Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 SoT: I actually had a great deal of trouble learning to drive without a deeper understanding of mechanics. People want to tell you how to use a clutch without explaining what it actually does. A couple of hours on Wikipedia were necessary for me to have any chance at all. Harehunter: It's nothing personal. I actually appreciate most of what you have to say. Sometimes, though, it's like trying to hold a conversation with the Riddler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Drayk Armitage Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I don't think this application of "transmission" is so confusing: it transmits the power generated by the engine to the wheels in the appropriate form needed to make the car do what you want. Originally Posted By: Harehunter Also, who was it that first had the idea to put the Latin words Trans and Mitto put together to form this word? The Romans. Transmittere is a verb, and it means very blankly what trans (over) and mittere (send) do put together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Originally Posted By: Harehunter Someone at some time coined the word and applied that definition to it. Why not just call it the gearbox? That word also adequately describes the object. Because the gear box is only part of the transmission. There's also driveshafts, universal joints, in some cars transfer cases as well. The transmission as whole is referring everything from the flywheel to how it connects to your wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Harehunter Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 So, Cairo Jim, the transmission is a system of several components. Not many people see that. More often than not the word is used to the one component that is used to change the gear ratio between the crankshaft of the engine and the drive shaft that transmits the torque to the differential and then to the drive wheels. Now it becomes more clear why one word is chosen for a purpose over any other word. I am still amazed by etymology, the process by which words come into existence in the first place, by how they can be co-opted to carry meanings quite different from their original purpose, how they come to be widely known, and how they fall into disuse as their function is replaced by other words. @Actaeon, I know that my posts are often cryptic. I have found that it stimulates people into thinking through a conundrum for themselves. Sometimes, it is because I have these questions myself and I am seeking to confirm or invalidate my own theories. Often, I enjoy the mental exercise to hone my own problem solving circuits. @Slarty, Yes the root words had been conjoined before their application to automobile mechanics, but the word transmitterre is still a compound word, and the root words were still free to happily combine with other root words to produce more compound words such as transcend, transpose, emit, omit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Originally Posted By: Harehunter So, Cairo Jim, the transmission is a system of several components. Not many people see that. That's what autos are for. Most of the people that I know that drive manuals have some sort of understanding of how, at least partially, of how their transmission, mostly gearbox work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Drayk Armitage Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Originally Posted By: Harehunter @Slarty, Yes the root words had been conjoined before their application to automobile mechanics, but the word transmitterre is still a compound word, and the root words were still free to happily combine with other root words to produce more compound words such as transcend, transpose, emit, omit. Applying affixes like "trans-" or "e-" is not really the same thing as creating a compound word like "newspaper" or (for an older example) "nightmare". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Harehunter Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Sorry for the extended hibernation. I suppose that you may be right. My thinking is that if a pair of words originally stood on their own, then were joined to form a third word is what I consider a compound word. For example Trans[/] meaning across and Port to carry, both words that were used separately in the earliest form of Latin, have been joined to become Transport, to carry across if used as a verb. However, upon doing a little more digging, it turns out that although Trans- does carry a specific definition, unlike something like -er, it is used only as a prefix, never as an independent word, as the verb Port can be used. Ergo, I must concur that yours is the correct analysis. (And this is why I enjoy our debates; you give me that extra little push to dig deeply to support or debunk my theories.) I found this article on Latin Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes to be very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Drayk Armitage Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Originally Posted By: HOUSE of S, 3 weeks ago Compound words combine two stems, not just a stem and an affix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Harehunter Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Hence my acquiescence on your point. Edit: I just realized that while the use of trans is only as a prefix, that applies only to the usage of it in English. In the original Latin the word trans was indeed it's own word, as a preposition. Therefore, the words that have trans in them are conjoined from separate root words. In re-reading the article of my previous post, I realized that I had missed one element that I had understood to be true, but had forgotten about. This was that the scholars of the day believed that Latin was a more perfect language than that vulgar Anglo-Saxon dialect that had predominated over Britania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Lauren CW Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I always entertained the fancy that if you go back far enough in time, the Shapers from Geneforge are in fact derived from Vahnatai shapers, who at some cataclysmic event all migrated underground and started hibernating, and that geneforge/avernum are just vastly different points in time of the same universe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk JamesMighty Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 So your claiming that the Empire (In Avernums) is really a bunch of Shapers (In Geneforge)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt BMA Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The Empire doesn't come into it, but this concept of Vahnatai transforming into shapers seems to be shared by many people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 That's the first time I've heard of it. Why would the Vahnatai do such a de-evolution? It doesn't really make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Sudanna Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 The idea is that the Shapers become the Vahnatai. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Oh right. I don't see that happening either. Otherwise the Vahnatai would of mentioned something along those lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Dikiyoba Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim That's the first time I've heard of it. [...] It doesn't really make sense. Basically, the idea started when A4 came out and the term "Genevernum" or "Averforge" was coined to describe its heavily reliance on the Geneforge engine and graphics. Most notable in the graphics department is that the original version used the clawbug graphic for chitraches. Also, one of the Vahnatai magic user types is called a "Shaper" which to some people suggests is a sign that the vahnatai and the Geneforge Shapers have something in common, and not that Jeff likes to reuse names. Dikiyoba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Drayk Armitage Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 227 clawbugs... the horror... the horror... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba Also, one of the Vahnatai magic user types is called a "Shaper" which to some people suggests is a sign that the vahnatai and the Geneforge Shapers have something in common, and not that Jeff likes to reuse names. Dikiyoba. I thought of that. I think I may have heard that before, but I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Lilith Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim That's the first time I've heard of it. [...] It doesn't really make sense. Basically, the idea started when A4 came out and the term "Genevernum" or "Averforge" was coined to describe its heavily reliance on the Geneforge engine and graphics. Most notable in the graphics department is that the original version used the clawbug graphic for chitraches. Also, one of the Vahnatai magic user types is called a "Shaper" which to some people suggests is a sign that the vahnatai and the Geneforge Shapers have something in common, and not that Jeff likes to reuse names. Dikiyoba. i'm pretty sure it was actually a thing even before Avernum 4, mostly because of the Shapers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Trenton. Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I remember killing many Vhanatai Shapers on the way to Rhentar's fortrace in EXILE: RUINED WORLD. Thats what their names were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgeoning Battle Gamma Cpt. Charles Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Now where is Avadon going to fit into all of this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk JamesMighty Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Oh Avadon is some mystical island on a sea surrounding Averforge/Genernum whatever, and is so far away no ship has ever sailed to the lands of Lyneaus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Earth Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 other planet on same solar system or island faraway from Avernum/Exile Empire/Empress lands and Geneforges islands (like GF would be Japan and Avadon as Europe (w/o Russia) and Emp. lands would be Australia). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Empire lands would be more like 1500's Europe when they started to sail around the world and settled in every place they landed. Avernum would then be Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk JamesMighty Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 And avadon would be North America! That means Florida is the Wretch Lands . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 North America would work out to be Valorim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk JamesMighty Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Well, I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 You can have Africa if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Lauren CW Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Originally Posted By: JamesMighty Oh Avadon is some mystical island on a sea surrounding Averforge/Genernum whatever, and is so far away no ship has ever sailed to the lands of Lyneaus. Read: Sholai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim You can have Africa if you want. Originally Posted By: δ³Σx² Originally Posted By: JamesMighty Oh Avadon is some mystical island on a sea surrounding Averforge/Genernum whatever, and is so far away no ship has ever sailed to the lands of Lyneaus. Read: Sholai On that note, how does Greenland sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt Erebus the Black Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim You can have Africa if you want. Originally Posted By: δ³Σx² Originally Posted By: JamesMighty Oh Avadon is some mystical island on a sea surrounding Averforge/Genernum whatever, and is so far away no ship has ever sailed to the lands of Lyneaus. Read: Sholai On that note, how does Greenland sound? Iceland sounds better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I was trying to think of that. Mental blancked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Harehunter Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Originally Posted By: JamesMighty And avadon would be North America! That means Florida is the Wretch Lands . That is where Xanth is supposed to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Earth Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim Empire lands would be more like 1500's Europe when they started to sail around the world and settled in every place they landed. Avernum would then be Australia. Been years since I saw Valorim's map (if A3 even had it) so could be that its North America but then Avernum could be South American mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Australia was originally used as a convict settlement that was reaally far away from anywhere else in the world. I'd say that's pretty close to Avernum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Earth Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 yea Brits used it as prison colony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt Erebus the Black Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 But they had sunlight and real beer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 When they shipped them there they only had sunlight. They made the beer to make the place look better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast VCH Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Originally Posted By: Randomizer When they shipped them there they only had sunlight. They made the beer to make the place look better. Of course there were already people there, Vahnatai I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt Erebus the Black Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 We're talking about Australia, rather... So unless you think the aborijnies are on par with the vahnati then your point is rather moot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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