| ² Nimals are, of course, the Non-Magical people with whom we share
our common world. The term "Nimals" is one of several in common use at
this time to denote our non-magical neighbors. (Others include "Non-Magicals",
"Sleepers", "Normals", "Muggles"*,
"MechHeads" and "Oafs".) Your author prefers this term -- i.e., "Nimals"
-- because its use is unrestricted and because of its interesting derivation.
Reputed to be a contraction of "Non-Magicals" and/or "Normals", it also
arose from the Nimals' belief that they ought not to be viewed as part
of the Animal Kingdom, but as something far grander. Reasoning that "animal"
really meant "a-Nimal" which really meant "not-Nimal", and that animals
were not-Them, a few opinion-makers began to call themselves "Nimals" to
draw attention to what they were not. The term became widespread for a
while, but has recently been fading from use. Nevertheless, it's still
the safest term to use around Nimals -- i.e., archaic sounding, but arousing
no confusion or suspicion. |
