What is the etymology of the word “Necronomicon”?
Lovecraft himself provides us a translation in a letter to Harry O. Fischer dated late February, 1937: “The name Necronomicon (necros, corpse; nomos, law; eikon, image = An Image [or Picture] of the Law of the Dead) occurred to me in the course of a dream, although the etymology is perfectly sound.” Some will argue that this etymology is not perfectly sound, but since Lovecraft invented the book, I feel his etymology is the correct one. However, for those interested in a more correct translation, the following was provided by S.A.T. Haldane (sah@dl.ac.uk): Nekros/nekr-o- (noun) ‘dead (person)’ nomos/nom-o- (noun) ‘law’, ‘custom’ -ikos/-ike/-ikon (adjectival suffix) ‘to do with’, ‘concerning’, hence nekr-o- + nom-o- + -ikos > nekronomikos (adjective) concerning the customs of the dead’. Functioning as a noun in the neutral gender, to Nekronomikon ‘(The Thing) Concerning the Customs of the Dead’. • Q: How about the Unaussprechlichen Kulten? A: First of all, the German title of this book
