Excerpt: Paragon paths (merged)

[Ulthwithian]

Hey, if people think English has it bad, try Japanese. I think it's perfectly fine to take the occasional word from Japanese into English, since it seems sometimes that Japanese staged ninja raids on the discount repositories of other languages for words.

$5 USD to the first person (without looking up in a dictionary, online or otherwise) what the word 'remokon' refers to in Japanese, and its etymology.

Along these lines, can anyone tell me when the word samurai started showing up in English dictionaries?

Edit: Hashashin, no? Old Man on the Mountain, cult fanatics who would apparently near-OD on hashish (thus their name) and go out on suicide missions? That origin?

 

[Mirtek]

then someone said the words "dragon god of undeath" in all seriousness and I just couldn't watch anymore.

What's wrong with Faluzure? He is one of the coolest deities D&D has to offer. Now that I think about him, too bad that he didn't made him core. He would be way better than Bane or Orcus.

Sure, the movie didn't do him justice, but that's not his fault

 

[Kordeth]

With all this controversy about "Kensai"...

Are any of you aware that "Assassin" comes from an Arabic word?

Yeah, and "paladin" is Italian, "cleric" is Latin, and "ranger" is Old French by way of Germanic origins. The point that the kensei-objectors are making is that all of these words have been adopted into the common parlance of the English language and have been divorced from most of their cultural roots (no one objects to calling Oswald an assassin on the basis that he wasn't a member of a Crusades-era Islamic cult, for example), while "kensei" really hasn't. It's a valid point, but at the same time--just pick a different name if it bugs you and move on.

 

[Guild Goodknife]

Hey, if people think English has it bad, try Japanese. I think it's perfectly fine to take the occasional word from Japanese into English, since it seems sometimes that Japanese staged ninja raids on the discount repositories of other languages for words.

$5 USD to the first person (without looking up in a dictionary, online or otherwise) what the word 'remokon' refers to in Japanese, and its etymology.

Along these lines, can anyone tell me when the word samurai started showing up in English dictionaries?

Edit: Hashashin, no? Old Man on the Mountain, cult fanatics who would apparently near-OD on hashish (thus their name) and go out on suicide missions? That origin?

Hmm remokon...knowing that the japanese call a PC (Personal Computer) a persocom, i'd guess that remokon means 'remote control'

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Hashashin, no? Old Man on the Mountain, cult fanatics who would apparently near-OD on hashish (thus their name) and go out on suicide missions? That origin?

I checked the etymology of the word there's 2 theories:
1) It comes from the word "Hashishin"
2) It comes from the words "Al Hassan" from "Followers of Al Hassan"

 

[RefinedBean]

$5 USD to the first person (without looking up in a dictionary, online or otherwise) what the word 'remokon' refers to in Japanese, and its etymology.

How about 5 Euro, and we've got ourselves a deal.

Shot in the dark: Something to do with Emos?

 

[The_Fan]

Hey, if people think English has it bad, try Japanese. I think it's perfectly fine to take the occasional word from Japanese into English, since it seems sometimes that Japanese staged ninja raids on the discount repositories of other languages for words.

$5 USD to the first person (without looking up in a dictionary, online or otherwise) what the word 'remokon' refers to in Japanese, and its etymology.

Along these lines, can anyone tell me when the word samurai started showing up in English dictionaries?

Edit: Hashashin, no? Old Man on the Mountain, cult fanatics who would apparently near-OD on hashish (thus their name) and go out on suicide missions? That origin?

Remote control. Where's my $5?

Edit: Ninja'd!

 

[Ulthwithian]

Hmm remokon...knowing that the japanese call a PC (Personal Computer) a persocom, i'd guess that remokon means 'remote control'

Wow, that was fast.

BTW, guys, if you think 'kensei'/'kensai' is odd in English, I'll let you know I can't find it in either the normal online dictionary I use for Japanese OR my home dictionary. I believe it's a new term all around. That, or VERY old and archaic.

The_Fan: Unfortunately a tad too slow, and you didn't give me the kind of etymological data (or construction data) that the winner got.

Speaking of, if the winner could contact me privately, I'll arrange for the money to be sent.

Seraph: Do they have the kanzi so that I can try to look it up in my kanzi dictionary?

K. Is it 'kensei' or 'kensai'? I looked up both in dictionaries, and didn't find them in either place. (Kanzi dictionary is easy, because the first kanzi should be the same, sword.)

I would have thought 'kensai' meant 'sword prodigy' whereas 'kensei' was 'sword 'saint'' (I've _always_ hated that translation), but I'm not sure.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Wow, that was fast.

BTW, guys, if you think 'kensei'/'kensai' is odd in English, I'll let you know I can't find it in either the normal online dictionary I use for Japanese OR my home dictionary. I believe it's a new term all around. That, or VERY old and archaic.

Sounds, somewhat old: was an honorary title given to a warrior of legendary skill in swordsmanship. The literal translation of "kensei" is "sword saint"

 

[The_Fan]

Wow, that was fast.

BTW, guys, if you think 'kensei'/'kensai' is odd in English, I'll let you know I can't find it in either the normal online dictionary I use for Japanese OR my home dictionary. I believe it's a new term all around. That, or VERY old and archaic.

The_Fan: Unfortunately a tad too slow, and you didn't give me the kind of etymological data (or construction data) that the winner got.

Speaking of, if the winner could contact me privately, I'll arrange for the money to be sent.

I found it on teh wiki. It's a misspelling of "kensei," meaning roughly Swordsaint (though other possible translations include Fist Saint, Sacred Fist, etc). Often the founders of a dojo, generally considered a fighter of great skill and purity who devotes their life to perfecting their art. And yeah, it's pretty darn archaic.