List of Dune terminology

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The following is a list of terminology used in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Terms not formally defined in separate articles are marked in bold; topics requiring more extensive explanation are linked to the appropriate Main articles. There should be no spoilers on this page.

Contents:	A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] A

Aba ~ Loose, usually black robe worn by Fremen women.
Abomination ~ Bene Gesserit term for one who acquires full consciousness in the womb as a result of being exposed to the spice agony.
Ajidamal (or Amal) ~ Disastrously-flawed synthetic melange created by the Tleilaxu Project Amal before the process of producing spice in axlotl tanks was perfected.
Axlotl tank ~ Biological tank in which gholas and melange may be produced.

[edit] B

Baliset ~ Nine-stringed musical instrument, lineal descendant of the zithra, tuned to the Chusuk scale and played by strumming. Favorite instrument of Imperial troubadours.
Bashar ~ Military rank, slightly above a traditional Colonel; often called a Colonel Bashar. The rank is created for military ruler of a planetary subdistrict; the variation Supreme Bashar is generally held by a military's most senior commander.
Bene Gesserit ~ Secretive and powerful matriarchal order whose members possess extraordinary physical and mental powers.
Bene Tleilax (or Tleilaxu) ~ Secretive and powerful patriarchal race known for their genetic manipulation technologies.
Burseg ~ Commanding general of the Sardaukar.
Butlerian Jihad ~ Crusade by mankind against Thinking Machines.

[edit] C

Caid ~ Sardaukar officer rank given to a military official whose duties call mostly for dealings with civilians; A military governorship over a full planetary district; Above the rank of Bashar but not equal to a Burseg.
Carryall ~ Aircraft used on Arrakis to transport large spice mining, hunting and refining equipment.
Chakobsa ~ Language of the Fremen of Arrakis.
Chaumas ~ Poison in solid food as distinguished from poison administered in some other way.
Chaumurky ~ Poison administered in a drink.
CHOAM ~ A corporation which essentially controls the economy of the known universe, with shares and directorships determining each House's income and financial leverage.
Cogitor ~ One of several ancient philosophers whose brains were transplanted into fluid-filled canisters so that they could analyze the universe indefinitely.
Coriolis storm ~ Sandstorms on Arrakis in which winds across the open flatlands are amplified by the planet's own revolutionary motion to reach speeds up to 700 kilometres per hour.
Crysknife ~ Weapon made from the tooth of a sandworm from Arrakis.
Cutterray ~ Short-range version of a lasgun, primarily used as a cutting tool.
Cymek ~ Type of cyborg, or machine-human hybrid.

[edit] D

Deathstill ~ Fremen device used to extract all moisture from a living or dead human or creature.
Distrans ~ Steganographic device producing a temporary neural imprint on the nervous system of Chiroptera (bats) or birds. The creature's normal cry then carries the message imprint which can be sorted from that carrier wave by another distrans.

[edit] E

Elacca drug ~ Narcotic formed by burning the blood-grained elacca wood of Ecaz; users' skin shows a characteristic carrot color. The drug's effect is to remove most of the will to self-preservation; commonly used to prepare slave gladiators for the ring.

[edit] F

Face Dancers ~ Creatures able to mimic other humans exactly and go undetected by all known means.
Famine Times ~ Years after the reign of Leto II, marked by chaos and famine on many worlds, that let to The Scattering.
Fedaykin ~ Fremen "death commandos", personally trained by Paul Atreides; historically: a group formed and pledged to give their lives to right a wrong.
Fish Speakers ~ All-female military force created by Leto Atreides II to enforce his rule over the known universe.
Fogwood ~ Wood native to Ecaz, capable of being shaped in situ by thought alone.
Fremen ~ 'Native' inhabitants of Arrakis.
Fremkit ~ Desert survival kit of Fremen manufacture.
Futar ~ Primitive and fierce humanoid creatures, a genetic mix of man and cat.

[edit] G

Galach ~ Official language of the Imperium.
Ghola ~ Clone grown in an axlotl tank from genetic material retrieved from the cells of a deceased subject.
Glowglobe ~ Suspensor-buoyed illuminating device, self-powered by harnessing the extra energy channeled by the Holtzman effect.
Golden Path ~ Paul Atreides and Leto II's strategy to prevent humanity's destruction.
Gom Jabbar ~ Specific poison needle tipped with meta-cyanide used by Bene Gesserits in their 'death-alternative test of human awareness.' It is called 'the high-handed enemy.'
Great Convention ~ Universal truce enforced under the power balance maintained by the Spacing Guild, the Great Houses, and the Imperium. Its chief rule prohibits the use of atomic weapons against human targets.
Guild Navigator ~ Melange-mutated humans safely able to navigate interstellar space in Heighliners through prescience.

Image:Heighliner.jpg

[edit] H

Handlers ~ Humanoid race who bred and trained Futars to hunt Honored Matres.
Harvester (also Harvester Factory or Crawler) ~ Large (often 120 metres by 40 metres) spice mining machine with a buglike body on independent tracks.
Heighliner ~ Enormous carrier spaceships used by the Spacing Guild for interstellar travel.
Holtzman effect ~ Scientific phenomenon that makes (among other things) instantaneous space travel and defensive force shields possible.
Honored Matres ~ Violent matriarchal order formed in The Scattering.
Hunter-seeker ~ Ravening sliver of suspensor-buoyed metal guided as a weapon by a nearby control console, commonly used for assassination. Floating in mid-air, it kills by entering the body and following nerve pathways to vital organs.

[edit] I

Inkvine ~ Creeping plant native to Giedi Prime and frequently used as a whip in its slave pens. Victims are marked by beet-colored tattoos that cause residual pain for many years.
Ixian Probe ~ Device used to capture the thoughts of a person (living or dead) for analysis; can be blocked by the substance shere.

[edit] J

Jihad, Butlerian ~ Crusade by mankind against Thinking Machines.

[edit] K

Kanly ~ Formal feud or vendetta under the rules of the Great Convention carried on according to the strictest limitations.
Kralizec ~ Long-foretold final battle or 'typhoon struggle at the end of the universe.'
Kwisatz Haderach ~ Bene Gesserit label applied to the unknown for which they sought a genetic solution: a male Bene Gesserit whose organic mental powers would bridge space and time.

[edit] L

Landsraad ~ The Assembly of all nobles in the Imperium.
Lasgun ~ Energy weapon, technically a continuous-wave laser projector; Variably Lasegun.
Lost Tleilaxu ~ Offshoot race of the Bene Tleilax, formed in The Scattering.

[edit] M

Maula pistol ~ Spring-loaded gun for firing poison darts, with a range of about 40 metres.
Melange ~ Drug essential to space travel and extended life, and therefore to the survival of the universe.
Mentat ~ Individuals trained as human computers, their minds developed to staggering heights of cognitive and analytical ability.
Missionaria Protectiva ~ An arm of the Bene Gesserit charged with spreading contrived myths, prophecies and superstition on primitive worlds so that the Bene Gesserit may later exploit those regions.

[edit] N

Na-Baron ~ Noble title given to a Baron's heir-apparent.
No-chamber ~ Construct that hides anything inside from prescient and ocular vision, as well as other methods of detection.
No-ship ~ No-chamber in spaceship form, with enough limited prescience to be capable of interstallar travel without a Guild Navigator.
Nullentropy ~ Technology akin to the science fiction concept of stasis, in which the natural processes of time, such as decomposition, are ceased. In this way, matter such as human cells may be stored for millennia and remain undamaged.

[edit] O

Obliterators ~ Honored Matre weapons of mass destruction; they combust the atmosphere of a planet and subsequently its surface.
Other Memory ~ The combined ego and memories of all female ancestors that a Bene Gesserit is trained to access.
Ornithopter (or 'Thopter) ~ Aircraft capable of sustained wing-beat flight in the manner of birds.

[edit] P

Palm lock ~ Lock or seal which can be opened only by contact with the palm of the human hand to which it has been keyed.
Phibian ~ Primitive and amphibious humanoid creatures, a genetic mix of man and fish.
Plasteel ~ Extremely tough form of steel, stabilized with stravidium fibers grown into its crystal structure.
Plaz (or windowplaz) ~ Synthetic glass, used for windows (especially in aircraft and spaceships) due to its superior strength.
Poison snooper ~ Radiation analyzer within the olfactory spectrum and keyed to detect poisonous substances.
Prana-bindu ~ Training providing a Bene Gesserit with complete muscle control (Prana nervature relates to nervous system control).
Probe, Ixian ~ Device used to capture the thoughts of a person (living or dead) for analysis; can be blocked by the substance shere.
Probe, T ~ Device used to capture the thoughts of a person (living or dead) for analysis; unlike an Ixian Probe, it cannot be blocked by the substance shere.

[edit] Q

Qanat ~ Open canal for carrying irrigation water under controlled conditions through a desert.

[edit] R

Residual poison ~ Innovation whereby the body is impregnanted with a substance for which repeated antidotes must be administered; withdrawal of the antidote at any time brings death.
Reverend Mother ~ Bene Gesserit who has survived a ritual wherein she consciously transforms a toxic dose of melange to a non-poisonous substance at the molecular level, thereby raising herself to a higher level of awareness and enabling her to access Other Memory.

[edit] S

Salusan bull ~ Fierce and very aggressive creature with multiple horns, used in bullfighting on Caladan and supposedly originating from Salusa Secundus.
Sandworm ~ Giant sand-dwelling creatures native to Arrakis, essential to the production of melange. Called Shai-Hulud by the Fremen and worshipped as deities.
Sapho ~ High-energy liquid extracted from barrier roots of Ecaz, commonly used by Mentats to amplify their mental powers. Users develop deep ruby stains on mouth and lips.
Sardaukar ~ Ferocious soldier-fanatics of the Padishah Emperor, later disbanded by Leto II.
Sayyadina ~ Fremen version of a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, possessing Other Memory but none of the standard Bene Gesserit training.
Scattering, The ~ Event after the reign of Leto II in which billions of people left the settled worlds of the Old Empire, striking off into unknown space.
Semuta ~ Second narcotic derivative (by crystal extraction) from the burned residue of elacca wood from Ecaz. The effect (described as timeless, sustained ecstasy) is elicited by certain atonal vibrations referred to as semuta music.
Shai-Hulud ~ Fremen name for the sandworms of Arrakis.
Shere ~ Significant presence of this substance in the body will block the use of an Ixian Probe.
Shigawire ~ Metal extrusion of a ground vine (Narvi narviium) grown only on Salusa Secundus and III Delta Kaising, noted for extreme tensile strength and used as a recording medium (among other things).
Sietch ~ Cave warren inhabited by a Fremen tribal community.
Sietch orgy (or sietch tau orgy) ~ Fremen ritual of unrestrained sexual indulgence which takes place after a Reverend Mother shares the changed Water of Life with her community.
Slig ~ Livestock animal, hybrid of a large slug and a pig, considered a delicacy.
Snooper, Poison ~ Radiation analyzer within the olfactory spectrum and keyed to detect poisonous substances.
Solido ~ Three-dimensional image from a solido projector using 360-degree reference signals imprinted on a shigawire reel.
Soostone ~ Valuable iridescent gem produced on Buzzell by the abraded carapaces of monoped sea creatures called Cholisters, much in the manner of pearls.
Spacing Guild ~ Powerful organization with a monopoly on space travel and transport due to their Navigators.
Spice agony ~ Fremen version of the ritual used by the Bene Gesserit to create Reverend Mothers, using the Water of Life instead of melange.
Steersman ~ Title given to Guild Navigators.
Stillsuit ~ Body-enclosing garment of Fremen design which performs the functions of heat dissipation and filtering bodily wastes, as well as retaining and reclaiming moisture.
Stone burner ~ Atomic weapon, the explosion and radiation of which can be precisely adjusted depending on the desired effect. Stone burners emit "J-Rays", a form of radiation that has an affinity for destroying eyes of any surviving the initial radiation blast.
Suk School ~ Medical school whose Imperial Conditioning is the highest conditioning against taking human life; initiates are marked by a diamond tattoo on the forehead and wear a silver Suk ring in their hair.
Suspensor ~ Any of a number of 'hovering' devices which utilize the secondary (low-drain) phase of a Holtzman field generator to nullify gravity within certain limits prescribed by relative mass and energy consumption.

[edit] T

T-Probe ~ Device used to capture the thoughts of a person (living or dead) for analysis; unlike an Ixian Probe, it cannot be blocked by the substance shere.
Tachyon net (or tachyon web) ~ Technology (involving faster-than-light tachyon particles) used by Daniel and Marty in their attempt to track and capture the no-ship Ithaca.
Thinking Machines ~ Intelligent and sentient machines, created by humans, who enslaved much of humanity and eventually incited the Butlerian Jihad.
Thumper ~ Short stake with a spring-driven clapper at one end, placed in the sand to 'call' sandworms.
Titan ~ One of several ancient dictators whose brains were transplanted into fearsome, weaponized machine bodies to achieve immortality.
Truthsayer ~ Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother trained to detect insincerity or falsehood.

[edit] U

Umma ~ One of the brotherhood of prophets; a term of scorn in the Imperium, meaning any "wild" person given to fanatical prediction.

[edit] V

Verite ~ Will-destroying narcotic from Ecaz that renders a person incapable of falsehood.
Voice ~ Training that allows the Bene Gesserit to control others merely by selected tone shadings of the voice.

[edit] W

War of Assassins ~ Regulated form of conflict between noble houses.
Water of Life ~ Toxic liquid exhalation of a drowning sandworm, used by Fremen Reverend Mothers in the spice agony.
Weirding Way ~ Specialized martial art component of Bene Gesserit prana-bindu.
Windowplaz (or plaz) ~ Synthetic glass, used for windows (especially in aircraft and spaceships) due to its superior strength.