8/3/2019 Aries 20: A young girl feeding birds in winter

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Aries 20: A young girl feeding birds in winterThe adjective young descen ds f r om t h e I n do-

European (IE) root yeu- which means vi tal force,

youthful v igor . 1 Among i ts paronyms are June , Juno ,

junior, junker, rejuvenate , younker, and youth .

The noun girl descends from the Middle English

girle , meaning chi ld or gir l . Def init ions of gir l include

a female chi ld , a young woman, and a daughter . 2

The verb f eed descends from the root pa - which

m eans t o pr o t ec t , f eed . Par o ny m s include food, forage ,

foray, foster , fur, pablum , pantry , pastor , pester and the

L at i n panis , meaning bread. 3

The noun bird descends from the Old English bri d , which means

y o u ng b i r d . O ne I nd o -European root carrying this meaning is awi-

which means bird and from which descend avian , aviat ion , caviar , e gg ,

ostrich , oval , an d o v a ry . 4 Informally , the word bi rd , as w el l as i t s

synonym chick, i s a reference to a young woman. 5

F inal ly , the noun winter descends from w ed- 1 which means water ,w et .6 Other derivatives include hydrant , water, wet, otter , vodka , wash ,

and whiskey.

THEMES: A few common themes are evident here. The f irst there is

t h e m at t er of YOUTH . As shown above, the words young , girl and birds

descend from roots whose meanings and derivatives connote youth, in

general , and young women in particular .

Further , recal l that the root of birds is aw i whose derivatives include

ovum , o v a ry , an d egg . According to modern cel l theory every cel l in the

1W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p . 1 0 3 2h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / g i r l 3W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p . 6 1 4W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p . 6 5h t t p : / / o n e l o o k . c o m / ? w = b i r d & l s = a 6W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p . 9 5

8/3/2019 Aries 20: A young girl feeding birds in winter

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organism's body derives ult imately from a single cel l in a fert i l ized

eg g . 7

Up into the 19th century, spontaneous generation, the belief that life forms could appear

spontaneously under certain conditions, was widely accepted. This misconception was challenged by

William Harvey, who even before the invention of the microscope was led by his studies to suggest

that life came from invisible 'eggs.' In the frontispiece of his book (Essays on the Generation of

Animals), he expressed the basic principle of biogenesis: "Omnia ex ovo"(everything from eggs).8

Thus, by way of the word birds we have not only young birds, but the

very beginnings of l i fe i tsel f , beginnings in the form of eggs produced by

the female of the species . This stands in marked contrast to the word

winter w h i c h r ef er s no t o nl y t o a s eas o n b u t a l s o t o a per i o d

characterized by c oldness , misery , barrenness , or death 9 and a period

like winter , as the last or f inal period of l i fe; a period of decl ine, decay,inert ia , dreariness , or adversi ty . 10 No wonder then that folklore of so

m an y cul t ur es h av e p er son i f i ed t h i s season as an o l d m an , e .g . O l d M an

Winter . 11 Thus, a second and related theme is AGEDNESS.

A third theme running through these words is the idea of FOOD AND

NURTURANCE. Recal l that paronyms of feeding include the words food,

forage , pantry , and indirectly , bread. From awi , t h e r oot t h at m ean s

bird , we have two sources of foodeggs an d caviar .

A fourth theme concerns PROTECTION . Recal l that the keyword feed

descen ds f r om a r oot t h at m ean s t o pr o t ec t . I t s par o ny m s i nc l u d e

pastor, a shepherd or a minister having spir i tual charge over a

congregation. 12Eggs , of course, derive their protection from their shel ls .

7h t t p : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i / B i o l o g y 8h t t p : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i / B i o l o g y , e m p h a s e s a d d e d 9h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / w i n t e r 10h t t p : / / d i c t i o n a r y . r e f e r e n c e . c o m / b r o w s e / w i n t e r ? r = 6 6 11h t t p : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i / O l d _ M a n _ W i n t e r 12h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / p a s t o r