This word appears in "The Book of the New Sun", of which "The Shadow of the Torturer" is part, by Gene Wolfe.
It is likely that Wolfe derived "Merychip" from "Merychippus", which is an extinct proto-horse. This fits the pattern of the book, where Wolfe uses the names of extinct species to refer to genetically engineered or alien beasts which fulfil the same function as contemporary species.
Comments by epithumia
epithumia commented on the word merychip
This word appears in "The Book of the New Sun", of which "The Shadow of the Torturer" is part, by Gene Wolfe.
It is likely that Wolfe derived "Merychip" from "Merychippus", which is an extinct proto-horse. This fits the pattern of the book, where Wolfe uses the names of extinct species to refer to genetically engineered or alien beasts which fulfil the same function as contemporary species.
January 25, 2011