(Discontinued) Metior_Ice’s Story Thread
After trying to play through a legacy, I wanted to do something different, something that isn’t related to a specific challenge. I’m hoping to share my stories here for fun. It’ll be a way to conti...
Forum Discussion
@DaniRose2143
Merfolk have many different names and very different appearances and lore depending on the part of the world you look at.
Some names are as follows:
Merfolk have many different names and very different appearances and lore depending on the part of the world you look at.
Some names are as follows:
Spoiler
Havmand (Masculine) (Scandinavian Merman)
Havfrue (Feminine) (Scandinavian Mermaid)
Nix (Masculine) (I don’t know much about him, but I think he’s the German Merman I think he’s technically a type of fairy. There might be more blurring between gender here.)
Nixie (Feminine) (Same situation as Nix, but the German Mermaid.)
Triton (Masculine) (The Ancient Greek Merman)
Nereid (Feminine) (Short of calling them mermaids, Tritons and Mermaids in Ancient Greece were separate mythical beings. Sirens and Mermaids are also technically entirely different mythical beings too.)
Neck (Masculine) (Only male appearances. Sometimes called the water horse and a shapeshifter that is sometimes depicted with a human torso and fish tail.)
Fossgrim (Masculine) (Only male appearances. The thing that makes Fossgrim different from Neck is where he’s found. He shares many similarities with Neck.)
Merrow (Different appearances depending on gender.)
Mami Wata (Feminine) (I believe African in origin and lore spread to the Caribbean and Amazon. Only female appearances.)
I’ve also heard of Ningyo from Japan.
Honestly the list goes on and on, but the separation of gender seems to be a consistent pattern.
The consequence of gendered terminology is that an exclusively female term like “Mermaid” only covers half of plural, gender-neutral “Merfolk.” Mermen actually have their own lore that uses male terminology. It’s actually a very interesting topic, especially since merfolk lore exists globally, but simultaneously separated by a vast amount time and space.
Havfrue (Feminine) (Scandinavian Mermaid)
Nix (Masculine) (I don’t know much about him, but I think he’s the German Merman I think he’s technically a type of fairy. There might be more blurring between gender here.)
Nixie (Feminine) (Same situation as Nix, but the German Mermaid.)
Triton (Masculine) (The Ancient Greek Merman)
Nereid (Feminine) (Short of calling them mermaids, Tritons and Mermaids in Ancient Greece were separate mythical beings. Sirens and Mermaids are also technically entirely different mythical beings too.)
Neck (Masculine) (Only male appearances. Sometimes called the water horse and a shapeshifter that is sometimes depicted with a human torso and fish tail.)
Fossgrim (Masculine) (Only male appearances. The thing that makes Fossgrim different from Neck is where he’s found. He shares many similarities with Neck.)
Merrow (Different appearances depending on gender.)
Mami Wata (Feminine) (I believe African in origin and lore spread to the Caribbean and Amazon. Only female appearances.)
I’ve also heard of Ningyo from Japan.
Honestly the list goes on and on, but the separation of gender seems to be a consistent pattern.
The consequence of gendered terminology is that an exclusively female term like “Mermaid” only covers half of plural, gender-neutral “Merfolk.” Mermen actually have their own lore that uses male terminology. It’s actually a very interesting topic, especially since merfolk lore exists globally, but simultaneously separated by a vast amount time and space.
