflection (at least one active/passive verb pair in this list–and isn’t it appropriate to WoT that the first thing we learn about verb grammar is active v. passive constructions?)
2. It is based on roots that include vowels, which places it closer to an Indo-European way of relating words to other words than, say, a Semitic way (consonant bases).
3. As I think you’re picking up, it handles relationships between nouns and other nouns in a very weird way, particularly the “of” relationship. It’s almost certainly not inflected, or if it is inflected it has a very small number of case forms and mostly uses other ways of showing how nouns relate to other nouns, probably word order. But “of” is clearly weird, because on the one hand there is a vocabulary word for “of”, but on the other hand there are, as I think you noticed, lots of two-word phrases that translate to English “X of Y”, but m’ is not used. We haven’t seen enough of other major noun-relation words like “to” or “for” to puzzle out more, but we can conclude. . .this is either poorly thought through, or complex and quite weird. “Of” can have a pretty wide range of meanings–could m’ only cover a small part of the range of English “of”?
4. It uses at least some parts of speech that don’t really exist in English. “Ma” is called a “prefix”, but functionally it sounds a lot more like a particle (part of speech extant in some older Indo-European languages such as Ancient Greek but extinct in English). It’s a word that conveys something closer to what English would do with tone of voice than something you can really translate with an English bit of vocabulary (because if it just meant English “great”, then it would be an adjective).
5. It seems to have some semantic function for the apostrophe, which tends to divide word parts. Is it necessarily a punctuation mark, or is it a “translation-ese” rendering of a glottal stop consonant, like in transliterated Arabic? One thing we really don’t know is whether WoT uses the Roman alphabet. (The world building makes it theoretically possible that it could, but by no means necessary.)
6. As we already knew from the novels, but this is confirmation, the total size of the implied extant vocabulary (as opposed to what’s in the published glossary, i.e. what Jordan actually defined) must be huge. Languages don’t all have the same size dictionaries. This glossary suggests a very large vocabulary with very precise shades of meaning built into individual words (as opposed to the other extreme, which you see for example in Latin, of a very small vocabulary with a gigantic range of potential meanings per word dependent on context).
7. It doesn’t look like it’s meant to be a historical descendant of any First Age (i.e. real) language. Was it in origin an invented language that became a living language in the Age of Legends due to long lifespans and universal education?
@6 Good point. What we don’t know is a) What did Abell think the name Matrim meant when he picked it? and b) If we had the entries for “trim” or “rim”, what would “Matrim” appear to signify in the Old Tongue, even if that isn’t its contemporary meaning? And what would Knotai signify? It’s entirely possible that Mat is, in subtext, dealing with a problem not unlike Rand’s problem in The Great Hunt, where Al’ as a surname prefix has evolved into a patronymic in the Two Rivers but a royal marker in the Borderlands. I’ll be very interested to check the R and T parts of this glossary and see if we can figure out what Tuon thinks “Matrim” means. (Also, could her consistent refusal to call him just “Mat” be an aversion to calling another person something that sounds way too much, to her educated ears, like “Mr. Control”?)
@@@@@9. mutantalbinocrocodile
I deduced from Far Aldazar Din and Far Dareis Mai that far was a possessive use of a dative preposition, used in a manner that is far from usual in English – to the eagle a brother/brothers and to the spear a maiden/maidens. That’s not a totally unusual use of the dative – sometimes you encounter that in Latin and Greek, and it’s often used that way in Hebrew and Arabic. Ie, “unto us a son is born, unto us a son is given“, but equally “to me a son” = “I have a son“.
The problem I see with the Old Tongue is that Robert Jordan never took the time to properly sort out the contradictions. There are parts where it looks like Japanese, then there are parts where it looks like Hebrew or Arabic, then there are parts where it looks like Latin or another Indo-European language.
I’m wondering if he learned some parts of the Montagnard languages of Vietnam? That could account for some more unusual constructions.
Yes, I can definitely see far as dative of possession. But that still leaves the “possession” type relationship in phrases like Machin Shin (which looks like a Hebrew contract form) as opposed to whatever sense of “of” m’ and n’ cover.
Very interesting comment on Montagnard languages. I do think we’ll have to wait to fully resolve this game until we have more than three letters’ worth, because there’s three possible interpretations, the way I’m seeing it:
1) The grammar does not attempt to be consistent. Entirely possible. Again, I don’t in any way EXPECT fictional linguistics to be functional as some kind of genre police demand (see my comments on the Rothfuss thread about what I’m sure are instances of Rothfuss hilariously subverting the invented language trope and getting the fans all worked up trying to puzzle out what are just jokes).
2) It’s intentionally inconsistent, possibly according to geography. There are some consistent geographic pronunciation variants in the phonetic entries of the various novel glossaries, so leaving grammatical variants there on purpose to enhance verisimilitude of such a large continent having only one language might be in line with that style.
3) It’s representing a creole of major First Age languages (re: your Montagnard comment).
Option 1 is still very much live (basically, “This sounds internally consistent, and cool, and not like anyone else’s published phonology”). But I’m just a little suspicious about the thematic precision of these entries suggesting that active/passive voice is the most salient characteristic of a verb (no tense markers, but an active/passive pair in the same tense, and an implication that verb person stops mattering in the passive? That’s a little too thematically relevant to be dismissed as definitely accidental).
Fun game! Good to have a partner!
When I said the Old Tongue doesn’t have a grammar, I meant as in a published grammar as in a Latin grammar for example. Not that there was no grammar to the Old Tongue.
@11 With reference to far as a preposition, I’m thinking–do we ever see it outside Aiel idiom? If not, then that could be evidence for #2 (regional variation).
What does Far Madding mean?
If only I could Compulse someone into making a font out of the alphabet posted in the graphic novel for New Spring and posting it on Dafont.com. My hand is going to be cramping after practicing all these words.
I was excluding Far Madding from consideration because it’s so transparently an English allusion (Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd). If bits of comprehensible English are off limits (The Two Rivers, Whitebridge, Eagle-Eye, Farstrider, etc.), then I’d argue that names made from English word parts are too. They seem to belong in the category of “Whatever all the characters are speaking that rationally is a descendant of the Old Tongue but is written in English because of genre conventions”.
@10 I took Knotai to be a pun on “Not I”
@12 Mind posting a link to this Rothfuss thread? Can’t say I have much knowledge of linguistics, but I always appreciate subtle humor (if indeed it’s that).
I was curious as to what Oliver said before stabbing the darkfriend. I can’t find a text for it since I’m listening on audible.