Enter Here For Fun

I’ve had a soft spot for Pokemon characters ever since I learned years ago that many of their names come from Latin (filtered through Japanese). Even the word Pokemon comes from a Latin root; it comes from the phrase “pocket monster,” and monster is from the Latin mōnstrum, mōnstrī n. portent, omen, miracle, monster, from a verb mōnstrō, mōnstrāre meaning “I point out, show, appoint.” Reading about the new game Pokemon Go in the Halifax newspaper, I learned that the game was developed by Niantic Labs, a company whose name comes from a whaling ship, the Niantic, built in Connecticut. Connecticut also has a town named Niantic that takes its name from a tribe of native people.

While this background is interesting, what caught my Latin eye was an earlier game developed by Niantic Labs called Ingress, an English word meaning “means of entering” taken directly from a Latin noun ingressus, ingressūs m. entrance, way of entering, beginning, derived from the Latin verb ingredior, ingredī, ingressus sum meaning “I step in, I go in, I enter.” I learned that Ingress the game has been downloaded more than twelve million times, but I think Pokemon Go has far surpassed this number, even here in sparsely populated Canada.

Another wonderful English word from ingredior is ingredient, a thing "going in" a recipe. Surely one ingredient for fun is a mobile video game with Latin roots.