Varate
A varate (pronounced /ˈvɑːreɪt/ or /ˈvɑːrət/) is a life form with a body which (in its usual posture) has distinct horizontal and vertical parts, with sharp transitions between them. Probably the best known example is the centaur. The definition refers only to the main trunk of the body; limbs and other appendages do not count, so, for instance, a giraffe is not a varate: it has vertical legs and a vertical neck, but the body is entirely horizontal. Still, there is some occasional fuzziness in the definition.
"Varate" is also sometimes used as an adjective, but more commonly the adjective form of the word is varatic (/vərˈætɪk/). When it's necessary to specify that a life form is not a varate, it is said to be avarate (/eɪˈvɑːreɪt/ or /eɪˈvɑːrət/) or, more commonly, avaratic (/ˌeɪvərˈætɪk/ or /ˌævərˈætɪk/); as a noun, it is said to be an avarate or a haplosome—although the latter term is more restrictive, excluding not only varates but also pleotes and anything else that could be said to in some sense have more than one body.
Etymology
The word "varate" apparently comes either from varatus, the past participle of the Late Latin verb vāro, meaning "to bend", or possibly, almost equivalently, from the cognate Latin adjective vārus, meaning "bent", plus the suffix -ate. (It is, of course, possible that both these etymologies played a rôle, or that the word was derived from both those sources—and others—on different worlds convergently.)
While the suffix -ate usually is applied to Latin roots, its presence or apparent presence in the word "varate" as well as in the name of the most common variety of varate, the ambate, has led to its being applied generally to denote different types of varate, even when the root it is attached to is not Latin, or even Indo-European. The resultant words are perhaps etymonic chimæræ, but they have nevertheless been widely adopted by etorists.
Anatomy
The horizontal part or parts of a varate are called pronosomes (/ˈproʊnəsoʊm/ or /ˈproʊnəzoʊm/); the vertical part or parts are called orthosomes (/ˈɔrθəsoʊm/ or /ˈɔrθəzoʊm/). Orthosomes and pronosomes are collectively called somes (/soʊm/). A goniate with a single orthosome and a single pronosome is called a monarm (/ˈmɒnærm/), while a goniate with multiple orthosomes and/or pronosomes is a polyarm (/ˈpɒliˌærm/). If a polyarm has multiple orthosomes or pronosomes of which one is notably larger or otherwise more prominent than the others, the most prominent is called the primary orthosome or primary pronosome, while the others are secondary orthosomes or secondary pronosomes. In rare cases, a polyarm may have somes of various levels of prominence, and the system may be extended to refer to tertiary somes, and perhaps even to quaternary and beyond. When the somes of a polyarm are equal in prominence, they may be referred to as copronosomes (/koʊˈproʊnəˌsoʊm/ or /koʊˈproʊnəˌzoʊm/) and coörthosomes (/koʊˈɔrθəˌsoʊm/ or /koʊˈɔrθəˌzoʊm/), or collectively as cosomes (/ˈkoʊsoʊm/ or /ˈkoʊzoʊm/).
The joint where an orthosome and a pronosome meet is called the campter (/ˈkæmptɚ/, plural campteres, /ˈkæmptəriːz/, though the assimilated campters is also in use).
The distribution of organs and systems among the somes of a varate is highly variable. Even for a relatively simple monarm, the digestive system, for example, may be localized within the pronosome or within the orthosome, or extend between both—or may even be reduplicated, with a separate, functional digestive system in each some, including a duplicate copy of each major organ. The same is true of many other systems of the body: circulatory, respiratory, and so on; even the brain may be in either some, or there may be a separate brain in each some. Of course, when a varate does have a system confined to one some, it must generally be larger and more robust in order to adequately meet the needs of all somes; if, for example, a varate has only a single heart, that heart must be large enough to pump blood into both or all of its somes.
Origins
When varates evolve naturally, it is usually through one of two methods. Often they arise from long-bodied creatures that develop a sharp bend in their bodies, part of their original body becoming the pronosome and part the orthosome. (In the case of a polyarm, of course, the body may develop bends in more than one place, but polyarms rarely arise from natural evolution.) At other times, the being may have a horizontal body that develops vertical appendages, or vice versa, those appendages eventually becoming large enough to be secondary bodies, or somes, of their own. It is, of course, possible for both these processes to occur in conjunction to form complex polyarms, but each process is uncommon on its own, and it is very rare that the two will occur together.
Varates may also be produced by magical or technological means. This may be a simple matter of transfigurement of some preexisting life form, or creation ex nihilo of a designed creature. It may also arise, however, by more roundabout mechanisms. For example, varates have been known to arise through desis, one (or more) of the parent creatures becoming the orthosome(s) and one (or more) the pronosome(s).
Classification
Varates come in a huge variety of different forms, and etorists often find it useful to subcategorize them according to various criteria. Varates are classified according to cladistics and etorical taxonomy like any other life forms, but they may also be categorized along various schematonymic lines, according to various morphological characteristics.
By shape
The basic definition of a varate requires only that the life form in question have one or more vertical parts (pronosomes) attached to one or more horizontal parts (orthosomes), with pronounced discontinuities between them. Within this definition, many different forms are possible, depending on the numbers of vertical and horizontal parts and their arrangement.
Most varates are monarmic, and the most common type of all has the orthosome extending upward from the front of the pronosome. This kind of varate is called an ambate. Similarly, a varate with the orthosome extending upward from the back of the pronosome is called a urodeme, and one with the orthosome extending upward from the middle of the pronosome is a crategate. Some etorists extend the word ambate to encompass all of these types, and refer to those with the orthosome in the front by other terms, such as euambate, dirix, dalate, or iambate, roughly in descending order of frequency. More commonly, varates with the pronosome on the bottom are collectively called hedræa.
It's also possible for a varate to have the pronosome on top, and the orthosome descending from it. Such varates, called æoreti, are rarely ambulatory, since they would be extremely topheavy; more often, they are found underwater or in the air. Still, earthgoing æoreti do exist, preserving their balance through counterweights or lighter-than-air gases, or by magical means. An æoretus with the orthosome in front is a daletate, one with the orthosome in back a gammate, and one with the orthosome in the middle a tauate. Finally, there are some varates that have the pronosome extending from the middle of the orthosome; these varates are collectively called ixydemes, and more specifically called hetates if the pronosome is in front, or psiliates if the pronosome is in back. Rare targanates are varates in which the orthosome and pronosome cross in the center.
Of polyarms, the most common are the antisome, a hedraeon with an ascending orthosome on each end of the pronosome; the caphate, with pronosomes extending forward from the top and bottom of the orthosome; the ekanate, with an orthosome attached to the middles of pronosomes at the top and bottom; and the piate, an æoretus with orthosomes extending downward from each end of the pronosome. More exotic forms have been recorded, such as the yokanate, with three pronosomes extending from the top, bottom, and middle of a single orthosome, but are extremely rare.
By limb count
Varates are also sometimes classified by their number of limbs. The limb count of any sort of monarmic varate can be specified by two numbers separated by a dash, the first number representing the number of limbs on the pronosome and the second on the orthosome: a 2-2 varate would have two limbs on each some; a 4-2 varate would have four limbs on the pronosome and two on the orthosome; a 0-6 varate would have no limbs on the pronosome but six on the orthosome. There are also special words for the most common numbers of limbs, including zero. A 2-2 varate, for instance, is a miningate, a 4-2 varate a limminate, a 0-6 varate an asnurate. There are also terms referencing large but unspecified numbers of limbs; a varate with four limbs on the orthosome and a large number of limbs on the pronosome would be a sarlimate.
The following table summarizes most such words accepted by the etorical community, although it should be pointed out that most of these words are not in common use even by etorists, and that many of them correspond to hypothetical combinations no actual examples of which may be attested. In fact, there are many etorists who see this proliferation of words to define varates by their limb count as unnecessary and ridiculous.
(There is some inconsistency among etorists as to whether or not to count wings among the limbs. An aëmocentaur, for example, would be considered an asminate if the wings are counted, and a limminate if not. Some etorists make a distinction based on how closely the wings resemble the other limbs, or, more specifically, whether they seem to be homologous with them, counting them toward the varate's classification if so, and ignoring them if not. This, however, is not universal, and even when it is practiced etorists may disagree as to whether there is sufficient evidence of homology for the wings of a particular species.)
There are also relatively little-used terms for varates with a particular total number of limbs, without specifying which somes they attach to. For a varate with no limbs, the same word is used—"naurate"—as for a varate with no limbs on the pronosome and none on the orthosome—after all, if there are no limbs, there's no need to specify where the limbs are. For other numbers, however, separate terms apply:
| Number of limbs | Term |
|---|---|
| None | Naurate |
| One | Dilaurate |
| Two | Minaurate |
| Three | Esaurate |
| Four | Limaurate |
| Five | Iaurate |
| Six | Asaurate |
| Seven | Iminaurate |
| Eight | Ussuaurate |
| Nine | Ilimaurate |
| Ten | Uaurate |
| Eleven | Udilaurate |
| Twelve | Uminaurate |
| Thirteen | Uesaurate |
| Fourteen | Ulimaurate |
| Fifteen | Uiaurate |
| Sixteen | Uasaurate |
| Eighteen | Uussuaurate |
| Twenty | Nisaurate |
| Many | Saraurate |
Sometimes the "-ate" suffix is omitted, so that, for instance, a 2-2 varate is simply called a mining (no relation, of course, to its English homograph), and a 4-2 varate a limmin. However, while this works well for some of the terms, others, especially the shortest terms like "iate" and "uate", don't have well-accepted forms without the suffix. Conversely, sometimes the words are lengthened by replacing the "-ate" suffix by the word describing the varate's shape (sometimes with appropriate assimilation); a hippocentaur would then be an example of a limminambate, while a 4-4 æoretus with the vertical part in back would be a liminggammate (which may be difficult to distinguish in spoken language from "limmingammate", but these words are rarely used in writing and even more rarely in speech, especially in contexts in which these two words would easily be confused. In any case, the pronunciations aren't entirely identical; "liminggammate" would be pronounced /ˌlɪmᵻŋˈgæmeɪt/, and "limmingammate" /ˌlɪmᵻnˈgæmeɪt/).
For polyarms, matters may be more complex. When all the corresponding parts have the same number of limbs, the same terms can be used as for monarms—an antisome with four limbs on the horizontal part and two on each upright could be called limminate—but for cases in which the corresponding limb counts don't match, no standard terminology exists. (Of course, the words that denote the total number of limbs can still apply—and in fact see somewhat more use in reference to polyarms than to monarms.)
In fiction
The vast majority of varates in fiction and folklore have been ambates, the centaur (and in particular the hippocentaur) being the most common example. Anambatic varates have made occasional appearances, however. isfdb:Glen Cook's fantasy novel The Silver Spike mentions "a shy centauroid creature put together backward, with the humanlike part in the rear"—i.e. a urodeme. A rare example of an anambatic varate in mythology is the nuckelavee, which according to some descriptions resembled a horse with a humanoid torso jutting from the center of its back, making it a crategate.