An Etymologist's look at Roman Mythology.

Continuing on after my recent course on ancient languages, I thought it would be interesting to examine a selection of Roman mythological figures and examine the etymologies for their names.

Aurora comes from the Proto-Italic ausos and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h eusos 'the dawn'.

Ceres is the goddess of agriculture, which is seen in the name for Proto-Italic keres 'grain' and Proto-Indo-European kerh-os meaning 'to feed' support this.

Cupid comes from Latin cupio 'desire', itself from Proto-Italic kupi 'to desire', and ultimately Proto-Indo-European kupei 'to tremble, desire'.

Diana is probably from the Latin dius 'godly', from Proto-Italic divios 'divine, heavenly', and ultimately Proto-Indo-European diwyos also meaning 'divine, heavenly'.

Flora is from the Proto-Italic flosa 'goddess of flowers', derived from the Proto-Indo-European behos 'blossoming'.

Janus is Latin ianus 'arched passage, doorway'; from Proto-Italic ianu 'door'; and Proto-Indo-European iehnu 'passage'.

Juno was once thought to be connected to Iove or Jove, but for the last century it has been accepted this comes from Iuvenis 'young'. This Latin origin can be followed through Greek aion to Proto-Indo-European where the meaning is seen as 'vital energy' and particularly 'fertile time'. This would be appropriate for the goddess of marriage and childbirth.

Jupiter is from Proto-Italic djous pater 'father of the day/sky'.

Mars, the Roman god gave his name to the planet, is from Old Latin and appears as Mavors in earliest records. This is thought to be a transferred name (Romans famously absorbed any gods they encountered on their travels and conquests - well you can never have too many gods, or so they thought) and from the Etruscan child-god Maris. While the etymology would seem to fit this explanation, detractors suggest there is little to connect the two figures, unlike that of the Proto-European god Perkwunos who was known for his thunder.

Mercury is another who gave his name to a planet, his name is thought to be related to the Latin merx 'merchandise', thus from the Proto-Indo-European root merg or 'boundary' and is thus the keeper of boundaries.

Neptune also gave his name to a planet (I'd settle for a street!), a name from Proto-Indo-European nebh 'cloud' (compare nebula).

Pluto took its name from the Greek Plouton who was the god of wealth. The Roman Pluto is identified with the Greek Hades, both gods of the underworld, but the link is through the 'underground', for all the wealth was seen to come from the earth in the form of minerals and gems.

Saturn, the god giving his name to the planet, may have come from satus 'sowing', appropriate as Saturn is the god of agriculture. There are other thoughts however, suggesting the origin is stercus meaning 'dung, manure', or even satis 'time' and a reference to the seasons. With these suggestions, perhaps the Saturnians (if there are any) might prefer a less shit name and a different etymology.

Terra is a god, not just the name for that planet otherwise known as Earth, and is derived from the phrase tersa tellus 'dry land'.

Venus, which is Latin for 'love, charm', comes from Proto-Italic wenos 'desire', and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wenh-os desire'.

Kyrgystan Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Kyrgystan cities.

Bishkek has only been known as such since 1991, prior to that it had been known as Frunze by the Soviet Union from 1925, and as Pishpek when established as a fortress in 1825. Frunze was after the Bolshevik leader Mikhail Frunze who was born here and who died in 1925. The name of Pishkek is thought to be from a Kyrgyz word for a 'churn', one used specifically to make fermented mare's milk, the national drink.

Jalal-Abad is known for its mineral springs, the water from the spa long believed to cure leprosy. Its name comes from Jalal ad Din, who set up caravanserais (early service station)serving travellers and pilgrims to the holy mountain. The suffix of '-abad' or '-abat' comes from the Persian and denotes a place associated with the named person.

Tokmok simply means 'hammer', a reference to it being established as a military outpost.

Kara-Balta translates as 'black axe'.

Kant is the Kyrgyz word for 'sugar', for a sugar plant constructed here in 1930.

Kara-Suu is the Kyrgyz for 'black water'.

Isfana is thought to come from the Sogdian word asbanikat meaning 'the land of horses'.

Toktogul is named after its most famous inhabitant, Toktogul Satilganov a poet and composer (1864-1933).

Batken comes from the Sogdian, an Iranian language, and means 'the city of wind'.

Sulukta comes from the Turkic word zuluk and, with the suffix, refers to a place 'containing leeches'.

Cholpon-Ata is literally 'Venus father' and refers to the mythological protector of the area.

Kok-Janggak is from the Kyrgyz for 'green walnut'.

Pristan'-Przheval'sk is named after the Russian geographer Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky (1839-1888) whose grave is found here.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Easter Lagomorphs

Seven years ago I posted something on hares. I recreate same here, suitably amended.

While the rabbit is today considered to be lucky (as in the foot), historically the hare is anything but. Indeed so much superstition and folklore surrounds the poor creature I decided to dig a little and found the following:

As Easter is upon us, along with its association with the rabbit (ie Easter Bunnies), it came as something of a surprise to find Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands preferring an Easter Hare.

The Anglo-Saxon personification of the sun was Ostara, whose ears were those of a hare and who carried eggs on her back. This is how eggs have become associated with Easter.

Pagan followers associate the hare with the goddess Eostre, from where we get the name for Easter.

Gods in other cultures associated with hares are Hittavainen, Cupid, Aphrodite, Venus, Holda, Freyja, Andraste, Cerridwen, Kaltes,

That the creature has been considered sacred and associated with spring, and almost certainly has been since prehistoric times, is down to the hare only really being seen when they are seen boxing in the mating season. Incidentally, the long held belief these are males fighting over a female was shown to be wrong when it was realised at least one of the combatants could just as easily be female.

Several ancient cultures saw the hare the symbol of fertility, of rebirth, and held to possess supernatural powers. The genitals of the jack were carried to ward off infertility. This fertility idea has some truth for the doe can produce up to forty-two young in a single year.

Some ancient African cultures believed the hare to have a lunar origin.

The tales of Brer Rabbit, as told by Uncle Remus, were brought to North America via the slave trade and are adapted from traditional African narratives. Thus these cannot be about a 'rabbit' but a hare for Africa has no rabbits around the tropical latitudes.

In Egyptian mythology Osiris is also known by other names and is then depicted with the head of a hare, as was the goddess Unut. He is also cited as being the messenger of the god Thoth.

Pliny wrote of how he believed the hare was androgynous, likened to the waxing and waning of the Moon when it was deemed to be masculine and feminine respectively.

The hare is also associated with the Moon in ancient China, held to possess knowledge of the elixir of immortality. Other writings show the hare with the phoenix and the unicorn, ubiquitous mythological creatures of wonder and magical powers.

Hindus in India tell the story of Buddha, whose earliest life on Earth was as a hare. Hence the animal is seen as a symbol of resurrection. It is also the subject of a number of traditional tales where it represents wisdom.

Native American cultures speak of Michabo or Manitou, the Great Hare, which is common to the ancestral mythologies of many tribes. Unlike the Old World, in the New World the hare is associated with the sun.

The madness of hares was likened to a coven of witches. Some held the hares were witches who had changed their appearance to allow them to suckle cows until they were dry.

Sailors, probably the most superstitious career which ever has been or ever will be, consider the hare unlucky and would not allow any mention of them while at sea.

Pregnant women would carrying a hare's foot, for should the animal cross her path it could result in a miscarriage or the child being born with a hare-lip.

The hare's foot charm was also held to be the answer to rheumatism, while the stage perfomance of many a thespian was solely down to such being hidden beneath their costume.

The fat from a hare would be used to fuel a lamp burned when it was important that all present should be in good spirits throughout.

The brain of the hare was added to wine to prevent any danger of oversleeping.

Cambridgeshire folk seeing a hare running through the streets saw this as a sign that a fire was about to break out.

Cornish girls who died of a broken heart after being spurned by their lover would turn into a white hare and pursue him from beyond the grave.

Personally I just wish I could taste this recipe for jugged hare.

Solar System Etymologies

Having looked at the names of constellations and then individual stars, I thought perhaps having a look a little closer to home and examining the origins of the name of the bodies of the Solar System. Here the list covers the planets and their respective satellites working out from the sun. As an afterthought I've added a few of the dwarf planets. Note the list is not definitve.

MERCURY - the innermost planet and named by the Romans. Originally Mercurius was a the god of tradesmen and thieves, his name derived from merx or 'merchandise' and thus related to the modern 'market'.

VENUS - another from Roman mythology, she the goddess of beauty and love, particularly the physical variety. Indeed her name is derived from Proto-Indo-European wen meaning 'to desire'.

EARTH - considering this is our home, it has only been known as such since around 1400. This comes from the Proto-Indo-European er 'earth, ground' and comes from a time when our home was considered the centre of all things.

Luna - our moon, the name coming from Proto-Indo-European leuksna and its root leuk meaning 'light, brightness'.

MARS - another Roman god, although here the origins are questioned some think it derived from an Etruscan child god Maris while others point to Mawort ta war god. The name was also given to the red planet as it would have reminded them of the god of war. The Greeks knew the planet as Pyroeis 'the fiery'. It seems improbable to think the original name meant anything other than 'rage, anger, battle'.

Deimos - the smaller and out moon of Mars, named from the mythological son of Mars and Venus (or Ares and Aphrodite if looking at the Greek version) and the twin brother of Phobos. Demos is the Greek word for 'dread' and was the Greek god of terror.

Phobos - like his twin brother Deimos a mythological god and from the Greek phobos or 'fear'. Etymologically the sense had previously been 'flight', later as 'panic, fright', and all based on the Proto-Indo-European root bhegw 'to run'.

JUPITER - this can be traced to Proto-Indo-European dyeu-peter 'god father'. We can take this back further to dyeu 'to shine, heaven, god' along with peter 'father, male head of the household'. Similar meaning is seen in the Greek Zeus pater and Sanskrit Dyaus pitar

Amalthea - in mythology the foster-mother of Zeus, her name from the Greek for tender goddess.

Ananke - until 1975 this mon had been known as Jupiter XII. To confuse matter further for the previous years it was sometimes known as Adrastea, this name now given to another satellite and discussed below. Ananke, with a little help from Zeus, was the mother of the Moirai or Fates and her name comes from the Greek anankaie 'force, constraint' and most often 'necessity'.

Adrastea - formerly known as Jupiter XV and only discovered in 1979 when photographed by Voyager 2, thus making it the first natural satellite discovered by a spacefraft and not a telescope. Its name comes from the mythology foster mother of the Greek god Zeus, Adrasteia the Greek for 'inescapable'.

Callisto - discovered by Galileo Galilei it is the third largest moon in the solar system. Again a figure from mythology, she was a nymph or the daughter of King Lycaon, depending on which story you read, and takes her name from the Greek for 'most beautiful'.

Carme - named after the mythological Carme, mother of Britomartis (Zeus again playing a part), and named from the Greek word for 'shearer'.

Elara - known as Jupiter VII until 1975 and, for the previous twenty years, also known as Hera. It is named after the mother of the giant Tityos, she also the lover of (surprise, surprise) Zeus. The name means either 'angel' or 'messenger' depending upon which mythological story is read.

Europa - in mythology the daughter of the king of Tyre who, yes you guessed it, was another of Zeus' lovers but on the plus side she did give a name to the continent of Europe and a moon. Her name is comprised of two Greek words: eurus 'wide, broad' and opt 'eye, face, countenance'. Take from that whatever you like.

Ganymede - a Greek mythological character who did not father children with Zeus, although this was probably only because Ganymede was male. Yet Zeus, disguised as an eagle, did kidnap Ganymede and took him to Olympus where he served as cup-bearer. Mythology does record an erotic relationship between Zeus and Ganymede, this leading to the Latin form of Catamitus, itself the origin of the word 'catamite'. His name comes from the Greek ganymai 'to be glad' and medomai 'to think, to plan'.

Himalia - named after the nymph who bore three sons of ..... guess who? .... yes, by Zeus! Another not named until 1975, previously this was Jupiter VI. The name of Himalia probably comes from the Greek himalia meaning 'abundance of wheat meal'.

Io - no prizes for guessing who was sleeping with Io ...... yes, that Zeus fellow again Although he didn't seem overly grateful for the sexual favours as he turned her into a cow. Ancient Greek would have pronounced the name as EE-AW, although just where this name originates is unknown.

Leda - and known as Jupiter XIII until 1975, albeit not for long as it was only discovered the previous year. Greek mythology had her as, In what is becoming a somewhat monotonous mantra, a lover of Zeus. What Zeus (or Jupiter) lacked in commitment, he more than made up for in chat up lines for he appeared to Leda as a swan, falling into her arms to escape pursuit by an eagle (an everyday occurrence in Morrisons' car park). Her name is possibly an early Greek word for 'woman'.

Lysithea - named in 1975, previously known as Jupiter X or even Demeter. It is named after daughter of Oceanus who grew up to become one a lover of Zeus. Nothing is known of the origin of her name.

Metis - not named in 1975 but in 1983 as it was not discovered until 1979. It is named after Metis, the first wife of Zeus, whose name means 'wisdom, skill, craft'.

Pasiphae - named in 1975, formerly known as Jupiter VIII or Poseidon, it was discovered in 1908. It is named after the wife of Minos in Greek mythology, she also the mother of the Minotaur. Pasiphae is Greek from pas phaos and understood as 'wide shining'. (Note no Z-word here.)

Sinope - named in 1975, previously known as Jupiter IX or Hades, it was discovered in 1914 and the origins of her name are unknown. However we do know she was abducted by none other than Zeus. As the chief of the gods and all-powerful he was not stretching the truth when he promised to grant her anything she desired. She said she wished to remain a virgin all her life and Zeus was forced to grant her wish and ensure he failed at least once.

Thebe - named in 1983 after discovery by Voyager 1's flyby four years earlier, it had previously been known as Jupiter XIV, and named after a lover of Zeus. The origin of the name is unknown.

SATURN - takes the name of the Roman god of agriculture, whose name has variously been defined as from satu 'sowing', satis 'satisfaction', and stercus 'dung, manure'. Saturn's official moon count is 62, all but nine have names but we will content ourselves with a few examples.

Atlas - named after the figure from Greek mythology who holds the Earth on his shoulders for this moon also appears to support the rings of Saturn. The name has several suggested origins including Latin durus 'enduring'and Berber adrar 'mountain', and Proto-Indo-European telh 'uphold, support'.

Calypso - etymologically this is from Greek alypto 'to cover, hide, conceal', which fits with the myth of this nymph of Greek mythology detaining Odysseus for several years on the island of Ogygia.

Dione - named after the Titanesse of Greek mythology, this is essentially the feminine form of Zeus, itself from Djeus the Proto-Indo-European god of the daytime sky and also known as Dyeus ph-ter or 'sky father'.

Enceladus - ma,ed after the giant of Greek mythology, the name from the Greek enkeleuo meaning either 'to urge on' or 'to sound the charge'.

Epimetheus - named after the Greek mythological figure, brother of Prometheus, their names meaning 'hindsight, afterthinker' and 'foresight, fore-thinker' respectively.

Hyperion - named a character from Greek mythology, one of the twelve Titans. The name is from the Greek Huperion or 'high one'.

Iapetus - another Titan of Greek mythology, this from the Greek Iaoetos 'the piercer'.

Janus - the Roman god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. Unusually there is no Greek equivalent of this two-faced god. Etymologically there are three distinct suggestions for this name: hiantem 'to be open'; det 'to shine'; and ire 'to go'.

Mimas - another of the giants born of Gaia and the blood of the castrated Uranus (ah, so that explains it) although the etymology of the name is unknown.

Phoebe - another of the Titans, this name coming from the Greek Phoibe 'shining'.

Rhea - another named after a Titan, Rhea in Greek mythology was 'the mother of the gods' although her name probably originates in rheo 'flow'.

Titan - aptly named as this is not only Saturn's largest moon but the second largest in the solar system, indeed it is larger than the planet Mercury. This is named after the Titans, a race of giants and a world probably be from an early word tito meaning 'sun, day'.

URANUS - a Greek name originally Ouranos 'heaven, the sky'.

Ariel - named after a character in A Midsummer Nights Dream a play written by a chap named Shakespeare, apparently.Ariel is derived from the Herbrew word for 'altar'.

Miranda - named after a character in A Midsummer Nights Dream whose name is derived from the Latin mirari 'to admire'. The playwright's first name was William.

Oberon - named after the king of the fairies in A Midsummer Nights Dream and probably an Old French Auberon and an early loan word from a Germanic source meaning 'elf'. I'm told old Bill Shakespeare was born and died in Stratford-upon-Avon and on the same date in April.

Titania - named after the queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Nights Dream and is of Greek origin meaning 'daughter of the Titans'. The play was written by a man named Shakespeare who, so we hear, created a lot of English words.

Umbriel - named after a character in A Midsummer Nights Dream and a name derived from the Latin umbra or 'shadow'. Little old Billy the Bard went on to annoy a lot of people after his death and for centuries, too. Well let's get our own back by revealing that he, labelled the greatest wordsmith of all time, couldn't spell his own name and used a number of different spellings.

NEPTUNE - is the god of the sea in Greek mythology, hence the moons being named after minor Greek water deities. The name shares a root with 'nebula' in coming from Proto-Indo-European nebh 'cloud' and here used in a sense 'moist, wet'.

Nereid - named after the sea nymphs of Greek mythology and translates as 'nymph'.

Triton - is a Greek word related to Old Irish trethan 'the sea'.

Neso - not included because of its etymology, which is unknown, but because it has the longest orbital period of any moon known. It takes 26 years and 8 months and, to put this into context this means that since Neptune was discovered in 1846 the moon has been around the planet just over six times while our moon has been round us over two thousand times.Looking at it a different way, when Neso was last in this position in orbit around Neptune, Tony Blair had yet to be elected as a Member of Parliament, George Bush Snr was President of the United States, Saviour's Day by Cliff Richard was the UK number one single, Manchester United still hadn't won a title under Alexander Chapman Feguson, a first-class stamp cost 24p (18p for second-class), a loaf of bread would have cost you 50p, a pint of beer 99p, 80 tea bags for 46p, a pint of milk for 30p, and the essential Mars Bar 15p.

PLUTO - the Roman god of the underworld whose name comes from Proto-Indo-European pleu 'to flow'.

Charon - the ferryman of the dead over the river Styx, from the Greek Kahron and derived from the root chaopos 'of keen gaze'.

Hydra - is the name of the nine-headed serpent of Greek mythology killed by Heracles as the second of his twelve labours. Its name is the feminine version of hydros 'water snake'.

Nix - is the name of the Greek goddess of darkness and night, mother of Charon although strictly speaking the classical spelling is Nyx. She has few mentions in surviving mythology but what little is known suggests she was a goddess of incredible power and beauty and even Zeus himself feared her. The name Nix (or Nyx) comes from the Greek nykto 'night'.

Kerberos - this is the Greek version of the hound of Hades usually known as Cerberus in English. Etymology is uncertain but may be from Proto-Indo-European meaning 'spotted', albeit no depiction or writing of the three-headed hound ever mentions spots. Other suggestions include creoboros 'flesh-devouring', Ker berethrou 'evil of the pit', and the wondrous idea this comes from Proto-Indo-European ger 'to growl'

Styx - the river crossed to reach Hades, or so Greek mythology would have us believe. Its name comes from the Greek stygos 'hatred', stygnos 'gloomy', or stygein 'to abominate'.

Ceres - once the largest asteroid, it is now considered a dwarf planet. It is named after the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres comes from the Proto-Indo-European root kerh meaning 'to satiate, feed'.