Mythology & Folklore Stack Exchange
Mythology & Folklore Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [etymology]

For questions about the history of a name, including its evolution and the words and language it stems from.

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Is there a deeper meaning to Utgard-Loki, Loki, and Logi?

In the myth of Utgard-Loki, Thor and friends visit the castle Utgard, where several beings have nearly identical names: Utgard-Loki, a giant and the ruler of Utgard Loki, an Aesir and the half-brother of Thor Logi, another guest, the…
B. Szonye
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Why was Europe named after Europa?

I just re-read the story of Zeus and Europa, and in the notes provided by my book, it mentions that the continent of Europe was named after the mythological Europa. It gave no more explanation, and this confuses me, since Europa was taken to the…
ktm5124
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Where did the myth about the sword in the stone originate?

Where did the story/myth of the sword in the stone originate?There have been theories of it originating in Rome and England. It is also said to be just a story, but I think otherwise. There is a theory that the book written by T.H. White was…
anonymous
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What is the origin of the Hippogriff?

The Hippogriff is said to be the symbol of the Greek god Apollo. A Hippogriff is a mixture of a horse and an eagle/griffin. There are some practices that consider the Hippogriff a symbol of love. This is because the parents of a Hippogriff,…
anonymous
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Why is easter called 'easter'?

The Christian feast of 'easter' is based on the ancient Yewish religious feast (their main one), is widely spread and was linked to remember the 'Passion of Christ'. Recall that 'Christianity' started as a Yewish cult that claimed Jesus Christ was…
Discrete lizard
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Regarding Centaur's myth and etymology

It's usual to recall that the name Minotaur comes from the name of the king Minos and from the animal Tauros and that makes sense to me, however going a little farther I found the name "Centaur" or "Kentauros" which means "bull slayer"(or something…
AHandsomeAlien
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Etymology of "charming" ("Encantadora" in spanish) seeing from the Greek mythology point of view

I originally posted this question in the Spanish StackExchange but it seems it fits more in here, even though the significance of the word looks more direct in Spanish than English. My doubt rose up after vaguely remember the words of a professor…
AronNeewart
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Ancient celtic-iberian deity roughly named "Pecosuosucivo"

I'm looking for the exact name and possible etymology of an ancient celtic-iberian deity roughly named "Pecosuosucivo", as I can faintly recollect. Probably linked with the town Úbeda in the province of Jaén. Any suggestions are welcome!
exp8j
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Cultural association between directions and colors

Inspired by this question on history.stackexchange about the etymology of "Belarus" = "White Russia"... @SigueSigueBen writes in a comment: There is a tradition of giving naming compass directions after colours in Turkic cultures. The best example…
Quuxplusone
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Are there any other deities whose name is a declension of the verb "to be"?

Are there other examples of deity names in various traditions that are etymologically cognate with the concept of existence or the verb "to be," similar to the way the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) in Hebrew is linked to the root meaning "is/was/will be/to…
Reb Chaim HaQoton
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What is the relationship between the term 'hermit' and the traditions around Hermes and Hermeticism?

Hermes is a name with a few similar sounding words, all of which (that I'm aware of) are related to traits of Hermes: Hermeticism: a spiritual tradition based on Hermes as corresponding with Egyptian Thoth, associated with magic, writing,…
cr0
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Why is Athena "gray eyed"?

Obviously because her eyes are that color, but I suspect there are deeper, symbolic reasons for that particular color and description. This is in regard to the epithet γλαυκῶπις, in the lexicon defined as "bright eyed", but which is often translated…
DukeZhou
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Origins of the "bodark"

There is a moderately-widespread notion in (amateur) English-language sources that a "bodark" is one of the words in Russian mythology/folklore referring to a werewolf. Some examples: Moderately well-known video game (Ghost Recon: Future…
Ptr
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Word to mean unwise/foolish coming from the idea of being untravelled?

I remember reading somewhere that there is a word in old Norse for unwise/foolish that etymologically refers to someone who's not travelled or left home. Any ideas?
Angelica
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How is , a.k.a Catamite, the Etruscan form of Gadymedes?

It's obvious why is catamite, but not how the Etruscans got it from "Gadymedes". Is it just "We know they're the same character / name, but we dunno how the Etruscans got there"?
Malady
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