Category Archives: Etymology

Listen to the Banshee

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Nathan

I’m not sure I’ve ever done a post about Banshees, of Inisherin or otherwise. I haven’t seen that movie, but I suspect it doesn’t have any literal Banshees in it. I did write before about the Bean-Nighe, which is sometimes considered a type of … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Authors, Cartoons, Celtic, Characters, Discworld, Etymology, Magic, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Oz, Television, Terry Pratchett | Tagged aiobheall, banshees, bean-nighe, birds, blarney castle, blarney stone, brigid, carrigcleena, cats, ciabhan, cliodhna, cormac maccarthy, crows, dragons, dryads, dwarves, fairies, forest of burzee, funerary rites, gargoyles, gebann the red druid, ghosts, gnomes, going postal, gryle, guards! guards!, hares, keening, leprechauns, leprechauns in oz, manannan mac lir, mark haas, morrigan, moving pictures, mr. ixolite, o'caoimh, ruadan, sean mac seamas, sirens, stoats, the colour of magic, tiny toon adventures, tonn cliodhna, tuatha de danann, weasels | 1 Comment

Mistletoe the Line

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Nathan

As a kid, I was introduced to the idea of mistletoe being the plant people kiss under at Christmastime. Then, when I was a little older, I started looking into Norse mythology, and found the story about how mistletoe had … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Christmas, Chronicles of Narnia, Etymology, Greek Mythology, Holidays, Language, Magic, Mythology, Names, Norse, Religion, Roman | Tagged aeneas, aeneid, asclepius, baldur, brewer's dictionary of phrase and fable, crucifixion, death, deiphobe, druids, father christmas, frigg, hodur, jesus, loki, mistletoe, odin, persephone, plants, pliny the elder, proserpina, resurrection, santa claus, sir james george frazer, the golden bough, the lion the witch and the wardrobe, underworld, virgil, yule | 1 Comment

Taliesin’s Tale

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Nathan

I don’t think I’ve said that much about the legendary bard Taliesin, although I’ve come across him when researching other British mythology. I tend to subconsciously associate him with Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer, I guess because they’re also … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, British, Celtic, Etymology, Finnish, Greek Mythology, History, Magic, Music, Mythology, Names, Poetry, Uncategorized, Welsh | Tagged amaetheon fab don, annwn, arawn, bards, bible, bran the blessed, cad goddeu, cerridwen, chronicles of prydain, crewarwy, deer, dogs, elffin ap gwyddno, fflewddur fflam, fionn mac cumhaill, giants, gwion bach ap gwreang, gwydion fab don, king arthur, king urien, lloyd alexander, merlin, morfran, myrddin wyllt, ogham, orpheus, potions, salmon of knowledge, taliesin, trees, vainamoinen, witches | 1 Comment

I Don’t Think It’s Good to Work Too Hard

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Nathan

I’ve gotten into the habit of writing about a video game when I start playing it, then again when I finish, assuming I ever do. I do tend to post occasional updates to Twitter, however, thanks to the screen capture … Continue reading →

Posted in Chrono Trigger, Dreams, Etymology, Families, Greek Mythology, Humor, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Names, Relationships, Sims, Technology, Video Games | Tagged aliens, casey bat, cosmic star heroine, dalaam, earthbound, earthbound beginnings, giygas, jeff andonuts, magicant, master belch, mother 3, mr. saturn, nintendo switch, pokey minch, prince poo, robots, sword of kings, the sims 4, time travel, twitter, weapons | Leave a comment

You Can’t Sit at Our Table

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Nathan

Today, I wanted to look at the Table of Nations from Genesis 10. The Hebrew word that’s usually translated “nations” is goyim, which became gentilis in the Latin Vulgate. Both words have come to mean non-Jewish people in general, and … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Christianity, Egyptian, Ethnicity, Etymology, Families, Greek Mythology, History, Judaism, Language, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Prejudice, Religion | Tagged abraham, aegyptus, agenor, andromeda, atlas, babylon, belus, bible, bosporus, canaan, carthage, cetus, crete, danaus, eber, egypt, esau, ethiopia, euripides, europa, flavius josephus, flood, genesis, good news bible, ham, hellen, hera, herodotus, heth, hittites, iapetus, inachus, incest, Iran, ishmael, isis, israel, jacob, japheth, jonah, king cepheus, king solomon, king xerxes i, libya, lydia, magog, mesopotamia, mizraim, moab, mycenae, nimrod, noah, ophir, paul of tarsus, perses, perseus, phoenicia, poseidon, prometheus, racism, scythia, sea monsters, shem, table of nations, tarshish, tartessos, the rose and the ring, titans, tros, troy, william makepeace thackeray, zeus | 1 Comment

My God Can Beat Up Your God

Posted on November 27, 2021 by Nathan

I can’t remember how I was originally signed up for Quora, but I do find it interesting to read some of the answers, especially about mythology. Like much of the Internet, answers are from both experts and people who are just … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Babylonian, Celtic, Characters, Christianity, Conspiracy Theories, Egyptian, Etymology, Feminism, Gender, Greek Mythology, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Poetry, Politics, Prejudice, Relationships, Religion, Roman, Wicca | Tagged cybele, dionysus, glinda, kronos, laura riding, loki, matilda joslyn gage, matriarchy, ozma, ozma fail, patriarchy, poseidon, prometheus, rhea, robert graves, saturn, set, the greek myths, the white goddess, tiamat, titans, tuatha de danann, zeus | 2 Comments

All in How You Spell ‘Em

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Nathan

I saw something recently about the difference between the words “fairy” and “faerie.” Really, there’s no difference; the latter is just an archaic spelling. The word comes from the French for “fate,” and therefore “enchantment”; and was applied to many different … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, British, Celtic, Discworld, Etymology, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett | Tagged aleister crowley, dennis wilson wise, dwarves, elves, fairies, fairyland, gnomes, goblins, immortals, john william polidori, lee speth, lord of the rings, noldor, nomes, nymphs, orcs, ozma of oz, spelling, the baum bugle, the hobbit, the hungry tiger of oz, vampires, words | 2 Comments

Right Off the Bat

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Nathan

When I played the first Dragon Quest, then called Dragon Warrior, I had a strategy guide from Nintendo Power that described Drakees as flying baby dragons. This was interesting to me, as it gave a bit of a hint into … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Dragon Quest, Dreams, Etymology, L. Frank Baum, Mario, Mega Man, Monsters, Onyx Madden/Jim Nitch, Oz, Oz Authors, Pokémon, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged antasma, atari adventure, bats, battons, chimera, count dracula, dorothy and the wizard in oz, drac the vlad, drackies, dragonets, dragonettes, dragons, fish, hunt the wumpus, keeses, king bowser koopa, mario and luigi: dream team, nintendo power, super mario world, swoopers, swoops, the legend of zelda, the mysterious chronicles of oz, vampires, vires, wyverns | 2 Comments

Shave and a Haircut, Two Squits

Posted on August 25, 2021 by Nathan

Jenny Jump might well be the foremost stylist in Oz, but there are other mentions of hairstyling being a thing in Oz even before her arrival, if perhaps less creative. There’s a pun in The Patchwork Girl of Oz when Bungle … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Characters, Edward Einhorn, Etymology, Humor, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Language, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged alibabble, barbers, barberville, bertrand russell, brussle, bungle the glass cat, cowardly lion, dorothy gale, down town, emerald city, eric gjovaag, hair, hairstyles, hungry tiger, jo musket, jodie in oz, karyl carlson, lady twist, old wolliwag, ozcon international, ozma of oz, paradox in oz, princess ayala, princess talia, queen ann in oz, rash, red jinn, sir dye, the hungry tiger of oz, the living house of oz, the patchwork girl of oz, the purple prince of oz, the wizard of oz (1939), the wonderful wizard of oz, tonsoria, unc nunkie, w. w. denslow, who's who in oz, wigs, young wolliwag | Leave a comment

Angling for the Saxons

Posted on April 24, 2021 by Nathan

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s idea for an America First Caucus based on Anglo-Saxon values sounds kind of bizarre to those of us who don’t run in white supremacist circles. Like, why Anglo-Saxon in particular, and why would a group focusing on … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, Authors, British, Celtic, Colonization of America, England, Ethnicity, Etymology, History, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language, Lewis Carroll, Monarchy, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Norse, Politics, Prejudice, Roman Empire, United Kingdom | Tagged america first, angles, anglo-saxon attitudes, britons, dragons, english, geoffrey of monmouth, hengest, historia regum britanniae, horsa, jutes, king alfred the great, king arthur, king vortigern, marjorie taylor greene, mary rambaran-olm, merlin, nationalism, normans, odin, picts, racism, robin hood, rowena, saxons, through the looking-glass, time magazine, vikings | 1 Comment

Category Archives: Etymology

Listen to the Banshee

Mistletoe the Line

Taliesin’s Tale

I Don’t Think It’s Good to Work Too Hard

You Can’t Sit at Our Table

My God Can Beat Up Your God

All in How You Spell ‘Em

Right Off the Bat

Shave and a Haircut, Two Squits

Angling for the Saxons

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