An etymological interpretation of Leo 6: An old-fashioned woman and an up-to-date girl.
[NOTE: just as different words with the same or similar meaning are called "synonyms", different words descending from the same etymological root are termed "paronyms."]
COMMENTARY: First of all there are the very obvious pairs of opposites--woman vs. girl and up-to-date and old-fashioned. Notably, paronyms of old include not just elderly and adult but also adolescent. The last keyword—girl—could certainly refer to an adolescent, but doesn’t need to. Also, paronyms of date include dowager, an elderly woman of high social station and the word tradition (an inherited practice of long standing). The word traditional is, of course, a synonym of old.
There is also an interesting relationship here concerning another paronym of date—Pandora, the Greek goddess—and the keyword up. According to Greek mythology, Pandora was:
As the first woman, in one sense Pandora is an old woman—the oldest in fact. But there is more of import—Pandora’s other name.
Interestingly, one of the keywords in this symbol is up and its root, upo-, means “under, up from under.”
[NOTE: just as different words with the same or similar meaning are called "synonyms", different words descending from the same etymological root are termed "paronyms."]
The world old descends from the Indo-European root al-3 which means “to grow, nourish.” Derivatives of that root include alderman, the name Eldred, alto, abolish, adolescent, adult, aliment, alimony, alma mater, alumnus, altitude, coalesce, elder, exalt, haughty, proletarian, and prolific.
The word fashioned descends from the root dhe- which means “to set, put.” The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots lists over 150 derivatives. Among them are affair, affection, amplify, artifact, benefit, boutique, bodega, condiment, confetti, deem, defeat, deface, difficult, defect, do, effect, efficiency, façade, face, fact, faction, factory, feat, feature, fetish, infection, modification, office, perfect, profit, qualification, sufficiency, surface, theme, and thesis.
The noun woman also has more than one origin. The word itself descends from the root ghwibh- which means both “shame” and “pudenda.” Two other words are derived from this root—wife and hussy (a female adulterer).
The word up descends from the root upo- which means “under, up from under, over.” Other derivatives include above, eaves, often, opal, open, supine, uproar, valet, and vassal.
The word date descends from the root do- which means “to give.” Among its other derivatives are the words dado (a rectangular groove cut into a board so that another piece can fit into it), dative, datum, die (a device used for cutting out, forming, or stamping material), donation, donor, dot (a woman's marriage portion; a dowry), dowager (an elderly woman of high social station), dowry, endow, Pandora, antidote, dose, anecdote, apodosis, epidote, add, betray, edition, render, rent (payment, usually of an amount fixed by contract), surrender, tradition, traitor, treason, and vend.
The noun girl descends from the Middle English girle, meaning child or girl. Definitions of girl include “a female child”, “a young woman”, and “a daughter.”COMMENTARY: First of all there are the very obvious pairs of opposites--woman vs. girl and up-to-date and old-fashioned. Notably, paronyms of old include not just elderly and adult but also adolescent. The last keyword—girl—could certainly refer to an adolescent, but doesn’t need to. Also, paronyms of date include dowager, an elderly woman of high social station and the word tradition (an inherited practice of long standing). The word traditional is, of course, a synonym of old.
There is also an interesting relationship here concerning another paronym of date—Pandora, the Greek goddess—and the keyword up. According to Greek mythology, Pandora was:
The first woman, bestowed upon humankind as a punishment for Prometheus's theft of fire. Entrusted with a box containing all the ills that could plague people, she opened it out of curiosity and thereby released all the evils of human life.
As the first woman, in one sense Pandora is an old woman—the oldest in fact. But there is more of import—Pandora’s other name.
As Hesiod related it, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mould her out of Earth as part of the punishment of mankind for Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire, and all the gods joined in offering her "seductive gifts". Her other name, inscribed against her figure on a white-ground kylix in the British Museum, is Anesidora, "she who sends up gifts," up implying "from below" within the earth.
Interestingly, one of the keywords in this symbol is up and its root, upo-, means “under, up from under.”
...but I am coming around as I've had to write so much these last five years....and I can't avoid having to deal with it and learn it...or an adequate amount of it, anyways.]