Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4
#148793 10/09/05 03:42 PM
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 203
enthusiast
OP Offline
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 203
This afternoon, on a Sunday hike, I had a portentous encounter with a yellow-and-black-striped spider about the size of an infant's hand!

I was sufficiently moved to do a bit of looking around arachnology websites (to find out about the brute's toxicity for one) and finally found out that the spider was a Giant Wood Spider also known as a Golden Orb Weaving Spider.

It is common here in Japan, where they call it "O-jyorou gumo" which I'm told means, roughly: "big femme fatale".

It's Latin name is Nephila clavata. It's this last that I am unsure of. Can anyone tell me what it means?

I'm guessing that "clavata" is related to the Latin "clavate" (meaning thicker at the apex than at the base) but "Nephila"? I haven't the foggiest, unless it has something to do with "nymph" ?

Thanks.

Last edited by Homo Loquens; 10/09/05 03:43 PM.
#148794 10/09/05 03:54 PM
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 203
enthusiast
OP Offline
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 203
By the way, this is the Nephila clavata

#148795 10/09/05 04:20 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Well, the ph in nephila is a tip that its roots lie in Greek and not Latin. It might be related to Gk nephos 'cloud'. I'm not really sure. (Your best bet is to look at a scientific dictionary that lists roots used in coining new species names.) The Latin verb clavo (past particple clavatum) has a secondary meaning of 'to furnish with purple stripes'. I looked at pictures and see that it is different from the garden orb weaver we have in California.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
I
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
I
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
It seems to be related to the Hebrew "Nephilim":

2 entries found for Nephilim.

Nephilim

\Neph"i*lim\, n. pl. [Heb. n[e^]ph[=i]l[=i]m.] Giants. --Gen. vi. 4. Num. xiii. 33.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.


Nephilim

(Gen. 6:4; Num. 13:33, R.V.), giants, the Hebrew word left untranslated by the
Revisers, the name of one of the Canaanitish tribes. The Revisers have,
however, translated the Hebrew gibborim, in Gen. 6:4, "mighty men."


btw, I'm not familiar with any translation of "gibborim" that would have it "giants" and not "strong or powerful men."

Last edited by inselpeter; 10/09/05 06:47 PM.
#148797 10/09/05 09:58 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
Quote:

...The Latin verb clavo (past particple clavatum) has a secondary meaning of 'to furnish with purple stripes'...




I would have expected some relation to clave/key (but maybe I'm just being naive) Edit: "naïve" - right on! option-u-i and &#239 both work.

[aside: Is there an ASCII # or even an &# for i-with-a-dieresis for "naive"]

Last edited by wofahulicodoc; 10/09/05 11:55 PM.
#148798 10/09/05 10:13 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
I would have expected some relation to clave/key (but maybe I'm just being naive)

I was concentrating on the secondary meaning. Latin clavo is from clavus 'nail' as opposed to clavis 'key' (whence our clef).

For naive, I used the HTML entity iuml between an ampersand and a semi-colon, but as noticed by others in the bugs thread, something's wrong with the forum software configuration, and no diacritics or Unicode.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
#148799 10/09/05 10:33 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Quote:



[aside: Is there an ASCII # or even an &# for i-with-a-dieresis for "naive"]




Wofa, you're still on a Mac, yes? option u + i

#148800 10/09/05 10:41 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Or Alt-0239 (on the number pad) under Windoze: ï. Still Unicode characters beyond 255 don't seem to render, e.g., small letter e with macron ē, with breve ĕ, or with caron ě.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
#148801 10/09/05 10:48 PM
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Quote:

Or Alt-0239 (on the number pad) under Windoze: ï. Still Unicode characters beyond 255 don't seem to render, e.g., small letter e with macron ē, with breve ĕ, or with caron ě.




Which is nothing compared to the fact that your Great Old One looks distinctly more pachydermish than cephalopodic, thanks to the avatar being squished.

#148802 10/09/05 10:53 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
ï

That's what option-u i gives

Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5