Re: [aroid-l] Etymology of AROID <= ARUM <= ARON

How in the world could the ancient Greeks have a word for a plant they did
not know existed. The wake robin is a North American plant and is not native
in any European area. Are we to believe that the ancient Greeks came to
America and named our wake robin, calling it aron? Theophrastus would really
have fun with this etymology. WGS

W. George Schmid
Hosta Hill - Tucker Georgia USA
Zone 7a - 1188 feet AMSL
84-12'-30" West_33-51' North

----- Original Message -----
From: "Planter Rik" <planterrik@hotmail.com>
To: <aroid-l@lists.ncsu.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 1:52 PM
Subject: [aroid-l] Etymology of AROID <= ARUM <= ARON

 Now, this is me:
>
> From what I find, the Latin "arum" was more specifically applied to one
> plant, the wake robin (Trillium erectum), the Ancient Greek word for which
> was "aron."  Later, the Latin "arum" was generalized to include all
lilies.
> Aroid, therefore, etymologically, means lily-like:  "ar[um]" (lily) plus
the
> suffix "-oid," which means "like or resembling."
>
> There's my best effort.  Oh, the thrill and inescapable lure of pedantry.
>
> Ric
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