# Where did the name "Ewoks" come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828 "2015-11-17T22:04:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/21 "2015-11-18T18:32:05Z")
Or more likely, they don’t have a word for carbonite, so Threepio just used the real word. That happens all the time in translating. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/22 "2015-11-18T19:36:42Z")
That was what I supposed at first. But when I reflected on the emotional reactions they gave, I could only conclude that they were intimately familiar but the word, the substance, and the implications of being encased in it. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/23 "2015-11-18T19:51:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Actually, I think the OP has a point – how does everyone _know_ that the furballs are called “Ewoks”? What do you call the fighter ships used by the Empire and Rebels in the first movie? TIE Fighters and X-Wing fighters, right? Those terms were never once used in “Star Wars.” The Millennium Falcon is named, as is the Death Star, but X-Wing and TIE Fighter, nope. And yet everyone knew those terms right away. (The term “Star Destroyer” is also never used - they’re referred to as “cruisers” - but I am not sure how well known that term was right away.) How? Toys, toys, toys. Star Wars is a merchandising powerhouse. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/24 "2015-11-18T21:18:22Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > Wookiees with the syllables switched, is what I always figured. Kind of like how Riker was the name Kirk sort of inside out. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/25 "2015-11-18T21:22:10Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What do you call the fighter ships used by the Empire and Rebels in the first movie? TIE Fighters and X-Wing fighters, right? > > Those terms were never once used in “Star Wars.” The Millennium Falcon is named, as is the Death Star, but X-Wing and TIE Fighter, nope. And yet everyone knew those terms right away. (The term “Star Destroyer” is also never used - they’re referred to as “cruisers” - but I am not sure how well known that term was right away.) > > How? Toys, toys, toys. Star Wars is a merchandising powerhouse. Han says “Star Destroyers. Two of 'm coming right at us.” But your bigger point is right. A lot of the names came form the marketing and toys. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/26 "2015-11-19T02:09:08Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Han says “Star Destroyers. Two of 'm coming right at us.” But your bigger point is right. A lot of the names came form the marketing and toys. I wonder what the big Corellian ships were? Star Destroyers? "Not the local bulk cruisers mind you, I’m talking about the big Corellian ships now. She’s fast enough for you old man. " ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/27 "2015-11-19T21:38:40Z")
The ship Princess Leia was on at the beginning of Ep 4 was a Corrilean ship > **[Corellian Corvette - Bing](https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Corellian%2BCorvette&view=detailv2&&id=03D90CE98B4F4A88E5FAC4133422447D26EEDF69&selectedIndex=2&ccid=UdO4LFJJ&simid=607991851775100709&thid=OIP.M51d3b82c5249572fd94de38717ffc3e6o0&ajaxhist=0)** > > Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/28 "2015-11-20T02:49:17Z")
Chinese cooking implements with WiFi. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/29 "2015-11-20T16:27:17Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > Wookiees with the syllables switched, is what I always figured. Not seen the movies but know the term. I just googled and they look like wee Wookies. Is that not what they’re supposed to be? Or some kind of relation to Wookies? ---
**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:** [November 20, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/30 "2015-11-20T21:42:30Z")
There’s no relationship stated in canon, but there probably is a common root in the writing process. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/31 "2015-11-21T00:56:18Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Is that not what they’re supposed to be? Or some kind of relation to Wookies? George Lucas wanted a primitive culture to fight off the industrially complex Empire, and the original plan was to use Wookiees. But as Chewbacca had proven himself to be a sophisticated and savvy character, that didn’t hold as much weight, so he cut them in half, swapped the syllables, and created Ewoks. They are native to the moon that orbits the planet Endor (or maybe the moon is called Endor - I should look that up) whereas Wookiees are native to another planet entirely, called Kashyyyk\*, with three Ys, which we see a glimpse of in the third prequel movie, _Revenge of the Sith_. \*_also seen in a bunch of comic books and the Holiday Special, which were all surprisingly consistent representations, though they now don’t count as canon_ ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/32 "2015-11-24T01:18:35Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > The ship Princess Leia was on at the beginning of Ep 4 was a Corrilean ship > > [Corellian Corvette - Search](https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Corellian+Corvette&view=detailv2&&id=03D90CE98B4F4A88E5FAC4133422447D26EEDF69&selectedIndex=2&ccid=UdO4LFJJ&simid=607991851775100709&thid=OIP.M51d3b82c5249572fd94de38717ffc3e6o0&ajaxhist=0) Where did the name “Tantive IV” come from? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/33 "2015-11-24T02:14:45Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Another notable example is Luke Skywalker’s home planet, Tatooine, a word which is not spoken in the first movie. Nevertheless, every kid I ever met knew the name of the planet–from the toy line, from the comic books, from the novelization, from publicity materials, from magazine articles. Each movie, and particularly the later ones after Star Wars had become an established franchise, was accompanied by a massive publicity campaign that would give you all sorts of background info that you would never know if you just watched the films and did nothing else. Another thing that wasn’t clear in the movie is what sort of farm Luke’s uncle was operating, but I learned from the novelization that it was a moisture farm; they were collecting water. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828/34 "2015-11-24T03:29:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Another thing that wasn’t clear in the movie is what sort of farm Luke’s uncle was operating, but I learned from the novelization that it was a moisture farm; they were collecting water. Uncle Owen does mention he needs a droid who understands the binary language of moisture vaporators, which are those antenna-looking things distributed across the desert plains. You can extrapolate from that what they farm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-name-ewoks-come-from/737828.md?page=1)