Editing Nobledark Imperium Imperial Society and Culture (section)

== The Etymological Legacy of the Old Ones ==

As might be expected of beings of their stature, the Old Ones had a powerful effect on the languages of many species. Although most of the galaxy knew them as the Old Ones, the Old Ones typically referred to themselves as the Slaan or [[Slann]]. As a result, many of the uplifted races of the Old Ones began using the terms “Slaa-” or “Shaa-” into their own languages, typically meaning “mighty” or “god-like” (especially in the superlative sense). For example, the Hrud called the Old Ones “Slaa-Hai”, which roughly translated to “most mighty” — a term they eventually extended not only to the Old Ones but to any sufficiently powerful entity worthy of respect, such as the Eldar gods and their own god Qah.

This extends to the Eldar as well; the Eldar referred to their homeworld as Shaa-Dome, something they only started doing after the Old Ones uplifted them and their previously Bronze Age society realized there was more than one planet in the universe. “Dome” in ancient Eldar (High Tongue having not been invented yet) meant many things, including “door”, “home”, “threshold of a house”, or “hearth”, depending on the context. Shaa-Dome, in effect, means “hearth of/doorway to the gods”, referring to the fact that the Eldar saw their homeworld as intrinsically tied to their gods — a sort of Eldar Mount Olympus. This belief extended well into the waning days of the Old Eldar Empire, where Shaa-Dome was essentially a central junction and plaza that housed all the administrative and executive functions (as well as the most important temples of the gods) of the multi-planetary city that the Eldar called an empire.

A final example of the effect of the Old Ones on Eldar terminology is in the name of one of the Ruinous Powers, She Who Thirsts, Slaanesh. "–esh" is a common suffix in Eldar names, as seen in the Eldar folk heroes Eldanesh and Uthanesh, and essentially means “person”. “Slaanesh”, therefore, literally translates to “mightiest person” or “godliest person” in High Tongue. It is not clear whether Slaanesh’s name was chosen long before its birth or whether the entity adopted the name upon its creation. Either way, adopting a title that means “mightiest/godliest being” is entirely appropriate for such a narcissistic entity as She Who Thirsts.