The universe of “Dune” is so rich that it is sometimes difficult to find your way around, especially with all these technical words. We suggest you see things more clearly.
Dune, an abundant novel written by Frank Herbert, has an extremely rich universe. By adapting this mythological story, Denis Villeneuve obviously had to deal with the vocabulary specific to this universe invented by the American author. Arrakis, Harkonnen, Bene Gesserit, Sardaukar… many words which may seem totally esoteric to the novice who discovers this work.
To find your way around and shine in society, we offer you a short glossary explaining the meaning of the terms inherent to the world of Dune. Note that Frank Herbert was inspired by numerous terms of Arabic or Saharan origins for the vocabulary linked to his desert world.
Arbitrator of change
The Arbitrator of Change is appointed by the High Council of the Landsraad and the Emperor to oversee a change of fiefdom, a retribution, or a battle in an Assassin War. The authority of the Arbitrator can only be contested before the High Council and in the presence of the Emperor.
Arrakis
Arrakis is the planet on which the story takes place. Nicknamed Dune, it is a desert planet entirely covered in sand and rocks.
Arrakeen
Arrakeen is simply the capital of the planet Arrakis.
Atreides
Atreides designates the family of nobles ruling one of the Major Houses forming part of the feudal interstellar empire. This name is a reference to Atreus, father of Agamemnon and Menelaus in Greek mythology.
Warner
Bene Gesserit
The Order of the Bene Gesserit is an all-female organization. The latter have exercised political and religious influence for centuries within the society of the Imperium. Acting in the shadows like a Deep State, the Bene Gesserit seeks to lead humanity towards its own goals.
This group, whose origins and motivations remain mysterious, drastically train their bodies and minds in order to obtain superhuman abilities. Bene Gesserit” comes from the Latin bene which means “good” and gesserit, form of the third person singular of the verb gero (“to act, to behave”) conjugated in the future tense. Bene Gesserit could therefore be translated as “she who behaves well.”
Warner
Shield
The shield is an essential element of the weaponry of fighters in the Dune universe. It stops any aggression whose speed exceeds nine centimeters per second. This excludes any ranged weapon (including arrows, shells and grenades) and requires fencers to hold back their blows. In Villeneuve’s adaptation, the shield is represented by a sort of force field generated by a device attached to the wrist.
Caladan
In the Dune universe, Caladan is the 3rd planet in the Delta Pavonis system. This is the ancestral stronghold of House Atreides. They have lived on Caladan for 26 generations. They then emigrated to Arrakis to manage the Spice there on the orders of Shaddam IV.
Seeker-killer
A seeker-killer is a deadly needle mounted on repulsors and controlled remotely by a teleoperator. This is one of the main weapons of assassins. This weapon has a weak point: the force field confuses the micro-camera, forcing the operator to find his way using movement.
You can survive against a Seeker Killer by standing still and then striking when the camera is turned in another direction. His vision is based on movement, like a certain T-Rex!
Coriolis
A Coriolis storm is one of the major meteorological phenomena on the planet Arrakis. It is an extremely violent sandstorm with winds of up to 700 kilometers per hour.
Distill
The distillate is the costume worn by the Fremen. This distinctive garment contains a recycling system essential for survival in the Arrakis Desert. The Distill allows body fluids to be recovered so as not to lose a single drop of water. Its filtering system allows its wearer to drink the water thus recycled. Skillful!
Spice / Mixture
Spice, also called Mixture, is a substance produced on the planet Arrakis by sandworms of which it is a secretion. It is a kind of drug with the ability to prolong life and strengthen the immune system.
The Spice also allows interstellar travel for Guild navigators. It causes a form of foreknowledge without which rapid interstellar travel is impossible.
Feydakin
The Fedaykin are elite Fremen warriors; They notably act as close guard for Paul Atréides.
Fremen
The Fremen are the pioneer people of Dune, descendants of the nomadic Zensunni. They form tribes who have overcome the harsh living conditions in the Arrakis desert. The Fremen proclaimed themselves Free Men of Dune. Their name comes from the English Freemen (Fremen). True inhabitants of Dune, they will not let anyone try to dispossess them of their planet.
Fremkit
A Fremkit is simply a survival kit made by the Fremen.
Giedi Prime
Giedi Prime is the only planet orbiting the star 36 Ophiuchi B. It is the original stronghold of the Machiavellian House Harkonnen, sworn enemy of House Atreides. Giedi Prime is a mostly barren planet. It orbits a weak sun.
Gom Jabbar
The Gom Jabbar is a poisoned needle used to pass the humanity test. It is coated with meta-cyanide and used by the Rectrices of the Bene Gesserit. This name means “the High Enemy”.
Harkonnen
Harkonnen is a noble family, part of the Great Houses of Landsraad. House Harkonnen on the planet Giedi Prime. They are the centuries-old enemies of House Atreides. Their members, like Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, are cruel and thirsty for wealth. Their world is like them: cold and hostile. The inhabitants live there almost in slavery in gigantic industrial cities.
Warner
Imperius
The Dune universe centers on a gigantic, aristocratic galactic empire called the Imperium. It is ruled by Emperor Shaddam IV of House Corrino. Arrakis is the hub of the Imperium as it is the only planet to produce the famous Spice.
Kris
The Krys is the sacred dagger of the Fremen. It is made in two versions, fixed and unstable, from the tooth of a sandworm. An unstable knife disintegrates away from the electric field of a human organism. Fixed daggers are processed for storage. These two versions do not exceed twenty centimeters in length.
Kwisatz Haderach
Kwisatz Haderach means “The Short Path” in the Dune universe. This name probably comes from the Hebrew term of Talmudic and Kabbalistic origin whose meaning is “contraction of the path”. The Sisters of the Bene Gesserit have been trying to bring about the Kwisatz Haderach for thousands of years by manipulating genetic lines, particularly those of House Atreides.
The Bene Gesserit claims that the Kwisatz Haderach could have access to the entirety of his ancestors’ memories. This enormous amount of information would allow him to develop a form of prescience allowing him to see the future.
Landsraad
The Landsraad is a political organization, a sort of parliament bringing together the major and minor Houses of the known universe. It has a very important political-economic role in the Empire. Its representatives deal with the Emperor or other organizations such as the CHOM (Combinat of Honest Ober-Merchants) or the Space Guild.
Lisan-al-Gaib
Lisan-al-Gaib means “The voice from elsewhere.” In Fremen messianic legends, he is the foreign prophet, the Messiah. This term is sometimes translated as “Giver of water”. The term comes from the Arabic “Lisan” which means “tongue” and “al Gaib” which means “the hidden” or “the invisible”.
Warner
Mahdi
The Mahdi is a kind of guide, like a messiah. The Fremen considered Paul Atreides as the Mahdi upon his arrival on Arrakis.
Hammerer
The hammerer is a Fremen device in the form of a rod equipped with a spring. It is used to attract sandworms. It is an indispensable aid for travel and for survival in the desert.
Mentat
Mentat refers to a class of citizens of the Imperium trained in the highest logic. They are also called “human computers”. A Mentat is trained to use their observation and reasoning skills to an extreme level. They are thus able to deduce from a few scraps of information the entire environmental context that surrounds them.
Missionaria Protectiva
Missionaria Protectiva is a mass manipulation technique used by the sisters of the Bene Gesserit. This process consists of using their mystical influence to disseminate within a population, false secret knowledge made up of myths and beliefs. Thus, they develop, generation after generation, the foundations of a religion which they can orient according to their ends.
Muad’Dib
It is a kangaroo mouse adapted to the harsh living conditions on Arrakis. Associated with Fremen mythology, this small animal is admired by desert tribes for its ability to adapt to a hostile environment.
Ornithopter
Ornithopters (or ornis) are intra-atmospheric vehicles resembling our terrestrial helicopters. On Arrakis, they are used in particular for traveling across the desert and for harvesting Spice. Ornis fly like birds, flapping their wings. They have rockets that can be ignited occasionally to provide additional power, for example during takeoff or to slow down.
Paracompass
The paracompass indicates local magnetic anomalies. It is used when maps are available and when a planet’s magnetic field is particularly unstable.
Drum sands
It is a layer of sand whose density is such that a blow struck on the surface produces the characteristic sound of a drum.
Sardaukar
The Sardaukar are fanatical soldiers subservient to Emperor Shaddam IV. They undergo merciless military training that develops their ferocity while eliminating the instinct for self-preservation. From childhood, they are taught the use of cruelty and terror. Each Sardaukar is the equivalent of ten ordinary Landsraad fighters.
Sietch
Sietch is a Chakobsa word, the language of the Fremen. It means “the place where we gather in times of crisis”, and by extension, any Fremen habitat. The sietch are isolated places in the desert, a sort of oasis allowing the Fremen to live despite the hostile conditions on the planet Arrakis.
Shai-Hulud
Shai-Hulud refers to these gigantic sandworms measuring from a few hundred meters to several kilometers, and living only in the deserts of Arrakis. The Fremen call them Shai-Hulud, meaning “the old man of the desert”, “the old father eternity” or “the grandfather of the desert”. For them, worms are the lords of the desert and part of the spice cycle and the entire planet.
Warner
Solari
The Solari is the monetary unit of the Imperium whose value is set by the Guild, the Landsraad and the Emperor.
Voice
The “Voice” is a mental manipulation technique specific to the Bene Gesserit organization. It allows followers to select certain harmonics of their voice in order to control a person. The latter will do whatever you order it to do.