Apr 4, 2017 02:35
7 yrs ago
English term
ambiel
English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
"Hwi Noree wore a simple gown of purple ambiel decorated only by a silver necklace pendant stamped with the symbol of IX."
--quoted from the SF fiction God Emperor of Dune (https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=Dm9ZROKu5D4C&q=“Hwi Nor...
I only found that Ambiel is the angel for Gemini or the month of May, but cannot figure out what it means here (ambiel, not capitalized).
Thank you!
--quoted from the SF fiction God Emperor of Dune (https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=Dm9ZROKu5D4C&q=“Hwi Nor...
I only found that Ambiel is the angel for Gemini or the month of May, but cannot figure out what it means here (ambiel, not capitalized).
Thank you!
Responses
+3
10 hrs
Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Ireland
Native in English
&
English
Specializes in field
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: US, Canadian, Irish, UK) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
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317
Selected
keep the name or invent something that's similar
Asker, I read these books many years ago now and recall that there was a lot of strange terminology. It is science fiction after all so a new world and new language.
This is common in the Fantasy and Sci-fi genres.
It's impossible to guess what the author meant. He coined so many new words for this series of books you can only guess at meaning a lot of the time. Otherwise, you just keep the word or invent one in your language that might be similar. But you are in the best position to judge this as you are reading the book in detail.
If you think he based this word on an angel's name then maybe the fabric could be described as heavenly but imo that is over-translating as we don't really know what the fabric is unless it's described more fully in your text. Some new World/New Age fabric yet to be invented it seems!
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Note added at 10 hrs (2017-04-04 13:05:21 GMT)
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By the way the angel's name is actually AmbRiel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambriel
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Note added at 10 hrs (2017-04-04 13:13:09 GMT)
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but if you want to go the lexical route you might consider "ambi-" as Latin for two or both sides
and -el I think is Hebrew for God or from God
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Note added at 1 day7 hrs (2017-04-05 09:49:25 GMT) Post-grading
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I'd still keep the word ambiel, as in "purple ambiel (a delicate, silk-like fabric)..."
And the angel's name does have an "R", AmbRiel, in that book link as well as the link I posted earlier. So, not the same word though it may have given the author the idea for his coined word.
This is common in the Fantasy and Sci-fi genres.
It's impossible to guess what the author meant. He coined so many new words for this series of books you can only guess at meaning a lot of the time. Otherwise, you just keep the word or invent one in your language that might be similar. But you are in the best position to judge this as you are reading the book in detail.
If you think he based this word on an angel's name then maybe the fabric could be described as heavenly but imo that is over-translating as we don't really know what the fabric is unless it's described more fully in your text. Some new World/New Age fabric yet to be invented it seems!
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Note added at 10 hrs (2017-04-04 13:05:21 GMT)
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By the way the angel's name is actually AmbRiel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambriel
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2017-04-04 13:13:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
but if you want to go the lexical route you might consider "ambi-" as Latin for two or both sides
and -el I think is Hebrew for God or from God
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day7 hrs (2017-04-05 09:49:25 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
I'd still keep the word ambiel, as in "purple ambiel (a delicate, silk-like fabric)..."
And the angel's name does have an "R", AmbRiel, in that book link as well as the link I posted earlier. So, not the same word though it may have given the author the idea for his coined word.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Alison MacG
: It doesn't appear in the glossary at the end of the first novel (Dune). It does however appear in a glossary in a Czech version of God Emperor of Dune, though I don't know where the info comes from (delicate silk-like fabric). I'll post link in disc box
1 hr
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Thanks:-) Interesting! I need to reread all the books...been a long time
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| agree |
magdadh
5 hrs
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Many thanks:-)
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| agree |
JohnMcDove
2 days 8 hrs
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Many thanks:-)
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3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you for your suggestion! I think the answer lies in the find made by Alison MacG. BTW, I found Ambriel = Ambiel in a book (https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=MXtLCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT264&lpg=PT264&dq=%E2%80%9CAmbRiel%E2%80%9D++Ambiel&source=bl&ots=-WMHJt6eBk&sig=RWHS9fo1ki4yY9GE1DLsolb9Rco&hl=zh-CN&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwim1YurtIzTAhUDqo8KHXdsDlEQ6AEIODAI#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9CAmbRiel%E2%80%9D%20%20Ambiel&f=false). Is it right?"
+1
1 hr
ambiel fabric / or clothing (clothes by Ambiel)
In the context I could only guess that it is a type of fabric, maybe created by somebody named "Ambiel", which then gave name to the type of clothes or fabrics...
The picture here maybe gives an idea of the type of garment.
http://www.dhgate.com/product/newest-print-black-and-white-d...
I am just guessing, but I don't think it could be anything else...
Good luck!
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Note added at 1 hr (2017-04-04 03:44:02 GMT)
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https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e...
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Note added at 2 days19 hrs (2017-04-06 21:39:40 GMT) Post-grading
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You're welcome! Yes, the data fro Alison and the answer by Gallagy seem to fit the bill pretty well... :-)
The picture here maybe gives an idea of the type of garment.
http://www.dhgate.com/product/newest-print-black-and-white-d...
I am just guessing, but I don't think it could be anything else...
Good luck!
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Note added at 1 hr (2017-04-04 03:44:02 GMT)
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https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e...
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Note added at 2 days19 hrs (2017-04-06 21:39:40 GMT) Post-grading
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You're welcome! Yes, the data fro Alison and the answer by Gallagy seem to fit the bill pretty well... :-)
Note from asker:
| Thanks! It's a close guess. I think the answer lies in the find made by Alison MacG. |
Discussion
@Alison MacG Thank you very much! That's the answer. Although it's in Czech, I figured it out generally through online translaiton. It's a kind of fabric made of ambiel bush (a made-up name). I don't know why this item of terminology seems only appear in Czech version.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mzndCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT292&lp...
There are, in fact, so many new terms invented by Herbert for Dune that he devoted twenty pages at the end of the book to a “Terminology of the Imperium.”
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FZOdS_02yacC&pg=PT430&lp...