The creator of the
Online Etymology Dictionary states on his homepage that his favorite etymology is
porcelain. So, of course, I had to check it out...and it is truly fascinating!:
porcelain - c.1530, from M.Fr. porcelaine,
from It. porcellana "porcelain," lit. "cowrie
shell," the chinaware so called from resemblance
to the shiny surface of the shells. The shell's
name in It. is from porcella "young sow," fem.
of L. porcellus "young pig," dim. of porculus
"piglet," dim. of porcus "pig." The shells were so
called because the shape of the orifice reminded
someone of the vaginas of pigs. Now I'll never look at
porcelain in quite the same way again!
Ladies?...(the usual suspects)
(not being a usual suspect I'll like so totally stay out of this)
Get thee to a turnpike, already!
Dear WO'N: Interesting. Never heard it before. But also there are other
very important things about porcelain. Tt cannot be made from ordinary
clays.It requires special starting materials chief of which is Kaolin,
and it is highly vitrified, leaving no porosity, and
having the strength to be made so thin as to be translucent.
And, tut,tut! A cowrie shell looks like a vulva. The vagina is out of sight.
er....W'ON, according to bartleby you've got the wrong part of the pig.
But I do think the bartleby story is a bit suspect in that, if you accept that story, query why the word stems specifically from the
feminine form of "pig"? [Change that
harrumph® to a hhmmmmm...]
http://www.bartleby.com/61/94/P0449400.html:
French porcelaine, cowry shell, porcelain, from Old French, from Old Italian porcellana, from feminine of porcellano, of a young sow (from the shell's resemblance to a pig's back)...
Dear Keiva: I have seen cowrie shells. They do indeed look very much like a vulva, porcine or human.
When the troopship I was on stopped at Funafuti, now called Tuvalu and worrying about sea level rising, there came out an outrigger propelled by a wizened up wimpy elderly male, and in command a middle aged virago so fat her buttocks hung over both sides of the craft. She wanted to trade, but was indifferent to money, only mildly interested in fish hooks and cigarette lighters. She would give one cowrie shell for ten bucks. But when I put a vial of highly perfumed Pinaud aftershave lotion on a line lowered it down to her, she got so excited I thought she was going to swamp the outrigger. I got a whole necklace of cowrie shells. Alas, my wife thought it indecent and threw it away when I was not home to protest.
Dear Keiva: Here is a picture of a cowrie shell, looking like female vulva:
In the picture extreme right, third one down:
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~amylyne/GSC/shellpic.htm
And here's the caption to the picture, Dr. Bill:
Top and bottom views. Found in the Central Pacific, Philippines, and Northern Australia. In many island cultures large cowrie shells were used as "birthing shells." The mother would hold the shell in her hand to squeeze to ease the pain during contractions. It was also thought that the mouth of the shell resembled the female birth canal and would bring an expectant mother an easy delivery.
Dear WO'N: It just occurred to me. Wouldn't it have been an interesting coincidence if I had had Aqua Vulva aftershave lotion to trade for the cowrie necklace.
Rubrick, your post reminds me of a [true] story that tangentially regards the founding of the Nike shoe company -- but is too bawdy to put here, even in white. Watch for my PM.
Oh, Dr. Bill! Thank you for the url. I have an extensive collection of shells, but never bought a sourcebook to identify them and it had slipped my mind to look them up. Smooch, smooch, smooch.
Aw, come on - that is so unfair! Don't tell us you can't tell us!!!
edit: in case it ain't obvious, this is in response to Keiva's post