# About Alien's xenomorphs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901 "2019-04-02T01:47:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/1 "2019-04-02T01:47:24Z")
Xenomorph is just another word for “alien.” Has anyone connected to the Alien canon come up with the official name for the species? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/2 "2019-04-02T02:06:20Z")
Referred to as ‘Internecivus raptus’ in some sources but in general it’s just ‘xenomorph’. ‘Other Form’ does sum it up pretty well. > **[Xenomorph | Name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(creature_in_Alien_franchise)#Name)** > > This creature has no specific name; it was called an alien and an organism in the first film. It has also been referred to as a creature, a serpent, a beast, a dragon, a monster, a nasty, or simply, a thing. The term xenomorph (lit. "alien form" from the Greek xeno-, which translates as either "other" or "strange", and -morph, which denotes shape) was first used by the character Lieutenant Gorman in Aliens with reference to generic extraterrestrial life. The term was errone The species' binomial ... ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/3 "2019-04-02T02:14:12Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > ‘Other Form’ does sum it up pretty well. And what’s up with extraterrestrials calling us ‘Terrans’? Terran is just another word for Earthling! (And ‘extraterrestrial’ is just another word for alien!) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/4 "2019-04-02T04:46:09Z")
If only the original Alien could have appeared in a Roadrunner cartoon - its scientific name would have been informative. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/5 "2019-04-02T05:06:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And what’s up with extraterrestrials calling us ‘Terrans’? Terran is just another word for Earthling! (And ‘extraterrestrial’ is just another word for alien!) At least it tells them that we’re from a planet we call “Terra” or “Earth”. “Xenomorph” doesn’t tell us anything except that they’re not like us. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/6 "2019-04-02T06:16:42Z")
Do they use the term in the first movie? The scene with the marines would suggest that it’s not specific to any particular species. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/7 "2019-04-02T12:36:27Z")
I don’t consider “xenomorph” to be exactly the same as “alien” - namely, in my mind it excludes humanoids, because the “morph” implies shape. So since the Aliens in Alien do not have the shape of an existing Earth being they are xenomorph, but the Engineers and Predators are not since they are humanoids. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/8 "2019-04-02T12:43:40Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Do they use the term in the first movie? The scene with the marines would suggest that it’s not specific to any particular species. No. In the series, it first shows up in _Aliens_, and appears to be a general descriptive term for extraterrestrial creatures (“alien shape”), rather than a particular term for that type, as you say. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/9 "2019-04-07T12:47:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > “Blue, Navy Blue, he’s as blue as he can be; > 'Cause my steady boy said “Avatar!” and joined the Na’avi.”. Cal, I’ve hestitated to mention this, because it’s not an unimpeachable improvement, but… “Blue, Navy Blue, he’s as blue as he can be; Because _mi amour_ said “Avatar!” and joined the Na’avi.” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/10 "2019-04-07T13:03:10Z")
In T[he Master’s article](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/443/why-are-there-so-many-names-for-germany-aka-deutschland-allemagne-etc/) about names for other countries, Cecil says > [@](#): > > In ancient times…, a people’s name for itself was often the local equivalent of “us folks” or “the people,” while its name for foreigners was generally some variant on…“the gang over yonder.” (ellipses mine) which is pretty much what applies here, just on an interplanetary scale. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/11 "2019-04-07T21:49:03Z")
> [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](#): > > Xenomorph is just another word for “alien.” > > Has anyone connected to the Alien canon come up with the official name for the species? I don’t think they ever specifically refer to the “aliens” in the films as anything other than “aliens”, “creatures”, “bugs”, or “dumb animals”. Reminds me of that scene from Dragonheart: “So instead of calling me “dragon” in your tongue, you’ll call me “dragon” in some other tongue?” > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And what’s up with extraterrestrials calling us ‘Terrans’? Terran is just another word for Earthling! (And ‘extraterrestrial’ is just another word for alien!) “Terran” sounds less “Marvin the Martian”. I can see how in an interstellar civilization, we might use Sol and Luna to specifically refer to Earth’s sun and moon. But it does seem like it could get awkward as the word “earth” is used in a number of contexts that don’t specifically refer to the planet. Like “spread a bucket full of earth over the space garden” or “have Bravo company build some earthworks to defend against the Earthlings”. Sure, these terms all have various synonyms, but I think it might a pain in the ass for those of us who grew up with Earth as the only habitable planet. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/12 "2019-04-07T22:35:03Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > “Terran” sounds less “Marvin the Martian”. > > I can see how in an interstellar civilization, we might use Sol and Luna to specifically refer to Earth’s sun and moon. But it does seem like it could get awkward as the word “earth” is used in a number of contexts that don’t specifically refer to the planet. Like “spread a bucket full of earth over the space garden” or “have Bravo company build some earthworks to defend against the Earthlings”. Sure, these terms all have various synonyms, but I think it might a pain in the ass for those of us who grew up with Earth as the only habitable planet. I’m with **Johnny** : “terra”, “sol”, and “luna” are quite the same as “earth”, “sun”, and “moon”, except in Latin. So at least Marvin the Martian doesn’t pretend he is not speaking a Germanic language. Now there’s a brainy little guy. Probably get ahead on the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/13 "2019-04-08T00:41:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I can see how in an interstellar civilization, we might use Sol and Luna to specifically refer to Earth’s sun and moon. But it does seem like it could get awkward as the word “earth” is used in a number of contexts that don’t specifically refer to the planet. Like “spread a bucket full of earth over the space garden” or “have Bravo company build some earthworks to defend against the Earthlings”. Sure, these terms all have various synonyms, but I think it might a pain in the ass for those of us who grew up with Earth as the only habitable planet. But that’s precisely why we use the Latin terms like Sol, Luna, and Terra. If you’re living on a planet orbiting tau Ceti, you can still watch the sun rise in the morning and go out to break up the earth on your farm. But you’re still 12 lightyears away from Sol and Terra. And yes, those are just words for the same thing in a different language. Nobody ever said that etymology was logical. But it works. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/14 "2019-04-08T12:22:54Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Cal, I’ve hestitated to mention this, because it’s not an unimpeachable improvement, but… > > “Blue, Navy Blue, he’s as blue as he can be; > Because _mi amour_ said “Avatar!” and joined the Na’avi.” It’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/15 "2019-04-08T12:29:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And yes, those are just words for the same thing in a different language. Nobody ever said that etymology was logical. But it works. [For reference.](https://earthlymission.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Literal-Translation-Of-Country-Names_World.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-aliens-xenomorphs/831901/16 "2019-04-08T13:24:05Z")
Homer: Welcome to Earth! Kodos: “Dirt”? You call your world “Dirt”?? Homer: Yup! Good ol’ Terra Firma!