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Following the Great War, culture throughout the American wastelands changed, and as a result, new slang terms and dialects were created. Some organizations even began from scratch and created their very own languages.
Brain-eater, shuffler, zombie: A derogatory term for a ghoul, referring to their necrotic and often decaying physical state.
Caravan: A type of post-war transportation utilized by most traders, using a brahmin to carry wares and supplies, most often accompanied by one or more guards for protection
Centaur: FEV-induced creatures created by tossing humans, dogs, and other species into an FEV vat.
Nightkin: Humans with an alternative reaction to FEV from further experimentation.
Normals, normies, norms: Used by West Coast super mutants to refer to humans.
Old world blues: Nostalgia for pre-War times.
Outsider: A person who is alien to a location or organization.
Prime human: First coined by Lou Tenant, this terminology is based around the theory that many humans are affected by F.E.V. to a lesser extent, due to being immunized by an air-borne strain of F.E.V. created by the nuclear obliteration of the pre-War location known as the West Tek research facility.
Prospector: A person who recovers resources to be mined. It can also be considered a more polite term than scavenger.
Pure human: First coined by the Master, the Master and the Enclave's personal viewpoint and ideology on the post-War state of humanity and their genetics.
Psyker: A person gifted with paranormal or psychic powers.
Raider: A wasteland gangster that raids and pillages towns.
Scavenger, scav, scavver, salvager: A person who earns money from recovering items of value from the ruins.
Skag: A derogatory term for a drug addict.
Slaver: A person who enslaves other people and forces them to work against their will, or sells them to people for their own use.
Smoothskin, smoothies, smoothy: Used by ghouls to refer to humans.
Super mutant, meta-human: Humans infected with FEV.
Synth: Used to describe androids; synthetic humans.[1][2]
Tribal, savage: Used by those who consider themselves more civilized to refer to the often nomadic groups of people who have chosen to return to more primitive methods of surviving in the wasteland.
Vault dweller, Vaulter: Any person who comes from a Vault-TecVault.
Wanderer: A person who travels the wilderness and combs the ruins of the post-War world.
Wastelander, waster: A person from the wilderness.
Buckethead, metal man: Used by super mutants in the Capital Wasteland to refer to Brotherhood of Steel and/or Enclave soldiers.[3]
Good Fight: First coined by Three Dog, used to describe the ongoing struggle and daily life in the Capital Wasteland, and the effort to improve standards.[4][5]
The following are alternative or colloquial names of present post-War locations, and do not include post-War location names themselves.
Big Empty: Used by wastelanders to refer to the Big MT research center. The term is frowned upon by the Think Tank.
Three Deaths Rock: What Boulder is commonly referred to as if ZAX is left cannibalize itself, causing the meltdown of the nuclear reactor and the incineration of the Boulder scientists. Acid rain, toxic clouds, and radiation mean no-one dares to enter.[34]
Apprentice: Young Brothers, who after finishing basic training and their education, choose to become either a knight or a scribe. Once the decision is made, they become an apprentice and their advanced education begins.
Chain That Binds: A policy of the Brotherhood that requires all Brothers to obey a superior's orders.[74][75][76]
Codex: The holy text of the organization, acting as the very definition of their foundations.
Elder: The Elders form the Brotherhood's ruling council. Individual Elders are occasionally leaders of localized splinter chapters of the Brotherhood. Under normal circumstances, the ability to become an elder is reserved for Paladins, although there are exceptions.
Paladin: Paladins are the elite fighting force of the Brotherhood. They are highly-trained combat veterans entrusted with high-caliber technology.
Scribe: Scribes are tasked with creating and keeping records of the technology recovered and used by the Brotherhood. The attitude of many scribes in the Brotherhood can be described as techno-centric. While a great number study history and culture, the majority of scribes focus their studies on subjects related to the acquisition, repair, or creation of technology.
Scrolls: The records of the deeds and deaths of all Brothers.[82][83]
Squire: Unknown use, however it refers to young members.
Steel be with you: A phrase to wish good luck or good will.
Ad Victoriam: Brotherhood saying which means "to victory."
Aeternit imperi: eternal authority; referring to the perpetual authority of Caesar on the Legion and used as an inscription in the Legion Aureus.[84]
Amicus: friend; used to refer to a trusted but independent ally of the Legion[85]
Ave: hail / welcome
Burned Man: The name for Joshua Graham following myths of his survival. The term was coined by slaves & tribals whom believed Graham to have lived. Not willing to risk the fact that his execution could have not been completed, and thus, the will of Caesar not being done, he forbade all of the Legion from using the name of Joshua Graham any longer, instead referring to him only as, "The Burned Man."
Caesar dictator: dictator Caesar or absolute ruler Caesar; used as an inscription in the Legion Denarius.[86]
Capture: A captured wastelander that has yet to earn the right of the "title" slave.[87]
Cursor: messenger; a river boat guide in the Legion.[88]
Centurion: chief of a hundred; an officer rank in the Legion with ten Decanii in his command.
Damnatio memoriae: condemnation of memory; used to denote archenemies of the Legion, slated for elimination and erasure from history. It was a form of dishonor.[89]
Decanus: chief of ten; an officer rank in the Legion with ten Legionaries in his command.
Decimatio: decimation derived from Latin meaning "removal of a tenth", it was a form of military discipline used by officers in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. The legionaries are lined up in ranks and every tenth man steps forward and is beaten to death by his comrades, instilling a robust obedience.[90]
Dissolute: from the Latin dissolutus, an immoral, degenerate person; term used to refer to people not subject to the Legion.[91]
Divide et impera: divide and rule, an expression created by the Roman military and political leader Julius Caesar. It is a combination of political, military and economic strategy of gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.[90]
Frumentarii: plural of Latin frumentarius, a soldier responsible for the collection of wheat owed by farmers, later a military intelligence operative since Emperor Hadrian; used by the Legion as the name of their special forces operatives.
Honestas, Industria, Prudentia: Honesty, Industry, Prudence; three virtues of slaves of the Caesar's Legion.[92]
In hoc signo taurus vinces: under the sign of the bull you will win; an adaptation of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great's motto "In hoc signo vinces" incorporating the symbol of the Caesar's Legion, meaning that only those under the banner of the Caesar's Legion will win.[90]
Magnum chasma: great chasm; referring to the Grand Canyon and used as an inscription in the Legion Denarius.[86]
Praetorian: derived from Latin praetoriani, it was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors; used by the Legion as the name of Caesar's personal guards.
Pax Per Bellum: peace through war, an expression based on the Latin Si vis pacem para bellum meaning if you want peace prepare for war ; it is one of the motto of the Caesar's Legion and used as an inscription in the Legion Aureus.[84]
Pax Romana: Roman peace, it was a long period of relative peace and minimal expansion by military force experienced by the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD; Pax Romana in the Legion meaning a long-term stability at all costs.[90]
Profligate: from the Latin profligatus, a wasteful, shamelessly immoral person; term used to refer to enemies of the Legion, most notably the NCR.[91]Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
Rubicon: shortening of "crossing the Rubicon" expression based on the Latin Alea iacta est meaning the die is cast; Rubicon in the Legion meaning that events have passed a point of no return and that something inevitable will happen, especially used by Caesar to talk about the war against the NCR.[90]
Salve: hail meaning "take care of yourself, be in health"; used during a battle to greet a comrade.
Vale: farewell.
Vexillarius: flag bearer, legionary carrying the standard of the Legion into battle.
Servitor: One who has proved themselves to the Church and a rank to be aspired to.[99][100] The process of becoming a Servitor requires indoctrination of acolytes in preparation for baptism in FEV.[101]
Unity Rose: A flower representing the Holy Flame.[102]
Vineyard of Life: Unknown, possibly the wasteland.[97]
Enlightenment: Acceptance of Atom, and death of radiation.[105][104]
Great/Grand Division, Division: A prophetical event in the Church's ideology, where every atom in the universe will split, and divide into multiple universes. The Church believes every single atom holds an entire universe inside of it.[104][105][106]
Ritual: A mathematics based relaxed meditative ritual requiring the participation all Ciphers in Mesa Verde to allow the Nemonik to decipher technological schematics.[119][118]
End of information based on Van Buren design documents
Ohms Law, Ohms Holy Law: The necessity to protect that which can provide resistance[139]
Panasonica: Overseer of the eternal Assembly Lines (of Panasonica), a place where Reavers can claim their rewards for being faithful to the movement.[139]
Saint Di Ode: A holy spirit of protection[141] and strength[140]
Satansoft: Also known as the "Dark One,"[139] is the "Lord of the Tech-Underworld," a god who rules over evil technology.[138][143] Some of the lower ranks refer to the Calculator as Satansoft.[141]
End of information based on information from Fallout Tactics
↑ 132.0132.1132.2132.3132.4132.5OasisTreeFatherBirch.txt: Branchtender and Bloomseer - MS10TLTreeminder04 (218) Leaf Mother and Tree Father - MS10TLTreeminder04 (219) Sapling - MS10TLTreeminder04 (217) Him and One Who Gives/Grows/Guides - MS10BirchCT04 (31) Great One - MS10BirchCT07SC (47)
Three Deaths Rock: What Boulder is commonly referred to as if ZAX is left cannibalize itself, causing the meltdown of the nuclear reactor and the incineration of the Boulder scientists. Acid rain, toxic clouds, and radiation mean no-one dares to enter.[34]
