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Translation of 'mayhem'

kelle poolt Sphynx, 3. november 2015

Postitused: 11

Keel: English

Sphynx (Näita profiili) 3. november 2015 18:31.56

OK, one of those words that has a lot of comparisons in a thesaurus but has subtle insinuations of its own. Unless I'm missing something obvious however, I can't find an exact match.

Closest i've come across in regards to actual meaning is 'mal-ord-eg-o', promoting malordo to something a little more serious.

Would you agree? Any better offers?

Ideally it needs to be an 'm' word as it's a direct translation of a logo/slogan that depends on the same initial letter (though obviously in this case, anything beginning mal- is going to qualify regardless), which is why I ruled our kaoso.

Christa627 (Näita profiili) 3. november 2015 20:01.09

"Tohuvabohuo" has essentially the same meaning, but doesn't start with m.

Sphynx (Näita profiili) 3. november 2015 20:07.06

Thanks. I suspect that even with the different initial we would need to rule that one out due to complexity and length in the context required. There is a good chance it would be on business cards and such like.

bayu (Näita profiili) 3. november 2015 20:16.38

Christa627:"Tohuvabohuo" has essentially the same meaning, but doesn't start with m.
I had the same idea. Its litteral translation "senforma kaj malplena" has at least an m in the middle.

Sphynx (Näita profiili) 3. november 2015 21:09.51

Wouldn't mutili -> mutilo not translate as 'a mutilation' rather than mayhem?

erinja (Näita profiili) 3. november 2015 21:44.13

The colloquial meaning for mayhem doesn't mean mutilation, though.

I think that if you wanted a single starting letter, you might fit a t into the middle of an m, perhaps in a different color, to get tohuvabohuo into mayhem.

However, I'm a firm believer that translations of names don't need to be a direct, exact translation. I think "Malordo" would be a fine name, if you're looking for something of similar length, starting with an m.

Sphynx (Näita profiili) 3. november 2015 22:19.41

Yes, I tend to agree. Here in the UK, mayhem would relate more to an unctrolled disturbance or riot and not an attack in the way being defined there. Using Multilo would be way too strong for the audience involved.

I suspect that we'll stick with malordo, at most malordego. It's the right length and strength I think.

Many thanks to all contributors.

Vestitor (Näita profiili) 4. november 2015 0:28.21

As recent as the 1960s (in Britain at least) mayhem was still used in the way Roch indicates, but mixed with the idea of chaotic uproar. I just finished reading the Kenneth Williams letters and he uses it like that, often using the phrase 'murder and mayhem' as a unit...it also occurs in his last diary entry. I also encountered it in Graham Greene's autobiography.

sudanglo (Näita profiili) 4. november 2015 12:56.39

According to my Shorter OED 'maim' comes from old French and English words of similar form to mayhem.

My Collins Dictionary gives a legal meaning as well as any violent disorder or destruction.

Benson gives vundado, perfortado, tumultado - of those tumultado seems closest to the non legal meaning.

Mayhem - violenta ĥaoso

What is the logo/slogan you are trying to translate?

Sphynx (Näita profiili) 4. november 2015 13:06.47

TBH, I can't say right now as it's not been signed off. The word is used in isolation however, so a phrase context is not overly important but the 'violent disorder or destruction' definition is how I think that most people would interpret it in common usage.

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