Category Archives: Etymology

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

Far and Few

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Nathan

When I posted about Edward Lear’s Jumblies, I received a comment from Ceridwen Silverhart mentioning Jumbies, creatures from Caribbean folklore. They’re basically evil spirits, and the name varies from one place to another. It’s sometimes spelled as “Jumbies” and other … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Authors, Carribean, Edward Lear, Etymology, History, Monsters, Music, Mythology | Tagged bacoo, baku, chooriles, douen, duende, duppies, dutchman jumbies, folklore, ghosts, guyana, jinn, jumbees, jumbies, moko jumbies, moongazer, ole higue, the jumblies, tracey baptiste, trinidad and tobago, vampires, zombies | 2 Comments

We Belong Dead

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Nathan

Today, I’m back from the dead (that might have worked better if I hadn’t just written yesterday) to talk about three Frankenstein movies. There are SPOILERS for all of them, as well as the original novel. Frankenstein – The original … Continue reading →

Posted in Etymology, Magic, Medicine, Monsters, Names, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged boris karloff, bride of frankenstein, elsa lanchester, frankenstein, helena bonham carter, kenneth branagh, lord byron, mary shelley, mary shelley's frankenstein, percy bysshe shelley, prometheus, robert de niro, tom hulce | 2 Comments

Snally Boy

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Nathan

I noticed that one of the other monsters described in William Cox’s Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, the same book as the Squonk, is the Snoligoster. (WARNING: The passage is pretty racist.) That’s a name I thought I knew, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Cartoons, Characters, Etymology, Food, German, L. Frank Baum, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Television, The Flintstones, Urban Legends | Tagged barney rubble, dewayo, fearsome creatures of the lumberwoods, florida, fred flintstone, fred flintstone and the snallygaster show, lake okeechobee, maryland, ork, president theodore roosevelt, snallygasters, snoligosters, the scarecrow of oz, william t. cox, wilma flintstone, wolves | Leave a comment

Sorting Out Sorcery

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Nathan

One running theme in Glinda of Oz is that there are several different types of magic in Oz, all of which have their specialties, but none of them can do everything. L. Frank Baum contrasts the fairy magic of Ozma … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, Characters, Etymology, Games, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Politics, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Technology, Theosophy | Tagged abrog, akbad, belfaygor, blinkie, conjo, cookywitches, dorothy and the wizard in oz, dr. pipt, dungeons and dragons, fanny the weather witch, flatheads, gayelette, glinda, glinda and the red jinn, glinda of oz, good witch of the north, gorba, grampa in oz, great book of records, gwig, handy mandy in oz, imperial squawmos, jack pumpkinhead of oz, kadj the conjurer, krumbic witch, magicians, mangaboos, miserable mesmerizer, mombi, mooj, necromancers, ojo in oz, oz magic, oziana, ozma, ozwoz, paul dana, peter brown, pirates in oz, potaroo, prophecy, queen coo-ee-oh, red jinn, robert pattrick, rora flathead, soob the sorcerer, soothsayers, sorcerers, speedy in oz, supreme dictator of the flatheads, the cowardly lion of oz, the giant horse of oz, the gnome king of oz, the lost princess of oz, the marvelous land of oz, the patchwork girl of oz, the runaway in oz, the scarecrow of oz, the shaggy man of oz, the wonderful wizard of oz, three adepts at magic, ugu the shoemaker, unexplored territory in oz, waddy, wicked witch of the east, wicked witch of the west, witches, wizard of oz, wizard of wutz, wizards, wozards, wumbo, yookoohoos | Leave a comment

Category Archives: Etymology

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

Far and Few

We Belong Dead

Snally Boy

Sorting Out Sorcery

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