Re: Lavenders - OFF TOPIC (pronunciation)
- Subject: Re: Lavenders - OFF TOPIC (pronunciation)
- From: &* L* <L*@lyman-dixon.freeserve.co.uk>
- Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 09:12:57 +0100
"Steekas" or perhaps "Stechas":
the term is derived from Dioscorides who
wrote (Goodyer/Gunther edition 3 :31) "Stoechas.....grows in the islands
....called ye stoechades from whence also it had its name...", the
accompanying illustration is captioned "stichas" which ties in with the
traditional English name "stickados"
The 1557 edition of Mattioli, to which one always turns as refereee in such
cases, is uncompromising, Chapter 28 is headed "Della
Stecha" with the text reading "Nasce la stecha nelle ifole di Francia uicine
a Marfilia nominate Stechadi; onde s'ha ella ufurpato il fuo nome...Chiamano
la stecha i Greci..i latini, Stoechas.li tedefchi, stichas kraut e i
francefi, stechados"
Sorry, guess your friend wins
Since writing the above, I have received Xavier's posting and don't doubt
that he is technically correct, however it is often difficult to induce ones
tongue to split all the vowels which is why we, and the Americans in
particular, have been dropping the surplus for centuries admittedly in more
Greek derived words than Latinized plant names..Other examples include
Oestrus (Estrus) and all those nasty ailments ending in rh(o)ea, not to
mention Aeon, last used in Victorian England and
Medi(a)eval. However with precedents for calling "Stoechas" "Steekas"
stretching back half a millennium I still think your friend wins, but on
Xavier's ruling, , he should at least split the bottle with you
Anthony
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----- Original Message -----
From: Ccopuntia@aol.com
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:48 PM
Subject: Re: Lavenders - OFF TOPIC (pronunciation)
In a message dated 8/8/04 2:36:28 AM, tomory@xtra.co.nz writes:
> Lavandula stoechas starts earliest, with the tulips in April, and blooms
off and
> on all summer.
Could someone please verify how to pronounce "stoechas"? I've always said,
"Stow-cuss", but a friend says, "Steek-iss".
Anybody know for sure so we can settle our friendly wager??? Many thanks!
C. Carter
in the beautiful Pacific Northwest...
