What does your chosen name here mean?

[The Laughing Man]

And did you know the meaning beforehand? What does your name mean to you? Is it supposed to tell us something about yourself that you wish us to know? Or just be witty or funny, or hide something maybe as well?

I chose Esmer for *ahem* "obvious" reasons, and the other reason being he represented the immortal struggle all humans face, that some battle between "opposing forces" exists within him, and that it was also necessary that this was so, and that it was this struggle that was ultimately to define him.

Then I found the actual definition to the name, which is also just a word. Then I wondered, does Esmer's name, and the definition, provide any clues to his purpose in the Chronicles? Do any or all of the character names provide "clues" to their purpose in the stories?

Whacha 'tink?

[Middle English aimen, from Old French esmer, to estimate (from Latin aestimre) and from Old French aesmer (from Vulgar Latin *ad estimre : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin aestimre, to estimate).]

aim (m)
v. aimed, aim·ing, aims
v.tr.
1. To direct (a weapon) toward an intended target.
2. To direct toward or intend for a particular goal or group

www.thefreedictionary.com/aim

The Twenty-third Spirit is Aim:

...carrying a Firebrand in his Hand, wherewith he setteth cities, castles, and great Places, on fire. He maketh thee witty in all manner of ways, and giveth true answers unto private matters.

[Sunbaneglasses]

Mine means nothing,it popped into my head while I was registering.Thanks for the cool avatar Edge I will never ever change it(the guy in the photo looks much cooler that I do).

[lucimay]

Lucimay is me. I am Lucimay. It is a contraction of my grandmother's name. Lucy May. She's no longer here in body, but with me always. She was a warrior woman, strong and kind, who nurtured the best parts of me. I use her name to keep her close.

I didn't take a character name from the Chronicles because there wasn't a character that I identified with in that way. Whereas, on the Malazan forum (the Watch has consumed me and i rarely go to the Malazan forum anymore!!) I am Corporal Lather. Although Lather is not an actual name of one of the characters in Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, it's the kind of name a Bridgeburner would have. I identified very strongly with the Bridgeburners. Picked my avatar because she looked like a Bridgeburner to me.

All of this reflects how I feel about myself. It's the best way I could contrive to CONVEY me to all of you.

MY name is Lucinda, a derivitive of Lucifer, who was the angel of light (or so i've been led to believe) and Lucinda means "bringer of light". I am a leo and my ruling planet is the sun. cute, huh. Cyndi for short.

[Sunbaneglasses]

Much more interesting than "popped into my head".

[The Laughing Man]

Sunbaneglasses speaks the heh, for to know the Edgetar is to know the heh.

heh.

Definitions of corporal on the Web:

bodily: affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit; "bodily needs"; "a corporal defect"; "corporeal suffering"; "a somatic symptom or somatic illness"
a noncommissioned officer in the army or airforce or marines
bodied: possessing or existing in bodily form; "what seemed corporal melted as breath into the wind"- Shakespeare; "an incarnate spirit"; "`corporate' is an archaic term"

Definitions of lather on the Web:

soapsuds: the froth produced by soaps or detergents
cover with soap; "lather your body when you shower"
flog: beat severely with a whip or rod; "The teacher often flogged the students"; "The children were severely trounced"
fret: agitation resulting from active worry; "don't get in a stew"; "he's in a sweat about exams"
a workman who puts up laths
form a lather; "The shaving cream lathered"
soap: rub soap all over, usually with the purpose of cleaning
the foam resulting from excessive sweating (as on a horse)
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

So, Lucimay, your wish for us to see is that you are a Bridgeburner, or "one who burns bridges" , and that you are "The Father of Lies" posing as "The Angel of Light", found in "The Book of the Fallen?

"Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." Ezekiel 28:12-15
The far reaching prophecies in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-15 contain a clear revelation of Satan's origin. Why then do most new bible versions omit the name of Lucifer from their texts? The answer might surprise you. Many theologians erroneously believe that these passages are strictly addressed to the kings of Babylon and Tyre. Their theories, however, are not based upon sound doctrine but upon faulty theology, as an examination of the original Hebrew text will reveal.
"These profound prophecies seem clearly to go much beyond any earthly ruler and harmonize with the scriptural picture of Satan's close relations with world governments (Dan. 10:13; Eph. 6:12; John 12:31). These passages picture Satan's pre-fall splendor as well as his apostasy through pride and self-exaltation against God. A consuming passion of Satan is to be worshiped ( Matt. 4:9; Isa. 14:14; Rev. 13:4-15; I Cor. 10:20).

In his fall Satan drew a vast number of lesser celestial creatures with him." "As 'the deceiver of the whole world' (Rev. 12:9), his primary method is that of deception -- about himself, his purpose, his activities, his coming defeat.... He snatches away the Word of God sown in the hearts of the unsaved (Matt. 13 :19), sows his counterfeit Christians among the sons of the kingdom (Matt. 13 :25, 38,39), blinds the minds of men to the Gospel (II Cor. 4:3-4), and induces them to accept his lie (II Thess. 2:9-10). Often he transforms himself into 'an angel of light' by presenting his apostles of falsehood as messengers of truth (II Cor. 11: 13-15)." -- PICTORIAL BIBLE DICTIONARY, ZONDERVAN 1971, under SATAN

The Hebrew word, helel, which is translated Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12, wandered into English through Greek and German. In the Greek we have Helios, the sun god. In German, this became hellen, from which came the word helder, meaning, "clear" or "shiny." But there is also a sense of "blinding," that is, blinded by the light, in this; and thus helel entered English as "hell," a covered place, a place of darkness as if blinded, a place "far off from God." So, the source of our word hell is the helel referred to in Hebrew. Helel, when split apart can read bright or clear god, or god of hell. The early Christian church clearly understood that Helel was a proper noun, and that Lucifer matched him not only in the meaning of the name, but also in character.

heh. remind me not to mess with "cecret cyndi".

This is just for fun, and it appears you got hosed Lucimay.

[lucimay]

still....it SOUNDS good when introducing one's self.

[The Laughing Man]

Thou art a conversation piece in thyself, "O Bringer of Light",

[drew]

I choses drew, well because that's my name.

But now that I've read the Man Who... novels, You could say that it's a play on "Brew".

[Avatar]

It's a corporeal incarnation.

--A

[KAY1]

I chose my name Kay just because it is a nickname. No special meaning attached. My actual name is Karen but people shortened ot to Kay and so I use that for most things. It didnt even occur to me when I joined to use a name from the Chronicles!

[The Somberlain]

Mine's just a song/album title from one of my favourite bands. I usually go by "Jehannum" on most internet places, but I didn't want to use a Chronicles name on this forum. Plus I don't doubt that one's already taken.

[IrrationalSanity]

Irrational Sanity

The world around us is what is real.
The creative process attempts to change the world around us to suit our own vision.
The desire to change reality to suit one's self is not rational.
Yet the creative process keeps us sane.

Irrational Sanity is therefore the source and reason for all creative efforts.

Or it just sounds cool. Take your pick.

[I'm Murrin]

Found it in the LFB glossary. Still not sure if I like it.

[Avatar]

It's served you well, why worry about it?

I like your rationalisation, IrrationalSanity.

--A

[safetyjedi]

I started using safetyjedi as a user name several years ago. I love my job, which is a safety director for my company, and I love the concept of the Jedi knights, and knights in general. I have read Le Morte de Arthur many, many times. It may sound corny, but that's just me.

[lucimay]

not corny, safetyjedi. noble. good.

[wayfriend]

Wayfriend is the translation of my last name, if it were considered an Elvish (Tolkien) word, from Elvish to English.

(If I were to add that there is a person with the same last name who wrote a paper, described as "one of the most enduring and influential publications in the history of science", that was about legumes and rodents, then you could guess it I bet.)

[Warmark]

Warmark - One of IMO the Best Name in the Chronicles.

Sunbaneglasses, i thoought that was you in your avatar.

[bossk]

mine refers, of course, to the bounty hunter from Empire Strikes Back. I only used it because I use it elsewhere and it's easy for me to remember the name/password pairing.

I chose my avatar because I figured if I were to be anything in the land, I would like to be a Forestal (like my solitude, and trees - not much of a joiner) - the green fronds of the fern make me feel peaceful.

[Nerdanel]

Nerdanel the Wise is a very minor character from The Silmarillion by Tolkien. I think The Silmarillion is the best book in existence. I also think the Noldor Elves are really cool. Nerdanel is a sensible character who survives the book, unlike that shallow ditz Finduilas for example. I wanted to choose an obscure character so that I wouldn't have any duplicates around, but failed to consider that Nerdanel's husband Fëanor is probably the second most important character in the entire book.

The connection to the word "nerd" is a complete coincidence. I didn't notice that until much later.

I use the same alias everywhere. It keeps things simple.