Errors with our Name Origins (Etymology) page

Question

Here: http://pokemondb.net/etymology
I think we got it 99% correct, so thanks to everyone that helped, I really appreciate it!

The point of this post is just in case there may be a few mistakes. If you happen to notice anything you think is wrong, post an answer here and I will look into it. Answers will be hidden once corrections have been made (or rejected). Thanks to everyone who's contributed so far!

Please post ANSWERS instead of comments or else your post will be hidden, thanks.

Answer 1

After years with no activity on my suggestion, I was surprised to get an update from here, but I digress.

Anyways, I suggested that "acrobat" be Crobat's name origin, but it was dismissed because all other names in other languages reference its cross shape. While that is a fair point, I still believe it's highly likely they used that opportunity to make a clever pun out of Crobat's name, with it being "acrobat" minus the "a", with Crobat being known for it's agility, like an acrobat, while it may also be combining "cross" and "bat" to reference the shape.

Coincidence while making a boorish word combination? Or clever intentional pun? I'd like to think the Pokemon name creators did the latter, and that the acrobat explanation is worth adding on to the etymology post.
Thank you.

Comments

A crobat= acrobat

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Im here to nudge this post, I do believe that Crobat's name origin is from acrobatics as well, as it maneuvers extremely well midair.

Answer 2

In Nihilego, the "nihil" more likely refers to nothing rather than nihilism. This would make sense, as "ego" is self, and the combination of nihil and ego would reflect the fact that Nihilego and its victims have no consciousness or self-awareness.

Comments

I didn't know this thread existed i would have definitely posted it here

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I checked everything on Nihilism and jellyfish, and found nothing. What I did find, however, is that there is a song/band/album/something like that called Nihilist Jellyfish :P
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RvPkiHPAvMs/hqdefault.jpg

Also, I looked up several definitions of Nihilism and got this:

the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless.
or
extreme skepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence.

Nihilism: That nothing matters, which may make sense because Nihilego has no real sense of value in anything; nothing really seems to matter for it...

That is pretty much it though. It could also mean both: the Japanese is a combination of void, ego, and being similar; All of the other names use ego and void, hollow, etc, which is like nihilism i. e. not caring/mattering.

TL;DR: It probably is Ego and Nihilist because other languages use ego and void/other words considered synonymous with Nihilism.

Answer 3

It is correct that Makushita is a division in sumo (the third highest), but Hariyama is not. Most likely, the "Hari-" part comes from "harite" which means a slap and is used in sumo. "Yama" is "mountain", frequent suffix in sumo shikona (ring names). Hence my own user name!

Also, Rhydon, I think also sounds like "right on", the way that it charges!

Answer 4

On the page of Zeraora you wrote that tora is Japanese for tiger.
Since torracat evolves in a tiger, I'm pretty sure it's name etymoligy could easily be something with tiger.

Answer 5

Evil should be in Yveltal's roots i mean its the destruction pokemon. Also its name is pronounced Eval-tal.

Comments

It's also tall. It's evil and tall! Evil-tall!

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My mind works the same way. Eviltal yveltal

Answer 6

In the name Politoed, I suspect that the word "toed" (as in "having toes") is intentional.

Answer 7

Lapras' name is actually based on the mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace according to bulbapedia

Also Primarina's name is more likely prima donna + marine since primarinas design has little to do with ballet

Comments

can you link us to the bulbapedia article? that seems like a very far reach for that to be lapras' name, its possible it was a dumb edit

Answer 8

Issue with Munna and Musharna's page

It says "muso" means "dream" in Japanese, when it doesn't. "Yume", also spelt as "夢" is dream.

I literally could not find any word close to "muso" anywhere, other than "miso" (a soup), but if y'all meant "mousou", that means "delusion".

Answer 9

The definition of "feral" on Feraligatr's page describes feral as meaning "menacing, ferocious." This is not exactly the meaning of feral. I believe it should be something like "wild, untamed."

Answer 10

Snom
According to Bulbapedia,
"Snom's voracious appetite in Pokémon Camp is likely a reference to Saturniidae biology, in which the caterpillars eat a large stockpile of food due to losing the ability to eat upon becoming moths."

I think that Snom could be:

Snow | frozen precipitation
Worm | soft bodied invertabrate
Nom | Slang for eating

I personally do not agree with Snom coming from "Moth", that's more it's evolution, Frosmoth for me.

Toxtricity
I think it is probably Toxic, but Toxicity is another viable option I think.
"Toxicity: The quality or degree of being toxic". That's what I think.

Applin
I believe that it isn't Apple, but Apple + In. It's Sword Dex entry states
"It spends its entire life inside an apple". This means that it is a small Dragon of sorts living inside the apple. Just my opinion though, not sure if I am right :)

Togedemaru
Just a small thing, "de" can mean of in some languages, so basically Togedemaru is Round of Thorns lol (Or Thorn of Rounds if you prefer)

Dottler
Most likely comes from Dot and Doppler. Dot being, well, a dot, and a Doppler which I think is a kind of radio?

Drakloak
The fact that the name is Drakloak and not Dragloak probably means that the name is Drake-cloak not Dragon-cloak.

Arboliva
Simple change; "Arbol" is Spanish for tree. Arboretum is listed and makes sense, but considering the fact that Paldea is based on the Iberian peninsula, "arbol" seems like it fits just as well.

Hope this is alright :D

Comments

Doppler is also an effect, the doppler effect.

Answer 11

Sableye

Sable - while a kind of marten or small mammal - is also used to describe a shade of black (derived from the colour of the sable's fur) which is specifically used in both heraldry and - more poignantly - mourning. Its entry in Bulbapedia links nicely with this definition - "It is feared by people since it is said to steal a person's soul if they look into its eyes."

More appropriately however: "In a system of heraldry by gemstone occasionally used in the past for the arms of nobles, diamond was used to represent the color sable, or black".
Source (wikipedia)

In addition, sable (as in the fur) cloaks are indicators of wealth and status, as most fur coats would be, so there's a tenuous link between the gemstones and the name.

Answer 12

I disagree with the current explanations for Natu and Xatu.

The Japanese names ネイティ (Naty) and ネイティオ (Natio) respectively might simply be referring to "Nature", "Native"or "Natio(Italian)" (with Naty like a more junvenile/baby name for Natio) .

I think "Natu" simply follows the etymology of the orginal name.

As for Xatu, I think its farfetched to infer that X is for "Exotic". Based on its design, its etymology most probably lies in "Xat", I quote, "a carved pole erected as a memorial to the dead by some Indians of western North America". Thus it's totemic appearance. I also entertained the idea of "Xanadu": "an idealized place of great or idyllic magnificence and beauty", which is okay given how Xatu is tied to mythical beliefs and something almost like a Aztec prophecy. I still prefer the "Xat" explanation personally.

Answer 13

Dialga should include Dial, as in time, because Dialga controls time.

Answer 14

Gigalith should be monolith, which is I think basically a really big rock.
Also gothitelle is also tell, as in how it tells the future.

Edit: also, digglet may come from piglet, just a thought.

Comments

Gigalith is correct, but Gothitelle is probably not.

Answer 15

Should probably post in the answers section instead of making a comment.

I wanted to address a huge flaw in the origins of ponyta that no site seems to have gotten.
I'm fairly certain while ponytail does seem fitting that it's name is actually derived from the animal pony and then a corruption of the word niter(nyta) which is a flammable material used in gunpowder for instance

Answer 16

It says Cloyster comes from a cloister, which is a religious cathedral, even though Cloyster is just a clam and an oyster. It probably was just a wrong definition though, as Cloyster is a a play on another type of cloister, which is to seclude or shell oneself.

*Fixed

Comments

Thanks, you're right that definition makes more sense.

Answer 17

I think that the second half of Bidoof’s name could, as well as what is currently listed, be based on the word “doofus”. I mean, look at the thing. Bulbapedia also has this listed as name origins.
https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Bidoof <the bulbapedia page

Comfey could also be based of Comfrey, a type of flower. It is used as a herb, though it’s also toxic.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphytum

Answer 18

Jirachi's page says "sachi" is Japanese for wish.

Again, fluent. Hoshii/negai would be better terms for wish, and neither of those fit.

All the pages I found say Jirachi comes from 幸, sachi, and all of those mean "good luck" and "fortune". Not wish.

Answer 19

Poipole is, I believe, a combination of Pole, Poison, and (which was previously missed), Purple (Because it sounds the same)
Zygarde is derived from 'zygote'.
The site says Cinderace comes from 'cinder' and 'ace', but I think it is 'cinder' and 'race'.
Dottler is based on 'Doppler', a kind of radio.
I would say Toxtricity is from toxicity and electricity.
Hattena is a combination of 'hat' and 'antenna'.
In addition, Grimmsnarl's name is likely also derived from the Grimm brothers (because Grimmsnarl is based on legends of goblins and the like)
Comfey's name suggests the word fey, like fairies.
Totodile's name might derive from 'Toto', Dorothy's dog in The Wizard Of Oz. Just a thought, because the both have similar personalities.
Granbull might have 'Grandma' in it, because of it's kind, caring disposition.
Tyranitar is a tyrant in addition to a tyrannosaur.
Lairon might have 'lair' in it's name as it it extremely protective of it's home, or lair.
Archeops might relate to Cheops.

I think I am correct, so If you agree, please make these (slight) changes to your website.
Thanks!

Comments

Just letting you know, the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus Rex literally means "Tyrant Lizard King" so saying Tyranitar is based on Tyrant and Tyrannosaurs is redundant

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All of these, my mind immediately recognized when I read the pokemon's name. So these are probably all correct. Although, as monkey business pointed out, tyrant is redundant.

Answer 20

Tropius' name is listed as a combination of 'tropical' and 'saurus' - I'm not sure that suffix fits. There was a sauropod-like animal called Tanystropheus living in the triassic - '-tropheus/trophius' is a much more similar suffix, and the animal in question actually resembles Tropius more than sauropods do, as Tanystropheus was characterised as having a neck which exceeded the length of its body and tail. Tanystropheus was a marsh-dwelling animal, which fished in narrow rivers with its long neck - a marshy habitat intersected with rivers describes exactly the routes Tropius are found in. The piscivorous aspect of the animal is referenced, in my opinion, in the location of Feebas on the same route.
Tropius is a single-stage evolution. Tanystropheus was a relatively short-lived animal which existed after the most destructive mass extinction in history - the developers, I'm sure, would've been aware of this period of time, and I think that Tropius being a single-stage, unique Pokemon is a reference to the brevity of the existence of the animal. Also, given the precedent set by the designers of Pokemon for an affinity towards non-dinosaurian ancient animals (Aerodactyl being a pterosaur, Archeops being a proto-bird, the Cambrian fossil duo from Hoenn), I think it's more likely that Tropius was actually named after Tanystropheus.