His Dark Materials terminology

This article details the various terminology used in the His Dark Materials trilogy written by Philip Pullman.

Esoteric renaming
To enhance the feeling of being in a parallel universe, Pullman renames various common objects of our world with historic terms or new words of his own, often reflecting the power of the Church in Lyra's world. The alternative names he chooses often follow alternate etymologies, while making it possible to guess what everyday object or person he is referring to. Below are some of the significant renamings.
 * Anbaric: Electric. From anbar, Arabic for amber; the English word "electric" is based on the Greek ήλεκτρον (élektron), meaning "amber". Both words derive from the electrostatic properties of amber.
 * Anglia: England.
 * Atomcraft: Research into particle physics, specifically using uranium.
 * Brytain: A phonetically identical respelling of the region of Britain.
 * Cathay: The medieval European name for China.
 * Cauchuc: Rubber and possibly also plastic, from the Native American word cauchuc or caoutchouc meaning the sap of the rubber tree.
 * Celestial geography: Celestial navigation.
 * Chapel: A scientific laboratory.
 * Chaplain: The head of a scientific laboratory.
 * Chocolatl: Sometimes hot chocolate, sometimes "a bar of chocolatl" (a chocolate bar). From chocolatl, the Nahuatl word for chocolate.
 * Chthonic Railway Station: An undergroud railway station. "Chthonic" is from Greek χθονιος (chthonios), meaning pertaining to the earth; earthy.
 * Coal-silk: Nylon, a synthetic fibre made from coal, was invented as a substitute for natural silk.
 * Corea: A phonetically identical respelling of the country Korea, which was formerly used.
 * Dust: Dark matter or dark energy; in the real world, particles which make up most of the mass of the universe, but which cannot be directly observed.
 * Eireland: Ireland, as referred to in the Cittàgazze universe. Presumably a mixture of Ireland's Irish-language (Éire) and English-language names.
 * Electrum: An occasionally used Latin word for amber; see "anbaric" above.
 * (Experimental) Theologian: A physicist. From "Natural Theology" meaning science.
 * Gyropter: a helicopter.
 * Gyptians: Boat-dwelling "Gypsies" (Roma). In reality, the word "Gypsy" is derived from "Egypt". Gypsies were once thought by "native" Britons to have come from Egypt due to their darker skin. Pullman is clearly referencing this etymological heritage.
 * Lake Enara: Lake Inari, a lake in Northern Finland. From Enare, the Swedish-language name for the lake.
 * Lascar: An East Indian. This is a real, though archaic, English word.
 * Marchpane: Marzipan. In reality, "Marchpane" is an archaic word for "marzipan".
 * Muscovite: A Russian, a reference to the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
 * Naphtha: Oil (as in oil-lamp, rather than naphtha-lamp), a petrochemical like kerosene.
 * New France: Quebec, or possibly Canada. A reference to the 17th and 18th century, during which the area around the St-Lawrence River was called New France.
 * Nipponese: Japanese. From Nippon ("land of the rising sun"), a Japanese-language name for Japan.
 * Norroway: Norway.


 * Oratory: An individual church.
 * Peaceable Ocean: The Pacific Ocean, calqued from the Latin.
 * Philosophical: Having to do with the study of physics. In our own world, physics was once considered a part of philosophy.
 * Roman: Specifically, the Latin language.
 * Shadow (particle): See Dust
 * Skraeling: A Native American/First Nations (Inuit) person, particularly one from Greenland. Natives of Greenland were once named similarly by the Vikings of our world.

Pronunciation
The pronunciations given here are those used in the radio plays and the audio book readings of the trilogy (by Pullman himself). The transcriptions surrounded by square brackets are in the International Phonetic Alphabet, as spoken in Received Pronunciation.


 * Alethiometer: al-eeth-ee-OM-et-er
 * Æsahættr: AS-hatter
 * Chthonic (see above): kuh-THON-ick orTHON-ick . See chthonic for details.
 * Cittàgazze: chee-tuh-GAHT-s(z)ay (as Italian)
 * Dæmon: DEE-mon (pronounced as "demon")
 * Iorek: YOR-ick
 * Iofur: YO-fur
 * Kirjava: KEER-yah-vuh
 * Lyra: LIE-ruh
 * Mulefa: moo-LAY-fuh
 * Panserbjørne: PAN-ser-byurn-eh (written "Panserbørne" in early UK editions)
 * Pantalaimon: pan-tuh-LIE-mon
 * Salmakia: sal-MACK-ee-uh
 * Serafina Pekkala: SEH-ra-fee-nuh PEK-ka-luh
 * Tialys: tee-AH-lis
 * Torre degli Angeli: TOR-ay DAY-(y)-lee an-JEL-ee (as Italian)
 * Xaphania: za-FAY-nee-uh