Gnomidae
This group includes many magions that are familiar to us from our own folklore, such as goblins, gnomes, trolls and ogres, that differ quite a bit, but have a similar base physiognomy. They are bipedal, and usually highly intelligent. We would generally consider them humanoid, but magions find this term somewhat offensive and very human-centric. Therefore, magiontology opted for ‘gnomidae’, which derives from the Latin word ‘gnomus’.
The term ‘gnomus’ is used in alchemy to mark the earth element within the four classic elements (earth, water, fire and air), and probably derives from ‘genomos’ that translates as “earth-dweller”. In the 16th century the alchemy scholar Paracelsus used the term to describe a type of small chthonic beings that represented the earth element, alongside three beings that represented water, fire and air. While this element-based categorisation does not fit with how magions view themselves, they did appreciate the attempt and many theorise that Paracelsus encountered some magions that inspired his theories. Since most of the magions in this group are land-dwellers, and many have strong connection to the earth, the term gnomidae was accepted.
It should be noted that the term ‘gnomus’ is used for magions of the gnome genus. Of the gnomidae, gnomes are the closest to the earth both in habitat and in appearance, and have adopted the term for themselves long ago. However, while the linguistic origin of ‘gnomus’ and ‘gnomidae’ is the same, it does not point to any type of hierarchal order of the genus within the gnomidae group.
The term ‘gnomus’ is used in alchemy to mark the earth element within the four classic elements (earth, water, fire and air), and probably derives from ‘genomos’ that translates as “earth-dweller”. In the 16th century the alchemy scholar Paracelsus used the term to describe a type of small chthonic beings that represented the earth element, alongside three beings that represented water, fire and air. While this element-based categorisation does not fit with how magions view themselves, they did appreciate the attempt and many theorise that Paracelsus encountered some magions that inspired his theories. Since most of the magions in this group are land-dwellers, and many have strong connection to the earth, the term gnomidae was accepted.
It should be noted that the term ‘gnomus’ is used for magions of the gnome genus. Of the gnomidae, gnomes are the closest to the earth both in habitat and in appearance, and have adopted the term for themselves long ago. However, while the linguistic origin of ‘gnomus’ and ‘gnomidae’ is the same, it does not point to any type of hierarchal order of the genus within the gnomidae group.
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