• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 18:55
CEST 00:55
KST 07:55
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview5TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection5Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview5[ASL21] Finals Preview: Two Legacies21Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO12 Preview2
Community News
[BSL22] Non-Korean Championship from 13 to 28 June0Weekly Cups (May 25-31): Clem doubles, 2v2 circuit heads toward finale0StarCraft II 5.0.16 PTR Patch Notes may 26th151Weekly Cups (May 18-24): MaxPax wins doubles0Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League6
StarCraft 2
General
Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview What kind of tool would you be interested in? TL Poll: How do you feel about the 5.0.16 PTR balance changes? Oliveira Would Have Returned If EWC Continued TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection
Tourneys
GSL Code S Season 2 (2026) Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule ! Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament RSL Revival: Season 5 - Qualifiers and Main Event
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3
External Content
Mutation # 529 Opportunities Unleashed The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 528 Infection Detected Welcome to the External Content forum
Brood War
General
FlaSh's ASL S21 Finals Review BW animated web series: seeking contributors 25 Years Since Brood War Patch 1.08 FlaShFTW vs A.Alm Grudge Match Event The Korean Terminology Thread
Tourneys
[ASL21] Grand Finals [BSL22] Grand Finals - Sunday 21:00 CEST [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2
Strategy
Any training maps people recommend? Why doesn't anyone use restoration? Muta micro map competition [G] Hydra ZvZ: An Introduction
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne ZeroSpace Megathread
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Trading/Investing Thread Dating: How's your luck? Russo-Ukrainian War Thread How cold is too cold to be outdoors?
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Facing Challenges in Mobile App Development
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
I'm an arrogant trash talke…
FlaShFTW
Gauntlet SC2: A Retrospectiv…
Ctone23
Esportsmanship: How to NOT B…
TrAiDoS
Why RTS gamers make better f…
gosubay
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 12723 users

List of Mispronounced/Misued Starcraft Terms

Blogs > Gheed
Post a Reply
1 2 Next All
Gheed
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States972 Posts
June 19 2011 03:07 GMT
#1
The following is a list of mispronounced or misused Starcraft terms. If you pride yourself a pedant, you probably already know these things. If you don't, then you probably won't care, which leads me to question why I bothered typing this.

Units and Buildings

Archon
More trivia than misuse, Archon derives from the Greek word ἄρχων, meaning ruler. Its plural can either be the Anglicized archons, or the rarely used but nevertheless awesome Hellenic arkhontes (ἄρχοντες).

Baneling
The centrifugal hooks upgrade can be pronounced as either "sen-trih-fyoo-guhl" or "sen-trih-fuh-guhl," the former being preferred in Commonwealth English, the latter in American English. Even though a related word, centrifuge, is pronounced "sen-tri-fyoozh" by both dialects, "sen-tri-fyoo-zhal" is incorrect. All these words take their name form a constructed Latin word meaning to flee the center, which is to say, rotate. Hence, the banelings spin around in circles after evolving their centrifugal hooks.

Colossus
It is traditional in English to maintain the Latinate plural in words derived from Latin, even if the word itself has origins other than Latin. Colossus, although ultimately derived from Greek kolossos (κολοσσός), entered English through Latin and is normally pluralized as colossi. Some forum users have suggested "colossodes" κολοσσοδες as a more authentic Greek plural, similar to how octopus (ὀκτώπους) can be pluralized as octopodes (ὀκτώποδες). The problem with this, however, is that ὀκτώπους is a third declension noun, whereas κολοσσός is a second declension noun. Therefore, following proper grammar, a more authentic plural of colossus would be colossoi (κολοσσοί), which would be pronounced "co-lo-see," similar to the Colosseum, a word with which it shares an etymology. Colossuses is an acceptable, if less common, English alternative with colossi being the preferred form.

Medivac
This is a bit of an error on Blizzard's part. The Rod of Asclepius is a symbol associated with the Greek god of healing, Asclepius. It is a staff encircled by a single snake, and because of its origins has come to symbolize medicine. The caduceus, on the other hand, is the staff of Hermes in Greek mythology. It features a winged rod entwined by two snakes. As Hermes was the patron, of, among other things, commerce, his staff was historically associated with commerce and exchange. However, in North America, errors made over a century ago have led to the Caduceus, not the Rod of Asclepius becoming known as the symbol for medicine, where it is often seen on ambulances, in hospitals, and on medical equipment. So, the intention of the upgrade name was to be a reference to the healing capabilities of the medivac, however, the game, being created by North Americans, ended up with a botched name due to a common misconception. The upgrade is pronounced "cuh-doo-see-us."

Nexus
Nexus is a Latin word meaning something which binds. It is a fourth declension noun, therefore its plural is nexus, not nexi. So, the phrase "both his nexus were sniped" is correct, but could lead to confusion amongst uneducated or nonnative speakers. Thus, the English plural nexuses is equally correct and generally preferred for the sake of clarity.

Overlord
Pneumatized carapace is pronounced "noo-ma-taizd." The Greek root pneuma means air, and pneumatized means to be filled with air, which evidently increases the speed of the overlord.

Queen
Larvae, the plural of larva, is pronounced "lar-vee." "Lar-vai" would be correct in classical Latin, but as it is a Neo Latin construction, "lar-vai" would generally be considered a hypercorrection.

Raven
Though rarely mispronounced, the corvid reactor upgrade often misunderstood. Corvus is the Latin word for Raven; corvids are members of the taxonomic family Corvidae, which includes birds such as crows and ravens.

Roach
The glial reconstitution upgrade can be correctly pronounced "glee-al" or "glai-al." Also known as neuroglia, glial cells are cells that take their name from the Greek word for glue, and act similarly, surrounding and assisting neurons in the nervous system. How reconstituting such cells would increase a roach's physical movement speed defies explanation.

Stalker
The simple past tense of blink is blinked. "Blunk," or worse yet, "blunked" are nonstandard.

Ultralisk
The chitinous plating upgrade is pronounced "kai-tin-us." Chitin is the sugar that makes up the shells of crustaceans, insects, and other arthropods.

Zealot
The first syllables of zealot, zealotry, and zealous, and zealousness all rhyme with the word gel. The second syllables are unstressed, rhyming with gut or pus. The word zeal rhymes with the word heel. Thusly, one could say that the "zel-uts" were attacking with great "zeel," but not that the "zee-lots" were attacking with great "zel."

Zerg
Zerg armor is correctly pronounced "cayr-uh-pays," not "cayr-uh-pus." Oddly, buildings have "building armor" instead of carapace.

Players

BRAT_OK
Pronounced "bra-tock," not "brat-oh-kay"

HasHe
Pronounced as "hash"

Idra
The first syllable rhymes with "lid," not "eye." The latter pronunciation was popularized by Artosis, who enjoys the power he gets from naming things.

KawaiiRice
Pronounced "Ka-why-ee," which means cute in Japanese.

Marine King
Prime is his team, Marine King is his ID. Keeping them together as Marine King Prime (MKP) is an awkward construction that could become confusing should he ever leave his team.

Sjow
Pronounced like "show," the j is similar in function to the j in fjord.

Socke
Socke is the German word for sock. In German, it is pronounced "zock-uh." "Sock-ee," "sock-uh," and "sock" are all incorrect, however the latter's usage could be justified as a translation.

xiaOt
Pronounced "Shee-ow Tee," with the first "ee" sound voiced only briefly. It means "Small T."


****
Emporio
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States3069 Posts
June 19 2011 03:16 GMT
#2
Honestly this is probably the most useful SC2 thread on the entire site.
How does it feel knowing you wasted another 3 seconds of your life reading this again?
Dalguno
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States2446 Posts
June 19 2011 03:18 GMT
#3
The latter pronunciation was popularized by Artosis, who enjoys the power he gets from naming things.


Made me laugh.

Very informative blog! Do you study etymology or something?
"I'm gonna keep making drones cause I'm a baller, and ballers make drones." -Snute
The_LiNk
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Canada863 Posts
June 19 2011 03:18 GMT
#4
The "x" consonant does not sound like "sh." In fact "sh" is another consonant. You can't get more specific with pingying, unless you put the tone in as a numeral after or with accents.
Comeh
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States18919 Posts
June 19 2011 03:26 GMT
#5
On June 19 2011 12:07 Gheed wrote:


Medivac
As Hermes was the patron, of, among other things, commerce, his staff was historically associated with commerce and exchange. However, in North America, errors made over a century ago have led to the Caduceus, not the Rod of Asclepius becoming known as the symbol for medicine, where it is often seen on ambulances, in hospitals, and on medical equipment.


Anyone else find this extremely fitting, considering the state of american healthcare?
:/

Great thread, pretty interesting read.
ヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノDELETE ICEFROGヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(⌐■_■)ノヽ(
sYz-Adrenaline
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States1850 Posts
June 19 2011 03:28 GMT
#6
Really enjoyed the read, I knew some of these but not all of em. Great job.
Can you feel the rush?
ClysmiC
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States2192 Posts
June 19 2011 03:29 GMT
#7
5 stars!
Kezzer
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States1268 Posts
June 19 2011 03:38 GMT
#8
Wow interesting, didn't know about the ultralisk one, I had always pronounced it "chit-in-us" instead of "kai-tin-us".
Zealotdriver
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
United States1557 Posts
June 19 2011 03:42 GMT
#9
5/5
Great post.
Turn off the radio
pathy
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Taiwan619 Posts
June 19 2011 04:06 GMT
#10

xiaOt
Pronounced "Shee-ow Tee," with the first "ee" sound voiced only briefly. It means "Small T."


"shawty"
Graphicscolosi suck
Chill
Profile Blog Joined January 2005
Calgary25998 Posts
June 19 2011 04:18 GMT
#11
Whoa, super useful.
Moderator
galtdunn
Profile Joined March 2011
United States977 Posts
June 19 2011 04:33 GMT
#12
Nice post, very interesting. The author strikes me as an extremely intelligent person. Who probably knows Latin or studies etymology as suggested.

I would love if people started calling multiple nexuses 'nexus'.
I'ma gonna snipe both your nexus.

and lol at the "blunk," Day9 loves to say that.
Currently editing items in the DotA 2 wiki. PM for questions/suggestions.
don_kyuhote
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
3007 Posts
June 19 2011 04:34 GMT
#13
On June 19 2011 12:07 Gheed wrote:


BRAT_OK
Pronounced "bra-tock," not "brat-oh-kay"



I have been enlightened today.
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Adebisi
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
Canada1637 Posts
June 19 2011 04:41 GMT
#14
While we are at it, how would you pronounce Antimage? I've always said mage with a softer g sound, but people were telling me that mages should rhyme with pages.
Bibbit
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Canada5377 Posts
June 19 2011 04:48 GMT
#15
On June 19 2011 13:06 pathy wrote:
Show nested quote +

xiaOt
Pronounced "Shee-ow Tee," with the first "ee" sound voiced only briefly. It means "Small T."


"shawty"


Holy shit you're right. And on that note "Small T" -> "T Pain" COINCIDENCE?!

Also this is a pretty suave thread. By some freak accident I've been doing most of these right! :D
jalstar
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
United States8198 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-06-19 04:51:15
June 19 2011 04:48 GMT
#16
AN-tie-mayj
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States46019 Posts
June 19 2011 04:50 GMT
#17
This blog makes me happy.

5/5 for truth and awesomeness.
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
AssuredVacancy
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States1167 Posts
June 19 2011 04:51 GMT
#18
Glial cells often take up neurotransmitters so the signal do not persist. For example drugs blocking the reuptake of dopamine, would magnify the effects of dopamine as it would persist in the post synaptic cleft.
Thus if there's a glial constitution, it might be that the glial cells which takeup the alien neurotransmitter for the motor neuron cells are changed such that muscle contractions are stronger or faster.
We spend our youth attaining wealth, and our wealth attaining youth.
sob3k
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
United States7572 Posts
June 19 2011 04:57 GMT
#19
But how do you pronounce Nyovne?
In Hungry Hungry Hippos there are no such constraints—one can constantly attempt to collect marbles with one’s hippo, limited only by one’s hippo-levering capabilities.
sc4k
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
United Kingdom5454 Posts
June 19 2011 05:07 GMT
#20
Thank you Gheed, now, one of your finest unidentified falchions please
1 2 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 1h 5m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 986
Artosis 579
Free 59
Dota 2
LuMiX1
League of Legends
Doublelift3943
JimRising 571
Reynor70
Super Smash Bros
C9.Mang01343
Mew2King120
amsayoshi39
Other Games
summit1g11545
Grubby5570
FrodaN4196
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1091
BasetradeTV249
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• musti20045 56
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• imaqtpie860
Other Games
• Shiphtur272
Upcoming Events
OSC
1h 5m
Wardi Open
12h 5m
Monday Night Weeklies
17h 5m
Replay Cast
1d 1h
Sparkling Tuna Cup
1d 11h
Replay Cast
2 days
Kung Fu Cup
2 days
Maestros of the Game
2 days
Classic vs Lambo
Clem vs Maru
Replay Cast
3 days
The PondCast
3 days
[ Show More ]
Maestros of the Game
3 days
Serral vs Rogue
herO vs SHIN
Replay Cast
4 days
Maestros of the Game
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
CranKy Ducklings
5 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

KK 2v2 League Season 1
RSL Revival: Season 5
Heroes Pulsing #1

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
Acropolis #4
CSCL: Masked Kings S4
YSL S3
SCTL 2026 Spring
WardiTV Spring 2026
Maestros of the Game 2
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Murky Cup 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026

Upcoming

BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
HSC XXIX
Heroes Pulsing #3
Heroes Pulsing #2
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.