question What do you think about using middle English as a domain name?

[kobunketsu]

It is said that Elon Musk’s new AI product “Grok”, the name was from American writer Robert A Heinlein in his 1961 sci-fi novel. I found its usage dating back to the 18th century. It is an ancient word that few people use in daily life today. Let's say I find a Middle English dictionary word that no one knows, but it's meaning is very relevant to some niche, is it valuable as a domain name?

 

[Sam1234]

Grok is not Middle English. I would say the minimum for Middle English to matter is that people know what it means. The word "grok" is part of popular culture so even if it was Middle English, the fact of it being so would be secondary to the fact that people know it. There is no value in something being Middle English. The important thing is that it is memorable and people understand it, as with domains in general. Nobody speaks Middle English so unless there is some word that is still commonly-used today, I would say the answer is "no". Something being relevant to a niche is not the only criteria. Does it make sense, is it short, can people remember it? If "noveltygiftitems.com" is not a good name, then some Middle English equivalent is of course much less so. However, if it was a single word then the answer is still no because the word is meaningless to most people, or else it is already taken.

 

[kobunketsu]

Thanks, you explained my doubts. The name is one dictionary word, dot com is taken, was trademarked, but dead.

 

[cooljub]

Nobody speaks Middle English

Good morrow.
Sī̆r(e, thee speak for thou-self. Somæ folks spek(e middel Saxọ̄̆nlī.
And nōn-ọ̄ther, grok intransiciọ̄n nōn-ọ̄ther wō̆rd.

: smilæ facæ :

 

[paul10]

Thanks, you explained my doubts. The name is one dictionary word, dot com is taken, was trademarked, but dead.

The word Grok popularity will increase more and more if Elon Musk buys Grok.com and unleashes his Ai plans on Grok

 

[MKA]

The dangers of Old- or Middle English is that the terms may be similarly pronounced to Modern English. Let's say someone tell you to go to myght.com. You will interpret that as might.com.

And as people have pointed out, people don't speak/read/write Old- or Middle English. So for many people it will just be letter-salad.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Thank you for the observation and thread, @kobunketsu !

I had not seen this thread as I was researching the word grok as part of the NamePros article just published. I also had noticed that there was mention of the term grok in books well before the commonly reported invention of the word.

I dug into a number of these using Google books, since once earlier when I had spotted use of a term, it was pointed out that it was simply typeset errors. Here that does not seem to be the explanation. Most of the references in the 1700's and 1800's seem to be use in ship names and as a surname, but there are other examples I found. I mention one book in the article.

On the general discussion of use of names from old forms of language, I think it is hard to generalize. If the wording is aesthetically pleasing and not confusing, I think it could be a benefit. I occasionally have registered terms from middle Irish or archaic Scottish if I liked other aspects.

Thanks again for starting the discussion.

-Bob

 

[NameMaxi.com]

It is said that Elon Musk’s new AI product “Grok”, the name was from American writer Robert A Heinlein in his 1961 sci-fi novel. I found its usage dating back to the 18th century. It is an ancient word that few people use in daily life today. Let's say I find a Middle English dictionary word that no one knows, but it's meaning is very relevant to some niche, is it valuable as a domain name?

Yes some of them would be valuable, but I wouldn’t suggest that you invest in them. Firstly, talking about Elon’s Grok, once this AI tool is launched officially and becomes famous, yes some Grok-related domains will catch attention too. However, it is a gamble to buy some of this because of the trademark of Grok.

Also, yes Grok is a middle English word, but it’s only famous because of Elon. So investing in mid-English words, like “Hende,” “Mete,” “Paas,” “Routh,” would not be preferable unless you have seen a good amount of people who share interest in that word – which is a bit difficult.

 

[paul10]

Alrea

Yes some of them would be valuable, but I wouldn’t suggest that you invest in them. Firstly, talking about Elon’s Grok, once this AI tool is launched officially and becomes famous, yes some Grok-related domains will catch attention too. However, it is a gamble to buy some of this because of the trademark of Grok.

Also, yes Grok is a middle English word, but it’s only famous because of Elon. So investing in mid-English words, like “Hende,” “Mete,” “Paas,” “Routh,” would not be preferable unless you have seen a good amount of people who share interest in that word – which is a bit difficult.

Already there are many businesses using the word GROK, some are Ai related business while some are totally outside Ai business. ( you can check linkedin ). so i dont think there will be a trademark problem for GROK domains used for businesses that are unrelated to Ai