Etymology/meaning/onomatopoeic aspects of the word "Urth"

Gwern Branwen · 24 Apr 2008, 17:43 · from 2008-April.txt.gz

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From: gwern0 at gmail.com (Gwern Branwen)
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:43:57 -0400
Subject: (urth) Etymology/meaning/onomatopoeic aspects of the word	"Urth"
In-Reply-To: <73d3d6710804241020k7c71f1a0u6fd02ac36c946de4 at mail.gmail.com>
References: <73d3d6710804241020k7c71f1a0u6fd02ac36c946de4 at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <20080424174357.GA18712@localhost>

On 2008.04.24 19:20:22 +0200, Pavel Baki?? <pavelbak at gmail.com> scribbled 2.4K characters:
>    A question for the first-language speakers out there: We have a discussion going on concerning
>    a proper rendering of the word "Urth" into Czech, and would appreciate any comments concerning
>    the connotations the word has for a native speaker, apart form the obvious "Earth". An
>    existing translation of The Shadow of the Torturer has "Urzem?", which translates literally as
>    "Ur-Earth" (without the repetition of the "r" phoneme or the "vowel-consonant[s]" syllable
>    structure, of course).
>
>    I did search for previous threads concerning the topic, but the fact of the archive-site being
>    itself called Urth made it somewhat difficult.

The OED records no special features for 'Urth'; it's just an obscure variation on 'Earth', although it's worth noting that I've seen the name of the Norse norn Urd transliterated as Urth.

So, it depends on how you take it. If it's just Wolfe trying to distance you from the present day, go hunting for obscure and literary term for 'Earth' which sound similar to whatever is the usual Czech word; but if the Norse reference is intentional, I doubt you could do much better than Urth, 'Urth' just being a transliteration in this interpretation.

--
gwern
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