"mataglap"
Andrew C. Plotkin
I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
Did Williams invent it?
(In the book, mataglap is killer nanotechnology -- a nanomachine which
eats everything and rebuilds the molecules into copies of itself.)
(The language of the characters in _Aristoi_ is Demotic Greek, and
I was able to figure out most of the funky words by considering Greek
roots. "Oneirochronon", or "aristoi", for example. But I can't
recognize anything in "mataglap".)
This must have been figured out when the book was published, but I
missed it.
--Z
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
Dave Goldman
In article <slf=8km00WB...@andrew.cmu.edu>, "Andrew C. Plotkin"
<erky...@CMU.EDU> wrote:
> I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
> there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
> Did Williams invent it?
> ...
Thanks for asking this! I've always wondered myself.
Sounds Tagalog to me, but I seem to have misplaced my Tagalog-English
dictionary...
-- Dave
Karen Lofstrom
Andrew C. Plotkin (erky...@CMU.EDU) wrote:
: I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
: there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
: Did Williams invent it?
I've run across the term in some Dutch mystery novels; I don't know
whether it's Dutch or a borrowing from some SE Asian language where
running amok or going mataglap is a recognized social phenomenon.
--
Karen Lofstrom lofs...@lava.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I can't find the books and I can't remember the name of the author --
it's driving me crazy. Dutch inspector, French wife, author tired of
inspector and killed him off, later revived series with wife as
private investigator. _All the Lovely Ladies_ is one title I remember.
A.Jante
>> I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
>> there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
>> Did Williams invent it?
>> ...
>Thanks for asking this! I've always wondered myself.
>
>Sounds Tagalog to me, but I seem to have misplaced my Tagalog-English
>dictionary...
It probably looks Tagalog because of all the a's, but afaik there
is no such word in Tagalog. Neither is there any possible root
noun like taglap or aglap. The closest possibility would be
mata which means eye(s). What did mataglap mean in the novel?
Alyn
Avram Grumer
> I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
> there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
> Did Williams invent it?
While we're out it, has anyone figured out the etymology for "reno"? (I
think that's what the brain extensions were called.)
--
Avram Grumer Work: agr...@crossover.com
http://www.users.interport.net/~avram Home: av...@interport.net
When crimes are outlawed, only outlaws will commit crimes.
Wil McCarthy
Andrew C. Plotkin wrote:
>
> I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
> there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
> Did Williams invent it?
>
Mataglap is a Malaysian word, an adjective synonymous with
"amok," i.e., out of control. It has a wonderful goopy sound to it,
though, doesn't it?
---- ----
Wil McCarthy o \ / The ideal state provides
wmcc...@t4fsa-gw.den.mmc.com - O - its citizens with the
Lock-Mart Engineer and SF Novelist / \ o tools to succeed and the
http://www.greyware.com/authors/wmccarth freedom to fail.
---- ----
Giorgos Vetoulis
I searched for 'mataglap' using altavista and I found in dutch word lists
These are the 2 references, No idea what its real meaning is though..
No Title
aangifte aanname aartsrivaal abdominaal abject ablaut aboriginal aborteren aborteur abortief abri absence absenten
absolutistisch abstractum absurdisme...
http://studwww.rug.ac.be/~jvpoucke/spelling/newspelg.dic - size 66K - 10 Nov 95
Nederlands
Back to the home page. M. mach machete machiavellist machismo machistisch macho macramimacro macrobioot
macrobiotiek macrobiotisch macrobudget...
http://www.elis.rug.ac.be/rb/nederl/m.html - size 5K - 28 Mar 96
Damien Broderick
>
> >> I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
> >> there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
Malay, I believe. But damn, the dog ate my Malay dictionary.
Damien Broderick
Tony Bass
From article <4oj8ec$5...@mochi.lava.net>, by lofs...@lava.net (Karen Lofstrom):
> Andrew C. Plotkin (erky...@CMU.EDU) wrote:
> : I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
> : there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
> : Did Williams invent it?
> I've run across the term in some Dutch mystery novels; I don't know
> whether it's Dutch or a borrowing from some SE Asian language where
> running amok or going mataglap is a recognized social phenomenon.
[...]
> I can't find the books and I can't remember the name of the author --
> it's driving me crazy. Dutch inspector, French wife, author tired of
> inspector and killed him off, later revived series with wife as
> private investigator. _All the Lovely Ladies_ is one title I remember.
Might it be Nicholas Freeling? Van de Valk (sp?)
Tony Bass
--
# Tony Bass Tel: (01473) 645305
# MLB 3/19, BT Laboratories e-mail: a...@saltfarm.bt.co.uk
# Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP5 7RE DO NOT e-mail to From: line
# Opinions are my own
Dave Goldman
In article <31AF5B...@ariel.its.unimelb.edu.au>, Damien Broderick
<dam...@ariel.its.unimelb.edu.au> wrote:
> > >In article <slf=8km00WB...@andrew.cmu.edu>, "Andrew C. Plotkin"
> > ><erky...@CMU.EDU> wrote:
> >
> > >> I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
> > >> there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
>
> Malay, I believe. But damn, the dog ate my Malay dictionary.
Although my previous guess was Tagalog, I did some Web searches for
"mataglap". I found one person's review of _Aristoi_ in which he
hypothesized Dutch (and also wondered about "reno"...). I also got links
to a couple of pages from the Netherlands about the European Union --
couldn't then actually find "mataglap" on them anywhere, though.
Help! Somebody out there must know these languages!
-- Dave Goldman
Dave Goldman
Okay, here's the answer on mataglap:
From Carl Koppeschaar <car...@xs4all.nl>:
> Mataglap is indeed a word that can be found in Dutch dictionaries. It
> stems from the Malayan words mata = eye and gelap = dark. It means 'frenzy
> behaviour' or 'blinded bij madness' (i.e. someone with dark eyes = mad
> person). That we adopted this Malayan word in our language is because
> the Dutch held control of Indonesia (former Dutch East Indies) for 300
> years. A lot of Indonesian (Malayan language group) words are well
> known to Dutchmen!
>
> You may post this to rec.arts.sf.written if you like.
Now, on to "reno"...!
-- Dave
Geoff Alex Cohen
Avram Grumer (agr...@crossover.com) wrote:
: While we're out it, has anyone figured out the etymology for "reno"? (I
: think that's what the brain extensions were called.)
I don't have a reference handy, but I believe Williams has said that this
is a reference to the character Reno in _Hardwired_ or _Voice of the
Whirlwind_.
Geoff
Karen Lofstrom
Tony Bass (a...@calf.saltfarm.bt.co.uk) wrote:
: > I can't find the books and I can't remember the name of the author --
: > it's driving me crazy. Dutch inspector, French wife, author tired of
: > inspector and killed him off, later revived series with wife as
: > private investigator. _All the Lovely Ladies_ is one title I remember.
: Might it be Nicholas Freeling? Van de Valk (sp?)
Yes! Thanks for refreshing my memory!
--
Karen Lofstrom lofs...@lava.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Inquiring minds want more snow.
-- Lindy Sisk
Andrew C. Plotkin
Well, I feel like a dolt. I just read _Hardwired_ (that's the one with
Reno in it), not a month before I read _Aristoi_.
I won't say why this explanation makes sense (it would be a spoiler
for _Hardwired_) but it does.
Beth Meacham
Williams' use of "reno" in ARISTOI is definitely a reference to the
character Reno in HARDWIRED -- Reno was the first human consciousness to
be completely transfered into cyberspace upon the death of the organic
being. He's a major character in Hardwired.
Beth
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Beth Meacham b...@tor.com
http://www.azstarnet.com/~bam/bam.html
Jasper Stein
In fact, mataglap is also the dutch translation of the "Schwartz" (from
the movie Star W**** no uh.. Spaceballs)
-----
... there was a point to this story, but it has
temporarily escaped my mind...
:-) Jasper Stein Voor alle amateur-muzikanten uit
j.j....@fys.ruu.nl de omgeving Zeist:
jst...@dds.nl http://huizen.dds.nl/~jstein
Laurence Brothers
> ...Malayan words mata = eye and gelap = dark....
Fascinating. I assumed it meant "death glop", i.e. mata relating
to Spanish "matar", "matador", check-"mate", etc. and glap just
being from the English "glop" wherever that may have come from.
--
Laurence R. Brothers ~ qua...@bellcore.com
"Mundus Vult Decipi" -- James Branch Cabell
Kathleen Hedges
>In article <slf=8km00WB...@andrew.cmu.edu>, "Andrew C. Plotkin"
><erky...@CMU.EDU> wrote:
>
>> I just finished W.J.Williams' excellent _Aristoi_. I'm curious: is
>> there an origin or etymology for the word "mataglap" which is used?
>> ...
I passed on this entire thread to Walter Jon Williams (it's easy to find
him; I'm married to him) and he sends you all back this reply:
Original Text From
wal...@thuntek.net (Walter Jon Williams), on 6/6/96 2:14 PM:
I am amazed by the erudition available on sf.rec.arts.written. Truly the
group mind is a formidable thing.
"Mataglap" is indeed an Indonesian word for "dark eye" or "dilated eye," one
of the signals that a local citizen is about to experience Post Office
Syndrome and start killing people at random.
"Reno" is a reference to my own HARDWIRED, but it should not be taken to
indicate that the future of ARISTOI is the same as in HARDWIRED. It should
be taken to indicate that in the world of ARISTOI, the novel HARDWIRED has
become such a popular classic that one of its terms has passed into
colloquial usage, as "Babbitt," "Scrooge," and "Shylock."
It's my future, damn it, and I can dream, too.
Walter Jon Williams
(posted by Kathy Hedges)
Peter Cash
Kathleen Hedges wrote:
......
> "Mataglap" is indeed an Indonesian word for "dark eye" or "dilated eye," one
> of the signals that a local citizen is about to experience Post Office
> Syndrome and start killing people at random.
Hmm. So "matahari" would be the antonym, no?
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Die Welt ist alles, was Zerfall ist. |
Peter Cash | (apologies to Ludwig Wittgenstein)
|ca...@convex.com
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