A new year, well new-ish, and this week I discovered the 27th January will be marked in the USA by Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, the purpose of which is not to protect valuable fragile items but to pop the bubbles to your heart’s content. (No, neither do I.) This did make me wonder what delightful National Awareness Days we in the United Kingdom have to look forward to. The following have been noted in my diary.
January 14th is STIQ Day – when we are to ask ourselves if we are acting responsibly when it comes to sexually transmitted infections. While I understand the IQ added to STI, perhaps an acronym standing for Sexually Transmitted Intelligence Quotient is likely to be misunderstood.
January 31st is National Bug Busting Day. It seems this day, to be repeated on June 15th and October 31st, will see all-out war against head lice when ‘all will be found and zapped in one fell swoop’. I can’t stop scratching my head when typing it, hence I shall be ignoring it completely at the end of the month.
February 14th is National Think About Sex Day. Apparently men do so 13 times each day in comparison to 5 times a day for women. I’m assuming the idea on Valentine’s Day is to get one of the 13 to correspond with one of the 5?
March 28th is National Skipping Day. This is the skipping with the rope and to encourage those who are presumed too young to participate in the February event to see how exercise can also be fun. My first thought was of the ‘skipping down the street’ once seen in many children’s stories – something I have not seen for decades.
April 5th is International Pillow Fight Day. The whole point of this really escapes me, the only point to catch my attention was the warning not to swing the pillow too hard as it might hurt. So why do it?
May 12th is National Cucumber Day and celebrated by CueFest. It might make more sense if it was later in the year when people could have grown their own.
May 18th is Random Huggers Day and whilst I’m not averse to a hug from time to time, it must be remembered I am British and there is nothing random about hugging.
May 25th is Towel Day and at last an event that makes perfect sense. I shall, of course, be carrying my towel and hoping I am rewarded by a lift.
June 1st is Butterfly Education and Awareness Day. Clearly it is easier to absorb information while still young and thus in a class full of very mature students results are never going to be too thrilling.
July 11th is World Population Day, which I think might involve some sort of ritual cull.
August 13th is Left Handers Day and only included because I was relieved to find it had nothing to do with the events of February 14th and May 18th.
September 19th is International Talk like a Pirate Day, which should be renamed Robert Newton’s Only Claim to Fame Day.
October 5th is National Badger Day, which would have troubled our ancestors as the word ‘badger’ was once solely used for those trying to sell something. Perhaps I should be expecting even more calls about PPI and Personal Injury than normal.
November 30th is Buy Nothing Day, which I actually learned from as it appears there are people out there who spend money on purchases every single day of their lives.
December 5th is the Day of the Ninja. Encouraging people to wear a ninja mask to work seems an odd idea anywhere, but especially so for those who install CCTV cameras.
Incidentally the USA have a wondrous day on Tuesday 14th, no help is required for National Dress Your Pet Up Day (American aquarists might want to post pictures).
I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Showing posts with label Butterfly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Butterfly. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Butterflies and Moths – the viewpoint of an etymologist, not an entomologist
In Britain there are some three thousand species of lepidoptera, eighty-five per cent of which are moths. For many years the mere mention of a fritillary or skipper has piqued my interest, just why were such unusual names chosen to describe moths and butterflies?
Clearly with such a vast array of these insects the etymologies of all of them cannot be covered in a single article. Hence we shall look at the most common and the families or groups. Indeed the vast majority of the names include a colour or shape, which require little or no explanation. Examples include the swallowtails, however the hairstreaks are also quite easy to explain, the fine stripes beneath the wings giving them their collective name.
Argus was a character in Greek mythology with a hundred eyes, the argus butterflies are typically brown and have wings with very eye-like spots. Fritillary is derived from a word in Modern Latin referring to 'dice box', this is most likely a reference to the wing spots, said to resemble the spots on dice. Brimstones are named for their colour, they are predominantly yellow.
Peacocks are butterflies named for the four eye-like spots on the wings which very much resemble those 'eyes' on the splendid tale of the male bird with which it shares its name. With a shape underneath the hind wings, the comma butterfly takes its name from the spots said to resemble such punctuation. Ghost Moths get their name from the display flight of the male, hovering in a display area with other males and sometimes slowly rising and falling in what is seen as typical ghostly behaviour. These are also referred to as part of the Swift group of moths, rather obviously speaking of their comparatively speedy flight.
Leopard moths take their name from the wing spots, although none resemble those of the big cat. Festoon moths have patterns which resemble a festoon, a string or chain of flowers, ribbons, leaves, etc. Hornet moths are named for their yellow stripes. Clearwings have just that, although faintly patterned would be a more accurate description.`
Another group are the foresters, which generally speaking enjoy a woodland habitat. However these were categorised when first identified and some either were mistakenly classified as such or simply have had to find alternative habitats. The lappet group have wings having a shape resembling the distinctive fold in headgear and clothing of Victorian times, also known as lappets. Hook-tips, as the name suggests, have a distinct hook on the tip of the wing.
Those named from their flight include the skippers, a group which includes the smaller skipperlings, which are characterised by their tendency for short flights with exaggerated jerking movements. No surprise to find the December moth is seen flying in that month, however it is more commonly spotted in the previous two months.
The delightfully named Gatekeeper Butterfly is a species which is found in hedges and meadow margins. For this reason it is often seen sunning itself on posts and gates of fields. Presumably it also did so when tollgates littered the country and butterflies where much more numerous than today. The Puss moth is named because of its rather hairy appearance, the Kitten moth is named because they appear a smaller version of the Puss moth. Tussock moths are very hairy, so much so the hairs often disguise the fact they are moths.
Processionary moths are known as such for they wander around in single file as caterpillars when searching for food sources. Footmen are named for having bright colours likened to the uniforms of those from the royal courts. Similarly the tigers, handmaid and muslin species are all said to resemble such.
Doubtless there are many more species of butterfly and moth to be discovered, assuming scientists identify them before man's need for land destroy these habitats. It is highly likely these new species will be named for their discoverers, as is the norm today, rather than the delightfully creative names of yesteryear.
I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Clearly with such a vast array of these insects the etymologies of all of them cannot be covered in a single article. Hence we shall look at the most common and the families or groups. Indeed the vast majority of the names include a colour or shape, which require little or no explanation. Examples include the swallowtails, however the hairstreaks are also quite easy to explain, the fine stripes beneath the wings giving them their collective name.
Argus was a character in Greek mythology with a hundred eyes, the argus butterflies are typically brown and have wings with very eye-like spots. Fritillary is derived from a word in Modern Latin referring to 'dice box', this is most likely a reference to the wing spots, said to resemble the spots on dice. Brimstones are named for their colour, they are predominantly yellow.
Peacocks are butterflies named for the four eye-like spots on the wings which very much resemble those 'eyes' on the splendid tale of the male bird with which it shares its name. With a shape underneath the hind wings, the comma butterfly takes its name from the spots said to resemble such punctuation. Ghost Moths get their name from the display flight of the male, hovering in a display area with other males and sometimes slowly rising and falling in what is seen as typical ghostly behaviour. These are also referred to as part of the Swift group of moths, rather obviously speaking of their comparatively speedy flight.
Leopard moths take their name from the wing spots, although none resemble those of the big cat. Festoon moths have patterns which resemble a festoon, a string or chain of flowers, ribbons, leaves, etc. Hornet moths are named for their yellow stripes. Clearwings have just that, although faintly patterned would be a more accurate description.`
Another group are the foresters, which generally speaking enjoy a woodland habitat. However these were categorised when first identified and some either were mistakenly classified as such or simply have had to find alternative habitats. The lappet group have wings having a shape resembling the distinctive fold in headgear and clothing of Victorian times, also known as lappets. Hook-tips, as the name suggests, have a distinct hook on the tip of the wing.
Those named from their flight include the skippers, a group which includes the smaller skipperlings, which are characterised by their tendency for short flights with exaggerated jerking movements. No surprise to find the December moth is seen flying in that month, however it is more commonly spotted in the previous two months.
The delightfully named Gatekeeper Butterfly is a species which is found in hedges and meadow margins. For this reason it is often seen sunning itself on posts and gates of fields. Presumably it also did so when tollgates littered the country and butterflies where much more numerous than today. The Puss moth is named because of its rather hairy appearance, the Kitten moth is named because they appear a smaller version of the Puss moth. Tussock moths are very hairy, so much so the hairs often disguise the fact they are moths.
Processionary moths are known as such for they wander around in single file as caterpillars when searching for food sources. Footmen are named for having bright colours likened to the uniforms of those from the royal courts. Similarly the tigers, handmaid and muslin species are all said to resemble such.
Doubtless there are many more species of butterfly and moth to be discovered, assuming scientists identify them before man's need for land destroy these habitats. It is highly likely these new species will be named for their discoverers, as is the norm today, rather than the delightfully creative names of yesteryear.
I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
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