The meaning of the names of Android 17 & Android 18

As a blogger, I have my tools for the work. Google Translate and Lingoes serve me for my job. While reading the SaiyanIsland.com post [http://www.saiyanisland.com/2014/05/akira-toriyama-reveals/] that Marquis [https://twitter.com/MarquisX101] shared on Facebook, I noticed the names of Android 17 and Android 18 sounded Latin or Spanish.

I know the Spanish word “lapiz” (with “z”) is “pencil” in English, but I didn’t know the translation of “lapis” (with “s”) as an English word to Spanish or any other language I know. It turns out I get the words “lapislázuli” and “piedra azul.”

I kept doing my search and found these links: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli] (English) & [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapisl%C3%A1zuli] (Spanish).

To verify, I also checked the Spanish dictionary for the word [http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=lapisl%C3%A1zuli] got this definition: Mineral of an intense blue color, as hard as steel, generally used in ornaments, and was formerly employed in the preparation of ultramarine.

Going back to the translation of “piedra azul,” it means “bluestone” or “blue stone” in English [https://translate.google.com/#es/en/piedra%20azul]. “Piedra,” by itself, simply means “stone.” “Lapis” is also short for “lapislazuli.”

The stone is as blue as the eyes of Android 17 (Lapis) and Android 18 (Lázuli).

I wonder what else will Akira Toriyama tell us next time.