XENOMORPH

I could be wrong, but I believe this comes from the people who whine about Aliens. Aliens was the movie that coined the phrase xenomorph. So even though it is a good name, IMO, some people decided that just due to the fact that it came from Aliens...it's no good. I don't believe though, that this is the majority of people. Like you said, "Star Beast"? Really? lol

Its name literally means 'a strange form'. 'Xeno' meaning alien, and 'morph' meaning shape. I think it was a great name for it.

For what I know, the name comes from the fact that the xeno gets the form of its host. Than "xenomorph" means "form of the other". For example, in "Alien 3", the xeno is quadrupedal because its host was a dog. In AvP:R, we have de Predalien, because the host was a Predator.

But if the term Xenomorph was coined in Aliens as an after thought almost during the writing and directing of the film it really makes you wonder, what ARE the creatures actually called? Did Ridley Scott and Giger not have a discussion as to the possible origins or indeed if the Xenos did have their evolution interupted by the Space Jockeis than I wonder if there is anything written down in their cultral texts about what they called the Xenos in their language or culture... Did they, the story writers Dan O'Bannon and Ron Shusset not provide any reference/backstory, notes to the SJ and its origin in the galaxy and also that of the Xenos place in the galaxy too! They MUST have kept SOME notations on the Xenos backstory for justification purposes more than anything else!

Here I am! I am one of those who hate the use of the term xenomorph. I never use it myself, but I don't hate the word itself, but what I perceive as its inappropriate (ab)use. First off, a clarification. I LOVE Aliens. It's not my favourite movie because Alien is, but it is a close second. I see it all as canon (even though I am not a big fan of the queen or of the insect-like behaviour of the alien, but that's secondary). What I have noticed in the film is that they never call the aliens "xenomorphs", not even once. They call them "things", "hostiles", "animals", but definitely never "xenomorphs". You'll now object "LOL, have you seen the film? They say xenomorph, you asshole!". Yes, Lt Gorman uses the word indeed, I have seen the movie more than 100 times I reckon (the nerd that I am!). What I hear in the movie is that in his briefing, Gorman says to his squad that they are going to face "an unknown, possibly hostile, alien lifeform" suggesting that in his military training as an officer he learned about engagement procedures against unidentified alien lifeforms, and for the sake of clarity and synthesis the placeholder term "xenomorph" is used. The term xenomorph is used in the same way as UFO is used for flying objects. Gorman has a poor leadership, is insecure, and he tries to impress his unruly squad by using academic terms (though failing miserably). He doesn't say "xenomorph" referring to the alien we all love, but to a generic alien threat. He, like everybody else, doesn't know or hasn't ever seen/studied these creatures, let alone have a name for them. He doesn't know what they are going to face, and according to Ripley's version, something unknown might be involved, The movies (all of them) have already given these creatures a universally acknowledged placeholder name. A beautifully simple and generic name, unpretentious and mysterious at the same time. Alien I'll stick to that. And the working name for the aliens during filming has always been "alien", "creature", or "big chap" (in Alien), according to the various "Making of..." documentaries, I've never heard xenomorph. I have only found it in the wealth of fan fiction (comics and books). As somebody wrote on some other forum, the term xenomorph identifies a generic alien not THIS specific alien. As far as I am concerned the Engineers and the cobra thing are as much xenomorphs as the Giger's aliens. These are my reasons. Feel free to call them xenomorphs. Just don't expect me to, until the canon proves me wrong. Then I'll be more than happy to jump on the X-word bandwagon! Trivia: the word xenomorph, in real life, identifies a mineral. Peace!

What Lt. Gorman meant by the term xenomorph was "alien life form." The term wasn't in reference to a specific creature. Xeno (New Latin from the Greek xenos) meaning "strange, foreign, or alien" and Morph (Greek) meaning one of various distinct forms of an organism or species. Xenomorph in this context refers to an alien life form. E.T., Paul, Chewbacca, all are xenomorphs.

[quote]What Lt. Gorman meant by the term xenomorph was "alien life form." The term wasn't in reference to a specific creature. Xeno (New Latin from the Greek xenos) meaning "strange, foreign, or alien" and Morph (Greek) meaning one of various distinct forms of an organism or species. Xenomorph in this context refers to an alien life form. E.T., Paul, Chewbacca, all are xenomorphs[/quote] Which is why I keep saying that calling the species Xenomorphs doesn't make any sense, because the word can be used to describe anything alien or unknown that we as humans come across and are un-familiar with. It's an extremely generic term that yes, only Gorman ever speaks the word TWICE in order to give the Marines something to identify with, and clearly they don't get it because someone asks "Excuse me sir, a WHAT?" (I can never remember which character,) so while I get that they picked a name to give the audience something to latch on to, it strips some of their mystery away, even more so when the team starts comparing them to Earth's insect species. And it just doesn't sit right with me calling the Alien a "Xeno," "Xenomorph." And NoX is right, xenomorph is the name of a type of mineral. Those creatures move a little faster than rocks, from what I can see.......... :-P