Foreign language words for Shadow?

RangerWickett · Nov 13, 2002

Thanks much for all the help already, but keep them coming if you can. I also forgot to ask for Gaelic, Welsh, and any other British island languages or dialects I'm too ignorant to know of.

Also, if there's some sort of unusual tone to a word, please include that if you're aware of it. Y'know, like how supposedly Inuit have a dozen different words for different kinds of snow, if a language has different words for different types of shadow, that'd be cool.

tleilaxu · Nov 13, 2002

why do you want this info anyway?

RangerWickett · Nov 13, 2002

Poems and prophecies. Can anyone here think of a fantasy culture that could use a few dozen different words for shadow?

Knight Otu · Nov 13, 2002

RangerWickett said:
Need some help from the linguistically minded of you.

Not sure if I qualify as linguistically minded...

Could you please post different words for shadow in different languages?

As already said, Schatten is the german word

Also, dark, eclipse, obscure, or night?

Dark - Dunkel (darkness is Dunkelheit)
Eclipse - Finsternis (As in Sonnenfinsternis, solar eclipse)
Obscure - Verborgen
Night - Nacht (In italian, notte)

archer8228 · Nov 13, 2002

Let's try it in latin:

Shadow = umbra (also means ghost)
Dark = acerbus, atrer, obscurum
Eclipse = labores solis (doesn't translate very well)
Obscure = ignotus(adjective)
Night = nox

Comert · Nov 13, 2002

turkish
shadow - gölge, hayal, hayalet, karalti, saye, siluet
darkness- karanlik, alacakaranlik, gunessiz, isiksiz, izbe, kapali, kapkaranlik, kuytu, kuz, los, maglum, muzlim, zifir, sumbuli,
eclipse - tutulma, husuf kusuf
night - gece, aksam, ikindi, tün, yatsi
night - laila (arabic I think)

edit: added some more names for shadow, darkness....etc

Comert · Nov 13, 2002

RangerWickett said:
Poems and prophecies. Can anyone here think of a fantasy culture that could use a few dozen different words for shadow?

You could try the black speech of Mordor.

ninthcouncil · Nov 13, 2002

Here's a URL you might find useful:

http://www.freedict.com

Unfortunately, Japanese appears to be out of commission at the moment

Buttercup · Nov 13, 2002

I've just fished out my Romany dictionary for you. Let's see what we find....

dark=kalo, skootsizi, karanluki (sorry, I don't know the difference)
darkness=kalipe
midnight=mashkari rat
night=rat
nighttime=ratsyasa, rakyasa
shadow=oochipe

It's just a little pocket dictionary, so it doesn't have eclipse and obscure. Sorry. I like mashkari rat though. Sounds like a very scary poisonous rat, one that maybe only comes out at night....

Bonedagger · Nov 13, 2002

Danish:
Shadow = Skygge ["y" like german "ü"]
dark = mørkt [myarkt]
eclipse = eklipse/formørkelse [formyarklese]
obscure = Skjult/tilsløret [tilslyared]
night = nat

Spanish:
Shadow = Sombra