No, said Aziraphale, it's ineffable.

Anonymous asked:

Could you help me understand the etymology of Cain? I have come across different meanings such as zealous, spear, creator, or craftsman. Also I found out that the deity El had an epithet of Qaniyunu Olam so I am kind of all over the place for understanding just this one word.

The thing about name etymologies is that sometimes they’re clear (e.g. “Deborah” means “honey-bee”), and sometimes they’re just not. Cain is, unfortunately, in the latter group. Here are some possibilities, arranged from most likely to least likely:

1) It could be connected to an Arabic root (QYN) that means “smith.” This would make sense with Tubal-Cain being a smith (Gen 4:22).

2) It could connect to the Hebrew qînâ, a type of song, and thus relate to singing or music.

3) It could connect to the root QNH, which means either “to buy, acquire” or “to create.” This root appears in the name’s biblical etymology, when Eve says, “qānîti ish” — “I have acquired/created a man.” (Gen 4:1) It also appears in El’s epithet that you mention, which means “eternal creator.” For linguistic reasons, though, this option is much less likely.

I honestly don’t know where “zealous” or “spear” come from. :-) But “smith” is probably the safest answer.

My first experience to DnD

My friend, a Human with an armor value of 21: *Starts rolling down a mountain*

My Dad, a halfling(if I remember correctly): *Tries to help my friend but fails*

Me, a Teifling: *Tries helping both of them, but fails*

My brother, the DM: You all three roll down the hill and you take *rolls* 0 points of damage. *While trying to keep a serious face while I’m cracking up* The whole way down, you all somehow land on soft, mossy spots.