# Treant pronunciation?



## Voadam (Aug 23, 2004)

I always thought it was pronounced "Tree ent" after the ents in Tolkien but I was typing it out the other day and noticed that was not how it is spelled.

Is it "Trent" or "Tree Ant"

How do you pronounce it?


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## BiggusGeekus (Aug 23, 2004)

Tree-ENT


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## Desdichado (Aug 23, 2004)

I'm going with the arboreal insect myself.  That's how it's spelled anyway.  Although the [a] often turns into more of a schwa, so the distinction between tree ent and tree ant is hard to spot.


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## Wombat (Aug 23, 2004)

It's pronounced "Please don't sue us for stealing the Ents"


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## derelictjay (Aug 23, 2004)

I'm going with those pesky little creatures that steal your food and bite you if you stand around to long in a field.


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## Sir Elton (Aug 23, 2004)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I'm going with the arboreal insect myself. That's how it's spelled anyway. Although the [a] often turns into more of a schwa, so the distinction between tree ent and tree ant is hard to spot.



 I'm actually with Joshua Dyal on this one.  Arboreal insects all the way.  ALthough what does it matter?  Ents, Treants, treeherds; they are all the same monster.  Just different games.

 I like Wombat's answer though.  "Please don't sue us even though we stole the Ents!"


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## diaglo (Aug 23, 2004)

i call them "Sir or Ma'am"


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## lukelightning (Aug 23, 2004)

I call 'em "timmmm-berrrrRRRRRRR!"


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## Bladesong (Aug 23, 2004)

If you care, when TSR sent their pronounciation list out several years ago it was Tree - ent. I hear ki rin, chimera, drow, and lich butchered all the time as well. Call them what you will. If you are DM then everyone can pronounce them your way.


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## Desdichado (Aug 23, 2004)

bladesong said:
			
		

> If you care, when TSR sent their pronounciation list out several years ago it was Tree - ent. I hear ki rin, chimera, drow, and lich butchered all the time as well. Call them what you will. If you are DM then everyone can pronounce them your way.



Quite right.  I don't care about TSR's pronunciation list, as it turns out.  If they had bothered to actually look the words up, that is the words they didn't make up, they might have caught the errors that crept through.


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## Herremann the Wise (Aug 23, 2004)

Hi Everyone,

Our group has a slightly different pronounciation.

The "tre" get pronounced somewhere in between tree and tray while the "ant" gets pronounced like the ending of detente with the thing-a-me-jig over the first e (If you can help me do one of those, all help appreciated).

In the end, I suppose we pronounce it Trey-ont.
I thought our group was a little weird.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise


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## AdmundfortGeographer (Aug 23, 2004)

You call it whatever it wants to be called!

Seriously though, I always called them "treent".


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## Altamont Ravenard (Aug 23, 2004)

you mean "détente"? 

I'd either pronounce it "Tree-ant" or "Trey-ent"

AR


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## D+1 (Aug 23, 2004)

I pronounce it ENT.  Call a spade a spade.  Treant indeed.  Might as well be calling Drow the dark EALVES so as not to tread on any toes.  I also call halflings Hobbits and speak the titles of "Those Who Must Not Be Named" - Demons and Devils.


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## countgray (Aug 24, 2004)

In the very first original edition of D&D they actually did have Balrogs and Ents by name. When they were putting together AD&D they changed the names.

I always assumed that Treant was a combination of the words "Tree" and "Giant".  If that is the case then the pronunciation should probably be something like Tree-unt (with the accent on Tree and an unaccented second syllable.)

But even so I have always pronounced it like "Trent" to rhyme with Ent.


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## Voadam (Aug 24, 2004)

D+1 said:
			
		

> .  . . . and speak the titles of "Those Who Must Not Be Named" - Demons and Devils.




"What a worthless scroll, all it says is Hastur, Hastur, Hastur."


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## Voadam (Aug 24, 2004)

countgray said:
			
		

> I always assumed that Treant was a combination of the words "Tree" and "Giant".  If that is the case then the pronunciation should probably be something like Tree-unt (with the accent on Tree and an unaccented second syllable.)




That makes a lot of sense, a contraction of two words to make a new one. Makes more sense than "Tree ant, because they are like trees but among real trees they are as puny as ants, no wait."


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## Akrasia (Aug 24, 2004)

D+1 said:
			
		

> I pronounce it ENT.  Call a spade a spade.  Treant indeed.  Might as well be calling Drow the dark EALVES so as not to tread on any toes.  I also call halflings Hobbits and speak the titles of "Those Who Must Not Be Named" - Demons and Devils.




You rock!  

There is no copyright fretting at MY gaming table either.


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## Lord Pendragon (Aug 24, 2004)

I've always pronounced it tree-ont (rhymes with font).


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## Aeric (Aug 24, 2004)

Tray-ent.


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## I'm A Banana (Aug 24, 2004)

I'm with Aeric.

TRAY-ent.

Everything else sounds too silly (tree-ANT) or too Tolkien (tree-ENT).


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## BOZ (Aug 25, 2004)

looks like i'm not strange for saying "Tree-ent" - i mean, that's what it looks like to me.  i always thought "Trent" sounded like an odd thing to call a huge talking tree - i understand that it is a twist on "Ent" from LotR, but still, it sounds about as weird as calling them "Jason" or "Roger".


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