A Garden of WordsTimes Books, 1992 - 188 pages For language mavens, a lively exploration of the origins and development of 24 flower names, from aster to zinnia. Barnette weaves together the diverse elements that, over the centuries, have formed each word's colorful etymological history. Elegantly designed and illustrated throughout--a charming gift for language buffs and armchair gardeners. |
From inside the book
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Page 134
... Orchids belong to a huge botanical family , the Orchidaceae , or Orchid family . A closer look at orchids and their many nicknames will lead ' Incidentally , in A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English , Eric Partridge points ...
... Orchids belong to a huge botanical family , the Orchidaceae , or Orchid family . A closer look at orchids and their many nicknames will lead ' Incidentally , in A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English , Eric Partridge points ...
Page 135
... orchid bulb and male gonads seems to have encouraged the be- lief that orchids possess extraordinary aphrodisiac powers . Pliny the Elder wrote of the Greeks ' belief that merely holding an orchid bulb in one's hand would arouse sexual ...
... orchid bulb and male gonads seems to have encouraged the be- lief that orchids possess extraordinary aphrodisiac powers . Pliny the Elder wrote of the Greeks ' belief that merely holding an orchid bulb in one's hand would arouse sexual ...
Page 138
... orchid and the vanilla bean may come as a surprise , but our linguistic for- bears just weren't bashful about calling things as they saw them . In fact , orchids aren't the only familiar plants named after testicles . The Aztecs applied ...
... orchid and the vanilla bean may come as a surprise , but our linguistic for- bears just weren't bashful about calling things as they saw them . In fact , orchids aren't the only familiar plants named after testicles . The Aztecs applied ...
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Common terms and phrases
Akoniti Amaryllis ancient Greek ancient Greek word Anthurium applied aster bird blossom borrowed botanical color columbine comes from Latin crane daisy dandelion denotes derives descendant Dutch English term English word etymological eventually EXORDIUM flea flower name foot form the name French word GARDEN OF WORDS gave rise genus geranium German word gladiolus glish goddess gray Greek myth Hyacinth HYDRANGEA idea Indo-European root inspired the name iris Italian known languages Latin lupus Latin word lily literally means loanword loosestrife loup Lupercalia lupine lussa miterwort modern English nasturtium nicknames nose offspring Old English Old French orchid origin palindrome pansy pearl phrase plant Pliny the Elder poppy Professor Latkovski refers reflected resemble Russian S)PEN Sadako Sasaki Sanskrit scholars shines Similarly someone source of English Spanish star Star jelly stem sword synonym tail testicle thought tulip wolf word for rose Zephyrus