An Ethereal Word Wednesday

This week I asked my lovely daughter to pick the word we would look at today. And, like the angel she is, she picked "ethereal".  A beautiful choice! So what is the definition of ethereal? Here's what I found:

ethereal (comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)

1. Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; otherworldly; as, ethereal space; ethereal regions.  [quotations ▼]
2. Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.  [quotations ▼]
3. Delicate, light and airy.

Celestial, light, airy - I like that!  Like many English words it comes from Latin - specifically from "aetherius" which means "of or pertaining to the ether, the sky or the air or upper air".  Brings to mind angels, clouds, blue skies, the heavens!  

So I went on Google and typed in "ethereal art".  Here are three completely random choices from the images that appeared as a result of that search.

Dance in Ethereal by brideinblacklace on deviantart.com

Cupid and Paul McCartney on Word Wednesday

Sorry but no, this post is not about Paul McCartney's love life.  In celebration of Valentine's Day Eve on this Word Wednesday, this post is about Cupid.  We'll get to Paul McCartney in a bit, bear with me.  

Everywhere we turn there are newspaper, internet and radio ads trying to entice us to spend money on flowers, cards, candy or jewelry for the one we love.  One of the common symbols of love on this holiday is Cupid.  Now we all know that if you are shot with one of Cupid’s arrows you fall in love with the next person you see but where did this idea originate?  Who came up with the story about a small, chubby boy with wings shooting arrows at people to make them fall in love?  It all began with classical mythology.  Ready for this?  It’s a real soap opera!

So legend has it that Cupid is the son of Venus and Mars.  In the 2^nd century Latin novel “The Golden Ass” (also known as “Metamorphoses”) by Apuleius, Venus becomes jealous of the beautiful Psyche because her beauty is luring worshipers away from Venus.  Venus has a little sit down with her son Cupid and orders him to make Psyche fall in love with a monster.  In the still of the night Cupid creeps into Psyche’s room to shoot her with the fateful arrow but alas, he cannot, as he has fallen in love with her beauty just like all her worshipers have done.  Cupid defies his mother’s order by pricking himself, causing himself to fall in love with Psyche.  (insert dramatic organ music here). 

Meanwhile, downstairs at Psyche’s home her parents consult an oracle.  Why, oh why, does no one want to marry their beautiful daughter?  The oracle breaks the tragic news that their daughter is destined to marry a monster.  (Gasp!)  This cannot be! They order the west wind to carry her away to a faraway castle on top of a mountain in order to escape this unfathomable fate.   Cupid cannot bear to be away from his beloved Psyche and goes to her every night – but warns her to never look at him.  (Extreme close-up of Cupid with a very stern look on his face)

"Hysteria" on Word Wednesday!

*Let me begin by saying there is a great deal of information below that is sexual in nature.  Some people may find it offensive.  It is not recommended for those under the age of 18 or those who are uncomfortable reading content of a sexual nature.*

Today we look at the word “hysteria”.  Yes, the history of the word “hysteria” is sexual in nature.  Who knew?  Not me! The word itself comes from the Greek cognate of uterus (hystera). 

Yes, he is doing what you think he is doing.

Plato compared a woman’s uterus to a creature that roams through a woman’s body “blocking passages, obstructing breathing, and causing disease” all the way back in the 4^th/5^th century B.C. In the 2^nd century, a physician wrote that the cause of hysteria was sexual deprivation in women with high libidos (most often virgins, nuns, widows, and sometimes married women). The cure? If you were married, the cure was intercourse.  If you were single, the cure was marriage or, if marriage was not an option then the last resort treatment was vaginal/pelvic massage.

There were some who thought the retention of female semen stored in the womb, which mixed with male semen during intercourse, was the cause of hysteria.  If the female semen was not released through regular climax or intercourse, physicians believed that it became poisonous.  Symptoms of the affliction included faintness, nervousness, insomnia, fluid retention, muscle spasms, shortness of breath and irritability.

I'm not making this stuff up - I swear!

In the 19^th century, a huge number of physical ailments were considered possible symptoms of this psychological disorder.  There was a variety of theories regarding the cause of the ailment, including the stresses of modern life.  Physicians did not like providing vaginal massage to treat the hysteria, as it was difficult to learn and sometimes required hours of treatment in order to reach the “hysterical paroxysm” (orgasm) required to cure the hysteria.  The chaise lounge and fainting couch become popular home furniture in order to make women more comfortable during treatment. “Massage devices” (the original vibrators) were created as a way that women could treat themselves more quickly and without the need to consult a physician or midwife. 

Now stop the immature laughing, wipe that goofy grin off your face and go about your day! Let's act like grownups people!

 

Yes, the stars have conspired against you

Ever had a really bad case of the flu?  Every joint in your body aches.  You threaten the children with their lives if they touch you or the bed and cause the slightest movement.  You have to force fluids in order to avoid dehydrating but wrapping your fingers around the glass is tantamount to having your fingernails plucked out.  

Ever asked, maybe even out loud, in the midst of your misery, "what did I do to deserve this?"  I mean, did you offend the 

gods and they placed a curse on you?  Well, turns out that the medieval Europeans believed something very close to this.  

The original word was Italian - influencia, which means influence.  Initially it was believed that astrological influences caused influenza.  The term later evolved into "influenza del freddo" or "influence of the cold".  Over the years it was used to describe grippe, sweating sickness and Spanish fever. 

The Nerd from Ka-Troo

Webster defines a nerd as:

an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person;especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits

Want to guess where the first documented use of the word was?   Here's a hint.  You are undoubtedly familiar with his writing.  I bet you like his writing.  I bet you like it here and there.  I bet you like it everywhere.  I bet you'd read it with a mouse.  I bet you'd read it in a house.  Yep!  Our dearly loved Theodore Seuss Geisel, commonly known as Dr. Seuss.

In a story named "If I Ran the Zoo", written in 1950, a little boy describes . . . well . . . what he would do if he ran the zoo.  One of the things he would do is bring in a creature called a nerd from the land of Ka-Troo.  The exact line from the book is:

"“And then, just to show them, I’ll sail to Ka-Troo. And Bring Back an IT-KUTCH, a PREEP and a PROO, a NERKLE, a NERD, and a SEERSUCKER, too!”"

Seuss' Nerd

Word historians (word nerds if you will) say the term caught on with young children who worked it into their vocabulary until it evolved into today's current meaning as an unstylish, unattractive, socially inept person.  

Now I'm going to have Who's from Whoville, talking cats and fish, and Truffula trees stuck in my brain for a few days!  Not a bad thing really!

INTRODUCING

WORD WEDNESDAY!

I love words.  They fascinate me.  Beginning today we will take a look at specific words every Wednesday.  Every Wednesday will be Word Wednesday.  We may compare and contrast words, look at etymologies, or we may look at the history of a specific phrase.  Today we begin with the history behind the phrase "a baker's dozen".

In case you didn't know, a baker's dozen is actually 13.  So if a bakery has a baker's dozen special it means that they are giving you an extra donut, cookie, pastry, or whatever.  Where did this come from?  Why did the term even come to be and why is it 13 instead of 12?  Glad you asked!

Well, back during the reign of King Henry III there was a problem with British breadmakers giving their customers small loaves. The king imposed a new law that set a standard weight for a loaf of bread in order to address the problem. No baker wants to serve time for selling a loaf of bread that doesn't meet the standard weight, so it became common practice for breadmakers to give an extra loaf to customers who bought 12 loaves of bread to give the customer one more - just to be on the safe side! So if any of the loaves in the box were a little on the light side, the 13 loaf should make up the difference!