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In the Cetagandan Empire of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga, there are at least three named classes:

  • The haut (the sequestered ruling class)
  • The ba (their servants)
  • The ghem (military leaders and administrators)

"Haut" and "ba" are obviously derived from the French words for "high" and "low."

Is there a similar derivation for "ghem," or is it a nonsense syllable?

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  • Word of God answer is that it's meaningless. Case closed, Micah :-)
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 20:39

3 Answers 3

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The Word of God answer from Bujold's on her own forum is that it's a made-up word with no deep etymological meaning.

Bujold Quiote

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  • This appears to be behind some kind of gateway and doesn't directly relate to the names chosen. Clearly Haut and Ba have an easy-to-decipher meaning
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 19:17
  • Ah. It goes to the Baen's Bar forums. The quote above was from Lois McMaster Bujold, as can be seen by anyone with a (free) login. Other than that, I'm not certain what more to add...
    – FuzzyBoots
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 19:19
  • I'm just thinking that her quote ignores the fact that quite a few names in her books clearly do have meanings...
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 19:26
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    {nods} She did not comment on us getting the others "right". I didn't ask further because she seemed kind of annoyed at the question.
    – FuzzyBoots
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 19:27
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Wiktionary offers two translations from the Romanian. The first meaning, "ball of thread or yarn", does not seem especially pertinent, although a saga is a kind of yarn. The second meaning, "third compartment of a ruminant's stomach", could make some kind of metaphorical sense.

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    Also means 'a midnight snack' in Klingon.
    – Stan
    Commented Mar 5, 2014 at 21:52
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I had always read that as alluding to gems. Since the ghem, like the haut, tend to be beautiful, long lived and just all around improved humans (at least according to the ghem), I simply read ghem lords as evocative of diamonds and pretty shiny things. Something further supported by their fondness for face painting.

I can find no canon reference to back this up. I did, however, find this:

Proto-IE: *ghem-
Meaning: earth
Hittite: gim(ma)ra- c. 'Feld, Flur' Tischler 573 f
Old Indian: gen. gmá-ḥ (as if from kṣā́ḥ, see *dg'hem-)
Old Greek: khamái̯ `zur Erde hin, auf der Erde'
Russ. meaning: земля
References: WP I 662 f, Buck 16
Comments: Hard to distinguish from the reflexes of the widely spread *dg'hem- #395. All Italic forms (Lat humus, etc.) may in fact belong here.

So, ghem is actually a proto-indo-european root meaning earth. I have no idea if Ms Bujold's erudition extends to PIE roots (though I would not put it past her) but if so, this lends some support to my theory linking ghem to gem.

Still, in the absence of any canon support this does seem a bit of a stretch, but you never know. I can confirm (since I happen to speak it) that the Greek that is sprinkled around the Vorkosigan books is actual Greek and so, presumably, is the Russian. You've already pointed out the French connection so it does not seem to far-fetched to assume that Bujold is a language geek and might even be aware of the meaning I list above.

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  • Dare I suggest that your first suspicion was influence by the traditional fannish insertion of the letter “h,”e.g., “bheer” in cherryh.com/www/fiawol.htm?
    – Flash Sheridan
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 19:34
  • @FlashSheridan nope, I'm afraid I have never heard of that convention. In fact, I don't think I've ever read any fan fiction at all.
    – terdon
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 21:26

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