|
new column
Funny Canadian Sayings / Canuck Words / Canadian French Words / My Blog The Wording Room / Buy Books / Contact / Links / Site Map / Biography Schedule / New Entries / Photos / Letters / Good Reviews Thursday, July 24, 2008
Geophagy = the eating of dirt, earth, soil pronounced: jee-OFF-uh-jee
Geophagy is a modern scientific Greek compound γεωφαγíα (geophagia) = γη ‘earth’ (combining form: geo-) + φαγíα ‘eating’ The clearest reference to geophagy in popular American culture is the title of one of the bestselling American novels of the 20th century, Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth. Set during the reign of the last emperor of China, the story depicts, among other realities of earlier Chinese life, a prolonged drought and period of starvation during which the heroine mother, O-Lan, serves her children something to eat. Her poor neighbours, clutched in famine’s claw, desperate for food, discover that she has fed the kids soil, “the good earth” itself, because, as O-Lan says, it is warm and gives life. Nowadays we know that dirt also contains intestinal worm larvae and a number of bacteria best left out of the human digestive tract. Eating dirt is contraindicated at all times. Pearl Buck 1892- 1973 In China from childhood, Pearl spoke both English and Chinese. In 1931 The Good Earth won the Pulitzer Prize and became a major MGM film in 1937. In 1938, less than a decade after her first book had appeared, Pearl Buck won the Nobel Prize in literature, the first American woman to do so. Pica : A Synonym for Geophagy Among veterinarians and pediatricians, a common synonym for geophagy is pica. This term arose in late fifteenth century Latin as a word for the craving of pregnant women for odd foods. Pica in classical Latin was a bird name, a magpie. It was suggested to medieval physicians because of the magpie’s habit of dining on a wide assortment of foods. Some modern pediatricians still use the term for a symptom cluster in certain cases of childhood malnourishment. Geophagy Today in Haiti Geophagy has reared its dirt-eating head in today’s Haiti, one of the poorest countries on earth.
English Words Containing the Gai-, Ge- and Geo- Radicals The Greek root for earth persists in the general and the scientific vocabularies of most European languages. Here is a list of some English -geo- words: Gaia The earth mother in ancient Greek mythology was Gaia. This Urmutter reappeared in the twentieth century as a icon and feminist symbol, and Gaia was then appropriated by earth-loving ecofreaks to remind us of how all creatures on earth are indeed pressed to Gaia’s nurturant breasts, a biological fact we forget at our peril.
“Big Momma” Gaia By George! The geo root is also in some surprising words, like our common given name, George. In Greek Georgos meant farmer, that is, earth-worker (ge + orgos ‘worker’). A georgic is a poem dealing with rural life, such as the Roman poet Virgil’s Georgics. Apogee – (Greek apo ‘away from’ + ge ‘earth’) The apogee is that point in the orbit of the moon at which the moon is farthest away from the earth. The apogee of a space satellite is also spoken of. Epigeal – (Greek epi ‘on’ + ge ‘earth’) In botany, an epigeal plant sprouts and grows on or above the ground after germination. Hypogeal – (Greek hypo ‘under’ + ge ‘earth’) In botany, an epigeal plant develops or grows or matures underground. The peanut is epigeal. Geography – literally: writing about the earth (Greek graphein ‘to write’) Geology – literally: study of the earth (logia – ‘study’)
English Words with the Greek -Phag- Root
phagos Greek ‘eater, eating’ and phagein ‘to eat’ and phagia ‘eating’
Sarcophagus = sarx, sarkos Greek ‘flesh’ + phagos ‘eater’ The first sarcophagus was possibly a limestone coffin said to assist in the disintegration of a human corpse and so employed in making coffins. Later, the word sarcophagus names any ornate coffin built of stone or rare wood and decorated with the usual clichés of funerary mopery. In days of yore, some British sacrophagi were adorned with weeping angels hiding their heads beneath tear-moistened winglets. Or the carved coffins might depict a chubby flock of volant putti flying over the deceased person and bearing banners emblazoned with messages of spurious hope like “Nigel hath joined the Choir Celestial.” Hardly likely, after Nigel had diligently applied an arsenic salt to Aunt Emily’s kippers.
Exquisite Roman sacrophagus of Italian marble, 3rd century CE, Getty Museum, California
Esophagus = oisophagos an anatomical name coined by the ancient Greeks from oiso- Greek, meaning not known + phagos ‘eater’ The esophagus is the muscular gullet tube, about nine inches long in an adult, that connects the pharynx to the stomach. Peristaltic contractions of encircling muscles pass food through the esophagus. Phagocyte = phagos Greek ‘eater’ + kytos Greek ‘cell’ A phagocyte is a scavenger cell that ingests foreign cells, debris and disease microorganisms. Some phagocytes are fixed in liver, spleen, and bone marrow. Others, such as leucocytes, circulate in the blood. They play a significant defensive role in immune reactions. Anthropophagi are cannibals, from anthropos Greek ‘man’ + phagos ‘eating’ Today the word is frequently used humorously to convey a pseudoscientific pomposity to what is more usually called cannibalism.
Anthropophagous shenanigans ensue; decorum evaporates; proceedings get quite out-of-hand at an Episcopalian Church Summer Camp after the cook yells, “Somebody ate all the hotdogs!”
Coprophagy is the literal eating of shit. From kopros Greek ‘dung, shit’ + phagia ‘eating’ Dung-beetles are coprophagous, dining on excrement with far too great an enthusiasm.
Hippophagy is eating horse meat. From hippos Greek ‘horse’ + phagia ‘eating’ The practice of consuming horseflesh is encountered in North America rarely but does arise at the cheaper hamburger stands. Among ancient wandering peoples of the Asian steppes and invaders of Europe hippophagism served a survival need.
Onychophagy is the biting and sometimes eating of one’s fingernails. From onychos Greek ‘fingernail’ + phagia ‘eating’ The word appears frequently in medical literature describing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorders and in textbooks of the dietary sciences.
Necrophagy is eating corpses. From nekros Greek ‘dead’ + phagia ‘eating’ Earthly creatures other than ghouls do eat the dead bodies of their fellow critters.
Theophagy is eating your god. It is by no means as yucky as one might surmise upon first encountrering the word or the practice. From theos Greek ‘god’ + phagia ‘eating’ Christians wax theophagous during Holy Communion, as they nibble piously on the dainty bread wafers of the Eucharist miraculously transubstantiated into the very flesh of Christ. That is Roman Catholic dogma. Some of the vegetarian protestant sects found this far too dégoutant. So they came up with consubstantiation, wherein the bread and wine don’t actually undergo a transformative abracadabera and turn into Jesus’ fingers and saviour plasma. Instead, a more seemly metamorphosis follows, in which the molecules of Wonder Bread and Thunderbird wine are said to “coexist” with the Christly bits. So much more tasteful, I always think. And, yes, brethren and cistern, I wish to blaspheme.
copyright © 2008 William Gordon Casselman
Order online for 3-Day Delivery in Canada
----------------------------------------------------------------- Publishers & Writers! If you would like your word book reviewed here, send me a two or three-line email note on the book's focus. If I think it might fit, I'll return to you instructions on how to get the book into my hands. my email: canadiansayings@mountaincable.net -------------------------------------------------------------------
I invite you to tour my site and select from the hundreds of word stories here. To begin, click on the Word List banner below. Then perhaps browse the site map with its links to every page of my
If you want to share some wonderful Canadian sayings, both in English and in Québec French, you will find more than 3,000 Canadian expressions in my three sayings books. Each of my three volumes of Canadian Sayings contains about 1,200 zesty phrases used by Canadians both today and throughout our history. Remember that profits from the sale of my books keep this website online.
order online from Chapters/Indigo
This new book is available from November 2007 and can be ordered at any bookstore in the world. Among the essay contributors in Readings for Technical Communication are George Grant, Marshall McLuhan, C.P. Snow, George Orwell, Stephen Strauss, William Zinsser and, yours ever in abject humility — Bill Casselman. Order "Readings" at a discount from Chapters/Indigo
If you can't find my books online or in stores, order them directly from the author. Just send me an email canadiansayings@mountaincable.net
Sales of my book support the continuance of this website. $10.95 in all Canadian bookstores
order online from Chapters/Indigo Says one reader on the Chapters website: “If you're Canadian you gotta read this book. This book made me laugh till I cried. Things I thought only I heard during my youth were there in print before my eyes! I love this book. Everyone I show it to has the same reaction. Different sayings tickled my funny bone on different days - so they never get boring. Keep up this wonderful treasure-trove of Canadiana, Bill.” — Angie Plamondon published by McArthur & Company, Toronto, Canada
ORDER MY BOOKS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ONLINE AT
Visit this roundup of CanNews at www.bourque.org
Description of Site Contents Bill Casselman's Canadian Word of the Day™ features hundreds of entries about Canadian phrases, words, expressions, and folk sayings. My newest, latest, unpublished word stories and studies appear here on this website. Canadian English is the focus but English spoken and written all over the world and throughout the history of the language interests me as well.
Other Places to Visit on My Website Casselman's Canadian Words / Casselmania Canadian Garden Words /Canadian Food Words What's In a Canadian Name? / Canadian Sayings Canadian Sayings 2 / Canadian Sayings 3 A Dictionary of Medical Derivations Bill Casselman's Other Writings As The Canoe Tips: Comic Scenes from Canadian Life Canadian Words & Sayings 2006 edition
expressions in Canadian English etymology of Canadian words and phrases phrases of Canada word history of Canada Canadian talk Canadian way of speaking Canadian speech where Canadian words come from funny Canadian sayings humorous Canadian expressions Canadian catchwords Canadian epigrams Canadian mottoes Canadian stock sayings learning Canadian English learning Canadian French expressions learning Quebec folk sayings introduction to etymology Canadian English as ESL slang and Canadian English slang learn Canadian English Canadian English word power learn Canadian words Canadian English word lists
words used by Canadians Canadian lingo Kalan Porter pictures photographs photos Kalan Porter word lore Canadian sayings for ESL William Gordon Casselman, Canadian author Bill Casselman's books Canadian words folk sayings of Canada Canadian expressions Canadian phrases words used by Canadians Bill Casselman's Canadian Word of the Day archives etymology of Canadian words etymology examples of Canadian word origins Canadian English place names of Canada word stories funny Canadian sayings Canadian books books about Canadian words word roots Canadian vocabulary Canadian language Canadian lingo Canadian turn of phrase Canadian way of speaking French-Canadian words French-Canadian words in English Quebec words Quebec French Canadian surnames Canadian last names funny expressions of Canada Canadian word derivations Casselman's Canadian Words Casselmania Canadian Food Words Canadian Garden Words What's in a Canadian Name? Canadian Sayings Canadian Sayings one Canadian Sayings two Canadian Sayings 1 Canadian Sayings 2 Canadian Sayings 3 Canadian Sayings three dictionary of medical derivations etymology of medical terms what medical words mean origin of medical vocabulary medical word stories Canadian food words culinary terms of Canada where food names come from Canadian English words about Canada bill casselman bill casselman books etymology Canadian origins of words Acadian words Acadian food terms Acadian vocabulary Canadian Word of the Day™ word power word lore fun with words where words come from Canadian Word of the Day™ Bill Casselman's Canadian Word of the Day™ Canadian Word of the Day Bill Casselman's Canadian Word of the Day Canadian French as a second language Bill Casselman's Canadian Word of the Day™ Canadian Word of the Day Canadian words words from Canada Canadian English Learn Canadian sayings Learn Canadian English Canadian English as a second language Canadian English study Canadian English as ESL ESL tips with Canadian English expressions Learning English ESL from Canadian English speaking Canadian English learning about Canada through Canadian English Canadian unique words unique Canadian terms words used in Canada Words that are Canadian phrases terms sayings words original Canadian original Canadian words terms phrases Canadian idioms ESL tips for learning Canadian English Canadian ESL phrase books funny folk sayings in English Canadian slang Canadian patois patois Canadien ESL sayings ESL funny sayings ESL teaching tips Canadian funny expressions Canadian English words special phrases in Canadian English words unique to Canada English in Canada Old Canadian Expressions Historical sayings of Canada old sayings in Canada Canadian historical sayings expressions and proverbs of Canada origin of Avril Lavigne's surname words of Canada
Canadian terms Canadian language French Canadian sayings books on Canadian English books teaching Canadian English English in Canada ways of speech Canadian talk in English
unique words of Canada unique Canadian phrases unique sayings of Canada
word origins Canada unique expressions of Canada
funny sayings Canadian expressions |
