II - What's up with the word 'Dwemer'?

Dwemer is the real (Elven) name for the Dwarves. It is pronounced: DWAY-mare. Some translations are "Short Folk", "Smart Folk" and, what is probably the best translation, "Deep Folk". Probably "Deep" as in "intelligent and multi-levelled" as opposed to a reference to some kind of physical depth.

The name "Dwarves" is used mostly by non-Elven races and has misguiding connotations. There have been rumors that the name "Dwarves" was given by the Giants that lived in Morrowind when the Dwemer first lived there. Thus (possibly) the confusion. A variation on the rumor suggests that the ancestors of Men and Mer, as the "titantic" Ehlnofey (also known as the Earthbones), named the Dwemer. In this model, the name is actually a play on words, implying both shortness (relative to the "titanic" Ehlnofey), and intelligence. Both of these possibilities introduce what I view as possible factual inconsistencies that are beyond the scope of this guide, but they are still possible.

The most referenced possibility is that "Dwarf" is simply mistranslation of Dwemer, and that it's proper use is in the "Deep Folk" sense, but that Dwe was mistranslated by humans into "Short". Thus "Short Folk", or Dwarves.



One of the 2 Dwemer Guardians= Denas Kra'rug



Second and last of the 2 Dwemer Guardians= Irethy Kra'rug. They are dead, but the legend sais that the guardians will wake when supreme danger treatens Morrowind.

Next: Where did the Dwemer live?

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