I need a word


zil
 Share

Recommended Posts

So, you know how a heat sink draws heat from something and then dissipates it?  Well, I need a word sort of like that use of "sink", except there won't be any dissipating - it'll draw something in and hold it (or store it).  The obvious options aren't working for me:

  • Vacuum isn't right
  • Sponge is all wrong
  • Sucker is so very, very wrong
  • Well is pretty good (kinda like sink), but I'm hoping for something better, and this doesn't really include the concept of drawing something into it, just of holding something
  • Attractor and Collector are sorta close (though attractor doesn't really include the storage piece)
  • Retainer doesn't include the drawing part, and sounds too dental

So, any other thoughts?  If it helps, this will be (part of) the name of a malicious object - think of it as something that sucks your soul (energy, power, life, something like that) in and locks it away - poor you.  Also, if it helps more, I'm thinking of a cylindrical object, roughly 8 or 10 inches in diameter, 18-30 inches long, probably made of metal, or perhaps some crystalline doohickey encased in a metal mesh or frame (yes, that's sounding good, let's go with that).  There will actually be several of them, arranged in a circle around a rather large geographic area (one alone doesn't really work well, but a circle of them is quite devastating (if you're inside the circle).

Thanks for any and all ideas (even if I don't use them).  I'm going to go and let my subconscious work on this problem now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, person0 said:

reaper's cache

I like it. :)  Won't do as is, but might spark similar ideas.  This one goes off to the subconscious for work.

9 hours ago, Sunday21 said:

A catalyst is meant to Cause a chemical reaction and dispate some sort of emotion.

I was trying to think of a term for a chemical agent or reaction that binds something and thereby makes it inert or inactive - today I can ask a chemist that question. :)

6 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

Reservoir?

This is good for the well side of things - because the device does store, not destroy, what it soaks up, and can release it again.  Partial words might work.  Off to the subconscious with it. :whip:

6 hours ago, Fether said:

Drain

I like this one - evokes ideas of a person's energy being drained, which is totally accurate.  Using it together with another word like "power drain" (sounds like something you keep in the garage next to the table saw) or "magic drain" doesn't really work, though.  Off it goes to the subconscious! :D

4 hours ago, classylady said:

Reminds me of “I am Legion.”

Kraken

Leviathan 

Hmm.  A sentience in the doohickey.  That's intriguing.  A sentience in the form of a crystalline entity - anyone else remember that episode of ST:TNG?  This would require each crystal to be an individual, and they would have to work together, at the behest or control of another.  No, not seeing that.  Better is a sentience bound to the crystal or linked to it and consciously using it to draw magic from within the circle.  That would put a whole new twist on things.  The effect would ebb and flow as the being in control needed to rest or lost focus.  (This would be good.)  Proximity requirements could send the story conclusion in two different directions...  How hard is it to find the one in control of the crystals?  Do we need to, or can we just destroy the crystals?  Hmm.  How hard is it to make and control these things?  If we don't find him, he might start up again.  Hmm.  I think someone has to die.  I must ponder for a while before sending this off to the subconscious.

Thanks for the help, everyone, please keep them coming!  I may have to print these off and file them away so I don't forget to put any of you in the acknowledgements (assuming this results in something worthwhile.)

Edited by zil
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sanguine Relics. Sanguine Gem.  Sanguinaire Vampirism is the disease that affects humans in some writings.

Leech rods. Parasitanium rods (Parasite), Snatch rods

Soulsappers, soul cylinder ,  soul extractor,

Hex Gem, Hex Rod.

Trinket of darkness,

Venom rod

I'll keep thinking

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Overwatch said:

Trinket of darkness

:crackup:

32 minutes ago, FunkyTown said:

You mean like a battery?

Your cell phone battery does exactly this when you recharge it.

If it's to do with heat, just call it an "Endothermic battery".

Sort of, but battery is too technologically advanced a word for this story, and has (I suspect) the wrong connotations in people's consciousness. :)

17 minutes ago, SpiritDragon said:

leechery

:lol:  Hmm.  So now I have to decide if this is like a banned (forgotten, lost, something) practice (and thus has a name), or if it's something newly discovered (and thus doesn't yet have a name).  I think I'm leaning toward new (at least for this society - I was kinda thinking they learned it from the (perceived) barbarians who live up on the plateau).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, mordorbund said:

Also, you can use the backronym MAW. (Mass Attracting Well or whatever)

Ah, this idea could work.  Into the subconscious it goes! :)

15 minutes ago, Anddenex said:

vortex

Oooh, this is interesting.  Would I have to give @Vort part of my royalties? ;)

5 minutes ago, Fether said:

Devourer

Hmm.  That's interesting in light of the recent plan to have sentience involved somehow.

6 minutes ago, Fether said:

Draineraxiumanatoratoramoror

...

Tyler

:crackup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share