Re: Request for Insights: Terminology

 

Thank you, Sean.
 
As far as I can determine, this is a bearded iris, which eliminates some of the more interesting wild goose chases which one might engage in.
 
AMW
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Sean Zera <zera@umich.edu>
To: iris-species <iris-species@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Dec 6, 2012 12:35 am
Subject: Re: [iris-species] Request for Insights: Terminology

 
I think Kathleen's suggestion makes the most sense so far, given the direct tie to Belgium. The suffix -aria converts nouns to adjectives, so it's probably not named for the place, but for the calamine in the soil there, basically "calaminey." As best I can tell the other calamina already means "reed-like", not "reed", so it wouldn't make sense to add another suffix to it. Plus, I can't really imagine someone naming an iris "reed-like".

Calamina (the chemical) is said to have been "corrupted by alchemists" from the original cadmina, so we can blame them for the confusion.

Calamina (reed-like) has given rise to a few obsolete English words like calaminstrate, to curl hair (by wrapping it around reed stems, of course).

Sean Z

Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index