Alternate History Names for Real World Tech

wilcoxchar

These will be in Union and Liberty.

Luzography - Photography
Luceptor - Camera

Luceptor comes from 'luc' meaning light and 'cept' meaning capture, referring to the method that cameras use. Photography was originally called luceptography, but was gradually shortened to luzography with the c changing to a z because of heavy Hispanic influence and keeping the soft c sound.
 

Alexius

jaybird said:
What...the...

I'll try and decipher that with my high school chemistry knowledge.

Seedweight - This world's equivalent of the Mole I'd say gram
Ices - Solid Crystals, "fast standing" is "solid state"
Yokeways - ? Combinations
Bindings - Bonds Compounds
Forestuffs - Cells? Could be, or chemicals
Chokestuff - Sulfur? Nitrogen? (less likely) (actually Nitrogen)
Lightrotting - Radiation (actually radioactive decay)


Hope this helps...
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You got it mostly right, these are the ones you didn't.
Berra said:
automobile have been shorten to auto in Germany and bil in Sweden. For some reason, I think mo would be a cool thing to call a car.
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In Neal Stephenson's Anathem, cars are referred to as "mobes" and trucks, for some reason, as "drummons" or "fetches" depending on size. There are other good terms in there as well, such as jeejah (cell phone), praxis (engineering or device) and syndev (computer, short for SYNtactic DEVice).
 
Osakadave

Osakadave

Z - computer
Other possibilities: ACE, Babbage, Calculator, Zuse, nac (derived from ENIAC), Turing

IZ - "Individual Zuse", or PC

Plank - programing language
Mext (memory+ index + text) - hypertext

Mesh (short for "Intermesh") - internet
other possibilities: 'ray (short for array), web, arpa (derived from ARPANET), Pacsnet (derived from "packet switching network")

Slate - "surfing" mext links, derived from Kelly Slater
Pol - "surfing" mext links, derived from Jean Polly


Storm Rifle - assault rifle
Ivy - APC, derived from AIV,　or "Armored Infantry Vehicle"
PK - tank, derived from panzerkampfwagen
Irvin - parachute

"My new IZ's wicked. I was slatering the ray, and found this really cool site all about WWII PKs and ivys."

Oh, and one more:

Virus - "intermesh" meme. "'All your base belong to we' is an annoying virus. Quit posting it!"
 
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Seraph

If the USS South Carolina came into service before the Dreadnough, would said class of ships be known as Carolinas rather then Dreadnoughs?
 

terence

Banned
Osakadave said:
Z
Mesh (short for "Intermesh") - internet


Virus - "intermesh" meme. "'All your base belong to we' is an annoying virus. Quit posting it!"
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Funny how these expressions float around "Mesh" is rapidly becoming the normal term for the municpal Wi-Fi and Wi-Max networks.
In the 1940s "Video" was a popular synonym for broadcast television and had to wait for a revival. (So why the hell to the british call a surveillance camera a CCTV camera and not a video camera and why do we call the thing a video recorder (now DVD recorder and not a television recorder?)
 
NHBL

NHBL

Super-battleships

Seraph said:
If the USS South Carolina came into service before the Dreadnough, would said class of ships be known as Carolinas rather then Dreadnoughs?
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"Dreadnought" is such a manacing sounding name that it fits. Also, Great Britain was the dominant naval power of the time, so Dreadnought fits. Satsuma? I can't see western powers calling the most powerful warships in the world after an Asian ship. Carolina's, perhaps, or Michigans, but even that, unlikely IMVHO. Super-battleships would work.

Could submarines be called "assassin ships," if the winner of a major war in the early 20th century/late 19th didn't use them, but lost ships to them?
 

Stephen

Banned
I too think that the name dreadnaught stuck because it sounded right and intimidating like a large warship should. Carolina's or Satsuma's wont stick instead you will get a generic name like "Super Heavy Battleship".
 

J.D.Ward

Donor
From Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials:

Ambarics - Electricity
Atomcrafting - Nuclear physics

From Terry Pratchett's Discworld:

Iconograph - Camera (imp-powered)
Octo-cellulose - Plastic (used for cinema film - Warning: Inflammable)
Transmuted ivory - Plastic (used for billiard balls - Warning: Explosive)
Clacks - Optical telegraph
 

charl

Oxygen was originally called eldluft by its discoverer. That translates as fire-air. It think it's a pretty nice name.
 
The Professor

The Professor

terence said:
Funny how these expressions float around "Mesh" is rapidly becoming the normal term for the municpal Wi-Fi and Wi-Max networks.
In the 1940s "Video" was a popular synonym for broadcast television and had to wait for a revival. (So why the hell to the british call a surveillance camera a CCTV camera and not a video camera and why do we call the thing a video recorder (now DVD recorder and not a television recorder?)
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Well, CCTV stands for closed circuit television and refers to the fact that it is only connected to one set of monitors and isn't public.
Video recorders came after Video Players which were developed to play Video Cartridges not to record TV.

Hope that helps :D
 

terence

Banned
The Professor said:
Well, CCTV stands for closed circuit television and refers to the fact that it is only connected to one set of monitors and isn't public.
Video recorders came after Video Players which were developed to play Video Cartridges not to record TV.

Hope that helps :D
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Dear Professor, my very first real job was as a junior product manager for Sony in the UK, in which position I helped flog the first generation of professional portable video together with the range of B&W and colour video equipment (open reel). I was later part of the team that launched U-matic professional colour equipment. I was also responsible for the launch of VHS for Matsushita in Southern Africa.
My question was rhetorical. The term CCTV is clumsy and archaic and tends to be very much a Britishism--but has stuck, (rather like one's car 'dashboard' no longer really protects one from mud splashing up at you as it did in a horse and buggy).
Regarding video recorders & players. All the early commerical offering had both a record and playback function. They became consumer products when fitted or supplied with an RF output allowing playback on a commercial TV receiver. Video Disc players and playback only tape machines were introduced later than VTR/VCR products-- and for the first prize! The date of the FIRST video recorder offered to the public as a consumer product? The 1962 Telcan B&W 405 line reel-to-reel machine.
 

DD951

Another possible name for fighter planes would be 'pursuit planes'- used by the US Air Force while it still belonged to the Army, and I suppose it could become more widespread in the right TL.
 

Prometheus_2300

Well in my Alternate History RPG we used the following

Google became DataQuest
Nuclear Power Plants became Thorium Water Heaters in slang, but were officially Thorium Electric Plants
Helicopters became Rotorcraft
the Internet became DataNexus
Tanks became "Armored Treads"
RADAR became Sky Detection or SkyScan
Nuclear Weapons became MAD weapons in slang
Telephone became Televoice
Zeppelins became "Airships"

Haven't thought about that game for a while. The POD was horrible but the names were fun to come up with
 

Lord Grattan

I came across this thread while searching the forum for potential alternate names for the internet, and came across this thread. Perhaps others might find it as useful as I did. Having such a list on our AH wiki or somehow available for all to consult would be helpful too.

BTW. I may use geomesh ("the mesh") for the internet in CoHE. Thanks Osakadave.
 
Osakadave

Osakadave

Lord Grattan said:
I came across this thread while searching the forum for potential alternate names for the internet, and came across this thread. Perhaps others might find it as useful as I did. Having such a list on our AH wiki or somehow available for all to consult would be helpful too.

BTW. I may use geomesh ("the mesh") for the internet in CoHE. Thanks Osakadave.
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:cool:

And yeah, adding to the wiki would be good.
 
Chrispi

Chrispi

Firecane (gun)
Caustus (gunpowder)
Telemosaic (TV)
Atomic (true atom or quantum, not single molecule)

That's all I can think of for now.
 
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